International Management Essay Example for Free

International Management Essay Q.1. Good governance is one of the qualifying features for attracting inward investment. What ways in which governance can be improved to help countries benefit from foreign investment? Globerman and Shapiro (2002) studied the effects of governance quality on Foreign Direct Investment inflows and outflows, by using a sample of developing and developed countries between 1995-1997. They applied HDI (Human Development Index) and ESI (Environmental Sustainability Index) along with Kaufmann’s six governance indicators which include: voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law and control of corruption) to assess the impact. They found that good governance had a strong positive relationship with FDI inflows. Thus, countries can benefit the most from inward investment by improving on the six dimensions of governance suggested by Kaufman et al (2009). Inward investment generates job opportunities for local people and increase the level of economic activity in the host country. It also raises competition in the domestic market and the standard of living of people by improving the quality of products/services being offered, reducing prices and giving more value for money. With FDI inflows, developing countries benefit from transfer of technology and management practices. Many MNCs (Multi-national companies) drive research development, innovation and are responsible for training the human capital of a less developed host country. Labor productivity and increase in real incomes of citizens of a country are important benefits of FDI inflows into a country. Countries must encourage economic freedom and liberalize trade in order to benefit from FDI inflows. A sound financial system including banks, stock markets and bond markets attract foreign investors. A strong financial system allows MNCs to expand and reach their expected potential and does not limit their growth due to capital constraints (Alam, Mian Smith). When MNCs get opportunities to expand their operations, they make investments in the host country. This additional investment from foreign investors and companies drive economic growth and development in the host country. Governments must develop secure property rights, put in place an efficient public sector and limit regulatory bans and restrictions on foreign companies. Governments must take measures to improve the investment climate (by offering incentives, tax holidays, reduce import duties) to attract and retain foreign investment. Also, governance should be made transparent and free of corruption to gain maximum benefit from FDI inflows (Globerman, Shapiro, Tang, 2004). Â  Government regulation should only aim to correct market failure and protect the welfare of the consumers, environment, employees and society. Bureaucracy, red tapism, complex documentation and regulations should be eliminated to attract more foreign investment and derive maximum benefits from it. Corruption not only deters foreign investors but also limits the spill over effects of economic growth and development to the masses. To reap the maximum benefit out of inward investments is to improve governance in the areas of human capital development. An educated and healthy workforce not only attracts foreign investors but also facilitates quick and effective knowledge and skills transfer. A less skilled and physically weak human resource of a host country starts to rely on the foreign investors and learn nothing from them. Thus, governance and budget allocations in the areas of human capital and infrastructure development must be improved. Such effective governance that protects local interests from unwarranted exploitation but also at the same time creates a conducive environment for foreign investment benefits the most. Q.2. Is sustainability a new meaning? Discuss the extent to which businesses and government have joined up to sustainability? Sustainability was well defined in a 1987 UN Conference as ‘meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’. This encompasses ecological sustainability and human sustainability. Ecological sustainability refers to ‘redesigning organizations to contribute to sustainable economic development and the protection and renewal of the biosphere’ (Dunphy, 2000). Human sustainability means ‘building human capability and skills for sustainable high level organizational performance and for community and societal well-being’ (Dunphy, 2000). Many businesses and governments did not include sustainability as one of their primary objectives to achieve. Business organizations focused all their efforts and strategies on maximizing profits, even if that entailed exploiting the environment and depleting natural resources to obtain short term financial benefits. Governments too ignored this important issue. However, this widespread ignorance and disinterest towards sustainable development that prevailed ten years ago has been reversed. The awareness about the issue has increased now but a lack of cooperation and understanding between the businesses and governments has limited the success of initiatives towards sustainable development. There is a battle between voluntarism and compulsion going on between governments and businesses (Cowe Porritt, 2002). According to Cowe and Porritt, prominent businesses understand their responsibilities, but governments have not taken up their share of responsibilities, suggesting that voluntary business action towards sustainable development is better as compared to government intervention that ultimately has a negative impact. Government policy makers wrongly believe that attaining sustainability just involves devising environmental controls or employee protection laws to reduce exploitation while the businesses hold that by increasing the efficiency and productivity of their existing production systems they can prevent wastage of resources and environmental degradation. Sustainability actually involves developing whole new business models and incorporating organizational cultural change. It is the job of the governments to create awareness and give incentives for businesses to change their policies, procedures and incorporate sustainability in their vision and mission. U.S department of Commerce presents an example where a government department has increased the awareness sustainability. U.S Department of Commerce has encouraged U.S. firms to implement sustainable manufacturing practices. Instead of creating environmental and employee laws and levying tax charges on firms, the U.S Department of Commerce has spread the perception that firms that adopt environmental and economically sustainable manufacturing processes are able to reduce their cost of doing business and gain competitive advantage. U.S Department of Commerce’s Manufacturing Services unit has introduced a Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative (SMI) and Public-Private Dialogue with the aim of outlining U.S. industry’s most pressing sustainable manufacturing challenges and coordinating public and private sector efforts to address these challenges (International Trade Administration, 2010). Q.3. Using familiar case study, apply and critically evaluate the strategies for expansion into emerging markets? In recent times China and India, the two most fast emerging markets in Asia, have presented great opportunities and large market segments to be explored by foreign multinational companies. These countries not only have large consumer bases for products of international companies but also provide highly talented, educated yet less costly human resource (Van de Kuil, 2008). Taking the case of India, we understand that various MNCs have used different expansion strategies to enter the Indian market. Licensing and franchising is an effective expansion strategy. Licensing refers to an arrangement by which the licensor or the international company gives the right to the licensee to use patent rights, trademarks, copyrights or product or processes know how (Levi, 2007). Franchising refers to an arrangement or relationship whereby a franchisor provides a license to the franchisee to use the franchisor’s brand name, production techniques and management techniques in another geographic market. Franchising was used by McDonalds to enter the Indian market. The advantage that McDonald’s had by using franchising to expand into the Indian market was that it did not have to invest large sums of money in India and so did not face any financial risks and development and set up costs of business. It was not only a cost effective way of expansion but it was a quick way to expand. Franchisor (McDonald’s) has considerable control over the management and processes of the franchisee and at the same time benefits from the local knowledge of customer behavior and market trends that the Indian franchisee possesses. The Indian franchisee benefitted as it did not have to develop brand identity or brand positioning. It simply had to leverage the already established brand name and equity of McDonald’s. However, a major challenge that McDonald’s had to face in India was that of maintaining quality standards that it has internationally. In developing countries, it is difficult to find employees that are already trained to carry out the standard services. Strategic alliances and Joint Ventures are other important expansion strategies used by foreign companies to enter the Indian market. Strategic alliance refers to an agreement between two companies in order to combine their value chain activities for the purpose of competition advantage (Levi, 2007). Joint Venture occurs when one company has enough stake in another company that gives it a right to voice opinions in management issues but does not allow it to dominate. When the international retail giant – Wal-Mart wanted to expand its business to India, it formed a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, Inc in 2006. Wal-Mart benefitted immensely from this joint venture to establish itself in the Indian market. Both Wal-Mart and Bharti Enterprise were able to form a working business unit (Fea, 2009). Wal-Mart was able to mitigate reputational and legal risks as it had a local partner involved. It was able to comply with all the Indian government restriction for foreign investors. The only likely threat to both the parties of this joint venture is that conflict of objectives and strategies may create rift between the two partners and raise risks for both.

The feature of inequality in modern society

The feature of inequality in modern society Inequality is an inescapable feature of modern society. Inequality affects modern society in a variety of ways. It is an inescapable feature of the world we live in. The most common inequality is gender. Men and Women are treated different in a number of ways such as in wages and in sports. This has been the same for centuries. Social class also plays a very big role in inequality. 89% of People are still judged by their class. (Glover 2007) Gender inequality is a huge problem in modern society today. One of the most common issues is wages. It is a known fact that men receive higher wages than women. According to a report by the government in 2006 there is a 13% pay gap between men and women. (The Financial Times 2006) The Office for National Statistics website (2008) says that this statistic has risen to 17.1% in 2008 for full time workers and 36.8% for part time workers. The Equal opportunities Commission published an article Facts about women and men in Great Britain 2006 It stated that 66% of mangers and senior officials are men, while women hold 81% of administrative and secretarial jobs. In the finance sector women are just over half the workforce, yet the average hourly pay for a woman working full time in finance is 41% lower than men. Jenny Watson, the chair of The Equal Opportunities Commission states that: Jobs traditionally seen as womens work such as early years care and education are undervalued and underpa id, and later in life many women are forced to take a pay cut for the flexibility they need to raise their own children Men and women usually have an equal start with their career, but when womens childcare responsibilities kick in, this is where the problems start. Most companies and organisations blame maternity leave and childcare responsibilities for the pay gap between men and women. Women are allowed up to six months maternity leave. Recently men have been able to take just as much as women. So why is there still a gap in wages? Women have always been seen as the nurse the teacher or the secretary. The International Labour Organisation website (2010) claims that women only hold 34% of mangers jobs in great Britain. They only receive two-thirds the pay of their male counterparts. According to the International Labour Office Women and men in lower-paid non-manual jobs such as clerks, shop assistants are closest to being equal. Growing up we all had the idea of mens work and womens work. Men were builders and doctors while women were teachers and nurses. This idea hasnt changed much as we grow older. We will all automatically look twice if we see a female bus driver, a male nurse or a female foreman. Its a natural reaction. From birth we see inequalities immediately in boys and girls. Blue is the colour for boys and pink for girls. Girls have their own toys that society deemed appropriate for girls and so do boys. It seems wrong or unnatural in some way to see a boy playing with a Barbie doll or pushing a toy pram. We have all grown up with these perceptions of what colours each sex should wear and what types of toys they should play with, that its no wonder men and women are treated differently when they grow up. It is what is natural to all of us. Gender inequality also exits in the education system. In same sex schools the subject choices concentrate on the gender of the school. For example in a girls only school it is rare that they would offer subjects such as construction studies or woodwork studies, the same for boys schools, they would rarely offer their male students the choice to take home economics. These subjects can only be taken for both boys and girls in mixed gender schools. Another area where gender inequality is present is Sports. Women are in a male dominated world when it comes to sport. The ancient Olympic games website (2009) claims that Women have been fighting to gain equality in sport since 776 B.C. at the Olympic Games, originally known as the Games of Hera. Women were not allowed to play nor watch the games. Although women play the same sports as men do, women receive little or no air time. It is very rare that you would see a womens soccer or rugby match being shown in a sports bar. The media has largely contributed to false stereotypes regarding men, women and sports. They see women as inferior to male athletes. Tennis especially has seen many centuries of gender inequality. Women only play the best of three sets whereas men play the best of five. Im sure any female tennis player would be more than capable to play five or more sets if given the opportunity. There was also a dramatic difference in prize money up until 2006. There was a big di fference in prize money between men and women in Wimbledon. Men were being paid a lot more money than women. A spokesperson for Wimbledon said that the difference in prize money was due to the fact that mens tennis was more exciting than womens. The Wimbledon website (2006) said this all changed in 2006 when both the ladies and mens winners were paid the same amount of prize money. This is a step in the right direction for gender equality in tennis. On the other hand soccer needs to follow in the same path. Women soccer players do not receive the same recognition or the same money that their male counterparts receive. Wayne Rooney earns  £90,000 a week being a professional soccer player for Manchester United and is world famous. I dont think many people would be able to name one professional female soccer player. Men get all the fame and all the recognition. Golf is another sport where females are treated unequally. In most golf courses, women can only play on ladies day and are not allowed to play alongside the male players. Professional Female golf players just like professional female soccer players, do not receive as much money or recognition. These are some of the many inequalities which women are trying to challenge and overcome today. It has stopped women from advancing as fast as their male counterparts. In my opinion women have been neglected in sports just as they have been in many other areas of life such as education and work. More often or not people are judged by their social class. They are discriminated against by where they come from. 90% of 18-24 year olds say people are judged by their class (Glover 2007). This has been happening for centuries and I do not think that it will change in the near future. As suggested by Macionis and Plummer (2008) Gordon Therborn has suggested that social class is one of the key features of modern Europe, as Europe was the first major arena of industrialisation. All the main political parties in Britain are trying to work against social class. Gordon Brown claimed recently that a class free society can become a reality in Britain. There are three shapes of class: The upper classes, the middle classes and the working classes. According to Glover (2007) the upper class is almost extinct with only 2% claiming to be part of it. The Middle class used to be the group between rich and poor. In 1998, 41% of people thought as themselves as middle class, exactly the same proportion as today. (Glover 2007) The Working Class is the lowest of the classes. A few centuries ago working class people were miners. They are known as the poorest of society. Glover (2007) said, Of people born to working class parents, 77% say they are working class too. One one fifth say they have become middle class. The fact that we still have a structure of class shows that people are discriminated because of their class and where they come from. They are discriminated against in the workplace and in schools. As Hutton (2007) described in his article, pupils from schools from middle class or working class areas are receiving little to no places in prestigious schools such as Oxford, even though they have received excellent marks. Their marks sometimes were better than pupils at Upper class schools. This just proves that there is inequality in social class. It obviously depends on where you come from and which school you attend that shapes your future education. No matter where we go in life we will be judged by our class and where we come from. Karl Marx and Max Weber have different views upon social class. Macionis and Plummer (2008) said that Marx defined class in terms of those who own the means of production and those who do not with a residual class in between He says that the owners or the means of production exploit those who produce goods and services, while the working class become alienated consumers. Marx focuses more on the economic side of social class, especially the labour force. Weber and Marx have similar ideas. In Webers view, a persons class status is a determinant of how they will turn out in later life. People will have a better life if they are higher up in class. He thought that a persons possessions and the way they lived was the cause of class conflict. Although Weber believed as Marx did that the economic side of social class was important and caused most of the conflict, he didnt believe that this was the only cause of the conflict between social classes. He saw society back then as having many st atus groups who held a vast amount of power. For example teachers do not own their schools they work for people, but they may be higher up in status than a mechanic who owns his owns and runs his own business. Weber thought that people in politics had more power in society. Weber said that conflict between the classes was a result of many different inequalities. Inequality is definitely an inescapable feature of our society. There are still gender inequalities present in modern society and some that have been around for centuries. I think there will always be inequalities between men and women. It has been around for centuries and nothing has changed, so I do not see it changing in the near future. There will also always be inequalities in social class. It was around in Karl Marxs era and is still here to the present day. People are being judged and criticized by where they come from. Even though the government is claiming that social class will not exist in years to come, they have not backed up their claims yet.

The impact of reverse logistics in retail industry

The impact of reverse logistics in retail industry 1. Background In todays business world, Companies are looking for ways to improve there businesses by reducing costs, and improving labour efficiency. This enables the companies to implement supply chain management into the business. Supply chain management is a process which binds and links the entire process from supplying a product until it gets delivered to the end customer. Reverse logistics is a very essential process which is included in the supply chain management process. Reverse logistics is the process which involves planning, implementing, cost effective flow of stocks and machinery, finished goods, in-process inventory and related information from the point of supplying to the point of final consumption. Remanufacturing and refurbishing are the two vital aspects of reverse logistics which helps in reutilisation and reselling of a product. It also involves recycling of programs, machinery fault or similar asset problems. Few more terms, often used with reverse logistics are: Reconditio ning the machinery when it is not performing up to its mark, repairing it and then using it again. Refurbishing is working on the same product and enhancing and changing it from inside completely. Remanufacturing is similar to refurbishing but may require completely disassembling the product. Reselling is done after one or more of the above three. Recycling happens only when the product is not in condition where it can be worked on like reconditioning, refurbishing, remanufacturing so as to resell it. Reverse logistics is also about keeping the environment healthy by not disposing too much waste, reducing the waste particles or reusing them. 2. Literature Review According to the Reverse Logistics Executive Council, reverse logistics is â€Å"the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost effective flow of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin for the purpose of recapturing value or proper disposal† (Xiaoming Li, Festus Olorunniwo, 2008).   The reverse material movement from end customers to suppliers has received much less attention (Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 2001).   Most returned products are processed to put back to shelf. Two alternative waste management policies are studied and compared. The first policy deals with the recovery chain, that is, the flow of used products from consumers to recovery facilities. The second policy deals with the disposal chain, in which used products are carried to landfills (Murphy, P R. and Poist, R F.2003).There exists a range of ordered sequencing that different companies adopt depending on which activities are engaged in by the firm. Most of the companies set up their processes based on some knowledge of materials flows: inbound receiving, sorting, testing, storing, and outbound shipping. Different products may go through different routes; same products with different types of damages also may undergo different operations. Companies have operational procedures for machine centres; however, returns flows among machine centres are informal in many cases or many factors are not considered (Trebilcock, 2002).   Using the information, we develop a generic returns process flow by integrating various broad factors: demand, package and product conditions, test and repair, secondary market, vendor, charity giving, recycle, and disposal. Now a days, managers reactions were not quite strong as to whether recycling materials that are un-useable generate considerable revenues or if channel clearing considerably reduces obsolete items inventory, and if repaired item s yield reasonable profits in secondary markets. These set of responses are quite surprising because they are contrary to observations from the experiences reported in the trade literature (Reese, 2005). Murphy and Posit (2000) have reported that recycling of materials, reducing consumption and reusing materials are the three most commonly utilized green logistics strategies. Design for recycling (DFR) has become an important dimension for some manufacturers in the recent times (Masanet, 2002).   The ultimate goal of reverse logistics programs is to produce reverse logistics. Resource reduction refers to the minimisation of materials used in a product and the minimization of waste and energy achieved through the design of more environmentally efficient products (Carterand Ellram, 1998).   The increase of eco-efficiency leads to reverse logistics activities in the firm. The outcomes of the eco-efficiency calculations will help authorities in formulating criteria for collection of disposed products and in monitoring end-of-life performance of take-back systems (Huisman, 2002).   Companies must recognize that reverse logistics has become an important source of opportunity for improving visibility and profitability and lowering costs across the supply chain.   Reverse logistics offers an opportunity for improving visibility and profitability while lowering costs across the supply chain. A reverse logistics system will enable us to plan in advance, often as early as the design process, the way to handle returns efficiently and ways this can most effectively feed into the product design plan. Returns provide a revenue generating opportunity via value recapture- return, refurbish, recycle. Sophisticated returns automation systems enable you to leverage a products value by quickly placing it in another product for resale before values depreciate (Anderson, Pat, 2009).   Formerly, firms have been spending significant time and money in improving their forward supply chains while ignoring their potential reverse supply chains. However, in todays competitive business environment, it is important that firms study the profitability and benefits of implementing a reverse supply chain while considering the uncertainties   associated with the supply and composition of used products, disassembly time, recycling or remanufacturing time, and demand for recycled or remanufactured goods(Pochampally, Kishore K. Gupta, Surendra M., Dhakar, Tej S,2009). Few research studies have published specific empirical data regarding the reverse logistics practices of companies.   This multi-stage study employed interviews, site visits, and a mail survey to collect responses from 230 members of the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) regarding their reverse logistics practices.   Results suggest that in spite of the growing importance of reverse logistics, few executives have product return processing as their primary responsibility and often u ndertake this activity along with other job responsibilities.   Most firms handle the product returns process themselves and typically within the same facilities that handle forward logistics. Returning items directly to stock, repackaging and returning to stock, and selling as scrap, were the three top disposition options employed by firms.   Results indicate that, contrary to general understanding, the majority of retailers and wholesalers reported a recovery rate of over 75% of product cost (James R. Stock and Jay P. Mulki, 2009).   If a firm is not able to resell the items, they often end up in land fills, or perhaps recycled. Also, the profit margins could be lower for the manufacturer because in addition to the refurbishing cost, the product often must be sold at a lower price. In view of this, manufacturers desire to maximize profits often dictates the proportion of product that gets refurbished (Vorasayan and Ryan 2006).   Retailer emphasis on training customers in t he proper use of their products which can help in improving customer relations as well as decreasing costs of product returns. Retailers can help a great deal by initial sorting and by making decisions on processing versus returning to manufacturer. This could reduce the uncertainty in the timing and quality of returns that has been blamed for the unpredictability of reconditioning and refurbishing returned products (Guide and Van Wassenhove, 2002).   A reverse logistics flow is much more active, with much less visibility. Retail stores like primark do not initiate reverse logistics activity as a result of planning and decision making on the part of the firm but in response to actions by consumers or downstream channel members.   When a customer returns an item to a retail store, the store collects the items to be sent to a centralized sorting facility.   At the time of return, information about the item and its condition may be entered into the retail stores information syste m, and forwarded to the returns processing centre (Ronald S. Tibben-Lembke and Dale S. Rogers, 2002).   3. Research questions Do you typically return a whole system, or rather just a subset of components, and where should the items go next?   What is the importance of reverse logistics in cost reduction? How reverse logistics influence environmental and social retail environment? How to improve supply chain management with the help of reverse logistics? How to encourage customer loyalty using reverse logistics? 4. Expected Contributions Primark, is a well known retail stores were people do a purchase in bulk due to its low prices.   Demand is changing with a high pace; customer may like something today and something else tomorrow and to keep up with this pace organizations need to adopt returns management. For a clothes store like Primark, which go as per the market demand, they need to update themselves with time as customers these days are all looking for style, current trends and so on. This isnt easy to predict, no one can really forecast what is in today and out tomorrow, this is where returns management comes in picture. A company should know how to reuse or resell by doing some refurbishment. Retail stores and even other suppliers have exchange policies or payback policies which provides customer with an ease of exchanging goods and supplies, once these items are returned, it then goes to production houses for refurbishment or to see what can be done with them in order to reuse or resell them. Organizations in order to survive the competition and to maintain a good customer relationship have to be good at exchange policies and need to shorten the time from accepting the returns to the actual supplier so that they can reduce the operational costs and increase profitability. The important task of management is to mind the gap between returning of products till the time it reaches the supplier; this plays an important role in reducing the costs and increasing the profitability. Keeping the customers happy is the only source of income, so satisfying all they need is really very important. A recent case study implies that Primark is looking for a solution which would facilitate an increase in its volumes which were projected to grow by 30% per annum- from 45,000 cartons daily to levels of 100,000 by 2010. 5. Methodology 5.1 The research method This piece of study or investigation emphasizes more on the utilisation of the reverse logistics approach in retail business like that of renowned store primark. The investigation consists of field as well as desk study. The field study will be done on evaluating companys annual turnover, sales and collection of relevant data via companys website, conducting interviews with various decision makers of concerned departments. Desk study or research will consider examining literature collected via the website of the retail store, retail industries journals, press, statistics and magazines and other media sources. 5.2The concept of interview An analytical study via interview will be conducted for the collection of primary data. The concept is to evaluate the validity and implementation of current reverse logistical operations in the retail business of primark.   Interviews are particularly useful for getting the story behind a participants experiences. The interviewer can pursue in-depth information around the topic. Interviews may be useful as follow-up to certain respondents to questionnaires, e.g., to further investigate their responses (McNamara,1999). The qualitative research interview seeks to describe and the meanings of central themes in the life world of the subjects. The main task in interviewing is to understand the meaning of what the interviewees say(Kvale,1996). 5.3 Interviews The store manager of primark. The manager of marketing department. The manager of finance department. 6. Proposed study timetable Period Aim Task Duration (days) February, 2010 -March, 2010 Collect key principles and research strategic data Finding relevant literatures and evaluating it, online survey methods, interpreting research questions. 15 March, 2010 April, 2010 First meeting with supervisor Finalizing the benchmark of the research area. Discuss the coursework and the research subject of the dissertation. 15 April, 2010 May, 2010 Utilisation of resources Strategic and Statistical analysis of the data and writing the output. 25 May, 2010 July, 2010 Analysing and justifying key findings Interpreting and formulating the relevancy of the collected data for making the supreme structure. 55 July, 2010 Second meeting with supervisor Following the guidelines of the supervisor step by step and implementing the necessary changes to be made. 25 August, 2010 Third meeting with supervisor Fully utilising the resources in-order to follow the concept and application. Completing   the initial draft and heading towards next step. 25 September, 2010 Final meeting with supervisor Finishing the remaining part and Submitting the two copies with a CD of softcopy on 24th September, 2010. 10 7. Resource Implications It would be more helpful to make the use of newsletters, online forum, regular meetings through events, telephonic calls. All this is done to analyze the data and to know how often does primark change its outstanding stocks on the shelves, check the unsold stock to avoid wastage in-order to make improvements in the reverse logistics processes. The presence of application system is important now-a-days in order to maintain and analyze the huge amount of data collected through staff meetings. 8. Evaluation It is quite clear that in the future, more firms will lavish considerable attention on reverse logistics. Many firms have only become aware of the importance of reverse logistics relatively, and have yet to realize the strategic importance of reverse logistics.

personal strengths Essay -- essays research papers

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses A reason that this country works well is that everyone has diverse abilities which can contribute to everyday life. Some people let those abilities shine at work, in their personal life or both. As people have their strengths, they also have their weaknesses. There is a problem to improve those weaknesses when the weakness is not identified. Once the weak point is identified it needs to be resolved. A plan of action for improvement helps in solving the situation. In this paper, I will identify abilities and skills that I possess that contribute positively in my work environment, in my personal life, and in my learning team. I will also identify personal areas that need improvement, and outline a plan of action for improvement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout my life, my strengths and weaknesses tend to gain more clarity, as I grow older. When I was younger, I did not focus too much on this part of myself. I was interested in child things. I must now use my strengths to improve my weaknesses to strengthen my faults. Several of my strengths are centered on my profession because the majority of my time is spent there. Some of my qualities are beneficial to different situations, while the other qualities hinder. Although we describe our strengths as positive attributes and our weaknesses as negative attributes, they make us who and what we are as individuals. Because of these qualities, each of us is unique in different ways. It is imp... personal strengths Essay -- essays research papers Personal Strengths and Weaknesses A reason that this country works well is that everyone has diverse abilities which can contribute to everyday life. Some people let those abilities shine at work, in their personal life or both. As people have their strengths, they also have their weaknesses. There is a problem to improve those weaknesses when the weakness is not identified. Once the weak point is identified it needs to be resolved. A plan of action for improvement helps in solving the situation. In this paper, I will identify abilities and skills that I possess that contribute positively in my work environment, in my personal life, and in my learning team. I will also identify personal areas that need improvement, and outline a plan of action for improvement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout my life, my strengths and weaknesses tend to gain more clarity, as I grow older. When I was younger, I did not focus too much on this part of myself. I was interested in child things. I must now use my strengths to improve my weaknesses to strengthen my faults. Several of my strengths are centered on my profession because the majority of my time is spent there. Some of my qualities are beneficial to different situations, while the other qualities hinder. Although we describe our strengths as positive attributes and our weaknesses as negative attributes, they make us who and what we are as individuals. Because of these qualities, each of us is unique in different ways. It is imp...

Gendering the Welfare State Essay -- United States Politics Welfare Pa

Gendering the Welfare State The impetus for the creation of welfare in the United States was children . Children are viewed as a social good— the good students (or the troubled youth) of tomorrow or the devoted worker (or the unemployed worker) of the future. However rampant the notion of the free-market, capitalist society, children, argued proponents, are not autonomous beings and should not be treated as so. Therefore, it was morally right and just to create a program providing for children who could not be provided for. Along the long road from New Deal policies, welfare shifted form many times, most notably to adjust to the growing sense that family is also a part of child development and well-being and parents must be included in financial support. The welfare system as we have known it in our lifetimes has been in place for the supposed aid of families and children. This paper will lay out the main components of the current welfare system, test the extent to which the system purports to be women a nd family friendly and the extent to which it actually is, and locate the place men have within the system. Furthermore, I will look to the current state of welfare as it approaches reauthorization, reviewing proposed changes and suggesting others to fully discover that the United States welfare system, though providing a very necessary service, devalues women and acts as a block against women acquiring agency and independence. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed TANF into law. The 'Temporary Aid For Needy Families' policy created several new distinctions between itself and pre-'96 law. The most important, with regard to scope and effect on women, were the devolution of power to the states, a federally imposed five-year... ...he American welfare system, which in many ways is a useful tool for families living in poverty. The attention to women, promised by the program but not realized in its actuality, must be reevaluated if the system is going to become a tool for empowering women and turning out productive members of society. Internet Sources: 1) Families that Work: Policies for Reconciling Parenthood and Employment. Janet C. Gornick Marcia K. Meyers. New York. Russell Sage Foundation. 2003. 2) "Reforming Welfare by Rewarding Work". Hage, Dave. Minneapolis. University of Minnesota Press. 2004 3) "Common Dreams News Center. "Unequal Treatment Over the Law". Online: available: http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0822-06.htm 4) "Marriage and Welfare Reform: The Overwhelming Evidence that Education Works. Online. Available: http://www.heritage.org/Research/bg1606es.cfm

Marketing Mix Nikon Essay

1.0 INTRODUCTION Alhamdulillah, first of all I would like to thank God as finally I were able to finish my assignment that have been given to me by sports facilities’ lecturer, Encik Noorazlan Bin Ab Aziz. He always listen and gives advice to me, he also taught me how to express my idea, showed me a different way to approach a research problem and need to be persistent to accomplish any goal. He always give me supports and guide to me how to do our assignment in purpose to produce a good outcome from research that been studied. Luckily, all the problems can be settled down and I were able to adapt properly and wisely. Besides that, big thank I address to the staffs Kelab Golf Pantai Sri Tujuh, Tumpat Kelantan because without their guides my project cannot be done properly like this. Place that I had choosed for this assignment is Pantai Sri Tujuh, Tumpat Kelantan. Finally, thank to my friend, my classmate, my sister that always help me finished my assignment, helping me anytime and solving my unsolved problem. Hope that all the effort will give a lot of benefits to me and also to my assignment. 2.0 BACKGROUND OF PANTAI SRI TUJUH 3.0 OBJECTIVES The objective of this club is to provide social and recreational activities for members. It is also to conduct major national and local competitions as development process to upgrade skill and status of the members in golf. This club also play role to establish and conduct development programmes for youth and aspiring members.As for the other golf club this club try to achieve the vision to be a well-known club and promote the sport of golf to the local as the golf is not popular like football to the local.So the management of this club want to address the local about the golf so that sport of golf can get its place in the local citizens’ heart. 4.0 The organization chart This is the organization chart for Pantai Sri Tujuh Golf Club. This chart is not fully finish due to the staff changes and the improvement of the organization system in order to compete with other successful club and achieve the objective of this club. 5.0 Facilities and services offered in Pantai Sri Tujuh * Chalets * Management office * Surau * Toilets * Air conditioner * Sport light * Parking area * Cafe * Store for equipment * Dustbins * Television * Fire extinguisher * Post guard * Bunker * Diving range * Waterpark 6.0 SOME EXAMPLES OF FACILITIES AND SERVICES Chalets Toilet Cafe Management Office Spotlight Air-conditioner Lobby Hall 7.0 SOME EXAMPLES OF EQUIPMENTS 8.0 LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY Pantai Sri Tujuh Golf Club is continuously looking into the future growth of the company and its people who will make it happen. We’re looking to build up a world-class team of experienced and motivated individuals, who will bring their expertise to maximize the value of our technology and business development activities. 8.1 Responsibilities : * The management provide a locker for the player * They provide rules for player and the spectators while playing golf * They briefing about how to play golf for the new player * Serving meal for the players 9.0 MANAGING FACILITIES 9.1 supervision Every 2 days they will send report to supervisor about daily usage of equipment. For example how many balls the player used. They also do scheduling work 2 people in morning session and 2 people in night session. 9.2 Booking To play in this club, players do not have to book. They can play on the spot and anytime they want except on Saturday. This is because on that day the VIP from secretary of Kelantan have booked the golf club for the VIP. 9.3 Schedulling This club opened from 8.00 a.m to 12.00 a.m. there have two shift. One shift starts from 8.00 a.m to 5.00 p.m. around this time the customers or the players can contact the organizer at Pantai Sri Tujuh. After 5pm till 12am the customers can ask the driving range crew for any reservation or wanted to play in the golf field. 9.4 Package * RM 9 for 100 balls * RM5 for 50 balls 10.0 FACILITY SYSTEM AND OPERATION THE FAN * They provide air conditioner in meeting room, management office, surau, THE LIGHTNING * They provide this lightning, pendaflour at surau, toilet, management office. That’s means each corner have one pendaflour. SPOTLIGHT * Spotlight are available for lighting purpose. 11.0 FACILITY MAINTENANCE Every day, employees will check the equipment and count the ball to make sure all the equipments are in good condition and are complete. If the balls are not enough, they have to report to their supervisor to supply the balls for the player. Sometimes player will hit the ball outside the driving range. The stuff on the duty has to collect all the balls and record the data in maintenance book. Every three days a week, supervisor will check the data and give a comment and feedback. This is the store that keeps all the equipments. 12.0 RISK MANAGEMENT AND SECURITY This is a picture to remind the visitors and customers on certain things which are: * The customers are not allowed to bring their own golf ball. * They are not allowed to collect the cluttered golf ball on the field. * They are not allowed to hit the ball in front of the driving range. * Any injury are not in the responsibility of the golf club * They are not allow wearing slippers but are necessary to wear a proper golf shoes during playing golf. The golf club promotes CCTV to manage their security department. This because, the operation hour of this club house open till 12am. They also provided 24hours guard to keep the golf club in safe. Those people who got nothing to do with the golf club or do not have any proper appointment are allowed in the area of Pantai Sri Tujuh Golf Club. This is a simple prompt for all the customers and visitors on the rules and regulations of the field. A good facility must have this kind of rules and regulation to guide people on how to use the facil ity correctly. 13.0 FACILITY EVENTS AND ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT 13.1 Some events from the others management The above picture shows some of the souvenirs from other management that collaborates with Pantai Sri Tujuh Golf Club. Usually the events are participating by the staff of the golf club itself. As you can see, Pantai Sri Tujuh Golf Club love to team up with other organization because this golf club really appreciate their working partner and they respect them as their customers. 13.2 VIP Club Members This is the Board Members of Pantai Sri Tujuh Golf Club. The one in the blue shirt is the secretary of Kelantan. He always comes to this golf club to play every Saturday. They always organized some events within the VIP committee. They love to come here because of the view and the scenery. The exciting view of this golf club is facing the ocean so it attracts not only VIP but the normal people who love to play golf.The surrounding around this golf club provide the members fresh air and condition. 14.0 CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, I chosed Pantai Sri Tujuh Golf Club because of the view and scenery. The exciting view of this golf club is facing the ocean so it attracts not only VIP but the normal people who love to play golf. People who are check in at Pantai Sri Tujuh chalet also can spend their time at this golf club. This golf club provides many facilities about golf. It have bunker, driving range, and. Near the golf club there has a water park which is only provided for children. The customers no need to worry about the safety of their children as there has a guard to keep his eye on them. There also have chalets for the visitors and customers to stay at Pantai Sri Tujuh. In front of the chalet there also has a hall for the visitors to make barbeque, birthday party or what else. With this facilities provided, the customers will satisfied and feel more comfortable to come to this club besides they feel safe. Therefore, this golf club is still in progress and will upgrade the incomplete facilit ies. The manager wants to make this golf club more official and famous among the people in this country.So that this club becomes a well-known club in this country of Malaysia.With such a vision no wonder in a few years the PGA Tours will held in Kelantan specifically at Pantai Seri Tujuh Golf Club. 15.0 REFERENCES Persons that I interviewed at Pantai Seri Tujuh Gof Club : 1.Mr. Khairul Ahmad 2. Mr. Khairuliswadi Bin Ali 3.Mr. Mohd Faisal Bin Rosnan 4.Mr. Mohd Syukri Bin Salleh 5.Mr, Baharuddin Bin Ismail 16.0 APPENDIX

Frank Lloyd Wright Essay

As an architect, Frank Lloyd Wright pushed the American boundaries of art, and for over seventy years he envisioned and physically brought to the world his vision of space, buildings, and a slight avant-guard construction in architecture. Wright, as an architect in the late 19th and early 20th century became synonymous with Prairie style houses as well as organic architecture. In the following essay his exploits in the endeavor of architecture, as well as his career from early in his life to his later life will be examined. â€Å"Frank Lloyd Wright introduced the word ‘organic’ into his philosophy of architecture as early as 1908. It was an extension of the teachings of his mentor Louis Sullivan whose slogan â€Å"form follows function† became the mantra of modern architecture. Wright changed this phrase to â€Å"form and function are one,† using nature as the best example of this integration. † (Elman). It is with great accolades that Wright is thought of as one of America’s best architects, and with innovative style, his uncompromising nature as an artist, and his unyielding artistic view Wright is still considered to be ahead of his time (Ken Burns). Wright studied at the University of Wisconsin at Madison but soon learned he had a great passion for architecture and so moved to Chicago. In Chicago he teamed up with architect J. L. Silsbee. After this apprenticeship, Wright moved on to the firm Sullivan and Adler. It is with Louis Sullivan that Wright began to establish himself as an architect, as Westcott House states, â€Å"As an apprentice to Louis Sullivan, Wright shared Sullivan’s desire to create uniquely American architecture and to rebound from the chaotic restlessness in American architecture of the late 1800s. † Although this conglomeration was beneficial for Wright, he eventually discovered that he was more interested in residential architecture, and broke with the firm in 1893 to begin his own business Oak Park Studio in Oak Park Illinois. (Westcott). Although the tutelage that Sullivan offered to Wright was slightly traditional in scope, Wright managed to extrapolate from Sullivan and Adler the beginnings of his own ideas of space and architecture. In the architectural world, buildings were still being built as traditional and classical, along the lines of Greek facades, and clean, straight lines; mostly boxed shaped and unimaginative (Library). In this awkward and banal stage of architecture, Wright turned his attention to the Far East, for he found no muse with the Occident. It was with Japanese style and tradition that Wright created the Winslow House (1939), as Westcott states, â€Å"From Japan, he borrowed the concept of the tokonama, a permanent element in the home and the focus of contemplation and ceremony. What is tokonama in Wright’s work? The hearth. The hearth is often the vertical axis from which the horizontal floors radiate. † Frank Lloyd Wright’s early style was not yet as progressive as his later works such as the Guggenheim. In 1909 Wright traveled to Europe. It was in Europe that Wright became more independent with his ideas of architecture. While most of the architectural world was focusing on the denial of the machine and technology, Wright was fully embracing the concept as Blake writes, †¦between 1889, when Wright built the first section of his house in Oak Park, and 1909, twenty years later, when his first two most beautiful Prairie houses – the one for Avery Coonley and Frederick C. Robie, respectively-were completed, Wright had actually built something like 140 houses and other structures! In addition, he had completed nearly fifty project for various clients, and many of these were widely published and exhibited. Indeed, Wright’s work took up an increasing share of the annual exhibitions at the Chicago Architectural Club from 1894 onward†¦unlike the latter-day functionalists, Wright never believed that the machine look was an essential result of machine fabrication. ‘This plain duty (of dominating the machine) is relentlessly marked out for the artist in this, the Machine Age. ’ (Blake, 315). Contemporary America was embellished with style works involved purely in height and construction materials, Wright was indulging his artistry in a completely different light. Although Wright was a great experimentalist, he also delved into the idea of space, and how space functions. Even in his early career, in works such as FLLW Home and Studio and Unity Chapel (Heinz), that expressed his Shingle Style, Wright was still very much obsessed with how space can be manipulated by the materials, or lack of materials around it, as Scully writes, Through all these experiments in spatial continuity and abstract control Wright never entirely abandoned the rectangular module, nor did he ever entirely lose sight of European achievements†¦Wright remained, too, more sculpturally aggressive than the Europeans were at that period. His sculpture has the double quality of seeming almost solid and yet being fully expressive of his deeper considerations, the hollow of interior space. The Lloyd Lewis House of 1940 is an excellent embodiment of this expressive union (Scully, 27). Throughout Wright’s entire career, the objective of union was pressing for him. Again, it was with the machine that Wright found a way in which art and environment engaged with one another. With steel and concrete Wright focused his attention on structure, and the advances that these materials made were innumerable especially when considering the Charnley residence. Though this house was built during his Sullivan years, Wright still harbored what would be known as his personal style, or even the influential Chicago style (Blake, 276) and the key element of modernity. The house is of a geometric shape, three stories high, with ‘Roman’ brick, or elongated brick, and the composition involved basic classical symmetry. Wright, in his early career focused much of his architecture with the block system. He enjoyed using rectangular shapes, and incorporated the classical manner with the base of the building, truncated masonry shafts, and a slab roof (Blake). The Charnley house was built in 1891, and exhibited the box look that Wright quickly shied away from as it was too pedestrian and stale for any modern way of approaching architecture. He did however stick with this block system for a few more years and produced dramatic houses as Scully states, Wright went on to exploit his block system in many other houses which were as appropriate as the Millard House to the California landscape. In the Storer House he developed the blocks as piers and opened the building into an articulated pavilion; in the Freeman House he dramatized the system with great beams and elaborated the patterns and perforations of surface which the blocks made possible. The Ennis House used its hill as a Mayan temple base and loomed at the top like something from Tikal. But the twenties were not rich in commissions for Wright, and his sometimes rather desperate search for stimulus led him to other Indian forms, as in the Lake Tahoe Summer Colony project of 1922, where the cottages not only closely evoked the shaped of the pines around them but also resembled the tepees of the Plains Indians. (Scully, 25). From the rectangle to the circle, Wright advanced in architecture and his ideas of what form should contain as Davis states, â€Å"Frank’s designs gradually evolved from rectangular, triangular, and hexagonal forms toward designs based on circle. Some circular forms first appeared in solar residences, such as the Jacobses’ second house. † (108). It is with this evolutionary concept that Wright made his mark in the architectural world. While in Europe, Wright was witness to various designs that incorporated environment in their composition. The strict adherence of the block that was so popular in America at the time had no niche in European style. Wright enjoyed seeing the German styles ebb and flow with their construction materials and he was undoubtedly convinced of their superior performance as part of the landscape than were skyscrapers (i. e. Sears Tower, and others) that were being aggrandized in America in the early 20th century. The epiphany that introduced itself to Wright while in Europe can best be attributed to Raymond, and as Secrest states, What was equally distressing for Wright, perhaps, was a contemplation of the direction that modern art was clearly taking. If he had seen flowing movements in Germany closely, as no doubt he had, he should have seen the similarities between the landscape Raymond had painted, to which he had taken such a dislike, and similar landscapes painted by Kandinsky in 1909. Raymond’s exaggerated distortions of line and color and his radical simplification of the actual scene being illustrated, all of which were meant to produce a far great emotional impact than, say the serene and naturalistic landscapes of the Impressionists, were in the accepted manner of the new group of Expressionist painters†¦Wright somehow knew that Expressionism and its closely related school, Abstractionism, were taking art, and architecture along with it, down a path to which he would become absolutely opposed. (Secrest, 234). So, it was not with Expressionism that Wright found a kindred spirit but with Abstractionism that the revolution of architecture grabbed hold of Wright. The trip, and later trips to Europe greatly impressed Wright, however, it must not be surpassed that his own Midwest upbringing had great influence in his style. Wright brought to the architectural world the Prairie style . This included low sloping rooflines, cantilevered overhangs that juxtaposed the concrete and windows that in turn created an horizontal line that gave the style the name Prairie (Westcott House). The natural landscape was a great influence on Wright throughout the breadth of his career, as Blake states, There was no chance for a free, democratic architecture, Wright felt, until man could make buildings unbend, until the building could be shaped by the desired flow of space in any and all direction. Such buildings would be truly ‘organic,’ for not only did they express the aspirations of free men to free space, but they also expressed a kind of structure that had within it all the elements of living things in nature-muscles, tendons, fibers, skin-all woven together into a single organism acting in unison†¦To Wright, American architecture had to be Nature’s architecture-organic, flexible, free. Conversely, he felt, all straight, post-and-beam architecture was, in effect, an expression of a straight-laced, autocratic, European concept of society. (Blake, 340). With the notion of organism, and the organic Wright left his early architectural ‘block’ years and traversed into his more controversial buildings such as the Usonian Houses. One very spectacular Usonian style was the Turkel house, built in Detroit in 1955. Usonian architecture occurred much later in Wrights career, and was an antithesis to how urban architecture was becoming in America; Usonian was ‘anti-urbania’. Though Wright is well known for his residential buildings, he also liked to maintain the involvement of nature in buildings. Usonian buildings were seen as a sanctuary for Wright, one in which a person could feel rejuvenated and not pressed in by the foreboding buildings of the city. Wright taught his Taliesin Fellowship apprentices that architecture is about emotion and the expression of that emotion with reference to the landscape in which the building will reside. This reflection of nature in art would soothe the occupant’s spirit, and thus the philosophy of architecture for Wright in his later career was that of fluidity in design in all aspects. The Usonian ideal built itself out of this philosophical outlook and ten Ohio projects were finished after World War Two (Westcott House). The Usonian design can best be described with the Jacob’s house built in 1937. The culmination of flawless design and organic architecture proved to apex with the Jacob’s house. Wright still had a decade plus left in his career, but the joining of his ideas and construction materials can best exhibited with the Jacob’s House as McDonough states, Wright included other design innovations in the Jacobs house, such as the use of glass, stained wood, and brick walls in order to eliminate the need for paint, varnish, plaster, and wallpaper,. In place of a cellar, Wright tripled storage space with a row of closets running the length of the outside wall of the bedroom corridor. Holed piercing the house’s roof overhangings conducted rainwater into drains in the foundation blab, eliminating gutters and downspouts. He replaced the garage with a carport that was walled on only two sides and connected to the front entry. Wright removed doors from kitchen cabinets, abolished light fixtures and radiators, and designed much of the furniture himself. (McDonough, 92). Wright had complete control over this house and its construction, right down to the furniture. He was completely in power for every inch of the plans. The innovation involved in the Usonian style was progressive. The layout of the house, with the absence of gutters was very non-traditional. Though Wright’s contribution to architecture was expansive, until 1949, he was not fully recognized by the American Institute of Architects . Wright was criticized for his somewhat post-modern glimpse into the world of architecture. His organic style though praised overseas in Europe did not win a large audience in the states, â€Å"Despite the face that Frank had never joined the American Institute of Architects and over the years had been quite critical of its members, he received their prestigious gold medal in 1949. Ironically, Frank cherished this award more than any other. At last, he had received the highest of honors from professionals in his own country. † (Davis, 119). This was a great moment in Wright’s career, previously rebuffed by the American architectural community for being avant-guard, he now owned a captivated audience, and from his Prairie, to his Usonian style, Wright was still breaking architectural boundaries. Wright was the leading architect in the Chicago style as can be exhibited with his Charnley residence, as previously stated, and from his Shingle style in his early career, the block style which he quickly abandoned to the Usonian and Oriental style residencies, he came to be one of America’s leading architects. He lead the trends in buildings, and surpassed the ideals of the classical, Greek look to come to his own influenced Oriental style houses such as the Guggenheim museum. Wright was being recognized the world over as an innovative and purely pioneering architect, †¦Wright’s genius began to be recognized and honored throughout the world. The Royal Institute of British Architects awarded Wright a gold medal (1939), he was inducted into the National Academy of Architects in both Uruguay (1941) and Mexico (1942), and he was invited to represent the United States at the International Convention of Architects in Moscow 91937). On the domestic scene, he received honorary degrees from Wesleyan, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Wisconsin. The Museum of Modern Art in New York City held an extensive retrospective of Wright’s work from November 1940 to January 1941, and he was featured in the Masters of Four Arts Exhibition at Harvard’s Fogg Museum along with French sculptor Aristide Maillol, Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, and Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. (McDonough, 100). With this recognition, Wright is still known throughout the world today as one of America’s best architects. His buildings scope the expanse of seventy years worth of work. He used a myriad of styles and ideas to construct buildings and in his imaginative approach he created for architects a way in which nature twined with machine, and through his Usonian concepts, conglomerated into a work of not just construction materials, but art. In the culmination of Wright’s career, the apex can best be attributed to his plans and development of the Guggenheim museum. World renowned for its genius in design, the Guggenheim museum offered Wright the chance to display his Oriental concepts in a building that was purely his own. In the development of its lines, its structure, its very shape, denied the urbania movement in American architecture, in fact nothing in the world existed quite like the Guggenheim, nor is it imitated to the degree for which Wright conceptualized it. In its flowing movements of the outbuilding, to its naturalistic color scheme of clay, did Wright ever produce something so similar to an organism in nature. The Guggenheim museum was a statement for Wright; one in which he favored the ideas of going against the mainstream popular notion of steel construction in a city. With the Guggenheim, again, Wright created the antithesis to the city, he gave the city something natural, which made the building stand out even more- the steel surroundings and glass were eclipsed with the clay design of the Guggenheim, The Guggenheim Museum was almost finished when Wright died in April 1959. Apart from its importance as a plastic statement, it is important as Wright’s last slap at the city. No building could be designed to fit less well into the established urban pattern-and that, in Wright’s view, was about as great a compliment as you could pay a building. Both in form and in its clay color the Guggenheim Museum looks like a growing organism in a graveyard-not pretty, but certainly alive and kicking. Its exterior is perhaps a little too plain and crudely finished-one of the few unornamented Wright buildings, perhaps because Wright wanted nothing to distract from the boldness of the principal statement. But the chances are that when the planting begins to trail over the curved parapets, the Guggenheim Museum may look a good deal softer than it did on its opening day-almost mellow toward its surroundings†¦(Blake, 379-380). In its lack of conformity, Wright made his architectural statement best with the Guggenheim museum. The organic shapes, from the outside as well as the inside lead the viewer to fully engross themselves in a mixture of light and air, which are common sensations exhibited with Usonian works. The exhibition area is a concave dome with a glass covering at the top. The space inside the museum creates the atmosphere of fluidity so prevalent in Wright’s designs. The genius of the art museum is that Wright had a completely new concept of how art should be displayed. The spiral’s continuity allows the viewer to see art in an uninterrupted fashion and the narrow galleries allow the viewer to become involved in the art because they are seemingly accosted by it, forced to view it. (Janson, 37). It is with organic form that Wright can best be remembered as an architect. The organic form is prevalent even in his early Prairie house style, though the block style does not exactly call attention to this. His organic style is one that developed from Wright’s love of the Orient, and the early Japanese houses he accomplished. Wright was not simply interested in the art of organic architecture but in the philosophy behind the designs, as he writes, Many people have wondered about an Oriental quality they see in my work. I suppose it is true that when we speak of organic architecture, we are speaking of something that is more Oriental than Western. The answer is: my work is, in that deeper philosophic sense, Oriental. These ideals have not been common to the whole people of the Orient; but there was Laotse, for instance. Our society has never known the deeper Taoist mind. The Orientals must have had the sense of it, whatever may have been their consideration for it, and they instinctively built that way. Their instinct was right. So this gospel of organic architecture still has more in sympathy and in common with Oriental thought than it has with any other thing the West has ever confessed. (Wright, 218-219). Wright’s mark in the architectural world is strongly tied with his philosophy of the organic. Wright, while talking about instinct, developed for future architects a way in which buildings gave residents a sense of something natural in space. The walls, the ceilings, the floors in each of Wright’s buildings each gave a sense of heightened space, of air and light moving naturally through the framework of the lines of the building. Wright did not like to see limitation in architecture, but chose to see possibility. In this possibility such works as the Imperial Hotel, Fallingwater, Johnson Wax and the Guggenheim were each created. It is the possibility of space existing not separate from the design but twined with the environment, and harboring to the natural landscapes own detail that made Wright famous (as can be best seen in Fallingwater, where the house doesn’t disrupt the flow of water, but allows the building to converge with the water, and thus gives that fluidity so governed in Wright architecture). As Wright writes, But in this land of ours, richest on earth of all in old and new materials, architects must exercise well-trained imagination to see in each material, either natural or compounded plastics, their own inherent style. All materials may be beautiful, their beauty much or entirely depending upon how well they are used by the Architect. In our modern building we have the Stick. Stone. Steel. Pottery. Concrete. Glass. Yes, Pulp, too, as well as plastics. And since this dawning sense of the ‘within’ is the new reality, these will all give the main motif for any real building made from them. The materials of which the building is built will go far to determine its appropriate mass, its outline and, especially, proportion. Character is criterion in the form of any and every building or industrial product we can call Architecture in the light of this new ideal of the new order. (Wright, 61). In America still there exists Wright’s philosophy of the organic. It is with his use of light and space in his buildings that his career culminated in a worldwide acceptance of genius paired with artistic persuasion. The materials involved in creating a building are very harsh, they denote sharp lines, and geometrical alignment. Wright gave architecture a new and innovative way in which buildings could be unified with the earth. Modern architecture would not be the same if Wright had not developed the Usonian style, and thus give freedom from the block, and classical styles incorporated even today in architecture. Wright wrote, I learned to see wood as wood and learned to see concrete or glass or metal each for itself and all as themselves. Strange to say this required uncommon sustained concentration of uncommon imagination (we call it vision), demanded not only a new conscious approach to building but opened a new world of thought that would certainly tear down the old world completely. Each different material required a different handling, and each different handling as well as the material itself had new possibilities of use peculiar to the nature of each. Appropriate designs for one material would not be at all appropriate for any other material. In the light of this ideal of building form as an organic simplicity almost all architecture fell to the ground. That is to say, ancient buildings were obsolete in the light of the idea of space determining form from within, all materials modifying if indeed they did not create the ‘form’ when used with understanding according to the limitations of process and purpose (Wright, 23). For Wright, and other progressive architects today, function has a different meaning, one other than synonymous with blocks. And the shapes of buildings are forever changed with Wright’s organic style. Work Cited Blake, Peter. (1961). The Master Builders. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. Burns, Ken. (1998). Frank Lloyd Wright. PBS home video. Burbank California. Davis, Frances A. (1996). Maverick Architect. Lerner Publications Company, Minneapolis. Elman, Kimberly. Legacy Essays. Heinz, Thomas A. (1993). Frank Lloyd Wright Midwest Portfolio. Gibbs-Smith, Salt Lake City. Janson, H. W. & Anthony F. (1997). History of Art. Harry N. Abrams, Inc, New York. Library. McDonough, Yona Zeldis. (1992). Frank Lloyd Wright. Chelsea House Publishers, New York. Scully, Vincent Jr. (1960). Frank Lloyd Wright. George Braziller, Inc. New York. Secrest, Meryle. (1992). Frank Lloyd Wright. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. Westcott House. (2002). Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright, Frank Lloyd. (1954). The Natural House. Horizon Press, New York.