ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Exelon Strategic Plan Options Organizations that desire to operate competitively in the future have to do things differently. They have to plan in advance and device strategies to guarantee a competitive edge that will keep them in business. It is for the said purpose that most organizations engage in strategic planning. A strategic plan by itself does not achieve long-term goals, but it facilitates the realization of the goals given it acts as a synergistic map for all stakeholders in the organization. In other words, the management works within a stipulated framework. This report considers the strategic options at the disposal of Exelon. Despite having an integral growth strategy, Exelon’s operations depend on sustainable renewable energy sources. Power generation companies are known as the largest pollutant due to the massive emissions and surface disposal. Therefore, in as much as the company considers growth strategies, going green are a strategic option to consider going into the future. Exelon’s Vision Like all progressive companies, Exelon has a well-defined vision. The company’s vision is to be the best group of electric generation and gas delivery companies in US- while offering the best value to customers, employees, investors and the community it operates in (Exelon, 2010). Values The achievement of strategic objectives thus the realization of the vision requires that organizational operations are anchored on given values. At Exelon, the key values include Safety, integrity, and diversity, continuous improvement and accountability (Exelon, 2010). The company is committed to ensuring all the customers and employees are working in a clean and safe environment. Secondly, the company upholds dignity and ethics in all its operation. The company ensures operations transcends above ethnicity, gender and religious inclinations. Going Green Strategy Climate change is of concern all over the world. Climate change has become an enormous challenge that organizations have to respond to. Bearing in mind Exelon deals with nuclear energy, which is subject to dangerous emissions, the organization is determined to enhance a safe environment for all. The organization’s strategic plan identifies the need to lower carbon emissions as a priority. The aim is reducing the amount of carbon emitted by 15 million metric tons of green house gas (GHG) each year (Exelon, 2010). To achieve this milestone, the organization needs to step up its power generation system to ensure it is reducing overlying on carbon energy and increasing alternative energy sources. In an attempt to fulfill this plan, the organization has set aside $5 billion to invest in inexpensive clean energy projects. The projects which are intended to be constructed are, economic renewable (wind energy), increased output nuclear plants, smart grid programs, and retiring 4 inefficient carbon-intensive plants (Exelon 2010). The implementation of this project will steer economy and community welfare through numerous
Needs and Key Benefits of Supply Chain Digital Transformation   * Due to transparency ⇒ Better decision-making ;   * Because of just-in-time procurements ⇒ A reduction of inventory levels;   * Due to the integrated system in the value chain:       + More visibility of the inventory levels;       + Increases sales;       + Increase profit margins;       + Increase bonding with clients.   * Because of minimizing risk and cost pertinent to the supply chain:       + Improves supply chain flexibility;       + üMore competitive advantage over rivals.   * Due to the reduced number of stages within the selling chains and decentralized warehouses ⇒ Reduced delivery time;   * Because of options are available during decision-making ⇒ Better decision-making on the supply chain management. Analytics Why is this significant? According to Veridian (2019), there is a need for digital transformation in the supply chain to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve the employees’ working environment. Data analytic must be able to be turned into actionable insights (Saravanan, 2020). However, if supply chain analytics is not well planned, it can result in opportunity losses and data losses. In a study carried by Shamout (2019), it was established that supply chain analytics are effective in augmenting the supply chain ingenuity and robustness. Supply chain analytics have been proven to be of great significance in helping managers access relevant data at the right time. The abovementioned data is then used to form the basis for innovation. Robust analytics capacity is paramount to any organization that earnestly envisions to remain competitive in the digital economy (Dubey, Gunasekaran, & Childe, 2019; Pappas, Mikalef, Giannakos, Krogstie, & Lekakos, 2018). Digital data analytics regarding the supply chain help managers make decisions based only on insight and not instinct. Analytics in digital supply chains aids the development and offering of better products and services within the target
Multinational corporations aiming to operate in China as a joint venture with a local Chinese company have to face several challenges which need to be taken into account before entering into any such deal. The most common problems with setting up a joint venture in China include difficulties in negotiation, understanding of the legal framework, financial arrangements, poor infrastructure in certain areas etc. Also the Chinese companies have structures and culture that are viewed as extensive bureaucracies and difficult to change (Blake, Salas & Wraith, 1997). The most important factor which is more likely to affect the profits remitted from the joint venture is considered to be the tax policy which both the US and Chinese regulatory bodies implement. The profit shared by the foreign MNC is subject to corporate income tax of 20% which is expected to be increased to 40% by the Chinese government. In addition to this the US government has imposed 10% tax on profits received from China. It is also likely that the Chinese government will put additional 10% WHT on the profit remittance made to the US which will further shrink the profits generated from joint ventures in China. The negative implication of tax collection for Gandor Co. can be seen as per Appendix I. In addition to this the Chinese government from time to time impose different taxes to protect and promote local industry for example Intel which specializes in chip manufacturing received set back when the Chinese government impose 17% tax on their sales in China and provided 14% rebate to local Chinese manufacturers which affected Intel’s sales in 2004 (Madura, 2006). One way for a multinational corporation to raise funds for a joint venture
Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) is one of the largest merchants and processors of agricultural products in a world (LDC, 2017a). The company also operates a global network of subsidiaries that are involved in international shipping, telecommunications, finance, and real estate development among others (LDC, 2017a). Each year it processes more than 80 million tons of agricultural goods and serves approximately 500 million customers (LDC, 2017a). As of 2016, the company employed up to 21, 000 people worldwide (LDC, 2017a). The company’s values include commitment, humility, diversity, and entrepreneurship. Judging from LDC’s vision, which states “to work towards a safe and sustainable future, contributing to the global effort of providing sustenance for a growing population” (LDC, 2017b, para. 1), it is also driven by the commitment to sustainability. The company’s desire to be committed to sustainability is especially important in the era when many businesses struggle with moderating their impact on the environment and societies. While it is necessary for corporate citizens to keep abreast of modern economic trends, it is also important not to forget about the moral importance of social imperatives. The aim of this paper is to develop a strategic plan for the integration of social responsibility into LDC’s strategic value proposition and value chain. Overview of Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be defined as “the way firms integrate social, environmental and economic concerns into their values, culture, decision making, strategy and operations in a transparent and accountable manner and thereby establish better practices within the firm, create wealth and improve society” (Chandler & Werther, 2013, p. 21). The core CSR activities go far beyond the sphere of legal requirements and regulations for sustainable business development and encompass such areas as corporate governance and ethics, environmental stewardship, sustainable development, industrial relations, community involvement, corporate philanthropy, and supplier relations among others (Hopkins, 2012). Companies that are willing to find sustainable solutions for their business processes are increasingly shifting towards the circular economy as a means of reducing waste and changing the pattern of raw materials usage (Tse, Esposito, & Soufani, 2016). Implementation of CSR Policies According to Hopkins (2012), almost every process in a company’s value chain is related to a variety of social factors that have to be considered. Therefore, managers of LDC have to make sure that the company’s activities in addition to improving its competitive advanta
Attention On April 14, 2021, US President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. According to Biden, “with the terror threat now in many places, keeping thousands of troops grounded and concentrated in just one country at the cost of billions each year makes little sense” (The United States Government, 2021). In addition, recent research has found that the 20-year long war in Afghanistan is not only the longest but one of the most expensive, with $2.26 trillion spent on military needs. The costs are enormous and impossible to ignore, whereas the actual results regarding terrorism prevention and safety provision are challenging to measure. In many cases, people even tend to believe that presence of US troops in Afghanistan destabilizes the fragile situation in the region instead of bringing positive change and safety. The decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is extremely controversial as there are many who support it and there are those who strongly disagree. Significant military expenditures make the controversial issue even more complicated and ambiguous. Opposing sides bring strong arguments in favor and against troop withdrawal. I conducted my own research to evaluate advantages and disadvantages and to choose a side. Need According to some studies from 2009, US troop presence in Afghanistan did not lead to an improvement of living standards in the area. It is stated that by 2009 Afghanistan was in the same state as it was in 2001. Afghanistan citizens were provided with low living standards, and corrupt governments were dysfunctional and not effective, while ordinary people were systematically oppressed. US presence for a decade may not have resulted in positive change by 2009. Another decade later and trillions of United States dollars spent, the region’s social, economic, and political situation did not improve (Ward, 2021). These criteria may not appear suitable for goals persuaded during the Afghanistan war. The military operation was conducted in order to prevent further acts of terrorism. However, if making a change is not the main purpose of war in Afghanistan, and there is no concrete, achievable goal, the operation may last forever. As already mentioned, various studies assess military expenditure related to Afghanistan to exceed $2 trillion. Big military budgets were also devoted to other post-9/11 wars, including wars in Iraq and Syria. It may not seem to be important for an ordinary citizen, yet it represents a significant item of expenditure for all taxpayers. According to “Estimated Cost to Each Taxpayer for the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq” provided by the Department of Defence, such international conflicts cost a total of $7,623 per taxpayer (Crawford, 2019). Therefore, the war in Afghanistan does not only influence the economy of the United States but also has an impact on the financial health of every US citizen. Considering the fact that no visible results were achieved during the conflict, US military presence in the a
The socio-political and economic development experience of Latin America has been remarkably unique and unforgivable. While many countries in the region painstakingly continue to democratize and reform their institutions, others like Venezuela – under the leadership of its charismatic leader, President Hugo Chavez– are heading in the opposite direction (Weyland, 2001). This essay will critically evaluate Venezuela in different aspects –in the following order–: democratic principles and the constitution, political systems, economic policies and institutions, the media, and civil societies to show how Chavez is weakening democracy in the country. Hugo Chavez assumed power in 1998 through the ballot box, after an earlier attempt to topple the government failed to materialize –through a coup d’état in 1992– (Class notes). Prior to his ascension to the highest office, Venezuela enjoyed a relatively functional constitutional order and growing support for democratic principles (Corrales, 2006). Indeed, the democratically battered nation was once hailed as a perfect model of consensual democracy in the region (Weyland, 2001). But being a cunning and charismatic firebrand, Chavez heavily relied on the failures of his predecessors to ignite the masses, particularly the poor majority, to rally behind him on the ballot. The major political parties –Acción Democrática or AD and COPEI– were increasingly being blamed for mismanagement –in the oil industry– and corruption. The masses, especially the impoverished, attributed the nation’s sudden economic downturn to incompetence and graft. According to Weyland (2001), around 80 percent of the country’s population lived below the recognized poverty level despite the government’s oil revenues. Chavez easily convinced the angry masses to elect him to power after he promised a purge on all political elites that had contributed to the economic downturn. Other figures within the region, namely Carlos Menem of Argentina and Alberto Fujimori of Peru, had previously won power using the same strategies (Skidmore & Smith, 2005). Parallels can be drawn between Hugo Chavez and several other leaders that assumed the same role throughout history –namely Hitler, Castro, and Mussolini–; However, Chavez’ ability to hoodwink the masses into believing that his government is founded on democratically constituted pillars can only be termed as ‘magical’, if not ‘supernatural’ (Weyland, 2001). Although reviled by western nations for his unprompted criticism of their democratic values and capitalistic leanings, President Chavez has cultivated a way to make his own authoritarian rule stylish, if not with the general population, with at least the number of voters required to win in the ballots (Corrales, 2006). Against a backdrop of valid accusations from democratic nations that Chavez is running an autocratic establishment in Venezuela, the leader has been able to counteract such contradictions by winning consecutive elections. Hugo Chavez’s charismatic abilities to rally the impoverished masses and refashion his au
Introduction 1984, is a novel written by George Orwell. The novel predicts a negative utopia of a totalitarian society, which makes use of terror and an authoritarian bureaucracy to exert power over its citizens. The novel has been widely used in academic institutions in an attempt to educate the youth on the dangers of totalitarian communism. It was used during the Cold War to fight against communism and this has made Orwell to be commemorated by many people as an opponent of the Red Menace. The question on how Orwell’s1984 illuminates the social realities in today’s world has been posed repeatedly. This paper will discuss the aspects of human nature that George Orwell criticizes in his work 1984 compared to today’s world (Orwell, 2002). Discussion The aspects of human nature that George Orwell criticizes in his work 1984 compared to today’s world Orwell in the novel 1984 represents the modern society be it capitalist or communist. Just like the present world, the nation described in the novel had a police force and an administrative body. According to the novel, when a leader gains absolute control over a nation, he/she becomes corrupted and this is evident in today’s world (Orwell, 2002). Orwell in the novel 1984 criticizes Stalinism as a form of state communism where the government controls all aspects of its citizen’s life. Orwell in the book criticizes Stalinism with the political leader of his predicted society being represented by Stalin and the nation’s enemy being represented by Trotsky. The world of 1984 is an example of today’s world that is full of political tribunals, torture-extracted declarations of guilt, secret police force, and labor camps. Orwell criticizes this form of government by stating that it leads to lack of freedom, human rights, and social inequality which results to a depressing life with no diversity. The community in 1984 is totalitarian with a federal party state that controls all aspects of the people’s life from labor, to customs, to thought, to verbal communication and finally sexuality. This is similar to today’s world whereby bureaucracy produces a tyrannical structure in which one group of persons, that is, the government dominates the others (Orwell, 2002). Another aspect of human nature that Orwell criticizes in 1984 is the fact that leaders have power over the media. The novel starts with evocations stating, “Big brother is watching you,” (Orwell 6), after which it puts the reader into a cruel environment where television sets are used as surveillance tools by broadcasting only government related issues. Orwell critics this behavior by stating that televisions are central entertainment instruments at home and should not be used as instruments of government propaganda and social manipulation. The media in Orwell’s 1984 is instrumental in advancing government propaganda and is thus an instrument of surveillance and fear. For instance, in Orwell’s 1984, the government controls television sets by making sure that they have only one channel, and cannot be switched off. Orwell states that “the great majority of the
Plan to Implement the Change Performance Improvement Model The most feasible performance improvement model for the project at hand is the PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle. According to this model, the first phase of change is a series of steps intended for outlining the intended intervention. Thus, the first necessary step is the assembling of the team responsible for the project. As was explained in the previous part, patient fall rate depends on many factors that cannot be addressed by targeting a single aspect of health care. Thus, the team should include professionals from different disciplines. For instance, to understand the influence of nursing activities relevant to the issue, it would be beneficial to include nursing practitioners and, possibly, physicians. Next, pharmacists are desirable members of the team since at least some of the falls are associated with medication issues. Finally, a project leader with the necessary interpersonal skills and relevant experience should be included. The second step is establishing the metrics that will be used to determine the success of the project. The most relevant parameter is the occurrence of falls in the Carolinas Healthcare System’s facilities. Thus, it can be adopted as a primary determinant of success. Other parameters, such as the proportion of falls resulting in injuries and the mortality rate associated with the phenomenon can be included if considered within the scope of the project. As a part of this step, the estimation of the financial outcomes associated with the project’s implementation may be necessary. The reduction in falls will likely result in the reduction of the expenses caused by the need for additional care. Thus, it will be necessary to identify as many potential improvements as possible and suggest a probable outcome based on the estimated savings. In the third step, the probable causes of the falls need to be identified and, if possible, weighted to illustrate their relative contribution to the issue. This step is necessary to ensure that the direction chosen by the team will produce favorable results. This assessment can be done using visual aids such as cause and effect diagrams and may require an in-depth inquiry to collect the relevant information. Finally, based on these findings, the team will need to draft the intervention that would provide the desired change. In addition, it would be necessary to determine the scope of the intervention’s implementation. The intervention can be selected based on the evidence of its effectiveness from the academic literature and adjusted by the local conditions. Once all planning is completed, it is possible to execute the intervention. Importantly, the supervision of the project is to begin simultaneously as required by the PDSA cycle (Taylor et al., 2014). Once sufficient data is gathered, it is then possible to proceed to study the project’s impact. The success will be determined by matching the data to the predetermined milestones. In the case when the
Description of the Method Since I do not have an opportunity to arrange two groups of respondents, the research design was chosen for the project is non-experimental. I intend to investigate the healing power of Botox in dentistry that is emphasized by some researchers (Azam, Manchanda, Thotapalli, & Kotha, 2015; Nayyar, Kumar, Nayyar, & Singh, 2014). Although some studies investigate the use of Botox in dentistry, its capability of reducing pain has not been analyzed to a sufficient extent. The non-experimental design is known to have the least power to block out extraneous variables. Also, the lack of a control group may undermine the validity of the study. However, the non-experimental design is the most frequently applied one. To carry out my research project, I will use a survey, the questions of which will provide answers to the hypothesis of the study. The survey will include closed-ended questions. In order to measure the degrees of difference, a Likert scale will be employed. The participants will be required to read statements and choose how they feel about them. The following options will be provided: strongly disagree, disagree, neither agree nor disagree, agree, strongly agree. A self-administered survey is not only less expensive and time-consuming but also faster to conduct. Although interview schedule surveys are known to provide better response rates, I came up with the idea of enhancing my chances for good response rates. I will approach several dentist’s offices that employ Botox for relieving pain and ask doctors to request their patients’ participation in the study. I think that if the inquiry is made by someone people respect and trust, they will gladly agree to answer the questions. To increase the likelihood of people’s agreement to answer survey questions, I will add a cover page to the survey (see Appendix A). The survey will consist of five questions (see Appendix B). Sample Population The lack of a control group in a non-experimental design should be compensated by the number of participants. The sample needs to be large so as to give me the possibility to draw the most accurate results. At the same time, it is necessary to limit the focus of research in order to reduce the difficulties associated with processing too much data. Since I am planning to deliver the surveys to dentists and pick up the patients’ answers myself, I need to limit the geographic area of research. I decided to focus on several hospitals in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Because I need the participants to answer questions about their prior experiences of visiting dentist’s offices and their pain perceptions, I need to limit the sample by age. Thu