Being a business student in UCL Personal Statement

Being a business student in UCL - Personal Statement Example until it was not only my career aim, but had become a passion, and attaining a proper business degree is a drive towards attaining my passion – to run a successful business and make a difference with it. What interests me about business in general is the creative aspect of it, the competition it creates to strive to give the best of you and the sense of satisfaction when you see your business soar. To get an idea of exactly what kind of business I want to pursue, I left no opportunity unturned to get hands on experience and knowledge about varied types of businesses and their management. As it is difficult to do a full fledge job with the ongoing school work, I started working part time in many business related firms, to get real life experience of how businesses are run and managed. For this I worked as a full time trainee in a fashion business (TAA Albanus Limited, China) helped arrange a Fashion Show Exhibition for A/W 2011 and also worked in their sales, marketing, and data filing departments. Moreover, I started my own online retail business, worked day and night for it and earned around 34% profit through it, all this, without affecting my schoolwork. This experience not only gave a boost to my self-confidence, but also helped me manage unexpected problems and do SWOT analysis of different situations. I kept my options open and later did part time job as a waitress and cashier in different restaurants. Currently, I am working in a part time sales job in Hollister Co. All this experience, with more to come, when combined with a strong business degree would help me pursue the greater goal of running my own business. My enthusiasm to give my best in every field has helped me to be on the Honor Roll with distinction for three consecutive years of school, starting from grade 9. I also have the honor of scoring highest merit in my school in Mathematics 11 and Chemistry 11. I have actively participated in school clubs including the math club, biology club,

Kant Paper 2 Essay Example for Free

Kant Paper 2 Essay In this assignment you are going to present Kantian arguments against the taking of recreational drugs that are currently illegal in the U. S. , such as heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy. Do not discuss laws or illegality; just stick to the questions as they are written and number your answers. Use the following maxim: In order to maximize my pleasure, I will take recreational drugs whenever I feel like it. 1. Explain why this maxim is self-defeating, i. e. could not be imagined as a universal law for all rational beings. This should include what a world would look like in which all rational beings followed the maxim and why you could not achieve the purpose or end of the maxim in such a world. Kant thinks that we are not really in freedom if we are only looking for pleasure or desire and avoiding pains. By meeting our instinctive needs and become slaves of our desires and impulse. 2. Explain why following this maxim (i. e. taking recreational drugs) would interfere with your fulfilling imperfect duties to yourself and to other people. Imperfect duties are laxer duties, which means you will be free to choose what you want to do to promote yourself. We choose to exercise to get health but we can accord our ability to set the exercise schedule. Taking recreational drugs to maximize our pleasure can’t provide us any promotion to neither to ourselves nor to the society besides getting high temporary. It is a process do not need you do anything to yourself or to society except taking drugs. And if everyone are addict to bring by drugs their life will get worse because they find that they can get pleasure so easily. And finally people may stop doing anything to get pleasure because they already have. 3. Explain why following this maxim fails to treat yourself with respect. Kant believe that human being’s rational ability make us different and distinguish with animals. 4. Explain why following this maxim would likely lead you to fail to treat other people with respect. As usual, papers are to be typed, standard font, double-spaced and run @1,000 wds. (@4 pp. ). Do not present an introduction. Answer each question separately and number your answers appropriately.

A Study of Product Quality, Pricing, and Labeling & Packaging Essays

Businesses are responsible for the product they manufacture and distribute. This perspective will examine the ethical implications of product manufacturing concerning Product Quality, Pricing, and Labeling & Packaging. In this paper, we will discuss each of these topics and show how each aspect of manufacturing has it’s own set of factors. One of the first major aspects of product manufacturing is Product Quality. The responsibilities of a business are simple. Develop a low cost, high quality product that withstands the normal limitations of its use. Quality can be defined as doing the right thing, the right way, the first time, and every time. It is important this is understood from both the consumer and the business perspective. In short, the product will meet customer expectations, priced appropriately, and delivered as advertised. Within the business, producing a product the right way is the most effective, efficient, lowest cost, and most valuable way to produce quality results, the first, and every time. Product quality implies all standards are met, with minimal repercussions of poor quality, reducing the amount of rework and waste. Businesses developing products of poor quality are failing to do the right thing, or doing the right thing, the wrong way. In the case study I researched, H.B. Fullers, a St. Paul, Minnesota corporation, produces a shoemaker’s glue, called Resistol, which contains the neurotoxin called toluene . In South America, Fuller’s company makes a huge profit off this product, in large part due to the millions of street kids, called resitoleros , who sniff this glue daily. This poses a huge ethical dilemma. Does one continue to develop a product that is being used the incorrect and potentially unsa... ...roduct development to product placement, ethics plays an important role in the decision making process of a company. Ethics plays a large role in such a small aspect of a company’s product. Safety and Security, beginning with the packaging itself, is a moral obligation of any company. References Bauerlein, M. (n.d.). HB Fuller's Social Responsibility. Pangaea Publishing and Design for Nature & Peoples of the Earth. Retrieved from http://pangaea.org/street_children/latin/citypg1.htm DeColle, S. (2008). Why Wine is not Glue? The Unresolved Problem of Negative Screening in Socially Responsible Investing. Journal of Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 5(1), 121. Shaw, W. H. (2005). Business ethics (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth. Velasquez, M. G. (2002). Business ethics: concepts and cases (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentiss Hall

Price Wars

Pricing is one of the most necessary factor a company must take Into consideration upon venturing into a selected Industry. This Is affected by different factors such as the manufacturing costs, marketing costs, legal mandates of the state, the competition, the condition of the industry and the quality of the product. Through this a company is capable of determining their profitability which then may determine how they can generating appropriate amount of income that will support their operation.This may, as well, serve as great strategic tool as this may help the many cope up with their competition through certain adjustments and employing different strategies. There are certain phenomena that may occur upon utilizing such in an Industry and one of those Is the price war. Price war is a market situation characterized by the cutting of prices of companies below their competitors prices. This may mainly occur on conditions wherein there is a very heavy competition present. In such sit uation, companies will do every strategy in order for them to overthrow competitors and have themselves obtain greater market share In the Industry.This, as well, Is done due to the stronger bargaining power of buyers due to the presence of substitute products. Companies may prefer to lower their prices in order for consumers to choose their products over their competitors'. I think, the environmental condition which will most likely trigger price war is when there Is recession in a country. I think, this Is the condition In which companies will be most likely be forced to adjust prices In order to keep up with the reduced purchasing power of their consumers.Another condition that I think would most likely trigger such phenomena is when a many is engaged in a new market or when a good is newly turned into a commodity. As an example is the smart phone Industry. During the first years of the industry, most smart phones are priced highly as It Is considered that time as a luxury to hav e such but as many companies discover ways on how to venture Into the industry and have gathered enough resources to support such venture, the supply for the said product becomes greater which then had the prices go down into how is it today.Aside from that, this, as well, have made such products a commodity which rather increased the demand for the said product. And speaking of technology, another triggering event may be the introduction of new technology that may allow a company to produce at a lower cost. This will allow the company to have their prices lower than their direct competitors but this will not result into an absolute advantage as such technology will eventually be revealed to other companies which will allow them to lower prices accordingly.This may, as well, result into a price war. Playing around with pricing may be one useful strategy for companies to operate ore efficiently but It must also be taken Into consideration that doing such against which pricing will be low enough that smaller companies can no longer cope up with and may have them go out of business as this will allow the bigger company to grab the market share left by the said business.An effective way to cope up with such is through determining if there really is a price war, as some only lower their prices for promotional purposes, and if there really is be sure to have sufficient resources to suffice such strategy and know when to stop and employ different strategy such as product differentiation.

Leadership: Ice Cream Division Essay

This document focuses on the Chattanooga Ice Cream Division case study developed by Carl Sloane. Leadership opportunities and action are defined based on the characters in the case study. Dysfunction is evaluated both from a team aspect and from the leadership role. Specific development activities are identified to help the individuals develop emotional intelligence. Finally, recommendations will be made to guide the team forward. Background Chattanooga Ice Cream is a division of Chattanooga Food Corporation which is a family-controlled business founded in 1936 (Sloane, 1997). The ice cream division is one of the largest regional maufacturers of ice cream in the United States. The company’s primary focus is mid-priced basic ice cream products. The ice cream division has been experiencing flat sales and a declining profitability over the past four years (Sloane, 1997). Competitors had shown success in recent years with premium and super-premium brands with â€Å"mix-in† ice cream flavors. The Chattanooga Food Corporation focused on leadership changes in an attempt to improve the ice cream division’s performance. In 1993, Charles Moore was promoted to head the division. The ice cream division also hired a new vice president of marketing to replace a 30 year veteran. Stephanie Krane was assigned to the division to upgrade the information systems and control function. In 1995, the original manufacturing plant in Chattanooga was closed to control costs. The management changes resulted in a disruption to the top level management team. Three of the seven members of the management team were new to their positions. Additionally, Charles’ leadership style was very different than his predecessor. The previous general manager had been with the business for many years and had numerous networks to gather information. He made important decisions alone and rarely felt the need to consult his management team. The Dysfunction The ice cream division sales continued to fall, and the company recently lost a significant customer to Sealtest. The announcement of this loss resulted in open criticism from virtually all team members. In the past, when issues arose and blaming between departments occurred Moore would not respond in hopes that the managers would quit complaining about each other. Moore believes in the value of group based decisions and liked to bring people together formally to share information, consult on decisions, and forge consensus (Sloane, 1997). Moore would rank high in collaboration using the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). The TKI (2007) states that the â€Å"overuse of collaboration and consensual decision making sometimes represents a desire to minimize risk – by diffusing responsibility for a decision or by postponing action. The assessment goes on to state that a person with a high collaboration score may miss some cues that would indicate the presence of defensiveness, impatience, competitiveness, or conflicting interests. Moore appears to also favor the avoiding mode when conflict arises. Avoiders tend to hope that conflict goes away on its own. Moore has been avoiding conflict by not addressing the conflict when it arose. The DiSC Assessment is a tool to help an individual understand themselves and others. Based on the case study by Sloane (1997) Moore appears to be an S, which stands for steadiness. The S style prefers to work at a methodical pace and to focus on their tasks without interruption. They seek a calm, orderly structure where collaboration and group effort are valued (DiSC, 2008). People that have an S profile are demotivated in competitive environments, do not like being rushed into quick decisions, or having to be confrontational. These three traits of Charlie Moore have resulted in a lack of leadership through conflict and the inability to make a decision without collaboration time. As a leader, Moore has not displayed the four key principles to success according to Jack Welch in Winning (2005). These basic principles are mission and vision, candor, differentiation, and voice and dignity. First, Moore has not created a vision for the Ice Cream Division, and the division appears to be relatively isolated from the overall mission of the Chattanooga Food Corporation. According to Welch (2007), the mission tells where you are going and the values describe the behaviors that will get you there. Charlie Moore has been the General Manager for four years, yet it does not appear that he has determined how the Ice Cream Division can win in their current market, nor has he defined what winning means. The second principle is candor. Candor facilitates strong discussion. In the case of the Ice Cream Division team, it appears the team was displaying a lack of candor by not sharing critical information, or generating ideas which could result in a real debate. Part of candor is feedback. As a leader, it is critical to give feedback so each team member understands exactly what has to be done for improvement and where they stand in the organization (Welch, 2005). There are three main benefits of candor according to Welch (2005). First, candor gets people into the conversation. More ideas are generated and discussed, and all team members have the opportunity to contribute to generate the best ideas. Candor also increases speed since getting people into the conversation results in immediate debate and discussion which allows a well informed decision to be made. Speed is the second benefit of candor. Finally, candor cuts costs. Openly sharing information, positive and negative, results in a team that can quickly respond to issues that arise. Welch’s (2005) third principle focuses on differentiation. Differentiation is a way to manage people and business. The business side of differentiation focuses on how to beat the competition through strategy. The people portion requires a leader to identify the top 20 percent, middle 70 percent, and the bottom 10 percent of performers. The next step is to act on this evaluation. In the case of the Chattanooga Ice Cream Division, the bottom 10 percent would not know where they ranked or why. This problem ties back into candor. Without candid conversations regarding goals and performance, an employee has a reduced chance of success. Additionally, the lack of candid conversations does not give the individual an opportunity to improve their performance. Further, in this case study, goals for the team are not clear which does not enable people to be successful. The fourth principle is voice and dignity. Charles Moore has a management team that does have a voice, although they use the opportunity to lay blame and defend themselves rather than focus on solutions. Voice and dignity goes beyond the management team. According to Welch in Winning (2005), most people do not say anything because they feel they can’t and they haven’t been asked. Charles needs to understand the business from every rank and perspective as the company leader. He needs to get into the â€Å"trenches†. The only way to accomplish this is by enabling open, candid conversations throughout the organization. Developing a Team Developing a team takes time. This team has been together for four or more years with little to no achievement. The stage of introductions is past, but in reference to the Tuckman model (Tocci, JWI510, W6) the team is in the â€Å"forming† stages. Key attributes of this stage are an unclear mission and values, lack of trust, and lack of commitment. To start an open discussion regarding team dynamics each team member will complete a DiSC assessment and a 360 review. The 360 feedback will include their direct reports, people from within their functional area, people outside of their functional area, and every member of the leadership team. After the results have been compiled a coach will be assigned to each team member to review the results and to develop personal action plans. After these one-on-one sessions, Charlie should bring the team together to share the results of their DiSC assessment. The purpose of the session is to gain a better understanding of each team member in terms of how they prefer to work and why. Once the DiSC assessment is reviewed, each person will be asked to share the 2-3 personal development goals generated from their time with the coach. As the leader, Charles will start first and show his vulnerability. Sharing goals can help team members be accountable to each other. This enables informal peer to peer coaching to help everyone stay committed to the team. The DiSC assessment and the 360 degree feedback contribute to emotional ntelligence. Goleman (2000) defines emotional intelligence as the ability to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively. Both of these assessments enable each team member to become more self-aware of their emotions and the impact on their co-workers. Additionally, these tools give an accurate self-assessment of each person’s strengths and limitations. Once each team member understands how they are perceived and their personal DiSC style in relation to others they can begin to make focused improvements on their overall emotional intelligence. Goleman (2000) found that leaders with strengths in a critical mass of six or more emotional intelligence competencies were more effective than peers that did not have similar strengths. These exercises focus on the bottom of Lencioni’s (2002) pyramid, â€Å"Absence of Trust†. The team should encourage each other to be vulnerable and in turn, support the team members that do show vulnerability. Specific Recommendations for the Team Once the team has completed the DiSC and 360 degree feedback tools, the coaching, and the group sharing they are ready to transition their focus to the ability to run a successful business. At this point, the Ice Cream Division does not have a clear mission or vision. To start this process, the team will start a charter. First, the team must establish an overall mission by understanding the overarching mission of the company. In short, at the executive level, what does the team stand for? Focusing on mission development instead of solving the problem of lost business will allow the team to understand what actions they need to take to align the problem solution to the business strategy. According to Welch (2005) a mission answers the question: How do we intend to win in this business? Using guidance from Winning (Welch, 2005), the executive team may develop a mission statement that looks like this: The mission of the Chattanooga Ice Cream Division is to become the market leader in Ice cream sales due to our focus on exceptional taste, unique flavors, and our commitment to customers. Once the mission is established the team will begin to generate a charter. This charter will focus on specific activities required to achieve the mission and vision of the organization.

Slash and Burn Agriculture Explanation

Slash and Burn Agriculture Explanation Slash and burn agriculture is the process of cutting down the vegetation in a particular plot of land, setting fire to the remaining foliage, and using the ashes to provide nutrients to the soil for the  use of planting food crops. The cleared area following slash and burn, also known as swidden, is used for a relatively short period of time, and then left alone for a longer period of time so that vegetation can grow again. For this reason, this type of agriculture is also known as shifting cultivation. Steps to Slash and Burn Generally, the following steps are taken in slash and burn agriculture: Prepare the field by cutting down vegetation; plants that provide food or timber may be left standing.The downed vegetation is allowed to dry until just before the rainiest part of the year to ensure an effective burn.The plot of land is burned to remove vegetation, drive away pests, and provide a burst of nutrients for planting.Planting is done directly in the ashes left after the burn. Cultivation (the preparation of land for planting crops) on the plot is done for a few years  until the fertility of the formerly burned land is reduced. The plot is left alone for longer than it was cultivated, sometimes up to 10 or more years, to allow wild vegetation to grow on the plot of land. When vegetation has grown again, the slash and burn process may be repeated. Geography of Slash and Burn Agriculture Slash and burn agriculture is most often practiced in places where open land for farming is not readily available because of dense vegetation. These regions include central Africa, northern South America, and Southeast Asia. Such farming is typically done within grasslands and rainforests. Slash and burn is a method of agriculture primarily used by tribal communities for subsistence farming (farming to survive). Humans have practiced this method for about 12,000 years, ever since the transition known as the Neolithic Revolution- the time when humans stopped hunting and gathering and started to stay put and grow crops. Today, between 200 and 500 million people use slash and burn agriculture, roughly 7% of the world’s population. When done properly, slash and burn agriculture provides communities with a source of food and income. Slash and burn allows people to farm in places where it usually is not possible because of dense vegetation, soil infertility, low soil nutrient content, uncontrollable pests, or other reasons. Negative Aspects of Slash and Burn Many critics claim that slash and burn agriculture contributes to a number of persistent environmental problems. They include: Deforestation: When practiced by large populations, or when fields are not given sufficient time for vegetation to grow back, there is a temporary or permanent loss of forest cover.Erosion: When fields are slashed, burned, and cultivated next to each other in rapid succession, roots and temporary water storages are lost and unable to prevent nutrients from leaving the area permanently.Nutrient Loss: For the same reasons, fields may gradually lose the fertility they once had. The result may be desertification, a situation in which land becomes infertile and unable to support the growth of any kind.Biodiversity Loss: When plots of land area are cleared, the various plants and animals that lived there are swept away. If a particular area is the only one that holds a particular species, slashing and burning could result in extinction for that species. Because slash and burn agriculture is often practiced in tropical regions where biodiversity is extremely high, endangerment and extinctio n may be magnified. The negative aspects above are interconnected, and when one happens, typically another happens also. These issues may come about because of irresponsible practices of slash and burn agriculture by large numbers of people. Knowledge of the ecosystem of the area and agricultural skills may provide ways to practice slash and burn agriculture in restorative, sustainable ways.

Free Essays on Ramayana Summary

The Ramanaya Summary The Ramanaya begins with a divine plan for good to over power evil. Ravana the demon king of Lanka, had been granted immortality against gods and demons, and therefore his power and reign was out of control. Brahma asked Visnu to help by goping down to earth and allowing Dasratha to have sons, as Ravana had not been granted immortality against human, and so this became the only way to destroy him. Visnu told Dasaratha to distribute the payasam amongst his three wives, who in turn had four sons between them. The sons grew up. Rama and Laksmana, two of the sons performed a duty in the forest. For this duty they were granted marriage to the daughters of Janaka the King of Mithila. Rama married Sita, the eldest daughter. When the time came for Dasaratha to pass the kingdom to his son, Rama, the eldest, one of his wives got jealous that her son was not going to become King. She then developed a lot of tension within the house and asked Dasaratha to grant her the two wishes he had been promising her. The first wish was to banish Rama to the forest for 14 years, the second was to make her son King. Both wishes were granted out of Dharma. Bharata was crowned upon Dasaratha’s karma related death/ Bharat however had respect for his brother, and would not take the Kingdom, but Rama would not come back out of dharma, so Bharata managed the kingdom until Rama returned. In the forest Rama had received company in his wife, Sita and brother, Laksmana. Ravana’s sister, Surpanakha, came to Rama dwelling and asked him to marry her. He refused which angered her and so she told her brothers Ravana and Khara. Khara came to defend his sister’s honor and was subsequently killed, which of cours angered Ravana and was the beginning of their opposition to each other. Ravana sent a golden deer to the camp in the forest, Sita wanted its hide, so Ravana went to kill it, upon which time Ravana impersonated Ramas voice a... Free Essays on Ramayana Summary Free Essays on Ramayana Summary The Ramanaya Summary The Ramanaya begins with a divine plan for good to over power evil. Ravana the demon king of Lanka, had been granted immortality against gods and demons, and therefore his power and reign was out of control. Brahma asked Visnu to help by goping down to earth and allowing Dasratha to have sons, as Ravana had not been granted immortality against human, and so this became the only way to destroy him. Visnu told Dasaratha to distribute the payasam amongst his three wives, who in turn had four sons between them. The sons grew up. Rama and Laksmana, two of the sons performed a duty in the forest. For this duty they were granted marriage to the daughters of Janaka the King of Mithila. Rama married Sita, the eldest daughter. When the time came for Dasaratha to pass the kingdom to his son, Rama, the eldest, one of his wives got jealous that her son was not going to become King. She then developed a lot of tension within the house and asked Dasaratha to grant her the two wishes he had been promising her. The first wish was to banish Rama to the forest for 14 years, the second was to make her son King. Both wishes were granted out of Dharma. Bharata was crowned upon Dasaratha’s karma related death/ Bharat however had respect for his brother, and would not take the Kingdom, but Rama would not come back out of dharma, so Bharata managed the kingdom until Rama returned. In the forest Rama had received company in his wife, Sita and brother, Laksmana. Ravana’s sister, Surpanakha, came to Rama dwelling and asked him to marry her. He refused which angered her and so she told her brothers Ravana and Khara. Khara came to defend his sister’s honor and was subsequently killed, which of cours angered Ravana and was the beginning of their opposition to each other. Ravana sent a golden deer to the camp in the forest, Sita wanted its hide, so Ravana went to kill it, upon which time Ravana impersonated Ramas voice a...