The Potential Causes And Possible Treatment Of Exercise...

The potential causes and possible treatment of exercise addiction Unquestionably, physical activity complements the quality of life for an individual, while exercising on a regular basis results in many benefits. Nevertheless despite the great benefit of sport, many experts commonly agree that physical activity may be harmful. One of the unfavourable areas within sport, which is frequently examined by researchers, is exercise addiction. The predominance of exercise addiction is quite rare in reality, but when present conflicting consequences can be calamitous (De Coverley Veale, 1987; Szabo, 2007). Szabo (1998) proposed that those addicted to exercise will experience a more compelling withdrawal than dedicated exercisers. A comprehensive manner to distinguish between both sets of individuals may be through the actions and intentions for exercise of the individuals. Exercise addiction between an athlete which is healthy and an exercise addict may be sharing very similar levels of training; the difference is the mental approach and attitude taken by each individual. The individual addicted to exercise is unable to see the real value in unnecessary exercise and is resolute in pursuing his sport despite it being against his best interest. The definition of exercise addiction is complemented by six common symptoms of exercise addiction: mood modification, salience, withdrawal symptoms, relapse, tolerance and personal conflict (Brown, 1993; Griffiths, 2005).Show MoreRelatedEtiology, Predispositions, And Vulnerabilities1738 Words   |  7 Pageshave been designed to explain the how IAD develops in an individual and how it is then maintained. These models draw from different fields of psychology such to determine different theorised causes for the addiction such as biological factors (such as chemical imbalances making one more susceptible to addiction), psychological predispositions (such as other mental health problems or personality) and social factors (such as culture, socio-economic standing and acceptance of the Internet from others)Read MoreThe Effects Of Gambling Addiction On The Brain1682 Words   |  7 PagesBiological Factors Addictions are known to activate the culmination of sites in the brain that make up the ‘reward centre’ which is responsible for feeling happiness or pleasure through the release of dopamine (Linden, 2011). After repeated exposures, receptors in the brain build a tolerance towards the addiction meaning that there is a need for increased stimulation to provide a similar ‘high’. Eventually behaviour patterns develop so as to avoid withdrawal. At this point addiction is occurring andRead MoreSex Addiction1173 Words   |  5 Pagesday-to-day life cause people to use out of frustration, and others seem to become addicted to things that they subliminally tie to other forms of satisfaction. It has been proven that our genetic make up as well as things we experience early in childhood both contribute to a wide variety of the mannerisms we showcase, and the activities we are prone to taking part in. For example, if an individual is exposed to pornography at an earl y age, it would be easy to establish the foundation for a potential addictionRead MorePalliative Care For End Of Life Patients1450 Words   |  6 Pagesimplemented. Healthcare providers must also be knowledgeable of potential barriers to pain therapy and how to address such barriers in order to provide the most patient-specific and effective treatment possible. The Impact of Pain Management during Palliative Care The experience of pain at the end of one’s life consists of a wide array of origins and interpretations. As a result of the diversity of pain the treatment needs to be specific to the patient experiencing it. It is a veryRead MoreWhy I Chose to Become a Mental Health Counselor Essay1290 Words   |  6 Pagesthe patient so that the patient will feel comfortable speaking about issues that are private or embarrassing. There are many different types of counselors including drug counselors; marriage counselors, grief counselors, job counselors, diet and exercise counselors, and others that can help people improve their lives in different ways. Counselors are trained to offer advice and listen to issues that may be bothering other people. They are not allowed to prescribe medication or expected to provideRead MoreThe Expression Of Recovery Model1147 Words   |  5 Pagesbegan in the addictions field, referring to a person recovering from a drug or alcohol disorder. Emerged in the 1930’s as a grassroots consumer advocacy movement, it was not taken seriously by professionals until in the 1980’s. It was at this time the mental health field therapist realizes that, similar to recovery from an addiction, recovery from a mental illness is also possible. Recovery is describing as a personal centered, that is contested with problems or diseases centered treatment., that worksRead MoreSymptoms And Treatments Of Physical Therapy1593 Words   |  7 Pagesderivative that can be used in therapy for COPD for bronchodilation. Theophylline is also used for treating other respiratory diseases such as asthma. Acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol) is an over-the-counter analgesic that can be used for the treatment of pain from menstrual cramps. Acetaminophen is also used to treat other types of pain and to reduce fever. IV. Pharmacokinetics Clonazepam is administered orally and is rapidly absorbed within 1 to 4 hours. Within this time, it usually reachesRead MoreThe Effect Of Exercise On The Body2597 Words   |  11 Pagescenturies exercise has been a part of the lives of men. Whether through carrying a freshly hunted boar through the forest or riding a bicycle to work, exercise plays a huge role in a vast amount of areas. As man learned more about the body and how everything functioned, he uncovered how many factors play a role in health, including mental health. Doctors normally recommend daily exercise. However, there are other sides of the argument. One can become addicted to exercise. The addiction starts asRead MoreThe Unethical Impacts of Direct to Consumer Drug Advertising1130 Words   |  5 Pagesexaminations has led to a large increase in clinical examination and this makes the pharmaceutical companies happy and helps padding their pockets. Using this type of advertising, these drug companies allow deta ils of a particular drug to spread to a potential patient and then most likely pushed by the doctor upon visit. These types of advertising campaigns are focused on trying to â€Å"enrich† the consumer (Relman p28). Even though this type of advertising campaign allows most drugs to be cheaper overallRead MoreIs Attending The Most Difficult Times For An American Student?1273 Words   |  6 Pagespsychological effects. Students typically struggle to find recourse for help with alcohol on campus. There needs to be more adequate resources for prevention and intervention available to students who struggle with managing stress and anxiety and addiction to alcohol. Sheer amounts of pressure and anxiety overwhelm college students. Usually the first stressors students encounter are on move-in day. The first day of college means leaving home, making new friends, and saying good-bye to parents. A survey

My Parents Taught Me The Value Of An Education Essay

I was born in Delta State, Nigeria. I am one of eight children. My mother was an orphan and my father lost his own father at the age of 7; both my parents grew up in poverty in Nigeria and managed to succeed because of the education they were fortunate to receive. I mention this to illustrate that my parents taught me the value of an education and have provided my siblings and I with the right access to resources to ensure we succeed academically. My family voluntarily migrated to the UK when I was seven years old to avoid death threats made against my parents. We initially lived in Kent, and I attended primary school in Ramsgate. My siblings were one of the few Black students in the school I was the only Black student in my grade. Prior to migration, I was aware of the racial categories in the UK and the US, and the implications of being an African immigrant in the UK, but I did not comprehend the full implications of this until I lived in a country where I was a racial minority. T hankfully, my primary school had other international students, from across the globe, and I had some open-minded British peers and I could thrive and learn about other cultures. This early exposure was a great eye-opener for me – I learnt about racism, classism, and culturally different gender expectations. This was a great learning experience and has informed my interest in studying social justice issues and cultural differences. I was born in Delta State, Nigeria. I am one of eight children.Show MoreRelatedTrue Education : What Motive Is Appeal?1397 Words   |  6 PagesToday, in the present time, what is the trend of the education given? To what motive is appeal most often made? To self-seeking. Much of the education given today, is a perversion of the name itself. In true education the selfish ambition, the greed for power, the disregard for the rights and needs of humanity, that are the curse of our world, find a counter-influence. True education means more than taking a certain course of study. It is broad. It includes the harmonious development of all the physicalRead MoreInfluence Of My Parents Influenced My Life946 Words   |  4 PagesInfluence Both of my parents influenced my life. They instilled self-dignity, integrity and respect. Helping me understand self-dignity, I had to discover my natural uniqueness and embraces them. They did not stress external beauty, I was always total I was as pretty as my actions and attitude. If they were negative and unpleasant, then I would be seen the same way. My parents were loving and affectionate, but they also gave us real talk. Having integrity was a must, without trust in any relationshipRead MoreEssay about Family Values, Personal Values870 Words   |  4 Pages Family Values and Unity There are so many various types of people with different ethnic backgrounds, culture and manner of living that are the cause of distinct values in a family. These families have poor, mediocre or virtuous family values, however what one may consider as a mediocre family value may seem poor to someone else and vice-versa. These family values differ from family to family world-wide. The most significant values are family unity, honesty and education. FamilyRead MoreCulture Is The Values, Attitudes, Customs, Beliefs, And1072 Words   |  5 Pagesis the values, attitudes, customs, beliefs, and habits shared by members of a society (Parrillo, V. N., 2014, p. 26). Culture is known to continuously change through the environment, discoveries, technological advances, natural disasters, inventions and contact with other cultures (Parrillo, V. N., 2014, p.31)..America is culturally diverse. It’s a melting pot to where many cultures meet and blend together over time. Within the world today, they’re many different variations of cultures. My great grandfatherRead MoreThe Value Of Education856 Words   |  4 PagesHassan Bajwa Prof. Lesley Broder English 24 8 January 2018 The Value of Education Education has been a powerful instrument that guides the society in achieving human desires and aspirations. It is in the nature of human beings to have big dreams in life. Everyone desires to be successful and lead a prosperous lifestyle. However, a successful life is a fruit of good education. I believe in the value of education because it has the power to transform one from nothing to something. From a naà ¯ve youngRead MoreCulture Is It Anyway, Culture, Values, Attitudes, And Traditions902 Words   |  4 PagesCulture has been defined as the knowledge, values, attitudes, and traditions that guide the behavior of a group of people and allow them to solve the problems of living in their environment. Beyond this standard definition, I believe that culture is a conglomeration of the things we adopt from our families, friends, peers, and other members of our community. As Reyes stated in her article â€Å"Whose culture is it anyway,† culture extends to all individuals, includ ing those considered â€Å"of the norm† withinRead MoreImportance of Teamwork and Collaboration1014 Words   |  4 Pagescommunities, friends, and parents all impact the manner in which an individual develops within the context of society. A great influence on my decision to pursue graduate level study was that of my parents. Both being teachers, I personally was impacted by their love of education and continuous learning. This ultimately manifested in my medical studies and fellowship back in the UAE. My parents, both of whom taught the fundematels of knowledge were based on a solid foundation of education, stressed the importanceRead MorePolitical Socialization Is A Particular Type Of Political Learning915 Words   |  4 Pagesattitudes, values, beliefs, opinions and behaviors that are conducive to becoming a good citizen in their country. With political socialization there are many factors that are present when these views are formed, many are very apparent like historical events, and a clear effect such as gender, race, and socio-economics status. My own political views were formed the same way as everybody else were. Through the first people I came to know, which were my parents. My parents taught me what theRead MoreI Am A Father Who Migrated From Sierra Leone925 Words   |  4 PagesStaying in school and pursuing a higher education wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t for my family and teachers in high school. Entering into college, I wanted to do public health, but I wanted to be a doctor to please my father and to satisfy his hunger to have a doctor in his family. My father made sure his children went to college, and if they didn’t, it was clear they couldn’t stay in his house anymore. My parents struggled to support all of my siblings and supply each of us with everythingRead MoreThe Parenting Of Asian Mothers Essay1368 Words   |  6 Pagesyour ability. You cannot be a musician; you have to be a doctor. You can only be someone when you ARE someone. That will only happen after you take ten extra lessons outside of school, and you also have to learn how to play all types of instruments. My main point is, you have to be the best.† For many centuries, cultures from all around have had many debates on the correct way of parenting. In recent times, a specific type of parenting has been in the spotlight: the parenting of Asian mothers. They

How to perform Investigation of illegal digital materials- Free Sample

Question: Discuss about theInvestigation of Illegal Digital Materials. Answer: Introduction The case starts when one customer finds a workstation belongs to M57.biz on secondary market. Case has been reported to police and it has been identified that this illegal material belongs to Jo. Our aim is to investigate this case based on USB drives. Observations needs to be make about various scenario. This work is related to the illegal digital content which takes a scenario of a company M57.biz. How We Got to Know if PC is Missing The detectives meets the McGoo at the company and it was informed about a missing computer. Although that was nonfunctional but had critical information. As per investigation Jos name came up and was under suspicious category. Our investigation now has third part USB used with the system. USB drive can have some data remaining as a part of backup. The illegal category content which is in USB drive needs to be analyzed for this part. As per USB drive we have come to know that content in Jo;s drive was suspicious. Software used is prodiscover Figure 1: Software Hard Drive The methodology starts from knowledge gathering phase, which concentrates on gathering knowledge about how we need to investigate this case. Below diagram shows the overview of the system. Figure 2 Information Direction Based on this we can answer the questions: Terry was owner of this inventory management, although Pat asked Terry to make a list of the inventory needed for the business expansion purpose. As per inventory expansion purpose Terry was supposed to make a list of the inventory needed for the business expansion. This brings in the point that missing computer was sold in secondary market. As per investigation we have not found solid attempts but yes there were some attempts to manage the list in such a way that no one notice loss of items from inventory. And also should be responsible for sale of computer. As he was owner of preparation of the list and execute the plan.. We can guess Jo is the owner of these files and to confirm this disk image has some half evidence. Also as per mail conversation jo/Terry was responsible for secondary market sold things and was owner of this area. The below evidence shows JO was involved Date 10 December 2009 Affiant Detective Joe Friday Reason for Action: Forensic persons could decide out of the PC that a USB drive conceivably claimed from Jo possession was utilized to associate with the PC, and perhaps used to exchange kitty illegal material Move Made: Starting from the suspicion that possessed drive was owner by Jo, we have asked for and been conceded rights to take the USB drive. The action was taken on the basis of the information found with respect to the PC with the number MT-2009-12-015-EV001 which was the physical address of Jos computer. Result: If we are allowed authorization to inquiry PCs, we would first take possession of the thumb drive (Present ownership is with Jo) around then. This signifies Jo;s hand in this case. Recovery of Computer The individual additionally gave the name of the merchant: Terry Johnson PC has been recuperated, the person who was login has physical address of MT-2009-12-015-EV001 and as per crime scene investigation this proves to be a critical issue. Conclusion As per investigation it can be concluded that analysis of USB drive gives important information about the owner of the illegal digital content trafficking person. Also information through this is reliable and can be fully trusted References Article III. Initiation of Cases: 12. Complaint; Investigation; Petition. (1959).Crime Delinquency, 5(4), pp.351-356. Bates, J. (1963). Presentence Investigation in Abortion Cases.Crime Delinquency, 9(3), pp.306-312. Casey, E. (2007). Attacks against forensic analysis.Digital Investigation, 4(3-4), pp.105-106. Forensic entomologyStandards and guidelines. (2007).Forensic Science International, 169, p.S27. Forensic Evidence and Crime Scene Investigation. (2013).Journal of Forensic Investigation, 01(02). Forensic Evidence and Crime Scene Investigation. (2013).Journal of Forensic Investigation, 01(02). Garfinkel, S. (2006). Forensic feature extraction and cross-drive analysis.Digital Investigation, 3, pp.71-81. Gogolin, G. (2010). The Digital Crime Tsunami.Digital Investigation, 7(1-2), pp.3-8. Haagman, D. and Ghavalas, B. (2005). Trojan defence: A forensic view.Digital Investigation, 2(1), pp.23-30. Lewthwaite, J. (2013). FrostWire P2P forensic examinations.Digital Investigation, 9(3-4), pp.211-221. Mason, S. (2005). Trusted computing and forensic investigations.Digital Investigation, 2(3), pp.189-192. Mistry, D. (2016). Ploughing in Resources: The investigation of farm attacks.South African Crime Quarterly, (6). Stttgen, J. and Cohen, M. (2013). Anti-forensic resilient memory acquisition.Digital Investigation, 10, pp.S105-S115. Wilson, J. (2001). Riverboat Gambling and Crime in Indiana: An Empirical Investigation.Crime Delinquency, 47(4), pp.610-640.

Royal Dutch Shell free essay sample

Shell plc (Shell) is one of global leading energy and petrochemical companies. Its foundation dated back to 19 Century but it fully formed after merger of Royal Dutch  and Shell Transport in 1907. Now, Shell, headquartered in The Hague, operates in more than 140 countries or areas and employs approximately 87,000 staffs. Shell businesses expand from upstream to downstream: it is engaged in exploration, production, refining, transportation and retailing of gas, oil, oil derivatives, electricity and chemicals; the company is also interested in global energy innovation such as renewable sources of energies. However, Royal Dutch Shell has been struggling to capture investor’s imagination after 2009 (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Although revenues and profits had recovered, Niger Delta and North Sea oil spilling almost destroyed Shell’s revival dream. The recent figures are still disappointing: Shell suffered more than 30 per cent drop in profits in recent successive quarters (2nd Quarter Unaudited Results 3rd Quarter Unaudited Results, 2013). We will write a custom essay sample on Royal Dutch Shell or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What are the factors to Shell’s loss? Is that caused by Financial Crisis or European Debt Crisis? Or caused by Oil Spill? Or caused by deep business environmental changes? Identifying Challenges Analysis should start at the general to focus down, called outside-in analytical framework (Angwin et al, 2011). The interaction of an organisation with external environment is decomposed into macro-environment influences, meso-environment influences and micro-environment influences. Macro-environment analysis assesses the stability and complexity in energy industry. Meso-environment analysis focuses on competitive arena; more specifically, it reveals interaction and power of Shell with other main market components. Micro-environment analysis shows competition position in energy industry: it identifies and compares performances of global energy giants. However, the largest degree of influence is from focal company itself; namely, internal environment where decisions are made about corporate strategy and resource policy. Employing outside-in approach contributes to avoid myopia which seeing the real business world on focal firm’s standpoint and thus increases the accuracy of strategic analysis. Macro-environment Macro-environmental analysis is the first and necessary part of systematic strategic analysis. In today varied and complex business world, PESTEL is a common conceptual tool used in macro-environmental analysis. This framework identifies current and potential changes in a large macro-territory (Fahey Narayanan, 1986) and assesses the impact of changes on firm’s industry and itself (Ginter Duncan, 1990). P stands for political factors that determine governmental influence on economy or a certain industry. Political aspects have significant influence in oil and gas industry. It is because most countries regard oil and gas, main products in energy industry, as strategic materials. The energy independence is a preferential aim for the countries who intend to avoid economic blackmail and political suppression from other countries and organisations like OPEC (Talevski Lima, 2009). Thus the authorities strictly control foreign investments into oil and gas drilling and production and allow limited rights to transport and retail oil, gas and other petrochemical products (EIA, 2008), which limit access to proven reserves and potential markets. Besides, the political stability has impacts, especially in North Africa and Middle East. Instability, including political or economic terrorism, civil unrest, acts of war, piracy on high sea and governmental sanctions can discourage investments and disrupt safe operations and products transports (Talevski Lima, 2009). E stands for economic factors that determine economy’s performance with resonating long-term effects. Demand for oil and gas is determined by economic prosperity because most industries and transportation run on fuels (Talevski Lima, 2009). Under current unclear â€Å"economic slowdown†, the demand-and-supply relationship of fuels seems unpredictable. It results in fluctuating price of crude oil, natural gas, and petrochemical products with material impacts on oil and gas industry (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Specifically, in a low fuels price environment, corporates gain less revenue from upstream business because of shrinking margins between raw materials and products; while in a high fuels price environment, corporates suffers less entitlement to proved reserves and lower product demands, which reduces profitability of downstream business. S stands for social factors that influence social-cultural environment of market. Suffering the fears of global warming, people show increasing concerns about natural environment. The considerations shape preference for green energies rather than fossil fuels, especially in developed countries. Population in developed countries, primary consumers of hydrocarbons, consciously diminish needs for oil and gas but boost needs for renewable energies (Trifu, 2012). It entails heavy investments in research development in new energies. Besides, public concerns about corporate social responsibility push energy giants to protect all stakeholders’ profits, such as employees and neighbours at increasing expenditure on optimising manufacturing process, building infrastructure and training employees. T stands for technological factors related to innovations that may affect the operation or markets. Technology is key element in upstream business and downstream business: innovations in exploration and production (upstream) contribute to discover new hydrocarbon reserves or enhance recovery of oil and gas; while in the downstream, optimising reefing process of varying quality and developing marketing campaigns based on technological advance (like communication in social media) help corporates reduce operational costs and enhance margins (BP Annual Report, 2008). Thus corporates should be charged a considerable sum on research development. Additionally, technological improvement in substitutes and complementary products alter the demands for different sources of energies. Generally speaking, the dominance of hydrocarbon should be replaced if the increasing number of complementary products driven by green energies emerges and the costs on exploiting and manufacturing substitutes decrease. E stands for environmental factors that influence or are determined by the surroundings. Most energy companies have been involved in environmental pollution. Increasingly strict environmental restrictions require energy companies spend share of their profits in technological innovation and waste disposal to environmental restoration and remediation (BP Annual Report, 2008). Besides, an uneven geographical distribution of hydrocarbon and separability of production fields and markets expose oil and gas companies to safety issues and environmental issues in transportation (Talevski Lima, 2009), such as BP oil spilling in Gulf of Mexico. Transportation process requires special care at large human, material and capital inputs. Thus environmental issues are threats to profitability. L stands for legal factors that laws affect the business environment. Legal regulations subjected to energy companies includes imposition of exploitation obligations, regulations on field development and decommissioning, proposed fuel specifications, the provision of health-safety-security-and-environment protection, emission controls, climate change programs, the provision of disposal or releases of chemicals or petroleum substances, the clauses of antitrust and competition, upfront concession fees , special royalties and taxes (Talevski Lima, 2009; Trifu, 2012). More stringent legal restrictions might induce damage to corporate images, larger fees required in business activities or even loss of licence to operate in a certain area (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Meso-environment Analysis about meso-environment examines competitive structure. Porter’s Five Forces should be advised: It identifies five basic competitive forces which influence focal participants’ income statements and balance sheets through prices, costs and investments (Porter, 2008). Meso-environmental analysis tries to understand underpinnings of competition and causes of profitability in oil and gas industry. The threat of new entrants is insignificant. There are large capital investments tied to all vertical activities like exploration of new fields, setting-up production facilities, scientific research and accessing to distribution channel. Enormous fixed up-front investment creates barriers to potential entrants (Talevski Lima, 2009). Economies of scale/scope are another barrier to new participants. Higher unit costs in exploration and production and lower volume of business result in a small profit margin, which adversely affect returns of money in the start-up (Dess et al., 2004). The threat of substitutes seems not significant today but increasingly influential in following years. Oil and gas are still dominant in many sectors, especially in transportation and industry; and it is estimated to stay the dominance until 2030 (IEA, 2008). However, with the technological advances in drilling and processing new energies and rising concerns on planet, green energies like renewable energies and nuclear energies are predicted to slowly but surely enlarge market share in the future. The bargaining power of buyers is complex. Generally, the power of buyers is low because the prices of oil and gas are globally given (Talevski Lima, 2009). However, the power of large consumers, like the US, the EU, China and Japan, are indeed strong because their enormous volumes of demands can alter global demands. Recently, theses primary consumers are trying to switch from heavy dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energies. Thus the strong bargaining power entails business revolution in oil and gas industry. The bargaining power of suppliers depends on which type of suppliers they are. The conventional suppliers that provide supporting products/services seem disadvantaged because oil and gas industry has a wide range of small unconsolidated sub-suppliers from various sectors. While the suppliers of oil or gas field exert power: no one corporates can operate in a certain country without permission. These countries can determine the supply of materials. Thus their policy and regulation on oil and gas are quite important to energy companies. The intensity of rivalry is high. The slow industry growth and product homogeneity create small profits margins through technological or managerial innovation. Besides, the needs to replace drying fields exacerbate competition due to the fact that new reserves are more difficult to access. All of them force major and strong oligopolistic players overcome competitive constrains through aggressive activities like mergers, acquisitions and alliances (Weston et al. , 2001). Micro-environment Micro-environment analysis attempts to identify Shell’s competitive position through comparing competitors’ superior performances. Fiercer competition on differentiating products is a characteristic of oil and gas industry. BP intended to gain first-mover advantages. BP has engaged in renewables energies, especially in wind, solar and biofuels (Datamonitor, 2010). Until the end of 2009, BP has more than 500 MW of installed capacity through wind power; the whole solar value chain has been built; and more than $1 billion planned investments was into biofuels business operation. The Total S. A. refused to be inferior: the investments into renewable energies are also considerable (Datamonitor, 2010). Slow differentiation process might erode Shell’s competitive position. Increasing competition from government-run companies such as China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec creates threats to publicly held oil and gas companies, especially in seeking access to the fields (Shell Annual Report, 2012). These government-run entities have partial access to significant reserves and desirable projects. They are also sometimes motivated by political or other factors in making business decision which is abnormal in markets or harm to competitors. These partial competitive advantages supported by national governments should be achieved at independent participants’ loss. Internal Environment Internal-environmental analysis focuses on firm-specific factors. The frequent oil spilling disasters have troubled Shell for a long time. Recently, these problems become even worse. The oil spilling in Nigeria mainly caused by lack of maintenance on pipeline resulted in up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil spilling 75 miles off the coasts of Niger Delta (Vidal, 2011); the following oil leaking in North Sea caused by immature deep-water drilling technology and operator error resulted in more than 1,300 barrels of crude oil spilling (BBC news, 2011). However, Shell’s responses to extreme events seem unacceptable. Criticisms referred to late disclosure of information about leaking events, sluggish efforts to stop leakage, false claims on responsibility and reluctance on compensation (Macalister, 2013; Watkins, 2013). It makes Shell face not only considerable economic losses from business interruption, rehabilitative measures and fines on environmental pollution which caused losing leading company position (Datamonitor, 2010; MarketLine, 2013), but also a credibility problem and even corporate images damage (ICMR, 2010). Another threat is from globalisation outsourcing. Shell’s operation is on more than 70 countries with differing degrees of political, legal and fiscal stability. A wide range of political developments might affect operations, especially in the upstream, referring to land tenure, re-writing of leases, entitlement to produced hydrocarbons, production rates, and royalties (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Cross-border transaction also exposed Shell to risks from fluctuating foreign exchange rate. Changing foreign exchange rate increases transaction risks (caused by time delay between signing and settling contracts) and translational risks (caused by operating in foreign currencies but showing on balance sheets in home currency), which increase unpredictability in estimating costs and revenues (Sorensen and Kyle, 2008). Furthermore, Shell face competition from powerful local rivals when entering overseas market. Wining in the competition require large investments particularly when the rivalry happens in home country of government-run firms. Key Challenges The greatest challenge is from the increasing environmental concerns, leading to stringent environmental regulation and growing demands to green energies in future market. Hart pointed (1995) corporate competitive advantages should be rooted in capabilities in promoting environmentally-friendly economic activities, namely the natural-resource-based view of the firm. However, most core businesses of Shell, especially in upstream activities, still cause huge damages to ecosystem. This trend creates a puzzle: how to modify current environment-damaged portfolio to satisfy growing requirements to environmentally-friendly business model. In other words, it determines Shell’s future business development direction: from traditional fossil fuel company to environment-oriented energy giants-to sustain competitive advantages by pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development (Hart, 1995). The second key challenge is from poor crisis management strategy. Current activities in value chain exposure Shell to safety disasters in drilling, production, refining, and transportation process. It seriously hurts social benefit, especially the safety of nearby residence. Growing concerns about corporate social responsibility set higher requirements to Shell to manage crisis. How to win customer’s trusts and recover the credibility depends on Shell’s improvements in social-responsible performance. It determines Shell’s future strategic direction: from high-level risk-facing but low-level risking-taking company to lower-risk and strong anti-risk company with organisational and policy synergies which extend beyond â€Å"principles† to the serious treatments by every staff to think about threats and adopt their behaviour to avoid potential crisis or to manage happened crisis (McConnell Drennan, 2006). The third key challenge is from globalisation business model in oil and gas industry. This model tightly ties demand to Shell’s products to global economic prosperity and depression. It obviously brings greater difficulty to determine outputs in a certain period in order to balance demands and supply. Besides, the regional instability in political development and economic situation especially in currency makes it tougher for Shell to audit revenuesto control operations. Furthermore, competition from powerful local rivals is big challenge for Shell entering overseas market. To gain competitive advantages in international context should combine firm-specific resource and capabilities with certain national environment (Grant, 2008). In other words, how to shorten political, economic and cultural distances in globalisation should be Shell’s future direction on optimising integration of global resources (Ghemawat, 2001). Strategic Plan How to deal with the three contextual key challenges should be a serious question in Shell’s development plan. The measures to manage challenges can be understood as to pursue or sustain competitive advantages. In current market, external stakeholders are trying to keep companies accountable for social issues and demonstrate potentially large financial risks for the companies with damages to society or environments. Fulfilling social responsibility has been becoming inescapable requirements to keep competitive advantages. In order to embed a social perspective into its core value proposition, Shell should change from the fragmented and defensive position to the integrated and proactive posture. In other words, the focus must move from the focuses on corporate image to an emphasis on humanity and substance (Porter Kramer, 2006). Shared values among society (people), economy (profits) and environment (planet) can be realised (Jamali, 2006). The primary task is the shift from an environmentally-damaged producer to an environmentally-friendly corporation, namely, to achieve environment benefits. The first step is pollution abatement. There are two suggested approaches. Pollution control is using pollution control equipment to trap, store, treat and dispose emission and effluents. Another approach is pollution prevention, refers to reduce, change and prevent emission and effluents by greater housekeeping, material substitution, recycling and process innovation (Cairncross, 1991, Frosch Gallopoulos, 1989; Willig, 1994). Pollution prevention seems more important than pollution control: it tries to prevent and contain pollution in continuous-improvement methods rather than the old model of â€Å"polluting then cleaning up† at expense of non-recoverable ecological damages and expensive end-of-pipe capital investments to control emissions (Rooney, 1993). A pollution-prevention strategy emphasis on establishing capabilities in production and operation: it can be achieved through extensive and initiative employee involvement (Cole, 1991; Lawler, 1986) and continues improvement in waste reduction. Thus it is necessary to invest into inventing or introducing environmentally-friendly or resource-conserving facilities and innovating technology used in value chain. For example, non-phenolic and resin-coating technology  increase hydraulic fracturing efficiency: It allows coated sand to be produced with less energy requirement and environmental damages compared to current phenolic resins in the manufacturing process (Drilling Contractor, 2013). Building awareness of environmental protection and forcing involvement of employees also should be suggested. The second step is to product stewardship. It refers to direct the selection of raw materials and manage product design with aims at minimising environmental harm of product system. Exiting environmentally hazardous business and developing potential products with lower life-cycle costs should be the requirements to reasonable product management (Hart, 1995). To Shell, creating new products with low life-cycle costs will be dominant product strategy. It requests Shell to minimise the use of non-renewable materials, to avoid use of toxic materials and maximise the use of renewable resources (Robert, 1995). Developing renewable energy is a good choice. Shell is advised to develop wind, solar, hydropower, tidal, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas electricity generation and anaerobic digestion. These green energies not only satisfy legal and public expectations on environmental protection but also solve the problem of fossil fuels crisis. The third step is sustainable development. To achieve sustainable development demands a great deal of inputs and long-term commitments to develop market (Hart, 1995). To Shell, that means to create market demand transition from fossil fuel to renewable source of energies, especially in the developing countries. For example, Shell can make documentaries about production in the fossil fuels field and the renewable energy filed. This comparison might switch audiences’ preference for energies. Shell also can persuade energy-intensive producers to adopt green source of energies. Although there is little evidence showing the relationship between these efforts and short-term profits, the engagement to sustainable development will improvement firms’ long-term performance, reflected by price earnings or market-to-book ratios (Hart, 1995). The second task is to manage crisis, specifically to avoid potential crisis and to minimise the damages. That can be understood a task in protecting social benefits, especially nearby residence around Shell economic activities. There are five phase to accomplish crisis management (Mitroff, 1988). The first phase is signal deletion. Long before the crisis happened, there are repeated and persistent trials of warning signals. It is necessary for Shell to build various appropriate warning systems to identify diverse explicit or implicit signals. For example, the growing equipment faulty rate may imply the increasing possibility of accident and needs for maintenance. The second phase is preparation or prevention, referring to establish appropriate prevention and preparation mechanism. Specifically, prevention and preparation mechanism works through identifying any sign of weakness and then responding appropriately whatever problems is discovered. In this phase, Shell is required to ensure everything stay fixed even it works well now. The third phase is containment or damage limitation. It is important for Shell to build damage-limitation mechanisms in place. Preventing all crises seems impossible in oil and gas industry. How to prevent the harm from engulfing other parts of the corporate should be discussed. After every disaster happens, Shell should release relevant information as soon as possible and also clearly claim corporate responsibility. Although it may cause higher expense of recovery, these measures protect credibility in public, which is important for long-term development. The fourth phase is recovery. If Shell is not anticipatory, the aftermath is requested. That means Shell should build short-term and long-term recovery plan. For instance, in Nigeria Delta, how to degrade toxic substance in soil, air and water, how to recover soil fertility and how to rebuild broken ecosystem, which is highly related to local people’s health need to be considered. The final phase is learning. Shell should reassess the crisis happened on the past to improve capabilities in predicting crisis and avoiding crisis. The third task is to manage the difficulties in globalisation. The challenges are mainly from political difference, cultural distance and economic instability. Thus it is a task to shrink various distances in globalisation to realise economic profits. Political difference and cultural distance create barriers to foreign companies. International alliance and joint venture with powerful local market participant should be a suitable entry mode for Shell in overseas markets (Grant, 2008). It not only free Shell from political restrictions directed against foreign companies but also access market knowledge and distribution capabilities. Another strategy to shrink political and cultural distance is decentralisation. That means giving overseas subsidiaries higher level of freedoms in decision-making. These holders of first-hand information can modify Shell’s activities and respond the diverse political and customers’ requirements quickly and accurately. That is the process of localisation. The effects of economic instability also can be minimised by economic tools. For example, financial forward contracts help Shell avoid financial risks, such as fluctuating foreign exchange rate to guarantee the best possible outcomes in a certain production cycle (Shapiro, ND.) Although it cannot balance demand and supply fundamentally, the tools or frameworks tries to decrease damages from external economic changes. Conclusion Royal Dutch Shell was a successful corporation but now is suffering poor performance. In this essay, the author analyses the macro-environment, meso-environment, micro-environment and internal environment in outside-in approach to identify three key challenges in the long-term survival. They are increasing concerns in environmental protection, poor crisis management strategy and various distances in globalisation. They also can be understood the threats from environment, society and economy. Thus corporate social responsibility is the synergy. Environmental profits can be achieved through ppollution abatement, product stewardship and sustainable development; sociall profits can be realised by crisis management, including signal deletion, preparation and prevention, damage limitation, recovery and learning; economic profits can be accomplished by shrinking political, cultural and economic distance through alliance joint venture, decentralised management and leverage by economic tools. Royal Dutch Shell free essay sample Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) is one of global leading energy and petrochemical companies. Its foundation dated back to 19 Century but it fully formed after merger of Royal Dutch  and Shell Transport in 1907. Now, Shell, headquartered in The Hague, operates in more than 140 countries or areas and employs approximately 87,000 staffs. Shell businesses expand from upstream to downstream: it is engaged in exploration, production, refining, transportation and retailing of gas, oil, oil derivatives, electricity and chemicals; the company is also interested in global energy innovation such as renewable sources of energies. However, Royal Dutch Shell has been struggling to capture investor’s imagination after 2009 (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Although revenues and profits had recovered, Niger Delta and North Sea oil spilling almost destroyed Shell’s revival dream. The recent figures are still disappointing: Shell suffered more than 30 per cent drop in profits in recent successive quarters (2nd Quarter Unaudited Results 3rd Quarter Unaudited Results, 2013). We will write a custom essay sample on Royal Dutch Shell or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What are the factors to Shell’s loss? Is that caused by Financial Crisis or European Debt Crisis? Or caused by Oil Spill? Or caused by deep business environmental changes? Identifying Challenges Analysis should start at the general to focus down, called outside-in analytical framework (Angwin et al, 2011). The interaction of an organisation with external environment is decomposed into macro-environment influences, meso-environment influences and micro-environment influences. Macro-environment analysis assesses the stability and complexity in energy industry. Meso-environment analysis focuses on competitive arena; more specifically, it reveals interaction and power of Shell with other main market components. Micro-environment analysis shows competition position in energy industry: it identifies and compares performances of global energy giants. However, the largest degree of influence is from focal company itself; namely, internal environment where decisions are made about corporate strategy and resource policy. Employing outside-in approach contributes to avoid myopia which seeing the real business world on focal firm’s standpoint and thus increases the accuracy of strategic analysis. Macro-environment Macro-environmental analysis is the first and necessary part of systematic strategic analysis. In today varied and complex business world, PESTEL is a common conceptual tool used in macro-environmental analysis. This framework identifies current and potential changes in a large macro-territory (Fahey Narayanan, 1986) and assesses the impact of changes on firm’s industry and itself (Ginter Duncan, 1990). P stands for political factors that determine governmental influence on economy or a certain industry. Political aspects have significant influence in oil and gas industry. It is because most countries regard oil and gas, main products in energy industry, as strategic materials. The energy independence is a preferential aim for the countries who intend to avoid economic blackmail and political suppression from other countries and organisations like OPEC (Talevski Lima, 2009). Thus the authorities strictly control foreign investments into oil and gas drilling and production and allow limited rights to transport and retail oil, gas and other petrochemical products (EIA, 2008), which limit access to proven reserves and potential markets. Besides, the political stability has impacts, especially in North Africa and Middle East. Instability, including political or economic terrorism, civil unrest, acts of war, piracy on high sea and governmental sanctions can discourage investments and disrupt safe operations and products transports (Talevski Lima, 2009). E stands for economic factors that determine economy’s performance with resonating long-term effects. Demand for oil and gas is determined by economic prosperity because most industries and transportation run on fuels (Talevski Lima, 2009). Under current unclear â€Å"economic slowdown†, the demand-and-supply relationship of fuels seems unpredictable. It results in fluctuating price of crude oil, natural gas, and petrochemical products with material impacts on oil and gas industry (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Specifically, in a low fuels price environment, corporates gain less revenue from upstream business because of shrinking margins between raw materials and products; while in a high fuels price environment, corporates suffers less entitlement to proved reserves and lower product demands, which reduces profitability of downstream business. S stands for social factors that influence social-cultural environment of market. Suffering the fears of global warming, people show increasing concerns about natural environment. The considerations shape preference for green energies rather than fossil fuels, especially in developed countries. Population in developed countries, primary consumers of hydrocarbons, consciously diminish needs for oil and gas but boost needs for renewable energies (Trifu, 2012). It entails heavy investments in research development in new energies. Besides, public concerns about corporate social responsibility push energy giants to protect all stakeholders’ profits, such as employees and neighbours at increasing expenditure on optimising manufacturing process, building infrastructure and training employees. T stands for technological factors related to innovations that may affect the operation or markets. Technology is key element in upstream business and downstream business: innovations in exploration and production (upstream) contribute to discover new hydrocarbon reserves or enhance recovery of oil and gas; while in the downstream, optimising reefing process of varying quality and developing marketing campaigns based on technological advance (like communication in social media) help corporates reduce operational costs and enhance margins (BP Annual Report, 2008). Thus corporates should be charged a considerable sum on research development. Additionally, technological improvement in substitutes and complementary products alter the demands for different sources of energies. Generally speaking, the dominance of hydrocarbon should be replaced if the increasing number of complementary products driven by green energies emerges and the costs on exploiting and manufacturing substitutes decrease. E stands for environmental factors that influence or are determined by the surroundings. Most energy companies have been involved in environmental pollution. Increasingly strict environmental restrictions require energy companies spend share of their profits in technological innovation and waste disposal to environmental restoration and remediation (BP Annual Report, 2008). Besides, an uneven geographical distribution of hydrocarbon and separability of production fields and markets expose oil and gas companies to safety issues and environmental issues in transportation (Talevski Lima, 2009), such as BP oil spilling in Gulf of Mexico. Transportation process requires special care at large human, material and capital inputs. Thus environmental issues are threats to profitability. L stands for legal factors that laws affect the business environment. Legal regulations subjected to energy companies includes imposition of exploitation obligations, regulations on field development and decommissioning, proposed fuel specifications, the provision of health-safety-security-and-environment protection, emission controls, climate change programs, the provision of disposal or releases of chemicals or petroleum substances, the clauses of antitrust and competition, upfront concession fees , special royalties and taxes (Talevski Lima, 2009; Trifu, 2012). More stringent legal restrictions might induce damage to corporate images, larger fees required in business activities or even loss of licence to operate in a certain area (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Meso-environment Analysis about meso-environment examines competitive structure. Porter’s Five Forces should be advised: It identifies five basic competitive forces which influence focal participants’ income statements and balance sheets through prices, costs and investments (Porter, 2008). Meso-environmental analysis tries to understand underpinnings of competition and causes of profitability in oil and gas industry. The threat of new entrants is insignificant. There are large capital investments tied to all vertical activities like exploration of new fields, setting-up production facilities, scientific research and accessing to distribution channel. Enormous fixed up-front investment creates barriers to potential entrants (Talevski Lima, 2009). Economies of scale/scope are another barrier to new participants. Higher unit costs in exploration and production and lower volume of business result in a small profit margin, which adversely affect returns of money in the start-up (Dess et al. The threat of substitutes seems not significant today but increasingly influential in following years. Oil and gas are still dominant in many sectors, especially in transportation and industry; and it is estimated to stay the dominance until 2030 (IEA, 2008). However, with the technological advances in drilling and processing new energies and rising concerns on planet, green energies like renewable energies and nuclear energies are predicted to slowly but surely enlarge market share in the future. The bargaining power of buyers is complex. Generally, the power of buyers is low because the prices of oil and gas are globally given (Talevski Lima, 2009). However, the power of large consumers, like the US, the EU, China and Japan, are indeed strong because their enormous volumes of demands can alter global demands. Recently, theses primary consumers are trying to switch from heavy dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energies. Thus the strong bargaining power entails business revolution in oil and gas industry. The bargaining power of suppliers depends on which type of suppliers they are. The conventional suppliers that provide supporting products/services seem disadvantaged because oil and gas industry has a wide range of small unconsolidated sub-suppliers from various sectors. While the suppliers of oil or gas field exert power: no one corporates can operate in a certain country without permission. These countries can determine the supply of materials. Thus their policy and regulation on oil and gas are quite important to energy companies. The intensity of rivalry is high. The slow industry growth and product homogeneity create small profits margins through technological or managerial innovation. Besides, the needs to replace drying fields exacerbate competition due to the fact that new reserves are more difficult to access. All of them force major and strong oligopolistic players overcome competitive constrains through aggressive activities like mergers, acquisitions and alliances (Weston et al. , 2001). Micro-environment Micro-environment analysis attempts to identify Shell’s competitive position through comparing competitors’ superior performances. Fiercer competition on differentiating products is a characteristic of oil and gas industry. BP intended to gain first-mover advantages. BP has engaged in renewables energies, especially in wind, solar and biofuels (Datamonitor, 2010). Until the end of 2009, BP has more than 500 MW of installed capacity through wind power; the whole solar value chain has been built; and more than $1 billion planned investments was into biofuels business operation. The Total S. A. refused to be inferior: the investments into renewable energies are also considerable (Datamonitor, 2010). Slow differentiation process might erode Shell’s competitive position. Increasing competition from government-run companies such as China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec creates threats to publicly held oil and gas companies, especially in seeking access to the fields (Shell Annual Report, 2012). These government-run entities have partial access to significant reserves and desirable projects. They are also sometimes motivated by political or other factors in making business decision which is abnormal in markets or harm to competitors. These partial competitive advantages supported by national governments should be achieved at independent participants’ loss. Internal Environment Internal-environmental analysis focuses on firm-specific factors. The frequent oil spilling disasters have troubled Shell for a long time. Recently, these problems become even worse. The oil spilling in Nigeria mainly caused by lack of maintenance on pipeline resulted in up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil spilling 75 miles off the coasts of Niger Delta (Vidal, 2011); the following oil leaking in North Sea caused by immature deep-water drilling technology and operator error resulted in more than 1,300 barrels of crude oil spilling (BBC news, 2011). However, Shell’s responses to extreme events seem unacceptable. Criticisms referred to late disclosure of information about leaking events, sluggish efforts to stop leakage, false claims on responsibility and reluctance on compensation (Macalister, 2013; Watkins, 2013). It makes Shell face not only considerable economic losses from business interruption, rehabilitative measures and fines on environmental pollution which caused losing leading company position (Datamonitor, 2010; MarketLine, 2013), but also a credibility problem and even corporate images damage (ICMR, 2010). Another threat is from globalisation outsourcing. Shell’s operation is on more than 70 countries with differing degrees of political, legal and fiscal stability. A wide range of political developments might affect operations, especially in the upstream, referring to land tenure, re-writing of leases, entitlement to produced hydrocarbons, production rates, and royalties (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Cross-border transaction also exposed Shell to risks from fluctuating foreign exchange rate. Changing foreign exchange rate increases transaction risks (caused by time delay between signing and settling contracts) and translational risks (caused by operating in foreign currencies but showing on balance sheets in home currency), which increase unpredictability in estimating costs and revenues (Sorensen and Kyle, 2008). Furthermore, Shell face competition from powerful local rivals when entering overseas market. Wining in the competition require large investments particularly when the rivalry happens in home country of government-run firms. Key Challenges The greatest challenge is from the increasing environmental concerns, leading to stringent environmental regulation and growing demands to green energies in future market. Hart pointed (1995) corporate competitive advantages should be rooted in capabilities in promoting environmentally-friendly economic activities, namely the natural-resource-based view of the firm. However, most core businesses of Shell, especially in upstream activities, still cause huge damages to ecosystem. This trend creates a puzzle: how to modify current environment-damaged portfolio to satisfy growing requirements to environmentally-friendly business model. In other words, it determines Shell’s future business development direction: from traditional fossil fuel company to environment-oriented energy giants-to sustain competitive advantages by pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development (Hart, 1995). The second key challenge is from poor crisis management strategy. Current activities in value chain exposure Shell to safety disasters in drilling, production, refining, and transportation process. It seriously hurts social benefit, especially the safety of nearby residence. Growing concerns about corporate social responsibility set higher requirements to Shell to manage crisis. How to win customer’s trusts and recover the credibility depends on Shell’s improvements in social-responsible performance. It determines Shell’s future strategic direction: from high-level risk-facing but low-level risking-taking company to lower-risk and strong anti-risk company with organisational and policy synergies which extend beyond â€Å"principles† to the serious treatments by every staff to think about threats and adopt their behaviour to avoid potential crisis or to manage happened crisis (McConnell Drennan, 2006). The third key challenge is from globalisation business model in oil and gas industry. This model tightly ties demand to Shell’s products to global economic prosperity and depression. It obviously brings greater difficulty to determine outputs in a certain period in order to balance demands and supply. Besides, the regional instability in political development and economic situation especially in currency makes it tougher for Shell to audit revenuesto control operations. Furthermore, competition from powerful local rivals is big challenge for Shell entering overseas market. To gain competitive advantages in international context should combine firm-specific resource and capabilities with certain national environment (Grant, 2008). In other words, how to shorten political, economic and cultural distances in globalisation should be Shell’s future direction on optimising integration of global resources (Ghemawat, 2001). Strategic Plan How to deal with the three contextual key challenges should be a serious question in Shell’s development plan. The measures to manage challenges can be understood as to pursue or sustain competitive advantages. In current market, external stakeholders are trying to keep companies accountable for social issues and demonstrate potentially large financial risks for the companies with damages to society or environments. Fulfilling social responsibility has been becoming inescapable requirements to keep competitive advantages. In order to embed a social perspective into its core value proposition, Shell should change from the fragmented and defensive position to the integrated and proactive posture. In other words, the focus must move from the focuses on corporate image to an emphasis on humanity and substance (Porter Kramer, 2006). Shared values among society (people), economy (profits) and environment (planet) can be realised (Jamali, 2006). The primary task is the shift from an environmentally-damaged producer to an environmentally-friendly corporation, namely, to achieve environment benefits. The first step is pollution abatement. There are two suggested approaches. Pollution control is using pollution control equipment to trap, store, treat and dispose emission and effluents. Another approach is pollution prevention, refers to reduce, change and prevent emission and effluents by greater housekeeping, material substitution, recycling and process innovation (Cairncross, 1991, Frosch Gallopoulos, 1989; Willig, 1994). Pollution prevention seems more important than pollution control: it tries to prevent and contain pollution in continuous-improvement methods rather than the old model of â€Å"polluting then cleaning up† at expense of non-recoverable ecological damages and expensive end-of-pipe capital investments to control emissions (Rooney, 1993). A pollution-prevention strategy emphasis on establishing capabilities in production and operation: it can be achieved through extensive and initiative employee involvement (Cole, 1991; Lawler, 1986) and continues improvement in waste reduction. Thus it is necessary to invest into inventing or introducing environmentally-friendly or resource-conserving facilities and innovating technology used in value chain. For example, non-phenolic and resin-coating technology  increase hydraulic fracturing efficiency: It allows coated sand to be produced with less energy requirement and environmental damages compared to current phenolic resins in the manufacturing process (Drilling Contractor, 2013). Building awareness of environmental protection and forcing involvement of employees also should be suggested. The second step is to product stewardship. It refers to direct the selection of raw materials and manage product design with aims at minimising environmental harm of product system. Exiting environmentally hazardous business and developing potential products with lower life-cycle costs should be the requirements to reasonable product management (Hart, 1995). To Shell, creating new products with low life-cycle costs will be dominant product strategy. It requests Shell to minimise the use of non-renewable materials, to avoid use of toxic materials and maximise the use of renewable resources (Robert, 1995). Developing renewable energy is a good choice. Shell is advised to develop wind, solar, hydropower, tidal, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas electricity generation and anaerobic digestion. These green energies not only satisfy legal and public expectations on environmental protection but also solve the problem of fossil fuels crisis. The third step is sustainable development. To achieve sustainable development demands a great deal of inputs and long-term commitments to develop market (Hart, 1995). To Shell, that means to create market demand transition from fossil fuel to renewable source of energies, especially in the developing countries. For example, Shell can make documentaries about production in the fossil fuels field and the renewable energy filed. This comparison might switch audiences’ preference for energies. Shell also can persuade energy-intensive producers to adopt green source of energies. Although there is little evidence showing the relationship between these efforts and short-term profits, the engagement to sustainable development will improvement firms’ long-term performance, reflected by price earnings or market-to-book ratios (Hart, 1995). The second task is to manage crisis, specifically to avoid potential crisis and to minimise the damages. That can be understood a task in protecting social benefits, especially nearby residence around Shell economic activities. There are five phase to accomplish crisis management (Mitroff, 1988). The first phase is signal deletion. Long before the crisis happened, there are repeated and persistent trials of warning signals. It is necessary for Shell to build various appropriate warning systems to identify diverse explicit or implicit signals. For example, the growing equipment faulty rate may imply the increasing possibility of accident and needs for maintenance. The second phase is preparation or prevention, referring to establish appropriate prevention and preparation mechanism. Specifically, prevention and preparation mechanism works through identifying any sign of weakness and then responding appropriately whatever problems is discovered. In this phase, Shell is required to ensure everything stay fixed even it works well now. The third phase is containment or damage limitation. It is important for Shell to build damage-limitation mechanisms in place. Preventing all crises seems impossible in oil and gas industry. How to prevent the harm from engulfing other parts of the corporate should be discussed. After every disaster happens, Shell should release relevant information as soon as possible and also clearly claim corporate responsibility. Although it may cause higher expense of recovery, these measures protect credibility in public, which is important for long-term development. The fourth phase is recovery. If Shell is not anticipatory, the aftermath is requested. That means Shell should build short-term and long-term recovery plan. For instance, in Nigeria Delta, how to degrade toxic substance in soil, air and water, how to recover soil fertility and how to rebuild broken ecosystem, which is highly related to local people’s health need to be considered. The final phase is learning. Shell should reassess the crisis happened on the past to improve capabilities in predicting crisis and avoiding crisis. The third task is to manage the difficulties in globalisation. The challenges are mainly from political difference, cultural distance and economic instability. Thus it is a task to shrink various distances in globalisation to realise economic profits. Political difference and cultural distance create barriers to foreign companies. International alliance and joint venture with powerful local market participant should be a suitable entry mode for Shell in overseas markets (Grant, 2008). It not only free Shell from political restrictions directed against foreign companies but also access market knowledge and distribution capabilities. Another strategy to shrink political and cultural distance is decentralisation. That means giving overseas subsidiaries higher level of freedoms in decision-making. These holders of first-hand information can modify Shell’s activities and respond the diverse political and customers’ requirements quickly and accurately. That is the process of localisation. The effects of economic instability also can be minimised by economic tools. For example, financial forward contracts help Shell avoid financial risks, such as fluctuating foreign exchange rate to guarantee the best possible outcomes in a certain production cycle (Shapiro, ND. Although it cannot balance demand and supply fundamentally, the tools or frameworks tries to decrease damages from external economic changes. Conclusion Royal Dutch Shell was a successful corporation but now is suffering poor performance. In this essay, the author analyses the macro-environment, meso-environment, micro-environment and internal environment in outside-in approach to identify three key challenges in the long-term survival. They are increasing concerns in environmental protection, poor crisis management strategy and various distances in globalisation. They also can be understood the threats from environment, society and economy. Thus corporate social responsibility is the synergy. Environmental profits can be achieved through ppollution abatement, product stewardship and sustainable development; sociall profits can be realised by crisis management, including signal deletion, preparation and prevention, damage limitation, recovery and learning; economic profits can be accomplished by shrinking political, cultural and economic distance through alliance joint venture, decentralised management and leverage by economic tools.

13 Reasons To Date a Chemist

13 Reasons To Date a Chemist If you havent dated a chemist, youre missing out! Chemists can be incredibly romantic and great at lasting relationships. Here are some reasons to date a chemist. Chemists have some of the very best pick-up lines.  Are you made of copper and tellurium? You must be, because youre CuTe. Nerdy, yes, but a good icebreaker. Chemistry experiments require attention to detail. Your date will be on time, will pay attention to you, and will remember your likes and dislikes.Science requires effort, practice, and patience. You can expect a chemist to work at a relationship and not call it quits when problems arise.Chemists are interesting! They are curious and always learning. Dating a chemist means youll never be bored.Lab coats and safety goggles. So hot.Chemists remember to use protection.Chemists pay attention to personal hygiene.Chemists are almost always fantastic cooks. They also often brew amazing beer, make wine, or possibly distill their own spirits. Very few make drugs, though they know how.Chemists are smart. They can carry on meaningful conversations and fix things.Chemists know how to pull all-nighters.Chemists know all kinds of party tric ks and cool ways to celebrate holidays. Because their sense of wonder never fades, they often do well with kids. Your family and friends will probably like your chemist date. Like engineers and other scientists, a chemist asks you out because he or she genuinely likes you and finds you interesting. Chemists tend not to be shallow.Chemists are adventurous, up to a point. They are natural explorers, yet take risk into account. They can plan interesting and fun dates, but arent likely to endanger you. Similarly, chemists know all the toxic chemicals in every food, drink, and household product, yet wont go overboard avoiding minor vices.

Hitchens Rationality of Atheism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hitchens Rationality of Atheism - Essay Example And this puts the entire question of creation as proscribed by the religions a tall claim. Religion has been a major promoter of violence through out the world. Every one of the religions has fought their own 'crusades' for their own sacred places. How, he argues, is that there is difference between on location and the other on the surface of the earth He cites numerous examples where this has happened all over the world in the name of religions, be it Catholics, Hindus, Muslims or Jews. Similarly, the mad faiths people have on the religions have led them to take to unwanted assumptions and blind faiths. He quotes Heinrich Heine, 'In dark ages people are guided by religion, as in a pitch black night a blind man is the best guide; he knows the roads and the paths better than a man who can see. When daylight comes, however, it is foolish to use blind old men for guides'. Most of the religions, according to him, promise punishments for sexual expletives any person might involve in. If sex is abhorred why was it that God had to have it at all God who was the all powerful creator, could have easily redesigned the entire evolution if he did not want human race to indulge in something like that. According to him, the 'creators' of religions, man, have done it to their advantage and to subjugate half of the human population to their control. And most of the monotheistic religions, preach that human beings are sinners and that they need to supplicate to God every day as under a monarch. Faiths in religion, religious dogmas and in astrology are all badly placed. Aristotle pointed out that twins do not have the same future whereas as per astrology they should be having almost similar future. All these arguments are presented by the author in support of atheism. Section 2: Critique of Hitchen's God is not Great. Your perception and evaluation of Hitchen's argument seems to be on the wrong premise. Hitchen declares himself as anti-theist and not atheist to start with. Though the title talks of God, in his book he is not presenting himself as a person anti to God. Therefore, we need not look for evidence in the book for arguments anti to God. As an anti-theism person, he is opposing the practices of theism as we know it. Theism and the dogmas of theism are laid down millenniums back and to say that they fit into the current situation does not belong to the scientific thinking. I think the litmus test has been wrongly applied and the perception of the author has not been taken into consideration. Applying the rule 1, denial of what is known is irrational, we could easily see and the author establishes starting from a number of scientific principles how the religious dogmas have criticized and crucified people who stood up with new ideas. Whether it is that earth goes round the sun or that witch craft does not exist, the principles of the religious theism did not allow reconsideration of their thoughts. It denied the known facts of the case. There are number of cases where Hitchen substantiates, theism has denied known scientific facts. Theism fails in the first test itself. Theism fails in the second test too. Whether it is the crusades or the creation of Israel at the end of the Second World War, theism has only created death and destruction in the name of religion. The belief in what is preached by theism has not led the people to rational living is what is the argument of

Google Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Google Case Study - Research Paper Example SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis is the one of the most effective and widely used tool to conduct situational analysis. SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT analysis takes into account both the internal and external environments of a firm. Internally, the framework analyses the strengths and weaknesses with respect to the various key dimensions such as productivity, human resources, finances, capacity, etc. Externally, the framework analyses the market trends, economic conditions, regulations, technology, etc (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008). The SWOT analysis of Google can lead to a very good understanding of the processes that are in place in Google and its positioning in terms of its competitors. Strengths Google has got various strengths in the industry that makes it stand out. The basic strengths that makes Google the market leader has been described here ïÆ'Ëœ Google is the innovator and the pioneer in the field of search engines thereby giving it a head start over the other competitors ïÆ'Ëœ The management style is open minded and Laissez Faire at its best. Thereby, the managerial decisions keep getting taken very fast that leads to avoidance of lag time and increased efficiency ïÆ'Ëœ Large amount of incumbent cash and steady cash flow ïÆ'Ëœ Although the switch value of the product is not much or almost nil, but the customers have shown immense amount of loyalty to the products of Google and Google as a brand The retention policies and the compensation policies at Google are some of the best in the world. Therefore, the attrition in Google is extremely low as compared to the general industry. This particular factor translates into the tapping of the intellectual capital for them which would allow for the better leverage of market conditions. This particular feature also results in the cost efficiency as a lesser amount of money has to spend in the rehiring process. The other factor that lowers the cost is the absence of training the new hires Most of the data is translated, thereby, it can be used by a large number of the international customers The products are compatible to most of the data platforms and hardware available in the market and therefore provide the competitive edge as there are no switching costs involved in the change from an existing platform being used by the user There is a strong amount of support that the company has been enjoying from the educational community maki ng it the medium of choice as a search engine The products are considered to be extremely chic by the urbane customers that add to its appeal It has got very high profile corporate interactions with the top notch companies like Sun and Apple that make the products extremely innovative and the user finds them easy to use. It also results in great amount of acceptance of the products aiming the corporate lines. As for example, the Sun intersperses the Google features with the Java runtime library(Boone & Kurtz,1995) It has already set up a number of channels in the telephone market that has only added to the market value of the product Google has been providing the service of free Wifi for the entire cities and the public areas which has led to its popularity among the various groups and the common public in general. It has led to very good public relations that have only resulted in the fostering of the growth.(Boon,2003) Google has entered