Thursday, October 31, 2019

Social Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Social Security - Research Paper Example Many of them were abandoned by their siblings. Some elderly were found living in sidewalks asking for alms and a number of them died due to health problem. In 1932, the citizens were somehow relieved from the effects of the phenomenon when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as president and introduced the New Deal programs (Rosenberg, n.d.). Few of the programs were aimed to help the farmers and lessen the unemployment rate across the country (Rosenberg, n.d.). Aiming to provide sustainable support and effective social security to the American nation, President Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security Act in 1935 (Social Security Administration [SSA], 2000). The legislation contained many provisions promoting the general welfare. Nonetheless, its most distinguishing feature was the social insurance program for retired employees aging at least sixty five years. The retirees were paid a continuing income right after they retire. The monthly benefits were planned to start in 1942 (S SA, 2000). In such case, the Social Security paid the retirees their benefits in lump-sum from 1937 to 1942. A retired motorman was the first retiree who received a lump-sum payment under the law (SSA, 2000). As a social legislation, the Social Security Act was designed to be adoptive to change. In the year 1939, it underwent a substantial amendment (SSA, 2000). The modification included two more benefits aside from the retirement benefits. The legislators added the dependents and survivors benefits. The former was made to benefit the spouse and minor children of the retired while the latter was for the family of the worker in case of premature death (SSA, 2000). In a sense, the amendment not only benefited the worker but also his or her family. As the economic situation of America began to regain strength, the amount of benefits to be received by the recipients was also increased. Moreover, the payment of monthly

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Skills required for a successful health and safety practitioner Essay

Skills required for a successful health and safety practitioner - Essay Example Technical training also equips individuals with numerous other skills that enhance their success in the profession. Slide 3, Among such skills is communication. Health practitioners interact with their patients on numerous platforms. Such interactions require adequate communication. Among the most essential roles of a health practitioner is diagnosis a process that requires a patient to describe his feelings to a health practitioners (Patel and John 91). Slide 4, The health practitioners must understand the descriptions and make accurate diagnosis thus advising appropriate treatments. The need for effective communication skills commands proficiency in language. As the medium for communication, the health and safety practitioners must have the ability to speak the appropriate language and do so appropriately in order to enhance the effectiveness of the communication processes (Storey and Craig 21). Slide 6, Health and safety practitioners must understand relevant laws. Laws and codes of conduct are vital in the practice since they help curb the rise of legal tussles that may jeopardize the career of an individual. Ethical codes on the other hand influence the decisions that safety and health practitioners make thus ensuring that the practitioners uphold the values of a society (Stellman 55). Slide 7, The nature of the career requires the practitioners to make decisions urgently in order to overcome challenges. The conditions are always precarious and a decision can either save or lose a life. Despite such, the health and safety practitioners must always make such decisions and advise their patients appropriately. This requires the practitioners to have effective analytical skills in order to analyze their circumstances and device appropriate decisions to help overcome the

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Tiny Encryption Algorithm Tea Computer Science Essay

Tiny Encryption Algorithm Tea Computer Science Essay Today, security is an issue concern by everyone. Many ways of implementing encryption algorithms have been investigated in order to achieve better performance in terms of security level, speed, power consumption and cost. This project will discuss about implementing Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). FPGA are reconfigurable chips that the integrated circuit is designed meant for reconfigurable architecture. A FPGA chips is programmed using Hardware Description Language (HDL). TEA is an encryption algorithm or block cipher that consider fast, easy and used for many application. In this project, TEA will be implemented on Altera Cyclone II FPGA using Altera DE1 Board. Keyboard using PS2 or the SWITCH on the DE1 will be used as input. The output of the encryption and decryption data will be show on VGA monitor. The encrypted data will be store in memory. Specific Objectives In order to complete this project, there are few objectives have to be archieve. Program the Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) using verilog HDL (Hardware Description Language) Verifying the functionality of the implementation of the encryption in FPGA Perform simulation for timing analysis and the encryption process on the implementation of Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) in FPGA Experiment and test the project in practical Literature Research Cryptography Before the modern era, security communication is the primary concern in Government and Military[2]. Security communication become more important today as a result of the increasing use of the electronic communication for many daily activities such as internet banking, online shopping. Cryptography is a practical way of conveying information securely [1]. The main aim of cryptography is to allow authorized person to receive the message correctly while preventing eavesdroppers understanding the content of the message [1]. The original message is called plaintext t[1]. Plaintext will be encrypted using certain algorithms in the secure system in order to hide the meaning[1]. The output of this reversible mathematical process is called ciphertext and the algorithm used in this process is called cipher [1]. Ciphertext can be transmitted securely because ideally eavesdroppers that access to the ciphertext wont understand what the meaning is behind [1]. The reverse of this mathematical proce ss is to decrypt the ciphertext back to plaintext and this only can be done by the original recipients [1]. The processes of encryption and decryption are shown in Figure 1. Eavesdropper Plaintext Encryption Ciphertext Plaintext Decryption Figure 1 Encryption There are two types of encryption or cipher depends on the key used: Asymmetric key and Symmetric key. Symmetric key The encryption and decryption process use the same key [1]. The major problems and drawback of this key both sender and receiver must know the key prior to the transmissions [1]. If the key is transmitted then it will compromise the systems security [1]. The advantages of symmetric key is the process of encryption and decryption will be faster compare to asymmetric key, in another words it can encrypt or decrypt more data in shorter period of time [1]. Asymmetric key The encryption and decryption process use different key but both of the key are related mathematically [1]. It is very hard to obtain one from the other although they are mathematically related [1]. The public key is used for the encryption process and the private key is used for the decryption process [1]. The security of the system wont be compromised even though the public key is made available but the corresponding private key cannot be revealed to anyone [1]. Symmetric key Symmetric key is further divided into two types: Symmetric Cipher and Block Cipher. Stream Cipher Stream cipher that generates a keystream (a sequence of bits used as a key) [4]. The encryption process is usually done by combining the keystream with plaintext using bitwise XOR operation [4]. Keystream that generated is independent of the plaintext and ciphertext is called synchronous stream cipher while keystream that is generated is depent of plaintext is called self-synchronizing stream cipher [4]. Block Cipher Stream cipher that generates a keystream encrypt fixed length block of plaintext into block ciphertext that is same length [3]. The fix length is called block size. Block Cipher using same secret key for the encryption and decryption process [3]. Usually, the size of block cipher is 64 bits [3]. By increasing the size of block cipher to 128 bits will make the processors become more sophisticated [3]. Stream Cipher vs Block Cipher Stream cipher is a type of symmetric encryption algorithm that can be designed to be exceptionally fast and even much faster compare to block cipher [4]. Stream ciphers normally process on less bits while block ciphers can process large blocks of data [4]. Plaintext that encrypted using block cipher will result in the same ciphertext when the same key is used [4]. With a stream cipher, the transformation of thse smaller plaintext units will vary depending on when they are encountered during the encryption process [4]. Stream Cipher Block Cipher Block Size Depends Fixed Encryption/Decryption Speed Fast Slower Size of block data can be process Small Larger Figure 2: Comparison of Stream Cipher and Block Cipher Figure 3 below shows different type of algorithm table.jpgFigure 3 :Different type of encryption algorithm Tiny Encryption Algorithm is implemented in this project because it is one type of cipher encryption algorithm that encrypt 64 bits of plaintext using a 128 bits of key into a 64 bits ciphertext. TEA Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) is a Feistel type routine designed by David J. Wheeler and Roger M. Needham. It used addition and subtraction as the reversible operators [5]. XOR and ADD alternately used in the routine provide nonlinearity [5]. The Dual bit shifting in the routine cause all the bits and data mixed repeatedly [5]. The three XOR, ADD and SHIFT operation will provide Shannons properties of diffusion and confusion necessary for a secure block cipher without the need for P-boxes and S-boxes [6]. TEA is a feistel cipher that split the plaintext into halves [7]. A sub key will be applied to the one half of plaintext in the round function, F [8]. Then the output of the F will be XOR with other half before the two halves are swapped [8]. All same patterns applied to the entire round except the last round where there is often no swap [8]. Figure 2 below show a Feistel cipher diagram where 64 bits of plaintext is divided into halves which are equally 32 bits each part. 128 bits of key is used for the encryption and decryption process and it is spitted into 32 bits subkey [7]. TEA.png Figure 4: Two Fiestal round(one cycle) of TEA The encryption and decryption routine of Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) written in C language [5]. void encrypt (uint32_t* v, uint32_t* k, uint32_t* v1) { uint32_t v0=v[0], sum=0, i; /* set up */ uint32_t delta=0x9e3779b9; /* a key schedule constant */ uint32_t k0=k[0], k1=k[1], k2=k[2], k3=k[3]; /* cache key */ for (i=0; i sum += delta; v0 += ((v1>5) + k1); v1 += ((v0>5) + k3); } /* end cycle */ v[0]=v0; v[1]=v1; } void decrypt (uint32_t* v, uint32_t* k, uint32_t* v1) { uint32_t v0=v[0], sum=0xC6EF3720, i; /* set up */ uint32_t delta=0x9e3779b9; /* a key schedule constant */ uint32_t k0=k[0], k1=k[1], k2=k[2], k3=k[3]; /* cache key */ for (i=0; i v1 -= ((v0>5) + k3); v0 -= ((v1>5) + k1); sum -= delta; } /* end cycle */ v[0]=v0; v[1]=v1; } [5] delta is derived from the golden number where delta = Architectures Untitled.jpg Figure 5: TEA architectures TEA is implemented using three different architectures. The first architecture (Figure 3a) is a multiple 32 bit adders that simultaneously perform operations needed for one encryption cycle [6]. This parallel form structure should be quite large in terms of hardware area but will perform faster [6]. On the other hands, in order to reduce the area, the second architecture (Figure 3b) performs operations sequentially using a single 32 bit adder [6]. The last design (Figure 3c) is a 8 bit digit-serial adders that use advance architecture offered by application-specific hardware solution [6]. The latter two design are meant for low area solutions but in terms of control and data selection, the effectiveness remain confirmed [6]. Software vs Hardware Implementation of Encryption Implementation of encryption using software is easier to design and upgrade, it also portable and flexible [7]. One of the major problems of software implementation is in most typical personal computer have external memory out from the processor, the external memory is used to store raw data or instruction in unencrypted form so if an attacker gain access to the system, the key can be easier obtained [7]. One of the most common way used by the attacker is bruteforce, a special program can be easily design to bruteforce the algorithm. Besides this, reverse engineering method easier to apply on software implementation. So it can be concluded that software implementation is lack of physical security[7]. Implementation of encryption using hardware by naturally is physically more secure as they are hard to read and view by attacker [7]. Another advantage of hardware implementation is all the data in the encryption process is correlated according to an algorithm which usually perform operation on same data [7]. This will prevent computer technique such as out of order execution and cause hang to the system [7]. Hardware implementation also tend to be more parallel so more orders of magnitudes can be done at certain period of time [7]. Hardware implementation is will be better choice for encryption in terms of performance but the cost of implementation is higher compare to software implementation. Higher security level and better performance is the main concern in this project, so the encryption will be implemented on FPGA, one of the hardware implementation method. Microcontroller, Microprocessor, DSP Processor and FPGA Microprocessor The first microprocessors invented in the 1970s [10]. This is the first time where such an amazing devices put a computer CPU onto a single IC [10]. The significant processing was available at rather low cost, in comparatively small space [10]. At beginning stage, all other functions, like input/output interfacing and memory were outside the microprocessor [10]. Gradually all the other functions in embedded into a single chip [10]. At the same time, microprocessor becoming more powerful in terms on the speed, power consumption and so on [10]. Microprocessor is moving rapidly from 8 bits to 32 bits [10]. Microcontroller A microcontroller is an inexpensive single-chip computer [9]. The entire computer system lies within the confines of the integrated circuit chip, so it is called a single chip computer [9]. The microcontroller on the encapsulated sliver of silicon has features similar to those personal computers [9]. Mainly, the microcontroller is able to store and run a program [9]. The microcontroller contains a CPU (central processing unit), ROM (random-access memory), RAM (random-access memory), Input/Output lines, and oscillator, serial and parallel ports [9]. Some more advanced microcontroller also have other built in peripherals such as A/D (analog-to-digital) converter [9]. DSP (Digital Signal Processing) Processor DSP processor is a specialized microprocessor optimized to process digital signal [12][13]. Most of the DSP processors are commonly designed to have basic features such as high performance, repetitive and numerically intensive tasks so DSP processor often have advantage in terms of speed, cost and energy efficiency [11]. DSP processor have the avility to perform one or more multiply accumulate operations (often called MACs) in a single instruction cycle [14]. FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) Xilinx Co-Founders, Ross Freeman and Bernard Vonderschmitt, invented the first commercially viable field programmable gate array in 1985 the XC2064. FPGA is integrated circuit for reconfigurable purposes by user after manufacturer. FPGA is generally specified using Hardware Description language (HDL). FPGA can be programmed to perform logic function and due to this ability, FPGA become more popular. Using FPGA for design can lower non recurring Engineering cost and apply on many application. Hardware Architectures comparison The figure 6 below show the comparison of different architectures used for hardware implementation on encryption. Architecture Efficiency Performance Non recurring Engineering Cost Unit Cost Microprocessor Low Low Low Low Microcontroller Low Low Low Low DSP processor Moderate Moderate Low Moderate FPGA High High Low High Figure 6: Architectures Comparison Comparing the four architectures above, FPGA have the advantage in terms of the efficiency Performance but the unit cost is high. Since costing is not a major concern in this project, so FPGA is better choice for implementing Tiny Encryption Algorithm. Altera DE1 Development and Education Board Altera DE1 is a FPGA Development and Education Board that will be used for this project [17]. Below is the features of this board: DE1_intro_500x.png Figure 7: Altera DE1 Board Altera Cyclone II 2C20 FPGA with 20000 LEs Altera Serial Configuration deivices (EPCS4) for Cyclone II 2C20 USB Blaster built in on board for programming and user API controlling JTAG Mode and AS Mode are supported 8Mbyte (1M x 4 x 16) SDRAM 4Mbyte Flash Memory 512Kbyte(256Kx16) SRAM SD Card Socket 4 Push-button switches 10 DPDT switches 8 Green User LEDs 10 Red User LEDs 4 Seven-segment LED displays 50MHz oscillator ,24MHz oscillator ,27MHz oscillator and external clock sources 24-bit CD-Quality Audio CODEC with line-in, line-out, and microphone-in jacks VGA DAC (4-bit R-2R per channel) with VGA out connector RS-232 Transceiver and 9-pin connector PS/2 mouse/keyboard connector Two 40-pin Expansion Headers DE1 Lab CD-ROM which contains many examples with source code Size ¼Ã… ¡153*153 mm There are few features of DE1 Board will be used for this project. PS/2 mouse/keyboard connector PS/2 keyboard is used as input for the plaintext 4 Push button switches used as a reset button VGA DAC (4-bit R-2R per channel) with VGA out connector VGA monitor is connected to the DE1 board to show the input of plaintext and the output of the encryption, cipher text 4Mbyte Flash Memory Used to store the ciphertext VGA controller IBM introduce video display standard called VGA (video graphics array) in the late 1980s that widely supported by PC graphics hardware and monitors [18]. Figure 8: Simplified Block Diagram of VGA Controller The vga_sync circuit generates timing and synchronization signals [18]. The hsync and vsync signals are connected to the VGA port to control the horizontal and vertical scans of the monitor [18]. Two signals which are pixel_x and pixel_y are decoded from the internal counters [18]. The pixel_x and pixel_y signals indicate the relative positions of the scans and essentially specify the location of the current pixel [18]. Videl_on signal is generated from vga_sync to check whether the display is enable or disable [18]. The pixel generation circuit generate three video signal which is RGB signal [18]. The current coordinates of the pixel (pixel_x and pixel_y), external control and data signals determine the color value [18]. PS/2 Controller IBM introduced PS2 port in personal computers [18]. It is a widely used interface for keyboard and mouse to communicate with the host [18]. PS2 port consists of two wires for communication purposes [18]. One wire for transmitting data in serial stream while another wire is for the clock information which determine when the data is valid and can be retrieved [18]. The data is transmitted in 11 bit packet that contains 8 bits of data, an odd parity bit and stop bit [18]. Figure 9: Timing Diagram of a PS/2 port Quartus II Web Edition Quartus II Web Edition design software is a comprehensive environment available for system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) design developed by Altera [19]. This software is used in this project to program and implement the Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA) on Altera DE1 Cyclone II FPGA [19]. This program also can be used for the simulation and timing analysis [19]. Hardware Description Language (HDL) Hard description language (HDL) is a type of programming languages used to program and describe digital logic or electronic circuits [20]. It can describe circuit operation, its design and organization [20]. Figure 10 below shows different type of Hardware Description Language commonly used. HDL Syntax Similarity AHDL Ada programming Language VHDL Ada Programming Language JHDL Java Verilog C Programming Language Figure 10 : Different type of HDL Verilog Hardware Description Language (HDL) is used to program the FPGA in this project because it is a widely used HDL and it syntax is similar the C programming language. Methodology Block Diagram VGA Monitor PS/2 Keyboard VGA Controller Plaintext TEA Encryption Core Flash Memory 64 Bits Ciphertext PS/2 Controller Key 128 Bits 64 Bits Encryption/Decryption Acknowledge Key Update Request Busy Asynchronous Reset Clock Figure 11: Core Module The Blog Diagram above explains the design of this project. PS/2 keyboard used as input for the plaintext. All the data from the PS/2 keyboard will be sent into PS/2 controller to process. The processed data, 128 Bits or key or 64 Bits of plaintext will sent into the TEA encryption core for encryption. The output of the encryption, ciphertext will store inside the flash memory. All the plaintext and cipher text will send into VGA controller to process and show on the CRT monitor. The encryption/decryption will be connected to the DPDT switch to switch between encryption or decryption mode. Key Update Request also connected to the DPDT switch for the purpose of updating the key when the switch is on. Asynchronous reset is connected to the push button for the reset purpose. There are internal clock inside the DE1 board so no external clock is needed for this project. Algorithm and Implementation Verification The original Tiny Encryption Algorithm C source code by the author will be compiled or get a compiled executable program from other source to analyze the encryption of plaintext to ciphertext and decryption of ciphertext back to plaintext. A set of plaintext, ciphertext and key can generated from the program as a reference and compare with the encryption and decryption output implemented on FPGA. Figure 12 is an example of compiled executable program of Tiny Encryption Algorithm by Andreas Jonsson TEA.jpg Figure 12 Costing Estimation Components Quantity Price Altera De1 Board [17] 1 RM 512.84 Used 15 Samsung SyncMaster CRT monitor 1 RM50.00 Used PS/2 Keyboard 1 RM10.00 Total RM572.84 Gantt Chart ganchart.jpg Research analysis will be start from week 6 till week 8. Verilog coding on the implementation of TEA and module and test bench verification this 2 task must perform parallel because after finish a certain module, it should be test and simulate. If simulation or test is done after finish the whole coding, there will be a big problem in debugging the error. The synthesis of PS/2 keyboard, VGA monitor and FPGA start week 20 just before finish the coding. The functionality verification task also runs parallel with the synthesis optimization task. References and Figures Figures Figure 4: Tiny Encryption Algorithm .Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiny_Encryption_Algorithm (Accessed: 30 October 2009) Figure 5: Israsena. P, Design and Implementation of Low Power Hardware Encryption for Low Cost Secure RFID Using TEA . Information, Communications and Signal Processing, 2005 Fifth International Conference on 0-0 0 Page(s):1402 1406, DOI 10.1109/ICICS.2005.1689288. Available at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=arnumber=1689288isnumber=35625 (Accessed : 26 October 2009) Figure 7: Available at: http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?Language=EnglishNo=83 ( Accessed : 28 October 2009) Figure 8: Pong P. Chu (2008) FPGA Prototyping by Verilog Examples :John Wiley Sons Figure 9: Pong P. Chu (2008) FPGA Prototyping by Verilog Examples :John Wiley Sons

Friday, October 25, 2019

Full-Day vs. Half-Day Kindergarten Essay -- essays papers

Full-Day vs. Half-Day Kindergarten Which is more effective? Abstract: This paper gives a brief history of kindergarten; where and why it was created. It describes both full-day and half-day programs, examines the advantages, and disadvantages of full-day and half-day kindergarten, and comes to a conclusion as to which program is more effective in educating the young. Kindergarten plays an important role in the growth, and development of a child. It is here that children begin the foundation for the rest of there education. Educators are constantly looking for ways to improve the kindergarten program for optimal success, however change never occurs easily. There is always some opposition; as in the case with the change from half-day to full-day kindergarten. After carefully researching the controversial topic I have been able to come to some conclusions, as to which program is more effective, and practical. However it is important to first look into where kindergarten all began. There is no denying the importance of the care and education of young children. That is why early childhood educators have been motivated for centuries to create high quality programs for the young. One of the most innovative and lasting programs that was created was German educator Friedrich Froebel’s concept of kindergarten. Froebel sought to develop a program that would stress the natural growth of children through play, and in 1837 he developed the first kindergarten (Froebel’s Kindergarten). Froebel believed that children after the age of three should be placed in the care of properly trained teachers for part of the day (A Comparison of the Reading Performance). In 1849 the training of kindergarten teachers began, and in the 1850’s kin... ...from Academic Search/ EBSCO database Kurtz, Jill. (2004, October 15). Starting School for Kindergarten Parents. Retrieved December 4, 2004, from http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/start/kday.htm Mathur, Sangeeta, Elicker, James (1997). What Do They Do All Day? Comprehensive Evaluation of a Full-Day Kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12(4), p.459 +. Retrieved October 3, 2004, from ERIC database Schubert, Ellen (1997). Half-day kindergarten perspective. [Electronic Version]. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12(4) p.481+. Viadero, Debra (2002). Full-Day Kindergarten Boosts Academic Performance. Education Week, 21(31), p.14. Retrieved September 26, 2004, from Academic search/ EBSCO database Wood, Daniel B. (2004, January 28). Learning trend: Kindergarten becomes and all-day affair. Retrieved December 4, 2004, from http:www.matr.net/print-9643.html

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Global Warming and Its Management Essay

Managers are the most important human resource in any organization because they are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the organizational goals are achieved within the specific time through a good business environment. Both organizations and people need each other to further their different goals or objectives. Therefore if mutuality is missing, it makes no sense in trying to assemble a group and develop a cooperation because there is no common base on which to build. Therefore, for attainment of organizational effectiveness, human resource and especially the managers is the most important asset that must be paid attention by the management. (Rampton, 2003) Causes of global climate change From this article we find that Dr Walker suggest that global climate change is not necessarily caused by the increased use of the fossil fuel, many scientists have been found to be against his arguments claiming that most of the global warming cases are caused by human activities apart from that caused by climatic changes, whereby we find that they reported that in the year 1998 the earth was found to be warmest as compared to the current years arguing that the carbon dioxide concentration is higher claiming that it has increased by over three percent, these scientists claim that a rise in the global warming is mainly caused by the following factors There have been heated political, religious, social and scientific arguments about what could be the causes of global warming. Scientifically, burning of fossil fuels such as petrol, coal, electricity, garbage disposal, and methane from reared animals’ e. g. dairy cattle, goats and sheep the atmosphere of the earth is everywhere and it includes the air we breathe. The earth’s surface, water, land, and the whole biosphere absorb the heat from the sun after which it sends it back to the atmosphere. However, some of the sunlight energy passes back to the space while a good percentage is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere thus causing the earth to heat up. (Maslin, 2004) From the article we find that Dr Walker says that most of the green house gas effects are brought up by the existing water vapor and the carbon dioxide resulting from the human activities he is reported saying that â€Å"the anthropogenic carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere makes an insignificant contribution to the enhanced greenhouse gas effect’ research indicates that many scientists are against the Doctors ideas are incorrect they bring in the idea that in the cases where there is an increase in the concentration of the carbon dioxide with the combination of the other green house gases will actually lead to an increase to the amount of vapour in the atmosphere and since scientifically vapour is found to be a strong green house gas cause an increase in the atmospheric temperature which is regarded as a positive effect to the atmospheric change. This vapour also leads to the formation of cloudiness which brings in cooling effect to the atmospheric temperate which many scientists regard it as a negative effect. The article indicates that eighty five percent of the global temperatures come up as a result the emission of the green house gases while fifteen percent of the temperature is caused by other factors Planning and Controlling Functions This paper will focus on the planning and controlling functions of management and how managers can utilize such functions to reduce the effects of changing climate in the business world. As Dr. Len walker puts it; â€Å"cool heads needed on global warming† (Paul, 2007). There have been heated political, religious, social and scientific arguments about what could be the causes of global warming. Scientifically, burning of fossil fuels such as petrol, coal, electricity, garbage disposal, and methane from reared animals’ e. g. dairy cattle, goats and sheep affects the atmosphere of the earth everywhere and it includes the air we breathe. The earth’s surface, water, land, and the whole biosphere absorb the heat from the sun after which it sends it back to the atmosphere. However, some of the sunlight energy passes back to the space while a good percentage is trapped by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere thus causing the earth to heat up. It is prudent therefore for managers to put in place plan of actions that will ensure the economic growth of their businesses despite the negative effects of global warming. Therefore such scenarios necessitates the willpower and the knowledge of planning and controlling management activities from the current managers in order to avoid adverse effects caused by changing climate. (Hilltop, 1994) According to the latest research, reports suggest that managers have a discrete and decisive function in all organizations particularly in the debate on global warming and they do not only act as a medium between the top managers and the external bodies such as the UN. Managers in many organizations in an effort to be effective and efficient in the understanding of global warming effects have the planning responsibility of balancing the ever competing demands of their roles brought about by effects of changing climate in the world. In order to attain the above objective this managers have embarked on planning and controlling roles in order to avoid any unwanted outcome as a result of changing climate and thus achieve the desired output. Such roles include the following Managers in most organizations through the overall controlling function act as change agents within these organizations. There is increased interaction of people from different cultures, societies, and various backgrounds in undertaking various business activities with the aim of achieving their goals for example opening of more branches that has effects on the business environment . e. g through pollution. Because of invention of advanced technology the world has increasingly become a village and as a result global business is the modern form of business in this 21st century. Therefore managers are expected to strategize on the best controlling measures of changing climate in order to change the business activities to the desired levels that do not further effects of global warming. (Rampton, 2003) Because of globalization in relation to business firms there have been great disregard to national borders, governments have lower hand in controlling the flow of their economies and large companies including organizations are now not restricted to only one particular country as it was before. Managers in these organizations through the planning function have to cope with changes brought about by this aspect of globalization particularly on the issues relating to garbage and sewerage treatment. This implies that mangers have to incorporate the desired actions in the planning process in order to curb the changing climate that may affect the success of businesses in the future. They also have the task of ensuring that the employees in the organizations are well equipped with skills, expertise, and knowledge that can help understand the effects of global warming. Middle managers have the planning duty of being a strategist in order to cope with the increasing demands particularly with regards to the effects of global warming on success of an organization. This implies that they have the tasks of ensuring that the strategies formulated by the organization are implemented and executed in a good way that will lead to decreasing the effects of global warming. They should therefore have the ability to interpret direction from the external bodies like the United Nations in to functional departmental strategies and policies that will avoid any conflicts in the organization and those plans must be viable and supportive for the mission of the organization regarding changing in climate. (Maundy, 2001) In order to enhance this responsibility’ the managers must pay much attention to formulation of workable strategies. A strategy may be defined as the calculated means by which the enterprise deploys its resources to accomplish its purpose and basic objectives under the most advantageous circumstances. Therefore the mangers have the task of ensuring that the organization for example a multinational firm must be overall low cost effective system which will ensure good systems of controlling pollution, sewerage and garbage treatment among other climate effects by using of advanced technologies. So the work of middle managers is to ensure sourcing of competent expertise and application of approved high quality technologies e. g. the use of approved chemicals in treating of sewerages. This implies that planning and controlling functions will be required by managers in order to enhance formulation of viable strategies as well as setting parameters on how such strategies are controlled. Managers must also act at as ethicists in any organization in order to balance the competing demands brought about by the effects of global warming. This role implies that the managers should develop a system that will help them sustain pressure from external forces in the process of promoting positive effects of global warming. This implies managers must show commitment, support and cooperation among the top management, low level management or the subordinates and themselves regarding the controlling of effects of climate changes. For these managers to maximize the concept of teamwork in the organization then they should emphasize on formation of groups within the workplace. A group can be defined as social unit which people interacts face to face when working. If an organization emphasizes group work then it is more likely that good results will be achieved. Sometimes some kind of work require teamwork participation in order to achieve goals, so managers should encourage group decisions too because they bound to succeed unlike individual decisions. This may involve planning function of coming up with ideas regarding making decisions jointly concerning how to curb the effects of global warming. (Maundy, 2001) Economic Effects The economic implications of global climate change are worse since these weather phenomenons occur unpredictably. Insurance companies for example have a lot to loose when a weather condition such as the El Nino damage property and businesses which makes it not only difficult to compensate but also expensive to cater for. Economic implications are considered to be harsh for third world countries as compared to developed countries because they lack the capacity to counter such disasters of big magnitudes. The other sector of the economy affected by global warming is the transport sector. Most of the infrastructure in Indonesia and India has collapsed as an outcome of these disasters thus making it very expensive for the countries to repair and maintain them. Agricultural production being dependant on weather conditions of a particular place is under threat from global warming. Countries in the Islands such as Madagascar produce very little agricultural produce not because they lack the water but because the conditions there are very uncertain and also harsh such that only greenhouses can produce well.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

British Patrol

British Patrol started way back in 1908 (Yergin 18). Its commencement was marked when oil was found in Persia in a very rugged place after seven years of intensive oil search. The Company had invested a lot of fortunes into this search and this almost ended up in failure. This oil was found in the field of Naphtha. British Patrol has grown over the years from a local oil company to an international energy group. Its operations run over a hundred countries and it has an employment capacity of eighty thousand people (Yergin 20).It is ranked as the fourth largest company in the world and it is the largest corporation in the United Kingdom. This paper explains how the British Patrol created a global brand name and how their partnership with Amaco, Castrol acquisition and Aral acquisition affected the process of creation of the global brand name (Corbett 80). It also explains the issues and the challenges that BP faced as well as the problems encountered. Who is BP? BP is a British energy company that is global. It is the third largest energy company in the world. Its headquarters are in St James’s, City in London.It is mainly engaged in oil exploration and in the marketing of petroleum and of natural gas (Ellis 93). The roots of BP date back to 1901 when the Shah of Iran granted William Knox a concession to search for oil. He searched for seven good years and found oil in 1908 (Yergin 67). This discovery gained commercial importance in April 1909 when the Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) started to exploit the rugged deposit of oil discovered by William Knox. In 1935, it was known as the Anglo Iranian Oil Company. This became the British Petroleum Company in 1954 (Ellis 67). Activities of BPThe company expanded to Alaska in 1959. It struck oil in the North Sea in 1965. it also acquired control over Standard oil of Ohio. It operated in Iran until the Islamic revolution in 1979. The regime of Ayatollah Khomeini confiscated all the assets of BP and it closed do wn. It was not compensated for the loss (Yergin 67). BP was led by Sir Peter Walters between 1981 and 1990. when Robert Horton took over he did a major downsizing in the company. Under his jurisdiction, BP bought many stations in South Eastern US. Lord Browne became the managing director in 1995 (Ellis 79).The companies acquired Amoco, ARCO and Burma Castro under his jurisdiction. Strategies employed by BP One of the leading strategies that BP uses is the acquisition of leading oil companies and getting into partnership with them. This is well exhibited in the acquisition of Amaco, Castrol and Aral. For example in the case of Amaco in December 1998 after merging, it was known as Amaco BP. It was then renamed BP (Beyond Petroleum) in 2000. Most Amoco stations in the US was renamed to the brand name BP (Yergin 89). It used the strategy of selling the gasoline from Amaco under the name Amoco.The reason they did not change the name was that for the previous sixteen years Amoco’s gasoline had been rated as the best gasoline. This was there fore a marketing strategy that further saw the company’s image being boosted. They then changed the name to Amoco ultimate. They then improved their brand (Corbett 45). They also use the strategy of ensuring their products are quality products. The quality of a product always attracts and maintains the loyalty of the customers. Quality of the leaders has also to a great extent enabled the company to create a brand name.A closer look at their history leaders or managing directors is chosen from the management team. This allows the continuation of the activities of the organization without delay. An example is Lord Browne who was in the board. It also uses the strategy of owning reserves in most regions where oil is found. For example in Russia, they own fifty percent. They are also planning to expand into further regions. Challenges and problems encountered Some of the challenges encountered were the confiscation of the company’s assets by the government. This was in 1979 and it resulted into a major loss for the company.Another major challenge has been the occurrence of accidents such as explosions (Yergin 89). These have led to massive losses. An example is the explosion that occurred in the company’s Texas City refinery. This led to a massive loss of oil as well as to fatal injuries and deaths that cost the company a lot of money as compensation to the families affected (Ellis 90). This also led to lawsuits being filled against the company. Leaking wells are also a challenge to the company. It sometimes has to close these wells as it did in 2006 when it closed its twelve wells.The company also faces the challenge of recovering its self-image from the explosions that are fatal and they occur out of negligence from the company (Yergin 90). This affects the customer’s attitude towards the company. The company has to build confidence in the eyes of these customers and it is an uphill task. Conclusion BP has grown into one of the leading corporations from its humble beginnings. This has been through employment of various strategies such as acquisitions and mergers. This has also been necessitated by the ability to keep their products at a very high quality thus creating loyalty among the workers.It has also expanded into other regions thus acquiring the larger markets. However, there have been challenges that the company has faced and it has had to combat the challenges and problems to remain at the top. References Corbett Michael. The outsourcing revolution: Why it makes sense and how to do it, right. London: Kaplan Publishing, 2004. Ellis Charles. The partnership: the making of Goldman Sachs. London: Penguin Press, 2008. Yergin Daniel. The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.