ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Introduction XYZ Company faces a recruiting challenge. The employees are busy assisting personal aids to the presidential staff in Washington DC. The company recruits employees who are motivated by work ethics and from top-secret backgrounds. XYZ performs a thorough interview process and provides the necessary work environment. The company gives its services 24/7. The employees rotate every four to five years as part of the company’s regulation plan. By the end of this year, 8-10% of the company’s employees shall leave the company. This high expectation has posed a challenge to XYZ Company. The company requires that its employees be rotated in terms of location every 4-5 years. This company also wishes to maintain its current employees, but without breaking the rotational policy. Another challenge seems to be employees’ low morale due to work overload and short staffing. These challenges need to be tackled early enough. The company’s SWOT analysis findings showed that the company faces no competition, which is a key strength. Strong, competitive forces, according to Michael Porter, affect a company’s costs, prices and the level of investment. These forces, therefore, affect the company’s balance sheets and income statements. XYZ Company is lucky because it does not face intense rivalry, which brings down prices or increases costs such as customer service, research and development, among others. Strong suppliers escalate prices of inputs. Buyers and barriers to entry also affect a company’s strategy. It is, therefore, clear that XYZ Company is profitable. However, recruitment problem can be a challenge and, if not checked early enough, it can have adverse effects on the company. This company’s employees have low morale due to work overload. This, therefore, means that more employees should be hired to ease the workload. This company needs to invest heavily in recruitment, and this can be possible by taking advantage of the fact that the company faces no competition. The employees are likely to leave the company due to demoralization. The high expectations, security clearance mean that XYZ Company must have competent, and enough employees. Strategic direction XYZ Company requires a strategy in order to overcome recruitment challenge, which it currently faces. The recruitment strategy needs to be different from that of other companies for it to be unique; hence competitive. An immediate strategy needs to be executed to fill the vacancies given that 8-10% of the employees will be leaving the company this year. The strategy will be as follows: The Company will hire trainees to be trained for one year, by the management. These trainees ought to be qualified professionals to make sure that the company stands by its mission of offering high quality, and standard services. The trainees shall gain enough experience and knowledge, and those who shall qualify shall be hired as permanent employees. This will help the company’s management to ensure that the older employees rotate as per the policy. Therefore, they will not break the rotation assignment regulation. This will, however, happen only if the recruitment strategy is implemented
The book includes Howard Kester’s work Revolt Among the Sharecroppers and supplements it with commentary and introduction by Alex Lichtenstein. The book describes the revolting process, which initiated the Southern Tenant Farmers Union (STFU). The organization was focused on uniting the white and black farmers of the Southern states to end their struggles with the higher class. Overall, the work aims to provide a detailed account of the revolt, as well as of its political, social, and economic reasons and consequences. The first part of the book is written by Lichtenstein in order to give the readers a thorough introduction to the subject of Kester’s work. For instance, Lichtenstein explains the social processes that shaped the workings of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union: “In a segregated society, the STFU brought together white and black agricultural laborers in common cause… The southern tenants, sharecroppers, and day laborers who constituted the STFU’s rank and file represented the very bottom of American society, yet they managed to attract the attention” (Kester and Lichtenstein 16). Lichtenstein also develops a thorough image of Kester and his involvement with the Union. He clearly places Kester in the context of political and religious radicalism, as well as socialist and internationalist movement, to illustrate the origin of his views and his impact on the work of the organization. Lichtenstein also describes Kester as a great strategist: for instance, he explains the effectiveness of the activist’s position of unionism and justifies why this was a suitable practice for the society of the time. The second part of the book contains Kester’s original story, separated into six distinctive chapters. The first chapter of the book starts in a narrative form, where the author describes how the movement started and what was the reaction of landlords and officials to it. Throughout the work, the author pays great attention to develop the portraits of the participants in order to strengthen the socio-historical context of the movement. In the later chapters, Kester also provides a detail description of the rural life that was shaped by the Great Depression and the New Deal: “For all our talk about democracy and the high standards of living of American workmen, virtually millions of our fellow-citizens are living in practical slavery” (Kester and Lichtenstein 36). In his description of the difficulties that the farmers and the workers were facing, Kester also provides a certain justification for the revolt. The author states that the uprising of this layer of society was “as inevitable as the cultivation of cotton” (Kester and Lichtenstein 53). In Kester’s view, the revolt was more the result of the previous struggles and socio-historical factors than the everyday lives of the sharecroppers. The author emphasizes that the life that the poor were experiencing was not a short-term situation but an entire process of marginalization that lasted for the vast part of the past century. The last two chapters are focused on the farmers’ attempts to fight for a bet
Introduction Talking about southern America inevitably leads one to a topic of discussion that has been as divisive as religion – racism. There have been countless books, paintings, films and a lot more that have depicted racism in all its forms. In spite of all these depictions, the specter of racial discrimination and prejudice that existed in the southern states has left deep scars on the psyche of the people of America. Paul Lawrence Dunbar in his poem, “Sympathy” (Dunbar, 1899) has vividly portrayed the pangs of a caged bird and likens it to the collective pain that colored people have felt like victims of racial prejudices. “And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener sting– I know why he beats his wing!” Main text To list the causes of racism, it is necessary to go back to the historical background of the states and the economic clime of the times in which slavery and racial prejudice were at their zenith. It was a common practice for white people to have colored folks working in their fields and homes. It was also common for these colored people to accept their fate of subjugation. “… one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. The history of the American Negro is the story of this strife, …” (DuBois, 1994). Though they were aware of the injustices meted out to them, it took a lot of courage and temerity to stand up and fight for their fundamental rights. A close look at the existence of black folks will reveal that there was a certain resignation to their fate which caused them to be even more submissive. It also needs to be pointed out here that the white folk felt a great deal of superiority, whether or not they were economically well off. It was also widely believed that a colored person was more likely to commit crime (of all sorts) than a white person. Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, has several instances of mistreatment and exploitation. On the one hand you have the misplaced high-and-mighty attitude of economically underprivileged white folks who feel they are privileged only because of the color of their skin. They are unable to understand that they are in no way better than the colored folks who eke out a living on a seamy side of town. There are those who believe that a crime like rape can be committed only by a black man and that there can be no way to establish his innocence, however hard his lawyer might try. There is hurt and resentment in the Finch children who are subjected to taunts and barbs, merely because their father chooses to represent a black man, wrongly accused of raping a white woman. This is an indication that racism affects whole communities which comprise both black and white people – a situation similar to the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston, 2002). The intensity of hatred that people harbor towards one another, based on the color of the person’s skin is yet another offshoot of racial prejudice that tends to engulf the whole village and leave people sharply divided on the subject of whether or not a black man should be d
Abstract The aim of this experiment was to determine the impact of various types of soil as well as the effect of an energy drink on plant growth. Brassica rapa seeds were grown in Maine potting mix, sand, and a mixture of the two. The impact of the energy drink was determined by comparing plant growth under normal water conditions and a double portion of Redbull drink. The highest growth rates were observed in Maine potting mix and plain water. It was concluded that too much of an energy drink has a harmful effect on plant growth. Introduction The healthy growth of plants is determined by the availability of three main requirements: water, nutrients, and light. Additional factors include warmth and air. Water plays a vital role in the germination of plants by activating the hydrolytic enzymes that initiate physiological processes in plants. During growth, water facilitates the transport of nutrients and minerals. Additionally, the intake of water by plants through osmosis provides turgor pressure, which firms up plants thus providing anchorage (Kramer 2012). Light provides the energy that converts water and carbon dioxide into glucose. Important plant nutrients include minerals such as nitrogen, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. These minerals act as co-factors in biological reactions as well as building blocks of macromolecules such as amino acids and nucleic acids (Levetin and McMahon 2011). For these reasons, fertilizer is applied to plants as a common agricultural practice. The type of soil affects plant requirements mainly by influencing water retention, temperature, and the availability of air. Energy drinks such as Redbull contain sugars and vitamins, which are hypothesized to be beneficial to plants. This experiment aims at determining the impact of different types of soil on the growth and development
In his essay “Dare Call It Treason,” Eric Foner criticizes the “American tradition” of suppressing the right to “free expression” when the country is engaged in war and crises. Foner argues that although the “freedom of speech and the right to dissent” are truly American traditions, these rights are suspended and those who engage in such acts are disgraced as traitorous. On the contrary, individuals who remain silent and do not discuss or oppose the faults of their country must be termed as traitors. Countries that accept freedom of speech to be a fundamental right, should allow the citizens to express their opinions on sensitive issues and if these opinions are worthy, they should be considered seriously and accepted by the general public. Besides being an important fundamental human right that grants the “absolute right to express one’s views”, free speech serves the purpose of safeguarding “the rational mind and its literary, intellectual and scientific products” (Garmong, 2004). If a citizen of any country speaks against the policies or actions of the country, especially when the nation is engaged in war, it appears to others as treason because it is assumed that the person is favoring the enemy country. When America is engaged in war, it does not speak against war. While both the countries, Japan and Korea, lay great emphasis on freedom being the primary right of citizens, free speech concerning a sensitive issue is criticized heavily and termed as treason. If a Korean speaks well of Japan, the act is termed treason. In order to understand the reason for this mindset, it is first necessary to explore the historical background of two nations, for instance, the historical era of Japan’s colonial rule in Korea. The Japanese have been very cruel to the Koreans, similar to the Nazis. They have engaged in horrific atrocities on the people of Korea and have conducted inhuman experiments on them. One of the very famous experiments which the Koreans were forced into by the Japanese is the “Maruta”, in which people were made to stand in the open, in severe winters, without any clothing, with mercury levels dipping as low as negative forty degrees. These experiments were conducted to gauge and record the plight of humans under extreme conditions of weather. It is due to the appalling memories of these and other such barbaric atrocities during the colonial rule, that the Koreans have an antipathy towards Japan, even after gaining independence. As a result, even after fifty years o
Introduction The style of the novel Huckleberry Finn reflects modernist structure and themes, vision of reality and social change. Mark Twain uses such modernist elements that involve wholesale imitation of human culture. The main elements of the modernist style are an open form, intertextuality and multiple narrative points of view. Thesis Huckleberry Finn shows that it is the characters and their interrelationship which determine the arrangement and structure of the book. Main text The three thematic sections subdivide into little units notable for the contrast they offer each other. The first three chapters continue naturally to which this book becomes a sort of sequel. Everything is colored by the excitement of Tom’s imaginary adventures; he insists on doing all things according to the books he has read, from having his Gang sign in blood their oaths of allegiance to capturing and holding people for ransom. Tom and Huck may themselves be viewed as symbols of the two aspects of life. Tom Sawyer has a home and a loving. In contrast appears Huck Finn. Huck fears his father and apparently never knew his mother; a homeless waif, he sleeps on doorsteps or in hogsheads; he is troubled by no ambition and steers clear of Sunday school; his life is as aimless as a bit of drift on the Mississippi. And yet Mark Twain finds Huck and Huck’s life infinitely worth while. As a modernist novel, it reflects corruption at levels of the society. Mark twain portrays social evil and culture, social views and relations between people. Huck himself nowhere suggests that his life is not satisfactory. The novel is based on Huck Finn’s moral garment definitely tinged with gray. In the book which he relates, he lies to everybody who threatens Jim’s safety or his own. Life is precious to him; freedom is precious to him. And it is no wonder that he lies. Young as he is, he has known a deal of violence. He escapes his drunken father by staging a mock murder-his own; he notes that the Grangerfords carry their guns to church and watches their feud end in the murder of boys; he sees the drunken, blackguarding Boggs and is at hand when the blackguarding is ended by Sherburn’s bullet; he associates daily with the king and the duke, two creatures who emerge from the slime of the river, as amoral as gnomes. But Huck has a code of his own and sticks to it in defiance of hell itself. He is frequently troubled by his conscience. Huck’s conscience appears at times to be mu
Background The Long Mynd Tea Company “TLMTC” is a leading player in the specialty and green tea market in United Kingdom. UK, with a market share of 63%, is the largest tea consuming market in Western Europe (Tropical Commodity Coalition). Tea consumption in UK was pegged at 31,000 tonnes in the year 2008. Our internal Long Mynd Business Intelligence Unit “LMBIU” has indicated that global supply deficits in 2010 mostly attributed to severe droughts in Kenya and India in 2009 resulted in global tea prices hitting a historical high in 2009. This resulted in Unilever’s PG Tips being priced 28% higher than a year ago, while Tetley was pegged at 7% more expensive (Euromonitor). Business Issues The demand for tea in UK has been healthy but rising prices in the market can lead to fall in demand especially for specialty tea which is priced slightly higher than regular tea. TLMTC recognizes the issue and to counter and differentiate its offering we plan to introduce a unique range of product, herbal and fruit tea-bags under the brand name Revive. Revive offers a unique feature to consumers in the new range of teabags which is the shape of the bags. The company is planning to use an innovative manufacturing process to craft the tea-bags in irregular shapes which involves only minimum wastage. The new bag is designed in a unique flower shape. The product will be distributed through the existing delivery channels of hypermarkets and supermarkets. We will also tie-up with large café chains to distribute the product. We plan to promote the launch by an aggressive campaign involving magazine and posters in the Autumn of 2011. The key message in the ads will be around the unique shape and attempt to tie it to herbal and health connotations. The ads will also carry the message of good taste of the tea. Research Objectives TLMTC wants to know whether the unique shape of the tea-bag and the taste of the tea are appealing to consumers.   * We want to test the hypothesis that the consumers perceive the package as a differentiating factor.   * We are also interested in validating the hypothesis that the taste of the new product will be accepted by consumers. The exploration of these aspects will help us make any possible changes to the product and communication. We also assume that consumers will associate the floral shape to herbs and healthiness. The study should provide us with a clear understanding of how the consumers perceive the packaging as a differentiator. It should also give us clear guidelines on what are the positive and negative perceptions about the new pack. We expect to get recommendations in form of a programme of research to
BHP Billiton Making Strategically Important Decisions in Critical Times Summary of the Case BHP Billiton is a resource and mining company that is currently in the throes of having gone back on an acquisition deal owing to the slump in the market. Market condition indicate that BHP Billiton’s decision to back out of the take over of Rio Tinto was a good decision as if it had followed through the company would have to sell some parts of the merged business which might not have been beneficial to the working of the company. After BHP’s decision to pull out of the contract and pay the break up fees rather than settle for the acquisition the shares of Rio Tinto fell by 37% which indicates that the news of the acquisition was buoying up the share price of Rio Tinto and that without BHP’s impending takeover, the company would have been worth much less. The company had arranged for the necessary financing arrangements but it considered the fact that the investors would be worried in an economic climate where mergers and acquisitions were falling, in fact had fallen by 27% over last year and that the value of cancelled deals was nearing the amount of merger and acquisition deals made. Moreover, further business deals are likely to be backed out of as BHP realizes the fallacy of investing in a private-equity firm where costs can increase and which wont be affordable in the near term. Statement of the Problem The problem with the situation lies in the fact that the business clime is not suitable for an acquisition even though a private-equity firm such as Rio Tinto might be in favor of such a deal. The climate indicates that even though the acquisition might be at a good price, selling of parts of the business to comply with anti-trust issues might pose a problem as there might not be enough buyers for the business. Proposing a Solution The best solution in this case is to either delay or cancel the acquisition arrangements as even though there are positive speculations for the merger and acquisition business to pick up, the near future might be in the doldrums if such a deal is followed through with. Learning Applications In the case of BHP, there are several lessons in strategic business management that can be learnt. Firstly, even though the company made a good decision to back out of its deal, it would have avoided the transaction and the paying of break up fees altogether if the management had taken the economic climate and its implications into account in the first place. Although the deal didn’t follow through, the company could have avoided bad press and would have saved on costs at the same time. Secondly, even though mergers and acquisitions become easier in times of recession when private firms are more open to such deals, the company itself should take into consideration how its operations, its stakeholders and its financial position will be effected, w
Introduction Almost all organizations and firms find themselves in dire need to initiate a project to circumvent a particular predicament or to increase their revenues. Quite often, projects are aimed at pursuing goals and aims of the organization in the most effective way. Project management is the practice of organizing several resources in a systematic manner with the aim of achieving predetermined goals. Mainly, managers are expected to provide guidance on the amount of human resources, money, and materials required to realize the desired results. Regardless of the organization’s goals, the manager is required to come up with a clear blueprint to direct his actions effectively bearing in mind the risks and uncertainties, which would arise in the course of execution of the project. This report endeavors to highlight the essentials of initiating a fire and rescue project that would ensure reduction of sickness absence in an organization. Background Almost all organizations if not all find themselves facing challenges on how to reduce sickness absence among its employees. To this respect, managers with the aim of ensuring continued production need to ensure that all their work force is available and in good health to carry out their obligations. Launching this project would ensure the organization have the best safety tools to foster good working environment as well as reducing sickness absence. In a broader perspective, the management will strive to cater for a safer humanly working condition, safety equipment and apparatus should be equipped to ensure workers are less vulnerable to accidents. Although this project is an expensive venture but its payoffs have proved to be rewarding. Reduction of sickness absence has facilitated continuous revenue generation through the year. Finally, analysis of the revenue foregone by sick workers has by far surpassed capital cost of launching the fire prevention project. Objectives This report endeavors to address the following objectives.  1. To ensure that the fire and rescue plan is installed in time  2. To ensure competent and skilled personnel’s are for the project.  3. To ensure that the project meets it predetermined goals. Benefits Several benefits are derived by the project such as ensuring that the firm has a continuous production. Since the capital for initiating the project is less than the forgone revenues due to sick leave, the or