Author: chris

The Strategic Management Process for Hewlett Packard Corporation
Table of Contents:
Introduction/Abstract…………………………………..2
HP’s Macro Environment: PEST Analysis…………….3
SWOT Analysis………………………………………..6
HP’s Micro Environment: Porter’s Five Forces…….…9
Micro-environment Analysis…………………………11
Company Analysis……………………………………12
Issues and problems…………………………………..13
Alternative Proposition and Evaluation……….……..14
Recommendation and Implementation………………16
Bibliography…………………………………………18
This research proposal focuses on Hewlett-Packard Company, one of the biggest information technology corporations of the world and comes second after IBM. With a global presence in various fields such as computing, digital imaging, printing, the corporation also offers software programs and other related services. Hewlett-Packard Corporation (HP) is a principal seller of peripherals, desktop computers, servers, and various support services. Malone, through his article states that since 1983, the company has grown to incorporate 86,000 employees who contributed to sales of over $48 billion in 2009. The company also manufactures measurement, testing and medical equipment under a current manufacturing company, Agilent Technologies since 2000. Most of the company’s sales, over 50%, are made outside the United States of America and comprise of over 85% sales in computers and interrelated products. The culture, vision, and environment created by the co-founders are exceptionally much alive today and continually define Hewlett-Packard uniquely from the pack (Malone, pg. 40).
The Hewlett-Packard Company mission and vision statement is; “To provide products, services and solutions of the highest quality and deliver more value to our customers that earn their respect and loyalty, to achieve sufficient profit to finance our company growth, to grow by continually providing useful and significant products, to view change in the market as an opportunity to grow and to help HP employees share in the company’s success that they make possible and to provide people with employment opportunities based on performance” (Malone, 2007, pg. 40). Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) is a provider of technological solutions to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company’s products and services are evident in information technology equipments, personal computing and access devices, tablet personal computers, global services, imaging and printing. Product and service grouping comprise of notebooks, printing and multifunction, desktops and workstations, monitors and projectors, handheld devices, copiers and scanners, fax, digital photography, storage, servers, entertainment, networking, supplies and accessories and software products (Malone, pg. 40).
HP’s Macro Environment: PEST Analysis
Political
Private ownership of corporations is a dominant system in the United States market, private and home businesses. These corporations are also allowed to decentralize decision making. Fortune on CNNMoney.com on March 22, 2010 reported that the free business system of the United States is made evident by the output and production of various private businesses. Statistics have it that approximately two-thirds of the largely American economic productivity is made possible by private businesses and individuals. It is only a third of the production that goes to the government. A critical look on a political platform, statistical division point out that consumers and private businesses have a more critical role in the business sector. Still, the government takes part in an important part of the country’s economy as well as the business sector by developing and enforcing various business-related laws which comprise of business and property right security as well as the ruling out of business practices that are alleged as unwarranted. The government also ensures that proper safety standards are put into place (Fortune on CNNMoney.com).
Economical
The United States economy is well thought-out as one of the leading in the globe. The businesses in the country are mainly market-oriented where most decisions and activities are developed by the people. This is evident from the annual acquisitions of the American consumers, which totals to over 5 trillion dollars on average every year. According to Fortune on CNNMoney.com, it states that approximately 80% of the total services and goods produced in the United States businesses are supported and purchased locally. The vigor of the United States economy is mostly accredited to its diverse and rich business segments. One of the most significant segments in the country is the industrialized industry. HP is essentially under the industrial machinery segment where computers, engines and other paraphernalia are created. This sector in fact accounts for 10.7% of the yearly total value from manufacturers (Fortune, 2010). This puts forward the capacity of the American to subsist high-quality standard of living. There are economic-related problems in the United States that could hinder the growth and strategic planning in the economy. One of the hindrances is the noteworthy level of joblessness rate in the country. In addition, it has been reported that that a sizeable proportion of young Americans do not graduate even after joining various institutions (FORTUNE on CNNMoney.com).
Socio-cultural
United States of America is the third most populated country and is estimated to have 296 million people (Fortune on CNNMoney.com) which entail a pluralistic society. This shows that the inhabitants of the country are extremely varied in terms of races, religions and nationalities. In addition to the existence of various minority groups, the multiplicity in the country can also be owed to influx of immigrant workers and open trade. The increase of immigrant employees puts forward the growing working segment of the country, which augments the need for technology and computers. Certain problems are evident in the employment sector. For instance, the wages paid to workers in some states have been found not to meet the minimum criterion. Sixteen states in the US offer wages higher than the minimum which is at least $5.15 per every hour. There are other 26 states that offer minimum wages founded on the national level. Kansas and Ohio on the other hand provide wages lower than the minimum, whereas six other states have not affected any state laws (Fortune on CNNMoney.com). The setback on gender-bias is also an incidence as female workers on average earn a smaller amount than 10 percent than their male counter-parts, undertaking same tasks and with similar level of education and training. (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2005).
Technological
United States was the first country to use computer and internet in the world, therefore the society is highly adapted to the technology. Statistics have suggested that the employment sector is incessantly employing computers and related tools in their employment activities; this to a great extent contributed to the development of the computer industry. In addition, job opportunities for computer experts have doubled from 1996 until 2009. People have also got accustomed in employing the internet to pay bills, work, shop and reserve airline tickets. Recent statistics have showed that over 84 million Americans have access to the internet either at work or at home (Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2005).
From the information of the company’s large-scale environment, a number of strengths can be identified. One of which is the stability, both economically and politically, of the United States. With a first-class political situation, HP and other related companies’ policies will be supported and regulated by well-established business laws; this will encourage reasonable competition in the industry. In addition, as the country utilizes a decentralized process of decision-making between businesses, HP has the authorization to come up with policies that suits its available resources and needs. Apart from these, the result of the policies and production of HP will be concerted on the company bearing in mind that only a little part of its financial gains will be taken by the government (Fortune on CNNMoney.com ).This will enable HP to achieve fast returns on investments and get sufficient funds for development of other strategies. The data from the macro environment shows that potential success and growth are very probable. One suggestion is the presence of a great target market for HP, bearing in mind the United States high population.
SWOT Analysis
Taking SWOT analysis as in Christensen, 2005 Hewlett-Packard’s analysis breaks down into the following:
Strengths
1. In the computer and printer manufacturing industry, Hewlett-Packard has got a strong and a well established brand name. This strength is predominantly helpful in gaining new buyers, market positioning, and in growing profit margins.
2. HP has taken a majority of printer and computer market as compared to the competition. By use of the large market, the company can continue gaining profits and also acquire the capital to hold up its business strategies and project plans.
3. HP has made it in establishing key channels of distribution which enables it to promote its goods in the most successful way.
4. The company has got capital that enables it to preserve a large and professional workforce. Besides, it also has the competence to subdivide its workforce into functional departments where extremely skilled and talented professionals can be assigned. With such a workforce, HP can make sure that there is quality and speed in its production.
5. The company has been in business for many years. The many years of triumphant business processes has strengthened its ability to conquer past and also fresh challenges with tested and tried strategies. This competence has also allowed HP to bring in its new products and put into practice policies at the right place and time.

Weaknesses
1. The company has got the capability of acquiring helpful customer information. However, because of the volume, the corporation is not able to evaluate all the important information. It is a must for Hp to put in place a team that will be responsible of sorting market details and constructing them into usable policies.
2. The company has experienced some times when it was unable to carry on steady growth.

Opportunities
1. The corporation can employ other means of distribution such as retailing on the internet, which can possibly augment its market access as well as its sales.
2. The continued use of computers and printers by home owners and workers in various offices, suggest that these devices will continue being in demand for many more years.
3. The capability of the corporation to get important consumer information enables it to come up with products based on the present consumer needs and preferences. This enables the corporation to come up with new products and also establish customer loyalty and satisfaction.
Threats
1. The printer and computer industries are both exceedingly competitive industries. In the computer manufacturing industry, key companies such as Dell, Compaq and IBM are some of the key companies manufacturing related products. On the other hand, Canon and Epson are examples of the key rivals of HP in the printer manufacturing.
2. A variety of marketing threats are also well thought-out as threats for the corporation. Although HP can employ any possible marketing approach, its consequence on the market can differ. These effects must be scrutinized comprehensively as it could to a great extent have an effect on the business upshot (Christensen, 2003).

Tertiary institutions such as colleges and universities need a constant supply of students in order to meet their financial needs in not only their daily running costs but also to meet costs incurred in research. Nova Southeastern University, a private, non-profit making university, is no exception. It has endeavored to create a sustainable environment for learning which is further supported by a vibrant on-campus life which is vital to students in choosing the institution of higher learning in which to study in. This essay therefore, explores ways in which Nova Southeastern University can attract more students in order to facilitate smoother running in its activities.
The overall need for Nova Southeastern University is to encourage students to study the various courses offered in the instituition and make a career out of it. There is hence a need for the institution to communicate its discovery of the various fields and the deep level of satisfaction enjoyed in pursuance of these courses. The institution needs to phrase from a point of view as to: What attracted this particular student to that specific course? What other fields did the student consider, and why did the student not any choose them? These disciplines need to be presented individually on a basis of their worthwhile, attractive, diverse, challenging and readily on hand career opportunities which is the vital endpoint that students are mainly interested in. The motivation criteria should not be based on academic self-interest but rather on their personal and professional fulfillment. The students need to envision themselves as successful in their careers after graduating. This will greatly compliment all enthusiastic efforts at encouraging the students to enroll at the university. In addition, the efforts put in place should also be persistent, patient and realistic. This is since it takes a considerable amount of time to build a critical student mass that shall enroll in the diverse courses offered in the university.

Jack’s grades had been continuously deteriorating with respect to his performance in other terms. This had been largely affected by an ordeal which had experienced on Halloween night. His parents had tirelessly coerced him to tell them the story of which he had been adamant to talk about since the memory of what had transpired was still fresh in his mind. Finally, one evening after school, Jack finally decided to tell his parents about the whole story in order to let out the suppressed after-effects that he still held.
One night on a dark and stormy Halloween night, Jack was walking home from the nearby shopping centre when out of the blues; a scary witch with popping eyes appeared and pushed him into a large tunnel. There were several tables above which metal hooks were hanging loosely. On the tables themselves, several limbs and body parts were strewn. In one corner, her best aunt, Aunt Catherine, was tied loosely to a chair. The witch then shouted, “You are my next patient because you have continuously disobeyed your parents more times than any other kid at your school. Your body parts will serve a better cause altogether. I am going to change your leg into a broomstick and your stomach into a calabash.” Jack was scared out of his wits and almost lost consciousness. Her aunt shouted, “There is an exit to your left. We’re not going to die if only you run as fast as possible and get help. All of a sudden, a bigger hairy witch whose belly was twice as big as a cow’s with a huge axe appeared above them and shouted, “Who is that making all that noise down there? I have been patiently waiting for my new calabash” The witch then swung the axe at Jack. Were it not for Jack’s quick dart, the axe could have split him into two. He ran as fast as his feeble legs could carry him. At the end of the tunnel, he squeezed into a hole and then ran even faster. On reaching home, he was too scared and breathless to tell his parents the whole story. After talking to his parents, Jack promised to put his mind at rest and work hard in order to improve in his studies.

Corruption is a social evil which not only hinders the growth of organizations but also strains the relationship between management and subordinate employees in the workplace. There is therefore a need for all skillful managers to remain within the bounds of ethics in resolving all organizational and workplace problems and in devising innovative strategies that ensure the firm’s continued growth. Research carried out by Transparency International identifies that corruption is propagated by managers through acceptance of bribes by those in power so as to facilitate services against company policy. Bribes may be received as monetary rewards or indirect gifts that are bound to influence the manager inappropriately. This is not only considered illegal but it also hurts economic development and eventually leads to lower product quality and standards. This therefore implies that inferior products and services are introduced in the market at the expense of consumers. Further, the managers end up making poor decisions and hold a poor perspective of employees which destroys the relationship between seniors and subordinates.
The case against corruption and the misuse of power can in no way be better illustrated than by the ongoing global financial meltdown whose onset is solely attributed to the mortgage meltdown. Chief Executive Officers of renowned banks such as those on the Wall Street ignored all core ethics in their lending to customers. In fact, little or no collateral was required and minimal investigation was carried out as to the client’s repayment capacity as far as the clients ‘convinced’ those in power that they could meet the demands of the agreement. This has consequently resulted in the world’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. (Lahart, 2007)
Like all other societal problems, corruption, due to the misuse of power by those in authority, can be stamped out. Various measures such as installing a vigilance system to monitor the relationship between managers and their clients have been proposed. Further proposals are in support of a system that evaluates the manager’s economic standing and compares it to the status and living standards enjoyed. However, the easiest way to stamp out corruption is by appealing to the manager’s moral institution and ethics in combating this detrimental vice.
In today’s world, a vital tool in combating leadership problems in any workplace environment is emotional intelligence. It has been defined as the ability of an individual, in this case, the manager, to influence emotions by managing and assessing them in oneself as well as in other people such as employees so as attain the set goals of the organization. Therefore, the inherent relationship between leadership and emotional intelligence cannot be ignored. First, emotional intelligence is crucial in creating self-awareness in the leaders. They ably recognize feelings as they happen, perform accurate assessments and therefore attain self-confidence. Secondly, it ensures managers acquire self-regulation such that they can aptly keep disruptive emotions and impulses at bay, thereby gaining self-control, honesty and integrity. Thirdly, it ensures managers remain motivated, which is the driving force towards attainment of goals. This enables the manager to have a healthy achievement drive, commitment towards the organization’s vision, optimism in the face of obstacles and initiative by acting on available opportunities. Fourthly, emotional intelligence goes a long way in creating empathy whereby the manager is aware of employees’ needs, concerns, feelings and their fears. Finally, it imparts social skills whereby the manager can successfully induce favorable responses in the workforce through effective diplomacy, open communication and listening ability, inspiration, bonding, collaboration and co-operation so as to create group synergy towards achieving the set goals. (Goleman, 1995)

E-commerce has become very instrumental in conducting businesses in the present day. Values such as speed of service, convenience, personalization, and price adaptations have been enhanced. Quality customer service can therefore not be ignored in order to ensure success. Customers have become very cautious due to tight budgets hence there is a need of not only to find various products and services on the internet but also need to find information fully describing the products so as to know whether it is ideal. Customer service is important in enhancing loyalty since research shows it costs 6 times more to sell to a new customer than to sell to an existing one. Lack of customer service will probably cause a disgruntled customer to tell of his or her adverse experience to other people. Further, 75% of complaining customers will do a repeat business if the complaints are quickly addressed and resolved hence regenerate sales. A live customer service such as toll free call centers is therefore necessary in order to answer various questions on information needed by particular customers. A ticketing system provided at a low fee by a provider whereby customers can submit queries, complaints, suggestions and requests to the firm is vital. Customer service is also vital in making refunds on damaged goods or for goods not delivered. A good customer service goes a long way in inspiring customer confidence and trust which is key to the success of any business.
In marketing and the virtual marketplace, customer lifetime value (CLV) and an ideology of customer life cycle management whereby the present value all future cash flows which is accredited to the customer association. It places greater emphasis on customer service and customer satisfaction in the long-term, rather than on concentrating on short-term sales. Customer lifetime value has insightful appeal as a marketing model since it theoretically represents the monetary value of a particular customer hence the amount the marketing department should spend on that particular customer can be estimated.
The call center’s primary concern is customer satisfaction through effective resolution of issues and concerns. Some call centers handle as many as 3,000 calls per day and without the use of CRM applications the cost of handling such a volume would be cost prohibitive and less-satisfying for the customer. Some call centers handle routine problems with automated voice mail systems leaving the more complicated problems to be handled by a customer service representative (CSR). CSRs who handle problems may also have the opportunity to up-sell (selling a better quality item) or cross selling (selling a complimentary item). Returning customers require that marketing managers have a thorough understanding of the customer’s needs and the diligence and wherewithal to stay in the relationship with the customer through its cycle of ups and downs. For example, some companies offer long term customers in good standing price incentives toward the purchase of future goods and services. Automated CRM information systems facilitate the measurement and analyses of customer retention and defection rates and distributes the results to other functional areas within the company. Subsequently, marketing campaigns and sale force objectives keep salesmen focused on company goals and customer satisfaction.

This paper examines the existing issues and new challenges in Singapore’s public housing and how housing policies have been implemented and endeavors to establish whether this scheme is sustainable and capable of housing a projected population of 5.5 million by the year 2050. Specific issues discussed are policies on decentralization of housing management, housing the elderly who are projected to double by 2050, introduction of super high-rise flats for the near future,1 and community building in public housing estates. The pace of urbanization in relation to economic growth and the availability of land for housing coupled with high land prices have been predominant problems weighing down the public housing sector. Efforts to improve the standards of living have been negated by poor housing conditions in the slums and squatter areas. However, Singapore has been able to implement city-planning and urban-management policies that actually benefit the poor, and its housing programs have been highly successful and admired for producing low-cost, affordable housing on a mass scale.2
In Singapore, public housing is managed and regulated by the Housing and Development Board. This board was established in 1960 to solve the critical issue of insufficient housing by the People’s Action Party (PAP) and it is charged with construction and maintenance of flats at the fastest speed possible and at the lowest costs. This board was established after a study showed that 72% of the population or 680,000 people lived within the central city area.3 About a third of the population was living within an area of 4 square kilometers. Urban slums burgeoned, breeding disease, encouraging crime and posing fire hazards. Since 1960, 85% of Singapore’s population has gained access to over 800,000 flats which are issued under a 99-year lease.4 HDB new towns are well-planned and have commercial, institutional, recreational and sanitary facilities which cater for this large town population such as supermarkets, health centers, hawker centers, as well as sports and recreational facilities. There is a multiple variety of flat types and house layouts available from three to five-room and also executive flats. Three-room flats contain three bedrooms in an area of about 750 sq ft. Four-room flats contain three bedrooms in an area of about 1,200 sq ft. The sitting room counts as a single room Executive apartment contain and separate dining and living rooms and three bedrooms. These are the largest apartments with a floor space of 1,600 sq ft. 5
The rapid growth of Singapore at the turn of the century produced slums in the central city area. In 1918, a Housing Commission to carry out a study of the housing problems was established. This commission proposed setting up of Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) in 1927as a solution to hosing the homeless.6 Its objectives were to plan roads, regulate sanitation and acquire land for housing. Large scale housing was however not carried out. As a result, only 23,000 units of flats were constructed in 32 years of its existence.7These illustrated the need for a body that would accelerate growth in the public housing sector. Under its incorporation act, the HDB is charged with construction of homes for the people, allocating land for development, providing loans for purchase of flats, and managing rented and leased properties which is enabled by financial support and proper legislation. Financial support is mainly conducted through grants and house construction and maintenance loans. Legislation through the passing of the Land Acquisition Act in 1967 allowed the boards to acquire private land compulsorily for public housing and development programs. The charter, coupled with proper resettlement policies, has facilitated clearance of slums and squatter zones and resettlement in modernized public housing estates. The Land Acquisition Ordinance which was passed in 1920 was amended in 1946 and 1955 to give the government powers to acquire more private land for comprehensive new-town development and to seek price stabilization. However, the powers granted were limited and the process was cumbersome and slow. Its construction rate by then was one new flat per year per 150 families which only housed 8.8% of Singapore’s 1.6 million people.8Many people were living in overcrowded slums and squatter areas. Around 250,000 people lived in poor pre-war housing in the central Singapore area and around 300,000 lived in shanty huts in other congested squatter areas.
The government had inherited the problems of insufficient professional manpower and building industry together with limited financial resources from their colonial masters. Among its pledges was construction of 10,000 units of low-cost housing annually in the first five years. 9
After 1945, housing conditions were poor, overcrowded, dilapidated with poor sanitary services and insufficient infrastructure. The rapid population growth rate led to establishment of slums and a high number of homeless populations with 680000 out of 938000 persons living in the central zone which was more than two thirds of the population then.10This was a pressing political and social issue. After a time span of over 40 years as Singapore’s prime housing provider, 862, 918 flats have been built to house 2,854,000 constituting 85% of the population.11

In 1964, the Home Ownership Scheme was introduced to help the citizens acquire flats. 12The scheme not only grants ownership to citizens, but also financial security and insulates against inflation and rising rents. Social security through Central Provident Fund (CPF) accelerated popularity of this scheme. Applicants were allowed to use their CPF to pay for their deposits and installments for their flats which highly boosted home ownership.13
In the 1980’s, a quality living environment was highly emphasized. The ‘precinct concept’ was introduced to enable residents identify with their locality and enhance social interaction. The precincts contained 400 to 600 dwelling unit which had a landscaped open field for conducting communal affairs.14They were interlinked by landscaped walk paths to form neighborhoods. This created a ‘Total Living Environment’ which completely satisfied resident needs.
The 1990’s insisted on creating a picturesque environment in the precinct, neighborhood and town which entailed a physical visual identity. Landmark buildings, landscaping, open communal spaces and special finishes and architectural features brought about a sense of identity and territorial exclusivity. Special attention was also given to the preservation of natural landscape features such as hills and rivers. The HDB Annual Report 2001/2002 shows that from a mere 9% level of housing, this has grown to 85% in 2002.15
Since 1960, HDB was responsible for managing all public housing in towns and estates. However, managing 85% of the population in 2002 has posed a challenge since the project was very large such that individual needs and preferences could not be met.16 This challenge was adequately solved by introduction of town councils in order to encourage self-reliance within a locality. These councils can carry out decision-making, employ their own staff and allocate a managing agent to a particular property. Residents have a choice on the kind of environment that would best suit them. At first, it was controversial on their extent of their powers on decision making and policy implementation but over time they have proven to be reliable on service delivery and maintenance strategies.

This essay discusses the leadership and ethical skills in the nursing field exemplified through Ms. Ann Makena, a nurse in charge of the Neonatal Section at the Southern-State Hospital. She was recently awarded a Community Service Medal as an appreciation of her dedication to her profession. This spurred me to interview a lady in the limelight, a leader, in order to understand further on the challenges facing leadership, appropriate professional ethics and the responsibilities that come with nursing.
In my personal interview, I decided to learn further on the skills she employed to ensure effectiveness in leadership and the challenges she encountered. I therefore decided to phrase the following questions: How did you prepare yourself for this role and what particularly influenced you to join nursing?, How do you co-ordinate staff, delegate duties and manage your work environment?, What are the particular challenges that you face in your current position as the section’s boss and in nursing as a whole?, what are the professional and personal ethics that you highly uphold at the workstation? and What do you envision as the future of nursing?
In the interview, I learnt that Ms. Makena was a Registered nurse and held a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. She had decided to study nursing since her childhood since she felt that she had a noble and divine cause to pursue in an effort to offer care to the needy masses in order to alleviate human suffering. She also found it sufficiently challenging and rewarding having been brought up by her mother who was also a nurse and was very influential when it came to her choice of career.
The Neonatal department has 16 registered nurses under its supervision. These nurses work in 12-hour shifts, 7 nurses at one particular time of day, while two are on rest. Each nurse is entitled to a one-day leave in every week though emergency cases at times necessitate a recall. It is therefore challenging to lay down strategies and a working criterion to be followed by staff and at the same time ensure required standards of professionalism are adhered. It is in this view that Ms. Makena upholds two leadership skills that have not only kept her at the top but also endeared her to the staff and patients. She employs the skills of motivation and also innovation to set an example to her staff. In particular, problems such as drug shortages like anesthetics are easily covered by administering other methods of pain relief and birth induction process in the case of a highly distressed mother. She highly motivates her staff through the particular successful innovations that set an example.
From this interview, I was able to infer two major challenges that Ms. Makena felt needed to be addressed. First and foremost, there is an acute shortage of qualified nurses in the health care industry. Pressure has therefore been exerted on the available nurses in an effort to stretch the available labor resource. This, however, comes with lower service standards since the few nurses cannot adequately offer completely personalized service as the case should be in the medical profession. Secondly, she felt that the cost of accessing services was quite high for the average citizen. This had led to inaccessibility of midwife services to these citizens leading to at times critical and disastrous cases being reported after delivery took place elsewhere. This ends up costing these patients more than they would have had to pay for the services.
Ms. Makena insists that proper professional standards and ethics must be followed. She insists that due theatre procedure must be followed no matter the amount of experience acquired unless in the case of a special delivery case. Before delivery, the nurses must first check the blood pressure and pressure which if assumed, could be fatal to the mother. The nurse must then determine the true onset of labor whereby the cervix has started to contract. During birth, the nurse must monitor the mother’s heartbeat and check the baby’s condition through the Doppler on position and oxygen supply. This due process stages should not be skipped be it either before birth or after which involves cleaning and weighing the baby and monitoring the mother’s condition. Nurses should further extend on their professionalism to offer breastfeeding instructions, signing of paternity papers and the birth certificate.

Diego Rivera was one of the most revered Mexican painters and muralists. He was an ardent communist who chose to paint larger-than-life colorful murals which reflected on his believes. His paintings were mainly portraits which had a Mexican context. After various exhibitions, his work gained popularity and even got the Rockefellers appraisals, who were capitalists. Initially, he studied in Spain but later travelled to Paris where he studied under such renowned artists like Pablo Picasso.
Rivera was highly talented and his artistic skills were evident from an early age. Since he came from a wealthy and politically powerful background, he was able to secure a sponsorship to study in Europe at only 19.The Mexican government was keen to reconnect the citizens to the state they enjoyed before colonialism, the pre-Columbian Mexican society. Since Rivera came from a politically correct background, he was able to secure the sponsorship. Having first studied in Mexico, young Rivera already had communist ideas and his murals reflected on this. This highly contributed to his sponsorship.
When it comes to media, Rivera experimented with the encaustic technique. It normally uses beeswax, resin, thinner and pigment. It is then heated for bonding. The resins that Riviera originally used were very expensive in Mexico, so he changed to copal. The thinners that Riviera used were and turpentine lavender essence. He then used blowtorches to fuse the paint with the wax and keep it less viscous. This technique was originally used by the Greeks. Diego’s work is mainly a reflection on the communist ideals mainly equality and the view of the community as a whole. He aimed at painting easily understandable works which inspired self-empowerment, egalitarianism and interdependence in the community. In his later works, Rivera’s works had overt communist imagery and bordered on Marxism and Leninism. He glorifies the common man by incorporating him in his folk art as a laborer. He also honors the Mexican mythology of Aztec gods and religious practices including human sacrifice.
His style, which he coined and referred to as the Mexicanidad uses a Mexican theme to display culture and heritage. His murals aimed at flattening out three-dimensional objects into larger-than-real-life objects. They painted murals together, focusing on Mexican heritage and using a strong style that often flattened three-dimensional elements into two dimensions, and presenting objects as broader as and sturdier than they were in reality. Diego Rivera saw the purpose of art as a form of expressing oneself. His opinions are mainly on people, art, and politics He used his paintings to criticize his enemies and especially in his final days he was very critical of the Soviets. He also felt the purpose of his art was to turn the great Mexican stories into legends. It is uncanny how he changed the story of his younger years into a legend.
Rivera’s choices on paintings are strongly influenced by an appreciation for the Mexican heritage. “The tortilla maker” is one clear illustration of Mexican culture. His friends like David Siquieros also shaped his choices in style. His paintings are also highly influenced by communism and vary from cubism to Leninism.
Diego Rivera paintings in Mexico City were a reflection of the wave that hit in the late 19th century on the need to break from Victorianism to a modern approach. He used portrait and landscape to reflect science and technology through art mainly man and machine. They reflect the change that was compulsory at that age. He covers fields such as industrialization, urbanization, immigration, changes in law and a break from the astute Catholic Church. He showed the merits and demerits of applied science especially on medicine, warfare, pharmaceuticals and automobile industry. He was also able to coherently represent the industrial worker at a crossroad owing to the changes occurring at that particular time. Diego Rivera’s paintings depict unity, continuity, harmony and coherence. He is able to depict good and order and contrast it with evil and chaos. His work is highly relevant and will be highly appreciated for generations.

In this essay, I will discuss the difference between a single trade discount and a discount series. A discount is either expressed as a single percentage of the total price or a series of discount percentages such that each successive discount is computed as a percentage of the net price after evaluating previous individual discounts in the series. Consider a single discount of 40% on a product. This means that a product with a selling price of $100 will be sold at $60 after deducting this discount.
Contrast this with a discount series of 20%, 10% and another 10%. A product having a price of $100 after deducting the first discount of 20% in the series will be $80 since the discount is $20. This second discount in the series, 10% on $80 when computed is $8 and will reduce the net price to $72. Finally, applying the last discount of 10% on $72 which is $7.2 brings our final net price to $64.8. Therefore, total discount is 35.2%. This series is essentially used by companies to make customers feel that they have received more discount than they actually could have under a single discount.
An example of a fractional rate is 11 2/5%. Multiply the whole number by the denominator of the fraction such as 11 by 5 to get 55.Then add this to the numerator such as 55 to 2 giving 57. This then gives the improper fraction 57/5% which if computed gives 11.4%. In order to convert this into a decimal equivalent, divide 11.4/100 to give 0.114. (Shell, 2009) (Business Plans that Raise Capital, 2004)

Organizations the world over are encouraging a shift from a management perspective to a leadership perspective instilled through team building so as to solve inflexibility and quicken decision-making. In this essay therefore, empowerment, whereby people are encouraged to make autonomous decisions and feel in control to the resultant outcomes, has been proposed as a means of allowing dissent, encouraging teamwork and innovation.
Leaders should distribute authority rather than a hands-on control approach. This is implemented by changing the manager’s perspective by: influencing through context, creating a culture whereby all employees feel included, distributing authority without reclaiming, provision of logistical and moral support to employees, setting out a clear mandate and equipping the team for anticipated success. In order to influence through context, whereby trust is laid in a higher principle, belief and guiding force, the leader must aptly define the context and desired standards by giving team members the freedom to act and innovate thereby enhancing leadership, creating a competitive edge and nurturing proactive employees. Secondly, the leader should also nurture and empower a culture of inclusion whereby the leader should ensure that every team member’s voice is heard despite their position. This atmosphere should encourage dissent as a foundation of objectivity and innovation which enables new ideas to be generated superior to those developed by the exercise of positional power. Thirdly, the leader should surrender positional authority and responsibilities without attempting to reclaim it so as to create pro-active employees. There is a transitory phase where the managers feel out of control and that things have gone awry and they are tempted to tighten control. This should be highly resisted. Leaders should further support the employee empowerment strategies put into place since empowerment involves giving responsibility and the freedom of choice so as to move from position of boss to coach. Also, the leaders should clearly articulate the common goal which the team is aiming at. Clarity of vision and roles played by various members should be enhanced so as to ensure accountability for specific goals and stay inbounds. Finally, equip the team members for success through training, resource allocation and information provision at all levels. This highly boosts the chances of success. (Lencioni)
Management is distinct from leadership. Management employs a hands-on control whereas leadership allows responsibility allocation and freedom of choice. Management is characterized by managers having subordinates who are structured according to levels of formal authority. Management encompasses an authoritarian, transactional style whereby subordinates act on orders. It is transactional in the sense that employees are delegated duties in exchange for a salary or monetary reward. Further, management’s focus is on work and is distinct in that managers are paid to work under time and money constraints. The work focus is naturally passed to their subordinates. Finally, a recent study shows that managers seek comfort and prefer to avoid conflict through engaging in relatively risk-averse activities since they have been observed to come from upper-middle incomes and rich families. On the other hand, leaders do not have subordinates but rather have followers. When managers are leading, they have to give up formal authority to encourage a following since this is usually voluntary. This style encompasses a charismatic and transformational style in that leaders have to appeal to team members in order to attract a following in risky and dangerous situations. They promise transformational awards not only through extrinsic rewards but also through value addition. Leadership focuses on people’s personalities rather than their work. Leaders do not necessarily have a loud personality or friendly attitude but rather maintain an aloof attitude and a degree of separation. They are achievement driven, but, instead of solely focusing on work, they enthuse others to work towards their goals. Finally, leaders seek risk and are risk takers rather than risk averse. They envision hurdles and problems and their respective solutions. They view risks as potential opportunities which have been attributed to the fact that most of them come from handicapped families in challenging backgrounds. (Marcus Buckingham, 2008). The managers, by resisting empowerment through encouraging responsibility and allowing a freedom of choice, signify an attempt to manage rather than lead. The CEO is in essence, trying to break from a tradition of pure management and encompass skills in leadership by employing a consultant to chart on appropriate techniques to be employed.