Business analysis of Guajilote Cooperativo Forestal, Honduras Essay

Business analysis of Guajilote Cooperativo Forestal, Honduras - Essay Example As a business enterprise, Guajilote Cooperative is a socially oriented not-for-profit organization of illiterate farmers who serve the market of furniture makers by providing low-priced, high-quality mahogany lumber. The cooperative does not seem to have any sufficient strategic direction beyond the good intentions of its original project proponents, the USAID (the foreign aid agency of the United States government) and COHDEFOR (the forestry development service of Honduras), to develop a sustainable model that can be imitated by other national parks for social, environmental, and political motives. Strategic direction is lacking because there are no specific plans to assess the cooperative’s strengths and weaknesses and how these can help address the opportunities and threats it is currently facing. The cooperative needs a strategic plan because without one, it may lose its viability as a business enterprise and collapse from the external and internal pressures that similar organizations face when dealing with the market. This strategic direction that will allow Guajilote to continue to exist and compete in the marketplace is also known as the organization’s competitive strategy, a concept that we define below. Without a strategy, the cooperative can fail as a business venture and a model project, causing serious social consequences: the shortage of mahogany lumber; the return of its members to a life of poverty; dashed hopes for Honduran farmers in other parts of the country who want and expect the project to succeed; and many other imaginable political, economic, and social costs. The strategic plan begins with an assessment of the enterprise and its business environment, and there are three popular tools we can use: the SWOT analysis (Andrews, 1971/1987; Ansoff, 1965; Chandler, 1962), the PEST(EL) analysis (Steiner, 1979; Andrews, 1987), and Porter’s Five Forces model and

The case of Sara Essay Example for Free

The case of Sara Essay Since Sara is mere two and a half years old, Piaget will immediately respond to the case by stating that the child is still under the so-called sensorimotor stage. At this part of the various cognitive stages in the life of an individual, especially to that of a child, Sara is most expected to acquire the basic learning in life by the utilization of both reflex and motor actions from the body. This general observation can be broken down further into the idea that the child, at such an age, is expected to comprehend that he or she is entirely detached or is set apart and is unique from his or her surrounding environment. That is, the various elements that are located within the child’s environment are learned by the child as objects that remain existent even if these very objects are beyond or are hidden from the primary senses of the child. Hence, Sara is already able to recognize the fact that all of her friend’s toys are separate from her self and that, eventually, she is able to understand that her friend’s toys will always be there albeit they are not in her midst. Since the foundation of learning at this age rests strongly on the sensorimotor stages, it is not surprising to know that the efforts of Sara’s father are ineffective. The primary reason behind this is that mere â€Å"telling† or the act of talking to the child is insufficient. Rather, what must be done is that, in order to modify Sara’s inclination towards taking her friend’s toys, her father should use a frown complemented by either a soothing or a calmed voice as Piaget will suggest. Starting at age four, Sara may be able to better infer the mental states of her friends. The explanation rests on Piaget’s preoperational stage wherein the child is compelled by his assumption that the people around her visualize every situation similar or parallel to his point of view. Hence, Sara, by four, will acquire an increase in the ability to comprehend that how her friends see the world is analogous to how she sees that same world.

Emily Bradstreets Poem The Author to Her Book :: Emily Bradstreet Author Her Book Poetry Essays

Emily Bradstreet's Poem "The Author to Her Book" The Author to Her Book, by Emily Bradstreet is a poem in which Bradstreet is laments about the publishing of her writings without her permission. The purpose of the piece is for Bradstreet to express the love, pride and remorse she feels toward her new book and is displayed elegantly through the metaphor of a mother and child. Lines eleven and twelve contribute to the poem’s purpose; they show that Bradstreet is unsatisfied with her work, and desires to fix it. Unfortunately, the book has already been published, and it is too late for her â€Å"child† to attain perfection in its mother’s eyes. The first part of line eleven illustrates the pride Bradstreet takes in her work. â€Å"Yet being mine own†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is Bradstreet’s way of taking ownership of her work, regardless of how misshapen it may seem. Through this line, Bradstreet is saying that because the book is hers, she is the only one with the right and ability to fix it. This is much like when a child gets hurt; only a mother’s kiss can make a â€Å"boo-boo† feel better. There may even be a hint of Bradstreet’s book being like the child whose face only a mother can love. While Bradstreet takes ownership of her book at the beginning of line eleven, by the end of that line, and the beginning of twelve, she is criticizing her work, saying that â€Å"at length affection would thy blemishes amend...† Through this, Bradstreet makes a connection to the beginning of the line, as only her love, care and attention can make the piece beautiful. If she gives enough attention to her â€Å"child† and corrects it enough, perhaps the book would not be such a shame to her. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so ugly. By the end of the twelfth line, Bradstreet has taken pride in her work, and has also criticized it. The last bit of line twelve is where the author shows her remorse. â€Å"If so I could† is the author’s way of lamenting her inability to rearrange the parts of her ill-formed offspring. Bradstreet is saying that her â€Å"child† has already been branded, and there is nothing more she can do to make it perfect.

Legacy of colonialism and the economic development

One of the impacts of colonialism is in the development of trade and commerce between regions and countries that continue to be major factors in today’s economics. South Asia’s economy remains intimately connected to that of its colonizers, primarily with that of the United Kingdom’s. One of the key studies in the development of colonial to modern economics in the region is that of India (United Nations, 2003).The British East India Company was instrumental in expanding and developing India’s economy at the beginning of the 17th century (Reddaway, 1962). At the beginning, the Company had little leverage on the trade since India had little demand for the goods that it brought to the country but traders made lucrative profits in bringing Indian products to Europe. The commercial reforms reflected British policies and administration but also paved the way for the Indian traders and businesses who became significant in international commerce in the 18th centur y.The development of the agrarian economy, which similarly is a focus of current development objective of India, became the main industry. The policies integrated to the Indian customs and thus it did not significantly change the economic structure of the country but it provided more ground for UK companies to be established in the country (Rothermund, 1993).The shift in power developed through the India was effectively colonized by the crown, but the country’s economy remained closely linked with that of the UK (United Nations, 2003). The impact of such a relationship defied the prevalence of the US and Japan in Asian economics. One of the main reasons for the scenario is the degree by which social and cultural influences have been adopted by both countries. Support to UK companies and enterprises have been attributed to the number of Indian immigrants in the UK as well as of British citizens in India (Rothermund, 1991).According to the assessment of the management firm, McK insey & Company (2004), the history shared by India and the UK, both good and bad, has created long-term and successful partnerships that remain to be the critical factors with either country. The importance of economic systems and businesses established since the colonization of India is evident in the degree of confidence given to them in the country’s stock markets which have traditionally been conservative outside of the information technology industry (Levine & Zervos, 1996). Warren (1980) believes that countries that have a colonial history have adopted the capitalism that prevails in most of these countries today because imperialism has crated the economic and industrial foundations suited to capitalist economies.Rothermund (1993) furthermore points out that beyond the business and economic structures, the influence of colonialism can also be seen in the standards, practices and market preferences of Indian businesses: majority of Indian business follow UK standards an d prefer exporting to Europe than to the US, though McKinsey & Company (2004) qualifies such conditions maybe because of the China’s domination in US partnerships. Another indication of the influence of India’s colonial history is that most of its business leaders have been educated in the United Kingdom and the adoption of UK bases English to business communications.In conclusion, the impact of India’s colonial experience is apparent in the economic and business structures that still serve as the main architectecture of its industries. The influence can also be seen in the preferences and treatment of UK and Indian businesses of each other in both countries. Another indication of this influence is the characteristics of its markets, investments and policies that are in place both as a response to the needs of existing industries but also because of the close social and political ties between the two countries.ReferencesLevine, R. and   Zervos, S. (1996).   Stock Market Development and Long-Run Growth.   The World Economic Review, 10, p.323-339.McKinsey & Company (2004). China and India: The Race to Growth. McKinsey Quarterly . Retrieved on June 7, 2007 from http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/article_page.aspx?L2=19&L3=67&ar=1487&pagenum=1.Reddaway, W.B. (1962). The Development of the Indian Economy.   Homewood, IL: R.D. Irwin.Rothermund, D. (1993) An Economic History of India: From Pre-Colonial Times to 1991.   New York: Routledge.United Nations (2003).   Country fact sheet: India.   World Investment Report 2003 FDI Policies for Development: National and International PerpectivesPerspectives.   New York: United Nations Publications, E.03.II.D.8.Warren, B. (1980). Imperialism: Pioneer of Capitalism. London: Verso Press.

Role of Human Resource

We are currently working in Human Resource department of NP enterprise. Marcus is the Human resource (HR) director. The director’s role is to promote and implement human resource values by planning and managing human resource programs and directing staff. He is responsible for making decisions for the HR department on a strategic level, implementing these strategies, manage operations as the strategy is in action, further improve on the strategy and yield the results. Other responsibilities include supporting and guiding his subordinates, complying with the law, enhancing reputation of the company and department and updating the department with new knowledge wherever possible. I am the manager of the department. In general, a human resource manager has the expertise of HR generalist combined with general business and management skill. One of the most important things a human resources manager does is set policies for hiring and recruitment. I am usually responsible for writing up job postings and advertisements when there are slots to be filled, and may also be responsible for creating new positions when needed. Also, my job is to dictate the company’s interview process, and make decisions with respect to how many candidates are offered interviews and the sort of questions that should be asked. Most of the actual interviewing is left up to others, however, the manager typically meets with the final candidates, and usually has the decisive vote when it comes to hiring decisions — but the work of actually narrowing down the pool is typically the responsibility of lower-ranking HR officers. As NP enterprise is a large organisation, the manager needs to report all the department’s activities to Human resource director. Human resource is an important department in every company/ organisation as we are in charge of managing the organisation’s workforce. The central focus for HR management must be on contributing to organizational success. Key to enhancing organizational performance is ensuring that human resources activities support organizational efforts focusing on improving productivity, service, and quality. To accomplish these goals, HR management is composed of several groups of interlinked activities. Some of the activities are: HR Planning and Analysis Through HR planning, managers attempt to anticipate forces that will influence the future supply of and demand for employees. The importance of human resources in organizational competitiveness must be addressed as well. As part of maintaining organizational competitiveness, HR analysis and assessment of HR effectiveness must occur. Staffing The aim of staffing is to provide an adequate supply of qualified individuals to fill the jobs in an organization. By studying what workers do, job analysis is the foundation for the staffing function. From this, job descriptions and job specifications can be prepared to recruit applicants for job openings. The selection process is concerned with choosing the most qualified individuals to fill jobs in the organization. HR Development Beginning with the orientation of new employees, HR training and development also includes job-skill training. As jobs evolve and change, ongoing retraining is necessary to accommodate technological changes. Encouraging development of all employees, including supervisors and managers, is necessary to prepare organizations for future challenges. Career planning identifies paths and activities for individual employees as they develop within the organization. Assessing how employees perform their jobs is the focus of performance management. Compensation and Benefits Compensation rewards people for performing organizational work through pay. This is to encourage the worker to contribute more for the organisation and also, it helps to strengthen the bond between our organisation and employees. Health, Safety, and Security Through a broader focus on health, HR management can assist employees with substance abuse and other problems through employee assistance programs in order to retain otherwise satisfactory employees. Workplace security has grown in importance, in response to the increasing number of acts of workplace violence. HR management must ensure that managers and employees can work in a safe environment. Management Relations The relationship between managers and their employees must be handled effectively. Employee rights must be addressed. It is important to develop, communicate, and update HR policies and rules so that managers and employees know what is expected. Information owned by the HR department include employee’s personal information and qualification, Also, managing paychecks to employees, managing the company’s taxes, employee’s employment details and contracts, healthcare benefits for employees. All the information will be shared with other departments in the organisation when needed. There is an interaction between HR departments and other departments in the organisation. Interactions include managing the supply of employees for other departments such as assigning the right workers to the right jobs, firing inefficient workers and handing paychecks to the employees of other departments.