How Practitioners Can Take Steps Essay Example for Free

How Practitioners Can Take Steps Essay h)Explain how practitioners can take steps to protect themselves within their everyday practice in the work setting and on off-site visits. A significant element of a practitioner’s role in protecting themselves would be to read policies and procedures that are put in place to safeguard them and children or young people in their care. In a school setting a professional can protect themselves by. All staff in schools should ensure that their relationships with pupils are appropriate to the age, gender, disability and ethnic origin of the pupils, taking care that their conduct does not give rise to comment or speculation. Attitudes, demeanour and language all require care and thought, particularly when staff of either sex are dealing with adolescent boys and girls. Dress and Appearance :A person’s dress and appearance are matters of personal choice and selfexpression. However it is necessary and wise for staff to consider the manner of dress and appearance appropriate to their professional role, as opposed to that which may be adopted in their personal life. Dress and Appearance A person’s dress and appearance are matters of personal choice and selfexpression. However it is necessary and wise for staff to consider the manner of dress and appearance appropriate to their professional role, as opposed to that which may be adopted in their personal life. Physical Contact Gratuitous physical contact with pupils : A pupil, parent or observer may misconstrue physical contact. Such contact can include well intentional informal and formal gestures such as putting a hand on the shoulder or arm, which if repeated with an individual pupil could lead to serious questions being raised. Therefore, as a general principle, employees must not make gratuitous physical contact with pupils and it is unwise to attribute touching to their style or as a way of relating to pupils. Repeated physical contact with a pupil may be unprofessional and may lead to disciplinary procedures or an allegation of physical/sexual abuse. Any form of physical punishment of pupils is unlawful, as is any form of physical response to misbehaviour unless it is by way of restraint. It is particularly important that staff understand this, to protect their own position and the overall reputation of the school. Where physical contact may be acceptable: There may be, especially with younger child ren, occasions  where a distressed pupil needs comfort and reassurance, which may include physical comforting. Such reassurance could for example, involve an arm around the shoulder or a comforting hug. Employees should use their discretion in such cases to ensure that what is, and what is seen to be by others present, normal and natural does not become unnecessary contact, particularly with the same pupil over a period of time. Where an employee has a particular concern about the need to provide this type of care and reassurance he/she should seek the advice of the Head. It is clear that those working with infants and young children have quite a different role to play from those involved with secondary school age or maturing children in primary/secondary/special schools. Some young children may need a great deal of comfort and support to help them deal with day-to-day experiences in school life. Caring for Pupils with Particular Problems : All children have a right to safety, privacy and dignity when contact of an intimate nature is required (for example assisting with toileting or removing wet/soiled clothing). A care plan should be drawn up and agreed with parents for all children who require intimate care on a regular basis. Children should be encouraged to act as independently as possible and to undertake as much of their own personal care as is practicable. When assistance is required, staff should ensure that another appropriate adult is in the vicinity and is aware of the task to be undertaken. First Aid and Administration of Medication: When administering first aid, staff should ensure that another adult is present, or aware of the action being taken, whenever possible. Parents should always be informed when first aid has been administered. Pupils may need medication during school hours. In circumstances where children need medication regularly, a health care plan should be drawn up to ensure the safety and protection of pupils and staff. With the permission of parents, the children should be encouraged to administer the medication themselves. If a member of staff is concerned or uncertain about the amount or type of medication being given to a pupil, this should be discussed with the appropriate senior colleague at the earliest opportunity. See DOH/.DfES Guijdance: First Aid for Schools Private meetings with pupils: Teacher should be aware of the dangers that may arise from private interviews with individual pupils. It is recognised that there will be occasions when confidential interviews must take place but, where possible, such interviews  should be conducted in a room with visual access, or with the door open, or in a room or area which is likely to be frequented by other people. In their dealings with pupils at school, staff need to be aware that their actions may be misinterpreted. Acts of favouritism should be guarded against, for instance, giving a pupil an unreasonable amount of private individual attention. Giving a pupil regular lifts home is not a sensible course of action. Infatuation: Staff need to be aware that pupils can be strongly attracted to a member of staff and may develop a heterosexual or homosexual infatuation. All situations should be responded to sensitively to maintain the dignity of all concerned. Staff should also be aware that such circumstances always carry a high risk of words or actions being misinterpreted and for allegations to be made against staff. A member of staff who becomes aware that a pupil may have developed an infatuation (on themselves or a colleague), should discuss this at the earliest opportunity with a senior colleague so that appropriate action can be taken where necessary. In this way, steps can be taken to avoid hurt and distress for all concerned. Staff need to be aware that it is not uncommon for a pupil to develop an infatuation on a member of staff. Curriculum: The curriculum can sometimes include or lead to unplanned discussion about subject matter which is sexually explicit, or of an otherwise sensitive nature. Responding to pupils’ questions can require careful judgement and staff may wish to take guidance in these circumstances. Educational Visits and Extra Curricular Activities All staff should be particularly careful when supervising pupils in a residential setting such as a field study trip or other extended visits away from home. Similarly the less formal approach perhaps adopted in extra curricular activities generally might be open to misinterpretation. Although more informal relationships in such circumstances tend to be usual, the standard of behaviour expected of staff will be no different from the behaviour expected within schools. Young people are entitled to respect and privacy when changing clothes or taking a shower. However, there needs to be a required level of supervision to safeguard young people and satisfy health and safety considerations and to ensure that bullying or teasing does not occur. The supervision will need to be appropriate to the needs and age of  the young people concerned. In certain situations staff or volunteers may be required to transport children. Given the potential risks, a designated member of staff should be appointed to plan and provide oversight of all transporting arrangements and respond to any difficulties that may arise. Wherever possible and practicable it is advisable that transport is undertaken other than in private vehicles, with at least one adult acting as an escort. Staff should ensure that their behaviour is safe and that the transport arrangements and the vehicle meet all legal requirements. They should ensure that the vehicle is roadworthy and that the maximum capacity is not exceeded. http://www.merton.gov.uk/council/pdf-developingsafeworkingpractices.pdf

Erp implementation and change management

Erp implementation and change management ERP Implementation and Change Management Abstract In this research paper, we will analyse the problems and issues faced by a business / enterprise during the ERP project implementation project. And why is there a need for a proper change management as part of their ERP project implementation. As businesses are reengineering their business processes, they are expected to readjust their business methodology to suit the need or demands of market. Business will need a highly reliable management system to support their daily business processes, to reduce inefficiency and inaccuracy within the organisation business process. During the project implementation process, organization will commonly faces unwanted resist from the potential users. The study wills reveals what are the pitfalls and approach needed when organisation are facing resistance to ERP, which could lead to implementation failures. INTRODUCTION As business getting more competitive in today world, it is not enough for business to get content with producing only better and more reliable product and services. In order to provide better customer service internal or external, minimise or reduce overhead, daily production and operation costs, they need the assistance of a better, highly reliable information system to provide a more efficient management over the business processes. ERP Systems are introduced to handle more complex transactions as a highly dependable system. (Lukman Susanto, 2003) The enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a set of integrated Business Applications that provides support for core business process activities such as Manufacturing Production and Logistics, Finance and Accounting, Sales and Marketing, and Human resources. An ERP system integrated and helps the different departmental units of the organization to share data and knowledge, reduce costs, and improve management of the business Processes. (Adel M. Aladwani, 2001) Despite of having so many benefits, lot of ERP projects still fail (Stratman and Roth, 1999). Most of the ERP system implementation that fail are due to workers resistance. A good and careful change management strategies are requires facilitating a successful ERP implementation. (Adel M. Aladwani, 2001) The goal of the this paper is to show how â€Å"change management† could play a significant roles, how to market the ERP within the organization and what are strategies available that are useful to overcome workers resistance to ERP implementation. What is change management? Change Management is a planned change approach within an organization. The goal of Change Management is to maximize the benefits and lower the potential risk for the organization related to changes due to ERP implementation. In any ERP implementation undertaken by a business, Change management is one of the biggest tasks are heavily involved by the organization. Not only that this require a significant amount of funding from the organization but also require a high level of commitment throughout the whole organization. It is a deliberate approach to ensure a change in peoples expectations towards the major changes in the work process bring about by the implementation of ERP to move the business forward smoothly. (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania). An effective change management must touches on all aspects of psychological reaction, such as resistance within an organization, which the potential users are going through. Measuring attitudinal changes are part of the key process in Change Management in the ERP implementation to record how people feel and their expectation towards the anticipated changes in the technology implementation. This will definitely help the organization to know how to manage the shift. Huge amount of communication, and training for the users are needed. WHY IS IT CRUCIAL TO AN ERP IMPLEMENTATION? The whole concept of change management involvement in ERP implementation is building mutual trust and understanding between the organization and its employees throughout the business component, during the implementation phase. The focus of change management in the business should be customer oriented managing expectation of the potential end user rather than technology or product oriented. End user will not be amazed with the state-of-the-art equipment, if the new ERP system or business process failed to fulfil peoples expectation. While ERP implementation requires the business to standardise its business processes, change management will be needed to make sure the damages can be avoided / minimised that are caused by transformation. With proper change management strategy in place, businesses can minimise costs involve due to rapid changes to bring in new system within the organization, while trying to maintain the consistency and existences of its employees. Change management can also help the company to deal with future changes with increase in the business flexibility, thus increase the business productivity as well. (Mark Schweiker Jeff Beatty) REASONS FOR RESISTANCE TO CHANGE This is part of the human nature to resist. According to Bonnie Mincu   â€Å"resistant to have their expectation disrupted† (Bonnie Mincu, 1999). How the top management handle and deal with the resistance is important. Resistance are unavoidable but can be manage. The two basic reasons why people are resisting change are(Bonnie Mincu, 1999): Ø Lack of motivation If the employee are not well informed on the purpose of the change and how it may beneficial for them, people will not feel motivated to change and support the new system. A good communication and vision sharing are needed to resolve these issues. Ø Lack of ability People may understand and agree on the reasons on why there is a need for change, but if they do not have the needed ability, this will add unnecessary resistance and anxiety to all the mist of changes around them. Good proper structure job base training is needed for individual who will be operating the business on the ground within the organization. Ø Change in Habit People who are so used to do their daily job in a familiar business process, will find it a hesitant and hard to break out of it and need some time to adjust to the new system and business process. Majority of people by default would prefer to do their jobs in ways they used to, instead of being innovative or to find a better way to get things done. (Adel Aladwani, 2001).   If businesses fail to handle such conditions, this might upset the employees and valued employees might leave the company. Thus a good project leader must be able to carry a good change management to avoid this unfortunate scenario. Change management Strategy Just like other system implementation, the role of change management is to build trust and understanding throughout the organization, so that the potential users in different separate functional area, where the change will be applied, such as finance, human resources and manufacturing, will understand the benefits and are well prepared to accept the change will be applied. (Island Consulting, 2000). Problems will surface the moment when the actual implementation of the system started, and for a successful implementation its use would require a lot of communication and collaboration within the well-established departmental organization. Although they maybe aware that the purpose of implementing the ERP system was to eliminate unnecessary double or redundant operationally work within whole organizational structure. (Kemppainen, Ilkka, 2000) Most of the project implementation potential risks related to the company are connected with the factors like the level of acceptance or support from company personnel and the top management. Factors like working skills, knowledge, and experience will also affect the outcome of the ERP project implementation. One typical potential risk factor is the resistance to change. People who are going to run the business or potential user may not see how the benefits of the system will help in their own work and, may not be fully committed to the new business model. With the mindset of resistance to change in place, people will not be using the system in a disciplined manner. Normal daily business activities also disturbs the ERP implementation, and people working on the ground may not be willing to put time or effort to assist the development work due to busy schedule. Without strong top management support for the ERP project, the project is set for failure. Beside those factors having a good project manager is also critical for ERP project implementation success. (Pà ¤ivi Iskanius, 2009) In change management things like synchronisation or communication between management and operation level with the project team are very important. The management need to focus and prepare a proper appropriate strategies, communication channels or plan to gather feedback and market the new ERP system that is going to be implement and a proper structure training program or schedule for the potential users to ensure the daily business activities are not being disrupt and able to achieve the desire expected outcomes / results. The organization needs to make sure that the employees are carefully instructed to help them overcome all the challenges during the mist of changes during the ERP project implementation. Effective change management strategies are (Island Consulting, 2000): Ø Communications Strategy Constant communication is a need between the key person in the management and those in working in the daily business operation. The organization needs to ensure a thorough approach in their project strategy such as preparing for their project plans, project costs analysis, project progress reports as well as employees training to prepare the workers for the new system. Good working collaboration will help in resulting a better outcome of the project. The purpose of communicating is not to make everyone happy and it is not possible to make everyone happy, but to deliver the message and request for possible cooperation within the organization. Constant communication can effectively help in reducing the worries and anxiety on the management and the people on the ground on the changes. Ø Impact Analysis Impact Analysis is a method to determine the impact on the current business system and how the business environment will be affect by the new ERP system. Data flow / work flow diagram will be included as part of those formal and informal information to show how business flows and tasks are being run and carried out within the organization. Information like job description and history are being documented will help the project team to make comparison on how the actual business processes to what has been documented (Island Consulting, 2000). With all the information gather above, the project team can analyse the impact the ERP implementation may bring, who are the personnel that will be affected by the implementation and the sort of training are required to ensure a smooth transition to the new system that is being implemented. Ø Skill Analysis Proper training program and schedule are very important in ERP implementation as well. With the implementation of a new system, majority of the operator / end user will need to go for specific job training to get them ready to work on the new system. In order to find who are the individuals need to be train, the project team need to work with all stake holders, usually departmental head to perform skills analysis. Those employees who might need to work with the new ERP system will be audited by their qualification, skills and experiences to allocate the most suitable and best position for each of them. And at the same time, to ensure the business process operates adequately, the company might need to hire new staff or external consultants. The analysis will produce a list of detailed results on appropriate personnel for each position, training required and the cost in training.   CASE STUDY Case Study 1 Marine Cargo Specialist (Kemppainen, Ilkka, 2000) Marine Cargo Specialist is a relatively small global company, which provides marine cargo flow handling solutions and products. Their customer base mainly consists of companies like shipyards that provide services such as building of new ship, modernisation or upgrading and conversation of older ships for the ship owners or ship operators. All the old existing operational IT systems were deliver, maintained or supported by the local IT departments and their local suppliers. No common standards were established for such systems, thus the decentralised information systems architecture made it very difficult to share information on a global basis. Global business activities are often delays due to unavailability of quality, accurate and timely information. Due to the complexity of the new ERP system, problems started to surface gradually. The ERP project team did not place too much attention to these problems initially, as they are considered not critical. Instead, the main focus was on getting the system configuration completed and the system up as soon as possible. But to their dismay, for the potential users of the new ERP system, proper coordination and communication were fundamental. Soon frustration between the project and reference teams start to surface. With the numbers of unsolved issues keep increasing; mistrust and frustration start to grow among the project team and reference team. And project team find it harder to get approvals from the reference teams for crucial design due to other outstanding unaddressed issues. Eventually the system configuration was not being able to be completed, due to inadequate information and resources. And there was a clear indication that the consultants hire did not had a true knowledge and understanding of the system. Majority of the external consultant were kicked out of the ERP project in the process. The level of commitment and support for the project from the top management, started to diminish ad the project was clearly running into problems. CFO of the company as example, who used to be the true sponsor or supporter of the ERP implementation project, seem to be trying to move away from the project involvement. In 1997, due to the result of ownership change in the company, a new board of directors together with a new company CEO was appointed. The new CEO evaluated all the projects carefully and appointed an external consultant to assist him. The new CEO clearly demonstrated and shows his commitment towards the ERP implementation. And with the CEO support, the ERP project was back on the agendas of the senior management. The new CEO even made it clear on his vision of having a more integrated business system with a common, shared values and culture. He even initiated a management development program to address all openly cultural and trust related problems. Thus after the adjustment of implementation methodology result in better match for the changed circumstances. After so many struggles in the project, the implementation was now considered successfully amazingly, by not just the organization itself, but by other external parties from consulting companies as well as SAP. Case Study 2 WZM Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH (Benjamin R. Hoetzel, 2005) WZM Wekzeugmaschinen GmbH (pseudonym name) is a German manufacturing company that specialise in producing tools for presses in the automotive sector. It has two production sites in Germany, which employs 120 people. In 2004, driven by the fast expanding business growth and second plant being set-up. The company faced additional pressure to expand its production. But the growth also mean there was a need to redesign their business process with the implementation of a new ERP system in order improves control over the processes, and the need to reduce costs. Resistance started to evolve as the project advanced. Especially from the key administration users, who were not willing to do their daily work with the ERP system. Reasons for the resistance were clear: Ø The computer experience of some of these employees who 50 years old and above were limited. Ø Due refusal to abandon old habits, some employees are not ready to accept the change of their processes. Due to changes in the workflow, there was strong resistance during the post-implementation phrase from the finance department, including the financial director.   Some employees for example are not willing to accept the new screen layout of the ERP software and it will be difficult to let those employees to abandon their old habits and adapt to the new system. Without realizing the importance of this change, WZM Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH, started the project without a full time project leader to lead the project. Instead, tasks were divided to some of the employees on top of their daily operational work. Beside that, they engage the services of two consultants to assist and lead the project in the integration of the new ERP into the company workflow. To make things worse, the employees were also not convinced that the consultants were competent. WZM Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH fail to identify what are the problems and evaluate actual needs, and be attentive to people and their social behavior before implementing and adapting a technical solution. The company also fails to provide proper support, education or training to its employees in the ERP modules. The finance department of WZM Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH for example, opposed the change heavily due the very fact that they lack the necessary skills for using the new ERP system. In the case of WZM Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH, People focus was missing, which explain why their ERP projects fail. Conclusion This research paper has show that in order for any ERP system implementation to be successfully, good fully functional change management must be establish within the organization or company. Strong and committed support from the management, and a good change management strategy and plans are required for preparation of any existing businesss resources such as human resources and infrastructure to match ERP system needs and requirement. There are various aspects that need to be considered when establishing change management. For example the nature or type of the business, size of the company and the geographical area of the business. Rush implementation of ERP is not recommend as ERP itself is a complex system, which requires a lot of careful analysis or study as well as depth understanding before proceeding to implement. Without a proper change management planning in place, ERP implementation will cause disaster and big lost for the company.

Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc Overview Film Studies Essay

Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc Overview Film Studies Essay DreamWorks SKG was founded in 1994 by three entertainment enthusiasts, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen (The Cornell Daily Sun). The SKG appended to the title is representative of the first letter of each of their last names. DreamWorks SKG is involved in a variety of entertainment segments such as film, music, and television. At the time of its creation, all three individuals were involved in film production. Jeffrey Katzenberg had been recently fired as a studio chairman at The Walt Disney Company, Steven Spielberg had temporarily suspended his lucrative directing career, and David Geffen was involved in film production as well as the record industry. Each of the individuals had something to offer, Spielberg with his experience in making live-action movies, Katzenbergs animation movies, and Geffen with his music background (Reference for Business). Financially, the company began with two billion dollars, supplemented with various high-tech partnerships. A portion of the initial money, $500 million, was contributed by a very interested Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft. Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Geffen also contributed roughly $33 million to the initial funds (Reference for Business). During the first few years in business, DreamWorks success was like a roller coaster. Its first film, The Peacemaker, was released in 1997, and only reached $12 million on opening weekend. In the years to follow, DreamWorks released several more successful films such as Mouse Hunt, Deep Impact, and Antz. In an attempt to delve into other entertainment segments, DreamWorks released two television shows High Incident and Champs, which were failures. However, in 1996 DreamWorks released Spin City for ABC, which turned out to be quite successful (Reference for Business). By the late 90s and early 2000s, DreamWorks was pumping out very successful films, many earning multiple awards such as American Beauty, which received Best Picture at the Oscars in 1999. In 2000, DreamWorks created a new division called DreamWorks Animation, which produced animated feature films. With the release of Shrek in 2001, DreamWorks started competing head-to-head with Disneys animated movies. In 2004, DreamWorks Animation became its own publicly traded company (Reference for Business). COMPETITIVE STRATEGY The revenue generated by the film industry is massive, with very few players responsible for the total. In 2008, the U.S. box office generated nearly ten billion dollars (Ars Technica). The eight major film companies responsible for most of the gross revenue include DreamWorks SKG, Fox Entertainment Group, MGM Holdings Inc., NBC Universal, Paramount Motion Pictures Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Time Warner, and Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group (Motion Picture Access). Most of the previously mentioned film companies are involved in a variety of film production methods including live action, digital animation, animation/live action, hand animation, and stop-motion animation. Live action films account for the majority of the gross revenue generated domestically, at $8.6 billion with a little over 87% of the share. Digital animation accounted for $1 billion and held over 10% of the share. The other film production methods accounted for the remaining 2.4% (The Numbers). Many of the eight major film companies have a subsidiary that produces animated movies. The companies include Fox Entertainment Group with Blue Sky Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment with Sony Pictures Animation, Time Warner with Warner Bros. Animation, MGM Holdings Inc. with MGM Animation, and Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group with Walt Disney Pictures (Motion Picture Access). DreamWorks Animation, on the other hand, is its own publicly traded company, strictly dedicated to animated film production (DreamWorks Animation SKG). With this advantage, DreamWorks Animation is attempting to outperform some of the broadly-oriented rivals in that segment. DreamWorks Animation has accomplished this by partnering with various high-tech companies such as Pacific Data Images (PDI) (Reference for Business). These partnerships allowed DreamWorks Animation access to advanced imaging technology without the costs of recreating the technology in-house. In addition, DreamWorks Animation uses a unique system to create its animations that allows for lower costs (Linux.com). Lastly, DreamWorks Animation can better serve the animation market because of its primary focus on animation. Therefore, DreamWorks Animation is using a Focus Differentiation strategy to penetrate the film production market. STRATEGY EXECUTION In order to be successful in the animated film segment, DreamWorks Animation has made several strategic actions. To begin with, in 1995, DreamWorks SKG purchased a portion of Pacific Data Images, and collectively the two companies created the movie Antz, which was released in 1998. With the success of the movie, in 2000, DreamWorks SKG acquired most of PDI. The partnership with PDI created competitive advantage for DreamWorks; because of the cutting-edge technology they had available for use. DreamWorks has continued to make use of this partnership, and the conglomerate is often referred to as PDI/DreamWorks (Reference for Business). Several years later DreamWorks Animation was spun-off from DreamWorks SKG to become a separate company with the sole purpose of creating animated movies (Reference for Business). This action was to focus on a segment in which the other, larger, film companies only had subsidiaries. By creating a entirely separate publicly traded company, DreamWorks Animation has a unique advantage in that it can focus on what it does best, animated movies. In the film industry, the target market for animated films varies greatly from that of live-action. This creates an environment where DreamWorks Animation can avoid being trampled by larger companies and focus on a smaller market. DreamWorks Animation has exploited this niche to become a leading player in film animation. DreamWorks Animation has cut costs by creating a unique system for generating its animations. After analyzing requirements, the company decided that it needed a system that was easily upgradeable, reliable, and had advanced capabilities. To accomplish this, it selected to use a Linux based platform, which is an alternative Microsoft Windows or Mac OSX operating systems. Because computer generated animation is such a demanding process, it can be quite time consuming to develop. This, in turn, creates huge costs for producers because of the time necessary to make minor changes. With DreamWorks advancements, it was able to reduce the time necessary to create one scene, from three hours to real-time. Therefore, when changes to the animation were required, they could be made nearly instantaneously (Linux.com). In recent years, an increasing number of film production companies are releasing 3D movies because of their popularity. In addition, many companies are beginning to realize that 3D movies are cash cows as a result of their high ticket prices. With this in mind, Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, stated that every film DreamWorks makes from now on will be made in 3D (CG Society). Katzenberg is betting that 3D films are here to stay this time around, unlike the 3D craze in the 1950s. One of the largest contributing factors to this renewed interest is the fact that 3D movies can now be produced in a more cost effective manner. This is largely due to the advancements in technology, which allows companies such as DreamWorks to use the latest stereoscopic 3D technology to build its movies from the ground up (CG Society). Katzenberg explains that 3D film production will be quite rewarding for DreamWorks Animation: I believe CG animation is in the best position to take advantage of the latest advancement in 3D technology, said Katzenberg. Since our films are made digitally, it presents numerous opportunities for our filmmakers. And by moving into this area now, DreamWorks Animation is developing expertise that will differentiate our films and provide a lasting competitive advantage (CG Society). FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE In spite of a tough economic climate the past few years, DreamWorks Animation has performed above and beyond expectations. In 2009, DreamWorks reported double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue and earnings per share (Market Watch). Revenue increased by 12% from 2008-2009, and earnings per share increased 10% (Market Watch). The following table demonstrates the performance of DreamWorks Animation for the past few years: Figure1. Adapted from DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Morningstar Equity Research, p. 2. Copyright 2010 by Morningstar. In comparison to other film production companies, DreamWorks Animation is quite small in size. The following table compares DreamWorks Animation with the more broadly-oriented Walt Disney Company: Figure 2. Adapted from DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Morningstar Equity Research, p. 2. Copyright 2010 by Morningstar. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE / VRIO FRAMEWORK When DreamWorks SKG spun off DreamWorks Animation, this did not create a true first-mover advantage, because it was not the first occupant in the segment. However, it can be thought of as a first-mover strategy in the sense that DreamWorks Animations was an entirely separate company dedicated to animation, unlike the other broadly-oriented film companies. DreamWorks did this to become a significant occupant in the animation segment of the film industry, which created a competitive advantage. DreamWorks Animation partnered with high-tech companies such as PDI, which allowed access to important technology. As a result, this created a competitive advantage for the company. The capabilities that DreamWorks Animation has at its disposal are costly to implement in-house, and may be costly and/or difficult to acquire. In addition, because it has majority interest in PDI, DreamWorks Animation can readily employ the capabilities. With the necessary technology in its grasp, DreamWorks Animation is able to grow within its segment. Another capability advantageous to DreamWorks Animation is its custom system used to generate the animated films. Because the system environment has been modified to better suit the specific needs of the company, this capability is difficult to match. By using this capability DreamWorks Animation can reduce time-related costs that other industry companies are faced with. This allows the producer to focus on animations, without having to worry about the time needed to edit a scene. STRATEGIC FIT / FUTURE PERFORMANCE As a focus differentiator, DreamWorks Animation has penetrated the animation segment of the film industry and has become a pivotal player in that market. With the many supportive capabilities available to the company, it has successfully expanded within its niche, and continues to grow. Strategically, DreamWorks Animation fits seamlessly within the film industry, because of its focus on a single, smaller segment. The arrival of more advanced 3D technologies, and the associated cost savings definitely provides a promising outlook for the company. Because of its advanced capabilities, DreamWorks Animation will be able to fully take advantage of this opportunity. Therefore, in the next few years, the performance of the company should meet and possibly exceed expectations.

A World Without Art :: Music Senses Hearing Essays

A World Without Art Periodically, the question will come up, â€Å" If you had to give up one of your senses, which one would you select?† Which one, the question implies, could you best do without? I ruminate on this question occasionally, wondering what it would be like to be without something that that is so taken for granted that I don’t even really think about it at all. What, I ask myself, would I miss the most? These questions come to mind when I watch a little girl in one of my kindergarten classes who is profoundly deaf. She wears massive hearing aids, and is able to understand much of what goes on around her, but I wonder, when the children are singing the little songs they learn to help them remember their counting or alphabet skills, or any of the myriad of other songs they learn, what does she hear then? She maintains of look of puzzlement on her face, as if she can’t quite figure out what the rest of the children are doing. Does she hear the music? Does it make any sense to her? Or is it just a bit of confusing noise that she can’t decipher? I wonder again when I watch a blind man navigate through the campus library, cane held out in front of him, following the textured path laid out to make his journey easier, unaware of the student art which adorns the walls next to him. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s wretched, mostly it’s indifferent, but he will never know as he maneuvers his way past this month’s offerings. The vivid slashes of color, the layers of texture, the intricate detail of the artistic renderings will never pierce the darkness of his world. What does he think when he hears conversations about art, about color. Does he paint visual pictures in his mind? Or do the words we use to describe things visually take on a completely different meaning for him? These thoughts take on a personal significance as I think about living a life without art. As a cook, the thought of being unable to taste the chocolate mousse, or the hollandaise sauce is a distressing notion, to put it mildly. Good food brings great joy to my life, and I would hate having to give up that part of my life. I am after all, the woman who trekked all the way from San Francisco to Vienna in search of the perfect Doboschtorte.The holidays see me virtually chained to my butcher-block worktable, turning out dozens of tins of cookies, A World Without Art :: Music Senses Hearing Essays A World Without Art Periodically, the question will come up, â€Å" If you had to give up one of your senses, which one would you select?† Which one, the question implies, could you best do without? I ruminate on this question occasionally, wondering what it would be like to be without something that that is so taken for granted that I don’t even really think about it at all. What, I ask myself, would I miss the most? These questions come to mind when I watch a little girl in one of my kindergarten classes who is profoundly deaf. She wears massive hearing aids, and is able to understand much of what goes on around her, but I wonder, when the children are singing the little songs they learn to help them remember their counting or alphabet skills, or any of the myriad of other songs they learn, what does she hear then? She maintains of look of puzzlement on her face, as if she can’t quite figure out what the rest of the children are doing. Does she hear the music? Does it make any sense to her? Or is it just a bit of confusing noise that she can’t decipher? I wonder again when I watch a blind man navigate through the campus library, cane held out in front of him, following the textured path laid out to make his journey easier, unaware of the student art which adorns the walls next to him. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s wretched, mostly it’s indifferent, but he will never know as he maneuvers his way past this month’s offerings. The vivid slashes of color, the layers of texture, the intricate detail of the artistic renderings will never pierce the darkness of his world. What does he think when he hears conversations about art, about color. Does he paint visual pictures in his mind? Or do the words we use to describe things visually take on a completely different meaning for him? These thoughts take on a personal significance as I think about living a life without art. As a cook, the thought of being unable to taste the chocolate mousse, or the hollandaise sauce is a distressing notion, to put it mildly. Good food brings great joy to my life, and I would hate having to give up that part of my life. I am after all, the woman who trekked all the way from San Francisco to Vienna in search of the perfect Doboschtorte.The holidays see me virtually chained to my butcher-block worktable, turning out dozens of tins of cookies,

Ticonderoga and Crown Point :: essays research papers

The immediate object of the attack on the British Forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point on May 10 and 11, 1775 was first to capture the forts themselves, but also to obtain a cannon and supplies to use for the impending seige of Boston. Washington, who assumed command of the American forces on July 2, 1775, could not attempt this attack without heavy artillery, which was procured by Colonel Ethan Allen, Colonel Benedict Arnold and Colonel Seth Warner with Vermont’s Green Mountain Boys. Green Mountain Boys, was the name of a group of soldiers from Vermont led by Allen, Warner and Arnold. They took their name from the Green Mountains in Vermont. The Green Mountain Boys were originally organized by Ethan Allen before the revolution to protest the claims of the New York government to Vermont territory, and were later joined by Seth Warner and Benedict Arnold. Seth Warner, was born in Connecticut and later moved to Vermont, where he was declared an outlaw in 1771 for forcibly resisting a New York claim to the area, and had a reward offered for his capture. Under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold, he participated in the seizure of Fort Ticonderoga and led the force that took Crown Point the next day. Later that year, he was elected lieutenant-colonel commandant of the Green Mountain Boys. Ethan Allen was also born Connecticut, moving to Vermont in 1769. He became involved in the struggle between New York and New Hampshire for control of the region, just like Allen was. The New York authorities rejected an appeal that the region be established as a separate province, and Allen organized a volunteer militia, called the Green Mountain Boys, to resist the New York cause. Volunteers were raised by the Committee of Correspondence. They recruited fifty men and three hundred pounds to set up the Green Mountain Boys. Allen too, was declared an outlaw by the governor of New York. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Allen and The Green Mountain Boys offered to fight against the British. Arnold was born in Connecticut and enlisted in the militia during the French and Indian War. Later, as a militia colonel, Arnold joined with Allen and The Green Mountain Boys to take Fort Ticonderoga .

Original Writing Coursework

I always knew I was different, but it wasn't until I hit the 4 or 5 mark, when I first started interacting with other children my age, that I realised I wasn't normal, and in this culture, not being normal, was bad. I started to realise I was unique in lots of small situations, such as in class the teachers would ask us if we knew the answer, the other children would comply and quite often get it wrong. How often I lay awake wondering, if they could do what I do, would there be any need for this? Is it all a sham? That was when the paranoia set in, the endless tumbling or random thoughts in my mind as they swirled around questioning every flicker in another persons eye, every dodgy look sent my way was examined analysed and pondered. At such a young age of course this had a negative impact on me, and I was very much alone in that place, as the other children avoided me because in my own way I shunned them, alienated them, to afraid to get to close to them, to insecure really, all bec ause of this, this ‘gift' I had. If I was a second rate charlatan, in some country fete that sat in the back of a dark tent with a scrap of cloth across my eyes, I would claim I could read minds, and then it would be a case of off I go to the mental hospital; â€Å"Hello miss, I can read your mind, and I know just how much you despise us and if you had your way you would hang us from the third floor window.† No. This is not what people want to know, just imagine how much they would spurn you, if they knew just how deeply into them you could travel, just how closely you could experience their emotions, like a rollercoaster, a back seat passenger in the ride of their life. So I kept quiet, and eventually over the years I have learned how to use my gift to my own advantage, and yes, I call it my gift because, as I like to imagine, it was given to me for some higher reason. Why? You ask, wondering why such an amazing thing would be bestowed upon some middle-class girl with no real experiences under her belt except the ones she has felt through leaching the minds of others. Maybe that is the answer to your question, give a girl, exactly the same as me in every way, apart from she has grown up in a starving family of seven, their every day, week, month is a struggle for ample food and warmth. How overwhelming would my gift be to that poor girl? Not only is she experiencing her own torrid state, but sevenfold from her extensive, suffering family. Do you think she could handle this? Would she be able to explore it? Question it? Try to understand it to the extent I have? I often like to think there was a reason I was chosen, not just a freak clash of genetics in the womb and hey-presto she's a mutant. Every day I wonder how and why I will use it, and I hope one day it will become clear, that my mind will suddenly expand and I will just know, like in those films you see and everything is so blurry and out of focus to them and some divine intervention occurs and it all becomes razor sharp and resolute. Until then I continue as normal, living every day as easily as I can, learning always the extend and limitations of my abilities, such as I can't send thoughts, I seem to be more like a receiver than a transmitter. However on one very unusual day it seemed that I linked the minds of two people, I've never really understood how, or why, or even if it really took place, but deep down I know that I did, and it has perplexed me ever since . The two subjects were a boy and a girl, they had only one class with me, and in this class they were forever holding hands, continuously whispering and having those shared ‘moments' which they find so special but the rest of the room find nauseating. Anyway, I was on something I like to call ‘open mode' where I allow the shallow superficial thoughts of the people in the room to wash over me, meaning it needs little or no concentration from me, and I found it very soothing. However a sharp spike of emotion punctured the noise, which in a metaphorical sense is very much like screaming into a noisy room, everything went silent as my gift zoomed in on this one particular mind. It turned out to be the boy, who was sat at the back with this girl, his arm casually slung across the back of her chair, his face lit up with easy laughter, but his thoughts were like dirt, they had an aura of a bad smell which left me nauseated. As it turned out the boy was sleeping with his girlfriends so called best friend and my god did he revel in it! It wasn't just the smug masculine thought of it, he was actually proud of himself, of the thought he could break this girls heart to pieces if he wanted, he loved the control and had absolutely no compassion for this girl he was cruelly playing. How angry I was, that this boy even dared to do something like this, and then so nonchalantly continue, be so happy about what he was doing, in some small way I pitied him, but only very briefly, and this small shred was overwhelmed and converted to anger as quickly as it had occurred. How I wished the girl could know, that she could see this cess pit lurking behind this pretty boy faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade, and I think that's what did it, my pure raw emotion connected the two, only briefly, but it was enough. The girl must of seen something in the boy, a glimpse of what I had encountered, and it scared her, so much so that she distanced he rself from him, she never did fully realise why she ran away from him, but ultimately I think she knew she had done the right thing, she had spared herself. See is this what I'm here for? To protect girls from their unfaithful other halves? I like to think not, but at the same time I was just happy I was accomplishing something with my gift, at a time when I was still to naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve to know what I could really accomplish, just how far I could go. For years I wondered what I was to become, I did well in all my exams, as the questions I didn't know I could glean from the minds of others, and yes it is cheating, but no-where in the rules is mind reading prohibited, so I used it to my advantage. Even when my education was over I was still perplexed, every day was a constant annoyance as I tried to figure out how best to use my gift, to what mundane earthly job was it suited for? I quizzed myself non-stop, losing sleep and growing more irritable, and at this point I lived alone in a small shabby flat in Sheffield, so I was allowed no reprieve from my thoughts. I was working a full time job in the local supermarket, taking a gap year to save some money before I finally got my act together and applied at a university, finally figured my sorry state out. And yes eventually it did happen, like I had hoped it would a blinding flash of illumination came over me, it wasn't anywhere special, there was no earth-shattering clash of thunder, the heavens didn't suddenly open, no. I was sat talking on my phone, my frozen hands clutching the small thing to my ear and my entire body shook continuously to warm itself up. We were talking about mindless girl stuff if I remember, she was telling me about some show she had been watching, and oh it was so exciting and I just had to see it, well me being an ice block I just murmured back an unintelligible response. Suddenly she stopped her babbling and started tutting and sighing theatrically. ‘I honestly don't know who writes all this, but it's all lies anyway.' Being quite used to her vague tangents I inquired further, ‘Well these bloody Politicians' came back her heated answer, ‘They just get someone else to write their speeches and cart out the same old promises year after year, and how much of it is ever actually put into practice? None' However I had stopped listening to her, because this was what I had been waiting for, babbling excitedly into the phone I apologised profusely to her and promised to call her back later. No longer cold from my excitement I keyed in my parents home number from memory, almost falling over in my tension as it rang. ‘Hello?' My Dad. Breathless I gabbled into the phone ‘Dad, I want to be a Politician.'

History of Retail Industry

Module 7 Research Paper Table of Contents History of Retail Industry History of Retail Industry Retail history goes back all the way into the 1800s. Granted a retail business now compared to back in the 18th century is night and day. Retail in the 18th century was considered a general store only in populations over 5000 and would consist of items that were necessities. Like today, you don’t have multiple retail stores to choose from like Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart. There was one store and that was all shoppers had to buy from.Department stores were gradually introduced which gave customers a chance to choose between brands and products at one location. From JC Penney founded in 1902, to Piggly Wiggly in 1916 who was the first to offer checkout lines and self service. In 1961, Target was founded with Wal-Mart in 1962 and Kohls right behind them in 1963. It wasn’t long and Best Buy, Kmart, TJ Maxx, Costco, and many more retail stores opened their doors to the industry of shopping. It didn’t take long for the retail industry to take off and attract consumers of all kinds with the convenience of shopping and with it ame an experience as well. From department stores to grocery stores they transformed their ways of selling to gives customers not only the products they want but the atmosphere that was appealing. With Wal-Mart opening its doors in 1962 it made the 1960s the revolution in the world of retail. Today, retail industry is booming, yes with the recession it hurt some of the smaller businesses but for the most part they have stayed afloat. We did lose some big retail businesses in 2008 such as Linens N Things, Mervyns and Circuit City.Consumers are going to continue to spend regardless of the economic state of our country and especially with the online retailing that was introduced in the 1990s. Buying and spending money has been that The History of Retail | |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | à ‚  |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1956 Zayre department stores founded 1946 Zero foods founded 1951 Caldor stores founded 1961 Target stores founded 1963 Kohls founded 1962 Wal-Mart stores founded as well as Best Buy 1977 TJ Maxx founded 990 Walmart becomes worlds largest retailer 1995 Amazon. com launched 1974 First use of bar code 1983 Costco Wholesale formed 1999 Kmart celebrates 100th anniversary 2002 Walmart introduces dollar store sections 2008 Linens and THings , Mervyns, Tweeter, and Circuit City files for bankruptcy 2007 CompUSA announces clsoing 2009 Microsoft announces open 1st retail store 1951 Caldor stores founded 1902 JC Penney founded 1915 The Upham's Corner Market Co founded 1916 Piggly Wiggly grocery store chain founded 1934 Service Merchandise founded 1929 Kresge Company fou nded |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | 1910| 1920| 1930| 1940| 1950| 1960| 1965| 1970| 1980| 1990| 2000| 2010|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | à ‚  |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | much easier with the click of a button on your computer, iPhone, or even your tablet. Consumers can be at home, at work, or even in their car and make a purchase with the ease of the fast moving technological innovations that has touched each aspect of the retail value chain. Retail industry has built such a successful business by offering consumers a value-based experience along with convenience and the biggest of all, choice. Corporate Stakeholders The term stakeholder is a person or group that affects and organization’s decisions, policies, and operations.With this being said, the retail industry needs to make stakeholders understand the role in the industry to help protect and improve their reputation as well as build the confidence in consumers. Corporate stakeholders have to be more than a moral responsibility to the company. They need to be a part of much more from how much consumers spend to supporting key poli cy issues and in the end will change the shareholder value. Social, Economic, and Political Setting The retail industry does a lot for the social and economic setting. Wal-Mart alone does a great deal for the communities where their stores are located. Not only do they provide jobs for around 1. 5 million people, they also have competitive pricing to help local economies. Their competitive pricing brings in more than 312 billion dollars.So not only is Wal-Mart a thriving company they believe in a family work culture as well as supporting their local communities. Many retail stores leave a big footprint in their communities and worldwide. They rally around charities and do their part to put a stamp on the map. On the other hand, most in the retail industry try to keep business and politics separate which seems to be the safest position to take. Some retail businesses like Wal-Mart and Coca Cola are open to their affiliation with the Republican Party and seems to help their image with the traditional consumers but most do not want to take a chance of offending their customer base. Domestic and International EthicsStarbucks who opened their doors in 1971 to forty-one year later they have become a global company with more than 19,000 stores in 60 different countries. They have made the Ethicsphere Institute’s World most Ethical Company List for six straight years. They introduced the Ethical Coffee sourcing program in 2001 to help farms in Central and South America improve their crops while remaining environmentally aware. They helped local nurseries plant over 200,000 seedlings to restore natural forest cover as well as decreasing the use of herbicides and chemical fertilizers with farmers. They also helped train farmers to help reduce the use of carbon by replacing more than 200,000 trees. Ecological and Natural ResourcesThe retail industry has regulations made by the Environmental Protection Agency that they have to comply by to meet regulatory obligatio ns as well as helping reduce environmental impacts such as waste management, product selection and construction of new facilities. Retail businesses may have state regulations to comply by as well as Federal regulations. Many in the retail industry are taking great strides to help impact the environment. There are four areas that highly impact the environment. One is the choice of raw materials for clothing has big impacts on the environment. Cotton is known for its rigorous use of water and pesticides and the so called natural dyes that rely on the harvest of millions of insects to reach the â€Å"natural†color.The second is manufacturing. Textile dyeing and finishing mills can be high producers of water pollution and carbon dioxide emissions and by improving their mills to reduce water, energy and chemical use can really reduce the footprint of their global supply chain. The third is transportation which unfortunately manufacturers and retailers are on other ends of the glo be which any mode of transportation sends some sort of pollution into the environment. The last impact is consumer care which many consumers may not even be aware of how a few simple steps can help reduce environmental impacts tremendously. One is washing in cold water and air drying if possible.Dry cleaning is another risk to the environment due to the chemical that is used to clean the clothes called perchloroethylene which has been known to cause many health effects with exposure to this in high levels. So it is not just the retail businesses that can help make changes to better our environment it also falls on the shoulders of designers to use fabrics that don’t require dry cleaning and to the consumers that purchase to make choices that help the environment. Clean by Design launched their program in 2009 to help reduce the environmental impacts by using buying power of multinational corporations by improving processes in the environment to reducing emissions and waste.It is astonishing to see by 2011 that Target, Wal-Mart, Gap, Levis, H;M, Nike and Li ; Fung are all participating in this program and hopefully they corporations will continue to get in board and the list will continue to grow. Social Issues In today’s lively and unstable business world of retail industry they are always faced with social issues such as customer choices, brutal competitors, complex global economy and the use of the internet. Retailers are constantly trying to find new ways to make their business more profitable and ways to get more shoppers through their doors. Retail industry has caught on to engaging with society and the consumers on a personal level. They are adapting and changing to the environment around them and constantly developing new ways to serve their customers with trust and brand loyalty.Just like Timberland Company did in 2008 by making a â€Å"nutrition label† on their shoe box to show the environmental impact it has from beginning to del ivery of the shoe. The company did this in hopes of giving consumers the information they need to make environmentally smart decisions on buying. Not only did Timberland Company do this they also comprised their shoe box that is made up of 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste fiber, no chemical glues and only soy-based inks to print labels. Timberland is just one of many retail stores that take a stand on social issues. Target is another big business in the business industry that comes to mind.From opening its doors in 1988, Target has always tried to be a step above in the industry with the competitive edge logos to their reputation for low prices and offering organic foods in their superstores. They always try to maintain their mission statement which reads, â€Å"to make Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experiences by consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less.  ® brand promise†. They not only cater to the consumers they are extremely involved with schools and the communities that surround them. They are partnered with St. Jude which is a huge plus for them and provide disaster relief and are always raising funds for our country’s children.Another company that has taking great strides to make their place in this economy just as their mission statement says to â€Å"Inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. Rating of the industry’s overall social responsiveness I believe the retail industry for the most part is trying to take the right steps to make a difference in the economy and help insure the environment is first priority. Over the years we have seen so many big corporations leave footprints in the global economy as well as making the appropriate changes to better the community and environment we live in. References Retail. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. cere s. org/roadmap-assessment/sector-analyses/retail Wal-Mart. (2012, December 9).History timeline. Retrieved from http://corporate. walmart. com/our-story/heritage/history-timeline https://corporate. target. com/about/history/Target-through-the-years (2012, March). In Starbucks Ethical Coffee Sourcing and Farmer Report. Retrieved November 8, 2012, from http://assets. starbucks. com/assets/6e52b26a7602471dbff32c9e66e685e3. pdf Clean by design. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. nrdc. org/international/cleanbydesign The evolution of retailing. (2009, 12). Retrieved from http://www. kpmg. com/CN/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/Evolution-retailing-o-200912. pdf Ken, A. (2012, March 31). Wal-mart company.