Anita Roddick (The Body Shop) Essay

Inspiring profiles and best practices for entrepreneurs Twenty-six years ago the Brighton Evening Argus ran a story on a dispute between two funeral parlour owners who were upset about a new cosmetics boutique which had opened up next door. It wasn’t the nature of the business they were getting hot under the collar about, but its name. They thought the green shop front emblazoned with the words Body Shop in gold leaf might put off prospective customers. â€Å"They wanted me to change my shop front which I had just spent  £870 of my  £4,000 loan on,† recalls Roddick. â€Å"My smart move was to call the Argus and tell them I was being threatened by Mafia undertakers who wanted to close me down.† The press loved it. The story of the beleaguered single mum with the house in hock trying to support her two kids with a bootstrapping start-up worked a treat. The small splash made Body Shop a cause celebre, won plenty of local support and won an important battle to get the business off the ground. The anecdote is a small aside, recounted with a chuckle and a hint of outrage in a long interview. But although the battles got much bigger as Roddick grew her business into the multinational retailer it is today, anyone with even a passing familiarity with the Body Shop story will instantly recognise the defining characteristics of its fiery feisty founder in those early days of the business: Ethical Anita versus the big bad world. There has never been any compromise in Roddick’s views on how business should be done: this is why her husband Gordon was tasked with handling the City suits (â€Å"they didn’t like me talking about sexual tension at work†) and why she stepped away from the business in 1998 when the shareholders said a campaigning chief executive was not what they wanted for Body Shop. You might think after thirty years of business and the comfort of a healthy shareholding and a wedge of cash in the bank Roddick’s hunger for campaigning might have diminished. But little has changed since 1976. Her latest venture, a publishing start-up, produces books on ethical matters. It promotes her on the speaking circuit and all the profits going into campaigning. The only difference is now she occupies the position of an icon for women and female entrepreneurs: â€Å"something I don’t take lightly† And there is still plenty to shout about when it comes to what she sees as an ethical vacuum in business today. Suffocation She rails against the suffocation of UK businesses as we outsource to cheaper countries; the failure to preserve the needs of shareholders in public companies; the lack of respect for the responsibility of business to the community at large; the ongoing need for women to conform to a male template in order to succeed; the lack of recognition of the value that employees bring to a business. â€Å"Being ethical in business is not about giving stuff away† Roddick is emphatic about what this means in practice: not sandals, beards and group hugs in the boardroom but the adoption of simple moral values. â€Å"People use the excuse of business to leave their morals at the front door and I don’t know how they get away with it.† But can ethical business really fit in with the cut-throat world of today? Her business, she says, is living proof. She describes Body Shop as a â€Å"great business experiment† which is still proving a point: you can run an entrepreneurial business, provide a return to shareholders while campaigning on ethical issues and placing a high value on human capital. â€Å"Being ethical in business is not about giving stuff away. It’s about your relationship with your employees, it’s about the aesthetics of the workplace and it’s about communication,† says Roddick. â€Å"There is no reason why the workplace can’t be a genuine creative place, why there can’t be flexitime, why there can’t be transparency and even good manners.† If Roddick doesn’t sound like a business woman it’s because she has never claimed to be one. She puts her success down to a need for a livelihood and sees herself as the accidental entrepreneu r.

Human motivation Essay

Human Motivation Essay Examination 1. Compare and contrast the theories of overweight and obesity. Describe how the components of Human Motivation relate to the obstacles dieters face today. Analyze why these obstacles exist and, also, motivations role in dieting. (note to student: feel free to use bulleted lists to make a point of comparison/contrast but then provide, in paragraph form, a narrative explanation. ) From the study conducted by the World Health Organization, they have set a standard on the classification of obesity and overweight. According to them, a person is considered overweight if her/his Body Mass Index is in the range 25 to 29. 9, while BMI value above the range is considered obese. There are many theories formulated regarding obesity. These are the Set Point Theory, Enzyme and Hormone Theory, Fat Cell Theory, Theory of Thermogenesis, Thermic Effect of Food, and External Cue Theory. In addition to these, other eating disorders were considered as one of the causes of obesity. Set Point Theory varies among individual since it is the range of weight where one’s body is set to have and will maintain it if the person allows it to. While the Enzyme and Hormone Theory also varies among individual depending on his/her body program, meaning how much or how less his/her body produces hormones and enzymes that are necessary for digestion and gaining weight. However, this theory shows in some studies that some hormonal problems regarding obesity are inherited and can be passed on to their offspring. The Theory of Thermogenesis on the other hand states that obesity may be acquired if the energy intake is exceeds energy used by the body. The energies unused are stored as fat in various parts of the body. Next is Thermic Effect of Food is the term used to express the energies consumed during the digestion and other processes that requires the burning of energy during digestion. Protein requires the highest energy to be consumed, next is carbohydrates then fat. Finally, External Cue Theory simply states the availability of food and the easiness of its access. In contrast, the theories on overweight are not specifically termed like that with obesity since, it is not yet considered a health problem compared to obesity, it is just a horrible warning that a person may reach obesity if being overweight is not controlled. Overweight is having excess fats and looking bigger and rounder than other people their age and at times may affect their physical activities like running and jumping. Though some of obesity’s theory can also be applied to this. Like for example, the availability of food, the energy intake is more than the energy used, and other eating disorders. Human Motivation is a perspective that can influence a man’s performance, however to achieve such goals, a person should have knowledge on how to achieve it and the opportunity and time to achieve such goals. Usually, overweight and obese people who want to achieve a normal weight faces obstacles in the knowledge and opportunity aspects. Also, some obese people are hindered by the disabilities accompanied by obesity, like being not able to walk or stand. However, to those who can still perform well to achieve normal weight, one can have a strict diet plan, exercise regularly, get into sports or other activities pertaining to weight loss. 2. Explain how arousal affects a humans motivation to either perform or procrastinate. Be sure to explain the physiological aspects of arousal. Create the following real-life scenarios to illustrate your understanding. Arousal is the activating of the brain and the body systems in order to be able to perform. It has two arousal systems – cortical (brain system) and autonomic nervous system (body). Arousal affects human motivation to perform or procrastinate since excessive arousal can dim intelligence and may cause a low performance level of a person on a difficult situation, while moderate arousal can cause a better performance. A real-life example for this is, a woman witnessing a car accident, with victims severely injured. If the woman, panics, activating her cortical and autonomic nervous system on its highest level, then she might be responding in a less intelligent way, than to control her emotion, try to relax to diminish the activating her arousal systems so she can think smartly, make right choices and respond wisely to the incident. a) Create a real-life scenario for a teenage male depicting the role of arousal in performance and include the application of one theory of Human Motivation. For example, using the Hierarchy of Needs Theory, a teenage male survives a plane crash and got stuck in a forest. If the male does not control his arousal it may cause panic and it will dim his intelligence on how to act wisely on the situation, and the opposite happens when his arousal in low.

Of Mice and Men Compare and Contrast

The book, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is about two men named George and Lennie who are living in the time of the Great Depression. They travel together and after they get themselves into trouble in the city of Weed, they moved to work on a ranch. There is also a movie, â€Å"Of Mice and Men,† that is based off of the book. There are many themes in the story, one of them being power. The movie differs slightly from the book in the fact that it has fewer examples showing the importance of power, unlike the book where there are many instances of power. First off, power is shown, or in some instances not shown, in the characters. In both the book and the movie, George has a certain power over Lennie. He acts as his father: reprimanding him, protecting him, and telling him what to do for his own good like a normal father would have. A second character that supports the theme of power in the book and movie is Lennie. Although he doesn’t have a lot of logical power, he is a very physically powerful person in the movie and book. He’s tall, strong built, and just all around a big guy that can do a tremendous amount of physical labor. Another similarity between the book and movie relating to power is Curly, the boss’s son. He’s a very small man that likes to order people around and has the reputation of beating up bigger guys. Even though there are multiple examples of characters showing power in both the book and movie, there is an example of when the movie makes the theme less relevant to the story. In the book, Lennie has the power to remember to go to the brush, where George told him to go if he got into any trouble. But, in the movie, it was so that Lennie was lost and couldn’t find the brush. It made Lennie seem more vulnerable and with less logical power than in the book where he proved himself, aside from his challenges. The second subject that the theme is shown in is events. The events are both alike and different within the book and movie. In both the book and movie, George talks for Lennie in front of the boss when they first arrive at the ranch. He’s worried that Lennie will say something to reveal that he isn’t the smartest person and that it might prevent them from working there. A similarity is also the fact that when George and Lennie were ran out of Weed, they were being chased for no reason other than the word of the girl that Lennie accidentally scared. He had no intension of hurting her and never did, yet she still had the power to manipulate everyone to think that she was assaulted by Him. The last similarity of events that illustrate power is when Lennie accidentally kills the mice, the puppy, and Curly’s wife. He had so much physical power and didn’t know his own strength that he would kill living things before even realizing what was happening. This got him into a lot of trouble eventually. A significant difference in events that proves the importance power is that in the book, Curly’s wife who was originally looked at as a feeble, vulnerable woman with no power over anyone, all of a sudden demonstrated a great deal of authority over one of the black workers, Crooks. This was a very sudden turnaround in authority and changed the reader’s view about her. This happening never occurred in the movie and tremendously changed the outlook of power from the book. The last topic that displays the value of power is the details of the story. The first thing is that in both the movie and book Curly’s wife does not have a name. This may have been to imply that her name had little importance or power over the story. Her impact of getting Lennie killed from him accidentally killing her had nothing to do with her name. Another detail is that the stable keeper was African-American. This shows a lack of power in the movie and book because he was forced to live by himself and had no impact on the decisions or thoughts of the other men simply because of his race. A third detail is that George was much smaller than Lennie in both portrayals of the story, yet he had power over Lennie as if he was his father. This shows that even though one may be very powerful in a certain way like Lennie, they can still be controlled by someone that possibly had more confidence. All in all, the movie weighs the importance of power to some extent less than the book does. Both the book and movie’s characters are generally the same, except the book shows Lennie with more logical power than the movie does for when Lennie runs back to the brush to meet George. The events are very much alike also. But, the movie is lacking the event of Curly’s wife showing power over Crooks in his own cabin, which dramatically impacts the atmosphere of the story. The book and movie also have similar details showing power like Curly’s wife not having a name, Crooks not having a lot of power because of his race, and little George having power over Lennie. All these subjects help communicate how the movie and book relate to each other for showing power.

The Creation of The Bill of Rights and United States Constitution Research Paper

The Creation of The Bill of Rights and United States Constitution - Research Paper Example The formulation of the United States Constitution was a unique at within the course of world history. Inevitably, in discussing the rationale and reasoning behind the Constitution coming to be and being written in the way that it was, the individual is forced to discuss the fact that the ultimate impetus behind this was with regards to addressing and redressing many of the flaws and frustrations that the colonial Americans felt towards the British. As such, seeking to craft and define the rights that mankind should inherently have and those which would determine a future existence for the nascent country was an issue of primary importance1. Oftentimes, in seeking to understand the formulation of the Constitution and the core components that it engendered, the individual is encouraged to engage in a level of historical mysticism. What is meant by this is the fact that the founding fathers are, rightfully so, so revered that individuals within the current era attribute almost superhuma n intelligence and respect; such that the process of the formulation of the Constitution and the underlying rationale behind it is oftentimes diminished in light of the fact that these great intellect were so far and above that which the current individual could grasp that understanding such impetus is effectually useless2. However, even though it is true that the individuals behind crafting and developing the thoughts and understanding that would eventually be incorporated within the Constitution were unbelievably intelligent, it should not be understood that the rationale and impetus behind such a document is somehow without possible comprehension. Ultimately, as a result of the frustration and inefficacy of the way in which the British Empire was administered, and by extension the way in which the colonials were treated, stakeholders within American society came to understand that a fundamentally different approach to governance and the rights of man must be delineated. According ly, this was the fundamental impetus that provided the rationale behind delineating these rights and promoting a new level of integration between society and government. Secondarily, the individuals who crafted the Constitution were aware of the fact that the relationship between the subject and the citizen, as defined by the British and by previous experience, was no longer workable and must have an alternative definition if the United States were to break free and pursue a degree of self determinism. By much the same token, even though the Constitution is able to provide a rubric for the way in which these rights of man should be defined, the actual metrics for how such a system would be engaged and a clear delineation of these rights were most effectively represented within the Bill of Rights; the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. As such, the following section will provide a brief discussion with regards to why these amendments came to be represented and how an underlying appreciation for these rights was incorporated into the United States society. The most cited of these ten amendments is naturally the first. As a

Humanities-Medieval Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Humanities-Medieval Women - Essay Example Women during the era of middle ages were undermined and not accepted to participate in both social and economic activities. Women had certain amount of value in the society, but the bad part was that this value was placed in shape of economic good. They were recognized for two purposes: firstly, they were recognized for bringing up children; secondly, they were used for manual work. Women were paid low amount of wages, and this became the foundation of the standing of the economy of the medieval era. In various situations they used to assist other men in the work of agricultural production. The situation was so bad for the women that they were compensated even less than what children use to be paid for their work. Education was supposed to be crime or non religious activities for women, and the church was against women education not allowing them to participate in tasks that required good amount of education. The only allowed task other than working in the fields of agriculture was t aking the role of midwife (Chilton 167). Women were the leading portion of the workforce of the textile industry; they heavily participated in the areas of woolen and silk. Although they enjoyed majority in such jobs, the amount of money they were compensated for their labor was near to zero. Other than working hard in the areas where manual labor was required, women were even the chief contributor of household tasks especially if they were married. Introduction of flour mills decreased the amount of hard work women had to do, and this even saved them ample amount of time and increased the compensation they were paid. Unionization came into existence, and the unions started controlling the skilled labor within the society. This encouraged the wealthy businessmen to pay women compensation in advance, and they started employing them on individual level. The industry that experienced hiring of women in huge numbers was the textile industry (Lawson 120). Those women whose skills were ne eded and highly desirable started gaining rewards when companies performed well. During the period of Chaucer, the role and status of women started altering, and they started to earn a little bit better compared to what they were previously earning. Thus, their existence started gaining importance. The increase in economic status of the women shook the foundations of the unions, and women started participating in these unions and their voice started gaining representation among unions. It is hard for the researchers to determine the accuracy of the female population of that time. It can be explained by the fact that during the Middle ages women were not a part of the consensus. Other than working as manual laborers, women were considered important for giving birth and children upbringing; a special significance of these issues could be observed in the rural centers. Huge amount of importance was placed on a woman’s child bearing ability because more children meant increase in workers in the agricultural sector; thus, women were considered almost as ‘machines’ that produced babies. One of the most disturbing facts of that era was that women were being married to men on the trial basis in which the individuals whose fertility level was high were married to each other. The point of highest concern was that

Individual Paper(Gold Mining Company-Vale) Essay

Individual Paper(Gold Mining Company-Vale) - Essay Example Vale SA is also considered as the largest producer of nickel metal. Vale is a company that also produces copper, ferroalloys, manganese, kaolin, bauxite, potash, aluminum, as well as alumina. Under the electronic energy sector, Vale SA participates in a consortium that currently operates approximately 9 hydroelectric power projects (Anac and Gozen, 2003). Currently, the shares of the company are trading in the stock markets of New York, Paris, Sao Paulo, Madrid, as well as Hong Kong. The ownership of this company is found in the form 20-A US SEC. A smaller portion of this company is under the ownership of the Brazilian government. Another significant portion of the company’s shares is held by the Brazilian national pension fund. Agtmael (2007) explains that the foreign activities of Vale SA are always based on the Cayman Islands. This is because the Island is a tax haven for multinational companies operating in it. This paper analyzes the financial position of Vale SA in the eyes of an investor who is out to acquire the company. In analyzing the financial position of this company, the researcher will use the tools of financial analysis, and this includes the use of financial ratios. In interpreting the financial performance of this company, the researcher will also analyze the micro-economic performance of the company, as well as its global performance. This paper uses the financial statement of Vale Mining Company, for the year 2013. Vale SA was an organization that was owned by the Brazilian government, until 1997 when the company was privatized. In 2001, the company developed a plan of diversifying its operations that made it to transform into a big mining company. However, Agtmael (2007) denotes that the company has not managed to diversify its activities beyond the production of iron ore, and other related metals. Sagebien (2011) goes on to denote that Vale SA is the

Plea Bargaining in the United States Criminal Justice System Essay

Plea Bargaining in the United States Criminal Justice System - Essay Example lude reading the charges and allowing the accused to make a plea, which might be stating whether they are guilty, or acceptance through lack of contestation usually referred to as nolo contendere. The nature of plea entered by the defendant implicates the judicial process in several ways, particularly if the course of the proceedings depends on the powers of the prosecutor (Schmalleger, 2011). Plea bargaining involves the agreement between the involved parties, mainly the prosecutor and the defense team to reach a consensus on the plea entered with the authority of the court. It may appear counterproductive for instance to enter a not-guilty plea while the facts before the court indicate that the case will be lost by the defendant. Alternatively, plea bargaining may occur on request of the prosecution if the evidence in the possession of the prosecution does not amount to a case strong enough to defeat the prosecution. In summary, plea bargains control the judicial process to avoid spending of resources and time by engaging in a process that arrive at conclusions that could guide the process if otherwise received in the beginning of the trial. Plea bargaining takes three potential areas of interest for the parties to engage in negotiations, with charge bargaining, sentence bargaining and fact bargaining forming different perspectives for trade-in. This discussion highlights the first two areas of bargaining (charge and sentence) for purposes of differentiating how the negotiations proceed (Schmalleger, Siegel and Worrall, 2011). In terms of charge bargaining, the prosecutor and defense team revisit the particular counts of criminal offences pursued by the prosecution so as to arrive at an agreement founded on the case probabilities. The prosecutor convinces the defendant to enter the guilty plea on lesser charges while other charges are dropped in order to save the process from long undue procedures. As an illustration, the defendant may accept an offer to

International Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

International Banking - Essay Example on whereby an organisation or business has immediate cash needs, although it has assets, its trading position is not good enough to honour all cash obligations (Machiraju, 2013). This is described as the risk of overcapitalisation and it occurs when an organisation holds a lot of assets, but lacks the ability to convert the assets into cash in the short-run. In the banking sector, the issue of liquidity risk occurs in a distinct and unique manner. One fundamental assumption of banking is that depositors are not going to withdraw all their money at once (Matz, 2011). Banks are however required to hold assets that are mainly liquid in nature and convert them to cash in a very short term (Matz, 2011). Therefore, in banking parlance, liquidity is defined as â€Å"the ability of an economic agent to exchange his existing wealth for goods and services or other assets without incurring damaging losses† (Castagna & Fede, 2013, p. 18). Liquidity risks include funding liquidity which refers to the risk of settling obligations with the central bank as it occurs. There is also the market liquidity risk which revolves around the ability of a bank to settle its obligations to stakeholders on the market. This is the â€Å"inability to realise assets due to inadequate market depth, or market disruption† (Adalsteinsson, 2014, p. 26). Bank liquidity risks can be measured both internally and externally. Internally, bank liquidity risks are defined by international conventions and practices that are placed on the authorities and directors of the bank. This is to be done through the utilisation of various formulas put forward by international entities like the Basel Conventions. Basel III proposed that bank liquidity risks can be evaluated by assessing: These are insider indices and they are often done through the utilisation of privileged information that allows banks to evaluate trends and processes in their activities and affairs. However, to the ordinary investor, there is likely

Leadership and Organizational Behavior in Action Essay

Leadership and Organizational Behavior in Action - Essay Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is General Electric (GE), a multifarious company, setup by Thomas Alva Edison in the year 1890 by the name Edison General Electric. The company is currently headquartered at Fairfield, Connecticut in the United States and has made several breakthroughs in segments of Energy, Capital Finance, technology, power generation to name a few. Some of the benchmark innovations of GE include the mars observer, launching of CNBC news channel for business reporting in real time, GE Money which provides customers with facilities of a general credit card and at the same time the facilities of a store card with discounts and promotional offers. Such innovations have helped GE scale the position that it holds today. GE has been continuously emerging as a champion when it comes to innovation. Its businesses related to infrastructure have proven to be another step towards building a better future. GE is currently operating across many regions of all the inhabited continents of the world. GE has been a pioneer for the past 130 years and strived hard towards innovation. Since the invention of first light bulb to the present jet engines the company has come a long way in making the world a better place to live. The company which is an equal opportunity employer has a strong presence in many countries and proudly supports a diverse workforce. The company believes in fair treatment policy and has formed various forums to nurture people with differences in age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation etc. (GE, â€Å"Our Company†). This project report deals with organizational challenge of workforce diversity. Maintaining a large workforce brings along challenges and people from different background may not be able to adjust well with each other. Objectives As GE supports a diverse workforce, managers will be faced with the challenges of combating discrimination within the workforce and at the same time promoting alliances and inclusiveness i n the group. Negative attitudes and behaviors may influence decision making and might also result in a loss of productivity as well as personnel. If negative behavior or prejudices creeps up within the workplace it will affect the company’s image and may also lead to litigation. The same is the case with multiculturalism. Multiculturalism may be defined as the process whereby people from different cultural background are motivated to work as a unit and also motivated to achieve the common goals of the organisation. The objectives of this report are to make careful assessment of the situation. The report will identify the desired course of action for GE which will help them to overcome the situation. This would require the involvement of all the groups. Managers will have to work on removing personal bias and should also create ways for engaging in personal dialogues with teammates. Managers need to clearly understand that the recipe for success is teamwork and the approach sh ould be unique to the organization for resolving the dispute. Secondary resources have been used for doing the analysis and collecting evidences. Literature review Multiculturalism is the apprehension which epitomizes a new way of acclimatizing to the future world. It is the process of recognizing and respecting different diversified groups with different cultural background in an organization. The people with divergent socio-cultural class are addressed and motivated and are eventually accredited for bringing stability within the organization (Rosado 1-4). Multiculturalism has long been a sensitive issue, a never ending debate, measure of its efficacy in an organization or in the society has come under scanner. These questions or issues have been creeping over time and again to understand the need of multiculturalism, its

Academic Report and Financial Calculations 04031 Essay

Academic Report and Financial Calculations 04031 - Essay Example A model of the HR function and its implications were critically evaluated in light of the chosen capital investment project and trading with its Co-share. As per the evaluation of the project suitable conclusions and recommendations were provided and in addition the reflective statements were prepared. Capital budgeting is a method through which a firm decides to invest in the long term investment proposals (Baker and English, 2011). Capital budgeting can also be measured as a scheduling process which helps in deciding which investment like new machinery, new products, replacement machinery and new plants can prove to be cost effective (Phaup and Kirschner, 2010). It is used for budgeting of vital capital investments. The different techniques for calculation used in the capital budgeting process are NPV method, IRR method, payback period and profitability index method. In the capital budgeting process, there exist some non financial qualitative aspects in case of project viability (Lan, Chung, Chu and Kuo, 2003). Every organization is recognized for their surroundings and norms. It becomes necessary to gauge in order to shape the behavior of the employees in an organization. There are three stages in capital budgeting analysis including decision analysis for building knowledge, op tion pricing for establishing position and discounted cash flow for making decision regarding investment (Garcia, Contreras, Correia and Muà ±oz, 2010). In context of project valuation, it is necessary for a company to ensure that their potential projects are in order to the employee’s culture because going further than that may crash the financial factors. The study is conducted to analyze the implications of the project and their impact on human resource (HR) (Law, 2004). The implications of the project includes capital budgeting calculations to choose the profitable project, evaluation of the chosen project, ethical considerations and relating a HR function model with the