Lafluer Trading Company Free Essays

Lafleur Trading Company Lafleur Trading Company was founded in 1975 and has been supplying fine foods and wines to countries all over the world (Apollo Group, 2009). The founders of Lafleur Trading Company believe their products meet the needs of consumers for their lifestyle, health, and ethics. Company leaders offer only products that have passed Canada’s strictest guidelines for organic products (Apollo Group, 2009). We will write a custom essay sample on Lafluer Trading Company or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Lafleur Trading Company teams members stand by their company ethics, believe in the company mission, and stand by the values on which the company was founded. Organizational Analysis â€Å"Whether a firm is developing a new business or reformulating direction for an ongoing business, it must determine the basic goals and philosophies that will shape its strategic posture† (Pearce Robinson, 2009, p. 25). To accomplish this effectively, the leaders of Lafleur must have clarity on the organization’s mission, vision, values, and goals. These fundamental concepts serve as the foundation for why and how the organization will do business. Lafleur Trading Company has clearly identified the mission of the organization, which is providing high quality, organic products at competitive prices (Apollo Group, 2011). A company’s mission embodies the unique purpose it serves to meet and is developed with the values the leadership intends to infuse in the execution of its business. At Lafleur, they are committed to a high quality product, which meets the needs of their customers in an ethical manner. The importance for any business to identify its mission is to describe the expectations it plans to meet on a daily basis, expressing the organizational attitude to all its stakeholders. The values the leadership holds dear, like seeking out the most reputable producers of products and certifying those products meet the highest standards, provides insight into the commitment of Lafleur’s leadership to their values and mission. A vision, unlike the mission, is forward-thinking and identifies what the company’s leaders aspire for it to become. Lafleur Trading Company seeks to become the premier supplier of fine foods and wines in the world. This vision cannot be accomplished without clearly expressed goals. Its already impressive list of trading partners indicates the vision and goals for Lafleur was determined early in the organization’s conception. By continuing to make strategic decisions with the mission, vision, values, nd goals in mind, Lafleur is sure to attain a desirable future. Organizational Structure Lafleur Trading Company implemented a divisional organizational structure that allows the Chief Executive Officer to delegate responsibilities to separate department leaders. The decision to use a divisional organizational structure provides Lafleur Trading Company the ability to create departments that consists of experienced individuals in specific duties related to the department. This method creates additional accountability for employees because the department manager delegates a task to an individual or team who is responsible for the competition of that task (Apollo Group, Inc, 2011). Creating individual departments also creates an environment where Lafleur Trading Company can focus on providing customers with quality products at the lowest price because employees in his or her departments focus on his or her assigned task without interruption form other unrelated tasks. This structure allows Lafleur Trading Company to make decisions with better information and in less time because of the concentrated focus in each department. The divisional organizational structure at Lafleur Trading Company consists of four main positions the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chief Information Officer (CIO), the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and the Chief Operations Officer COO) (Apollo Group, Inc, 2011). The CEO oversees the total operation of the company using information from the CIO, CFO, and COO to determine what actions are appropriate. The CIO is responsible for the information technology aspect of the company, and the CFO oversees the accounting and legal aspect of the company. The COO maintains the general operations of the business that consists of sales, purchasing, warehouse operations, and human resources. Each department manages the responsibilities assigned to them and reports to the CEO who can use the information to make decision with more information about each department involved (John A. Pearce, 2009). Collaboration Process The collaboration process is a process in itself. It involves the process of parties coming together to work through the project. Each party should bring the project together; provide the scope of the project and the expectations. The parties need to understand and be clear on the success and the results of the project and then discuss the specifics. The framework offers the general components of collaboration. The elements include grounding, core foundation, outcomes, process and contextual factors. Grounding is the foundation of collaboration in which the parties get together and share the idea. Core foundation is the mutual idea of the collaborative efforts. Outcomes are the efforts achieved by collaboration and process and contextual factors are what effect the each day actions of the collaboration. Once the process is complete and it has been implemented, the parties are on their way to getting results that they would have not got otherwise. It is important to understand that the process is not for all situations and teamwork is the only way to achieve it. It is important to select the right people, for the right reason, and with the support of management. References Apollo Group, Inc. (2011). Lafleur Trading Company. Retrieved 12 8, 2011, from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Lafleur/intranet. htm Pearce, J. A. II, Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (11th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill. How to cite Lafluer Trading Company, Papers

Business Management Essay Example For Students

Business Management Essay Business Management Essay Paper The world of business has undergone radical and dramatic changes in the last decade changes that present extraordinary challenges for the contemporary manager. A manager is an organizational member who is responsible for planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the activities of the organization so that the goals can be achieved. According to a widely referenced study by Henry Mintzberg, managers serve three primary roles: interpersonal, informational, and decision-making. Management is process of administrating and coordinating resources effectively and efficiently in an effort to achieve the goals of the organization. The concept of management within an organization typically occurs in an organizational setting. Smart money is simply capital, and a business needs a lot of it to survive. Today one in ten businesses survive for more than a year. It is hard to start up a successful business today and even harder to maintain a successful business status. An entrepreneur will raise capital through numerous ways. He can look for investors that wish to gain a small silent partnership in the business, loans can be taken from a bank and one of the most common types of capital comes from the stock market. A business owner will take his company public on the stock exchange in order to raise money. While money is being raised, the owner has to determine a ballpark figure on how much he will need to run this business. Today it is said you should have sufficient capital to be able to support your business for two years without returning a profit. After the initial start up is complete then skill and determination is needed to keep the business going. Cost is the area within a business where profit is made. Cost is the amount of money, which is spent to produce the tangible and or intangible goods or services of your business. These costs affect the price of the product and or service that you are selling. One type of cost is called fixed cost. This type of cost is the expense of a business that does not change and are always constant in a business. When money is made, debts are the first initiative to be paid off. Fixed costs include rent, wages to employees, and equipment needed to produce you good and or service. In for example a Flower shop, the fixed costs would be the rent on the building, the payment of the delivery vans, and employee salaries. The other type of costs is called variable cost. This type of cost is one that is ever changing. Again in a Flower shop the variable costs would be a dozen roses. One week a dozen roses may cost the flower shop five dollars to buy them and then they sell them for forty-five dollars. Then the next week the price of the roses my rise by five dollars now costing the flower shop ten so in order for the florist to make the same amount of money as last week he needs to increase his price to the consumer with the increase on price he is paying. The basic main idea of cost is to keep it as low as possible to gain the highest profits. Determining the profit of a business is another major part of management. Profit is the total income that you receive after paying all of your debts. All debts include for example rent, wages, and interest. A general formula to calculate profit is P = R C. This says when total revenue is subtracted from costs or debts you will get you profit earnings. Management is needed to make sure that allocating the necessary resources to in the end cover all of the debts and return a profit makes enough revenue. Salaries are based upon an employees age, skill, knowledge of the business and experience in the .

Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in “Crash” Essay Example

Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in â€Å"Crash† Paper Paul Haggis’ (2004) movie â€Å"Crash† is a powerful portrayal on the way in which racial discrimination as a complex social problem affects the lives of people. Set in Los Angeles, the movie shows how different people often â€Å"crash† into each other’s lives and unconsciously create ripples in these interactions. The effectivity of Higgis’ depiction lies on the utter simplicity by which the movie is able to show the nuances of interlocking problems from multiple perspectives. Interestingly, the movie also poses the problem of coping in a multi-cultural society where racism is almost a norm in itself and shows how gender and socio-economic gaps contribute to and reinforce racial stereotypes and biases. The film’s exploration on the barriers erected by racial, gender, and income disparities is perhaps best portrayed by Matt Dillon who plays the character John Ryan, a police officer who has been working for seventeen years with the Los Angeles Police Department. Ryan is a single, white, male who lives with and takes care of his aging father off-duty and who spends most of the time in the movie demanding a better doctor from his father’s healthcare company. Ryan is both a dutiful son to his father and the police force, however, his character harbors the frustration resulting from the conflicts of his status as a male Caucasian in the lower rungs of the economic ladder which prevents him from providing better quality of healthcare to his ailing father. It is from thses conflicting roles that his bitterness and disdain towards privileged people of color arises. We will write a custom essay sample on Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in â€Å"Crash† specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in â€Å"Crash† specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Racial Discrimination, Deviance, and Redemption in â€Å"Crash† specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Most of the poignant scenes which emphasize his bitterness and his attempt to compensate for his disadvantaged position show Ryan attempting to get back at his perceived tormentors either by physically or verbally harassing them using his position as a police officer and his status as a Caucasian. In the early part of the film, for instance, he is the stereotypical white, racist cop who stops an SUV driven for no apparent reason than the fact that it is driven by a black American and proceeds to create false charges against him. Clearly a case of selective perception where people are almost always quick to prejudge other people based on the color of their skin or other stereotypes, Ryan treats the man, a film director, like a common criminal. Unfortunately, the man’s wife, played by Thandie Newton, sees the cop’s real agenda for stopping them and protests arrogantly that â€Å"You thought you saw a white woman performing fellatio on a black man? †¦ †¦? that’s why you stopped us. † (Haggis, 2004) This visibly enrages Ryan who, not wanting to show weakness and lose his power in front of his much younger police partner, retaliates by subjecting the woman to a body search and sexually offending her. The act is both an offense and an insult against the woman and her husband, who are forced to endure the harassment and even apologize to the police officer for a supposed crime. In another scene, Ryan pays Shaniqua a personal visit to discuss his father’s deteriorating health and painful condition which expectedly ends in conflict when he subjects her to racial slurs in an attempt to compel her to do more for his father. He tells her of his father’s effort to provide employment in his business and of the loss he suffered when the Government started adopting a preference for companies owned by racial minorities. She is not moved by Ryan’s tirade of his father’s contribution to the African-American community, however, because of Ryan’s racist remarks and instead tells him that she would have signed the necessary papers if Ryan had been nicer.

How did Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidate their thrones and pacify their kingdoms in the late fifteenth century Essays

How did Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidate their thrones and pacify their kingdoms in the late fifteenth century Essays How did Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidate their thrones and pacify their kingdoms in the late fifteenth century Essay How did Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon consolidate their thrones and pacify their kingdoms in the late fifteenth century Essay The achievements of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella, Queen of Castile (1474-1504) and Ferdinand, King of Aragon (1479-1516) have long been admired by historians. (www.thehistorychannel.co.uk /classroom/alevel/catholic.htm). When they married in October 1469, it resulted in the instigation of the consolidation of their thrones. The route to unification was not easy for them, they had several difficulties to overcome and it was not actually until five years after Isabella was crowned the queen of Castile that the entire kingdom finally came under her control and the couple became the joint sovereigns of Aragon and Castile. Imperial Spain was born from this Union of the Crowns.To assess how the consolidation of the thrones came about I plan to look in detail to the routes that had to be taken to unite the crowns. Also, once consolidated the way Isabella and Ferdinand managed to pacify the kingdoms.Before 1479 imperial Spain did not exist. The Iberian peninsular c onsisted of Portugal, Castile and Aragon (with three separate crowns).In 1406 Juan II became successor to the throne of Castile. However as a minor, this brought a period of much instability in the kingdom. His son Henry IV succeeded him in 1454. Chroniclers claim that he was incompetent, impotent and unfit to rule (www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/classroom /alevel/catholic.html) and the great nobles liberally exploited his power. With this strength of the nobles, they felt they could question his choice of successor.A group of nobles led by Alfonso Carillo, archbishop of Toledo, supported the rights of Isabella, the half-sister of Henry IV, as successor. Henry agreed to the nobles but only on the condition that she marry the widowed, much her elder, Alfonso V, king of Portugal. However Isabella had plans of her own, in search of allies, to strengthen her position and with the influence of the great nobles pressurising her into the decision, she chose Ferdinand, heir of Aragon, a plan h is father Juan II had been trying to initiate for some time. The matrimonial alliance was sought more eagerly by the Aragonese than by the Castilian branch, as Juan II was faced by revolution not only by Catalonia but also by the expansionist ambitions of Louis XI of France.The couple married in secret on 19 October 1469. As cousins, it became necessary to forge a papal bull which allowed them to marry within the forbidden degrees. Many people were strongly opposed to the marriage including Louis XI who had been hoping to secure Castile by a union between his brother and Isabella. There were also other nobles led by the powerful Mendoza family, who supported as heiress, Henrys infant daughter Juana (born 1463) known as La Beltraneja since it was rumoured that her real sire was Beltran de la Cueva, Duke of Albuquerque.When Henry IV heard of the event he disowned Isabella and recognised Juana as his heir. Nevertheless the kings death in 1474 eased the crisis that Isabella would have t o take to become Queen. Isabella was crowned Queen of castile in Segovia on 13th December 1474, the first step of the five year upward struggle for the throne. In May 1475, encouraged by her adherents, Juana, now married to Alfonso V of Portugal duly claimed the throne. Portuguese troops crossed the frontier into Castile, and risings broke out against Isabella and Ferdinand all through the country. What followed was a genuine civil war with Juana not only backed by Old Castile and most of Andalusia but also had the assistance of the Portuguese troops. Isabella was eventually victorious however with the assistance of Ferdinand who negotiated and used his militaristic skills giving Isabella advantage and maintaining the theory that Juana was not the true daughter of Henry IV. It was a slow process but eventually in 1479 Castile came under Isabellas control. The same year Juan II of Aragon died and Ferdinand and Isabella eventually became the joint sovereign of Castile and Aragon.The U nion of Crowns was regarded as a union of equals although each kingdom preserved its own social, political, and economic realities.. Aragon was an empire in decline while Castiles empire was just beginning to rise under its energetic young queen. Isabella was a devoted Christian and this religious conviction motivated her campaign to expel the Moors and Jews from Spain and spread Christianity to the rest of the world. Ferdinand, on the other hand, focused on Aragons Italian possessions and a series of royal marriages with the other royal houses of Europe.Even so Ferdinand and Isabella worked together to reform Spain. Until Queen Isabellas victory, politically Castile had been in turmoil. During the opening years of the fifteenth century the Castilian kings had become pawns in the hands of the Castilian aristocracy who exercised a great deal of political power as they had gained control over the majority of the land taken from the Moors. They represented only 3 per cent of the popula tion but owned almost 50 per cent of the land in Castile, leaving the remaining land divided between the Crown and the Church. Once Isabella and Ferdinand had firmly pacified the country, they planned to change this. They began restricting the power of the aristocracy by centralising their government and expanding their judicial system. Hence the monarchy was reformed and it was no longer in turmoil and firmly under the Crowns control.This stabilized the monarchys authority enough so that they could then focus on the completion of the reconquest. United, Ferdinand led the forces of Aragon and Castile to triumph thanks to his military and diplomatic skill. He and Isabella walked together in victory through the gates of Granada, the last Muslim place of defense, in Spain 1492. To Isabella this was a very important demonstration of her very strict Catholic faith and inspired the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition. The results included the expulsion of Muslims from the peninsula and t he expulsion of Jews from her kingdoms in order to create a homogeneous population of Christians. That same year, 1492, Isabella sponsored an expedition by Christopher Columbus that located America and signaled the beginning of a new era for Imperial Spain when he discovered America.Although the Monarchy had been unified in the sense of crowns it failed to emerge the kingdoms in the sense of people and in the sense of a national identity. Other than the fact that the two kingdoms would share the same monarchs, but in other respects they carried on leading the same lives. The only difference now would be that they were now partners, not rivals. Throughout their reign, the word Spain, referred to as it had done in medieval times, to the association of all the peoples in the peninsula, and had no specific political meaning and because of its imprecision they never used Spain in their official title calling themselves instead King and Queen of Castile, Leà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½n, Aragon, Sicily an d so on. Beyond the personal union, no attempt was made to change the complete autonomy of Castile and Aragon, and the achievement of a united Spain was never an objective of theirs. Minor improvements such as easing transport of goods between the realms, and decreeing equality between the three principal gold coins of Spain, helped economic exchange. But all the custom barriers that separated the kingdoms remained fully on force, and their institutions were kept separate.Going back to the medieval ages the crowns of Castile and Aragon had evolved in dissimilar ways, had different ideals and distinct institutions. The major differences were Castile was much larger, occupying almost four times that of Aragon and holding almost 80 per cent of the population, castile was essentially a united state with a single government; it had one Cortes, one tax structure, one language and one coinage, all this added to its size and population gave it greater political initiative than Aragon where each realm was governed independently by its own Cortes.With these major distinctions in mind it would and no attempt to change any of them, it is hard to say that Isabella and Ferdinand are the founders of an emergent Spain. It is true that they consolidated the thrones and pacified their kingdoms. But the only real unification was made by the crowns, not by the people. Also it is true that if it wasnt for them, it is likely that there would be no Spain today. If Juana had become sovereign, the world as we know it today may have been very different as it was Isabella who funded Columbus trip to America and without her Spanish America may not exist. They may not have set out to unify Spain but given time that is precisely what has happened. Along with the peace and order they brought, the emergence of Spain they can also take responsibility for.

Age of the Joker (2012) by Edguy

As seen with their newest album, Space Police, these are crazy people when it comes to power metal. Toby and the gang have made somwthing a bit more special with this release here. This is really where they pull out all the stops to be funny. For these guys, forget the term power metal, instead use the term Comedy Metal because thats what this band really is. Age of the Joker is an album that has many a good tracks in it to keep you on your toes. My personal favorite is the track 2 Out of 7 which is more like a love song gone wrong. The final stretch of the song also has the greatest line ever in power metal history. You know a songs good if it could catch you off guard in a good way like that. Believe me it did, I wasnt hardly listening to it until that line came up and slapped me in the face. This has also made an appearence on The Metal Voices top 10 albums of 2012 making Number 4 I believe. I love this album with a passion and would love to own it on a vinyl and/or CD. I recommend you check this out if you love power metal, you can say you like Iron Maiden and would may still enjoy it. A sfor the rating I give it a 10/10.

Analysis of a Healthcare Lawsuit Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of a Healthcare Lawsuit - Case Study Example Eric H. Holder Jr., the defendant as the United States Attorney General is directly responsible for the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of the Health Care and Reconciliation amendment passed by the US President Barrack Obama on the 23rd of March 2010 (Mead v. Holder‎, 2011). According to section 1501, it requires every American to buy a health care policy from any private company or institution if he/she can afford to do so. This clause will force thousands of American citizens to forcefully buy an insurance policy from many banks and companies and if they fail to do so and do not pass the individual mandate, they will have to face a penalty and would have to pay the government with a penalty known as the Shared Responsibility payment. This penalty may also be applicable over the individual’s spouse or dependent family members. The payment for the Health Care insurance Policy and the Shared responsibility are excluding taxes. The Shared Responsibility payment, if continued would also continue to increase every year. This law will also be forcefully applied on the 62-year old American Citizen, Miss Margaret Peggy Lee Mead, who is a self-employed Single American citizen living in the State of North Carolina. She also works part time and is not eligible for Medicare. However, Miss Mead is also not under any exemption of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and is also not exempted from the Shared Responsibility payment she would have to pay over the years to the government consequently. The Plaintiff would have to pay a Shared Responsibility Payment of around $3,895 to the government by 2020 in different installments per year if she does not opt for a Health Care and Insurance policy from any private entity as per the individual mandate enforced by the act. Miss Mead is under direct enforcement of the act and is under no exemption. This enforcement would

Principles of Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Principles of Economics - Essay Example For example, this figure is equivalent to 9% of the German and 8% of the United States’ per capita GDP. Furthermore, in terms of nature of resources, China has somewhat a small holds of resources based on per capita criteria, which is not even comparable to a developed country of a modest character. These facts reveal the extent of the economic gap between China and the developed countries, which sets it trailing behind (Wolf, 2005). To sustain the country on an economic growth path, the Chinese Government has the responsibility of making significant policy adjustments. These policies should be aimed at transitioning the country from middle-income to high-income status. This includes finding measures to address the social and environment imbalances, improving the access to healthcare and education, setting targets to reduce pollution, expanding social protection, and increasing the country’s energy efficiency (Wolf, 2005). The government should also make efforts to disc over a new road to industrialization, and modify the approach of economic development by developing a circular economy, changing the industrial structure, improving the traditional industries and supporting the strategic and emerging industries. The government of China should also promote use of information technology to support industrialization, which in turn can spur the country’s competitive advantage especially in respect to its expansive manufacturing industry. It would also be extremely important for the government of China to continue focusing on its regional development strategies, including turning around the tendency of widening regional economic gap such as supporting the development of the western regions. The idea of supporting development on certain priority zones can be achieved by setting the national spatial development in an orderly and coordinated manner, which should also include coordinating between urban and rural areas development (Sun, 2003). Question 2 When we say that we are engaged in a ‘global economy’, we mean that we are engaged in economic activities that are beyond a particular country’s borders. This includes a situation where international corporations stop relying on production within the mother country and extend their activities to many countries around the world. The global economy is concerned with globalization of production in areas such as finance, markets, labor force and communications (Ernst & Ozawa, 2002). When we talk of free trade, we are referring to a situation where the government of a certain nation eliminates all the artificial barriers to trade, which are usually established to protect the domestic producers from competition from the international market, particularly originating from the trading nations. Free trade is known to increase production because nations are given an opportunity to concentrate in production of those products that they have a competitive advantage. This e nables countries to enjoy efficiencies that come from increased output and economies of scale. Free trade also promotes the efficiency of resource allocation hence spurring production efficiency. This is because individual countries are able to exercise efficient use of resources, which potentially results to higher output (Ernst & Ozawa, 2002). On the other hand, despite the many benefits, there a number of disadvantages associated with free trade. This includes creation of structural unemployment as a result of removal of trade