Family, Youth and Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

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Contrasts between the Movie Rambo II and the book In Pharaoh's Army by Essay

Contrasts between the Movie Rambo II and the book In Pharaoh's Army by Tobias Wolff - Essay Example On the other hand, Wolff, in his book, does not try to portray himself as a wartime hero. Instead, he tries to narrate the details of his experiences in an objective fashion. Wolff takes the readers to a journey to Vietnam through naturalistic, old-fashioned methods. Wolff tells the story of his decision in joining the army as well as his Southeast Asian tour of duty. He was sent back home after one year. However, after reading the book, one could say that the book’s title has nothing much to do with the specific emotional gravity of the Vietnam War no matter how evocative the book’s title might sound. Personally speaking, it is a story that talks about the coming-of-age of an individual that could easily happen even in non-Vietnam specific wartime setting. To better understand the vast differences of the book and the movie to the historical event, one should first learn the emotions that filled America during the post-Vietnam era. It has taken several years before the Americans were able to start to accept the consequences of the Vietnam War. The U.S. legacy lingers on at the mental hospitals, drug treatment clinics, shelters for the homeless, and the rural wilds where some war veterans escaped to in order to avoid the realities of going back to their native land. These are apart from the generation of limbless and maimed civilians and the Vietnamese landscape poisoned with munitions, mines, defoliants. Aside from the negative consequences to the Vietnamese landscape, the Vietnam War left a deep scar in the cultural landscape of the Americans. It can be seen in several expressions and outlets such as underground press, anti-war songs, fiction, and films (Kellner 161-3). To link these statements above to the context of the movie Rambo, one can begin by looking at how Rambo is transformed into a superhero rescuer of

Organizational Structure Of Nestle Pakistan Marketing Essay

Organizational Structure Of Nestle Pakistan Marketing Essay Now companies are improving their production by adopting different strategies in which backward integration is one of them. Backward Integration is a type of vertical integration in which a company gets control over its suppliers to improve the efficiency and save the cost which improves its profit margins and make the firm more competitive. Backward integration occurs through acquiring input suppliers, establishing long-term contracts with existing suppliers or investing in new input production capacity through internal corporate growth. The main advantages of backward integration regardless of the industry are decreased marketing expenses, the stability of operations, the certainty of supplies of materials, much control on the distribution of products, tighter quality control, the on time review of fabrication and allocation policies, more control over inventory, and additional profit margins or the ability to charge lower prices on final products. These advantages must be weighed against the disadvantages which normally are disparities among productive capacities at a range of stages of manufacturing, governmental pressure, lack in interest of specialty, the firmness of operations, the extension of the management team and lack of direct competitive influence on the costs of transitional products. Background: This report highlights the comparison of two companies from Pakistan Food Industry the ENGRO FOODS and NESTLE PAKISTAN, which are applying backward integration to enhance their production capability. In Pakistan these are the top most companies which are playing a vital role in the food industry through their dairy and beverage products. Nestle is a subsidiary of Swiss origin company which headquarter is located in vevey, Switzerland. Nestle Pakistan started its operations in 1988 with the collaboration of Milk Pak Ltd in Pakistan which is further took over total control in 1992. In Pakistan, its head quarter is located in Lahore and the company currently operating four production facilities. Two of its factories are located in sheikhupura and Kabirwala while one in Islamabad and one in Karachi. It has also the biggest milk collection operation in Pakistan through which they collects milk from an estimated 190,000 farmers and from their dairy farms located in different areas of Pakistan. Nestle Pakistan is currently the leading food beverage company of Pakistan. While Engro food is another biggest and fastest growing company in Pakistan. In 2005 Engro Foods limited was established and it is 100% owned by Engro Corporation. Engro Foods limited began their operations in 2006 and within 5 years they make realization to their competitor by increasing their market share gradually. At the end of 2010 Engro Foods Limited took control in the market of Ultra High Temperature by launching new products including ice cream, juices, powder milk and flavoured milk which contain great potential to compete in future. The Company is also entering into global markets. Its first mission is that to administer a Halal food business in North America known as Al-Safa, which was recently acquired by Engro Corporation at a total cost of 6.3 mn dollars. INDUSTRY OVERVIEW Recently a seminar Current Status of Foods Industry in Pakistan: Threats and Challenges was held at Lahore on September 07, 2012 in which different analysts of PCSIR and Federal Minister of Science and Technology addresses that food industry in Pakistan has become the second largest industry by participating with 17% share in GDP and in Pakistan it is now become most consuming industry because people spent 42% of their earnings in foods products. And at the end of the session some analysts point out weak point of the food industry that the in appropriate management of food products and the large harvest losses in vegetables, fruits and grain create a food shortage in market. There are several sectors of food industry while some are given below which are related to the project report, we will mainly focus on these. These sectors are as follows: Dairy Juices Ice creams 2.1 Dairy Dairy sector is one of the most important sectors of Pakistan which affects more than 10 mn families. There are a lot of companies in Pakistan who are purchasing milk from farmers for their satisfaction. The dairy industry is providing packed milk to its consumers in the shape of UHT, Pasteurized, Tea Whitener and Flavored milk. The industry is also producing Ice Cream, Yoghurt, Cheese, Butter and miscellaneous food items for childrens.   Milk is the most consumable food item having a life of 4 hours under at a certain temperature level of room. Pakistan is 3rd leading milk producing country in the world with more than 47 billion litters production and 11.30% contribution in GDP and a milk economy that in value terms is 27.7% of the total agriculture sector. According to analysts the milk production is expected to grow at 2% annually, however the processed industry is only 7% of operated milk. The milk, remaining wastages and farmer preservation is 20.7 bn liters of which 1.4 bn goes into processing and the rest is sold as a commodity in retail outlets and through door to door Gawala system. So, there is an immense prospect and +prospective to grow the processed milk business. The processed milk has segmented into three categories namely: Ambient UHT Powder 2.1.1 Ambient UHT As of 2010, Ambient UHT constitutes only 4% of the total Tradable Milk segment. Industry volumes have grown 10% from 2006-2010 and the market size was 790 million liters as of December 2010. 2.1.2 Powder Currently, the size of the branded powder market is approximately 57,000 tons, which uses approximately 540 mn liters of milk and 3% of tradable milk. Powder market size has grown 17% from 2006 to 2010 and it is expected to grow 14% in the next five years due to economy that powder offers as well as its specialize use as growing up and infant nutrition source. Nestle Pakistan is the market leader in this segment. 2.2 Juices The Juices, Nectars and Still drinks market are of 507 Million Liters which has total market value of PKR 31 Billion. This market is subdivided into Juice and Nectar and Value added Still Drinks. Juices contain 100% fruit substance, Nectar contain 25% to 99% fruit substance while still drinks contain 0 to 24 % fruit substance value added still drinks have innovative packaging or addition of pulp etc. Nestle Pakistan is the market leader in this segment. 2.3 Ice Cream The Ice Cream sector of Pakistan has growing constantly and registers a volume growth of 20% in 2010 as compare to 2009. The overall volume of ice cream sold in 2010 was 71 Million liters while the total market value was PKR 8.8 billion. The industry volumes have grown 11% over the last four years. However, it is expected that growth will be higher in next five years on the back of significant investment by the industrys key players. Walls are the market leader in this industry which is followed by Omore. COMPANIES PROFILE 3.1 Engro Foods Engro Corporation Limited initially introduced with Engro Chemical Pakistan which rapidly built their growth in chemical industry and after few years Engro Chemical become Engro Corporation Limited by making diversified investment in different sector like Foods, Energy, Fertilizer and Business solutions. It started operations in 1957 as an Esso/Mobil joint venture which discovered the Mari Gas field near Daharki. Engro food is now becoming the biggest and fastest growing company in Pakistan. From the beginning till date Engro Foods Limited 100% owned supplementary company of Engro Corporation. Engro Foods Limited operations began in the year of 2006 and within 5 years company started to climb the ladder of growth rapidly. It has manage to be the market leaders in Ultra High Temperature (UHT) Industry at the end of 2010 and has launched multiple new products including Ice Cream, Flavoured Milk, Fruit Juices and Milk Powders, that show great potential for future. In order to back these products and to achieve high quality standards Engro Foods Limited made backward integration strategy in which they heavily invested in milk processing and collection infrastructure. The Company has innovated by venturing out of the dairy sector and stepping in the Beverage Industry by launching Olfrute and ice cream industry by launching Omore. The Company is also entering into the global markets. Its first mission is to manage a Halal food business in North America known as Al-Safa, which was recently acquired by Engro Corporation at a total outlay of 6.3 mn dollars. PRODUCTION FACILITIES Dairy Plants Engro Foods has two UHT processing plants which are located in Sukkur and Sahiwal with total filling capacity of 1.1 million liter per day. Sukkur Plant capacity is 400,000 liter per day whereas Sahiwal plant facility is 700,000 liter per day. Engro Foods also has a powder plant at Sukkur with a capacity of 24 tons per day. Covered area of freehold land of Sukkur is 27 acres and Sahiwal production facility is 33 acres freehold land. These production sites are equipped with plant and machinery of European origin. Sukkur Production site started its operation in Feb 2006, whereas Sahiwal plant started its operation in December 2007. Ice Cream Plant The ice cream plant was set up in the same facility as the Dairy Plant. The total manufacturing capability of Sahiwal is 33 acres of free holding land. This provides deliberate advantage to the Company in terms of the supply of raw material, the utilities, and manpower and warehousing. The ice cream plant has total capacity of 22 million liters per annum. Organizational Structure of Engro Foods: President/CEO Secretary Secretary Vice President Manufacturing Vice President Marketing Manager Public Affair Manager Internal Audit Special Projects Vice President HR Vice President HR Compensation Benefits Sales Production Accounting Recruitment Planning development Maintenance Treasury Training development Technical Services Process Engineering Industrial Trade Instrumental/Fleet Purchasing Administration Legal Brands of Engro Foods: The product portfolio of Engro Foods comprises some of the countrys biggest and best selling brands which include: Olpers Olpers Lite Olfrute Omore Omung Omung Lassi Tarang. 3.2 Nestle Pakistan Nestle is basically a Swiss company and their head office is situated in Vevey, Switzerland. And Nestle Pakistan is one of it supplementary company. Since 1988 Nestle Pakistan is working with the alliance of Milk Pak Ltd and within short time period Nestle Pakistan took over Milk Pak Ltd. It is also listed in Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchange. Nestle Pakistan is one of the most prominent company which ensures it place among top 25 companies who are registered at Karachi stock exchange for last couple of years. The Headquarter of Nestle is located in Lahore and the Company operates four fabrication facilities. In which the factories located in Sheikhupura and Kabirwala are producing different products under same umbrella. The other factory is present in Islamabad and one in Karachi produce packed water. Nestle Pakistan now operates the biggest milk collection process in Pakistan. At present, Nestle Pakistan gathers milk from a projected 190,000 farmers. At present Nestle is market leader in dairy and beverage industry of Pakistan because they are very keenly focusing on Nutrition and health by covering almost at all locations throughout Pakistan to serve the consumers. Nestle Pakistan distinct feature is that they are the leaders in Nutrition. PRODUCTION FACILITIES Sheikhupura Factory The factory located at sheikhpura produces many most popular products s of Nestle Pakistan such as  Milkpak UHT milk, Nevista  products,  Nestle pure water,  Cerelac and yogurt. The factory starts operation as part of Milkpak Ltd in 1981. Formerly it produced only UHT milk but in 1988 it had expanded to produce butter, cream, ghee and fruit drinks as well. But with the passage of time Nido powder milk also started to produce in this factory. Kabirwala Factory Milk Pak took over this factory which is located in Khanewal district of the Punjab in 1990. In 1997 Nestle Pakistan got 100% share of that unit.  After acquiring it Nestle upgraded its capacity and in 1992 they added Maggi Noodle  plant to the factory. Over the years past the Kabirwala factory was constantly enhanced as Everyday  tea whitening powder was introduced in 2002 . Islamabad Factory In Islamabad Nestle purchased the AVA water plant in year 2001. And in 2003 Nestle fully owned that unit. Gradually Nestle upgraded and introduced machineries to become more efficient in production through which they was able to provide differentiated products to their consumer with good packaging. Organizational Structure of Nestle Pakistan: Chief Executive Water Group Corporate Affairs Human Resource Supply Chain Milk Collection Agriculture Services Nestle Business Excellence Technical Operations Finance Control Unit Marketing and Sales Division National Sales Management Legal Affairs Technical Purchasing Financial Accounting Corporate purchase Treasury National Brand Management Budget Control Information System Taxation Brands of Nestle Pakistan: Nestle Pakistan has a lot of top most brands of Pakistan which added a lot of value to Nestle Pakistan over a last couple of years like: Milkpak Nevista Nido Everyday Milkpak Cream Nestle Desert cream Nestle yogurt Nestle fruit vitals Nestle Zeera Raita Actiplus Yogurt Nestle Rawaiti Maza Nestle Milo Nestle Nescafe 4. FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATIONS (BACKWARD INTEGRATION) Nestle Pakistan and Engro Foods are currently doing backward integration to enhance their production efficiency by creating their own dairy farms and taking control of transportation. Currently they are focusing of creating their own farms to get control over their suppliers. Both the companies are also now directly approaching to the farmers and collecting milk form them as the old concept of middle man and gawala system has start perishing. The main advantage of creating own farms is that both the companies get on time delivery of their material, which help them to enhance their production and deliver their product on time to the end consumers. The details of Engro Foods and Nestle Pakistan farms are given below: 4.1 Engro Foods Dairy Farm Engro Food has selected the Nara Canal due to the presence of its outstanding water, farming land availability and suitable weather for its Dairy Farm. The company has launched a comprehensive vaccination programme with the provision of clean water and balanced nutrition to have infection free, strong and happy animals at all times. The Companys Nara Dairy Farm continued to remain a rich and nutritious source of raw material for its dairy section. The Nara Farm formed over 5.8 mn liters of milk in 2011 with a total herd size of over 3,000 animals. But in 2012, Dairy Farm produced 26,979 liters of milk per day. At March 31, 2012 Dairy Farm herd increased to 3,204 animals. Through it the profit after tax stood at Rs. 5 million versus loss of Rs. 19 million in March 2011, primarily due to higher yield and production. 4.2 Nestle Dairy Farms Nestle Pakistan manages the project under its Agricultural Division. Over 75 professionals are currently associated with these services; intend to help in  increasing the sustainability of the dairy segment in Pakistan. They give the farmers with free technical assistance and veterinary services to build the skills of the farmers in best farming practices and improved livestock management and link them to small businesses and to the dairy market. For this purpose,Nestle has built two demonstrations and teaching  farms, one of which is still under process. The main training facility is the Sarsabz Demonstration and Training  Farm  which  is located on Multan Road, near Okara. The  second training Sukeki Farm,  is under in building process near Lahore. At the farm, there are more than 250 cows, animal huts,  milking machinery, a teaching centre, and hostel for  the farmers, management office and necessary farm equipment and highly qualified instructors  who train farmers on high quality dairy farming and livestock management. Nestle Pakistan has established this training facility over 103 acres of leased land as an investment for the development of  the dairy sector and to  work towards  sustainable farming and an improved rural economy. 5. LITERATURE REVIEW The concept of vertical integration is very old and we saw a lot of academic and legal debates over the costs and benefits of vertical integration. McGee, Bassett and Williamson (1975, 1985, 1989) said that vertical integration is a mean of reducing transactions costs, assuring supply, reducing risk and alleviating the efficiency losses. But on the other side, economists see vertical integration as a means for firms to reduce competition or extract market rents (Scherer, Perry 1978, 1989).Perry, Hart and Tirole (1978), said that most discussions have focused on the effects of forward integration into a competitive product market and little work exists on the effects of backward integration into a competitive input market. However, Knoeber and Thurman (1996) further said that backward integration is of growing importance in many agricultural and natural resource industries. According to Azzam (1996), backward integration occurs through acquiring input suppliers, establishing long-term contracts with existing suppliers or investing in new input production capacity through internal company growth. In some businesses, there is growing concern about the effects of such integration on remaining un- integrated input suppliers. First he said that backward-integrated dominant firm benefits from production efficiency gains. Second he further adds that backward-integrated dominant firm may benefit from a lower acquisition price for externally supplied raw inputs. As per Blois (1972), the biggest advantages of backward integration are to lower down transportation and marketing expense, production or operation stability, timely supplier services, high quality control, necessary revisions in production and execution policies, maintained inventory control, and high profit margin able produces to charge lower prices on finished products. While Williamson (1971) do not consider supply dependability as a necessary advantage and point out the interests harmonization and efficient utilization in process of decision making as the core advantages of backward integration. As per Williamson (1971), backward integration allows management to easily harmonized interest as possible differences can be resigned. As per Lambertini and Rossini (2008), backward vertical integration is indirectly proportional to producers and suppliers. As compare to forward vertical integration, backward vertical integration provides large incentives in investment to the manufacturer. The biggest disadvantage of backward integration for trader is that it discourages them for innovation, on the other hand forward integration discourages producers to innovate. This theory is not parallel to transaction cost theory which does not consider forward and backward integration as a separate concept. Many researchers like Armour, Teece, Langlois, Robertson, Gopala Krishnan, Bierly (1980, 1989, 1992, 1996, and 2001) have stated that vertical integration facilitates the development and implementation of systemic innovations. Further, Armour and Teece (1980) argue that if the innovation at one stage involves adaptation in a preceding or a consequent stage, then the usual ownership of the various stages i.e. vertical integration enables the necessary adaptations and adjustments to be made in a timely and efficient fashion. Similarly Langlois, Robertson (1989) and Langlois (1992) propose that vertical integration is the most appropriate organizational structure for integrative systemic process innovations because the necessary learning and experience proceed faster between functions in a vertically integrated environment. Furthermore, Teece (1996) explains that vertical integration enables the successful development and implementation of systemic innovations by facilitating information flows and coordination and removing institutional barriers such as cost and benefit allocation. Similarly, Gopal krishnan and Bierly (2001) point out that open exchange of information is easier and safer in house than between different organizations because each firm wants to gain more from the innovation and therefore unwilling to share information freely. Teece (1996) however adds that while systemic innovations favour vertically integrated structures from the coordination point of view and some relevant technological or other capabilities needed in the development and implementation of the innovation may exist outside of the vertically integrated firm. Therefore, larger firms may still have an advantage by using their scale to create sufficient momentum and attract smaller firms to get involved with the innovation or simply by being able to secure minority investment positions in smaller firms that have the necessary capabilities needed in the innovation. 6. ANAYSIS 6.1Swot Analysis Strengths Of Engro Foods Strengths of Nestle Pakistan Brand Association: Engro being a renowned and well established brand in fertilizers, infrastructure and IT solutions, it creates a great brand association and consumers can relate to Olpers as a high quality and premium product. This is evidence that Engro Food in its first year crossed 1.4 billion sales figure. Financial Backing: Engro being renowned brand and can attract foreign investors, which enable them to compete with global brands like Nestle. They can afford high costs for research and developments for their current products and in introducing new products. Strategic Relationship: Engro has been creating business relationship with farmers who supply milk to them which enables them to secure the supply and to solve shortage issues. Engro also has created long-term business relationship with distributors this help them to ensure smooth distribution through better channels to make sure that there are no shortages for their product. Research and Development: Engro for Olpers precisely has done strong consumer and product research before launching the product and are continuing this practice post launch. This has helped them to emerge as a strong brand in food industry. To further development and new products, they have engaged various global research partners Mindshare, AC Nielsen, JWT Asiatic and MARS marketing and advertising agency. State of the Art plants: Only Engro Foods has the 3rd generation UHT milk plant in the country. It is the only plant that uses Bactofuge technology to virtually eliminate bacteria and ensure premium quality and hygiene. Parent Company: Nestle has a global presence and is recognized as a huge name worldwide. Nestle Pakistan has a strong support from its parent company, which is the worlds leading processed food and beverage company. Company Image: Nestle has been doing business since many years. It has created an excellent image and reputation in consumers mind all around the world. This helps them to retain market even in unfavorable conditions. High Quality Products: Nestle always ensure to produce good quality products. Nestle being worldwide renowned company creates high quality product to retain that image and to attain consumer loyalty. It cannot compromise on quality as consumers nowadays are more quality conscious. Market Share: Nestle has the highest market share almost in every SBUs line, like as in Milk pack Nestle pure life. Brand strength: Nestle Pakistan has created some very strong brands like Nescafe, Milpak , Everyday, Nestle water and most of these brands have become generic to their product category. When a brand becomes generic it creates a strong presence in minds of consumer. Research Development Team: Research and development is a continuous process at Nestle. It gives updated info on consumer behaviors, changing trends and consumer demands; this helps Nestle to adapt to changing trends. Weakness of Engro Foods Weakness of Nestle Pakistan Packaging: Engro Food is dependent on Tetra Pak for packaging of its entire dairy products. It is the only option for them as Tetra pack has monopoly in packaging sector. This cause higher production costs. Distribution cost: About 85% milk collection centers of Engro Foods are located in Punjab, and its processing facility is in Sind. This huge distance increase distribution cost and increasing overall cost of production. Also it increases the chances of milk getting spoiled due to long travelling time. Narrow Product Line: Since the launch of its first dairy product, Engro Foods has only extended to very few products, where as its competitors like Nestle has diversified and extensive product lines. Owning Red Color: Engro Food like its competitors has not owned colors that identify its products. Colors represent products, like green represents Milkpak. There is no color connection attached to Olpers which creates problems for consumers in remembering the product. Less Proactive: Nestle being a huge company is very less proactive to the demands. Unless competitors initiate a campaign or come up with new strategy, Nestle does not bring changes. Limited Distribution Channel: A major weakness of Nestle is their limited distribution channel as compared to their competitors. Nestle distribute their products to whole sellers in their own factory vehicles. Stock outs: Due to their in-efficient distribution channels, Nestle has experienced stock outs on regular basis. This had adverse effect on companys image and consumer base. It also gives opportunity for competitor to penetrate into market and capture large market share.   Premium Brand: Common men generally perceive Nestle as a premium brand, and have perception that all Nestle products would be highly expensive. Opportunities for Engro Food Opportunities for Nestle Pakistan Government Funding: Government has provided increased funds to farmers. This has allowed farmers to invest in better storage facilities to save milk for longer period of time and to cope bad weather conditions. Awareness: Extensive awareness programs for health and hygiene has created awareness among consumers for the benefits of processed milk. More and more consumers are shifting from loose milk to processed milk. This will create higher demands and consumption of processed milk. This is a great opportunity for growth and to gain more market. Fifth Largest producer of milk: Pakistan is the 5th largest milk production country in the world, the country is blessed four seasons and high quality crop, good species of buffaloes and cows and largest canal system. However it is only obtaining 2500ltr of milk per annum from an animal in comparison with 18000ltr per animal in developed countries. This is a good opportunity to increase production significantly by adopting best practices and modern techniques. Support from Foreign Investors; Government is supporting overseas outlay in Pakistan which is a great opportunity for Nestle to expand its business in Pakistan and to cater large markets. Enhance Distribution Channel: Nestle should work on its distribution channel to make it efficient in order to maintain supply of their products. This will not allow consumer to shift to competitors brand in case of stock outs. Changing Social Trend: Consumers, especially younger generation are hugely influenced by western societies. This has changed the trends for packed ready to use products. This changing social trend has created large demand and opportunity to increase market share. Best Practices and Assistance; Nestle should invest in educating the farmers for best practices and providing them resources and assistance to create greater value and to ensure high capitalization and quality. Threats for Engro Food Threats for Nestle Pakistan Competition: Engro foods biggest competitors like Nestle has been in market since very long. For its brands it might be difficult to penetrate in the market where these brands have created loyalties and presence in mind of consumers. Perceptions and Price Differentials: Consumer preferences and perceptions plays very important role in success of a brand. It is very important for Engro to understand and come up with ways to meet consumer expectations and provide quality that a brand promises. Price factor is also a very important factor, as still consumers prefer loose milk as it is cheaper than processed milk. Economy: Higher inflation rates is eroding buying power of consumers, making products more expensive to use. No Entry Barrier: Industry is growing at rapid rate,  very low entry barriers making it attractive for new competitors. Dependency: Nestle is dependent on whole sellers and super market shelves which can be influenced by the competitors. Loss of Market Share: When the market drenches the loss of the market share of Nestle products is the major threat to them. Differentiated products: Consumers are indifferent to buying Engro products or Nestle. It is a threat to Nestle that consumers can easily shift to Engro products in case of any unfavorable condition. 6.2 Pest Analysis PEST analysis is used to determine and understand external factors such as Political, Economical, Social and technological, and their effect on business. For understanding Nestle and Engro foods position in market, we will carry out PEST analysis to understand the external forces. 6.2.1 Political, Legal Economic Factors Pakistan current fiscal year inflation rate has been grown to 7.7% which decreases the purchasing power of consumers as a whole and which also create higher impact on those products which transform from another products like packed milk powder milk because these is

I am the Decadent Writer :: Personal Narrative Writing

I am the Decadent Writer I am the epitome of everything that makes the decadent writer its own category. There are many types of writers. The symbolic poetry writer thinks that the only true form of writing is poetry so obscure as to be understood only by the writer himself. The personal writer writes articles or poems so personal as to make the reader uncomfortable to just be reading the words, regardless if he knows the author or not. Then the decadent writer, a group I lead as we stare at blank sheets of paper with a pencil in hand, only to decide to go get a cookie and read some more of James Joyce’s Ulysses. I am the writer who has a dozen and a half ideas of books and papers he wants to write. But the ideas always stay in the decadent writer's head, never to see the light of paper. Like most decadent writers I have a notebook of stuff that I’ve thought up, just like Leonardo in Basketball Diaries. Some of these ideas are more complete than others. Some have an outline, a beginning, an ending, and the major idea I want to get across. Others, however, are mere references to stories in my head. Such as the line in my tattered blue notebook, â€Å"write the one about the ducks and the rabbit.† Only I know who the ducks are and why in heavens name a story would involve a duck and a rabbit, unless it’s a Disney story then it would make sense. I am the writer who every break or large chunk of days that he has no overriding commitments to attend to, is determined to get down at least a healthy beginning to his stories. The decadent writer is determined that the ideas and words will flow like water out of a person’s ear who has just been swimming. But being the decadent writer I am, nothing is ever spilled out words come gushing and rushing forth more like glue from a bottle. I am the decadent writer who puts off writing so he can read the top 50 greatest books ever, as a sort of training program for that great novel I’ll write. Because you have to babble before you talk, and you have to read before you write, right?

Eating the Right Food

â€Å"You are what you eat† said for the first time Anthelme Brillat-Savarin back in 1826 and since then this phrase is being used a lot by nutritionists. If this is really true, then a lot of Americans would appear to be unhealthy, treated with chemicals and, commercially raised animal flesh. While this does not sound very nice, it is nonetheless a description of the typical Americans who survive on the consumption of big macs and greasy French fries. â€Å"Unfortunately, studies show that over eighty five percent of Americans no longer eat even one meal at home together every day† (Bond, 4). It is true, and what should the average Americans do about this problem? They should better choose what they eat. Eating the right food is like getting an A at school. If you eat right food you will most likely be healthy. If you are getting A’s at school, you will most likely be successful. Eating the right food will contribute to your healthy living. By making the right choices, you will help yourself avoid some very serious problems. Making poor choices like eating too much wrong food, increases your chances of developing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, digestive disorders and aging related loss of vision. An example for that is the obesity, which is a major health concern in the United States. â€Å"Obesity can be linked to some 300,000 deaths and $117 billion in health care costs a year† (Espejo, 11). This statistics is very scary and it shows us how serious can be the wrong choice of our food. If we want to live healthy, we have to eat right. Eating the right food is not a hard thing to do. We just have to know some basic rules. One way to choose the right food is to follow the Food Guide Pyramid, developed by The Ivanova 2 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). More than one hundred years ago in 1894, the USDA published its first food guide, where the author, a nutritionist, introduced the idea of food groups. The five food groups defined in the food guide were milk and meat, cereals, fruits and vegetables, fats and fatty foods, and sugars and sugary foods. The guide made recommendations about eating food from each food group to remain healthy. MyPyramid is the most recent food guide, designed to provide Americans with a wide variety of food recommendations that will promote their health. MyPyramid was a major revision of the Food Guide Pyramid. It was designed to illustrate recommendations found in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 released by the USDA in January 2005. MyPyramid is intended to help Americans choose the right food to eat. It is designed to help people learn how to eat a healthy diet and live an active lifestyle. The latest food pyramid makes recommendations in seven categories: grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and beans, oils, discretionary calories, and Ivanova 3 physical activity. Each food category is a different color in the pyramid with different recommendations. The highest recommendation according to the pyramid is for grains, milk and vegetables. The lowest recommendation is for oils and meat. MyPyramid assumes that people will eat from all food categories. I have found that following MyPyramid is the simplest way of balancing my meals. It separates foods into groups and graphs the amount of each group needed in an average person’s diet. The second way to choose the right food is to eat local and seasonal food. Eating local food has a lot of advantages. The shorter the distance that food travels from farm to table, the better. The long-distance transport of food requires more preservatives, packaging, refrigeration and fuel. By purchasing local foods in-season, you eliminate the environmental damage caused by shipping foods thousands of miles, your money spent on food goes directly to the farmer, and your family will be able to enjoy the health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Eating locally does not mean to give up products like coffee and tea, which are grown only in certain regions. But it does mean to make choices when possible in favor of those foods that are produces near you. â€Å"Get out of the supermarket whenever you can† (Pollan, 33) is one of the Michael Pollan’s food rules. This rule implies the importance of going to the local farmer’s market. In the farmer’s market you will find fresh whole foods picked at the peak of nutritional quality. You will find food that â€Å"your great-great-grandmother would have recognized as food† (Pollan, 7). There are a lot of programs that try to promote growing fresh produce. South Central Los Angeles’ â€Å"Food from the Hood† program has brought ttention to the potential of its embattled Crenshaw district, while providing with Ivanova 4 college funds for the high school students who maintain organic gardens. San Francisco’s Fresh Start Farms employs homeless families to grow produce forthe city’s many restaurants. And U. S. prisons have taken to garden ing projects in a big way, like San Francisco County Jail’s Garden Project, which has prisoners growing food for local soup kitchens† (Motavalli, 17). These programs are great examples of promoting growing fresh and organic food. But that should embrace a larger number of people engaged with growing fresh produce. Not only homeless people, prisoners and students. Different programs should be developed in larger areas, where people can join and help grow fresh and organic food. Try to eat most foods only when they are in season, or can seasonal food in order to eat and enjoy it all year round. Buying seasonal produce also provides an opportunity to try new foods and to experiment with seasonal recipes. And it simply tastes better! Every region of the world has its harvest seasons. In order to eat locally, we have to be familiar with what is local and seasonal in the area we live. For example, in my country Bulgaria in winter time there is not a big variety of local foods that you can buy, because of the severe weather conditions. So we usually buy bananas and oranges, that are imported. But in spring, where everything comes to life, we start buying strawberries and cherries. I was not used to eat strawberries all over the year before, because in my country we grow strawberries only in spring and this is the only time of the year that you can buy and eat strawberries. Here you can buy strawberries any time of the year, but I do not do that, because they do not taste good. In summer time in Bulgaria we buy peaches, apricots, tomatoes, corn and a lot more. In California on the other hand, in winter we can enjoy grapefruits, lemons, oranges, lettuce, mushrooms, and potatoes. An important part of buying local is making an effort to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season in your area. Although today's global marketplace allows us to buy foods grown virtually anywhere in the world all year round, these options are not the most sustainable. Even if you do not want to change any of your eating habits, you can at least make sure to buy local produce when it's available, rather than purchase the same type of food from three thousand miles away! The third way to choose the right food is to eat fresh food and a lot of fruits and vegetables. Fresh food comes out of the ground and comes to your plate with as little interference as possible. The freshest produce is what you grow yourself and pick just before you eat it. Eating fresh food is as simple as it sounds. It does not mean avoiding frozen or canned food, but it rather means to eat food as close to its natural state as possible. Frozen foods and vegetables are nearly as good as fresh ones and they may even be more nutritious than fresh fruits and vegetables that have been stored for weeks or months under conditions that prevent ripening. Canned fruits and vegetables are usually fine, though many come loaded with salt and added sugar. (Willet, 126). â€Å"Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables† (Willet, 114). As child you hated to hear it. As a teenager, you promised yourself you would never say it to your children. This wisdom however is passed from generation to generation. This is a timeless advice, simple and easy to remember. The National Cancer Institute recommends that each of us eats at least five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables a day, since they play a very beneficial role in protecting against cancer, heart disease and other health problems. But what exactly are fruits and vegetables? â€Å"To a botanist, a fruit is any plant part that contains seeds, any by process of elimination, a vegetable is everything else: leaves, stems, flowers, roots and bulbs† (Willet, 115). The reason experts recommend so many servings of fruits and vegetables is that they offer the best way to prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer. We should simply â€Å"Eat food† (Pollan, 5). It is easy to say, but hard to do, especially with all the new food products that are introduced annually to the market. Most of these items do not even deserve to be call food. They consist mostly of ingredients derived from corn and soy that no normal person keeps in their pantry. Lastly, the right food to eat will be anything, but fast food. Most people choose fast food because it is convenient, fast, and cheap. Fast restaurants are everywhere, on every corner. They always have the best deals for food. Everything seems so delicious and in most of the times it is really delicious. But the problem is that is not healthy and this is absolutely the worse choice of food that we can make. â€Å"It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car† (Pollan, 43). Fast food cannot be called food. We should avoid fast food restaurants if we care at least a little bit about ourselves. There is almost always a healthier choice. It may not be the cheapest or the fastest route, but I think that overall nutrition is more important than the thickness of our wallet. Cost, convenience, and lack of time all contribute to the bad eating habits most people have. Not everyone can afford to eat well in America, which is shameful, but most of us can. â€Å"Americans spend, on average, less than 10 percent of their income on food, down from 24 percent in 1947, and less than the citizens of any other nation†(The New York Times, January, 28, 2007). And those of us who can afford to eat well should. Paying more for the right food will contribute not only to your health also to the health of others who might not themselves be able to afford that sort of food: the people who grow it in the farms. Planning what to eat can eliminate impulse and over eating. In conclusion, choosing the right food to eat is not always easy. These are different ways to choose better our food. Choosing the right food to eat is choosing a better life. When we choose better our food we contribute actively to our health and to our life. MyPyramide is one way to choose the right food to eat. It gives us an idea how to balance the food we eat and what food to eat more and what to eat less. Another way to make a better food choice is eating a local and seasonal food. This is also not a very hard thing to do. We just have to make a little research on the local farmer’s markets and what kind of produce is grown seasonally in the area we live. The third way is to eat fresh produce and as many fruits and vegetables as possible. The last and maybe the most important thing to eat right is to avoid fast food. These are easy steps to living a happy, healthy and right life.

Combating Compassion Fatigue Essay

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the significance of Compassion Fatigue (CF) and its effects in the lives of caregivers. A caregiver is defined by dictionary. com as an individual, such as a physician, nurse, or social worker, who assists in the identification, prevention, or treatment of an illness or disability (dictionary. com). Caregivers may also include family members, friends or neighbors who voluntarily have accepted responsibility for looking after a vulnerable neighbor or relative. For the purpose of this paper, the primary caregivers discussed will be nurses. Most nurses chose nursing as a career because they have the desire to both help people and provide care for patients with physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Having this desire puts nurses at risk for suffering from CF. CF can affect nurses in many areas such as physically, emotionally, in job performance, as well as their attitude toward the work environment, coworkers, and their patients. Nurses suffering from CF may experience emotional symptoms that include, but not limited to; poor concentration, decreased focus, poor judgment, mood swings, irritability, anger and resentment (Eyre & Lombardo, 2011). Work related symptoms that may be experienced are; avoidance or dread of working with certain patients, reduced ability to feel empathy towards patients or families, and frequent use of sick days (Eyre & Lombardo, 2011). Physical symptoms often experienced are; headaches, digestive problems: diarrhea, constipation, and upset stomach, sleep disturbances: inability to sleep, insomnia, or too much sleep, and cardiac symptoms: chest pain/pressure, palpitations, and tachycardia (Eyre & Lombardo, 2011). If compassion fatigue continues and no interventions are implemented to combat it, full Burn Out will result. Burn out (BO) is defined as exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration, which gradually builds to a breaking point (www. merriam-webster. com). Nurses suffering from CF or burn out are unable to provide their patients optimal care. In order to build a healthy relationship with patients, a nurse must have a lot of compassion. CF prevents caregivers from showing compassion as well as preventing them from providing effective care because they are tired, unmotivated, and not giving prompt attention to their patients. This is problematic because patients want and deserve not only good clinical care but also the feeling and warmth and compassion from their nurse. When a nurse is experiencing CF or BO he or she may be plagued by negative emotions which include frustration, anger, depression, feeling stuck, feeling paralyzed, irritability toward coworkers and clients, cynicism, bitterness, and being negative about self, others, and the world in general (Espeland, 2006). What patient wants or deserves a nurse who has thought tendencies such as these? It may also cause a hostile work environment for their coworkers as well. Their family life is also affected. The main cause of compassion fatigue is the increasing workload of healthcare. Nurses frequently feel overworked and overwhelmed by competing demands on their time. Nurses and other caregivers are required to put in much more time dealing with inflexible aspects of healthcare such as completing paperwork and computer documentation (Windsor, 2007). They are also encouraged to see more patients in less time, leaving much less time for the nurse/patient relationship (Windsor, 2007). Many times nurse have to work short staffed, but are still expected to complete all components of the job. Increased patient load and the desire to complete all task without the possibility of overtime causes nurses to use their lunch hour or stay late to complete task and complete charting. Thus, in trying to save time, they eliminate the very things that replenish their physical, emotional, and spiritual stores such as exercise, family meals, friends outside of work, or meditation (Windsor, 2007). Many nurses such as this writer are trying to balance work, family and school as well as other life events, putting themselves at high risk for CF or BO. Other difficulties include staff communication problems including not being heard and feeling unsupported, as well as no time to build relationships with patients and families and no time to follow up on important issues. It’s imperative to know the causes and the signs of the condition in order to prevent it or get help. Nurses need to provide for their own wellbeing by meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Physically, the nurse must participate in exercising, relaxation, maintaining adequate sleep and nutrition. It’s important for them to keep themselves healthy so they can help their patients. Not eating right, drinking plenty of water or getting enough rest puts them and those they care for at risk. Ways they can help themselves physically is by purposely taking some time to take a walk, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. This writer knows personally the benefits of a 15 minute walk. It helps relieves stress, it lowers your blood sugar, and relieves those aching muscles. Eating right is also very important. Many times nurses eat on the run, grabbing whatever they can eat and still move. This is unhealthy. Learning to eat frequent small healthy meals can make you feel like a new person. Fruit, salad and healthy snacks like yogurt and nuts should always be on the list. Taking care of emotional needs is just as important as the physical needs. Nurses can reach out to friends and coworkers when feeling emotionally stressed or drained. Sometimes just having someone to talk to or feel that you can relate to can be so helpful. Today, many facilities have programs to assist employees who are having trouble or feeling stressed. The facility this writer works in provides employees with a psychologist who is available when needed to meet and talk to staff in a private and professional manner. Talking with someone often helps alleviate compassion fatigue by bringing the stress out of yourself and into the open (Windsor, 2007). Colleagues are often a good resource in this area, as they may be having similar day-to-day experiences. Professional counselors are also a good source of help. They have special training and may be able to help create a recovery plan (Windsor, 2007). It’s also a good idea for administration to meet with the staff to find out how they feel about different aspects of the job, and to see if there are any ideas to make their work environment healthier, less stressful and more fulfilling. Spiritual needs may be the most important need of all. Growing spiritually in relationship with God can bring about true healing and resilience. Reading the Bible, praying and meditating are the prescriptions that help us to prevent compassion fatigue, minimize its severity or find healing. God is the one who gave us the desire to be caregivers in the first place, so He is ultimately the one that can help us when we are troubled. Frequently counting your blessings and thanking God for them is so helpful. It takes your mind off of your problems, and keeps you from complaining all the time and thinking negatively. Praying and asking God to show you the source of your struggle and what’s bothering you can be the beginning of the healing process. Attending church services routinely can help to revitalize you and prepare you to deal with the many circumstances you may encounter. There are many resources and coping strategies that nurses can use. One thing nurses must do is to remember to take care of them-selves. They need to be mindful that it is not selfish to put them-selves first. If they are healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually, they can be of more assistance to those they care for. Participating in any programs that their place of work offers them to improve performance, encourages physical renewal, and allows for time to de-stress should be encouraged. Joining a gym to get adequate exercise is a good idea. If the nurse has problems with their diet, attending nutrition classes may be helpful. Having a positive self-image is also a coping strategy that is essential for nurses to combat CF. Clearing the mind of negative thoughts immediately is also important. Prayer and meditation is a way to keep the mind clear and on a positive thought path. Learning to provide compassionate care for oneself, allows you to provide that same care to someone else. The most important coping technique of all is balancing their giving to others with giving to themselves (Bush, 2009). Only when nurses take time to heal themselves can they be truly available to aid in the healing of others. The major preventive self-care tasks well understood by the majority of nurse caregivers (Bush, 2009), as previously stated in this paper are: exercising, relaxation, maintaining adequate sleep and nutrition, and reaching out for support from others. Conclusion In conclusion, suffering from this condition prevents nurses from providing quality care. Not recognizing or refusing to acknowledge and get help for compassion fatigue causes people to leave their profession, turn to drugs or alcohol, or in extreme cases become self-destructive or suicidal (Eyre ; Lombardo, 2011). In today’s economy compassion fatigue can be very costly personally and professionally for nurses and financially for institutions (Eyre ; Lombardo, 2011). It is important for nurses to become knowledgeable about compassion fatigue symptoms and intervention strategies and to develop a personal plan of care so as to and achieve a healthy work-life balance (Eyre ; Lombardo, 2011). Equally as important is that healthcare systems invest in creating healthy work environments that prevent ompassion fatigue and address the needs of nurses who are experiencing compassion fatigue. It is important that we all recognize and understand this condition for our own health, but also for our coworkers. If you notice a coworker who you feel may be suffering from CF, reach out to them. Let them know you care and are willing and available to talk if they need you (Eyre ; Lombardo, 2011). Remember yourself, and let your coworkers know that this condition is treatable, and you can get the help you need to get your life back on track.