Managerial Behavior Essay

Manager is anyone who responsible for the work of other people. Stewart (1988) defines manager as those above a certain level in the hierarchy, usually those above foreman level on the works side and those above the first level of supervision in the offices. Managerial behaviour is the behaviour that can be reported, whether from observation by others or by self-reports. Managerial objective is the aim that a manager of a firm wants to achieve. In perfect markets a proper managerial objective is to maximize its firm’s market value. The powers of the managerial behaviour are by no means unconstrained. On one hand they are constrained by the shareholder, involuntary takeover, and by the debt market through threat of capital starvation while on the other hand they are constrained by the ever present force of competition in product markets and its managerial labour market. While there are significant differences among countries, managerial constraints are ineffective and managerial objectives predominate. The first constraint in managerial behaviour is coming from the share holders. The reason is that, dispersed ownership in large firms increases the principal-agent problem due to asymmetric information and managers are subjected to bounded rationality. Because the contracts between managers and shareholders are unavoidably incomplete as future contingencies are hard to describe, shareholders must monitor managers. However, the cost of monitoring tends to be really expensive and when the equity is widely dispersed, shareholders do not have appropriate incentives to monitor managers since it is often that managers have better information and are more knowledgeable. The common solution is by appointing the Board of Director with the fiduciary obligation to look out for the best of their interest and monitor managers. Nevertheless, this is only partially successful since in most cases the Board of Directors is also in the management. One way to align manager is by introducing Management Remuneration Schemes. This is not only to motivate managers to work harder or guarantee them a  competitive salary, but a way of getting them to work in the interests of the owners. The remuneration scheme is the signal of owner expectations from management and can be divided to Cash-Based which includes performance-related and profit-related, and Share Ownership or Share-Value-Based. The argument for cash-based incentives is that it provides motivation for effort and cooperation to maximize results for the firm, and that it is good for morale if managers get more when profits are good. However, the disadvantage is that, it transfers part of the risks of a firm to the managers, who if they are risk-averse might prefer incomes which were smaller on average, but safer. Among the share-based systems, the most common are stock options. Stock options are long-term incentives, normally supplementing short-term schemes like performance - related pay. Nevertheless, when managers are subjected to stock options compensation, they are most likely to focus more on their stock returns. The effect in shareholders control to manager is different among countries. For cooperative system in European countries, constraints on managers are not only coming from the owners, but also from other stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers and the local community. Therefore, managerial behaviour is highly constraint in this region. Unlike in the Europe, the concept of the stakeholder firm that emphasize cooperative labour relations was largely ignored by US and UK whereby shareholders are the only residual income claimants and risk bearers in a firm (Fitzroy 1998). In the UK and US, maximization of shareholder value is generally regarded as the only legitimate goal of the firm through stock-options or bonus payment which leads to high basic salary and other payments. Hence manager of a larger firm not would prefer to be risk-averse rather that achieving profit-maximizing and would intend to pursue operations that are subjected to lesser risk as they had already receiv ed high incomes (Fitzroy 1998). In addition, for a large company with dispersed ownership structure, shareholders have little incentive to discipline the management to act in their interest due to free-rider problem. The second constraint that is being used by the owner for disciplining management and correcting managerial failure is the takeover mechanism which  resulted in the downsizing of multi-sector conglomerates. Managers will wish to have certain amount of net profits to distribute as dividends in order to keep their shareholders satisfied with the firm’s performance. Unsatisfied shareholders may either replace the manager or attempt to sell their shares causing share devaluation and encouraging hostile take over bid (Moschandreas 2000). Meanwhile, the manager wants to keep their jobs and will try to increase the costs of takeover to the potential bidder is decreasing in takeover costs which mean the higher the take over cost, the more unlikely the firm to be take over and therefore the managers will have higher job security. Countries differ dramatically in the ease and frequency of takeovers which arises not only from differences in the regulatory framework underlying takeovers but also from cultural and historical attitudes towards takeovers. As for equity-based countries like US and UK, with dispersed ownership, take-over threat is higher caused by devaluation of shares as bidders are much feasible to raise large sums of money. Besides, there are also difficulties in manager entrenchment and higher liquidity in secondary markets which facilitates transfer of large blocks of voting shares has also made take over threat more feasible. On the other hand, in the bank-based countries, take over mechanism is unlikely to work because the cooperative society usually retains their majority of the shares. For example, in German and Japan are virtually unknown because of the concentrated ownership and long-term relationship investing by banks, the manager is entrenched and takeovers are ineffective in disciplini ng him. Creditors which are mostly banks are another type of constraint in managerial behaviour. By pooling the resources of many depositors and lending to many firms, creditor can hold a substantial piece of a firm’s debt giving banks incentives to monitor. In most cases, manager issues bank debt in order to raise capital. The controlling effect of debt is firstly that, as it is normally granted for a relatively short period, management must make a real effort to find productive ways of operating in order to amortize the loan, and secondly, if the company is unable to meet its debts, the creditors have  the right to apply for bankruptcy and realise the loan guarantees. The cost of monitoring by banks differs across economies as countries differ widely in regulatory regime applicable to the banking system. Japan and European systems are typically bank-based and owner concentrated, where as American ones rely on the stock market and dispersed ownership. The differences are due to legislation, the nature of financing and also partly to social attitudes. Since the creditor-depositor relationship is closer, banks in these Japan and European countries also have lower cost of bank monitoring. Therefore, manager in these region are much more constraint by their creditors. However, unstrict legal systems in concentrated ownership will offer a lot of discretion to the manager, allows him to make project choices which are in his best interests, for example the choices which accord him with larger private benefits. On the other hand, US and UK have legal restrictions on corporate shareholding and are tends to have external relationship with the depositor which has lead to problem such as asymmetric information in the Principal-Agent relationship. The environment in US and UK is not conducive to bank monitoring are regarded as having a high cost of bank monitoring. However, in dispersed ownership, monitor through creditors is ineffective since manager will adhere to the bank debt only if his private benefits are much lesser than the benefits that he will get from commitment with the bank debt. In addition, they would rather prefer to be risk-averse than undertake any risky decisions. The next constraint on managerial behaviour is due to product market competition. According to Leibenstein (1966), there may be a substantial amount of X-efficiency if output markets are perfectly competitive because manager would normally work harder and more effective. Contrarily, in situations where competitive pressure is light, manager will trade the disutility of greater effort, or search for the utility of feeling less pressure and of better interpersonal relations. In addition, Schmidt (1997) stated that, when the product market for managers is tough, an increase in competition is less likely to also increase in incentive schemes. He argues that increased competition reduces the firm’s profit, which induces the manager to work harder for a cost reduction in order to avoid liquidation. Nevertheless, rising of product market power will also increased the managerial discretion because manager has more bargaining power and will takes this opportunity to pay more attention on increasing their incentives rather than committing themselves to maximize the firm’s profit. Plus, in order to retain its competitiveness, a company will invest in long-term product development, but managers are actually more concern on their own short-term-less-risk goals rather than long-term ones that would lead them to pursue their own objectives instead. Product market competition is also different among countries. For instance, competition between individual is stronger in the US than in UK as in the US, the inefficient manager will be fired more readily. In the latter, incompetent but long-service managers in a large company used to be kicked upstairs and given jobs with a high-sounding title but which did not let them handicap the firm’s efficiency (Stewart 1985). The fifth constraint in managerial behaviour can be classified as the managerial labour market. In managerial labour market, managers are preferred to be associated with good performance because this would allow them to earn a good reputation. Additionally, they have also found that executive cash compensation and top management turnover are strongly performance-sensitive. Top executive turnover is shown to serve as a disciplinary mechanism punishment for corporate underperformance whereas compensation rewards good performance and will provide strong managerial incentives to seek superior corporate performance in the subsequent periods. This type of managerial constraint is somehow ineffective in controlling managerial behaviour since manager would not want to commit to any risky projects because their decision might disrupt their good labour market and therefore will affects their incentives. Since all of the managerial constraints are ineffective in controlling the managers, they will tend to pursue their own objectives which would much benefit them later rather than aligning themselves to the owners’ interest.  Managers may want to choose projects that give them a larger level of discretion and higher private benefits of control. According to Dicretionary Theory, Baumol (1959) argued that manager’s aim is to maximise their sales revenue while Williamson (1964) stated that managers would create discretionary funds for investment and spend excessively on emoluments and staff expenditure (Moschandreas 2000). The first reason is because most managers want to achieve short term goals. In fact, any accounting based measure leads to short term thinking and may be counterproductive since managers often influence and control accounting practices. Most common stock-based managerial incentive plans are relatively liquid, such as stock options with stock appreciation rights or share-performance cash bonuses. Additionally, if they are going to negotiate for a certain matter they will also adopt to short termism actions. For example, the recent merger between Time and Warner company has raise doubts to the public since the entire merger was took place for only five months and all other aspects of the agreements came very easily. However, recent findings has proved that the one real deal-breaker was took place for the compensation benefits of the head of Time-Warner. The second reason for predomination of managerial objective is because they want to maximize their own incomes i.e. private benefits, managerial ownership of the firm, expected cash flows to equity holders and salary. Manager will pursue their objective anytime when the private benefits are sufficiently large to offset the incremental value of his share of the higher cash flows as a result from his alignment. In Europe and Japan, managerial salaries do not seem to grow faster than average pay and indeed CEO in these countries tend to earn lesser than their US counterparts today. In these regions, stock options are not widely being used and PRC are less important since it have no detrimental effects on firm performance (Fitzroy 1998). Contrarily, in UK, CEO compensation rose much faster than average pay throughout the 1980s and 1990s. More companies were introducing PRC, stock options and bonus schemes to align managerial incentives and shareholders’ interests and detailed studies had shown that  this system to be tenuous at best. According to Bureaucratic theory by Monsen and Downs (1965), the best established empirical fact about top manager’s pay is that total compensation is closely related to the firm’s size. Stewart (1985) argued that the manager of large companies would become more bureaucratic because of increasing in size and greater complexity. Therefore, in large firm, for the same level of positions, the managers are getting more pay compared to the smaller one. This has contributed to predomination of managerial objectives in large firm in maximizing their incomes. The second reason for predomination of managerial objectives is because most managers are risk-averse because they expected to be blamed for failures but inadequately rewarded by the profits of success and pay depends on output will exposes employees to greater risk (Milgrom and Roberts 1992). Managers therefore prefer to diversify in their decision making between unrelated lines of business which would lead to devaluation of firm because of lack of economies of scope. Additionally, outside shareholders would like manager to maximize the value of the firm as this will lead to higher share prices but managers would try to offer shareholders steady capital gains and earnings increases, in contrast to possibly more fluctuating but on average more lucrative possibilities. The third reason is because manager would always want to have a very high job security. Most managers don’t dare to jeopardise their jobs to achieve profit maximization by taking high risk decision. According to the Growth theory by Marris (1964), the various possible candidates for inclusion in a managerial objective function are collapsed into the single motive of desire for sustainable long-run growth in size. Managers have the power to pursue a long-term growth rate faster than the one which would be optimal for shareholders, but the further they go, the more they are in danger of depressing the market value of the firm to the point where there is a serious risk of involuntary takeover, the latter being feared because it means loss of job. Hence, manager may want to subject to unprofitable on average as this will increase both the size of the firm and also their own compensation (Fitzroy 1998). The fourth reason is because managers may want to sustain their political reputation in the firm and would only run his objectives that will not disturb their political reputations. This would enable them to maintain supports from their staffs. In Japan, the preservation of individual status and prestige is much more important than in the US and UK. Promotion is largely by seniority at all levels (Stewart 1988). Some managers may want to pay their employees more than they deserve to maintain good relations with them and hence increase their political reputation and makes them more entrenched in the company. As for conclusion, it is considerably clear that managerial behaviour is ineffective in controlling managers because they are more preferred to achieve short term goals, maximizing profits, being risk averse and securing their job security, which has lead to predomination of managerial objectives. The Growth Theory by Marris, Discretionary Theory by Baumol and Williamson, and Bureaucratic Theory by Monsen and Downs explain clearly the reasons for objectives predomination by managers. Besides, there are also different impacts of managerial constraints on managerial behaviour among bank-based and share-based system on different countries i.e. European, Japan, US and UK. Lastly, in any large firms regardless of the system of corporate governance, it is impossible to totally eliminate the predomination of managerial objectives. However, this problem can be reduced through development of management control systems and development and evaluation of remuneration schemes.

Maaza Story Essay

1. Maaza story: the fruits of successful global brand The name Maaza denotes taste, enjoyment, represents diamond, in different languages and the brand Maaza has turned out to be a star performer across the region and beyond. The main ingredients for Maaza bottling are Natural Fruit Pulp, treated water, natural identical flavour and Vitamin C along with other food additives to balance the sweetness, taste & consistency of the beverage. 2. Maaza values: In our organization we create a healthy work environment enabling us to bring out the best from our employees and promote team work through mutual co-operation, pooling of resources, sharing of ideas and free expression of opinion. Our employees are totally committed to their goals and have independence and integrity in their evaluation and decision-making. 3. Maaza assurance: Maaza International is committed to provide the customers and franchisees competitive techno commercial services in its various field of expertise to achieve customer satisfaction at all levels of operation. We are committed to quality, integrity and excellence in whatever we do to meet our mission and achieve our Vision. We continuously improve the process through which we deliver our services and provide our staff with the training and tools necessary to contribute to our quality efforts. We strive to always review and evaluate our performance to guarantee the highest level of customer service. Our success is measured by the customer satisfaction and feedback. 4. Maaza Flavours: Even though the most popular drink is Maaza Mango, the other product range includes the Maaza Guava, Maaza Pineapple, Maaza Apple, Maaza Mix Fruit and Maaza Orange, the fruit pulp and concentrate to manufacture these being sourced from reputed manufactures from India, Europe and the Far East. The latest addition to our product range includes Maaza Bits, a juice drink with real fruit pieces. 5.Maaza world: Maaza Mango is a fruit juice based drink which contains an ideal combination of the famous Alphonso and Totapuri varieties of Mango pulp. The drink is formulated taking into consideration the nutritional and health aspects with a unique taste unparalleled by any other brand currently in the market. 6.Maaza family Maaza started initially with returnable glass bottles, was leader in innovated packaging solution and the first who developed PET bottles in Middle East. The aim of the company was to set up a modern soft drink bottling plant. Maaza has made its mark with diverse range of exotic juices. The drinks are packed in glass, cans, PET bottles and paper packs. 7.Maaza Advantage: perfect ingredient for a MOCKTAIL Being a fruit based juice drink, Maaza can be enjoyed in more ways than just a refreshing beverage. †¢ Perfect ingredient for a mocktail †¢ Tropical Ice cubes with Maaza †¢ The perfect blend for a fruit salad 8.Maaza Reach Today, Maaza has become the world’s favourite mango beverage brand and has won the hearts of millions of consumers for its quality and great taste. Maaza International Company acquired the rights for the MAAZA Brand name of juices with an expansive territory that covers a large part of the globe such as all of Africa, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Far East among the others. 9.Grow with Maaza: With a Maaza Franchise, you can connect with both young and old consumer across the world. Here’s an exclusive invitation to join the international Maaza by establishing your own franchise. Maaza International Co. under separate franchise agreement is presently dealing with various bottlers in different countries, granting them the rights to manufacture and distribute the drinks under the brand name MAAZA. The concentrates for manufacturing the drinks are supplied by Maaza International Co. under the above agreement. Technical assistance and periodic quality inspection by the Technical Representatives of the company are conducted regularly at the bottler’s factory to ensure that high quality and consistency of the drinks are maintained.

Electromagnetic Propulsion Technology Essay

Electromagnetic Propulsion Technology is based on the concepts and applications of electromagnets to enable propelling of an object. This is perhaps the most researched and worked on areas of electric propulsion with greatest possible application in public transport as well as advanced aerospace propulsion systems. For public transport, it’s been a magnetic levitation technology which is also known as Maglev that has transformed the vary way of public transport. Electromagnetic Propulsion Technology based Magnetic levitation transport is a form of transportation that relies on electromagnetic force for suspension, guidance and propelling. This technology when applied for mass transit system can enable transportation at 500 to 600 km/h (Bonsar, p1; Jahn & Choueiri, p134) . As a concept, magnetic levitation train was developed by a German Scientist Hermann Kemper and on Aug. 14, 1934, the patent was granted. But it was in Britain, world’s first magnetic levitation service was introduced as a link between two terminals at Birmingham airport. The distance was of 400 meters with top speed at around 10-mph. In Germany, the TRANSAPID project connects Berlin and Hamburg. The train will move with a speed of 292 kph and would cover the distance of 292 km in flat 60 minutes. In Japan, the advancements have led to the feasibility of moving trains at a speed of 500 kph and on a 7-km test track began in Miyazaki Prefecture, the manned two-car vehicle has been tested and found to register a speed of 400.8 kph in 1987 and a maximum speed of 531 kph in a manned vehicle run on December 12. Again in 1999, the train attained a maximum speed of 552 kph in a manned vehicle run (Maglev, p8). Maglev follows the system levitation based vehicular movement on the guide way while using electromagnetic forces between super conducting magnets on the vehicle and coils on the ground. This enables the train to move or float about 10 mm above the guide way on a magnetic field. The train as whole is propelled by the guide way and hence there is no on board engine to pull the train. The whole pulling is enabled through the switching of magnetism. Its basic principle could be understood with the help of magnets. As it is widely known that in case of magnets, you know that opposite poles attract and like poles repel. This principle of attraction and repulsion actually forms the basics behind electromagnetic propulsion based Maglev technology. Electromagnets are used in the above mentioned technology and temporary magnetic pull is created and objects are attraction through a small magnetic field. The three vital components to this system are: A large electrical power source Metal coils lining a guideway or track Large guidance magnets attached to the underside of the train  ­In the above mentioned list of components, one can figure out that the train doesn’t need any engine and hence this is the most important difference between the maglev trains and other conventional trains. The train as a whole is not pulled in a particular direction rather they are propelled and guided in the magnetic field created by electrified coils in the guideway walls and the track (Bonsor, p2). Conclusion: As it has been already mentioned, Maglev is the short for magnetic levitation according to which floating and guiding of trains is enabled as per the principles of magnets. Maglev has its own set of advantages as well as disadvantages. The primary advantage of a maglev train is that of maintenance. As the train floats along and there is no contact with the ground and also there are no moving parts, the possibilities of any wear and tear get reduced. The trains as well the track would rarely need any maintenance and hence the higher cost of installation gets compensated in long run. Apart from this, the other important advantage is the total reduction of friction and noise which actually translates into high speed and extremely fast mode of transportation (Maglev, p 28). Now comes the disadvantages; Maglev guide paths are more costly than any conventional railways system when installation comes into picture. This disadvantage gets amplified with the fact that Maglev system requires a complete new set of infrastructure. The railways infrastructure available for usage is of no use for implementing Maglev and hence a totally new set of system would be implemented. The conventional system would lose its utility and couldn’t have a mutual existence with maglev (Maglev, p 28). Hence, after a very careful and thorough research, the final verdict is that the Principle of Magnetic Levitation when applied for mass transit would transform the way people move in the future and might provide an able substitute of all expensive air transport. Reference: Bonsor, K. â€Å"How Maglev Trains Work†. 2008 Jahn, R. G. â€Å"Ã’Physics of Electric Propulsion,Ó† McGraw-Hill, New York. 1968 Magnetically Levitated Trains (Maglev) http://www.123eng.com/seminar/Magnetically%20Levitated%20Trains%20(Maglev).pdf Jahn, Robert G. & Choueiri, Edgar Y. â€Å"Electric Propulsion† Encyclopedia of Physical Science    and Technology, Third Edition, Volume 5 2002

Social Justice in Colombia, Historical through today Essay

Social Justice in Colombia, Historical through today - Essay Example Popular landmarks include the Caribbean coast to the north, the Pacific coast to the west, and the Amazonia rainforest in the south-east. The land area of Colombia contains rich natural resources required for agricultural and commercial systems (Merchant, 4). Columbia’s apt topographic location, rich natural resources, and good climate patterns were the reasons why colonists are being driven towards Colombia to create subsistence- and market-oriented societies. The arrival of the Spanish colonizers has created a diverse population of 41 million people of Spanish descendants, African-slave descendants, immigrants, and indigenous people. It is believed that social injustices peaked during comprehensive land reform and slavery when Columbian government has been struggling for democracy. Social Injustice and Colonialism The development of social gap and inequality in Colombia reveals a historical link to colonialism, particularly to the cognitive and institutional path dependence between Spanish colonialism and contemporary Colombian society as evidence by violence, exploitation, slavery, and highly visible inequity in Colombia (McCormack, 106). The encomienda system, which was established during early colonialism, is an example of exploitation, slavery, and social injustice experienced by Columbians. This is a labor system that bonds colonialists and farmers. Colonialists were given free land and labor from Columbians and those who were under the hacienda of the military or local rulers have to work hard, endure cruelty, be a slave, until death succumb the worker. In addition to agrarian control, colonialists have also a hand at Columbia’s economy. Spanish rulers have full control and the church acts as the sole bank and source of education and social services. Excessive taxations are being implemented in a country where private ownership and union formations are prohibited. The economy was not good until Colombia gained its independence. Columbia ha s become independent but not in all aspects. Economy booms but not the status of the majority of farmers in Colombia. They remained as tenants and laborers and property rights became an issue as economy booms. Let us have a closer look on coca workers. While the Liberal and Conservative presidential candidates’ battle against each other, agrarian and poverty issues remained high. As a result of poverty, coca boom began in late 1970s and the high profits derived from the lure of drugs have resulted in massive migration of unemployed and landless peasants to the FARC-controlled colonized regions (Leech, n.p.). Thus, social injustices have pushed local farmers to become coca workers to ease poverty and improve employment conditions. Sad to say, the guerillas who claimed that they are only fighting for their rights were also in partnership with the drug lords. Guerillas controlled coca growing regions while drug lords took charge of production and trafficking. FARC or political f orces also see the benefits of coca boom as the taxes imposed on maintaining social order in the local population increased dramatically. Collected taxes are then used for improving weaponry and military forces. Coca boom partnership did not stay for long and narco-landowners organized own paramilitary services while drug

Intercessory Prayer Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Intercessory Prayer - Case Study Example Even taking medicine and not having faith that one will be healed, does not help. Most of the researches that indicate positive links between prayer and health are situated in areas that possess strong Christian customs (Paul, 2008). Prayer is a coping action that mediates between religious faith and health, and can take different forms. Devotional prayers involving a close dialogue with a compassionate God are related with enhanced optimism, health and function. On the contrary, prayers that entail pleas for aid may, in the lack of faith, be linked with augmented distress and perhaps poor function (Kuchan, 2008). People should be encouraged to engage in prayer and have faith in God who heals. In the assessment of their faith, those with no faith but who just try the effectiveness of prayer cannot be healed. Hospitalized patients who have no faith and whose prayers entail desperate supplication for help are prone to need extra support from experienced nursing and chaplaincy personnel (Kuchan,

Human Behavior in Organizations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Behavior in Organizations - Assignment Example at leadership based theories became well-known around 1950s and during the same period leadership interaction, implication and classification was done. It was also determined that so far significant research has been pursued for establishing relationship between leadership and performance (Allio, 2012). The paper is a critical assessment of leadership as a concept and its classifications. Moving on, the role of various kind of leadership has been elaborately discussed in the paper with respect to organizational behavior. Similarities and dissimilarities between various leadership styles have also been discussed followed by an overview of charismatic leadership, its features and implications in organizational framework. Leadership, especially charismatic leadership was considered appropriate for this paper because the study will help in developing a clear understanding of roles and characteristics of leaders played within an organizational framework. It has already been highlighted that the concept of leadership is highly subjective and as a result, several definitions has been developed thereof. Leadership has been defined as the technique of influencing other individuals for developing agreement and understanding regarding things that are to be done and the process of achieving these objectives in a collaborative manner. Other definition suggests that leadership is to influence an individual or a group to achieve common goals by means of shared objectives. Based on these definitions, several components of the phenomenon of leadership can be recognized, such as, it is a process, it involves influencing individuals logically and it provide shared goals and objectives to them (Allio, 2012). Regarding leadership and leader, different authors have presented a variety of views some of which are also conflictive in nature. For instance, a group of researchers argued that leadership qualities are acquired by leaders since birth while other group of researchers argued

Disaster Preparedness Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Disaster Preparedness - Research Paper Example FEMA has functioned as an independent agency that is responsible for the management and response in cases of disasters that overwhelms the state governments. An excellent investigation on FEMA’s responsibilities since its inception until about 2003 was provided by Cumming and Sylves (2005), who outlined the agency’s development, which included policy analysis, an outline of its jurisdiction, and management evaluation. Of particular interest is the study’s emphasis on FEMA’s HAZMATS (hazardous materials)   responsibilities. The authors’ claimed that FEMA has acquired more HAZMATS authority after the 1981 Chernobyl catastrophe in the Soviet Union. (Cumming and Sylves 2005: 23) A more detailed discourse on pre-9/11 disaster preparedness in the US has been comprehensively investigated by Nicholson. For instance, the disaster events from the administration of Reagan to the Clinton regime were outlined and analyzed side by side their policy reactions. ( Nicholson 2005: 33-54) The outcome of the cases handled by FEMA such as the hazardous materials contamination in the Love Canal and the experiences discussed by academics previously have provided the public and the policy network’s interest on disaster preparedness. An important dimension to this point is that the governmental policy has been largely shaped by the need to respond to specific types of crises. When the series of natural calamities hit the US during the 1960s and 1970s. ...(Haddow, Bullock and Coppola 2010: 5) The authors noted that these calamities led to the heightened focus on the national emergency management, which by the end of the 1970s saw five federal departments and agencies, closely coordinating for more efficient disaster response and recovery initiatives. Within this period, three specific developments in disaster preparedness emerge. The first is the passage of the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, which saw the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) taking a more authoritative role in disaster management. Then, there was the creation of the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency, tasked with disasters that would result from military and nuclear disasters. All in all, as pointed out by Haddow, Bullock and Coppola, â€Å"taking into account the broad range of risks and potential disasters, more than 100 federal agencies were involved in some aspect of risk and disasters.† (5) According to Bumgarner, the whole federal disaster preparedness and response program remained disjointed for the most part of the 1970s because there was no specific federal agency â€Å"on point† when it came to disasters since more than a hundred various federal agencies divide the responsibilities among them. (Bumgarner 2008: 7) This changed when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was established in 1979. Bumgarner explained that FEMA was a consequence of the growing clamor for sufficient and effective disaster preparedness and was created through a wide ranging reorganization that saw several existing federal agencies becoming part of the organization. (7) FEMA has functioned as an independent agency that is responsible for the management and response in cases of

Graduate Reflection paper 6(a,b,c,d,e,f) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Graduate Reflection paper 6(a,b,c,d,e,f) - Essay Example Central to a leaders continued ethical behavior is their willingness to a continue their own professional development. The process of professional development can take many forms, including online classes and/or seminars, face to face classes, seminars, workshops and more. However, professional development will also include continued reading, research and education, to make sure that he leader stays current on policies, procedures and new opportunities for client care. Professional development means that a leader hones any professional skills that are needed to keep them fresh and open to new ideas. When a leader continues their professional development, they are able to assist employees who want to develop their careers. They also bring fresh ideas to meetings and provide innovative ideas at the right time to allow the organization to grow. In my situation, my continued professional development has allowed me to make better ethical decisions about how patients and families should be treated. I work for a religious nonprofit organization that has the same values that I have so my ethical behavior is easy to articulate. Because my ethical beliefs and my religion are similar to the organizations, I can more freely make decisions about how to handle employees, patients and their families that automatically fall in line with the organizations values and religious beliefs. Professional development in an organization must start with an understanding of its goals and objectives and with the leaders understanding of the vision statement. Luc (2009) suggests that a vision statement: When comparing this information to ethical professional development, it occurred to me that the vision statement is important to the organization to set the foundation for leaders to begin their understanding of why they need to continue their professional development. The reason for this is that the vision

Philadelphia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philadelphia - Essay Example During the Gettysburg Campaign of 1863, numerous other battles were fought in Pennsylvania. A cavalry raid 1864 ended with the flattening of Chambersburg. The Confederate States Army occupied the city of York, which was the largest city in the North they had occupied. Pennsylvania also contributed quite a number of generals and politicians during the war; some of them include George G. Meade who was the victor of Gettysburg, Winfield S. Hancock, Simon Cameron John F. Reynolds and Thaddeus Stevens who among the Radical Republicans was prominent and outspoken(Wikipedia, n.d., para. 4). Ways in which the commemoration of the civil war can be carried out would be at the Gettysburg National Military Park. Here there can be rangers to stage a living history camp with demonstrations and programs for adults and children. There can be battalions of both Union and Confederate forces complete with artillery. Re-enactors can gather so as to reflect the actual history with all the features such as battle re-enactments, demonstrations and encampments, civilian interpreters and horses and cannons. one event that could be a highlight of the event would be a ceremony to commemorate the †Gettysburg Address† by Abraham Lincolnat the Soldier’s National Cemetery. There can be events at Harrisburg which is just a short stretch from Gettysburg where we have The State Museum of Pennsylvania. This contains collections which before had been displayed at the Civil War Road-show that has now been retired. Also contained in the museum is the infamous epic painting by Peter Frederick Rothermel â€Å"Battle of Gettysburg: Picket’s Charge†. It also contains a collection of swords used during the Civil War acquired recently which are objects linked with The United States Colored Troops (Klein, 1980). The National Civil War Museum, also located in Philadelphia, contains rare artefacts and archived pieces from the South and North with recent sesquicentennial

Case Study †Art Critical and Historical Studies Essay Example for Free

Case Study – Art Critical and Historical Studies Essay Task Description: Select three artworks that use the physical environment as their inspiration/theme. One is to be a traditional European/early Australian landscape, one a Modernist work and one a Post Modern work. Write an Analysis of each, showing your understanding of how the four frames can provide different ways of appreciating artworks. As a result of the invention of photography the physical environment has been a source of artist inspiration. The evolution of the interpretation of the world around artists can be demonstrated by the exploration of the practice of traditional artist Eugene Von Guerard, modernist artist Rosalie Gascoigne and post-modern artist Janet Laurence. It is from this the audience is able to determine how the physical environment has influenced art and in turn provide insight to the varying perspectives on the appreciation of artworks. Eugene Von Guerard (b. Austria 1811 – d. London 1901) is a traditional European artist who explored the western physical environment. Living in Italy, Germany, Australia and England we can observe the influence which the environs had on his art marking. In the 1830’s Von Guerard trained in Giovanibattista Bassi’s art school in Rome and later studied landscape painting in Germany at the Dusseldorf Academy. Whilst primarily an artist, he also considered himself an explorer taking long treks in Australia and New Zealand. It was from these trips that had created finely detailed pencil drawings in sketch books. These were later used as the bases for his paintings. Von Guerard expressed nature as he remembered it both its overwhelming beauty and terror at times. It is evident in his works the observations he made on the light and colour within nature. He predominately worked in the convention at the time of oil painting. He used the medium meticulously in painstaking detail. Von Guerard’s deep examination of the land around him enabled him to gain an intense relationship with it which in turn reflected in his art making. Von Guerard being a romantic artist, observed the connections between art and nature. He gave a sense of place in the grandeur and beauty of the landscape. Von Guerard investigated the development of colonial art and found issues in the isolation parochialism (of narrow local interest) and within European traditions. His aversion to this resulted in his contribution to the movement away from English landscape tradition. This personal artist style was heavily influenced by Claude Lorraine, Nicolas Poussiu and Salvator Rosa. He was further inspired by the German Romantic landscape tradition; this is exemplified by Casper Friedrich who attempted to link man and God through nature. His influence to the art world saw him being appointed in 1870 to be the first master of school of painting at the National Gallery of Victoria. Here he influenced artist training for eleven years particularly Frederick McCubbin and Tom Roberts. During this period Von Guerard was renowned for his rigid adherence to picturesque subject matter and detailed treatment. It can be observed within North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko (1863) the romantic style of Von Guerard’s practice. North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko, an oil painting on canvas is immensely large scale at 66. 5 by 116. 8cm. Its meticulous detail heightens the overwhelming size exposing the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the artist. The areas of the foreground and the mound of large boulders on the left are particularly perplexing. The boulders are said to be introduced to emphasise human insignificance and enforce a sense of drama. They serve to provide a link between the foreground, the distant mountains and the sky, that records the passage from heavy rain to bright sunshine. These rocks echo those on peaks at the centre of the composition, gloriously patterned by the snow that has melted to reveal the grassy slopes underneath. The rich purples and oranges and lush greens, matched with the brutality of the rocks and the blankness of the white snow, capture a natural beauty that changes with the time of day and weather conditions. This exemplifies Von Guerard’s passionate emotions towards the landscape and the disappointment as the storm cuts the expedition short. The billowing rainclouds entering from the left create dark shadows over the foreground, the crisp greys and blues suggesting the cool temperatures of the area. Within the foreground the audience observes a narrative in the group of Professor Neumayers scientific expedition undertaking a magnetic survey. The central figure is speculated to Von Guerard to the left is Neumayer. In the distant sky he has captured an approaching storm. The inclusion of the human figures signals both the sense of isolation and the peacefulness of the scene, while also highlighting the vastness of the mountain. It is evident from examination of photographs, the topographical accuracy that Von Guerard evoked. The influence which the conventions at the time had on North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko is highly evident with the composition of the artwork. The framing by the rocks on the left was readily enforced at art schools during this period. Influences of the western world are apparent with relationships between science and art and god and nature. However Von Guerard has moved away from traditional English conventions with his sense of isolation, unknown location and anti-parochial views. By using meticulous detail he strived to depict beauty at its highest form. This meaning North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko was sublime, large and majestic. Unfortunately for Von Guerard this technique employed in North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko was considered a commercial failure. The isolation made it insignificant for the at the time audience to comprehend, this was fuelled with its sublime, grandeur nature. His raw dramatic approach to nature was poorly received. James Smith an influential critic, who had always been an enthusiastic supporter, dismissed Von Guerard’s work for its â€Å"microscopism†. Von Guerard ultimately had to sell the painting himself in Vienna, 1873. James Gleeson found it 100 years after it creation and passed it on to the Australian National Gallery. Von Guerard’s paintings are often praised by contemporary critics for their grandeur and faithfulness to nature, although they were also criticised for their photographic nature. Art Curator Candice Bruce who brought Von Guerard’s work back into the light in 1980, spoke of the work in a positive regard telling of the â€Å"high complexity and depth†¦ exposing audiences to the subtle charm of this fantastic land of monstrosities†. This positive reception is enforced by Geelong Galleries, Geoffrey Edwards who articulates of the â€Å"remarkable masterpiece†, that is â€Å"a golden vista†¦beautifully lit†¦ shines off its colonial enterprise† and has â€Å"no substitute†. Today Von Guerard’s paintings are valued for the compositions and executions as for the subject matter. His strong interest in Romantic association has resulted in a heavy influence in his art making. His practice is highly nationalistic in representation; this is evident in the exaggerated poetic purpose in North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko. Von Guerard’s practice a century later influenced Imants Tillers (b. Australia 1950) to create the appropriation of North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko, titled Mount Analogue (1985). Mount Analogue is an immensely large scale (279. 5 by 571. 5cm) oil stick and synthetic polymer paint on 165 canvas boards. It is a reinterpretation of the exact view of Von Guerard’s. His work challenges the authenticity of the original as it too is an interpretation, however it can be observed the different interpretations of the physical landscape. The examination of the practice of Von Guerard has determined the significant influence the physical landscape has had upon his inspiration as an artist. The audience is able to observe through the decomposition of his artwork North-East view from the Northern Top of Mount Kosciusko the vast perspectives in which we can appreciate artworks. Similarly, Modernist artist Rosalie Gascoigne (b. New Zealand 1917 – d. Australia 1999) draws inspiration from the Australian. Living in rural town of Monaro in the Southwest of New South Wales it is evident within her art making the influence the physical environment had. Rosalie Gascoigne became an â€Å"artist† late in life. She had studied literature at university, acquiring an abiding love of poetry. She later would come to describe her working practice by quoting Wordsworth on â€Å"emotion recollected in tranquillity†. Gascoigne never attempted to paint and never sought to go to art school. I’ve always known how hopeless I was at painting or drawing†. She spent many long days in solitude where she developed her highly original powers of observation. She broke the status quo of her time by creating assemblages of found materials including wood, iron, wire, feathers, signs, boxes, crates, lino, enamelware, galvanised tin, corrugated iron and masonite. These objects rather than accurately depict, elements of the world around her: the landscape around her home and the materials and textures of rural life. Travelling around the countryside collecting materials was integral to Gascoigne’s art practice. Gascoigne a bored 1950’s housewife having no training as an artist created works without considering conventions of the period. Her singular vision of the landscape was expressed in stunning decisive constructions made from the worn and weathered objects she found within it. She found the Australian landscape had a degree of personal freedom in it and became absorbed by â€Å"the width and the rock under your feet and the high sky†. She was not interested in describing the visual reality, picturesque beauty or stores of the Australian landscape, and chose to capture the essence of the landscape’s opography, space, air, vegetation and the daily and seasonal natural rhythms of nature, in compositions that were often startling in their refined simplicity. This was further influenced by the poetry of Peter Porter and David Campbell who also evoked their work around the landscape of Canberra. Gascoigne intricately has woven glimpses of her past feelings and experiences into her work creating art of an extraordinarily transcendent nature. Piece to Walk Around (1981) highlights the unique nature of Gascoigne’s practice. Piece to Walk Around, is comprised of bundles of saffron thistle sticks arranged into 20 squares each 80 by 80 by 1. 5 cm. These squares lay directly on the floor in a patchwork; one bundle running one way, then one other. The criss-cross formation recalls the undulating countryside, the ordering of agriculture and industry and the mottled effects of light and shadow on it. The work conveys a sense of infinite expansiveness and liberation experienced in the country, as manifested through the grid, here understood as an open-ended structure to which additional bundles of thistles could be theoretically added or subtracted. In Piece to Walk Around the literal depiction of the environment is stripped back to its very essence and the work becomes a microcosm of the landscape. The title is used to draw attention to the changing visual effects as one circles the work and the shifting play on the natural material. It is evident from the innovative nature of Piece to Walk Around that western conventions had little impact on Gascoigne’s practice. However Japanese influence is demonstrated through the formal composition and precise organisation of the bundles. The absence of art school allowed for Gascoigne to be singularly influenced by the world around her and not by conventions enforced by the art masters. The resolved use and order of her â€Å"found† materials reflects the influence her interest in flower arranging induced. The isolation of which she endured in the country allowed ability to entirely appreciate and observe the world around her before drawing inspiration from it. Piece to Walk Around was well received by the art world. Its simplicity made it easy for the audience to comprehend fulfilling Gascoigne’s aim to make art accessible to everyone. Gascoigne proposed that whilst â€Å"the viewer’s response to the landscape may differ† she hopes that â€Å"this picture will convey some sense of the countryside† and â€Å"induce in the viewer the liberating feeling of being in the open country†. Her Sydney dealer of over 10 years Roslyn Oxley said â€Å"she was very strong and to the point; there is never anything timid about her work†. Critic Sebastian Smee noted that â€Å"Gascoigne resembles a scavenging bowerbird in a world where the production of blue plastic has ceased. What to do? What to do†¦.? Nest while you can! †. This quote illuminates practice precisely highlighting the beauty and simplicity of her work from the influence of nature. Australian Art Collector reporter Judith White spoke of Piece to Walk Around being a â€Å"unique and imperishable contribution to art†. In 1994 Gascoigne was awarded an Order of Australia for services to art signifying her contribution to the art world. Piece to Walk Around was donated by the Gascoigne family after Roslyn Gascoigne’s death to the Museum of Contemporary Art allowing for a broader audience and the ability for her artwork to inspire a new generation. It was Gascoigne’s innovative practice that resulted in her success. Gascoigne’s engages minimalism’s sense of order in an original take on the physical environment. She employs a mixture Japanese of formal composition and rough Australian nature to break traditional conventions that define the individual styles. Gascoigne’s concepts from Piece to Walk Around were evident amongst a broad range of her artworks. Untitled 12 squares of 6 (1980-81) is another segment from the series in which Piece to Walk Around is derived from. It is created with identical composition as Piece to Walk Around however constructed from sawn weather wood to a large 90 by 119. 5cm. This artwork demonstrates the concept of how individuals can gather varying interpretations from the physical landscape and that this inspiration can impact upon the broad material practice of an artist. Through the analysis of Gascoigne’s practice, it can be observed the substantial influence that the physical landscape has had upon the artist. The audience is able to compare through the decomposition of Gascoigne’s artwork Piece to Walk Around the varying influences that the environment around them has had. It is through this the audience is able to full appreciate the construction of these artworks. It seems the influence of the physical environment has had on artists has continued to the present day through the examination of Post Modern artist Janet Laurence (b. Sydney, Australia 1947 ). Living in the city of Sydney it is exceedingly evident within the strong messages within her artwork the influence the physical environment had upon her.

Rotational Dynamics Experiment

Rotational Dynamics Experiment

Water Filtration And Purification And Its Effects Environmental Sciences Essay

Water Filtration And Purification And Its Effects Environmental Sciences Essay Filtering and Purifying water, before you drink it, has now become a crucial part of living in a rapidly growing, economically expanding world. In todays society water is reused over and over again. Not only to recycle but to produce enough to sustain people in their everyday lives. The process of filtration makes our water clean by removing visible and non-visible particles. The process of purification makes the water safe and clean to drink. Taking these processes seriously can keep you and the people around you safe and free of harmful substances found in water. A ten step quality process of filtering spring water begins by: Selecting a source and monitoring the water you chose (Arrowhead 7). Some drinking water such as Arrowhead source is a natural spring source (Arrowhead 7). The selection of springs is based on the natural composition, lack of bacteria, availability, and taste (Arrowhead 7). Especially trained geologists and hydrologists monitor the springs on a regular schedule at the place of the source. (Arrowhead 7). Sourcing the water receiving and monitoring the source (Arrowhead 7). Receiving the source water can be as much of a challenge and discovering the source. By following simple steps the water we buy and drink gets to the site in order to begin the filtration process. Spring water is transported by food-grade pipelines, or often by clean stainless steel tanker trucks. Which eventually go directly to the water filter plants (Arrowhead 7). Filters called One-micron filters remove sand and/or other particles that are partially visible or present in the water(Arrowhead 7). The Storage of water (Arrowhead 7) This temporary state of storing the water is done in food-grade storage tanks (Arrowhead8). The water in the tanks is tested (Arrowhead 8). Micro-Filtering the spring water (Arrowhead 8). Two-stage, micro-filters, filter the raw spring water collected from the source (Arrowhead 8). These filters are created to filter out particles and tiny as 0.2 micron in diameter (Arrowhead 8). The Ultraviolent light and Ozone disinfection stage (Arrowhead 8). The Ultraviolent process removes non-visible bacteria (Arrowhead 8). The Micro-filtration is like a second step that adds to the removal of bacteria (Arrowhead 8). Another filtration system called the HydRO-7 process is used by Aquafina Inc. Unlike companies that use spring water Aquafina reuses public water. Here are the 7 simple steps enabling a public water source to be safe and clean to drink. Step One: Removes particles with Pre-filtration. Step Two: Seizes even smaller particles. Step Three: Removes organic matter by UV. Step Four: Removes solid minerals by using reverse osmosis. Step Five: Sets apart trace elements by using an Activated Carbon Filter. Step Six: Makes the water very clear by using a Polishing Filter. Step Seven: the final purification stage is done in an Ozonized Water Tank and the Ozone Generator. (I received all of the information in the past paragraph from (http://www.aquafina.com/) Other water products similar to Arrowhead and Aquafina all have to follow the required statement under California law. These laws determine what waters are safe and what departments are allowed to develop and sell bottled water. Water in California is produced and used from sources such as; lakes, rivers, streams, reservoirs, ponds, wells, and springs. Often water that has traveled through the earth picks up natural elements, and substances that are found due to human and animals natural activities such as pollution (Arrowhead 23). Benefits following the filtration and purification process done by companies such as Suburban Water Systems include; the removal of dangerous elements such as Arsenic, Barium, Cadmium, Chromium, Fluoride, Lead, Mercury, Nitrates, and Radium. These elements are removed by an advance process of reverse osmosis. Other assets include; improvement in taste, bathing water, laundry, dishwashing, cleansing water, and maintenance as well (www.subwater.com). Filtering and purifying your water is a basic survival skill too. One basic rule of wilderness survival is; filter + purify = safe to drink. So if you are ever caught in a situation of survival remember this rule. (Bryan 1) The Earth has a system that has been around since the beginning of time, we know it as the Water Cycle. All of the earths features (including us) depend on the Water Cycle. It explains why the earth never runs out of water and only changes state or form (Usborne 51). But society today has damaged this system by polluting the land, sea, and air. Causing much of the pure water to be used and polluted. We use so many chemicals and man-made systems to make the water safe to drink. It makes you wonder whether or not this water is truly safe to be used (Usborne 51). Different types of water found in the U.S. include; Bottled water which refers to any type of water being contained in a sealed container primarily for domestic use by humans. Vended Water, meaning that it has not undergone the same advanced treatment as bottled water and is dispensed through a public water facility. Both are the two forms of clean water available in California. Each is protected under the CDPH or California Department of Public Health (www.cdph.ca.gov). When survival skills are needed finding water can be a challenge. Dehydration is a common result of lack of healthy water, leading most of the time to serious medical conditions. Make sure to note that if you are ever caught in a challenging situation in search of water that you check your source and make sure it is safe and clean to drink. Contaminated water is sometimes easily noticed if you look for obvious signs; turbidity (cloudiness of water), pesticides, fertilizers (from agricultural land nearby), and a more noticed pest called Giardia Lambia. When looking for water along a trail or when camping use your map. Most maps show any sources of water these maps are called Topo maps (Wilderness-suvival-skills.com). Water is a basic part of living. Making sure your water is clean is the first step in staying healthy. Since majority of our water is recycled we should make sure we know what types are best. Purifying water is just as necessary as filtering it, if not even more important. Purifying water is done in order to clean the water of non-visible elements. In doing this you make the water clear and able to be digested safely into our bodies. Purifying is done in water plants as mentioned before. But if you find yourself in a situation in need of water you must filter and purify it yourself. When or if this problem ever arises you must filter your water using available items and then boil the water. This makes the water somewhat clean and safe to drink. Thanks to advancements in our ways of cleaning our water, we now have clean safe water for our use at the turn of a nob. When using water we should make sure we use it wisely and are cautious to the harmful pollution in water outside. So when outdoors drink out of a water bottle and dont drink out of the stream†¦ But if found without a clean water at hand remember filter + purify=safe to drink!

Essay example --

A DMV hearing takes place at the DMV, not the court, and focuses on license suspension and revocation. A DMV hearing is offered to those who have been pulled over for DUI and gives that person a chance to explain the situation and the details surrounding their arrest in an effort to keep their license from being suspended or revoked. A DMV hearing is highly recommended and will better your chances when it comes to keeping your license. It shows that you care and you want to take responsibility for your actions. What the court decides and what the DMV decides about your case are two different things. The court can dismiss or lessen the charges with your case, but that doesn’t mean the DMV will do the same. You have to deal with each separately. At your DMV hearing you have the right to be represented by attorney, you can present any evidence and/or bring witnesses, cross-examine opposing witnesses, and as an entirety this is your chance to have your case be reviewed by an impa rtial person. You or your attorney can request any evidence that the DMV has about case. The evidence needs t...

Strategic Implementation Essay -- Business, Organizational Culture

Strategic Implementation When choosing strategies to gain a competitive advantage and increase performance, the company must develop ways to implement those strategies. The actions taken at the functional, business, and corporate levels to execute a strategic plan include putting quality improvement programs into place, changing product designs, and segmenting the market. Also, when implementing strategies, the organization must choose the best structure, culture, and control systems to put the strategies into action. A governance system is needed for the organization to act in a manner that is consistent with maximizing profitability, profit growth, and legal and ethical practices. Organizational Structure The Clorox Company has expanded over the year the company had divided its operations into several branches: Household, International, Lifestyle, and Cleaning. The Clorox Company has divided their products that they produce into product groups and categories. Each product group focused on satisfying the needs of their target customers or groups and is managed by its own team of managers. A company’s organizational structure is the framework of the various relationships within the organization. It sets the foundation for the common actions and functions of employees at every aspect of the company. Organizational structure is a key component in achieving superior efficiency, quality, innovation, and responsiveness to customers (Hill & Jones, 2008). The organizational structure of The Clorox Company is a product structure. This structure is appropriate for a company when it has multiple products in multiple market segments. The intent of product structuring is to break up a compa ny’s growing product line into a number of s... ... 2004 until 2006. With Mr. Knauss holding various positions as head management in several companies has developed a leadership ability that is very consistent and spreading his vision of a company that must continue to change for the better. Mr. Donald R. Knauss, Don has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Clorox Corporation (formerly, the Clorox Co.), since October 2, 2006 and has overall responsibility for directing its worldwide business. Mr. Knauss has overall responsibility for directing the Clorox's worldwide business. He serves as an Executive officer of The Minute Maid Company. Mr. Knauss served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Coca-Cola North America at Coca-Cola Company from ..., including his director role at the Kellogg Company, provides him with a keen understanding of the company’s industry and customer and consumer dynamics.