Imagination Vs Memory Description Of A Struggle - 911 Words

Imagination vs Memory in Description of A Struggle Human memory has been the most fascinating aspect of scientific human study for many years. Memory is, according to Webster’s Dictionary, â€Å"the storing of things learned and retained from an organism s activity or experience as evidenced by modification of structure or behavior or by recall and recognition.† Every person, whether long or short term, has memories and had an â€Å"I remember† moment in their life at some point of time. This moment triggers neurons in the brain that recognizes with familiarity. But can memory be confused with imagination? Since both qualities are using the active mind, it is possible to share some of the same limits. Each are able to effect the other, memory can†¦show more content†¦What will happen to me? Am I to be just kicked out of the world? I’ll believe that when I see it! No, he won’t get rid of me.† (30) This young man is lost in his own mind, conflicted between what may currently be happening, what he doesn’t want to happen, and how he personal feels about his â€Å"acquaintance.† What Kafka may be concluding from this character is that personal feelings, reflection and experience can affect the thought process, what we remember, and ultimately what we imagine. This character knows he is lost in thought, â€Å"I followed without realizing it, for I was busy thinking of what he had said.† which could possibly mean that much of story is just his thinking not actually his reality. He may still be at the â€Å"tiny table [with] three curved, thin legs† (25) imagining his entire experience with his acquaintance. Both the young man and his acquaintance use the words â€Å"imagine†, â€Å"dream† and â€Å"memories† interchangeably, proving shakey thought processes. The young man goes on to say: â€Å"Oh well, memories...Yes, even remembering in itself is sad, yet how much more its object! Don t let yourself in for things like that, it s not for you and not for me. It only weakens one s present position without strengthening the former one -- nothing is more obvious -- quite apart from the fact that the former one doesn t need strengthening. Do you think I have no memories? Oh, ten for every one of yours...† (32) While speaking to his acquaintance the young manShow MoreRelatedMajor works data sheet for Rebecca Essay1783 Words   |  8 Pagesreason to faith in the senses, feelings, and imagination; a shift from interest in urban society to an interest in the rural and natural; a shift from public.   Gothic horror) is a genre of literature that combines elements of both  horror  and  romance.   Plot Summary: Rebeccas narrative takes the form of a flashback. The heroine, who remains nameless, lives in Europe with her husband, Maxim de Winter, traveling from hotel to hotel, harboring memories of a beautiful home called Manderley, which,Read MoreThe Development Of Marcos And All His Encompassing Features2325 Words   |  10 Pagesstates were different for my brother and me. My mother says that when we gained our motor abilities her life became extremely complicated. She not only had to chase after one baby, but two. Erikson’s first psychosocial stage is the stage of Trust vs. Mistrust. This stage occurs from birth to eighteen months. In the first year of life, infants depend on others for food, warmth, and affection, and therefore must be able to trust the parents for providing these. If the child successfully developsRead MoreHow Does Divorce Create Long Term Negative Effects For Children? Essay1953 Words   |  8 Pageschildren being unimaginative and more repetitive, anxiety, aggression, childhood and adulthood depression and even heart disease. Five: That children struggle with sexuality, boys particularly struggle with sexual identity, masculinity and self security. Girls particularly struggle with sexuality, intimacy, and self control. These five descriptions I believe are an accurate representation and summary of Zinsmeisters findings and opinion throughout the article. In the details of these finding, ZinsmeisterRead MoreBurnt Shadows : The Similarities And Trauma Caused Using The Narrative Form4047 Words   |  17 Pagesmerely contingent (or assimilable) incident or action. Plot is the structure of the action in closed legible wholes; it this must use metaphor as the trope of its achieved interrelations; and it must be metaphoric insofar is it is totalizing...the description of narrative needs metonymy as the figure of linkage in the signifying chain: precedence and consequence, the movement from one detail to another, the movement toward totalization under the mandate of desire (Brooks 91). Both Barthes and TodorovRead MoreInterpretation of the Text13649 Words   |  55 PagesProse is classified into fiction and non fiction. Fiction (from Lat.fictum - created) is a rather vague and general term for an imaginative work, usually in prose. Fiction may also be given a more formal definition: literature created from the imagination, not presented as fact, though it may be based on a true story or situation. In contrast to fiction, there is non-fiction which deals exclusively with factual events (e.g.; biographies, histories, etc.). 1.3. Elements of fiction: An overview MostRead MoreThomas Hardy Poems16083 Words   |  65 Pagesexperiencing a crisis of faith as the poet is trying to find answers to whether there is a vengeful god up in heaven or is it a world merely ruled by chance. Suffering is evident as the poet speaks of his pain and anger which is intensely felt from his struggle to find answers to his questions of this indifferent universe and as he imagines that ther e is supposedly a vengeful god who strives against mankind and feeds on human suffering; the poet is struggling to resolve an extremely difficult crisis withRead MorePsychology Workbook Essay22836 Words   |  92 Pagesevery aspect of the subjects life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes for behavior.  an in depth study of one or a few participants consisting of information gathered by observation, interview,or psychological testing to provide a description of behaviour or disorder survey  -using interviews and/or questionnaires to gather information about aptitudes, jbeliefs, experiences or behaviors of a group (e.g. the incidence of drug use) correlation a research method used to establishRead MoreEssay on Like water for chocolate6961 Words   |  28 Pagesresponsibility to be honest. To show life as it should be in order to show life â€Å"as it is,† the body of realist literature tends to eschew the elevated subject matter of tragedy in favor of the average, the commonplace, the middle classes and their daily struggles with daily existence. This literature undertook to use language as a kind of undistorting mirror of, or perfectly transparent window to, the â€Å"real†, to disguise its own status as artifice, to present language as constructed of one-to-one relationshipsRead MoreHow to Read Lit Like a Prof Notes3608 Words   |  15 Pageseither in plot or theme or both. Examples: i. Hamlet: heroic character, revenge, indecision, melancholy nature ii. Henry IV—a young man who must grow up to become king, take on his responsibilities iii. Othello—jealousy iv. Merchant of Venice—justice vs. mercy v. King Lear—aging parent, greedy children, a wise fool 7. †¦Or the Bible a. Before the mid 20th century, writers could count on people being very familiar with Biblical stories, a common touchstone a writer can tap b. Common Biblical storiesRead MoreCRM 1301 Midterm uOttawa Carolyn Gordon Essay10218 Words   |  41 Pagesservices is organized Divided into: Material forces of production Society’s capacities to produce the goods Social relations of production Interpersonal relationship among the people â€Å"The history of all existing society is the history of class struggle.† The mode of productions: Every civilization is determined on the way people produce material goods. In that society, an individual’s relationship to making goods determines their prestige in society and their individual wealth. Primitive Communism

Case for Animal Testing - 1113 Words

In the early nineteenth century, animal experiments emerged as an important method of science and marked the birth of experimental physiology and neuroscience as we know it today. It has since become an issue of intense public controversy. Many individuals against animal experimentation claim that animals undoubtedly merit the same amount of consideration and respect as humans and should be treated on the basis of the principles of equality. However, there is significant evidence to suggest that there are some circumstances where it is justifiable to use animals in experimentations. The following paper will briefly identify the animal rights proponents which assert that sentience is morally relevant and that animals and humans should be†¦show more content†¦Clearly both the man and the dog have an interest in staying alive. Who then do we save if both have an interest in staying alive? The obvious answer is the human, simply because we as humans have a greater interest in staying alive. Due to our advanced cognitive abilities to understand what that means and our investments we have made into our lives makes human life in a sense more valuable. It is than plausible to apply this same concern to a human being who is dying due to say, liver failure; if it were not for the research done on pigs in regards to liver transplants, there may have never been an opportunity for this person to survive (â€Å"Medical Advances† 21). Animal experimentation is validated simple by the benefits it has created in both our medical fields and the veterinary field. The advancements over the past century are astonishing. Backed by the weight of scientific literature the case that animal experiments can produce scientifically valid results is clear, strong and sustainable. Protesters opinions on these matters often overlook any of the positives about testing, for instance, cosmetic testing is illegal in the UK, the Netherlands and Belguim. Furthermore, primates only make up 0.001% of animals tested on, and cats and dogs are only 0.5%. Also, laboratories are checked on at least 12 times randomly throughout the year to make sure that the high standards of animal care are being kept (Nuffield Council 39). Animal researchersShow MoreRelatedCase Study: The Benefits of Animal Testing Essay1718 Words   |  7 Pagespossible without the use of animal experimentation. Animal testing allows doctors to save countless lives. Witho ut it, Amy along with countless others would die. Animal testing is a largely debated and controversial issue. It was first introduced in the United States in the 1920s (Goldberg 85). Since then, there have been many advances in the field of medicine and science. These advances are due largely to the fact that animals are used in experiments and research.   Animal testing has given doctors someRead MoreShould Animals Be Used For Product Or Medical Research?767 Words   |  4 PagesThat’s what animals go through almost everyday. Animal medical research and animal testing has been going on for years and years and needs to be stopped immediately. They have lives just like us and are being treated like their nothing. Animals should not be used for product or medical research. To begin with, the behaviors of animals has become violent because of animal research. A 2013 poll showed that two thirds of respondents oppose testing cosmetics and other consumer products on animals. (â€Å"Is animalRead MoreShould Animals Be Used For Genetic Or Consumer Testing?784 Words   |  4 PagesShould Animals Be Used for Genetic or Consumer Testing? Each year, â€Å"more than 100 million animals are killed in U.S. laboratories for biology lessons, medical training, curiosity-driven experimentation, and chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics testing.† There are all types of animals that are used to do these experiments. Animal testing is inhumane and cruel, and causes pain to living creatures. Also, the reaction of drug in an animal s body can be very different from a human s body. An importantRead MoreEssay about Animal Testing Should Be Outlawed1110 Words   |  5 Pagesto Biology Online, animal experimentation is defined as the use of animals in experiments and development projects usually to determine toxicity, dosing and efficacy of test drugs before proceeding to human clinical trials. Animal experimentation has been going on since ancient Greece when Aristotle and Hippocrates first made their model of the human body based on what they had observed through animal dissection. Then, Romans used animals to do more psy chological tests on animals like pigs, monkeysRead More Vivisection: Is it for you? Essay1749 Words   |  7 PagesVivisection: Is it for you? Animal Research has become a heated debate over the past few decades, reaching a high point around the end of the twentieth century yet it still continues through today. There are two main ways to look at this topic: the logos pro side and the pathos anti side. Those who are for animal testing realize the amazing benefits that can come out of such research while those against animal testing stand up for animals’ rights and try to find ways to better such researchRead MoreAnimal Testing And Biological Experiments1308 Words   |  6 PagesAnimals, humans, alike are thinking breathing and emotional creatures that habit this beautiful Earth. Every year over 100 million animals die from animal testing and biological experiments (Peta.) Animals may not be able to reason or talk, but they can suffer. They feel pain and fear similarly to the way humans do, in fact their reactions to pain are almost identical. Therefore should not be taken advantage of or used as test dummies. The consequence of testing on animals for the greater good doesRead MoreThe Pros And Cons Of Animal Testing Cosmetics1499 Words   |  6 Pageslet alone function. A current topic in which we are at battle with today is the case of testing cosmetic products on animals. Although many cosmetic companies believe that animal testing cosmetics is morally sound, I believe that not to be true because animal testing cosmetics negatively impacts the moral integrity of individuals and society as a whole. Typically, if you ask a person if they believe in animal testing cosmetics, they will say no since the majority of society’s morals point in thisRead MoreAnimal Testing Is Unethical1089 Words   |  5 PagesMartinez English 101 4 December 2017 Animal Testing Animal testing is a practice which scientists have been using for hundreds of years. It uses non-human animals to test how substances may affect their behavior or health. Whether or not it should be allowed has been a debated for years. Some believe animal testing to be unethical. Others believe it to be a necessary evil that has advanced our scientific knowledge. There are also those who believe that animals hold the same rights as humans, andRead MoreAnimal Experimentation Is Necessary For Medical Research1484 Words   |  6 Pagesthink if an animal tested product is being bought or not? Innumerable people fail to consider how these products came to be or if there was animal experimentation was involved. Many people are oblivious to the appalling occurrences that take place in laboratories involving animal cruelty on a daily basis. Government officials and scientists believe that testing on animals is essential for medical research, but many of the results prove to be irrelevant a nd the reality is that most animals that are experimentedRead MoreHow Do The Contributions Of Animal Testing To Global Medical1309 Words   |  6 Pagescontributions of animal testing to global medical science justify whether or not it should be banned? According to the Humane Society International (HSI), animal testing or animal experimentation for medical research refers to the experimentation on live animals for the purposes of investigation on diseases, medical treatments, or fundamental biology. Charles Gross, a former member of the History of Neuroscience committee of the global Society for Neuroscience, states that animals were used for improving

Bacterial Nucleoid-associated Proteins

Question: Analyze the effect of various transcriptional regulatory proteins. Answer: An operon is a particular portion of genetic material that acts as a functioning unit and is composed of a cluster of genes that are controlled under a single promoter. In the process of transcription, there are two types of operons and those are, lac-operons or inducible operons and repressible operons (Dillon Dorman, 2010). A lac-operon is a unit composed of genetic material that is activated in the response to the presence of some particular chemicals. Repressible operon is an operon, whose transcription reduces when a particular substance mainly the end products of any biosynthetic pathway is present. The regulatory proteins are basically the product of the regulatory genes of an operon. An mRNA is produced by the regulatory genes of the operon that produces a repressor protein, which in turn binds to the operator site of the lac-operon. This lac repressor protein is also known as regulatory protein as it prevents the transcription of the structural genes by keeping away the RNA polymerase (Schleif, 2010). References: Dillon, S. C., Dorman, C. J. (2010). Bacterial nucleoid-associated proteins, nucleoid structure and gene expression.Nature Reviews Microbiology,8(3), 185-195. Schleif, R. (2010). AraC protein, regulation of the l-arabinose operon in Escherichia coli, and the light switch mechanism of AraC action.FEMS microbiology reviews,34(5), 779-796.

Schizophrenia Essays (467 words) - Schizophrenia,

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness characterized by a variety of symptoms, including loss of contact with reality, bizarre behavior, disorganized thinking and speech, decreased emotional expressiveness, and social withdrawal. Usually only some of these symptoms occur in any one person. The term schizophrenia comes from Greek words meaning "split mind." However, contrary to common belief, schizophrenia does not refer to a person with a split personality or multiple personality.To observers, schizophrenia may seem like madness or insanity. Perhaps more than any other mental illness, schizophrenia has a debilitating effect on the lives of the people who suffer from it. A person with schizophrenia may have difficulty telling the difference between real and unreal experiences, logical and illogical thoughts, or appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Schizophrenia seriously impairs a person's ability to work, go to school, enjoy relationships with others, or take care of oneself. In addition, people with schizophrenia frequently require hospitalization because they pose a danger to themselves. About 10 percent of people with schizophrenia commit suicide, and many others attempt suicide. Once people develop schizophrenia, they usually suffer from the illness for the rest of their lives. Although there is no cure, treatment can help many people with schizophrenia lead productive lives. Schizophrenia also carries an enormous cost to society. People with schizophrenia occupy about one-third of all beds in psychiatric hospitals in the United States. In addition, people with schizophrenia account for at least 10 percent of the homeless population in the United States (see Homelessness). The National Institute of Mental Health has estimated that schizophrenia costs the United States tens of billions of dollars each year in direct treatment, social services, and lost productivity. Prevalence Approximately 1 percent of people develop schizophrenia at some time during their lives. Experts estimate that about 1.8 million people in the United States have schizophrenia. The prevalence of schizophrenia is the same regardless of gender, race, and culture. Although women are just as likely as men to develop schizophrenia, women tend to experience the illness less severely, with fewer hospitalizations and better social functioning in the community. Symptoms Schizophrenia usually develops in late adolescence or early adulthood, between the ages of 15 and 30. Much less commonly, schizophrenia develops later in life. The illness may begin abruptly, but it usually develops slowly over months or years. Mental health professionals diagnose schizophrenia based on an interview with the patient in which they determine whether the person has experienced specific symptoms of the illness. Symptoms and functioning in people with schizophrenia tend to vary over time, sometimes worsening and other times improving. For many patients the symptoms gradually become less severe as they grow older. About 25 percent of people with schizophrenia become symptom-free later in their lives. A variety of symptoms characterize schizophrenia. The most prominent include symptoms of psychosis-such as delusions and hallucinations-as well as bizarre behavior, strange movements, and disorganized thinking and speech. Many people with schizophrenia do not recognize that their mental functioning is disturbed.

Story of Jacob and Esau

Free Essays on Prejudice In Education

Prejudice in Education â€Å"Prejudice, may be formally defined as the judgment of people, objects, or situations in a stereotypical way (Popenoe 2000; 246). It is a belief that is based upon unsubstantiated generalizations and ignorance toward those un-favored. Prejudgments such as a college student choosing a type of roommate or a business executive hiring someone occur on a daily basis. However, when an individual fails to discard prejudgments because of new evidence their thoughts become prejudices. Sociologists emphasize that prejudice is learned from friends and family (Popenoe 20002; 247). But, what about at school, where a child is suppose to be fostered? Do children learn prejudices while learning the three R’s? The typical public school teacher is a middle-class white female. The typical curricula, tests, and learning tools used in public schools were created by middle-class educators and are geared toward the needs of middle-class children. Educators may not always be able to communicate as well with lower-class students as they can with middle class student. A poor minority student may have trouble understanding English if English is not his/her first language or if English is not spoken in his/her home. These factors and so many more are what cause students to learn their differences and are what foster future prejudices says J. Oakes, an educational sociologist. Oakes suggests that one of the reasons this happens is because of the existence of a â€Å"hidden curriculum,† one in which teachers’ expectations and judgments are based on behavior traits that are a part of each student’s home life and are brought to the classroom. Oakes found that schools can help stu dents to overcome class barriers by responding to cultural differences as well as by using the same types of skills in all levels of tracking. Though the school cannot separate students from their family environment and peer group they can help ... Free Essays on Prejudice In Education Free Essays on Prejudice In Education Prejudice in Education â€Å"Prejudice, may be formally defined as the judgment of people, objects, or situations in a stereotypical way (Popenoe 2000; 246). It is a belief that is based upon unsubstantiated generalizations and ignorance toward those un-favored. Prejudgments such as a college student choosing a type of roommate or a business executive hiring someone occur on a daily basis. However, when an individual fails to discard prejudgments because of new evidence their thoughts become prejudices. Sociologists emphasize that prejudice is learned from friends and family (Popenoe 20002; 247). But, what about at school, where a child is suppose to be fostered? Do children learn prejudices while learning the three R’s? The typical public school teacher is a middle-class white female. The typical curricula, tests, and learning tools used in public schools were created by middle-class educators and are geared toward the needs of middle-class children. Educators may not always be able to communicate as well with lower-class students as they can with middle class student. A poor minority student may have trouble understanding English if English is not his/her first language or if English is not spoken in his/her home. These factors and so many more are what cause students to learn their differences and are what foster future prejudices says J. Oakes, an educational sociologist. Oakes suggests that one of the reasons this happens is because of the existence of a â€Å"hidden curriculum,† one in which teachers’ expectations and judgments are based on behavior traits that are a part of each student’s home life and are brought to the classroom. Oakes found that schools can help stu dents to overcome class barriers by responding to cultural differences as well as by using the same types of skills in all levels of tracking. Though the school cannot separate students from their family environment and peer group they can help ...

Importance of Monitoring and Evaluation in Complex Projects Essay

Importance of Monitoring and Evaluation in Complex Projects - Essay Example Evaluation is there to bring these into light. As bared by Bako (n.d.) however, evaluation and evaluators are still seen as elements of managerial work that inflame one's nerves rather than challenge one for change. Managers are often confronted with questions and challenges both from inside and outside the organization about projects. Questions asked include proper use of resources, results in line with efforts, services meeting beneficiaries' expectations or not, and proper spending of money. To answer these questions, evaluations are undertaken by organizations but relevant information must be gathered systematically first, which is the process of monitoring. Large-scale infrastructure projects would even more need monitoring and evaluation efforts. Examples of complex projects involve the development of power plants, telecommunications systems, water treatment facilities, ports, urban transportation systems and toll ways. Most of these are owned by private sector developers or are partnerships with public sector institutions. They are typically capital intensive, involving tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars of investment (CRGP, n.d.). Complex projects, according Coffman (n.d.) compose of a subset of projects large enough financially to pose a significant risk to the organization if they are not conceived of and executed well. There is multiplicity of the parties involved in the planning, financing and execution of the projects. There is also at times complexity in the multiple nationalities of the parties(CRGP, n.d.). According to the World Bank, a separate administrative unit for monitoring is expedient where project objectives are complex, or with projects with multiple components. (WB 1989). The purpose is to serve the information needs of the implementing agency and so accordingly such unit should be integrated into the management structure (Ibid.). Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems should be of quality. At the outset, projects are required to design and implement plans for M&E as far as the Global Environment Facility (GEF, 2004) Council is concerned. To them, an issue with complex projects is their over-ambitious objectives in relation to available resources and the periods for implementation. Another is the unrealistic assumptions about either project problems or solutions (Ibid.). Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) Monitoring is mainly an internal process carried out by those implementing the project. Preferably, monitoring should involve all stakeholders as the results need to be shared with them and fed back into implementation (www.bond.org, n.d.). Monitoring is the continuous assessment of project implementation with the main objective of providing continuous feedback (WB 1989). On the other hand, evaluation is the periodic assessment of the relevance, performance, efficiency, and impact of the project, both expected ad unexpected, in relation to stated objectives. It is intended to identify project design problems, and is essentially an internal activity undertaken for project management. (Ibidl). An evaluation is an assessment of an ongoing or completed project rendered as objective as possible. The aim is to determine the relevance and fulfilment of objectives, development, efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. Information in an evaluation should be credible and useful to enable learning from the lessons incorporated for the

Doing gender as opposed to being a gender Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Doing gender as opposed to being a gender - Essay Example In his definition of gender, he brings it out as â€Å"interactional portrayals of what individuals would like to convey about sexual natures, via the use of conservative gestures† (West & Zimmerman, 1987, p. 22). This depicts the pursuit of gender as unreasonable. It means that individuals behave according to what they want understood on their sexual types. According to sociology, both gender role and gender display pay attention to the behavioral elements of being either man or woman as opposed to the biological variance between the two. According to West and Zimmerman, the idea of gender as a role makes it unclear concerning the work that is required in producing gender in daily activities, while the idea of display demotes it to the edge of interaction. They argue that â€Å"Participants in interaction organize their various and manifold activities to express or reflect on gender, and are disposed to perceive the behavior of others in a similar light† (West & Zimmerman, 1987, p. 75). This means that gender is about controlling one’s actions according to the behavioral guidelines for one’s selected sex type and seeing others in the same perspective. This may not be applicable to individuals who are intersexual, having a biological makeup that is ambiguous. Instead, such persons could be assigned sex types according to the way they effectively discharge their gender-specific roles. Transgender could also be taken to belong to their chosen sex type without the essential biological standards as long as they follow the guidelines of the performance of gender. In the West, the cultural view on gender sees both men and women as naturally and indisputably defined types of having psychological and behavioral susceptibility that can be foretold from their reproductive functions. This can be termed as gender since one functions according to his sex. In contrast, gender can be defined as the act of controlling

Investigative journalism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Investigative journalism - Assignment Example Different stories were heard as the case in Baghdad was different from what officials had promised to be the case. Screams of death could be heard in different corners and alleys of the city as the citizens were gripped with fear. Back home, American officials who were interviewed never though the necessary to mention the laws of wars in the different speeches whereas the Iraqi government was opposing the air strikes campaign with dead bodies littered in every corner of their streets. The hospitals were a horrific site to witness as Iraqi televisions broadcasted civilians who were either injured or maimed in different parts thus creating the scene as a blood scene. What next? The American government was quick to announce that the government of Iraqi had built their bases amidst civilian population therefore conflicts their earlier statements that civilians in the region were to be kept safe from harm caused by the air strikes. The responses from the two government sides further added to the point that during times of war, laws are assumed or considered to be irrelevant. Citizens in different parts of the world believe in rules or laws during war. This is true in spite of them also different the laws governing the terms of war but the force applied in any war. However, as much there is memorandum that controls the rules of war, there exists disagreements on who has the authority to declare war and enforce war rules when situations calls for the element of war. In sum, who owns the element of war in a country or a

Value of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM)

Value of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) Organizations worldwide are continuously trying to develop new and innovative ways to enhance their competitiveness. Bacallan (2000) suggests that some of these organizations are enhancing their competitiveness through improvements in their environmental performance to comply with mounting environmental regulations, to address the environmental concerns of their customers, and to mitigate the environmental impact of their production and service activities. Green supply chain management as a form of environmental improvement is an operational initiative that many organizations are adopting to address such environmental issues. Currently, the green concept is a critical issue for companies, but when the majority of businesses are cost focused, the idea of implementing and moving toward green practices is often seen as a costly strategy. Bowen et al. (2001) state that organizations will adopt green supply chain management practices if they identify that this will result in specific financial and operational benefits. According to Routroy (2009), Greening the manufacturing supply chain may result in one or more benefits, in terms of cost reduction, operational efficiency improvement, flexibility improvement, sales enhancement, customer value enhancement, and societal image improvement. Green supply chain management is also to enhance firms environmental performance through inter-organizational collaboration with business partners and increase efficiency by cost saving programs and proactive risk management practices (Hervani et al., 2005; Rao and Holt, 2005; Zhu and Sarkis, 2007). We will review the literature about Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) concept and then we will see how it is translated within the supply chains. Then, the common purpose of this research will be to identify the link between GSCM and overall firm performance. We decided, based on the literature and on a specific framework (Rao Holt, 2005) applied in Asia, to tackle the concept of green supply chain management in Western Europe by including environmental initiatives in: (1) Inbound logistics; (2) Production or the internal supply chain; (3) Outbound logistics, including reverse logistics. Nowadays, how organisations are implementing GSCM and what are the impacts on their business? At the end of this research we will identify the best practices, and the way they are they measured. Moreover, we will see in what extent an effective Green Supply Chain Management could be a driver for innovation and business performance in manufacturing firms? Finally, we will see if Green Supply Chain Management lead to profitability and competitiveness. Our study will consider manufacturing companies in Western Europe. II Literature review Definition Green supply chain management Several studies have considered the concept of ecological sustainability as a framework for studying management practices in both operational and strategic contexts (Sarkis and Rasheed, 1995; Klassen and McLaughlin, 1996; King and Lenox, 2001). As part of this effort, other studies have examined the greening of supply chains within various contexts including in product design (Allenby, 1993; Gupta, 1995), process design (Porter and Van der Linde, 1995a; Klassen and McLaughlin, 1996), manufacturing practices (Winsemius and Guntram, 1992), purchasing (Handfield et al., 2002) and a broad mixture of these elements (Bowen et al., 2001a). It is not surprising that GSCM finds its definition in supply chain management. Adding the green component to supply chain management involves addressing the influence and relationships of supply chain management to the natural environment. Motivated by an environmentally-conscious mindset, it can also stem from a competitiveness motive within organizations. In this paper GSCM is defined as: Green Supply Chain Management GSCM = Green Purchasing + Green Manufacturing/Materials Management + Green Distribution=Marketing + Reverse Logistics Figure 1 shows this GSCM equation graphically, where reverse logistics closes the loop of a typical forward supply chain and includes reuse, remanufacturing, and/or recycling of materials into new materials or other products with value in the marketplace. The idea is to eliminate or minimize waste (energy, emissions, chemical/hazardous, solid wastes). This figure is representative of a single organizations internal supply chain, its major operational elements and the linkage to external organizations. A number of environmentally conscious practices are evident throughout the supply chain ranging from green design (marketing and engineering), green procurement practices (e.g. certifying suppliers, purchasing environmentally sound materials/products), total quality environmental management (internal performance measurement, pollution prevention), environmentally friendly packaging and transportation, to the various product end-of-life practices defined by the Res of reduction, reuse, remanufacturing, recycling. Expanding this figure, a number of organizational relationships could be found at various stages of thismodel, including customers and their chains, as well as suppliers and their chains, forming webs of relationships. Figure 1. GSCM graph The development of industrial ecosystems would be greatly supported by GSCM practices. Korhonen and Niutanen (2003) in their study of material and energy flows in the local forest industry in Finland suggested these flows were comparable to other economic and industrial systems. In the last two decades, the product-based systems perspective and the geographically defined local-regional industrial ecosystem have Porter (1991) argues the pressure to innovate from an environmental perspective comes from regulatory pressure, as firms respond in creative and dynamic ways to environmental regulation by introducing innovations improving environmental outcomes. Other studies concluded environmental innovation is the result of market pressures causing firms to become more efficient. Porter and Van der Linde (1995a, b) concluded firms respond to competitive conditions and regulatory pressure by developing strategies to maximize resource productivity, enabling them to simultaneously improve their industrial and environmental performance. Furthering this issue, Greffen and Rothenberg (2000) suggest suppliers can be an important source of enhanced competency for radical environmental innovation, which, in relation to an integrated technological system, demands capabilities beyond those likely to exist within a single company. The added competency brought by the supply chain partners is important. Other external pressures do exist and include environmental compliance, liability, issues of business continuity, the call for benchmarking to national, international, or industry standards, customer attitudes toward product take-back, and even pressures from inter-organizational information technology/data management systems. The innovation of GSCM/Performance Measurement is necessary for a number of reasons in response to external pressures. For example, business performance measurement, for purposes of external reporting, is fundamentally driven by the creation, maximization and defence of economic rents or surplus. These surpluses or rents in business come from distinctive capabilities such as brands and reputation, strategic assets, innovations, and the distinctive structure of relationships firms enjoy both internally with their employees and/or externally with their customers and suppliers. External reporting is also necessary to maintain organizational legitimacy with respect to environmental issues (Harvey and Schaefer, 2001). Sustainability. One of the major definitions of sustainability and certainly most well known is that of the Brundtland Commission (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p.8): development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This short definition includes the interest of understanding the environmental impact of economic activity in both developing and industrialized economies (Erlich and Erlich, 1991); ensuring worldwide food safety (Lal et al., 2002); ensuring that vital human needs are met (Savitz and Weber, 2006); and assuring the protection of non-renewable resources (Whiteman and Cooper, 2000). Unfortunately, the societal aspect of sustainability is complicated for firms to apply and provides little explanation regarding how organizations might recognize future versus present needs, determine the technologies and resources necessary to meet those needs, and understand how to balance organizational responsibilities to numerous stakeholders such as shareholders, employees, society and the natural environment (Hart, 1995; Starik and Rands, 1995). Sustainability has been also investigated in the fields of management, operations, and engineering. Within the management literature, most of the current conceptualizations of organizational sustainability have focused on ecological sustainability (the natural environment), with little recognition of social and economic responsibilities (Jennings and Zandbergen, 1995; Shrivastava, 1995a; Starik and Rands, 1995). Sustainable refers to the triple bottom line, for economic, social and environmental. An approach to competitive advantage. A particular organization has competitive advantage when it achieves a higher return on investment than its competitors, or it is able to do so (Grant, 1996). Therefore, in order to have competitive advantage organizations must have the ability to obtain higher profit margins than other companies in the industry. Organizations with competitive advantage, however, might show not the highest profit rate. For example, competitive organizations might prefer, for one or another reason, to sell their products and services at a lower price than the maximum price it could mark. Two major types of competitive advantage can be enjoyed by organizations (Porter, 1985): cost advantage, which is the result of supplying similar products and/or services to low prices; and differentiation advantage, which comes from offering differentiated products and/or services to customers, who, in turn, are ready to pay an additional price which overcomes the additional differentiation costs. While the cost advantage position implies to have the lowest costs in the industry, differentiation advantage refers to offering something unique which is valued by customers. Competitive advantage can derive from one or more factors or sources. Firstly, literature on strategic management suggests the following major sources of cost advantage (e.g., Porter, 1985; Grant, 1996): scale economies, learning economies, production capacity management, product design, cost of inputs, process technology, and management efficiency. Secondly, sources of differentiation advantage include tangible and intangible aspects which are significantly valued by potential customers as to be ready to pay an additional price for them (e.g., Porter, 1985; Grant, 1996); tangible aspects refer to observable characteristics of the products and services, their performance, and complementary products and services; intangible aspects, in turn, include social, emotional, psychological and aesthetic considerations which are present in any choice of products and services. Recently, a major theoretical framework has been developed in strategic management literature which seems to be particularly appropriate for identifying the characteristics that a particular resource or capability must show in order to be a major source of competitive advantage. This theoretical framework is the resource based view of the firm theory. Performance Corporate performance measurement and its field application continues to grow. The diversity and level of performance measures are linked to the goal of the company or the individual strategic business units features. For instance, when measuring performance, organizations have to think about existing financial measures such as return on investment, profitability, market share and revenue growth at a competitive and strategic level. Other measures are more operationally focused, but may inevitably be linked to strategic level measures and issues. This is the case of customer service and inventory performance (supply, turnover). GSCM implementation Where to begin? Viable environmental sustainability programs require meaningful action across a broad range of processes. Some of the most impactful areas include: Production planning: The most valuable members of a supply chain are able to provide accurate forecasts and deliver reliably so as to help reduce over purchasing, over-production and waste Manufacturing: The adoption of techniques such as lean process improvement should result in less over processing as well as reduced energy intensive storage and waste Distribution: Network redesign. Smart routing, backhauling, fill optimization and mode switching à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  all are likely to result in fewer freight miles Green design: The electronics and related high-tech industries practice collaboration as a means of optimizing the green aspects of their components and end-products; proactive and/or influential members of a supply chain can promote/pursue similar collaboration/ innovation Packaging: The greenest firms seek to minimize the environmental impact of packaging, not only by using less, but also by evaluating the energy, waste, recovery and other life cycle impacts of their packaging choices Recycled content: Companies score green points by maximizing their use. of these materials as well as by using materials in products that are in turn easily recyclable Warehousing: Challenge existing assumptions in light of higher energy costs and the need to reduce carbon footprints Green energy: More green points are available by using green or renewable energy sources à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  although this can be difficult in regulated energy markets (and a factor in future location decisions) IT: Videoconferencing and remote servicing can reduce business travel; Energy Star rated PCs along with optimized power consumption settings can significantly pare energy costs Server farms: Energy efficient servers arrayed according to state-of-the-art cooling practices can generate enormous energy savings Ridesharing/telecommuting: A growing number of companies are working with municipalities to better optimize public transportation to their facilities. More companies are also enabling more workdays at home as well as providing incentives for carpooling Estates: Investments in building air tightness, insulation and energy efficient heating, cooling, lighting, plant and equipment can significantly reduce carbon footprints Green procurement: It is possible to reduce your carbon footprint by paying more attention to your own procurement. Supplier carbon footprint, ISO certifications, procurement distance have to be part of the selection criterias. Conceptual framework Greening the inbound function It is argued that greening the supply chain has numerous benefits to an organization, ranging from cost reduction, to integrating suppliers in a participative decision-making process that promotes environmental innovation (Bowen et al., 2001; Hall, 1993; Rao, 2002). Critical parts of the inbound function are the purchasing and supply field. Green purchasing strategies are adopted by organizations in response to the increasing global concerns of environmental sustainability. The Green purchasing should be able address reduction of waste produced, material substitution through environmental sourcing of raw materials, and waste minimization of hazardous materials. (Rao Holt, 2005) The involvement and support of suppliers is crucial to achieving such goals. (Vachon and Klassen, 2006). Furthermore, organizations are managing more and more their suppliers environmental performance to ensure that the materials and equipments supplied by them are environmentally-friendly in nature and are produced using environmentally-friendly processes. Min and Galle (1997) explore green purchasing to determine the key factors affecting a buying firms choice of suppliers, the key barriers and the obstacles to green purchasing initiatives. They also investigated the impact of green purchasing on a corporations environmental goals. Below listed subjects to get information on the green inbound phase of a supply chain: (1) Guiding suppliers to set up their own environmental programs; (2) bringing together suppliers in the same industry to share their know-how and problems; (3) informing suppliers about the benefits of cleaner production and technologies; (4) urging/pressuring suppliers to take environmental actions; and (5) choice of suppliers by environmental criteria. Greening the production phase or the internal supply chain In this phase, there are a number of concepts that can be explored, such as cleaner production, design for environment, remanufacturing and lean production. Hong, He-Boong, Jungbae Roh, (2009) highlight through their research that strategic green management needs the combination of integrated product development (IPD) and supply chain coordination (SCC) for desired business outcomes. Thanks to a survey on 580 manufacturing plants in the US, adopting cleaner production techniques, Florida and Davison (2001) showed that green corporations are innovative in their environmental practices, and these strategies emerge from a real commitment towards reducing waste and pollution. Lean production/manufacturing is also an important consideration in reducing the environmental impact of the production phase. In their research King and Lenox (2001), concludes that lean production is complementary to improvements in environmental performance and it often lowers the marginal cost of pollution reduction thus enhancing competitiveness. In addition, Rothenberg et al. (2001) identify that lean plants aim to minimize waste and buffers, leading not only to reduce buffers in environmental technology and management, but also in an overall approach to manufacturing that minimizes waste products. (1) Environment-friendly raw materials; (2) substitution of environmentally questionable materials; (3) taking environmental criteria into consideration; (4) environmental design considerations; (5) optimization of process to reduce solid waste and emissions; (6) use of cleaner technology processes to make savings in energy, water, and waste; (7) internal recycling of materials within the production phase; and (8) incorporating environmental total quality management principles such as worker empowerment. Greening the outbound function On the outbound side of the green supply chain, green logistics comprises all links from the manufacturer to the end users and includes products, processes, packaging, transport, and disposal (Skjoett-Larsen, 2000). Rao, (2003) and Sarkis, (1999) argue on the fact that green marketing, environment-friendly packaging, and environment-friendly distribution, are all initiatives that might improve the environmental performance of an organization and its supply chain. Reverse logistics and waste exchange and ore generally management of wastes in the outbound function can lead to cost savings and enhanced competitiveness (Rao, 2003). In order to address these environmental impacts of packaging, many countries now have programs and legislation that aims to minimize the amount of packaging that enters the waste stream, such as the Packaging Directive in the EU. The distribution, for the whole supply chain is a huge stake for green management. In fact the distribution results of a trade-off between efficiency and effectiveness firm strategy. For this reason is difficult to handle As part of outbound logistics, green marketing has an important part to play in the link between environmental innovation and competitive advantage (Menon and Menon, 1997). Encouraging suppliers to take back packaging is a form of reverse logistics that can be an important consideration in greening the outbound function, with a study by Dorn (1996) identifying an increase in market share amongst companies that implemented an environmentally-friendly packaging scheme. The product design step is more and more integrated within green supply chain issues because 80% of the environmental burden and cost of a product is fixed during this phase (Carbone, Moatti, 2008). Strategic variables to take in account for an empirical study; (1) Environment-friendly waste management; (2) environmental improvement of packaging; (3) taking back packaging; (4) eco-labeling; (5) recovery of companys end-of-life products; (6) providing consumers with information on environmental friendly products and/or production methods; and (7) use of environmentally-friendly transportation. Competitiveness Economic performance Bacallan (2000) suggests that organizations are enhancing their competitiveness through improvements in their environmental performance to comply with mounting environmental regulations, to address the environmental concerns of their customers (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). However, an interesting point to notice is that, as long as the market does not seek environmental value-drivers in the products and services it purchases, environmental issues are not necessarily considered by organizations and consumers. (Rao Holt, 2005) Fortunately, over the last few years there has been a growth in environmental awareness of consumers in general. Clearly a growing number of corporations are developing company-wide environmental programs and green products sourced from markets around the world. Therefore, environmental issues are becoming a source of competitiveness. All these efforts aim to improve environmental performance, enhance corporate image, reduce costs, reduce risks of non-compliance and improve marketing advantage. Nevertheless, some organizations are still looking upon green initiatives as involving trade-offs between environmental performance and economic performance. The financial performance of firms is affected by environmental performance in a variety of ways. When waste, both hazardous and non-hazardous, is minimized as part of environmental management, it results in better utilization of natural resources, improved efficiency, higher productivity and reduces operating costs (Rao Holt, 2005). Nowadays and in the future, a good green player could expect to increase its brand image and its market share and then improve its profitability against company without enough green concern while saving costs by innovative processes. To investigate the link between green supply chain management and economic performance we could refers to those key aspects: (1) New market opportunities; (2) product price increase; (3) profit margin;(4) sales; and (5) market share. And competitiveness: (1) Improved efficiency; (2) quality improvement; (3) productivity improvement; and (4) cost savings. Methodology To validate our research, an empirical, survey-based research approach will be taken. Based on the empirical studies through the literature, and a meaningful framework used in the relevant research of Rao Holt in 2005 applied on Asian companies. We choose to follow a common technique to validate the framework presented in the preceding section, a linear SEM (Stochastic Expectation Maximization) approach is used (JÃÆ' ¶reskog and SÃÆ' ¶rbom, 1993) to validate the causal relationships between the different latent constructs of: greening the inbound function; greening production; greening the outbound function; competitiveness and; economic performance. The questionnaire will be distributed to the supply chain managers and/or environmental management representative (EMR) or the chief executive of manufacturing organizations in Western Europe. In order to have both MNCs and SMEs ( Responses will be collected on a four-point and five-point Likert scale, and open-ended questions. The four-point scale served to force the respondents to check either on the negative side or on the positive side. The choice not to focus only on the leading edge ISO14001 accredited organizations (running environmental management) allow us to broader our research and then make a comparison between those without formal environmental management accreditation, and best players accredited. In terms of financial performance, this strategy will be interesting for identifying benefits and again do comparisons. Expected results. As this type of research was already done in South-Est Asia, our results will allow us to compare our findings and trend with those in South-Est Asia. We expect a response of 10%, therefore we will send to a consequent sample to get sufficient and tangible return. We will probably be able to confirm that greening the supply chain also has potential to lead to competitiveness and economic performance. As the current environmental concern in Europe is high, including governmental and customers pressures these research findings would probably show that firms that are greening their supply chains not only achieve substantial cost savings, but also enhance either sales, market share or exploit new market opportunities. The cost aspect will be important to assess as it is directly connected to the overall performance. The main limitation of this research will be probably the small sample of organizations, but the lack of empirical research in Europe will be also one of the main strengths of this paper. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to all organizations in this region or around the world. Finally, future research should empirically test the relationships suggested in this paper in different countries, to enable comparative studies. For further research, a larger sample will allow detailed cross-sectoral comparisons and establish international patterns regarding benefits from GSCM. Performance Measurement for Green Supply chain management: Context In supply chains with multiple actors, (vendors manufacturers, distributors and retailers) whether regionally or globally dispersed, it is difficult to attribute performance results to one particular entity within the chain, by the way performance measurement is really challenging. There are difficulties in measuring performance within organizations and even more difficulties arise in inter-organizational environmental performance measurement. The reasons for lack of systems to measure performance across organizations are multidimensional, including non-standardized data, poor technological integration, geographical and cultural differences, differences in organizational policy, lack of agreed upon metrics, or poor understanding of the need for inter-organizational performance measurement. (Hervani, A. Helms, M. Sarkis, J., 2005) Performance measurement in supply chains is difficult for additional reasons, especially when looking at numerous tiers within a supply chain, and green supply chain management performance measurement, or GSCM/PM, is virtually non-existent. With these barriers and difficulties in mind, GSCM/PM is needed for a number of reasons (including regulatory, marketing and competitiveness reasons). Overcoming these barriers is not a trivial issue, but the long-term sustainability (environmental and otherwise) and competitiveness of organizations may rely on successful adoption of GSCM/PM. The basic purposes of GSCM/PM are: external reporting (economic rent), internal control (managing the business better) and internal analysis (understanding the business better and continuous improvement). These are the fundamental issues that drive the development of frameworks for business performance measurement. It is important to consider both purpose, as well as the interrelationships of these various measurements. Supply chain management Supply chain management is the coordination and management of a complex network of activities involved in delivering a finished product to the end-user or customer. It is a vital business function and the process includes sourcing raw materials and parts, manufacturing and assembling products, storage, order entry and tracking, distribution through the various channels and finally delivery to the customer. A companys supply chain structure consists of external suppliers, internal functions of the company, and external distributors, as well as customers (commercial or end-user). Firms may be members of multiple supply chains simultaneously. The management and coordination is further complicated by global players spread across geographic boundaries and multiple time zones. The successful management of a supply chain is also influenced by customer expectations, globalization, information technology, government regulation, competition and the environment. Performance management and measurement Corporate performance measurement and its application continue to grow and encompass both quantitative and qualitative measurements and approaches. The variety and level of performance measures depends greatly on the goal of the organization or the individual strategic business units characteristics. For example, when measuring performance, companies must consider existing financial measures such as return on investment, profitability, market share and revenue growth at a more competitive and strategic level. Other measures such as customer service and inventory performance (supply, turnover) are more operationally focused, but may necessarily be linked to strategic level measures and issues. Overall, these difficulties in developing standards for performance measurement are traced to the various measurement taxonomies. Example taxonomic considerations include: management level to measure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" strategic, tactical, or operational; tangible versus intangible measures; variations in collection and reporting; an organizations location along the supply chain or functional differentiation within organizations (e.g. accounting, versus marketing or operations). Similar to the performance measurement used, the performance measurement system may be unique to each individual organization, or unit within an organization, reflecting its fundamental purpose and its environment. Several studies have investigated the universal principles of performance measurement (Adams et al., 1995; Gunasekaran et al., 2001; Sink and Tuttle, 1990). These studies arrived at a number of conclus Value of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) Value of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) Organizations worldwide are continuously trying to develop new and innovative ways to enhance their competitiveness. Bacallan (2000) suggests that some of these organizations are enhancing their competitiveness through improvements in their environmental performance to comply with mounting environmental regulations, to address the environmental concerns of their customers, and to mitigate the environmental impact of their production and service activities. Green supply chain management as a form of environmental improvement is an operational initiative that many organizations are adopting to address such environmental issues. Currently, the green concept is a critical issue for companies, but when the majority of businesses are cost focused, the idea of implementing and moving toward green practices is often seen as a costly strategy. Bowen et al. (2001) state that organizations will adopt green supply chain management practices if they identify that this will result in specific financial and operational benefits. According to Routroy (2009), Greening the manufacturing supply chain may result in one or more benefits, in terms of cost reduction, operational efficiency improvement, flexibility improvement, sales enhancement, customer value enhancement, and societal image improvement. Green supply chain management is also to enhance firms environmental performance through inter-organizational collaboration with business partners and increase efficiency by cost saving programs and proactive risk management practices (Hervani et al., 2005; Rao and Holt, 2005; Zhu and Sarkis, 2007). We will review the literature about Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) concept and then we will see how it is translated within the supply chains. Then, the common purpose of this research will be to identify the link between GSCM and overall firm performance. We decided, based on the literature and on a specific framework (Rao Holt, 2005) applied in Asia, to tackle the concept of green supply chain management in Western Europe by including environmental initiatives in: (1) Inbound logistics; (2) Production or the internal supply chain; (3) Outbound logistics, including reverse logistics. Nowadays, how organisations are implementing GSCM and what are the impacts on their business? At the end of this research we will identify the best practices, and the way they are they measured. Moreover, we will see in what extent an effective Green Supply Chain Management could be a driver for innovation and business performance in manufacturing firms? Finally, we will see if Green Supply Chain Management lead to profitability and competitiveness. Our study will consider manufacturing companies in Western Europe. II Literature review Definition Green supply chain management Several studies have considered the concept of ecological sustainability as a framework for studying management practices in both operational and strategic contexts (Sarkis and Rasheed, 1995; Klassen and McLaughlin, 1996; King and Lenox, 2001). As part of this effort, other studies have examined the greening of supply chains within various contexts including in product design (Allenby, 1993; Gupta, 1995), process design (Porter and Van der Linde, 1995a; Klassen and McLaughlin, 1996), manufacturing practices (Winsemius and Guntram, 1992), purchasing (Handfield et al., 2002) and a broad mixture of these elements (Bowen et al., 2001a). It is not surprising that GSCM finds its definition in supply chain management. Adding the green component to supply chain management involves addressing the influence and relationships of supply chain management to the natural environment. Motivated by an environmentally-conscious mindset, it can also stem from a competitiveness motive within organizations. In this paper GSCM is defined as: Green Supply Chain Management GSCM = Green Purchasing + Green Manufacturing/Materials Management + Green Distribution=Marketing + Reverse Logistics Figure 1 shows this GSCM equation graphically, where reverse logistics closes the loop of a typical forward supply chain and includes reuse, remanufacturing, and/or recycling of materials into new materials or other products with value in the marketplace. The idea is to eliminate or minimize waste (energy, emissions, chemical/hazardous, solid wastes). This figure is representative of a single organizations internal supply chain, its major operational elements and the linkage to external organizations. A number of environmentally conscious practices are evident throughout the supply chain ranging from green design (marketing and engineering), green procurement practices (e.g. certifying suppliers, purchasing environmentally sound materials/products), total quality environmental management (internal performance measurement, pollution prevention), environmentally friendly packaging and transportation, to the various product end-of-life practices defined by the Res of reduction, reuse, remanufacturing, recycling. Expanding this figure, a number of organizational relationships could be found at various stages of thismodel, including customers and their chains, as well as suppliers and their chains, forming webs of relationships. Figure 1. GSCM graph The development of industrial ecosystems would be greatly supported by GSCM practices. Korhonen and Niutanen (2003) in their study of material and energy flows in the local forest industry in Finland suggested these flows were comparable to other economic and industrial systems. In the last two decades, the product-based systems perspective and the geographically defined local-regional industrial ecosystem have Porter (1991) argues the pressure to innovate from an environmental perspective comes from regulatory pressure, as firms respond in creative and dynamic ways to environmental regulation by introducing innovations improving environmental outcomes. Other studies concluded environmental innovation is the result of market pressures causing firms to become more efficient. Porter and Van der Linde (1995a, b) concluded firms respond to competitive conditions and regulatory pressure by developing strategies to maximize resource productivity, enabling them to simultaneously improve their industrial and environmental performance. Furthering this issue, Greffen and Rothenberg (2000) suggest suppliers can be an important source of enhanced competency for radical environmental innovation, which, in relation to an integrated technological system, demands capabilities beyond those likely to exist within a single company. The added competency brought by the supply chain partners is important. Other external pressures do exist and include environmental compliance, liability, issues of business continuity, the call for benchmarking to national, international, or industry standards, customer attitudes toward product take-back, and even pressures from inter-organizational information technology/data management systems. The innovation of GSCM/Performance Measurement is necessary for a number of reasons in response to external pressures. For example, business performance measurement, for purposes of external reporting, is fundamentally driven by the creation, maximization and defence of economic rents or surplus. These surpluses or rents in business come from distinctive capabilities such as brands and reputation, strategic assets, innovations, and the distinctive structure of relationships firms enjoy both internally with their employees and/or externally with their customers and suppliers. External reporting is also necessary to maintain organizational legitimacy with respect to environmental issues (Harvey and Schaefer, 2001). Sustainability. One of the major definitions of sustainability and certainly most well known is that of the Brundtland Commission (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987, p.8): development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This short definition includes the interest of understanding the environmental impact of economic activity in both developing and industrialized economies (Erlich and Erlich, 1991); ensuring worldwide food safety (Lal et al., 2002); ensuring that vital human needs are met (Savitz and Weber, 2006); and assuring the protection of non-renewable resources (Whiteman and Cooper, 2000). Unfortunately, the societal aspect of sustainability is complicated for firms to apply and provides little explanation regarding how organizations might recognize future versus present needs, determine the technologies and resources necessary to meet those needs, and understand how to balance organizational responsibilities to numerous stakeholders such as shareholders, employees, society and the natural environment (Hart, 1995; Starik and Rands, 1995). Sustainability has been also investigated in the fields of management, operations, and engineering. Within the management literature, most of the current conceptualizations of organizational sustainability have focused on ecological sustainability (the natural environment), with little recognition of social and economic responsibilities (Jennings and Zandbergen, 1995; Shrivastava, 1995a; Starik and Rands, 1995). Sustainable refers to the triple bottom line, for economic, social and environmental. An approach to competitive advantage. A particular organization has competitive advantage when it achieves a higher return on investment than its competitors, or it is able to do so (Grant, 1996). Therefore, in order to have competitive advantage organizations must have the ability to obtain higher profit margins than other companies in the industry. Organizations with competitive advantage, however, might show not the highest profit rate. For example, competitive organizations might prefer, for one or another reason, to sell their products and services at a lower price than the maximum price it could mark. Two major types of competitive advantage can be enjoyed by organizations (Porter, 1985): cost advantage, which is the result of supplying similar products and/or services to low prices; and differentiation advantage, which comes from offering differentiated products and/or services to customers, who, in turn, are ready to pay an additional price which overcomes the additional differentiation costs. While the cost advantage position implies to have the lowest costs in the industry, differentiation advantage refers to offering something unique which is valued by customers. Competitive advantage can derive from one or more factors or sources. Firstly, literature on strategic management suggests the following major sources of cost advantage (e.g., Porter, 1985; Grant, 1996): scale economies, learning economies, production capacity management, product design, cost of inputs, process technology, and management efficiency. Secondly, sources of differentiation advantage include tangible and intangible aspects which are significantly valued by potential customers as to be ready to pay an additional price for them (e.g., Porter, 1985; Grant, 1996); tangible aspects refer to observable characteristics of the products and services, their performance, and complementary products and services; intangible aspects, in turn, include social, emotional, psychological and aesthetic considerations which are present in any choice of products and services. Recently, a major theoretical framework has been developed in strategic management literature which seems to be particularly appropriate for identifying the characteristics that a particular resource or capability must show in order to be a major source of competitive advantage. This theoretical framework is the resource based view of the firm theory. Performance Corporate performance measurement and its field application continues to grow. The diversity and level of performance measures are linked to the goal of the company or the individual strategic business units features. For instance, when measuring performance, organizations have to think about existing financial measures such as return on investment, profitability, market share and revenue growth at a competitive and strategic level. Other measures are more operationally focused, but may inevitably be linked to strategic level measures and issues. This is the case of customer service and inventory performance (supply, turnover). GSCM implementation Where to begin? Viable environmental sustainability programs require meaningful action across a broad range of processes. Some of the most impactful areas include: Production planning: The most valuable members of a supply chain are able to provide accurate forecasts and deliver reliably so as to help reduce over purchasing, over-production and waste Manufacturing: The adoption of techniques such as lean process improvement should result in less over processing as well as reduced energy intensive storage and waste Distribution: Network redesign. Smart routing, backhauling, fill optimization and mode switching à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  all are likely to result in fewer freight miles Green design: The electronics and related high-tech industries practice collaboration as a means of optimizing the green aspects of their components and end-products; proactive and/or influential members of a supply chain can promote/pursue similar collaboration/ innovation Packaging: The greenest firms seek to minimize the environmental impact of packaging, not only by using less, but also by evaluating the energy, waste, recovery and other life cycle impacts of their packaging choices Recycled content: Companies score green points by maximizing their use. of these materials as well as by using materials in products that are in turn easily recyclable Warehousing: Challenge existing assumptions in light of higher energy costs and the need to reduce carbon footprints Green energy: More green points are available by using green or renewable energy sources à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  although this can be difficult in regulated energy markets (and a factor in future location decisions) IT: Videoconferencing and remote servicing can reduce business travel; Energy Star rated PCs along with optimized power consumption settings can significantly pare energy costs Server farms: Energy efficient servers arrayed according to state-of-the-art cooling practices can generate enormous energy savings Ridesharing/telecommuting: A growing number of companies are working with municipalities to better optimize public transportation to their facilities. More companies are also enabling more workdays at home as well as providing incentives for carpooling Estates: Investments in building air tightness, insulation and energy efficient heating, cooling, lighting, plant and equipment can significantly reduce carbon footprints Green procurement: It is possible to reduce your carbon footprint by paying more attention to your own procurement. Supplier carbon footprint, ISO certifications, procurement distance have to be part of the selection criterias. Conceptual framework Greening the inbound function It is argued that greening the supply chain has numerous benefits to an organization, ranging from cost reduction, to integrating suppliers in a participative decision-making process that promotes environmental innovation (Bowen et al., 2001; Hall, 1993; Rao, 2002). Critical parts of the inbound function are the purchasing and supply field. Green purchasing strategies are adopted by organizations in response to the increasing global concerns of environmental sustainability. The Green purchasing should be able address reduction of waste produced, material substitution through environmental sourcing of raw materials, and waste minimization of hazardous materials. (Rao Holt, 2005) The involvement and support of suppliers is crucial to achieving such goals. (Vachon and Klassen, 2006). Furthermore, organizations are managing more and more their suppliers environmental performance to ensure that the materials and equipments supplied by them are environmentally-friendly in nature and are produced using environmentally-friendly processes. Min and Galle (1997) explore green purchasing to determine the key factors affecting a buying firms choice of suppliers, the key barriers and the obstacles to green purchasing initiatives. They also investigated the impact of green purchasing on a corporations environmental goals. Below listed subjects to get information on the green inbound phase of a supply chain: (1) Guiding suppliers to set up their own environmental programs; (2) bringing together suppliers in the same industry to share their know-how and problems; (3) informing suppliers about the benefits of cleaner production and technologies; (4) urging/pressuring suppliers to take environmental actions; and (5) choice of suppliers by environmental criteria. Greening the production phase or the internal supply chain In this phase, there are a number of concepts that can be explored, such as cleaner production, design for environment, remanufacturing and lean production. Hong, He-Boong, Jungbae Roh, (2009) highlight through their research that strategic green management needs the combination of integrated product development (IPD) and supply chain coordination (SCC) for desired business outcomes. Thanks to a survey on 580 manufacturing plants in the US, adopting cleaner production techniques, Florida and Davison (2001) showed that green corporations are innovative in their environmental practices, and these strategies emerge from a real commitment towards reducing waste and pollution. Lean production/manufacturing is also an important consideration in reducing the environmental impact of the production phase. In their research King and Lenox (2001), concludes that lean production is complementary to improvements in environmental performance and it often lowers the marginal cost of pollution reduction thus enhancing competitiveness. In addition, Rothenberg et al. (2001) identify that lean plants aim to minimize waste and buffers, leading not only to reduce buffers in environmental technology and management, but also in an overall approach to manufacturing that minimizes waste products. (1) Environment-friendly raw materials; (2) substitution of environmentally questionable materials; (3) taking environmental criteria into consideration; (4) environmental design considerations; (5) optimization of process to reduce solid waste and emissions; (6) use of cleaner technology processes to make savings in energy, water, and waste; (7) internal recycling of materials within the production phase; and (8) incorporating environmental total quality management principles such as worker empowerment. Greening the outbound function On the outbound side of the green supply chain, green logistics comprises all links from the manufacturer to the end users and includes products, processes, packaging, transport, and disposal (Skjoett-Larsen, 2000). Rao, (2003) and Sarkis, (1999) argue on the fact that green marketing, environment-friendly packaging, and environment-friendly distribution, are all initiatives that might improve the environmental performance of an organization and its supply chain. Reverse logistics and waste exchange and ore generally management of wastes in the outbound function can lead to cost savings and enhanced competitiveness (Rao, 2003). In order to address these environmental impacts of packaging, many countries now have programs and legislation that aims to minimize the amount of packaging that enters the waste stream, such as the Packaging Directive in the EU. The distribution, for the whole supply chain is a huge stake for green management. In fact the distribution results of a trade-off between efficiency and effectiveness firm strategy. For this reason is difficult to handle As part of outbound logistics, green marketing has an important part to play in the link between environmental innovation and competitive advantage (Menon and Menon, 1997). Encouraging suppliers to take back packaging is a form of reverse logistics that can be an important consideration in greening the outbound function, with a study by Dorn (1996) identifying an increase in market share amongst companies that implemented an environmentally-friendly packaging scheme. The product design step is more and more integrated within green supply chain issues because 80% of the environmental burden and cost of a product is fixed during this phase (Carbone, Moatti, 2008). Strategic variables to take in account for an empirical study; (1) Environment-friendly waste management; (2) environmental improvement of packaging; (3) taking back packaging; (4) eco-labeling; (5) recovery of companys end-of-life products; (6) providing consumers with information on environmental friendly products and/or production methods; and (7) use of environmentally-friendly transportation. Competitiveness Economic performance Bacallan (2000) suggests that organizations are enhancing their competitiveness through improvements in their environmental performance to comply with mounting environmental regulations, to address the environmental concerns of their customers (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). However, an interesting point to notice is that, as long as the market does not seek environmental value-drivers in the products and services it purchases, environmental issues are not necessarily considered by organizations and consumers. (Rao Holt, 2005) Fortunately, over the last few years there has been a growth in environmental awareness of consumers in general. Clearly a growing number of corporations are developing company-wide environmental programs and green products sourced from markets around the world. Therefore, environmental issues are becoming a source of competitiveness. All these efforts aim to improve environmental performance, enhance corporate image, reduce costs, reduce risks of non-compliance and improve marketing advantage. Nevertheless, some organizations are still looking upon green initiatives as involving trade-offs between environmental performance and economic performance. The financial performance of firms is affected by environmental performance in a variety of ways. When waste, both hazardous and non-hazardous, is minimized as part of environmental management, it results in better utilization of natural resources, improved efficiency, higher productivity and reduces operating costs (Rao Holt, 2005). Nowadays and in the future, a good green player could expect to increase its brand image and its market share and then improve its profitability against company without enough green concern while saving costs by innovative processes. To investigate the link between green supply chain management and economic performance we could refers to those key aspects: (1) New market opportunities; (2) product price increase; (3) profit margin;(4) sales; and (5) market share. And competitiveness: (1) Improved efficiency; (2) quality improvement; (3) productivity improvement; and (4) cost savings. Methodology To validate our research, an empirical, survey-based research approach will be taken. Based on the empirical studies through the literature, and a meaningful framework used in the relevant research of Rao Holt in 2005 applied on Asian companies. We choose to follow a common technique to validate the framework presented in the preceding section, a linear SEM (Stochastic Expectation Maximization) approach is used (JÃÆ' ¶reskog and SÃÆ' ¶rbom, 1993) to validate the causal relationships between the different latent constructs of: greening the inbound function; greening production; greening the outbound function; competitiveness and; economic performance. The questionnaire will be distributed to the supply chain managers and/or environmental management representative (EMR) or the chief executive of manufacturing organizations in Western Europe. In order to have both MNCs and SMEs ( Responses will be collected on a four-point and five-point Likert scale, and open-ended questions. The four-point scale served to force the respondents to check either on the negative side or on the positive side. The choice not to focus only on the leading edge ISO14001 accredited organizations (running environmental management) allow us to broader our research and then make a comparison between those without formal environmental management accreditation, and best players accredited. In terms of financial performance, this strategy will be interesting for identifying benefits and again do comparisons. Expected results. As this type of research was already done in South-Est Asia, our results will allow us to compare our findings and trend with those in South-Est Asia. We expect a response of 10%, therefore we will send to a consequent sample to get sufficient and tangible return. We will probably be able to confirm that greening the supply chain also has potential to lead to competitiveness and economic performance. As the current environmental concern in Europe is high, including governmental and customers pressures these research findings would probably show that firms that are greening their supply chains not only achieve substantial cost savings, but also enhance either sales, market share or exploit new market opportunities. The cost aspect will be important to assess as it is directly connected to the overall performance. The main limitation of this research will be probably the small sample of organizations, but the lack of empirical research in Europe will be also one of the main strengths of this paper. Therefore, the findings cannot be generalized to all organizations in this region or around the world. Finally, future research should empirically test the relationships suggested in this paper in different countries, to enable comparative studies. For further research, a larger sample will allow detailed cross-sectoral comparisons and establish international patterns regarding benefits from GSCM. Performance Measurement for Green Supply chain management: Context In supply chains with multiple actors, (vendors manufacturers, distributors and retailers) whether regionally or globally dispersed, it is difficult to attribute performance results to one particular entity within the chain, by the way performance measurement is really challenging. There are difficulties in measuring performance within organizations and even more difficulties arise in inter-organizational environmental performance measurement. The reasons for lack of systems to measure performance across organizations are multidimensional, including non-standardized data, poor technological integration, geographical and cultural differences, differences in organizational policy, lack of agreed upon metrics, or poor understanding of the need for inter-organizational performance measurement. (Hervani, A. Helms, M. Sarkis, J., 2005) Performance measurement in supply chains is difficult for additional reasons, especially when looking at numerous tiers within a supply chain, and green supply chain management performance measurement, or GSCM/PM, is virtually non-existent. With these barriers and difficulties in mind, GSCM/PM is needed for a number of reasons (including regulatory, marketing and competitiveness reasons). Overcoming these barriers is not a trivial issue, but the long-term sustainability (environmental and otherwise) and competitiveness of organizations may rely on successful adoption of GSCM/PM. The basic purposes of GSCM/PM are: external reporting (economic rent), internal control (managing the business better) and internal analysis (understanding the business better and continuous improvement). These are the fundamental issues that drive the development of frameworks for business performance measurement. It is important to consider both purpose, as well as the interrelationships of these various measurements. Supply chain management Supply chain management is the coordination and management of a complex network of activities involved in delivering a finished product to the end-user or customer. It is a vital business function and the process includes sourcing raw materials and parts, manufacturing and assembling products, storage, order entry and tracking, distribution through the various channels and finally delivery to the customer. A companys supply chain structure consists of external suppliers, internal functions of the company, and external distributors, as well as customers (commercial or end-user). Firms may be members of multiple supply chains simultaneously. The management and coordination is further complicated by global players spread across geographic boundaries and multiple time zones. The successful management of a supply chain is also influenced by customer expectations, globalization, information technology, government regulation, competition and the environment. Performance management and measurement Corporate performance measurement and its application continue to grow and encompass both quantitative and qualitative measurements and approaches. The variety and level of performance measures depends greatly on the goal of the organization or the individual strategic business units characteristics. For example, when measuring performance, companies must consider existing financial measures such as return on investment, profitability, market share and revenue growth at a more competitive and strategic level. Other measures such as customer service and inventory performance (supply, turnover) are more operationally focused, but may necessarily be linked to strategic level measures and issues. Overall, these difficulties in developing standards for performance measurement are traced to the various measurement taxonomies. Example taxonomic considerations include: management level to measure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" strategic, tactical, or operational; tangible versus intangible measures; variations in collection and reporting; an organizations location along the supply chain or functional differentiation within organizations (e.g. accounting, versus marketing or operations). Similar to the performance measurement used, the performance measurement system may be unique to each individual organization, or unit within an organization, reflecting its fundamental purpose and its environment. Several studies have investigated the universal principles of performance measurement (Adams et al., 1995; Gunasekaran et al., 2001; Sink and Tuttle, 1990). These studies arrived at a number of conclus

The Banning of William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet :: William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet

Banning of the Book/Play Romeo And Juliet 1. Brief Summary of the Play The story is happening in the city of Verona, where two respectful houses, Montague and Capulet, are in rage for many years. The sun of Montague, Romeo, is deeply in love with Rosaline. As a "cure" for his love, his friend, Benvolio, suggests that he will go under disguise to a party in Capulet house. Romeo arrives at the party, where he meets Juliet, the daughter of Capulet, and both fall in love immediately. Only after the party they discover that they are from rival houses. Romeo express his love to Juliet and the marry the next day, secretly. Tybalt is enraged by Romeo unwanted "visit" and he swears revenge. He is insulting Romeo and killing Mercutio, another Montague. Romeo kill's Tybalt, and as a punishment, he is to leave Verona and never return. The Friar has a plan to unite again Romeo and Juliet, who is supposed to marry Paris by her father demand. The friar makes a potion who will cause Juliet a temporary death-alike situation, and she will not have to marry Paris. Juliet agrees, drinks the portion and apparently die, and the Friar sends a messenger to inform Romeo, but the messenger fail to reach Romeo, and instead a friend of Romeo reaches him and tells him that Juliet is dead because he didn't knew that Juliet is only apparently dead because of the potion. Romeo buys a poison, comes back to Verona and enters Juliet tomb. He kisses her, and suicide. A little after, Juliet wake up, find her Romeo dead, and use Romeo's dagger to suicide. Romeo and Capulet arrive at the tomb, and decide to stop the fighting between the families. 2. Why was the book Banned. I think the book was banned because Romeo and Juliet suicide, (Romeo drinks poison and Juliet stabs herself). Juliet actually "angry" with Romeo after he suicide because he didn't left her even a drop of poison ("Drunk all, and left no friendly drop To help me after ?") and people thought that this will encourage teenagers to suicide because of false love. 3. Do you agree with the banning? I do not agree with the banning, although I do think it doesn't fit to an Elementary school or Jr. High, because of the hard language (I had really hard time figuring what some vocabulary is), although I wouldn't disallow students to read it, if they think they can, or willing to put as much effort as it takes to fully understand the book, I would allow and even recommend it.

Mktg 205 Principles of Marketing

Kirk Bausman American Intercontinental University Unit 3 Individual Project MKTG 205 – September 11, 2011 Abstract I n this paper I will give an overview of distribution channels. Channel Levels: Direct versus Indirect Distribution. Channel Organizations: Conventional, Vertical, Horizontal and Multichannel Marketing Systems. I will analyze my target market's needs. Explain what I know about my target market and what they want from a channel of distribution. Introduction This is an Overview of Distribution Channels, and our target market’s needs in distribution channels. Overview of Distribution Channels Direct channels to market are typically your sales force. Direct channels to market include any route to market that you control and finance directly. The direct channel is typically more capital intensive to establish and you typically achieve a far greater level of control over this channel than you do the indirect channel. In indirect distribution an intermediary is involved between the manufacturer and the buyer. That intermediary is responsible solely for the distribution of goods on the behalf of the company. Analyze Target Market’s Needs in Distribution Channels Our target market will need a security service that will fulfill their requirements that fit their needs. The market will be high profile property or persons. They will need the direct channel. By using the direct approach the clients will get catalogs, websites, talk directly to sales personal. When it comes to security you will want to see firsthand what kind of service you are getting. And with this kind of service and the clientele, a simple T. V. ad will not do. Determine Channel Members with Explanation The channel member that we will use will be direct: catalog, telephone, sales force, etc. n the world of security you do not want everyone to know how you do business. You only want those you service know how and when things get done. If everyone knew then there would be no point to have security. We will have a sales force go out and talk to clients, show them catalog, and follow up with phone calls. Discuss How Many Channel Members with Explanation We will be using only one ch annel member. The member we will use is selective distribution. The reason for this is so that I can chose who to let have my service. We do not want to provide security for a company that maybe doing illegal activities. Channel Organization We will use a vertical marketing system; this provides a way to resolve the channel conflict that can occur in a conventional distribution channel where channel members are separate businesses seeking to maximize their own profits—even at the expense sometimes of the system as a whole. Conclusion As a whole it is up to use all as a company to push the service we provide. References Triple Canopy Secure Success www. triplecanopy. com/ Blackwater security www. blackwater. com www. ustraining. com/new/contact. asp Marketing: Kerin, Hartley, Rudelius