ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
This paper reviews the article by Mark Shenk on crude oil prices reported in Bloomberg.com on May 7, 2009 (Shenk, 2009). In this article Shenk, states that in anticipation of the revival of the economy in the near future, the oil demand will increase based on increased consumption, the oil prices rose to a new high since November 2009. The author quotes the report of the Treasury Secretary, showing a reassuring position of the US banking system, as the reason for the gain in the prices. Changes in Demand for Oil After reading this article, I do not think that there will be a drastic change in the demand for oil in the immediately following months. Although the statement of the Treasury Secretary talks about a better position of the US banking system, the inventory levels of US crude oil rose by 2.8% above the five-year average for the period at 375.3 million barrels during the week ended May 1(Shenk, 2009). The oil demand would increase only when there is an increase in the consumption of oil on the revival. The oil demand is affected by several factors including the oil reserve position and production levels. The consumption of oil causes a great change in demand for oil, which again depends on the increase in the per capita income of the people. Changes in the exchange rates and changes in stock indices also affect the oil demand largely. Speculation in oil as a commodity would cause a serious change in demand. Changes in Supply of Oil The law of supply implies that when the oil prices increase the supply position would automatically increase since the price rises increase the revenue. Excess production and lack of spare capacity with the OPEC countries will affect the supply of oil. This would lead to piling up of inventories and a resultant change in supply. A change in consumption would also result in a corresponding change in the supply of oil to the market. Constraints in the refining capacity would affect the supply position of oil. Changes in demand also affect the supply position, with higher demand for oil increases the supply and vice versa. Government Intervention on Oil Price When the government interventions and fix the maximum price that could be charged for oil would vitiate the supply position seriously, as the quantity the producers would be willing to supply would be much lower than the quantity the consumer is willing to buy. This would lead to a shortage of oil. Gas stations would frequently run out of oil and the quantity would be rationed based on the ability of the people to wait in long queues. The price control by the government would thus lead to shortages or surpluses of oil depending on the revenue that the producers can earn from the price fixed by the government. Producers would be worse off when the price is fixed arbitrarily at a lower
Both the companies are actually facing multidimensional problems in India for the last couple of years. The key issues can be summarized as:  1. Management: While the companies were busy finding out the reason behind the allegations, they were supposed to keep the situation under control, by not unnecessarily igniting the passions.  2. Crisis Management: Immediate challenge for the companies was to retain the customer base and market space for themselves, as it took many years for the company to come to this place.  3. Global Business Ethics: The ethics required the company not to compromise on the health and safety standards of consumers in India and keep the standards as high as meant for a consumer in some developed part of the world.  4. Stakeholder Management: Key stakeholders for the companies are the customers, the respective governments, the opinion builders, the equity holders, the media, NGOs, the strategic partners, the employees and of course the environment. Both the companies are supposed to keep these stakeholders in high esteem as far as devising policies for future are concerned. But as far as handling this issue is concerned, the Crisis management will take the topmost priority, as this would be used to buy some time for a permanent solution. Taking a comprehensive look at the adherence to global business ethics is the second priority. Stakeholder management must be third priority to keep the faith of all stakeholders in the company. Overall management of the issue requires to take stock of entire situation and then come out with policies and principles which does not result in repeat of the situation. Some of the latest initiatives undertaken by Coke under its Corporate Social Responsibility program are:  1. Relief & Rehabilitation Measures In The Flood Affected Areas Of Bihar.  2. Launch Of Water Conservation Project In South India.  3. Coca-Cola India Supports Vocational Training.  4. Coca-Cola Takes Lead In Clean Energy Industry Initiative. Similarly some such initiatives from PepsiCo are:  1. Showing its commitment to saving and recharging more water than it uses in its beverage plants.  2. Agri-partnerships with farmers help more than 22,000 farmers across the country earn more.  3. Converting ‘Waste to Wealth’, in an effort to make the cities cleaner.  4. Distribution of products directly aimed at addressing the nutritional deficiencies.  5. Launch of a pilot program which directly delivers against the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. From the case it appears that these companies are sincere towards their CSR in India, but it appears there’s something which is getting ignored somehow by both these companies. For example, the reports from CES and IRS cannot be termed a bundle of lies. There’s something which has been lapped by many countries as an opportunity to take on the MNC giants. The issue involving excessive use of water, thus resulting in water scarcity lik
Stuart, the 31 years old male client, has changed his profession from that of a telemarketer to a parking officer, the latter requiring more mobility as compared to the former profession, which involved a sedentary lifestyle. The sudden lifestyle change to increased physical mobility has not only stressed his body but as the history reveals, Stuart has suffered from numerous incidents of ankle sprains. This suggests that Stuart has difficulty in walking and his general health parameters like body weight, former lifestyle, athletic ability, gait, and foot anatomy should be taken into consideration for the establishment of a diagnosis. As his recurrent injury is foot sprain during walking, it suggests that there might be issues about anatomical aberrations in Stuart’s feet, weakness of muscles in lower limbs, some neurological factor affecting his gait, or any other coexisting disease which might be affecting his physical performance due to the increased physical demand of the new profession. All these factors need to be considered before deciding on any therapeutic intervention for this client. As most of Stuart’s recent injuries have been instances of lateral ankle sprain happened due to inward twisting of the foot, in which case the entire body weight has to be borne by the ankle joint, the various ligaments keeping the foot in its natural position and imparting it mobility are overstretched or damaged during the injury process. As feet are an integral part of locomotion for routine activities, such injuries are not only crippling but difficult to heal due to the sensitive position of the ankle joint. Chances of re-injury are increased, and such injuries are frequent and well studied in the athletes (Thacker et al., 1999). More often than not, lateral ankle sprains cause an injury of the anterior talofibular ligament, which is described as the weakest part of the joint (Kumai et al 2002). It is the most commonly injured ligament in a sprained ankle from an inversion injury. Another ligament that can be stretched during ankle injury is the calcaneofibular ligament, a narrow, rounded cord, running from the apex of the fibular malleolus downward and slightly backward to a tubercle on the lateral surface of the calcaneus and covered by the tendons of the Peronæilongus and Brevis (Hertel 2002). Both these ligaments have critical roles in the stabilization and functioning of the ankle joint. Lateral inversion injuries of the ankle can be evaluated by the ‘draw’ test and the ‘talar tilt’ tests. In the form
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems ERP systems are the first wave of enterprise systems, which enhance data and process integration. ERP systems integrate the office functions within the business. Such functions include material management, financials, and order entry in a business. However, ERP systems have been difficult to implement. Specialists note that the adoption of these systems provided the basis for successful implementation other complex systems. The three big players of ERP systems include “Material Global Manufacturing”, “Valvo manufacturing” and “Asea” Factors of ERP systems’ implementation First, the management should have an active engagement in the project. In this way, the top managers participate in the project not only in planning, but also in its execution. The management can achieve this engagement in two ways: First, by forming an active project oversight board and secondly, by being dependable sponsors of the project. The managers in such projects should be of high level in order to ensure the project accomplishes the goals and the required changes of the business and to ascertain that the ERP system arrays with the business processes. The leaders should have experience in project handling; they should be individuals who have executed projects of major impacts to that enterprise. They should have proven success in project leadership for the enterprise in the past. Furthermore, the team members of the project must be managers with the deep understanding of the processes within the business. In fact, the team members should compose of the best players (managers) in the business. These team members must be available full time to cooperate with the experts. The enterprise should contract third parties to provide specialized expertise and knowledge. Internal team members may not have the technical expertise to configure the ERP systems to suit the needs of the business. As a result, the enterprise should contract vendors and consultants who have specialized skills in that specific ERP package. In additi
It is a significant step for any entrepreneurs to design their own business model. The process itself provides the individual with the necessary knowledge and skills in business and economics. However, analyzing and reflecting on one’s own work is also an important practice. The author of this paper aims to explore the patterns, strategy, and design of a personal business model canvas using such theoretical frameworks as The Four-Frame Model by Bolman and Deal and Images of Organization by Gareth Morgan. Patterns and Strategy of Business Model Canvas From an overview of all the proposed business model canvas patterns, it can be said that the organization aims to work closely with US government agencies. Moreover, the entrepreneur seeks to gain a stable and high profit. However, US foreign policy tends to change every four or eight years, depending on the presidential election results, which may cause economic damage to the organization. Put differently, such uncertainty and unpredictability may lead to below-target business-level results (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). It means that the organization will have to pay more attention to non-military, namely the US civilian population, and foreign markets as potential military goods consumers. The organization should consider the collaboration with organizations such as NRA and Gun Owners of America and include them on the list of key partners. An entrepreneur may use Geographically Dispersed Team Management to gain revenue from other countries outside the US (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). The entrepreneur might also rethink organization design. Business Model Canvas Organization Design In order to rethink and change the organization design, it is necessary to identify the existing one in the proposed business model canvas. The author of this work believes that the proposed business model canvas is a hierarchical structure. There is a horizontal separation between two types of functions, departments, and divisions, namely military and civil (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). The formality is also high as the organization collaborates with government agencies and the military sector. Employee participation is low, and communication is downward as most significant decisions are assumed to be made by the organization’s management. It is worth noting that the Functional Framework is a more precise definition for the organization shown in the proposed business model canvas. It can be assumed that Organization Development will be the most appropriate methodology for implementing changes if ne
One needs to understand that without salt, the body cannot function. Sodium chloride is involved in many metabolic processes; chlorine binds water and participates in muscle contraction and hormone secretion. Salt helps in creating the conditions for the existence of red blood cells. In the stomach, salt forms hydrochloric acid, without which the digestion of food is impossible. However, there is also harm coming from the overuse of this element. For many years now, scientific evidence has accumulated that there is a connection between excessive sodium intake and the incidence of certain diseases (Elias et al., 2019). High salt intake leads to high blood pressure (Grillo et al., 2019) and significantly negatively affects other body systems. It increases the risk of suffering from stroke, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, stomach cancer, and more (Rust & Ekmekcioglu, 2017). These diseases lead to great suffering for the sick and require significant expenditures for their treatment. When the daily intake of salt is exceeded many times, it begins to accumulate in the body. This leads to an excess of the regular content of sodium and chlorine in the tissues, edema forms, and blood pressure rises. The increased sodium content adversely affects the functioning of the kidneys, as a result of which the flow of urine is impaired (Wang et al., 2018). Metabolic processes in the body are inhibited, leading to oxygen starvation, which adversely affects the work of the heart muscle (Kitada et al., 2017). People who eat foods with a high salt content have an increased risk of developing urolithiasis (Bacallao et al., 2016). It occurs due to a decrease in the solubility of monosodium uric acid salt, which precipitates and contributes to calculi formation in the renal pelvis. Based on the evidence that excessive salt intake is detrimental to health, leading health authorities worldwide have begun implementing national and international programs to reduce sodium intake in recent years. In particular, the Nutrition Department under the Israel Ministry of Health (2013) has drawn up a national program to reduce salt intake through food. This program covers various combination activities that aim to reduce people’s daily salt intake by 3 grams. Some of the activities carried out within the framework of this program include a study on urinary sodium excretion, which is an essential basis for an accurate estimate of sodium intake in a population. It is also assumed to work with the food industry to phase out sodium in food. Analytical studies should be carried out to check the salt content of foods from selected categories of products (Is
The new employee is the main character in Orozco’s story “Orientation.” Orozco only concentrates on relationships of other employees and makes the new employee a mere observer in the new setting. The narrator refers to the main character using the second person voice. “You must pace your work” (Orozco 2).However, the narrator tells the story using the first person voice. “What do I mean? (Orozco 3). The new employee does not speak in the story although we can see that there was dialogue. “I’m glad you asked that” (Orozco 3). We assume that the new employee asks a question but the narrator does not include it in the story. By so doing, the narrator demonstrates that the new employee who is the listener is completely insignificant. Similarly, the job that the new employee is to partake is insignificant to the story. The story is set in a conventional office environment. “Those are the offices and these are the cubicles” (Orozco 1). The narrator uses this setting to make the lives and behaviors of employees appear more disgraceful. The narrator shifts from orientating the new employee to the general office to revealing about personal lives of the employees. He tells us about Russell Nash and his lust for Amanda Pierce. Apparently, discussing such information in an office environment is absurd. Assuming that the narrator and the new employee had never met before, the narrator ought to have restrained from discussing sexual relationships of other employees because he risked embarrassing the listener. Under normal circumstances, such discussions only happen between people who are close to each other. The narrator maintains a professional stance by refusing to comment on different sexual aspects of the employees. He only narrates events without sharing his mind about the same. For instance, he describes what Amanda’s husband does but he refrains from offering further comments (Orozco 4). This adds value to how the new employee perceives the information that the narrator shares. The narrator also tells the new employee about his job limitations. “There are no personal phone calls allowed” (Orozco 1). The narrator then explains to the new employee about what he can do when there is need for an emergency call. “If you must make an emergency phone call, ask your supervisors first” (Orozco 1). The narrator uses a professional tone in these two communications and creates a professional mood, which contradicts the idea of unprofessionalism when discussing personal information about employees. The objects in this piece of literature are the offices and the cubicles. “Those are the offices and these are the cubicles” (Orozco 1). The narrator uses these objects to indicate to the new employee that he must act professionally as he is an official environment. These objects also instill caution in the new employee and that is why he listens cautiously and asks questions where he does not understand. The story ends with a climax, as the narrator tells the new employee about Kelvin Howard, who is a serial killer. “Kevin Howard sits in that cubicle over there. He is a serial killer” (Orozco 5). The narrator goes ahead and explains how Kelvin mutilates people i
Introduction The communication process contains six elements, the message, sender or originator of the message, recipient, channel, noise, and feedback. The six persons’ communication model describes how perception, as a form of noise, distorts the message, as it passes from one person to another. This essay provides an in-depth and insightful perspective of communication based on the six persons’ communication model. The six persons’ communication model To explain distortion in messages passed from one person to another at the work place, the six persons’ communication model uses six people in a communication chain without a feedback loop. In the communication chain, when the originator sends a message to first person, the message passes on through the communication chain to the last person in the chain without feedback loop. The message received by the last person usually differs from the initial message communicated by person one. The receiver and sender of a message have to formulate the message in their minds before sending and on receiving the message respectively. Before deciding how to formulate, the sender must consider factors such as level of education of recipient of the message. According to Taylor (2007), noise profoundly affects the process of encoding and decoding a message (p.23). Noise is any factor that interferes with the communication process. A wrong perception about the receiver profoundly affects the formulation of the message during the communication process. As the message passes on from the source, through the chain, members of the chain use different body language other than that used by the initial sender because they perceive the message differently. The use of different body language further distorts the message. Assumptions when communicating in a professional relationship In an organization, individuals are required to maintain professional relationships when interacting. The relationship between a subordinate and a supervisor involves communication to get the job done effectively. The supervisor communicates instructions and the subordinate give progress and results from a given task. The subordinate may regard him/herself as ineffective and always requiring guidance from the supervisor; for example, when the subordinate never completes a task without assistance from the supervisor. The subordinate may see the supervisor as intelligent but also domineering, for example, when the supervisor has all the answers to challenges facing the subordinate, but he is always
‘Sure Thing’ is a comical play by David Ives that has two characters, Bill and Betty. The setting is in a café where Bill approaches Betty and initiates a conversation. The two characters have many dating problems. Bill tries many tactics in order to impress Betty, until he finally succeeds. The characters engage in a dialogue about various issues. A bell rings and they start the conversation all over again, but with different responses. However, the author does not adhere to all the conventional expectations of plays. This response aims at highlighting the extent to which the author deviates from the principles of writing plays. The plot is unusual as the author uses a sequence of interchanging situations. The characters engage in different dialogue but in the same situation to come up with a different outcome each time. These scenarios are distinguished by the ringing of a bell between them. The characters are only two and they don’t change the setting. They remain in the cafe throughout the play. The play evoked emotions of sympathy for Bill who unsuccessfully tries several times to get Betty to like him. Betty is rude and cold towards him, for instance, when she says ‘I just wanted to read in quiet, if you don’t mind’. (Ives par 5).The statement ‘Amazing how you can live right next door to somebody in this town and never even know it’ is made by Billy to Betty. This statement is enlightening as it reminds us about how we relate with our neighbors in our daily lives. People living in towns are very engrossed in their businesses and forget important things like forging friendships with neighbors. It challenges us to maintain good social relationships with our neighbors. (Ives par 16).