The Current Oil Crisis And How It Is Affecting The Economy Essays

The Current Oil Crisis And How It Is Affecting The Economy Report on the Current Oil Crisis, How it is Affecting the Economy, and Some Possible Outcomes November 14, 2000 With the current spike in oil prices, many American consumers have asked, what is going on? In order to fully understand the current situation and how it is affecting the economy one must look at a variety of factors including: the history of oil crisis in the United States, causes of the current situation, and possible outcomes for the future. It is only after meticulous research in these topics that one is prepared to answer the question, what is the best possible solution to the oil crisis? Although many critics have not yet labeled the current oil situation a crisis, there is sufficient evidence that it is becoming more severe and is beginning to reflect oil crisis of the past. The current crude oil price spike began early in 1999 due to a variety of factors. Struggle in the Middle East along with minimal policy changes from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the U.S. Government has kept prices high to this very day. The History of Oil Crisis Within the United States Before looking at the current oil situation, it is important to understand the times of oil crisis in our countrys past. Through the years between 1970 and 2000, the price of oil has risen and fallen in often-drastic amounts. It is these price fluxuations in crude oil that has caused fuel prices to vary and the economy of the United States to be volatile. Throughout the past twenty years there have been several drastic changes in oil prices. These dramatic shifts are helpful to look at because of their impact upon the economy and the oil industry. During this time period there are three major shifts in oil price that can be linked to specific events in world history (Miller, 1998). First, the Arab oil embargo of 1973 caused a widespread oil crisis and brought crude oil from three dollars a barrel to a staggering twelve dollars a barrel. Second, the 1979 Iranian revolution caused another crisis that brought crude oil prices to an all time high of thirty-six dollars per barrel. Finally, the third major shift occurred in 1991 due to the Persian Gulf War (Miller, 1998). ? Source: The Energy Information Administration (Hakes, 1998). Oil crisis of 1973 The first large price shift in oil prices came in 1973. The oil crisis of 1973 began in the Mediterranean because of a war. The Yom Kippur War was a result of an attack on Israel by Syria and Egypt an October 5, 1973. Throughout history, the United States has always shown support for Israel and its campaigns. This situation was no different. The United States and many countries in the western world showed strong support for Israel (Williams, 1999). As a result of this support, Arab exporting nations imposed an embargo on the nations supporting Israel (Williams, 1999). Because these nations had the power of a monopoly in the oil industry, they tried to use the embargo as a blackmail technique. The Arab nations began the embargo by curtailing oil production by five million barrels per day. In turn, the United States increased production in other countries by about one million barrels per day. The remaining net loss of four million barrels per day extended through March of 1974 and repr esented seven percent of the free-world production (Williams, 1999). The oil embargo was imposed by Arab oil producers through the then-powerful cartel, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)(Miller, 1998). OPEC was founded in 1960 with five members: Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Six other nations had joined OPEC by the end of 1971. These included Qatar, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Nigeria. This cartel had experienced a decline in the real value of their product since the foundation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Williams, 1999). But in March of 1971, the power to control crude oil prices shifted from Texas and the United States to OPEC because of a change in governmental regulations. If there was any doubt that the ability to control crude oil prices had passed from the United States to OPEC,

How to be a good mentor

How to be a good mentor Those of us who have had the opportunity to have a good professional mentor as we travel through our career paths are well aware of the value they bring- this includes everything from support, encouragement, and motivation; to opening new doors; to networking and job opportunities. The bottom line is that a good mentor is really worth their weight in gold.   That said, others among us have learned that some people who find themselves in a position to be mentors are really not well-suited for the role and can even do more harm than good. A bad mentor can hold you back from new opportunities and career advancement, set you off on a trajectory that isn’t right for you, and even sour you on an industry entirely.Clearly, the role of a mentor isn’t one to be taken lightly. It’s a tremendous responsibility, and one that could potentially give you a great deal of power and influence over someone in need of real advice, molding, and guidance. If you’re making a c onscious decision to become a mentor to someone junior to you in your field, make sure that you enter the role with every intention of being a positive influence. Consider using the following strategies to get started on the right foot.3 rules to being a strong mentorDon’t feel threatenedHere’s the raw truth when it comes to most mentor/mentee relationships: you’re helping to train the next generation of workers in your field, and they’re going to be just as ambitious as you likely were when you were just starting out and eager to climb to the top of your career ladder as quickly as possible. Take a moment to look back on those times- didn’t you have visions of eventually seizing the reins of power and filling your boss’s shoes (hopefully as they quietly shuffle out of your way)? Chances are if you’re mentoring someone they’ll likely be harboring the same ambitions.Don’t let this cloud your relationship with them or make you feel threatened and defensive- or worse, make you work against their best interests. Instead, recognize that this is a natural part of the professional cycle. As older employers mature, new employees will enter the field and hopefully gain the necessary skills and experience to one day take control. It happened for you, and one day it’ll happen for them; after all, you won’t be in the world of work forever and likely don’t want to be. The best you can do as a mentor is to help ensure that you’re placing the future of your company and industry in capable hands.Don’t do it for personal gainIn the world of work, most of us are used to the sort of â€Å"quid pro quo† arrangement where both sides get something tangible when taking part in a mutually agreed upon transaction. However, the mentor/mentee relationship is a little bit different. The fact of the matter is, there’s an inherent imbalance (of sorts) when it comes to â€Å"who gets what† here; the mentor typically devotes a significant amount of time and energy to the exchange and the mentee reaps most of the benefits- the knowledge, skills, experience, and opportunities that you’re passing along to them. It is true that mentors get the satisfaction of knowing that they’re â€Å"paying it forward† and helping out the next generation, but make sure that that’s enough of a return on your investment when deciding whether or not to be a mentor. Do it for the satisfaction of helping pave the way for someone else, and not for personal gain.Check yourselfAs we said before, becoming a mentor is a big responsibility and not one to be taken lightly. You’re going to have a real impact on the life of someone in a dependent and impressionable time in their life, so make sure you have enough time and energy to do it well. There’s nothing quite as dispiriting as having a mentor who never seems to have the time to work with you and who you’re always chasing down for help and guidance- or worse, who seems annoyed or put out by your needs. Don’t be that sort of mentor- if you commit to doing it, make sure you’re doing so with the understanding that you’re going to have to carve out a significant amount of your time and resources towards being a good and reliable source of support and guidance all the way through.Being a mentor can be a challenging role, and often the rewards aren’t immediately tangible. However, when done properly, being a positive mentor to an eager and excited individual can be an extremely rewarding and fulfilling experience. If you’re going to be a mentor, then commit to being a good one, and use the strategies and advice presented here to help you along the way.

Character and Caricature

Character and Caricature Character and Caricature Character and Caricature By Maeve Maddox In an NPR story about the election of Scott Brown to Ted Kennedy’s vacated Senate, a Massachusetts legislator, Jim Vallee, declared: â€Å"He’s not a one-dimensional caricature.† Caricature does not mean the same thing as character. And it is character that is often characterized (!) as being â€Å"one-dimensional.† Novelists do not want to be accused creating of one-dimensional characters: imaginary people who are entirely good or entirely evil. Real people are rarely one-dimensional. Hitler is said to have liked dogs and classical music. Hannibal Lecter enjoys a nice Chianti. In a novel, a one-dimensional hero who never has an unworthy thought, or a villain who lacks some flicker of humanity, comes across as flat and uninteresting. The OED offers nineteen definitions for the noun character. The definition that applies in the context of the Vallee quotation is: The sum of the moral and mental qualities which distinguish an individual . . . A caricature, on the other hand, is intrinsically one-dimensional, or at least lacking in depth. As an artistic rendering, a caricature exaggerates a person’s most noticeable feature. For example, Obama’s ears, Leno’s chin, Bette Davis’s eyes. Defined by the OED, a caricature is An exaggerated or debased likeness, imitation, or copy, naturally or unintentionally ludicrous. Here’s a quotation in which the word caricature is used correctly: The joy of learning is as indispensable in study as breathing is in running. Where it is lacking there are no real students, but only poor caricatures of apprentices who, at the end of their apprenticeship, will not even have a trade. Simone Weil Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"Work of Art TitlesWhat is an Anagram?

Disaster Management and Emergency Planning Essay

Disaster Management and Emergency Planning - Essay Example This report would highlight, in clear terms, the actions expected of the emergency response units: with a great emphasis on how the casualties are attended to; how the public is being warned of the danger of the incident; and how media representatives are properly handled in the course of this catastrophe. The magnitude of this disaster calls for rapid establishment of an effective command structure. According to the classification of emergencies in UK, this scenario can be categorized as a â€Å"serious emergency† (Level 2), because it is a terrorist attack on the welfare of people. In such a situation, a Co-ordinated Combined Government Command Structure (CCGCS) may be necessary to help the casualties. This depends on which section first of all responds to the incident. The UK Central Government, after deliberating on the urgency of the issue may firstly activate Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR), chaired by the Prime Minister. Since this incident occurs in the Promenade of Blackpool, which is located in Lancashire, North West of England, the response would be led by the appropriate Lead Government Department in that English Region. Initially, local responders are naturally expected to start the rescue operations: and when this is carried out by the local police led by Police Gold Commander, Strategic Co-ordination Group (SCG) would be activated (which comprises of all the representatives of rescue/ emergency organizations and agencies in that locality). The main guiding principles behind the operations of the Co-ordinated Combined Government Command Structure include preparedness, situation monitoring, continuity, subsidiarity, crisis detection support, containment, communication, integration, response, de-escalation and recovery (Moore & Lakha 2006). The Strategic Co-ordination Group may involve Regional Resilience Team

International business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International business - Essay Example A trademark is infringed when, without the owners’ consent, another party uses a substantially similar mark in connection with the advertisement or sale of goods or service, and this is likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception regarding their origin. A trademark owner who wins an infringement suit can obtain an injunction against uses of the mark that are likely to cause confusion. In certain circumstance, the owner can also obtain money damage for provable injury resulting from the infringement and for profits realized by the defendant from the sale of infringing product or service. The shop, SpeedEX, was doing a brisk business packing and shipping items for its customers. McDodgy remembered thinking to himself: â€Å"I want a piece of that action!† to that end, on his first day as an Agelino, McDodgy rented commercial space on Redondo Beach, and set up shop copying the SpeedEX logo exactly, except for one slight difference: the two â€Å"e† ‘s in SpeedEX were changed to one â€Å"u†. He promptly incorporated the business and registered its mark, using it on his letterhead, email, business cards, and of course, a sign for the shop. McDodgy’s new business, SpudEx, Inc. claimed to provide delicious, hot French fries in 3 minutes or less, or else they were free, and used the slogan: â€Å"SpudEx: FastFreies, or FreeFries†/ McDodgy figured that since SpudEx was an entirely different business than SpeedEx, its copying of the logo was not infringing on any trademarks. He also felt secure that since he was operation all the way across town form SpeedEx in Redondo Beach, he would be sage form a law suit. There are above 7 issues are related to provision of the Lanham Act and the Dilution of Trade Marks. The Lanham Act, which establishes federal protection for certain marks, defines as any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination of these. In certain limited situation

Human Resource Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Essay 1. One of the major components of any business is people. The management of people or human resource forms an integral part of any manager’s duty. This makes human resource management an important subject in today’s business scenario. Human resource management refers to the optimum utilization of manpower keeping in mind the focus of the concerned organization. Human resource management focuses on better productivity and in turn, higher profits through better utilization and management of people. As the name suggests, Globalization refers to the free and easy movement of goods, raw material, services, capital, ideas and information across the globe, from one country to another. Every other important aspects of an organization like capital, information, new and better ideas can be copied from one country to another, except the people which forms the most crucial part of any organization. The workforce of an organization keeps it competitive in a global market and attracts foreign investors. The workforce constitutes the skilled and knowledgeable aspect of an organization. Efficient and skilled workers are recruited by foreign investors. This way they gain experience and learn better. Thus it forms a cycle. Today, technology has changed the day to day living in every aspect. Every economy is dependent on technology for knowledge.   Information and better ideas is the key to every successful company.   Technology makes this available at a speed faster than light. Technology has helped every organization in cutting down their cost in terms of people. Today, it’s a world where smart working is preferred over hard work and technology has made it possible. E-commerce has influenced has influenced human resource management in many ways. It has helped to replace man power in various aspects. It can be seen that organizations with better productive capacity are abl e to generate better goods and services even if their inputs are small. 2. Today, organizations have become more competitive and dynamic with increasing complexities. Therefore, managers are of the opinion that manpower management has gained more importance than ever. The most important component of any organization is the people. It can be said that the old approaches of human resource management are no more the answers to the ever-changing economic and social environment. In modern times, experiment with policies to meet the dynamic need is considered healthy and is encouraged.   Management practices and experiments will experience a great change in the coming decade. Employment security will have to be provided. Keeping in mind the increasing complexities, selective and specialized hiring has to be done. Candidates should be selected from a huge pool of applicants. This would provide flexibility to the organization during selection and better opportunities to the candidates. Hierarchy has to be reduced as much as possible and decentralization has to be implemented. This would make workers feel more independent and responsible towards the work allocated to them. They would feel accountable for the outcome of the task. The difference in status amongst the employees will have to be reduced. This would help employees work like a team. Extensive training to workers should become the key element of every organization. Specialized training would be of utmost importance to survive in the coming days. The organizations will have to work in a more transparent manner where information has to be shared with all the employees. This would enhance the trust among workers. All workers should be encouraged to express their ideas and take active part in the controlling and planning phases. Thus, it can be seen that major changes will have to take place in manage ment styles and practices in the coming decade to survive in the completive market. 3. As the name suggests, the key elements of the LAMP model are Logic, Analytics, Measures and Process. These components that are responsible for the various strategic changes and overall effectiveness of the organization and each one play a very crucial role. Logic is an indispensable part of the system. It bridges the gap between numbers and the result or outcomes. It helps people outside the HR system to understand the numbers better. ‘Right Logic’ forms an important connecting link between data and the desired outcome. After combining logic and numbers together, the next step is Analytics. Some of the analytical strategies are statistics, research models and research designs. Wrong analytics can result into faulty results. Sound systems of analytics determine the flow of the arrow. Measures or data is the most popular component in the HR industry. Data collection forms the basis of any kind of assessment in HR. Without appropriate data, logic or analytics components do not hold any value. Mangers filter the required data from a huge variety of data and material. There are various techniques involved like sampling, probability, etc. The final step in the LAMP framework is the Process. It converts logic and analysis achieved through data into action. Managers are directed by process. Data and logic creates the basis of analysis. During analysis, various social and economic issues unfold. All these issues should be considered during process. Hence process can be regarded as the outcome of the LAMP model. To summarize, it can be said be said that the LAMP framework stresses on the significance of data. Raw data or matter does not hold any value. The key point in HR is to use data in a more effective and strategic manner. The LAMP system has proved to be very beneficial in this aspect. 4. High performance work practices generate higher productivity and it is seen that firms that use more of high performance work practices generate higher profits than those who don’t. Employees have more say in the control of the business. Managers are considerate about the professional growth of the employees. Thus, it can be seen that high performance work practices can boost profits to a large extent. However it is seen that many firms do not apply it. The reason could be varied. The size of the firm would greatly influence the decision, as a small size business may not be able to apply the work life programs. The cost of high performance work practices can generally be covered by bigger organizations so it is easier for them to implement it, while smaller organizations may not be able to take care of the pay-offs. Also Organizations who are more concerned about HR practices would also most likely apply the concept. The feeling of empowerment may create stress among employ ees and they may find it difficult to strike a balance between their personal and professional life. Power wars may also be created. So it might become difficult for employees to handle the pressure. This might have a negative influence on the employees. it is also noticed that the effect are most prominent when they are incorporated within the system. To establish the above stated fact, two cases were studied; one on organization culture and the other on the survival of an organization after their initial public issue, and it was seen that the work practices held relevance in both. It is also essential that the practices are not just measured but the analysis should help control and reduce the cost. Also it is necessary to understand that facts, figures and assumptions do not hold true for all organizations. So it is essential to strategically analyze the work practices and understand if it can be applied to the business. Also to successfully apply the strategies thorough research on cost benefits and performance measures is crucial, as there should be no doubt while adopting such practices. The facts and figures should also be correlated to the dynamics of the business and the culture before implementing the programs. many smaller or newer companies may that’s why still take a while to adopt these practices, in spite of evidence of increased productivity.

Anti-Christianity :: essays research papers

Believe in Nothing The depiction of Jesus we see all around us. We see him in books, we see him in churches. We see him on the internet, we see him on television. We see what is an assumption of Jesus' appearance. One man made a guess of what Jesus looks like based on the appearance of an average Jewish man. Since then, we have been using a mask to portray a man, if not a woman, that did not exist. We are always told of his existence, but not how we come about that conclusion. The Bible in fact, is our only proof of Jesus’ existence. Many simply rely on their faith, without need for evidence. However, knowing Christianity is not based on facts, it cannot be certain that those who follow are following the correct path. Actually it is certain that the belief in Christianity is the wrong path, for it causes more harm than good. Centuries ago, as Christianity gained an increasing amount of believers, the believers started thinking beyond the traditional beliefs. Many supposed great followers of the Christian religion, became betrayers of their religion. If one believes in a religion, they must obey its rules, commandments or such. Instead of for example Martin Luther, who formed a new type of Christianity, to satisfy his own will. His desire was for the people to worship God and Christ directly, instead of having a middle man such as the Pope. Later he was to create Lutheranism. Those who create and follow new forms of Christianity have betrayed their true religion. Believing in the Christ is bad enough, betraying Christianity and still believing in a new type is even worse. Throughout history and to the present day, the belief in Christianity has been the cause of many evil scams and tragedies. A perfect example would be the indulgences and fake relics sold during the Catholic Reformation. About 300 years ago, the church was selling false hope to satisfy their lust for money. Many believers however disagree and claim that churches improve communities. They create a true community where help is plentiful, and joy is most common. But is religion truly necessary for improving communities? The Priests and such could continue, but without religion. The goal for a better community is not only a religious goal, but also one in life. One thing that religion does to one's mind, it give a false sense of hope.