Explain an experiment that supports genomic equivalence by providing functional evidence (Hint: think about what is meant by functional evidence or producing dolly the sheep vs. descriptive evidence like labeling a chromosome and determining different cells in an organisms all have the same chromosome structure). Describe the hypothesis, brief methods, results and conclusion reached.
Briefly describe a strategy for each of the following scientific approaches: (i) find it, (ii) lose it, and (ii) move it (that is, (i) correlation, (ii) requirement, and (iii), sufficiency).
In: Biology
*Please don't answer with photos, DO NOT UPLOAD PHOTO, it's hard to read.
I post this question twice, please don't answer this post if you already answer the other one, if you can answer different answer that's fine. REASON WHY I POST IT TWICE, I NEED TWO DIFFERENT VIEW.
Discussion
Hi All - this week you will learn about DNA - the molecule of life! You may think that protein-coding genes are the most important, but results from the Human Genome Project revealed that only about 2% of our DNA codes for protein - so what about the rest of the "junk DNA" (or non-protein coding portion of the genome) - is it functionally important? Yes! Scientists are learning how "the non-protein-coding portion of the genome is of crucial functional importance: for normal development and physiology and for disease". I would like you to please choose a topic with regards to the non-protein coding portion of the genome (this will introduce you to gene regulation which we will cover in chapter 11) or you may also choose to write about a topic that describes a mutation in any protein that is involved in DNA replication, transcription, or translation (we did not talk about all of the enzymes involved in those processes). Please list your reputable source - this is worth 0.5 pt (even if you use one of my sources below) and tell me WHY you chose your topic (this is worth 1 pt.) please try to briefly explain your topic to the best of your knowledge - I don't expect you to write a lot of detail about your topic - it might be hard to understand (which you are welcome to comment on in your paragraph)!
Examples to choose from (but not limited to) include: noncoding RNAs (snRNAs, miRNAs, siRNAs, snoRNAs, piRNAs, lincRNAs) and RNA therapeutics:
LIST:
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4119351/ (Development of microRNA therapeutics is coming of age)
2. http://www.umassmed.edu/rti/ (RNA Therapeutics Institute)
3. http://www.genengnews.com/insight-and-intelligence/rna-based-therapeutics-and-vaccines/77900520/
4. http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/26/21/2361.full (Biology of PIWI-Interacting RNAs: new insights into biogenesis and function inside and outside of germlines)
5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4265212/ (PIWI proteins and their interactors in piRNA biogenesis, germline development and gene expression)
6. http://www.news-medical.net/news/20121203/microRNAs-play-an-important-role-during-embryonic-development.aspx
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4578617/ (the role of microRNAs in cell fate determination)
8. http://news.berkeley.edu/2017/01/13/scientists-reprogram-embryonic-stem-cells-to-expand-their-potential/
9. http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/40871/title/The-Second-Coming-of-RNAi/
10. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/cardiac-development-needs-more-than-protein-coding-genes-0124.html (long non-coding RNA molecules)
11. http://www.alzforum.org/news/research-news/new-role-micrornas-torpedoes-sink-neurons(microRNAs)
12. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/rothmund-thomson-syndrome (mutation in human helicase gene)
13. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3633371/ (mutation in mitochondrial helicase gene called TWINKLE)
14. http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/news/2013/in-autism-related-disorders-rna-turns-out-to-be-key (RNA topoisomerase)
15. http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/TERC (dyskeratosis congenita - mutations in the TERC gene - the RNA component of telomerase)
16. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3853347/ (Top3beta is an RNA topoisomerase that works with Fragile X syndrome protein to promote synapse formation)
The following 3 articles discuss long non-coding RNAs - there are many examples in each article so you only need to talk about one example - not the whole article:
1. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468054016300063 (mechanism of action and functional utility)
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5084630/ (dysregulated expression in ovarian cancer)
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4736767/ (stem cells)
In: Biology
Walter Williams: Capitalism vs. Socialism By Walter E. Williams | May 29, 2018 | 8:47
Response Required - Capitalism vs Socialism
Several recent polls, plus the popularity of Sen. Bernie Sanders, demonstrate that young people prefer socialism to free market capitalism. That, I believe, is a result of their ignorance and indoctrination during their school years, from kindergarten through college. For the most part, neither they nor many of their teachers and professors know what free market capitalism is. Free market capitalism, wherein there is peaceful voluntary exchange, is morally superior to any other economic system. Why? Let's start with my initial premise. All of us own ourselves. I am my private property, and you are yours. Murder, rape, theft and the initiation of violence are immoral because they violate self-ownership. Similarly, the forcible use of one person to serve the purposes of another person, for any reason, is immoral because it violates self-ownership. Tragically, two-thirds to three-quarters of the federal budget can be described as Congress taking the rightful earnings of one American to give to another American — using one American to serve another. Such acts include farm subsidies, business bailouts, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, welfare and many other programs. Free market capitalism is disfavored by many Americans — and threatened — not because of its failure but, ironically, because of its success. Free market capitalism in America has been so successful in eliminating the traditional problems of mankind — such as disease, pestilence, hunger and gross poverty — that all other human problems appear both unbearable and inexcusable. The desire by many Americans to eliminate these so-called unbearable and inexcusable problems has led to the call for socialism. That call includes equality of income, sex and race balance, affordable housing and medical care, orderly markets, and many other socialistic ideas. Let's compare capitalism with socialism by answering the following questions: In which areas of our lives do we find the greatest satisfaction, and in which do we find the greatest dissatisfaction? It turns out that we seldom find people upset with and in conflict with computer and clothing stores, supermarkets, and hardware stores. We do see people highly dissatisfied with and often in conflict with boards of education, motor vehicles departments, police and city sanitation services. What are the differences? For one, the motivation for the provision of services of computer and clothing stores, supermarkets, and hardware stores is profit. Also, if you're dissatisfied with their services, you can instantaneously fire them by taking your business elsewhere. It's a different matter with public education, motor vehicles departments, police and city sanitation services. They are not motivated by profit at all. Plus, if you're dissatisfied with their service, it is costly and in many cases even impossible to fire them. A much larger and totally ignored question has to do with the brutality of socialism. In the 20th century, the one-party socialist states of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Germany under the National Socialist German Workers' Party and the People's Republic of China were responsible for the murder of 118 million citizens, mostly their own. The tallies were: USSR 62 million, Nazi Germany 21 million and PRC 35 million. No such record of brutality can be found in countries that tend toward free market capitalism. Here's an experiment for you. List countries according to whether they are closer to the free market capitalist or to the socialist/communist end of the economic spectrum. Then rank the countries according to per capita gross domestic product. Finally, rank the countries according to Freedom House's "Freedom in the World" report. You will find that people who live in countries closer to the free market capitalist end of the economic spectrum not only have far greater wealth than people who live in countries toward the socialistic/communist end but also enjoy far greater human rights protections. As Dr. Thomas Sowell says, "socialism sounds great. It has always sounded great. And it will probably always continue to sound great. It is only when you go beyond rhetoric, and start looking at hard facts, that socialism turns out to be a big disappointment, if not a disaster." Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
Comment Please!!!!!!!!
In: Economics
Case 3-1 You Can't Get There From Here: Uber Slow on Diversity
Established in 2009, Uber provides an alternative to taxicab
service in 460 cities and nearly 60 countries worldwide. The trick?
Their mobile application for smartphocles allows riders to arrange
for transportation with drivers who operate their personal
vehicles. A dual rating system (drivers and customers rate each
other) serves as a quality control device keeping Uber standards
high.(1) As an international technology firm, Uber has been
challenged, along with other tech giants like Google and Twitter,
to demonstrate that they are attuned to the specific needs of their
employees, more specifically people of color and women. In Uber's
own words: At Uber, we want to create a workplace that is inclusive
and reflects the diversity of the cities we serve: where everyone
can be their authentic self, and where that authenticity is
celebrated as a strength. By creating an environment where people
from every background can thrive, we'll make Uber a better company
not just for our employees but for our customers, too (2) Yet
actions speak louder than words, Uber employees describe the firm's
work environment amid some managers as Machiavellant and merciless.
Many blame Travis Kalanick, Uber's founder and former chief
executive, for establishing such a negative culture. Uber's fast
growth approach to the market has rewarded employees and managers
who have aggressively pushed for greater revenues and fatter
profits at the seeming cost of human dignity. For example, Uber has
had its share of troubles addressing issues of sexual misconduct
and workforce diversity. These issues came to light when a former
employee, Susan Fowler, reported in her personal blog that she was
being sexually harassed by her manager and that human resources had
been informed of these infractions.(3) Susan Fowler said in her
blog On my first official day rotating on the team. my new manager
sent me a string of messages over company chat. He was in an open
relationship, he said, and his girlfriend was having an easy time
finding new partners but he wasn't. He was trying to stay out of
trouble at work, he said, but he couldn't help getting in trouble,
because he was looking for women to have sex with. It was clear
that he was trying to get me to have sex with him, and it was so
clearly out of line that immediately took screenshots of these chat
messages and reported him to HRG) Uber's first reaction was to call
Ms. Fowler's accusations abhorrent and inst everything Uber stands
for and believes in.) Ms. Fowler purported that he manager was not
punished because he was a high performeret other female employees
reported similar incidents with the same manager leading Ms. Fowler
to believe that HR was covering up for her manager Uber was in
trouble as more and more scandals emerged and they quickly took the
following actions: (a) apologized for some of their managers'
actions, (b) had a board member and several female executives
provide testimonials on the firm's positive work environment, and
(c) began to probe workplace policies and procedures. Arianna
Huffington, a board member, repeatedly labeled new employees a
brilliant jerks."(6) Huffington said that this investigation would
be different when Eric H. Holder Jr, the former United States
Attorney General as well as some others), were hired to conduct
their investigation, Uber released its first diversity report on
March 28, 2017, one month after these allegations. This report
indicated that women and nonwhite employees are underrepresented at
the firm, not overly dissimilar from other technology based firms.
Some of the most egregious statisties include(a) racial
configuration- Hispanic. 9 black, 50% white, and (b) 85% of all
technology jobs are held by men, with amere 16 of the total
workforce comprised of women)
Only time will tell if this fast growth firm can manage its
aggressive culture and diversity as it continues to expand into new
marketplaces and those with differing cultures
In: Operations Management
The restaurant business is always in flux, with workers coming and going in a revolving-door fashion. This is true even of high-end concepts like Barcelona Restaurant Group, a collection of seven wine and tapas bars located in Connecticut and Atlanta, Georgia.
At Barcelona, life is all about authentic cuisine, exceptional service, and a great time. The restaurant group offers eclectic Spanish cuisine with an authentic ambience that recalls a neighborhood eatery in Milan or Rio de Janeiro. At Barcelona, wait staff are friendly, and chefs are known to create personalized dishes that impress regulars. Barcelona’s flavorful tapas are infused with olive oil, lemon, and smoky paprika, and the comprehensive wine list features top vintages from Spain, Portugal, and vineyards around the world.
It takes the right mix of people to deliver this upscale culinary experience, and that’s a job for Barcelona COO Scott Lawton. “Human resources is one of the most important things we do in our business,” says Lawton. “This is a transient business, so people are constantly moving. The minute you stop looking for talent you’re actually sliding backwards—so, we’re always hiring.”
For anyone who has waited tables, restaurant turnover is a familiar experience. Cooks, servers, and bussers have short careers in most establishments; managers typically stick around longer. But Barcelona has exceptionally high standards for service, and this requires letting go employees who aren’t up to snuff. “In the three years I’ve worked here, only one or two managers has quit,” Lawton states. However, we’ve turned over probably 60 to 70 percent of all management in the past three years, and that’s because we were not afraid to let people go. We demand a certain level of quality, and we’re continuously raising the bar on our expectations.”
With so much talent revolving through the organization, Lawton integrates recruitment into daily operations. The restaurant keeps want ads running at all times, and managers conduct interviews each and every day. The process is highly strategic. According to Barcelona’s operations chief, smart restaurant managers can hire their way out of problems simply by selecting the right people. “We can train people all day,” Lawton states, “but we can’t train happy people with good attitudes—we can’t train that into people.” Lawton instructs managers to hire the right people with the right work attitudes.
Judging an applicant’s work attitudes is no easy task, however. To ensure that Barcelona finds the right employees, Lawton uses a three-stage recruitment process. First, leaders conduct 20-minute interviews with dozens of candidates.
Next, applicants are sent on “a shop”—an assignment during which candidates spend $100 dollars at a Barcelona restaurant and write an essay about the event. For applicants who survive the first two stages of the selection process, there is one final assessment: “the trail.” At Barcelona, the trail acts as a kind of test drive in which job candidates command the floor, interact with wait staff and customers, and demonstrate job skills. Approximately one-fourth of the candidates who go on a trail can expect to be hired.
At the end of the day, according to Scott Lawton, people either possess the necessary intelligence and skills to run a restaurant or they don’t. The industry doesn’t have much time for learning curves, and the success or failure of any establishment depends on the performance of competent self-motivated employees.
No one knows this more than Lawton. “For any company that is involved in customer service,” states the restaurant veteran, “the most important thing you can do is have the right people in front of your customers.”
Respond to the follow Questions in an essay format
a. List the three main activities of human resource management (HRM) and identify which activity is examined at length.
b. Of the various steps in Barcelona’s employee selection process, the job interview is the most brief. Do you agree with the company’s approach to interviewing? Why or why not?
c.Identify Barcelona’s three-stage process for matching job applicants with its organizational objectives and explain how each stage reveals the fit between job applicants and the needs of the restaurant.
In: Operations Management
What ecology theories are present in Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac in chapters 1-6?
Each year in late January comes a thaw. The hibernating skunk rouses and walks through the snow, leaving a track behind him. Aldo Leopold, author and speaker, follows the track, wondering about the skunk's purpose and destination. There is time for such musings in January.
Following the skunk track Leopold notices more signs of animal activity as a result of the thaw. A mouse runs across the skunk track. The thaw has exposed its network of tunnels beneath the snow. A hawk dives from the sky for prey, "well aware that snow melts in order that hawks may again catch mice." Rabbits run more freely, giving owls opportunities to feed.
The skunk track ends at a pile of driftwood, so Leopold goes home again.
According to Leopold, among the benefits of owning a farm is a greater understanding of where food and heat come from. Using the example of a felled oak used as fuel for the fire, he examines the origin of the energy in the wood and the process that led to its being used to provide warmth.
This particular oak had reached a diameter of 30 inches, made up of 80 rings. This dates the first ring to the end of the Civil War. The heat generated by burning the wood is, then, "eighty years of June sun." And this heat is greatly appreciated by Leopold's dog.
The oak had been struck and killed by lightning in a summer storm. Leopold felled it, imagining that the "saw was biting its way, stroke by stroke, decade by decade, into the chronology of a lifetime, written in concentric annual rings of good oak." He thinks of the oak over the years as he saws, imagining backward in time through the Great Depression, years of changes to conservation laws, and other significant dates in Wisconsin's conservation and forestry history. He also describes the function of the saw, wedge, and axe—tools for cutting up wood—not only as they relate just to cutting the tree but also how they interact with and reveal the years represented by the rings.
The return of geese in March means spring has truly and fully come. Other animals—cardinals and chipmunks—do not migrate, so they can be mistaken about the coming of spring. But geese migrate, so there is no room for error in timing. The return of hundreds of geese to the marsh on Leopold's property is a sure sign that the season is changing. The geese show their presence and eat last year's corn from fields that have been hidden under snow all winter.
Leopold notes some of the geese are "singles—lone geese that do much flying about and much talking." After careful observation he concludes these are "bereaved survivors of the winter's shooting, searching in vain for their kin." Leopold describes the noise of the birds in the marsh as a robust and boisterous conversation that, by May when the geese have migrated on, becomes much quieter. Through the migration of the geese, Leopold notes, the leftover corn from Illinois is transformed under the Arctic June sun into goslings.
Come High Water
Because of melting snow and the farm's proximity to the river, April often brings flooding to Leopold's farm. This causes both humans and animals to be stranded on high areas surrounded by fields rapidly being transformed into lakes. The geese struggle to find a place to land and feed, while the carp enjoy their larger world. Random pieces of lumber float down the river from areas upriver. Over the years these have been collected in a lumber pile that is "an anthology of human strivings in upriver farms and forests."
Draba
The tiny white blossoms of the Draba flower can go unnoticed by those who are not looking for them. It is a humble and overlooked flower that thrives in sand that is too poor for other flowers. Draba is not a romantic flower, but it does its "small job quickly and well."
Bur Oak
Because of its thick bark the bur oak is the only Wisconsin tree that can survive a prairie fire: "Bur oaks were the shock troops sent by the invading forest to storm the prairie; fire is what they had to fight." Botanists can use pollen embedded in the wood of trees to track the expansion and contraction of the Wisconsin forest over the course of this long battle between forest and prairie. Because of "allies"—rabbits, mice, squirrels, June beetles—that helped both the prairie and the forest, "the net outcome of the battle was a draw." That is, until human settlers intervened in the battle. Settlers plowed fields so that prairie fires were less common. This gave oaks an advantage as more of their seedlings could survive. This allowed much of the land that was prairie to be transformed into thick oak forest.
Sky Dance
In April and May the "sky dance" occurs at dusk and dawn over the woods of the Leopold farm. "Showtime" changes over the weeks as the times of sunrise and sunset change. At the appointed time the male woodcock bird appears and begins to perform a song and dance designed to appeal to his "lady." He spirals into the sky and swoops down for an hour or more, his "dance" accompanied by his unique call. Despite Leopold's careful observation of this sky dance he has many unanswered questions about it, such as where the female is during this dance and the exact mechanism of the music.
When dandelions begin to bloom in Wisconsin, one can listen for the "final proof of spring"—the song of the upland plover, which migrates far to the Argentine during the winter. The plover can be seen flying overhead or alighting gracefully on fence posts. Over the next several weeks the hens nest; the chicks hatch out and grow quickly; by August the chicks have learned to fly.
The plover has adapted well to the changes human agriculture has wrought on the landscape—it lives as easily among cows and farmland as among buffalo and prairie. They have also benefitted from federal migratory bird laws that protect them from hunters.
The Alder Fork—A Fishing Idyl
In this episode Leopold fishes for trout in a stream but has little luck. He relocates his fishing efforts to the Alder Fork—a part of the stream nearer the headwaters. While catching trout, Leopold sits on a rock and considers how much humans are like fish: "ready, nay eager, to seize upon whatever new thing some wind of circumstance shakes down upon the river of time!" He notes that this haste may sometimes have bad effects, but a life devoid of this eagerness would be very dull. Prudence may often be a virtue, but a life wholly prudent is boring. In fact, he remarks: "No prudent man is a fisherman."
In: Biology
Use the information from the case, as well as content from the course to support your answers.
Wainwright Industries:
An Entirely New Philosophy of Business Based on Customer Satisfaction and Quality
In the early 1980s, Wainwright Industries, a manufacturer of stamped and machine parts, was facing nothing less than a crisis. Increased competition, along with intensified customer scrutiny, was forcing Wainwright to either improve quality or lose its competitive stature. In the face of this challenge, the employees of the company, led by CEO Arthur D. Wainwright, decided to make radical changes. It was clear that business as usual with a few minor improvements would not save the company. What Wainwright needed was an entire new philosophy of doing business based on quality and total customer satisfaction.
To determine how to achieve this objective, Wainwright used the criteria for the Malcolm Baldrige award as a road map. Drawing input from all levels of the company, the top management team led the process by setting goals, developing implementation strategies, and establishing key quality standards. Initially, the company emphasized three principles:
As a creative way of demonstrating the importance of working together, the company adopted the duck as its mascot, based on the fact that ducks fly in formation as a means of supporting one another in flight. In addition, whenever a duck falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone and quickly returns to the flock. Wainwright used this analogy to support the concepts of teamwork and employee empowerment, which were integral parts of the company's quality improvement efforts.
Along its journey toward improved quality, a number of specific initiatives were implemented:
Special emphasis was placed on training and benchmarking. Since it initiated its quality program, the company has spent up to 7% of its annual payroll on training. To demonstrate its resolve in this area, the company has made training an important criterion for employee advancement. Wainwright has benchmarked against a number of companies, including firms in the textiles, chemical, and electronics industries. For instance, after studying Milliken & Company, a previous Baldrige award winner, Wainwright implemented an employee suggestion program that has been very effective.
Along with the changes mentioned previously, Wainwright also has changed its culture to make it more egalitarian and quality minded. The employees at Wainwright (including the CEO) now all wear the same uniform, eat in the same cafeteria, and park in the same parking lot. Office walls have literally been torn down and replaced with glass, based on the premise that if the managers can watch the frontline employees work, the frontline employees should be able to watch the managers work, too. As a result of these changes, the managers of the company have become coaches and facilitators rather than supervisors and disciplinarians. This important change has helped facilitate the teamwork atmosphere that is supportive of high quality and total customer satisfaction.
The results of the company's continuous improvement efforts are linked to five strategic indicators:
The status of each of these criteria is tracked by "mission control," a room set aside to document the company's efforts. In mission control, each customer's satisfaction is documented with a plaque, a current monthly satisfaction rating, and a red or green flag indicating the customer's status relative to objectives.
As a result of these initiatives, Wainwright has met the challenge. It has not only survived but has emerged as an industry leader. The company has earned the status of preferred supplier to a growing number of quality-conscious customers and has received special recognition from General Motors, Ford, and IBM Rochester. The goal of Six Sigma quality is being pursued. Perhaps most important, in the last decade, overall customer satisfaction has increased from 84% to 95%, and the company's market share, revenues, and profits are at record levels. Ironically, the company was one of the recipients of the Malcolm Baldrige award, the very award against which the company benchmarked in its early days of quality improvement.
Assignment
Answer the following questions in depth in the booklet provided.
Egalitarianism (from French égal, meaning "equal")—or, rarely, equalitarianism [1] [2] or equalism [3] —is a trend of thought that favors equality for all people. [4] Egalitarian doctrines maintain that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. [5] According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term has two distinct definitions in modern English: [6] either as a political doctrine that all people should be treated as equals and have the same political, economic, social, and civil rights; [7] or as a social philosophy advocating the removal of economic inequalities among people, economic egalitarianism, or the decentralization of power. Some sources define egalitarianism as the point of view that equality reflects the natural state of humanity. [8][9][10]
(www.wikipedia.com)
In: Operations Management
Chapter 1 of our text casts the Spotlight on Nigeria, with a population of 186 million and counting. Africa’s most populous country faces the curious challenge the comparative literature calls the “resource curse--” one that other resource-rich countries such as Iran, Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan also grapple. The “curse” points to a situation in which an abundance of oil resources, instead of delivering higher living standards, a better quality of life, and economic prosperity for the population, instead perpetuates underdevelopment.
The paradox is particular pronounced for Nigeria, one of the world’s biggest oil-producers. Despite earning hundreds of billions from its petroleum exports, accounting for a whopping 90 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Nigeria scores only 0.532 on the UNDP’s 2017 HDI index, up a mere 0.061 from 2012, or 157 out of 189 countries. (UNDP. International Human Development Indicators. Its poor showing on critical QLI indicators--health, life expectancy, education, poverty, gender equality, sustainability, and so on--is illustrative of the classic challenge to many resource-rich countries in the Global South: abundant natural resources that, instead of bringing economic prosperity has done the opposite. It begs the question, would Nigeria be better off without oil?
It may strike us as odd that a country so richly-endowed with natural resources has not been able to show more for it. Instead, what we have had are several military coups, rampant corruption, political fragmentation, poor living standards, and fitful democratic progress. On the corruption side of the ledger, Nigeria ranks 148/180 on Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Index, scoring a mere 27 out of 100, slightly above Afghanistan, Burundi, Haiti, North Korea, Somalia, and Tajikistan. Corruption has enabled the political elite to “buy off” mass publics and, until recently, underwrite repressive rule. “Black gold” has served to distort normal economic development in Nigeria by robbing other sectors of needed resources. (Similar situations obtain in other oil-producing economies such as Algeria (now experiencing great political upheaval) and Iran in the Middle East/North Africa and Mexico and Venezuela in our own Hemisphere.)
Nigeria’s (post-independence) economic plan sought to encourage domestic growth through tariffs and subsidies, a strategy that should have produced good results, given its high oil revenues. It failed, being driven more by political expediency than by economic logic. So, for example, a US$ 8 billion investment in steel production failed to get off the ground. (Nmehelle, Vincent O. “Sharia Law in the Northern States of Nigeria: To implement, or not to implement, the Constitutionality is the Question,” Human Rights Quarterly 26, no. 3 (2004), pp. 730-59.).
Oil price declines beginning in the 1980s, amidst economic uncertainty and changing energy habits in the industrialized North and a chronic foreign-debt burden, forced Nigeria’s leaders to reverse course on its economic development strategy. This resulted in huge job losses, run-away inflation, and much public discontent. To win support, the military government of Ibrahim Babangida (1985-93) diverted the country’s oil wealth to coopt opponents and the civil society, even while it kept up the pressure on its critics. Political support was purchased through an elaborate system of patrimony using petro dollars.
Another military coup in 1993 brought Sani Abacha to power. Corruption (the misuse of political office for personal or political gain) became endemic (Johnston, Michael. Syndromes of Corruption: Wealth, Power, and Democracy. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press (2005)--as was narco- and human trafficking, money laundering, and so-called 419 scams--an internet swindle involving unknown Nigerian civil servants.
The fourth republic under the popularly-elected government of Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) faced the daunting task of reining in the economy while breaking with the past. The approach produced only limited results. Yar’Adua (2007-2010) and his Democratic Party (PDP) successors (2010-15) launched what became known as the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). NEEDS was an ambitious plan to stimulate domestic enterprise through foreign direct investment (FDI). It was also meant to bring more transparency in government spending, foster the rule of law, reduce corruption, improve transportation and telecom, and deliver the people’s health. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Nigeria sounds a cautious note of optimism, i.e. if the economic reforms and diversification plans, and the efforts to control inflation (the money supply), stabilise the country’s finances, and “move beyond oil,” remain on track.
In theory, then all is not lost for Nigeria to overcome its resource curse. For all that, it continues to depend heavily on one source of income--petroleum; and not much has changed in terms of improvements in living standards for the majority of Nigerians. Indeed, inequality has reached alarming levels. To be fair, Nigeria’s civilian leaders have boldly gone where none of its military rulers have gone, starting the “rainy-day” fund and tackling corruption, especially in the all-important oil sector.
Still, huge challenges remain, reflecting the ambiguous role of petroleum in the country’s life. So, although there are hopeful signs, Nigeria’s prospects, like that of Brazil and others, remain uncertain. The rise of the Boko Haram terrorist group and the failure of the current President Muhammadu Buhari to bring it to book has not helped. (For background on the group, founded in 2002, see the BBC here.) Buhari has come in for “widespread criticism over his government’s inability to defeat the renewed …insurgency in the northeast.” The New York Times, 9 April 2018 (here). This explains in part why Nigeria scores only modestly on civil liberties (freedom of expression, association, the rule of law, personal and individual rights) on the Freedom House Index; and also on the EIU Index.
Here are some pathways into this first discussion: What do you make of Nigeria’s resource-curse challenge? Can the country get out from under this curse and how? Why does Nigeria seem to hold so much promise, yet continually fails to deliver? Comparatively speaking, how do we account for the fact that Canada, also an energy-rich country, has not fallen prey to this curse?
In: Psychology
ROLE-PLAY EXERCISE On Command Corporation PROCESS You have been assigned a role in the On Command Corporation case. Please read the general information (Introduction) about the case. Read and understand your role. Your teammates have different roles. Due the situation, you need to work with your team to produce an employee meeting, you have 15 minutes to present the statement and conduct the meeting – see the link attached with information about an employee meeting (you need to create a statements, be prepare for questions, and defend your organization). Key Issues Sexual harassment Employee retaliation Appropriateness of product This role-play was developed by Mark Arvizu, Ira Baeringer, Mark Hess, Kelley Hoven, Bill Speights, and Jennifer Sawayda for and under the direction of O.C. and Linda Ferrell. © 2015 On Command Corporation Background (Everyone reads.) On Command Corporation (OCC) is a world-leading provider of interactive in-room entertainment, information, and business services to the lodging industry. The company annually serves more than 250 million guests through 950,000 rooms in approximately 3,450 hotel properties. OCC provides on-demand and, in some cases, scheduled in-room television viewing of major motion pictures and independent non-rated motion pictures for mature audiences, for which guests pay on a pay-per-view basis. Depending on the type of platform installed and the size of the hotel, guests can choose up to 50 different movies with an on-demand system, or eight to 12 movies with a scheduled system. In addition to pay-per-view movies, OCC offers other services such as short subjects (such as yoga and sporting packages), Internet services, music, game services, and other hotel and guest services. OCC obtains the non-exclusive rights to show recently released motion pictures from major motion picture studios during the time period after the initial theatrical release and before home video or cable distribution. The company also contracts with a variety of other vendors and distributors of in-room entertainment for the other products it sells to hotels and guests. OCC negotiates contracts with major hotel chains and individual hotels that involve agreement on the type and extent of movies and services that are offered. Programming choices are key for OCC to differentiate itself from competitors. As guests order movies, they are shown in their rooms and then appear on their bill at check-out. Depending on the contract with the hotel, it may receive some of the profits from the movie ordered. The PS4 games are the least profitable, while adult films are by far the most profitable. Although not disclosed directly, most of the company’s revenues are from adult movies. In fact, some analysts estimate that up to 80 percent of the revenues OCC generates are from its adult movie business. A new management team has come to On Command and is evaluating the company’s strategy and business plan. Although the company has been around for 10 years with 2014 revenues of $262 million, it still has yet to become profitable. Three recent events have re-kindled discussion about the true nature of the company’s products, as well as potential ethical issues. The first situation arose when several female employees complained to their superiors about feeling uncomfortable in the presence of a certain male colleague, Ted Jones, because of what they say are “lewd” remarks about women. Ted Jones is the senior adult film editor whose job it is to edit adult films to reduce graphic sexual content. When approached about his actions, Ted defended himself by denying the allegations. Due to lack of concrete proof, Ted was given a warning and the women who filed the complaint were told just to avoid Ted whenever possible. However, more complaints have surfaced, and the human resources department has decided to conduct an investigation. The second issue arose from a complaint filed by another female employee, Donna Wilson, working as an administrative assistant. She threated to file suit against the company because of the way she was treated. She was personally offended by the content of the adult movies. Although she had signed a document that clearly stated the nature of the videos available for viewing in her office upon her hire, she protested and said that the adult portion of the OCC product line should not be viewable in any of the corporate offices because it was sexually offensive, degraded women, and promoted sexual harassment in the workplace. She also insisted that the true extent of the sexual content was not explained to her when she signed the agreement. After hearing her complaint, her supervisor informed her of the release she had signed and also told her she had the clear choice not to work there. Since that time, Donna alleges, she claims she overheard her supervisor telling other workers to shun her at work because she was a troublemaker who refused to be a team player. She has also been cut out of meetings and claims the supervisor is constantly cutting her down in front of her colleagues. Finally, it has recently come to management’s attention that there has been a drop in revenue due to the deliberate refusal of many hotels to offer the adult film products as they would conflict with their quality, “family-friendly” image. The increase is this type of product censorship has led to a drop in revenue for OCC. At a recent meeting at Liberty Media (OCC’s parent company), several questions were raised about the ethical nature of OCC’s primary revenue source. Questions such as these were presented during the discussion regarding what to do with struggling OCC. A big question is whether it was masquerading as an entertainment company with many different product offerings to mask the fact that it is really in the adult movie business. Management is not sure whether it would be wise to disclose where most of its revenue comes from. Also, is the nature of how the company handles the editing of adult films internally encouraging sexual harassment and retaliation of female employees? The management team decided to develop a business strategy they could use going forward. AND I AM Pam Stone – General Counsel You joined OCC at the same time Chris Smith did. You both came from another subsidiary of Liberty Media, the parent company of OCC and several other entertainment type companies. Your specialty is more in the contract and merger and acquisition area. However, you have been dealing with a tremendous amount of employment-related issues. The human resources department has been significantly cut, meaning that you must often work in close proximity with Don Randall, the human resource manager. Chris has made you aware that all of the offices contain televisions, and employees have the same access as hotel guests. This includes the adult films. You have recently begun to research charges brought up by Ms. Wilson. You feel that adult movies should not be watched in the workplace unless they are being edited or viewed for possible selection. You learn that many employees frequently watch adult content in their offices, although most claim they do so during their break time. OCC has about 300 employees in the field who work directly with hotels to install the product as well as perform updates to products. Unfortunately, the system OCC currently uses does not allow for updates to be done electronically. The field service employees see the adult films during the updating process. OCC also manufactures its own “box” that allows the pay per systems to operate. As part of the testing process, the manufacturing employees must test each line of products by watching to make sure they work properly regular cable, short subjects, games, and adult films. The human resource manager Don Randall has provided you with waivers and disclaimers that all employees sign upon hire indicating that they may be exposed to adult film content during their employment. However, Ms. Wilson’s claims have gone beyond simply being offended. Now she is claiming that her supervisor has begun retaliating against her because she complained. This could certainly be grounds for a lawsuit if not handled properly. Don Randall has also asked you for assistance in handling some potential sexual harassment allegations he has heard. Since you came to OCC, you have been responsible for collecting and providing due diligence to an outside law firm to review for a possible merger and/or sale. You were intimately involved in the contract to secure an additional $60 million investment from Liberty Media. You have also been involved in many of the discussions with Chris Smith and executive VP and CFO Bill Moore as to what the company strategy needs to be.
case presentations what can be my answer for this case if I am the general counsel
it could be 1 or 2 slide it does not matter thank in advance
In: Economics
Case:
Forty years ago, Starbucks was a single store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market selling premium roasted coffee. Today, it is a global roaster and retailer of coffee with some 21,536 stores, 43 percent of which are in 63 countries outside the United States. China (1,716 stores), Canada (1,330 stores),
Japan (1,079 stores), and the United Kingdom (808 stores) are large markets internationally for Starbucks. Starbucks set out on its current course in the 1980s when the company’s director of marketing, Howard Schultz, came back from a trip to Italy enchanted with the Italian coffeehouse experience. Schultz, who later became CEO, persuaded the company’s owners to experiment with the coffeehouse format—and the Starbucks experience was born. The strategy was to sell the company’s own premium roasted coffee and freshly brewed espressostyle coffee beverages, along with a variety of pastries, coffee accessories, teas, and other products, in a tastefully designed coffeehouse setting. From the outset, the company focused on selling “a third place experience,” rather than just the coffee. The formula led to spectacular success in the United States, where Starbucks went from obscurity to one of the best-known brands in the country in a decade. Thanks to Starbucks, coffee stores became places for relaxation, chatting with friends, reading the newspaper, holding business meetings, or (more recently) browsing the web. In 1995, with 700 stores across the United States, Starbucks began exploring foreign market opportunities. The first target market was Japan. The company established a joint venture with a local retailer, Sazaby Inc. Each company held a 50 percent stake in the venture, Starbucks Coffee of Japan. Starbucks initially invested $10 million in this venture, its first foreign direct investment. The Starbucks format was then licensed to the venture, which was charged with taking over responsibility for growing Starbucks’ presence in Japan.
To make sure the Japanese operations replicated the “Starbucks experience” in North America, Starbucks transferred some employees to the Japanese operation. The licensing agreement required all Japanese store managers and employees to attend training classes similar to those given to U.S. employees. The agreement also required that stores adhere to the design parameters established in the United States. In 2001, the company introduced a stock option plan for all Japanese employees, making it the first company in Japan to do so. Skeptics doubted that Starbucks would be able to replicate its North American success overseas, but by June 2015, Starbucks had some 1,079 stores and a profitable business in Japan. After Japan, the company embarked on an aggressive foreign investment program. In 1998, it purchased Seattle Coffee, a British coffee chain with 60 retail stores, for $84 million. An American couple originally from Seattle had started Seattle Coffee with the intention of establishing a Starbucks-like chain in Britain. In the late 1990s, Starbucks opened stores in Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, and—most significantly— China. In Asia, Starbucks’ most common strategy was to license its format to a local operator in return for initial licensing fees and royalties on store revenues. As in Japan, Starbucks insisted on an intensive employee-training program and strict specifications regarding the format and layout of the store. By 2002, Starbucks was pursuing an aggressive expansion in mainland Europe. As its first entry point, Starbucks chose Switzerland. Drawing on its experience in Asia, the company entered into a joint venture with a Swiss company, Bon Appetit Group, Switzerland’s largest food service company. Bon Appetit was to hold a majority stake in the venture, and Starbucks would license its format to the Swiss company using a similar agreement to those it had used successfully in Asia. This was followed by a joint venture in other countries. The United Kingdom leads the charge in Europe with 808 Starbucks stores. By 2014, Starbucks emphasized the rapid growth of its operations in China, where it had 1,716 stores and planned to roll out another 500 in three years. The success of Starbucks in China has been attributed to a smart partnering strategy. China is not one homogeneous market; the culture of northern China is very different from that of the east, and consumer spending power inland is not on par with that of the big coastal cities. To deal with this complexity, Starbucks entered into three different joint ventures: in the north with Beijong Mei Da coffee, in the east with Taiwan-based UniPresident, and in the south with Hong Kong-based Maxim’s Caterers. Each partner brought different strengths and local expertise that helped the company gain insights into the tastes and preferences of local Chinese customers, and to adapt accordingly. Starbucks now believes that China will become its second-largest market after the United States by 2020.
Question:
2. Many would argue that Starbucks coffee is expensive, and yet customers get “value” for their money. How do you think Starbucks has been able to transfer this business model and value proposition to international markets?
In: Economics