Case Study of Bata Ltd Essay

Bata Ltd. is a privately owned global shoe manufacturer and retailer headquartered in Ontario, Canada. The company is led by a third generation of the Bata family. With operations in 68 countries, Bata is organized into four business units. Bata Canada, based in Toronto, serves the Canadian market with 250 stores. Based in Paris, Bata Europe serves the European market with 500 stores. With supervision located in Singapore, Bata International boasts 3,000 stores to serve markets in Africa, the Pacific, and Asia, Finally, Bata Latin America, operating out of Mexico City, sells footwear throughout Latin America. All told, Bata owns more than 4,700 retail stores and 46 production facilities. Total employment for the company exceeds 50,000. Company Founded in 1894 The Bata family’s ties to shoemaking span more than two dozen generations and purportedly date as far back as 1580 to the small Czech village of Zlin. However, it was not until 1894 that the family began to make the transition from cobblers to industrialists. In that year, Tomas G. Bata, Sr. along with his brother Antonin and sister Anna, took 800 florins, some $350, inherited from their mother and launched a shoemaking business. They rented a pair of rooms, acquired two sewing machines on an installment plan, and paid for their leather and other materials with promissory notes. They produced stitched, coarse-woolen footwear. Within a year, the business was successful enough to enable the Batas to employ ten people in their factory, such as it was, as well as another forty who worked out of their own homes. In the same year, 1895, Antonin was drafted into the military and Anna quit the business to get married, forcing Tomas to assume complete control of the venture. He was just 19 years old. In 1900, Bata moved the operation to a new building located close to Zlin’s railway station and took the first major step in industrialization, installing steam-driven machines. The company enjoyed success producing light, linen footwear that appealed to a large portion of the population, who could not afford better-made leather shoes. Nevertheless, Bata came close to bankruptcy on more than one occasion and concluded that in order for his business to survive he needed to find more efficient ways to manufacture and distribute shoes. In 1904, he and three employees took a trip to the United States to learn firsthand the ways of mass production. Bata spent six months working as a laborer on a shoe assembly line in New England. On his way back to Zlin, he also took time to visit English and German factories. Upon his return home, Bata began to transform the family shoe business, not only by applying the latest production techniques–which would one day earned him the moniker, â€Å"the Henry Ford of the shoe industry†Ã¢â‚¬â€œbut also by finding a way to preserve the role of workers, which all too often changed dramatically during the transition from an artisan to an industrial approach to commerce. The Bata shoe business began to experience steady growth, so that by 1912 it was employing 600 full-time workers plus another few hundred who worked out of their homes in neighboring villages. Tomas Bata now began to exhibit another side to his personality, the social idealist. Because there was a shortage of housing in Zlin for his new workers, he constructed new homes, which he rented at cost. He also offered inexpensive meals in factory cafeterias and free medical care. He even built a new hospital to care for his workers. However, as soon as they began to earn higher incomes, area merchants raised prices. In answer, Tomas Bata opened his own less-expensive company stores to ensure that his employees were able to enjoy the fruits of their success. He also took steps to identify management talent among the ranks of his workers and instituted a training program that was ahead of its time. World War I Boot Contract a Turning Point Bata received a major boost in 1914, following the outbreak of World War I, when the company received a contract to produce boots for the Austro-Hungarian army. From the waste of these items, the company produced the uppers to a wooden shoe that it sold to the lower classes. Tomas Bata then invested the profits in new machinery, as well as in the opening of new retail shops, so that the business was well positioned to take advantage of the economic boom of the 1920s. Before the company could enjoy this strong period of growth, however, Tomas Bata and his employees were forced to take a major gamble together. In the years immediately following the end of World War I in 1918, an economic slump prevailed across the globe, leading to significant unemployment. Czechoslovakia, formed as part of the peace settlement of World War I, attempted to fight inflation, which had already devastated Germany, by adopting tight monetary controls. As a result, the country’s currency lost three-quarters of its value, which in turn led to a drop in demand for products, a cutback in production, more unemployment, and even less consumer demand–developments that together threatened national economic devastation. In August 1922, a group of industrialists met to discuss their plight. Unlike the others, Tomas Bata did not simply throw up his hands and blame the government. Instead, he called on the industrialists to take decisive steps to stimulate market demand, and he shocked everyone by announcing that he was going to cut the price of Bata shoes in half. Once the surprise of the moment wore off, Bata’s audience simply laughed at him. Bata was able, however, to convince his workers that he had a plan, albeit a radical one, that would work. He believed that the company had to cut costs to the bone and work at peak efficiency in order to halve the price of Bata shoes. Workers, ignoring their union leadership, accepted a 40 percent reduction in wages across the board. Tomas Bata, in turn, provided food, clothing, and other necessities at half-price to mitigate the loss of wages. In addition, he introduced measures that were pioneering, including the creation of individual profit centers and incentive payments to both management and workers to spur productivity. With his operations lean and efficient, he then launched a national advertising campaign. The response from consumers was swift and dramatic, as Bata stores, which had been virtually empty for months, were now swamped with customers looking for inexpensive shoes. Bata was forced to increase production, and not only did the company maintain full employment, it began to hire. The decision to cut prices proved to be a turning point in the history of the company, which now grew at a tremendous pace. Tomas Bata continued to innovate, improving on productivity primarily through the introduction of an assembly line approach. After five years, productivity improved 15-fold; after ten, the retail price of Bata shoes dropped by 82 percent. The employees’ faith in Tomas Bata was also rewarded. After accepting a severe wage cut in 1922, by 1932 they had seen their salaries doubled. They were now working for the largest shoemaker in the world. According to company lore, in fact, in some developing countries â€Å"bata† gained currency where there was no word for â€Å"shoe. † Moreover, Bata became involved in a variety of other industries, including socks, leatherwork, chemicals used in leather making, shoemaking machinery, wooden packing crates, tires and other rubber goods. The company launched its own film studio to produced advertising materials, and it soon evolved into a full-fledged enterprise that produced some of the earliest animated films. Because of the company’s involvement in transportation, as Bata became the world’s largest exporter of shoes, Tomas Bata even became involved in the manufacture of airplanes through the Zlin Air Company, which produced both sporting and business planes. He also became famous for housing his headquarters in the tallest reinforced concrete office building in Europe, which featured an elevator that housed his â€Å"floating office. † With a push of a button, Bata was able to confer, and keep an eye on, his employees on every floor without leaving his desk. Bata established operations in new markets, such as Singapore in 1930. The company, which in 1931 adopted a joint stock company form of organization, also established subsidiaries and shoe factories in a number of European countries as a way to circumvent tariffs that had been imposed in response to a worldwide economic depression. In mid-1932, Tomas Bata called together his team of executives and announced that in order for the company to weather increasingly difficult economic conditions and drive further growth, they would have to look to more distant markets, in particular North America. Just two days later, however, Tomas Bata was killed when an airplane he was in took off in a thick fog and crashed into a chimney of one of his buildings. He was 56 years old. Bata left a 22-year-old son, Thomas J. Bata, whom he had groomed since childhood to one day head the business, but in the meantime Bata’s half-brother Jan took over and continued the mentoring process. It was Thomas Bata who was to be dispatched to North America, to which the company was already exporting shoes, to establish a manufacturing operation. While most executives in the organization lobbied for the United States as the location for a plant, the young Bata was fixated on locating the business in Canada, a place he had romanticized since childhood after reading the works of Jack London. With the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the importance of organizing a North American operation took on increasing importance, as the company now made plans to relocate its headquarters to the West. In March 1939, with Germany on the verge of invading his country, Thomas Bata fled to Canada along with 180 Czechoslovakians. After being granted permission from the Canadian government, he started up operations in Frankford, Ontario, taking over a former Canadian Paper Company mill while a new factory was built. To aid in the Allied war effort, the company focused its personnel and equipment on the production of anti-aircraft equipment and machines used to inspect ammunition. For his part, Jan Bata moved his headquarters to the United States, but when blacklisted by the Allies he was forced to relocate to Brazil. The Bata Shoe Organization, as it was called, was now split between uncle and nephew, resulting in an eventual contest for management control and ownership. Thomas Bata essentially prevailed in 1949, but the contest continued to be played out in the courts of numerous countries until the end of 1966. The return of Bata operations lost to the Nazis was short lived after World War II. In 1945, the communist government installed in Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union had nationalized the country’s industry, usurping the original Bata shoe factory in Zlin and the company’s far-flung network of shops. Even Zlin’s name was changed, becoming known as Gottwaldov, a tribute to the country’s first communist president. ) Bata was further stripped of assets as other countries, including East Germany, Poland, and Yugoslavia, also nationalized their shoe industries. Now based in the West, Bata and its many Czechoslovakian expatriates began to rebuild the business, taking on an almost missionary zeal in the process. Rather than organizing in a centralized manner, the company established a structure based on autonomous operations, primarily in the new markets of developing countries. Also following the war, Thomas Bata married an aspiring architect named Sonja, a woman who would play an influential role in the success of the company, supplementing her husband’s manufacturing and sales expertise with a sense of design and style. By the mid-1950s, Bata was operating 56 factories in 46 countries. Thirty years later, Bata was in 115 countries, selling close to $2 billion worth of footwear each year through 6,000 company-owned stores and 120,000 independent retailers. Bata Shoes Returns to the Czech Republic in 1991 In the 1970s and 1980s, the manufacture of shoes began to shift increasingly to Pacific Rim countries, where lower labor costs provided a competitive edge that proved devastating to shoe companies around the world. With its widely cast operations and well-established distribution network, Bata was better able to compete, but it too suffered from a softening in its business. With the fall of communism in the late 1980s, Bata was able to return to the country where the family business was founded. The company was not able to resume ownership of its prior assets, which has been combined with other Czech shoe operations, nor did Bata wish to be encumbered with facilities that the communists had neglected for more than 40 years. Nevertheless, Thomas Bata was committed to establishing a business in his native country. After some study, the management team elected to focus on a retail distribution business and a modest manufacturing facility, one that was not part of the old Bata operation. A small factory established by the communist regime was found acceptable, and the company then selected a number of retail locations, which would total a 20 percent market share, and presented the government with a joint venture proposal that was accepted in late 1991. Thomas Bata, at the age of 80, elected to retire in 1994. His son, Thomas Bata, Jr. , had been serving as president since 1985. According to The Globe and Mail, Thomas, Jr. â€Å"took over at a time when the international shoe maker was experiencing heightened competition from strong global marketers. The movement toward free trade challenged its network of quasi-autonomous national companies. Mr. Bata tried to make changes, but insiders says he lost the support of key members of the board. † He was widely expected to succeed his father, but to the surprise of many, Stanley Heath, a Canadian with considerable executive experience with RJR Nabisco, took over as president and CEO to assume the day-to-day running of the business, while the younger Bata assumed the chairmanship, ostensibly charged with focusing on the â€Å"big picture. He soon left the family business and moved to Switzerland. His father, with a reputation as an autocrat, was slated to become honorary chairman, but the post proved to be far from ceremonial, as he continued to be involved in the company’s operations on a day-to-day basis and was not reticent about letting management know his opinions. Little more than a year after coming to Bata, Heath resigned for â€Å"personal and family reasons. â⠂¬  Taking over for Heath was a loyal company man, Rino Rizzo, who had been with the Bata organization since 1969. In 1999, Bata brought in Jim Pantelidis, an executive who had no experience in the shoe industry, to assume the CEO position. Pantelidis’s background was in retail gasoline sales, and during his career he had worked for one of Canada’s largest chains, Petro-Canada Corporation. Pantelidis instituted a plan to develop regional shoe lines, as opposed to lines created for individual countries. In addition, he wanted to create economies of scale by building regional infrastructures. The goal was to use the regional infrastructures to position the Bata brand on a global basis. The tenure of Pantelidis lasted just two years. In late 2001, Thomas Bata, Jr. returned, gained control of the business, and was named chairman and CEO, while Pantelidis left to â€Å"pursue other challenges. † Bata began to reorganize the company, essentially running the business out of Switzerland. It remained to be seen if he would be able to succeed where outsiders had failed in the effort to transform Bata from a federation of stand-alone local subsidiaries into a truly international company. Principal Subsidiaries: Bata Canada; Bata Europe; Bata International; Bata Latin America. Principal Competitors: Footstar, Inc. ; Jimlar Corporation; Payless ShoeSource, Inc. Product Profile: Legendary quality, trend-setting styles, and a tradition of innovation that goes back to 1894. For more than 100 years, the Bata brand has offered the best shoe at the best price. With contemporary and classic styles, the Bata collection has shoes and accessories for active men and women who appreciate great design and understand the meaning of value. Everyday shoes that look good and feel even better; nobody knows shoes better than Bata. Bata Ambassador Combining Italian design with handcrafted detail and the highest quality leather, Bata’s premium Ambassador brand sets the standard for European footwear. And its trend-setting style doesn’t sacrifice comfort. The Ambassador offers a flexible genuine leather upper, a leather lining to absorb moisture, and a polyurethane sole for a firm grip. A contemporary classic for the man who knows where he’s going. Combining great-looking style and design with the latest technology, Bata Benefit offers the ultimate in healthful comfort for men and women. Developed at Bata’s Shoe Innovation Centre in Europe, the Benefit collection breaks new ground in shoe design, exceeding the expectations of even the most discriminating customers. From sporty and casual to elegant and formal, From Bata Flexible, Bata Antistatic to Bata Air System, all Benefit shoes are made with high-quality leather and Bata’s trademark precision.

Prelude to Foundation Chapter 17 Wye

WYE-†¦ A sector of the world-city of Trantor†¦ In the latter centuries of the Galactic Empire, Wye was the strongest and stablest portion of the world-city. Its rulers had long aspired to the Imperial throne, justifying that by their descent from early Emperors. Under Mannix IV, Wye was militarized and (Imperial authorities later claimed) was planning a planet-wide coup. Encyclopedia Galactica 82. The man who entered was tall and muscular. He had a long blond mustache that curled up at the tips and a fringe of hair that went down the sides of his face and under his chin, leaving the point of his chin and his lower lip smoothly bare and seeming a little moist. His head was so closely cropped and his hair was so light that, for one unpleasant moment, Seldon was reminded of Mycogen. The newcomer wore what was unmistakably a uniform. It was red and white and about his waist was a wide belt decorated with silver studs. His voice, when he spoke, was a rolling bass and its accent was not like any that Seldon had heard before. Most unfamiliar accents sounded uncouth in Seldon's experience, but this one seemed almost musical, perhaps because of the richness of the low tones. â€Å"I am Sergeant Emmer Thalus,† he rumbled in a slow succession of syllables. â€Å"I have come seeking Dr. Hari Seldon.† Seldon said, â€Å"I am he.† In an aside to Dors, he muttered, â€Å"if Hummin couldn't come himself, he certainly sent a magnificent side of beef to represent him.† The sergeant favored Seldon with a stolid and slightly prolonged look. Then he said, â€Å"Yes. You have been described to me. Please come with me, Dr. Seldon.† Seldon said, â€Å"Lead the way.† The sergeant stepped backward. Seldon and Dors Venabili stepped forward. The sergeant stopped and raised a large hand, palm toward Dors. â€Å"I have been instructed to take Dr. Hari Seldon with me. I have not been instructed to take anyone else.† For a moment, Seldon looked at him uncomprehendingly. Then his look of surprise gave way to anger. â€Å"It's quite impossible that you have been told that, Sergeant. Dr. Dors Venabili is my associate and my companion. She must come with me.† â€Å"That is not in accordance with my instructions, Doctor.† â€Å"I don't care about your instructions in any way, Sergeant Thalus. I do not budge without her.† â€Å"What's more,† said Dors with clear irritation, â€Å"my instructions are to protect Dr. Seldon at all times. I cannot do that unless I am with him. Therefore, where he goes, I go.† The sergeant looked puzzled. â€Å"My instructions are strict that I see to it that no harm comes to you, Dr. Seldon. If you will not come voluntarily, I must carry you to my vehicle. I will try to do so gently.† He extended his two arms as though to seize Seldon by the waist and carry him off bodily. Seldon skittered backward and out of reach. As he did so, the side of his right palm came down on the sergeant's right upper arm where the muscles were thinnest, so that he struck the bone. The sergeant drew a sudden deep breath and seemed to shake himself a bit, but turned, face expressionless, and advanced again. Davan, watching, remained where he was, motionless, but Raych moved behind the sergeant. Seldon repeated his palm stroke a second time, then a third, but now Sergeant Thalus, anticipating the blow, lowered his shoulder to catch it on hard muscle. Dors had drawn her knives. â€Å"Sergeant,† she said forcefully. â€Å"Turn in this direction, I want you to understand I may be forced to hurt you severely if you persist in attempting to carry Dr. Seldon off against his will.† The sergeant paused, seemed to take in the slowly waving knives solemnly, then said, â€Å"It is not in my instructions to refrain from harming anyone but Dr. Seldon.† His right hand moved with surprising speed toward the neuronic whip in the holster at his hip. Dors moved as quickly forward, knives flashing. Neither completed the movement. Dashing forward, Raych had pushed at the sergeant's back with his left hand and withdrew the sergeant's weapon from its holster with his right. He moved away quickly, holding the neuronic whip in both hands now and shouting, â€Å"Hands up, Sergeant, or you're gonna get it!† The sergeant whirled and a nervous look crossed his reddening face. It was the only moment that its stolidity had weakened. â€Å"Put that down, sonny,† he growled. â€Å"You don't know how it works.† Raych howled, â€Å"I know about the safety. It's off and this thing can fire. And it will if you try to rush me.† The sergeant froze. He clearly knew how dangerous it was to have an excited twelve-year-old handling a powerful weapon. Nor did Seldon feel much better. He said, â€Å"Careful, Raych. Don't shoot. Keep your finger off the contact.† â€Å"I ain't gonna let him rush me.† â€Å"He won't.-Sergeant, please don't move. Let's get something straight. You were told to take me away from here. Is that right?† â€Å"That's right,† said the sergeant, eyes somewhat protruding and firmly fixed on Raych (whose eyes were as firmly fixed on the sergeant). â€Å"But you were not told to take anyone else. Is that right?† â€Å"No, I was not, Doctor,† said the sergeant firmly. Not even the threat of a neuronic whip was going to make him weasel. One could see that. â€Å"Very well, but listen to me, Sergeant. Were you told not to take anyone else?† â€Å"I just said-â€Å" â€Å"No, no. Listen, Sergeant. There's a difference. Were your instructions simply ‘Take Dr. Seldon!'? Was that the entire order, with no mention of anyone else, or were the orders more specific? Were your orders as follows: ‘Take Dr. Seldon and don't take anyone else'?† The sergeant turned that over in his head, then he said, â€Å"I was told to take you, Dr. Seldon.† â€Å"Then there was no mention of anyone else, one way or the other, was there?† Pause. â€Å"No.† â€Å"You were not told to take Dr. Venabili, but you were not told not to take Dr. Venabili either. Is that right?† Pause. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"So you can either take her or not take her, whichever you please?† Long pause. â€Å"I suppose so.† â€Å"Now then, here's Raych, the young fellow who's got a neuronic whip pointing at you-your neuronic whip, remember-and he is anxious to use it.† â€Å"Yay!† shouted Raych. â€Å"Not yet, Raych,† said Seldon. â€Å"And here is Dr. Venabili with two knives that she can use very expertly and there's myself, who can, if I get the chance, break your Adam's apple with one hand so that you'll never speak above a whisper again. Now then, do you want to take Dr. Venabili or don't you want to? Your orders allow you to do either.† And finally the sergeant said in a beaten voice, â€Å"I will take the woman.† â€Å"And the boy, Raych.† â€Å"And the boy.† â€Å"Good. Have I your word of honor-your word of honor as a soldier-that you will do as you have just said†¦ honestly?† â€Å"You have my word of honor as a soldier,† said the sergeant. â€Å"Good. Raych, give back the whip.-Now.-Don't make me wait.† Raych, his face twisted into an unhappy grimace, looked at Dors, who hesitated and then slowly nodded her head. Her face was as unhappy as Raych's. Raych held out the neuronic whip to the sergeant and said, â€Å"They're makin' me, ya big-† His last words were unintelligible. Seldon said, â€Å"Put away your knives, Dors.† Dors shook her head, but put them away. â€Å"Now, Sergeant?† said Seldon. The sergeant looked at the neuronic whip, then at Seldon. He said, â€Å"You are an honorable man, Dr. Seldon, and my word of honor holds.† With a military snap, he placed his neuronic whip in his holster. Seldon turned to Davan and said, â€Å"Davan, please forget what you have seen here. We three are going voluntarily with Sergeant Thalus. You tell Yugo Amaryl when you see him that I will not forget him and that, once this is over and I am free to act, I will see that he gets into a University. And if there's anything reasonable I can ever do for your cause, Davan, I will.-Now, Sergeant, let's go.† 83. â€Å"Have you ever been in an air-jet before, Raych?† asked Hari Seldon. Raych shook his head speechlessly. He was looking down at Upperside rushing beneath them with a mixture of fright and awe. It struck Seldon again how much Trantor was a world of Expressways and tunnels. Even long trips were made underground by the general population. Air travel, however common it might be on the Outworlds, was a luxury on Trantor and an air-jet like this- How had Hummin managed it? Seldon wondered. He looked out the window at the rise and fall of the domes, at the general green in this area of the planet, the occasional patches of what were little less than jungles, the arms of the sea they occasionally passed over, with its leaden waters taking on a sudden all-too-brief sparkle when the sun peeped out momentarily from the heavy cloud layer. An hour or so into the flight, Dors, who was viewing a new historical novel without much in the way of apparent enjoyment, clicked it off and said, â€Å"I wish I knew where we were going.† â€Å"If you can't tell,† said Seldon, â€Å"then I certainly can't. You've been on Trantor longer than I have.† â€Å"Yes, but only on the inside,† said Dors. â€Å"Out here, with only Upperside below me, I'm as lost as an unborn infant would be.† â€Å"Oh well.-Presumably, Hummin knows what he's doing.† â€Å"I'm sure he does,† replied Dors rather tartly, â€Å"but that may have nothing to do with the present situation. Why do you continue to assume any of this represents his initiative?† Seldon's eyebrows lifted. â€Å"Now that you ask, I don't know. I just assumed it. Why shouldn't this be his?† â€Å"Because whoever arranged it didn't specify that I be taken along with you. I simply don't see Hummin forgetting my existence. And because he didn't come himself, as he did at Streeling and at Mycogen.† â€Å"You can't always expect him to, Dors. He might well be occupied. The astonishing thing is not that he didn't come on this occasion but that he did come on the previous ones.† â€Å"Assuming he didn't come himself, would he send a conspicuous and lavish flying palace like this?† She gestured around her at the large luxurious jet. â€Å"It might simply have been available. And he might have reasoned that no one would expect something as noticeable as this to be carrying fugitives who were desperately trying to avoid detection. The well-known double-double-cross.† â€Å"Too well-known, in my opinion. And would he send an idiot like Sergeant Thalus in his place?† â€Å"The sergeant is no idiot. He's simply been trained to complete obedience. With proper instructions, he could be utterly reliable.† â€Å"There you are, Hari. We come back to that. Why didn't he get proper instructions? It's inconceivable to me that Chetter Hummin would tell him to carry you out of Dahl and not say a word about me. Inconceivable.† And to that Seldon had no answer and his spirits sank. Another hour passed and Dors said, â€Å"It looks as if it's getting colder outside. The green of Upperside is turning brown and I believe the heaters have turned on.† â€Å"What does that signify?† â€Å"Dahl is in the tropic zone so obviously we're going either north or south-and a considerable distance too. If I had some notion in which direction the nightline was I could tell which.† Eventually, they passed over a section of shoreline where there was a rim of ice hugging the domes where they were rimmed by the sea. And then, quite unexpectedly, the air-jet angled downward. Raych screamed, â€Å"We're goin' to hit! We're goin' to smash up!† Seldon's abdominal muscles tightened and he clutched the arms of his seat. Dors seemed unaffected. She said, â€Å"The pilots up front don't seem alarmed. We'll be tunneling.† And, as she said so, the jet's wings swept backward and under it and, like a bullet, the air-jet entered a tunnel. Blackness swept back over them in an instant and a moment later the lighting system in the tunnel turned on. The walls of the tunnel snaked past the jet on either side. â€Å"I don't suppose I'll ever be sure they know the tunnel isn't already occupied,† muttered Seldon. â€Å"I'm sure they had reassurance of a clear tunnel some dozens of kilometers earlier,† said Dors. â€Å"At any rate, I presume this is the last stage of the journey and soon we'll know where we are.† She paused and then added, â€Å"And I further presume we won't like the knowledge when we have it.† 84. The air-jet sped out of the tunnel and onto a long runway with a roof so high that it seemed closer to true daylight than anything Seldon had seen since he had left the Imperial Sector. They came to a halt in a shorter time than Seldon would have expected, but at the price of an uncomfortable pressure forward. Raych, in particular, was crushed against the seat before him and was finding it difficult to breathe till Dors's hand on his shoulder pulled him back slightly. Sergeant Thalus, impressive and erect, left the jet and moved to the rear, where he opened the door of the passenger compartment and helped the three out, one by one. Seldon was last. He half-turned as he passed the sergeant, saying, â€Å"It was a pleasant trip, Sergeant.† A slow smile spread over the sergeant's large face and lifted his mustachioed upper lip. He touched the visor of his cap in what was half a salute and said, â€Å"Thank you again, Doctor.† They were then ushered into the backseat of a ground-car of lavish design and the sergeant himself pushed into the front seat and drove the vehicle with a surprisingly light touch. They passed through wide roadways, flanked by tall, well-designed buildings, all glistening in broad daylight. As elsewhere on Trantor, they heard the distant drone of an Expressway. The walkways were crowded with what were, for the most part, well-dressed people. The surroundings were remarkably-almost excessively-clean. Seldon's sense of security sank further. Dors's misgivings concerning their destination now seemed justified after all. He leaned toward her and said, â€Å"Do you think we are back in the Imperial Sector?† She said, â€Å"No, the buildings are more rococo in the Imperial Sector and there's less Imperial parkishness to this sector-if you know what I mean.† â€Å"Then where are we, Dors? â€Å"We'll have to ask, I'm afraid, Hari.† It was not a long trip and soon they rolled into a car-bay that flanked an imposing four-story structure. A frieze of imaginary animals ran along the top, decorated with strips of warm pink stone. It was an impressive facade with a rather pleasing design. Seldon said, â€Å"That certainly looks rococo enough.† Dors shrugged uncertainly. Raych whistled and said in a failing attempt to sound unimpressed, â€Å"Hey, look at that fancy place.† Sergeant Thalus gestured to Seldon clearly indicating that he was to follow. Seldon hung back and, also relying on the universal language of gesture, held out both arms, clearly including Dors and Raych. The sergeant hesitated in a slightly hangdog fashion at the impressive pink doorway. His mustache almost seemed to droop. Then he said gruffly, â€Å"All three of you, then. My word of honor holds.-Still, others may not feel obligated by my own obligation, you know.† Seldon nodded. â€Å"I hold you responsible for your own deeds only, Sergeant.† The sergeant was clearly moved and, for a moment, his face lightened as though he was considering the possibility of shaking Seldon's hand or expressing heartfelt his approval in some other way. He decided against it, however, and stepped onto the bottom step of the flight that led to the door. The stairs immediately began a stately upward movement. Seldon and Dors stepped after him at once and kept their balance without much trouble. Raych, who was momentarily staggered in surprise, jumped onto the moving stairs after a short run, shoved both hands into his pockets, and whistled carelessly. The door opened and two women stepped out, one on either side in symmetrical fashion. They were young and attractive. Their dresses, belted tightly about the waist and reaching nearly to their ankles, fell in crisp pleats and rustled when they walked. Both had brown hair that was coiled in thick plaits on either side of their heads. (Seldon found it attractive, but wondered how long it took them each morning to arrange it just so. He had not been aware of so elaborate a coiffure on the women they had passed in the streets.) The two women stared at the newcomers with obvious contempt. Seldon was not surprised. After the day's events, he and Dors looked almost as disreputable as Raych. Yet the women managed to bow decorously and then made a half-turn and gestured inward in perfect unison and with symmetry carefully maintained. (Did they rehearse these things?) It was clear that the three were to enter. They stepped through an elaborate room, cluttered with furniture and decorative items whose use Seldon did not readily understand. The floor was light-colored, springy, and glowed with luminescence. Seldon noted with some embarrassment that their footwear left dusty marks upon it. And then an inner door was flung open and yet another woman emerged. She was distinctly older than the first two (who sank slowly as she came in, crossing their legs symmetrically as they did so in a way that made Seldon marvel that they could keep their balance; it undoubtedly took a deal of practice). Seldon wondered if he too was expected to display some ritualized form of respect, but since he hadn't the faintest notion of what this might consist of, he merely bowed his head slightly. Dors remained standing erect and, it seemed to Seldon, did so with disdain. Raych was staring open-mouthed in all directions and looked as though he didn't even see the woman who had just entered. She was plump-not fat, but comfortably padded. She wore her hair precisely as the young ladies did and her dress was in the same style, but much more richly ornamented-too much so to suit Seldon's aesthetic notions. She was clearly middle-aged and there was a hint of gray in her hair, but the dimples in he r cheeks gave her the appearance of having rather more than a dash of youth. Her light brown eyes were merry and on the whole she looked more motherly than old. She said, â€Å"How are you? All of you.† (She showed no surprise at the presence of Dors and Raych, but included them easily in her greeting.) â€Å"I've been waiting for you for some time and almost had you on Upperside at Streeling. You are Dr. Hari Seldon, whom I've been looking forward to meeting. You, I think, must be Dr. Dors Venabili, for you had been reported to be in his company. This young man I fear I do not know, but I am pleased to see him. But we must not spend our time talking, for I'm sure you would like to rest first.† â€Å"And bathe, Madam,† said Dors rather forcefully, â€Å"Each of us could use a thorough shower.† â€Å"Yes, certainly,† said the woman, â€Å"and a change in clothing. Especially the young man.† She looked down at Raych without any of the look of contempt and disapproval that the two young women had shown. She said, â€Å"What is your name, young man?† â€Å"Raych,† said Raych in a rather choked and embarrassed voice. He then added experimentally, â€Å"Missus.† â€Å"What an odd coincidence,† said the woman, her eyes sparkling. â€Å"An omen, perhaps. My own name is Rashelle. Isn't that odd?-But come. We shall take care of you all. Then there will be plenty of time to have dinner and to talk.† â€Å"Wait, Madam,† said Dors. â€Å"May I ask where we are?† â€Å"Wye, dear. And please call me Rashelle, as you come to feel more friendly. I am always at ease with informality.† Dors stiffened. â€Å"Are you surprised that we ask? Isn't it natural that we should want to know where we are?† Rashelle laughed in a pleasant, tinkling manner. â€Å"Really, Dr. Venabili, something must be done about the name of this place. I was not asking a question but making a statement. You asked where you were and I did not ask you why. I told you, ‘Wye.' You are in the Wye Sector.† â€Å"In Wye?† said Seldon forcibly. â€Å"Yes indeed, Dr. Seldon. We've wanted you from the day you addressed the Decennial Convention and we are so glad to have you now.† 85. Actually, it took a full day to rest and unstiffen, to wash and get clean, to obtain new clothes (satiny and rather loose, in the style of Wye), and to sleep a good deal. It was during the second evening in Wye that there was the dinner that Madam Rashelle had promised. The table was a large one-too large, considering that there were only four dining: Hari Seldon, Dors Venabili, Raych, and Rashelle. The walls and ceiling were softly illuminated and the colors changed at a rate that caught the eye but not so rapidly as in any way to discommode the mind. The very tablecloth, which was not cloth (Seldon had not made up his mind what it might be), seemed to sparkle. The servers were many and silent and when the door opened it seemed to Seldon that he caught a glimpse of soldiers, armed and at the ready, outside. The room was a velvet glove, but the iron fist was not far distant. Rashelle was gracious and friendly and had clearly taken a particular liking to Raych, who, she insisted, was to sit next to her. Raych-scrubbed, polished, and shining, all but unrecognizable in his new clothes, with his hair clipped, cleaned, and brushed-scarcely dared to say a word. It was as though he felt his grammar no longer fit his appearance. He was pitifully ill at ease and he watched Dors carefully as she switched from utensil to utensil, trying to match her exactly in every respect. The food was tasty but spicy-to the point where Seldon could not recognize the exact nature of the dishes. Rashelle, her plump face made happy by her gentle smile and her fine teeth gleaming white, said, â€Å"You may think we have Mycogenian additives in the food, but we do not. It is all homegrown in Wye. There is no sector on the planet more self-sufficient than Wye. We labor hard to keep that so.† Seldon nodded gravely and said, â€Å"Everything you have given us is first-rate, Rashelle. We are much obliged to you.† And yet within himself he thought the food was not quite up to Mycogenian standards and he felt moreover, as he had earlier muttered to Dors, that he was celebrating his own defeat. Or Hummin's defeat, at any rate, and that seemed to him to be the same thing. After all, he had been captured by Wye, the very possibility that had so concerned Hummin at the time of the incident Upperside. Rashelle said, â€Å"Perhaps, in my role as hostess, I may be forgiven if I ask personal questions. Am I correct in assuming that you three do not represent a family; that you, Hari, and you, Dors, are not married and that Raych is not your son?† â€Å"The three of us are not related in any way,† said Seldon. â€Å"Raych was born on Trantor, I on Helicon, Dors on Cinna.† â€Å"And how did you all meet, then?† Seldon explained briefly and with as little detail as he could manage. â€Å"There's nothing romantic or significant in the meetings,† he added. â€Å"Yet I am given to understand that you raised difficulties with my personal aide, Sergeant Thalus, when he wanted to take only you out of Dahl.† Seldon said gravely, â€Å"I had grown fond of Dors and Raych and did not wish to be separated from them.† Rashelle smiled and said, â€Å"You are a sentimental man, I see.† â€Å"Yes, I am. Sentimental. And puzzled too.† â€Å"Puzzled?† â€Å"Why yes. And since you were so kind as to ask personal questions of us, may I ask one as well?† â€Å"Of course, my dear Hari. Ask anything you please.† â€Å"When we first arrived, you said that Wye has wanted me from the day I addressed the Decennial Convention. For what reason might that be?† â€Å"Surely, you are not so simple as not to know. We want you for your psychohistory.† â€Å"That much I do understand. But what makes you think that having me means you have psychohistory?† â€Å"Surely, you have not been so careless as to lose it.† â€Å"Worse, Rashelle. I have never had it.† Rashelle's face dimpled. â€Å"But you said you had it in your talk. Not that I understood your talk. I am not a mathematician. I hate numbers. But I have in my employ mathematicians who have explained to me what it is you said.† â€Å"In that case, my dear Rashelle, you must listen more closely. I can well imagine they have told you that I have proven that psychohistorical predictions are conceivable, but surely they must also have told you that they are not practical.† â€Å"I can't believe that, Hari. The very next day, you were called into an audience with that pseudo-Emperor, Cleon.† â€Å"The pseudo-Emperor?† murmured Dors ironically. â€Å"Why yes,† said Rashelle as though she was answering a serious question. â€Å"Pseudo-Emperor. He has no true claim to the throne.† â€Å"Rashelle,† said Seldon, brushing that aside a bit impatiently, â€Å"I told Cleon exactly what I have just told you and he let me go.† Now Rashelle did nor smile. A small edge crept into her voice. â€Å"Yes, he let you go the way the cat in the fable lets a mouse go. He has been pursuing you ever since-in Streeling, in Mycogen, in Dahl. He would pursue you here if he dared. But come now-our serious talk is too serious. Let us enjoy ourselves. Let us have music.† And at her words, there suddenly sounded a soft but joyous instrumental melody. She leaned toward Raych and said softly, â€Å"My boy, if you are not at ease with the fork, use your spoon or your fingers. I won't mind.† Raych said, â€Å"Yes, mum,† and swallowed hard, but Dors caught his eye and her lips silently mouthed: â€Å"Fork.† He remained with his fork. Dors said, â€Å"The music is lovely, Madam†-she pointedly rejected the familiar form of address â€Å"but it must not he allowed to distract us. There is the thought in my mind that the pursuer in all those places might have been in the employ of the Wye Sector. Surely, you would not be so well acquainted with events if Wye were not the prime mover.† Rashelle laughed aloud. â€Å"Wye has its eyes and ears everywhere, of course, but we were not the pursuers. Had we been, you would have been picked up without fail-as you were in Dahl finally when, indeed, we were the pursuers. When, however, there is a pursuit that fails, a grasping hand that misses, you may be sure that it is Demerzel.† â€Å"Do you think so little of Demerzel?† murmured Dors. â€Å"Yes. Does that surprise you? We have beaten him.† â€Å"You? Or the Wye Sector?† â€Å"The sector, of course, but insofar as Wye is the victor, then I am the victor.† â€Å"How strange,† said Dors. â€Å"There seems to be a prevalent opinion throughout Trantor that the inhabitants of Wye have nothing to do with victory, with defeat, or with anything else. It is felt that there is but one will and one fist in Wye and that is that of the Mayor. Surely, you-or any other Wyan-weigh nothing in comparison.† Rashelle smiled broadly. She paused to look at Raych benevolently and to pinch his cheek, then said, â€Å"If you believe that our Mayor is an autocrat and that there is but one will that sways Wye, then perhaps you are right. But, even so, I can still use the personal pronoun, for my will is of account.† â€Å"Why yours?† said Seldon. â€Å"Why not?† said Rashelle as the servers began clearing the table. â€Å"I am the Mayor of Wye.† 86. It was Raych who was the first to react to the statement. Quite forgetting the cloak of civility that sat upon him so uncomfortably, he laughed raucously and said, â€Å"Hey, lady, ya can't be Mayor. Mayors is guys.† Rashelle looked at him good-naturedly and said in a perfect imitation of his tone of voice, â€Å"Hey, kid, some Mayors is guys and some Mayors is dames. Put that under your lid and let it bubble.† Raych's eyes protruded and he seemed stunned. Finally he managed to say, â€Å"Hey, ya talk regular, lady.† â€Å"Sure thing. Regular as ya want,† said Rashelle, still smiling. Seldon cleared his throat and said, â€Å"That's quite an accent you have, Rashelle.† Rashelle tossed her head slightly. â€Å"I haven't had occasion to use it in many years, but one never forgets. I once had a friend, a good friend, who was a Dahlite-when I was very young.† She sighed. â€Å"He didn't speak that way, of course-he was quite intelligent-but he could do so if he wished and he taught me. It was exciting to talk so with him. It created a world that excluded our surroundings. It was wonderful. It was also impossible. My father made that plain. And now along comes this young rascal, Raych, to remind me of those long-ago days. He has the accent, the eyes, the impudent cast of countenance, and in six years or so he will be a delight and terror to the young women. Won't you, Raych?† Raych said, â€Å"I dunno, lady-uh, mum.† â€Å"I'm sure you will and you will come to look very much like my†¦ old friend and it will be much more comfortable for me not to see you then. And now, dinner's over and it's time for you to go to your room, Raych. You can watch holovision for a while if you wish. I don't suppose you read.† Raych reddened. â€Å"I'm gonna read someday. Master Seldon says I'm gonna.† â€Å"Then I'm sure you will.† A young woman approached Raych, curtsying respectfully in Rashelle's direction. Seldon had not seen the signal that had summoned her. Raych said, â€Å"Can't I stay with Master Seldon and Missus Venabili?† â€Å"You'll see them later,† said Rashelle gently, â€Å"but Master and Missus and I have to talk right now-so you must go.† Dors mouthed a firm â€Å"Go!† at Raych and with a grimace the boy slid out of his chair and followed the attendant. Rashelle turned to Seldon and Dors once Raych was gone and said, â€Å"The boy will be safe, of course, and treated well. Please have no fears about that. And I will be safe too. As my woman approached just now, so will a dozen armed men-and much more rapidly-when summoned. I want you to understand that.† Seldon said evenly, â€Å"We are in no way thinking of attacking you, Rashelle-or must I now say, ‘Madam Mayor'?† â€Å"Still Rashelle. I am given to understand that you are a wrestler of sorts, Hari, and you, Dors, are very skillful with the knives we have removed from your room. I don't want you to rely uselessly on your skills, since I want Hari alive, unharmed, and friendly.† â€Å"It is quite well understood, Madam Mayor,† said Dors, her lack of friendship uncompromised, â€Å"that the ruler of Wye, now and for the past forty years, is Mannix, Fourth of that Name, and that he is still alive and in full possession of his faculties. Who, then, are you really?† â€Å"Exactly who I say I am, Dors. Mannix IV is my father. He is, as you say, still alive and in possession of his faculties. In the eyes of the Emperor and of all the Empire, he is Mayor of Wye, but he is weary of the strains of power and is willing, at last, to let them slip into my hands, which are just as willing to receive them. I am his only child and I was brought up all my life to rule. My father is therefore Mayor in law and name, but I am Mayor in fact. It is to me, now, that the armed forces of Wye have sworn allegiance and in Wye that is all that counts.† Seldon nodded. â€Å"Let it be as you say. But even so, whether it is Mayor Mannix IV or Mayor Rashelle I-it is the First, I suppose-there is no purpose in your holding me. I have told you that I don't have a workable psychohistory and I do not think that either I or anyone else will ever have one. I have told that to the Emperor. I am of no use either to you or to him.† Rashelle said, â€Å"How naive you are. Do you know the history of the Empire?† Seldon shook his head. â€Å"I have recently come to wish that I knew it much better.† Dors said dryly, â€Å"I know Imperial history quite well, though the pre-Imperial age is my specialty, Madam Mayor. But what does it matter whether we do or do not?† â€Å"If you know your history, you know that the House of Wye is ancient and honorable and is descended from the Dacian dynasty.† Dors said, â€Å"The Dacians ruled five thousand years ago. The number of their descendants in the hundred and fifty generations that have lived and died since then may number half the population of the Galaxy-if all genealogical claims, however outrageous, are accepted.† â€Å"Our genealogical claims, Dr. Venabili†-Rashelle's tone of voice was, for the first time, cold and unfriendly and her eyes flashed like steel-â€Å"are not outrageous. They are fully documented. The House of Wye has maintained itself consistently in positions of power through all those generations and there have been occasions when we have held the Imperial throne and have ruled as Emperors.† â€Å"The history book-films,† said Dors, â€Å"usually refer to the Wye rulers as ‘anti-Emperors,' never recognized by the bulk of the Empire.† â€Å"It depends on who writes the history book-films. In the future, we will, for the throne which has been ours will be ours again.† â€Å"To accomplish that, you must bring about civil war.† â€Å"There won't be much risk of that,† said Rashelle. She was smiling again. â€Å"That is what I must explain to you because I want Dr. Seldon's help in preventing such a catastrophe. My father, Mannix IV, has been a man of peace all his life. He has been loyal to whomever it might be that ruled in the Imperial Palace and he has kept Wye a prosperous and strong pillar of the Trantorian economy for the good of all the Empire.† â€Å"I don't know that the Emperor has ever trusted him any the more for all that,† said Dors. â€Å"I'm sure that is so,† said Rashelle calmly, â€Å"for the Emperors that have occupied the Palace in my father's time have known themselves to be usurpers of a usurping line. Usurpers cannot afford to trust the true rulers. And yet my father has kept the peace. He has, of course, developed and trained a magnificent security force to maintain the peace, prosperity, and stability of the sector and the Imperial authorities have allowed this because they wanted Wye peaceful, prosperous, stable-and loyal.† â€Å"But is it loyal?† said Dors. â€Å"To the true Emperor, of course,† said Rashelle, â€Å"and we have now reached the stage where our strength is such that we can take over the government quickly-in a lightning stroke, in fact-and before one can say ‘civil war' there will be a true Emperor-or Empress, if you prefer-and Trantor will be as peaceful as before.† Dors shook her head. â€Å"May I enlighten you? As a historian?† â€Å"I am always willing to listen.† And she inclined her head ever so slightly toward Dors. â€Å"Whatever size your security force may be, however well-trained and well-equipped, they cannot possibly equal in size and strength the Imperial forces backed by twenty-five million worlds.† â€Å"Ah, but you have put your finger on the usurper's weakness, Dr. Venabili. There are twenty-five million worlds, with the Imperial forces scattered over them. Those forces are thinned out over incalculable space, under uncounted officers, none of them particularly ready for any action outside their own Provinces, many ready for action in their own interest rather than in the Empire's. Our forces, on the other hand, are all here, all on Trantor. We can act and conclude before the distant generals and admirals can get it through their heads that they are needed.† â€Å"But that response will come-and with irresistible force.† â€Å"Are you certain of that?† said Rashelle. â€Å"We will be in the Palace. Trantor will be ours and at peace. Why should the Imperial forces stir when, by minding their own business, each petty military leader can have his own world to rule, his own Province?† â€Å"But is that what you want?† asked Seldon wonderingly. â€Å"Are you telling me that you look forward to ruling over an Empire that will break up into splinters?† Rashelle said, â€Å"That is exactly right. I would rule over Trantor, over its outlying space settlements, over the few nearby planetary systems that are part of the Trantorian Province. I would much rather be Emperor of Trantor than Emperor of the Galaxy.† â€Å"You would be satisfied with Trantor only,† said Dors in tones of the deepest disbelief. â€Å"Why not?† said Rashelle, suddenly ablaze. She leaned forward eagerly, both hands pressed palms-down on the table. â€Å"That is what my father has been planning for forty years. He is only clinging to life now to witness its fulfillment. Why do we need millions of worlds, distant worlds that mean nothing to us, that weaken us, that draw our forces far away from us into meaningless cubic parsecs of space, that drown us in administrative chaos, that ruin us with their endless quarrels and problems when they are all distant nothings as far as we are concerned? Our own populous world-our own planetary city-is Galaxy enough for us. We have all we need to support ourselves. As for the rest of the Galaxy, let it splinter. Every petty militarist can have his own splinter. They needn't fight. There will be enough for all.† â€Å"But they will fight, just the same,† said Dors. â€Å"Each will refuse to be satisfied with his Province. Each will feel that his neighbor is not satisfied with his Province. Each will feel insecure and will dream of Galactic rule as the only guarantee of safety. This is certain, Madam Empress of Nothing. There will be endless wars into which you and Trantor will be inevitably drawn-to the ruin of all.† Rashelle said with clear contempt, â€Å"So it might seem, if one could see no farther than you do, if one relied on the ordinary lessons of history.† â€Å"What is there to see farther?† retorted Dors. â€Å"What is one to rely on beyond the lessons of history?† â€Å"What lies beyond?† said Rashelle. â€Å"Why, he.† And her arm shot outward, her index finger jabbing toward Seldon. â€Å"Me?† said Seldon. â€Å"I have already told you that psychohistory-â€Å" Rashelle said, â€Å"Do not repeat what you have already said, my good Dr. Seldon. We gain nothing by that.-Do you think, Dr. Venabili, that my father was never aware of the danger of endless civil war? Do you think he did not bend his powerful mind to thinking of some way to prevent that? He has been prepared at any time these last ten years to take over the Empire in a day. It needed only the assurance of security beyond victory.† â€Å"Which you can't have,† said Dors. â€Å"Which we had the moment we heard of Dr. Seldon's paper at the Decennial Convention. I saw at once that that was what we needed. My father was too old to see the significance at once. When I explained it, however, he saw it too and it was then that he formally transferred his power to me. So it is to you, Hari, that I owe my position and to you I will owe my greater position in the future.† â€Å"I keep telling you that it cannot-† began Seldon with deep annoyance. â€Å"It is not important what can or cannot be done. What is important is what people will or will not believe can be done. They will believe you, Hari, when you tell them the psychohistoric prediction is that Trantor can rule itself and that the Provinces can become Kingdoms that will live together in peace.† â€Å"I will make no such prediction,† said Seldon, â€Å"in the absence of true psychohistory. I won't play the charlatan. If you want something like that, you say it.† â€Å"Now, Hari. They won't believe me. It's you they will believe. The great mathematician. Why not oblige them?† â€Å"As it happens,† said Seldon â€Å"the Emperor also thought to use me as a source of self-serving prophecies. I refused to do it for him, so do you think I will agree to do it for you?† Rashelle was silent for a while and when she spoke again her voice had lost its intense excitement and became almost coaxing. â€Å"Hari,† she said, â€Å"think a little of the difference between Cleon and myself. What Cleon undoubtedly wanted from you was propaganda to preserve his throne. It would be useless to give him that, for the throne can't be preserved. Don't you know that the Galactic Empire is in a state of decay, that it cannot endure for much longer? Trantor itself is slowly sliding into ruin because of the ever-increasing weight of administering twenty-five million worlds. What's ahead of us is breakup and civil war, no matter what you do for Cleon.† Seldon said, â€Å"I have heard something like this said. It may even be true, but what then?† â€Å"Well then, help it break into fragments without any war. Help me take Trantor. Help me establish a firm government over a realm small enough to be ruled efficiently. Let me give freedom to the rest of the Galaxy, each portion to go its own way according to its own customs and cultures. The Galaxy will become a working whole again through the free agencies of trade, tourism, and communication and the fate of cracking into disaster under the present rule of force that barely holds it together will be averted. My ambition is moderate indeed; one world, not millions; peace, not war; freedom, not slavery. Think about it and help me.† Seldon said, â€Å"Why should the Galaxy believe me any more than they would believe you? They don't know me and which of our fleet commanders will be impressed by the mere word ‘psychohistory'?† â€Å"You won't be believed now, but I don't ask for action now. The House of Wye, having waited thousands of years, can wait thousands of days more. Cooperate with me and I will make your name famous. I will make the promise of psychohistory glow through all the worlds and at the proper time, when I judge the movement to be the chosen moment, you will pronounce your prediction and we will strike. Then, in a twinkling of history, the Galaxy will exist under a New Order that will render it stable and happy for eons. Come now, Hari, can you refuse me?†

Article Review: a Chronic Inflammatory Disease Essay

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways. Those that are susceptible to asthma, this inflammation can cause the airways to spasm and swell periodically so that the airways become narrow. The individual will then wheeze or gasp for air. Obstruction to air flow either resolves spontaneously or responds to a wide range of treatments, but continuing inflammation makes the airways hyper-responsive to stimuli such as cold air, exercise, dust mites, pollutants in the air, and even stress and anxiety (TheFreeDictionary). The articles â€Å"Asthma treated with integrative medicine† and â€Å"Asthma linked to celiac disease† both discuss how asthma is a problem to people of all ages and can ultimately linked to other diseases like celiac disease. No one can actually pinpoint how long asthma has been around for but it has been traced back to as early as 3000 B.C. which is the Egyptians era. As we know some people can have asthma at birth without knowing until they have difficulty breathing, some may call it a panic attack, but it can become a serious problem if left untreated. Asthma has become a major health issue around the world and each person has a different experience with his or her asthma. Asthma in terms can become chronic, and a long term disease which can affect our breathing. . Asthma can affect the community in different ways such as allergies and the biggest way that it would affect the community is by chemicals and smoking. When chemicals are burned or disposed of improperly it can pollute the air which makes people that have asthma susceptible to asthma attacks. Depending on how bad their case of asthma is inhaling smoke from someone smoking near them can also trigger an asthma attack. Chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and sulfites are used to preserve foods and beverages can also trigger an asthma attack. The community around has responded to this problem by having people test for asthma at younger ages and making more areas smoking free such as schools and hospitals and parks. The health department had also made the policies where restaurants and stores are only allowed to have a certain amount of chemicals in their food to help prevent people with asthma and other related diseases from getting panic attacks. In conclusion a problem in our community is asthma. Asthma is can become chronic, and a long term disease which can affect our breathing in all stages of our lives. Asthma has been around for a long time. Asthma affects our community in many ways. One of the ways it affects us is when chemicals are not disposed of in the correct manner it affects the way people with asthma breathe. The community has responded to this problem by making more places smoking free. References Neustaedter, Randall(2011).Asthma treated with integrative medicine. Retrieved August 1, 2011 from http://www.naturalnews.com/032000_asthma_integrative_medicine.html McCook, Allison (2011). Asthma linked to celiac disease..Retrieved August 1, 2011 from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/24/us-asthma-linked-celiac-disease-idUSTRE71N4WF20110224 TheFreeDictionary.com, (2008). Definition of asthma. Retrieved August 1, 2011 http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/asthma

Comparing Gateway NV55SO5U Performance To Apple MacBook Pro Essay

Comparing Gateway NV55SO5U Performance To Apple MacBook Pro - Essay Example The video range is also weak and is probably limited to only two individuals pressing their inner shoulders together. That is not exactly an impressive display. Its battery life is not also ideal which can only last for an average user to only up to 4.5 hours. If you multi-task and so some burning and music, that battery life will be reduced more. It also runs only on unsophisticated Windows 7 Home Premium which is susceptible to the contracting virus. Comparing Gateway NV55SO5U performance to Apple MacBook Pro is no contest. Perhaps the only category that the Gateway NV55SO5U can claim as an advantage compared to MacBook Pro is price because MacBooks price starts at $1,000. It may a lot more expensive than a $629.99 Gateway NV55SO5U but the price difference is far more compensated by performance and design. When it comes to performance, you can play anything simultaneously with a MacBook without its system freezing while video rendering and 3D MMO gaming simultaneously will probably freeze the system of Gateway NV55SO5U. It is also made of very strong and rigid unibody chassis that is machined out a solid block of aluminum. That means that your MacBook is as sturdy and as durable as a rock compared to a plastic frame of Gateway NV55SO5U. Above all, MacBook Pro uses OS X which is immune to viruses. You will be free from the anxiety and actual threat of a virus that could disrupt and destroy your work. This is important because the safety and security of your data could costs a lot more than $400 price difference. MacBook Pro’s battery life also lasts almost twice longer compared to Gateway NV55SO5U (8 hours). The approach of this essay is just to compare and contrast the weakness of Gateway NV55SO5U compared to MacBook Pro. I identified two major weaknesses of Gateway NV55SO5U which are the strengths of MacBook Pro.

The Chapter Reactions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Chapter Reactions - Essay Example The ideas presented in Chapter 2 are indeed very helpful in my own life because it has somehow made me more aware of the need to understand and respect the cultural differences among people with varying backgrounds. Just like anybody, I have my own world views of the world. It is important that I realize that my world views may be different from other people because of the differences in our backgrounds. For example, I realized that I tend to be very individualistic in terms of dealing with certain tasks or in terms of dealing with people. I personally do not feel the need to be extra friendly with other people if I do not feel like it. In fact, I could very well tell somebody up front that I do not like him or her and I expect other people to be straightforward with me too. However, I have to realize that there are indeed some people who would rather preserve their existing relationships rather than be straightforward and labeled rude or tactless. In addition, the chapter has also m ade me realize that while I personally may have a strong sense of achievement, other people are more inclined towards ascription and are more inclined to be confined within the roles or classes that they are oriented into.

How Water Pollution Affect the Productivity of Elodea Canadensis Essay

How Water Pollution Affect the Productivity of Elodea Canadensis - Essay Example The conclusion from this study recommended that laundry detergents manufacturing companies, need to review and revisit the chemical components forming the detergents. There should be a paradigm shift to a chemical substance considered as a cleaning substance consisting of organic chemicals. Pollution is a human created issue which has been affecting the environment negatively. Especially, water pollution has become more significant as water is a vital factor for human life both as a need of the human body and as a requirement in agricultural processes which serve humans. As the human population is increasing, the demand for water is increasing as well. Water is the main cleaning agent we use in our daily lives. However, throughout the history, we have never used solely water for cleaning purposes. For instance, before detergents and washing machines, people used to clean their clothes around a river by beating them on the rocks around the river. The leaves of some plants produced lat her which acted as the first detergents used by humans. Today, we use laundry detergents inside our washing machines, with water. However, if observed closely, these artificial detergents cause more harm than good. The researcher states that especially human impact which enhances the water pollution is an essential topic to investigate. There are very simple and easy steps to hinder the damage we do to the water resources around us. Also, the damage is not only done to the water, but also to us, since we use the polluted water in our daily lives.

Books and the power point Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Books and the power point - Essay Example In comparison to television programs, they pointed out that books give them more inspiration than television programs because the books are almost always there to be referred to. 2. As far as selection pattern is concerned, most respondents stressed that their pattern of selection is based on word of mouth that come in the form of recommendation from other people. This was made up of 60% of the respondents. 20% said he does extensive internet search based on popular search engine results whiles the remaining 20% said pattern of selection was purely academic. This means that apart from books that directly related to his course of study and that were recommended by professors, virtually no other form of pattern of selection of books was done. With the exception of the percentage that does internet search, the remaining respondents stressed that they did selection mostly from the traditional type of library. 3. From the information gathered, it would be said that learning about book titles is not so difficult if done through the internet. This is because the power of the search engines permits that a searcher gets as many reliable and authentic sources to books and magazines as possible as applies to a title being searched (quote). Even with those who do not read from internet sources but from libraries, they can still use the internet to make the searching easier whereby after searching with the internet for book titles, they will go to the library to use the catalog to search for the said books. Generally, it would be seen that some people read more than others based on the accessibility to the kind to book they seek. 4. The publicity of books is indeed a good thing as it widens the scope of knowledge that people have about the existence of particular books. Publicity and advertisement of any form can never be condemned because without it, it would be like trading in the

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Strategic Management - Essay Example These initiatives normally revolve around resource allocation, utilization, and performance in the external environment of the business. Additionally, strategic management provides the opportunity for an organization to specify its mental picture, policies, objectives, mission and plans. It allocates the required resources for the execution of its programs, projects and plans (Sachs & Ru?hli 2011 p. 1). Furthermore, strategic management ensures the organization develops a balanced scorecard for the evaluation of its general performance. The scorecard also enables it to determine if it is progressing towards its set objectives and make the necessary changes or adjustments. However, for an organization to perform its strategic management process successfully, it must have the right paradigm. Importance of an organization’s "paradigm" for strategic management Several contemporary organizations today are operating in complex environments where there are frequent and sudden changes of structures. They need to decamp from their traditional management structures to adapt new approaches to management. Incidentally, the operating environment for most organizations faces stiff competition and massive explosion in the field of information technology. This requires that the company update its management paradigm to fit in the new era adequately (Kachru 2009, p. 48). The enhanced utilization of information technology has led to the emergence of knowledge or information based economy. This is partially responsible for the increase in complexities of organizations. Consequently, many organizations have resorted to changing their paradigms to adopt new organizational structures. This includes the changes in leadership and management practices. Additionally, technologies such as the internet, e-mail, voice mail and telecommuting have also contributed in the rebranding of the structures of organizations to encompass virtual offices, companies and teams (Kachru 2009, p. 92 ). The shift to the new organizational paradigms has several uses to the organization. The adoption of new technologies in the field of information science is making both intra-organizational, as well as inter-organizational communications simpler (Kachru, 2009, p. 93). Consequently, this eliminates the previous communication boundaries leading to a global market place that is borderless. The elimination of the market place boundaries can significantly reduce the command chains within organizational structures and paradigm. As a result, the organization will have free control spans by replacing its departments with stronger teams that have been empowered. This paradigm assumes an organizational structure whereby a flatten hierarchy replaces vertical boundaries as cross-functional teams replace functional departments. This is important to the organization because it consolidates the activities of the organization around centralized processes (Kachru 2009, p. 84). The creation of the organizational paradigms without boundaries eliminates geographical barriers to the organization. This places an organization in a suitable position to interact freely with its clients and other business partners in the entire globe. For good strategic management, an organization needs to shift its paradigm to benefit from the following processes a. Reduced dependence on the leadership of command and control b. Hierarchy breakdown that leads to a lean change in the systems of management c. Enhanced commitment to the application and utilization of virtual technologies d. Increased teamwork reliance e. Attain flexibility f. Interactive system of knowledge transfer through electronic and mutual interest instead of authority systems New forms of management

Precis Paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Precis Paper - Assignment Example the Governor raises concerns of whether the government will beat the time scheduled to pay the $1.7 billion which will be just a third of what the government is supposed to pay by 2018. In his state of the state speech last month, the governor said that education and other needs will be shortchanged by the rising payments. He is expected to continue with the speech on Tuesday during the annual budget address. Over 40 states have overhauled their pension systems but experts say that this is just deferment of costs of pension to the future. Pension overhauls have failed because the cost of benefits and money set aside for payment has grown from $3.1million in 2009 to $4 trillion this year according to Joshua D. Rauh, a finance professor at Stanford University. The gap keeps widening from year to year and many states are in dept of amount equal to or more than their annual revenue. Pension overhauls experts’ advice that the most effective solution is to raise taxes substantially or do away with future retirement benefits of public workers. This is illegal in the government but is practiced in companies in some states. There are many reasons why pension overhauls have failed. One is state contributions are deferred to pension funds and end up in depth in the long term. Pension investments earning estimates are also overly optimistic. Another reason is politics. Governors and legislatures are unwilling to spend on financing their failing pension systems. New Jersey for example diverted the pension systems money to other programs promising better benefits in 1992.By 2010, the whole system was unfunded and the state accused of securities fraud by federal regulators. The system was redeemed in 2011 with several changes. Retirement age for new workers rose to 65 years with 30 years of service from 55years with 25years of service. There was also compulsory increase in contribution from current workers and suspension of cost of living increase for retired workers. This

The Importance of Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Importance of Accounting - Research Paper Example There are numerous significances of accounting, which must be accompanied by knowledge on how to perform this activity appropriately. Accounting is also crucial since it assists in ensuring financial accountability in a commercial institution. However, there are individuals that have a different ideology that diminishes the significance of accounting. These individuals sustain the notion that accounting is not as significant as most scholars might insist. The advocates of this notion present different rationales for their argument. Amongst other assertions, there is a claim that conventional record keeping styles are outdated due to technological developments. Therefore, the advocates of this notion conclude that accounting is an extremely complex procedure that wastes an organization’s resources. The main controversy surrounding the issues of the significance of accounting is about the methodology to utilize for thorough accountability. Most individuals are advocates of the G AAP structure, but there are trends that lead to questioning of whether this technique is all-inclusive. The preliminary purpose of accounting is to document transactions in a commercial institution. This comprises documentation of the received and outgoing funds. This procedure has to be undertaken accurately and in adherence to the GAAP regulations. However, some individuals are abandoning commonplace financial statements. These individuals assert that there are other techniques for analyzing data, even in massive magnitudes. These novel techniques of data evaluation diminish the significance of standard financial accounts. Moreover, these ideologies are due to augmenting disparity between users’ desires and what the standard records avail. Furthermore, there are assertions that the procedure of accounting is intricate especially for minute organizations; and hence, insignificant. This discourse is an evaluation of varying ideologies on the significance of accounting. It al so explores why standardized accounting is extremely crucial to an organization despite the trends to this regard. The utilization of the GAAP structure in the financial recording is the preliminary aspect of forecasting, controlling and financial deliberation. Most commercial institutions have an accounts section that utilizes GAAPs to give details relating to the prevailing and future financial circumstances of the institution. Consequently, the deliberation procedures regarding the institution’s projects become effortless. The institutions which utilize appropriate accounting practices are extremely competitive when contrasted with other organizations that utilize substandard practices. Moreover, proper accounting assists in determining the opportunities that an organization should seize in accordance with its financial situation (Kieso, Weygandt and Warfield, 2011). Moreover, the advocates of GAAP structure continue to assert that accounting is significant since, through this recording, there is easy detection of corruption. This documentation also aids in the acquisition of funds from commercial organizations.

Death at midnight by Donald A. Cabana Essay Example for Free

Death at midnight by Donald A. Cabana Essay Death at midnight is the story of Donald Cabana of his encounters while working in a prison called Parchman Penitentiary which was located in Mississippi. When cabana first landed in Parchman, the prison was somewhat ‘human’ what with inmates being subjected to tasks such as planting cotton, vegetables and slaughtering the pigs and cows for their own consumption. On leaving Parchman a year later, Cabana returns as a warden only to find that it had been altered what with the crops now lacking and a new gas chamber put in place. We can tell that cabana is against the death penalty judging from his adamancy to enter the chamber for years. Moreover, we note Cabana’s efforts to visit the men on death row. He observed that all these men had one thing in common; a disadvantaged background. In his escapades, he cultivates a special friendship with one inmate named Connie Ray Evans whose crime was murdering a convenience store clerk. They manage to form a strong bond and through this, he is able to see just how humane Connie is judging from how sorry he is for his crime. In one instance, Cabana says, â€Å"Executions strip away the veneer or life for both the warden and the prisoner. Connie Ray Evans and I transcended our environment, and the roles in which we had been cast. The two of us had somehow managed to become real people to each other. There were no more titles or social barriers behind which either of us could hide. † However, their union is cut short when Connie is randomly chosen for execution by the state of Mississippi in a tide of anti-crime fervor. (Cabana A. , 1998) According to Cabana, death penalty is not the solution to getting rid of the roots of crime. He proposes first â€Å"examining the causes and consequences of the protracted warfare that our system of justice fosters and then proceed thereof depending on whether we find it palatable or not, even in the face of bitter contrary experiences. † He is of the belief that â€Å"every human being has a spark somewhere hidden in him that will make it possible for redemption and rehabilitation. †(Cabana A. , 1998) Clearly, the aim of this book is to oppose the death penalty and to show just how irrelevant it is in rooting out criminal behavior. The theme of friendship and disillusionment is well portrayed here. Cabana tries to demonstrate this using his relationship with Connie who he feels did not deserve to be executed. The author’s style in this book is both narrative and analytical because as much as he narrates his encounters and experiences in prison, he is also quick to analyze and form an opinion regarding the justice system. References: Cabana A. D. , (1998) Death at Midnight: The Confession of an Executioner. City: UPNE

Good essays Essay Example for Free

Good essays Essay First, the author introduced and explained the parts of an essay. A typical essay usually contains introduction, body and conclusion. But good essays are more than just mere writing. Good essays, even though they are short perform different operations such as introducing the arguments, analyzing data, raising counter arguments, and concluding. The author also mentioned the background material which often appears at the beginning of an essay. It is usually between the introduction and first analytical section. There are also some cases when the background material appears near the beginning of the relevant section. On the other hand, it is also helpful to think about those questions that readers might ask other than the parts of an essay. First is the â€Å"what† question which demonstrated the truth of your claim. For your readers to answer this question, your evidences in your essay must be clear. Next most important question is â€Å"how†. Answering this question will add to the credibility and truthfulness of the essay. Lastly, answering the â€Å"why† question allows the reader to understand the essay is a larger context. It also explains the significance of the essay. Failing to answers this question will make the readers feel that the essay is unfinished. Meanwhile, structuring an essay is another important skill that a writer should have. It means examining your thesis and anticipating what the readers need to know. It is also predicting the sequence that will convince your reader to believe in your argument. The easiest way to do this is by mapping essay’s ideas in a narrative form. The first step in mapping an essay is stating your thesis. Developing a thesis Developing a thesis is not that easy. It is not a topic, nor a fact, nor an opinion. A good thesis cannot be answered by yes or no. A good thesis should tell the readers what you plan to argue and should telegraph how you plan to argue. There are several steps in constructing a thesis. First, you should analyze your primary source. Find out whether there are tensions, ambiguity controversy or complication in your primary sources. Once you already have a thesis in mind, write it down immediately. By doing this, you will be forced to think of it clearly, logically, and concisely. After you’re done with the thesis, you should keep it prominent in your introduction and anticipate any counter arguments. To be able to write a good thesis, a writer should know what a thesis is. A thesis is never a question but an argument. A question alone is not considered as a thesis. It should have a definable and arguable claim. A thesis should also be clear and specific as possible. Avoid general term and abstraction that will confuse the readers. It is not also a list. And the most important thing to remember is that it should never be vague, combative and confrontational. Beginning the Academic Essay There are steps to follow to begin an essay. Any writer should follow these steps because the beginning of an essay is very crucial. The first step is to introduce the essay. This part will tell the readers what the essay is about. Next step is to focus the essay. Aside from introducing the topic, the readers should know the central issue. Next, you should orient your readers. It means providing information and explanations which is necessary for their understanding. It is very important in the entire essay but most crucial in the beginning. The writer should also decide about the length and the order of the essay. It is very important to decide the length of the essay according to the complexity of the issue. There are also strategies on how to write an opening for an essay. First is the history-of –the –world or long distance opening. The goal of its long opening is to establish a context for the essay. The other one is the funnel opening which starts with a broad or general topic and will end with a more specific one.

Human Resource Management at Coca Cola

Human Resource Management at Coca Cola Coca-Cola the worlds largest selling soft drink manufacturer came to India for the second time in 1993 revitalizing the Indian soft drink market. Coca-Cola was Indias leading soft drink until 1977 when it was kicked out of India after a new Janata Government ordered the company to turn over its secrets formula for Coca-Cola and dilute its stake in its Indian unit as required by the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act(FERA). The company refused to oblige the government and preferred to leave the country in 1993. After maintain the government liberalization policy they got back in late 1993. Since, 1993, Coca-Cola India has made significant investments to build and continually consolidate its business in the country including new production facilities, waste water treatment plants, distribution systems and marketing channel. Dabur is a leading consumer goods company, having subsidiary companies and 13 manufacturing plants. It operates in nearly 50 countries, making it an Indian multinational company. The vision of Dabur is stated as Dedicated to health and well being of every household. There is no specific stated mission statement but a statement of strategic intent having several elements for instance: Developing a platform to become a global ayurvedic leader. Synthesising knowledge of ayurvedic and herbs with modern science to develop natural solution for meeting the health and personal care needs. Strategy is the determination of direction of the organization in which it is going in relation to its business environment. That is it is the process of defining intention and allocating and matching resources in order to obtain opportunities and needs undergoes achieve strategic fit among them. The main purpose of the business is to achieve competitive advantages. The strategic capability of the organization is the necessary elements of the effective development and implementation of strategy. HRM practice in any organization, there are three model (High performance management, High commitment management and High involvement management) among them any one can be practiced because according to Becker et al(1997), rightly suggested that What works well in one organization will not necessarily work well in another because it may not fit with its strategy, management style, organizational practicing culture and so on. So the concerning organizations of HRM study of Coca Cola and Dabur in India and considering their Struggling circumstance leads to appraise High performance Management Practice and its rational implication. High performance Management: High performance working involves the development of a number of a interrelated process that together make an impact on the performance of the firm through people in such areas as productivity, quality, levels of customer service, Growth, Profits and ultimately increase the stakeholder and shareholder value. This can be achieved by: Increasing the Employees Skills Enthusiastic engagement of Employee (Stevens, 1998) High performance management practice includes rigorous recruitment and selection procedures, extensive and relevant training and management development activities, incentive pay systems and performance management process. This strategic approach is so rational for the Coca cola and Dabur India as they suffered from low performance of the existing employees which leads their HRM to coop the recruiting fresh talent to replace the good for nothing staff(Coca cola) and to improve the existing employees offering different schemes of motivation for instance Key performance Area to specifically effective performance appraisal in Dabur India. Resource Based Approach: Resource based strategic management is base on the ideas of Penrose (1995), he suggested that a firm is an administrative organization and collection of productive resources. According to Hamel and Prahalad declared in their Resource based Strategic model that competitive advantage is obtained if a firm can obtain and develop human resources that enable the organization to learn faster and apply its learning more effectively than its rival. The benefit arising from competitive advantage based on the effective management of people is that such an advantage is hard to copy by the rival companies. An organizational HR strategic policy and strategy is the blend of process, procedure, personalities of employees and employers, management style, capabilities and organizational culture. Among them on of the keys to competitive advantage is the ability to differentiate what the business supplies to its customers from what is supplied by its competitors. Such differentiation can be achieved th rough having aHR strategy and policy which ensure that The firm has higher quality of people than its competitors The unique intellectual capital possessed by the business is developed and nurtured The organization learning process is encouraged Organization specific value and culture exist which bind organization together and give it focus. (Purcell et al, 2003) The purpose of the resource based HRM strategy id to improve resource capability achieving strategic fit between resources and opportunities and obtaianing added value from the effective deployment of resources. Problems in Coca Cola: As the coca Cola operated its business in competitive business market like in India where competitive rivalry is so highly sensitive. So that after merging with two companies Coca-Cola India and Coca-cola beverage brought 10,000 employees more which made double the number of employees it had in 1998. Though the employees are human capital but improper management of the human resource may raise the ineffective performance which had to face Coca-Cola in North India disruption in march 2000. As the performance of any organization depends on the environment and culture of the organization where they are work with other people so that merging of two company of different culture made massively disoriented culture of work practice not necessarily reduced performance but also tends to regionalization because after merging Hierarchy of the organization was quietly changed based on the Six different regions and every Regional manager are the head of the Region. So that merging caused the dilution of several central jobs and this forced to retire about 1500 of employees at bottling plant. The new line of control strengthened entry among the employees and midd level jobs at the regions and downgraded many at the centre. This lead to unrest among the employee and about 40 junior and middle-level managers and some of them are senior personnels. Solution: The aims of a resource-based approach is to improve resource capability achieving strategic fit between resources and opportunities and obtaining added value from the effective deployment of resources. In the perspective of Coca-cola case study it would be preferable to advice under the crisis moment when four companies merge together and chaos came out . In such circumstances it should be better to adopt resource base approach to better utilization of the existing huge resources as well as maintaining organization culture practical and outstanding. In the other hand in case of Dabur india it can be said that beside the resource based strategy it would be better to emphasize on the High Performance base management strategy to improve the competency of the workforce after all to become competitive business icon . In accordance with the case it has been seen that as the Dabur India is not extensive business resource owner, so that it is so wise to cope with High Performance base management and simultaneously resource based approach as well because resource must be adopt in the strategy of the company to gain better performance. Task 2: The total concept of strategic HRM is envisage on the belief that HR strategies should be integrated with corporate or business strategies. Strategic integration is necessary to provide similarity between business and human resource strategy so that the latter supports the accomplishment of the former and indeed, helps to define it. The aim is to provide strategic fit and consistency between the policy goals of human resource management and the business. (Integrated HRM,2010) There are numerous logical acquaintances and topic subsist stuck between corporate tactics and human resource (HR) strategies. One of the association is the portfolio theory that stand for market growth rate as a purpose alongside relative market share whilst get used to HR strategies and policies based on changing conditions. A further relationship is the value chain which encourage innovation, service quality, responsiveness, and describe the positions for precise businesses. The connection also treats human resources as a significant factor in deceiving business rivalry on an in progress basis. Themes that centred on relation between HR strategy and corporate strategy which are identity, emergence , turbulence ownership and structure as well. The corporate strategy will be found difficulty in action level unless HR strategy will not cope with the goal of the corporate strategy. Coca-Cola and Strategic Alignment: Coca-cola in India decided to get change as a change in corporate strategy by merging of its four bottling operations (Hindustan Coca-Cola, Bottling North west, Hindustan Bottling Coca-Cola Bottling South West, Bharat Coca-Cola North East and Bharat Coca-Cola South East) and two new companies Coca-Cola India ,the corporate and marketing office and Coca-Cola Beverages in 1998. But after merging of four companies of different region of India made massy in working culture which made a significance issue of Human Resource at the Company. The state of cultural discoordination was experienced due to the gap of corporate strategy and interpretation of HR strategy. That emerges the condition experienced after mergers different work culture and different value system After merging Coca Coal had huge employees which was more than the resource operation therefore had to accept the cost reduction drive on the human resources front not only that many executives who were provided accommodation in farm house were asked to shift to less expensive apartments. Also company decided not to buy or hire new cars as it felt that the existing fleet of cars was not being used efficiently. In Dabur India, in the fiscal 1998, 75% of Daburs turnover had come from fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and they were not progressing as they wished to.Buoyed by this , the Burman family formulated a new vision in 1999 with an aim to make Dabur Indias best FMCG company by 2004 as corporate strategy. Solution: As the company merges its different bottling operations and obtaining huge human resources (40,000 employees to Coca-Cola doubling the number of employees it had in 1998) under a single umbrella which reflect huge cultural disorientation in the organization as well as distribution of power in the management level felt to change. So that HR introduced hierarchy of that company and divided whole country of operation into six region and each region have got Regional general manager under him one regional functional manager who will report regional general manager. Beside that all Regional manager have to report the VP (Operation) who will report to CEO. To mitigate the organizational cultural chaos and as part of restructure plan , Coca-cola took a strategy level decision to turn itself into a people driven company and to motivate and restore good working cultural environment to inculcate a feeling of belonging, the company gave flowers and cards on the birthdays of the employees and major festivals. All these were the sign of strategic alignment of HR and Corporate strategy (Business goal and therefore merging and cost reduction) and restructuring from HR and establishing organization culture. Due to the problem in business profit and slow progression of Dabur India, HR recruited CEO as an advice from the company hired consultant (Mckinsey) and restructured the organizational hierarchy to meet the organizational objectives such as Customer satisfaction, increased sales and reduce cost, cycle time efficiencym return on investment and shareholder value. And Dabur India tried to makes solution by aligning corporate strategy and HR strategy to meet the organizational objectives Task 3: It has been suggested by Richardson and Thompson(1999) that strategy, whether it is an HR strategy or any other kind of management strategy must have two key elements: there must be strategic objectives, things the strategy is supposed to achieve and ther must be a plan of action,the means by which it is proposed that the objectives will be met. Business Internal HR Strategic Plans HR Implementation Mission External The traditional believe that strategy formulation is a formal, logical, systematic and sequential process. Figure: The sequential approach to formulating HR strategy. A methodology for it was proposed by Dyer and Holder(1998) as follows: Assess feasibility: From an HR point of view, feasibility depends on whether the numbers and types of key people required to make the proposal successes can be obtained on a timely basis and at a reasonable cost. Determine desirability: Examine the implication of strategy in terms of sacrosanct HR policies. Determine goal: These indicate the main issues to be worked on. Decide means of achieving goals: The general rule is that the closer the external and internal fit, the better the strategy, consistent with the need to adapt flexibly to change. Implementing HR Strategies: Strategies tend to be expressed as abstractions but they must be translated into programmes with clearly stated objectives and deliverable. Strategy is traditionally the heart of the human resource managers strategic job. Top management formulate the companys corporate and competitive strategies. Then, manager design strategies, policies and practice that make sense in term of companys corporate and competitive strategies. Human resource management supports strategy execution in other ways. For example, Downsizing and restructuring efforts, out placing employee, cutting pay for performance plans, reducing health care cost and retraining employee. Problems: In Coca-Cola India as they were merged among their different companies therefore that carried forward the employees from different work cultures and different value system. This move towards regionalization which caused dilution of several central jobs with as many as 1500 employees retiring at the bottling plants. Not only that the new line of control strengthened entry and middle level jobs at the regions and downgraded many at the centre. This led to unrest among the employees and about 4o junior and middle level managers and some senior personnel. Dabur India found itself significantly lacking in some critical areas . While Daburs price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was less than 24, for most of others it was more than 40. The net working capital of Dabur was awhopping Rs. 2.2 billion whereas it was less than half of this figure for the others. Even the return on net worth was round 24% for Dabur as against HLL 52% and Colgates 34%. Solution: Coca-Cola introduced a strategy level decision to turn itself into people driven company to make sense of belongingness within the employees. Moreover, the company introduced a detailed career planning system for over 530 managers in the new set up. The system included talent development meeting at regional and functional levels, following which recommendation were made to the HR council. The council then approved and implemented the process through a central HR team. In Dabur India, to comply with the organizational set objectives, HR introduced a new policy of Performance appraisal where their objective were to Get and make strategy based on the concept that the facts of appraisal had to shift to what a person had achievd , as much as on what he was capable of. Task 4: HR Strategy for a Merger: To develop a successful HR strategy for a merger, the responsible HR organization require timely access to all relevant information. Ideally, HR participates in the evaluation of the potential merger candidate and has an opportunity to perform HR due diligence prior to the merger when the technologies, customers, market and finance are being evaluated. A common double handicap often arise during this phase: First, the HR organization of the acquiring company is often not involved in the evaluation until after a decision for merger has been made, HR is the tasked with executing the merger and handling all HR transactions.(Picot, G. 2002,) Second, merger candidates rarely fully disclose details personnel data, with all its strength and awareness. HR management is therefore often faced with major challenge of developing an HR integration strategy without having a complete overview of all the facts. An effective way to address this situation is to form an HR integration team that bring together HR professionals from both companies as early as possible. This will enable the acquiring company to quickly gain a sound understanding of the HR potential for the merger. Joint HR team can also develop a joint strategy for addressing the changes that every merger inevitably produce when organizational entities are merged or eliminated to optimise responsibilities and capacities. There are two elements dominate the development of an HR strategy: Competence management and cultural management. According to Gut-Villa (1997), describes the four main roles of HR professionals in terms of acquiring or mergers strategy: Strategic partner for top management Administrative expert for personnel administration Employee champion for the needs of employees Change agent for transformation process. Difficulties: Four CEO s within 7 years indicating the instability on strategic level of the Coca-Cola and arch rival Pepsi being stepped forward due to organizational incofidence with their Human Resources and also their key operating strategy, not only that reputation become tarnished to the public which was revealed by the media. All of this accumulated Coca-Cola had to count huge loss $ 52 million in 1999. Due to the merging of companys and huge employees of different regions made the organization in a moment of crisis as the different cultures are mixed in a same place and also management needed to be change in order to have had organizational goal achievement. Solution: The Coca-Cola in India had to go in for a massive restructuring exercise focusing on the companys human resources to ensure a smooth acceptance of the merger and therefore launched six regional basis hierarchy topping a CEO and other motivational approach of belongingness from employees. Task 5: The most popular selection technique in practice are: Interviews: Interviewing is universally popular as aselection tool. According to Torrington et al(2002) interview as a controlled conversation with apurpose but this broad definition encompasse a wide diversity of practice.But over the years have received a relatively bad press as being overly subjective and prone to bias to interviewer aand therefore unreliable predictors of future performance and such criteria are possibly applicable for unstructured interview. There are different type of structured interview but they have common features (Anderson and Shakleton, 1993) The interaction is standardised as much as possible All candidates are asked the same series of questions Replies are rated by the interviewer on preformatted rating scales Dimension for rating are derived from critical aspect of on-the-job behaviour. Another two popular structured interview technique are behavioural (questions are focused on the past behaviour)and situational interview (uses the hypothetical questions like what would you do if you had to deal with a team member who was uncooperative) Telephone Interviewing: The use of telephone interview ing is increasing. The CIPD recruitment survey (CIPD ,2005a) found that 30 percent of all organizations and 45 percent of organization in private sector services use telephone interview as part of these selection process. Telephone interviews used to screen out unsuitable applicants or as an integral part of the selection process (IRS, 2005) Tests: Testing is essentially an attempt to achieve objectivity or to put it more accurately to reduce subjectivity in selection decision making (Lewis, 1985). The type of test used for selection are ability and aptitude test s, intelligence tests and personality questionnaires. Ability test s are concerned with skills and abilities already acquired by an individual where aptitude test focus on an individual potential to undertake specific tasks. Difficulties: As the Coca-Cola merged, there were vast changed took place due to restructuring strategy from HR and to comply with the corporate strategy as a part of cost reduction lots of employee needed to laid off. In Dabur, due to companys lack of expectancy and fulfilment of strategic objectives they had to passed a critical time intervention where they felt a hire of an expert to give strategic vision and guide. Solution: Coca-Cola introduced the laying off strategy to meet the corporate strategy. Dabur India hired Mckinsey Co. at a cost of Rs. 80 million. Mckinseys three fold recommendation were: to concentrate on a few business, to improve the supply chain and procurement process and to reorganize the appraisal and compensation systems. And also according to the advice of Mckensey need of CEO, Daburs recruit a CEO which was the first incident of an outside professional being appointed after the restructuring was put in place Task 6: There are three phase of evaluation of performance appraisal as enlisted below: Performance Management based phase Improving Current Performance Phase Development of Individual phase 1. Performance Management based phase: In this phase, there are two main reasons : either as system to control employees or in order to provide data about employees so that benefits(salary increment and other rewards, promotion, transfer, e.t.c.) can be awarded on a more or less systematic and equitable basis. This system emphasized on control through report generation which are often confidential and not shown to the employee being reviewed being produced annually on all employees and which was kept in their personal life. This system relied on heavily on rating performance usually on predetermined numerical scale and used for gathering information about the potential of employees. The operation such system involved burdensome paper work, time and were often not truly representative of effective performance but which might be done to improve performance either by individual or by the organization. 2. Improving Current Performance Phase: The primary approach in this phase so as to change the way in which employees do their jobs. The emphasis putting on: Reviewing previous performance and result for a given period of time against the plans and commitments generated at a previous appraisal Jointly identifying opportunities and needs for improved performance on the part of the employee, and increasing support for other employees and the organization Agreeing performance standards and the ways they will be monitored and assessed. Identifying significant constraints and obstacles to task implementation and planning ways of coping with these. 3. Development of Individual Phase: This phase focused on providing an opportunity to reflect upon professional practice in a structured way, identifying the training and development needs of individual and groups and seeking to provide opportunities for job and career discussions and counselling. Typically they start by revising the role and job content of the employee and analysing what skills and abilities are needed to meet these and then identifying a=what additional or increased capabilities are required to produce an acceptable outcome. However these system excellent interviewing and interpersonal skills for the employee and the manager. Employee Development: Employee development cultivates employees in line with organization, departmental,and work group needs. According to Nadler(1979), Employee development is concerned with preparing employees so that they can move with the organization as it develops, change and grows. Employee development is not always directly tied to observable, behavioural change. It cultivates individuals so tat their organization and work group collectively possess the competencies essential to meet present responsibilities and prepare for future attempt of the organization by the employee. The objectives for employee development can be achieved through following method: Long-term, informal mentoring programs Long-term, formal mentoring programs. Long-term, formalized transfer or exchange programs across organizations, divisions, departments, work units. Short-term rotation programs Special job assignments Action learning projects Field trips Professional conference Behaviour modelling Think tank experience. (Willium, J. 2003) Employee Reward System: An employee reward system consist of an organizations integrated policies, process and practices for rewarding its employees in accordance with their contribution, skill and competence and their market worth. It is developed within the framework of the organizations reward philosophy, strategies and policies. There are several elements in employee reward system including Base pay,Contingent pay, Allowances, Total earnings, employee benefits, total remuneration, Non-financial rewards. (Armstrong, M.,2004) . Decisions about pay increase are often critical ones in the relationship between employees, their managers and the organization. Individuals express expectation about their pay and about how much of an increase received by other employees. There are several ways to determine pay increase: Performance, seniority, cost of living adjustments, across the board increases and lump sum increase. These methods can be used separately or in combination. Performance-Based Increases: A growing number of employers have shifted to more pay for performance philosophy and startegies. Consequently, they have adopted various means to provide employees with performance based increases. There are several types of performance related pays: Payment by result: payment depends on the values of the output of a group or an individual or out put of units per time basis. Piecework: Its depend of each unit of output. This is the oldest category of performance pay. Organization or Plant wide incentives: This bonus pay depends on the measured quantities or value of the overall establishment output of the plant. Merit Pay: It is based on the assessment of the employees contribution to performance. Performance related pay: this payment based on the performance appraisal of an employees against the seted objectives. There are other form of performance related pay like competence based pay and profit related pay. Problems: According to Arthur Andersons team, Coca-Cola carried out a performance appraisal exercise for 560 managers. This led to resignations en- masse. Around 40 managers resigned between July and November 2000. Coca-Cola also Sacked some employees in its drive to overhaul the HR functioning. By January 2001, the company had shed 70 managers accounting for 12% of the management. Solution: To be a learning organization, Coca-Cola introduced a detailed career planning over 530 managers in the new setup. This system included talent development meetings. Efficient management trainee were to be sent to the overseas office for more responsible position. In order to motivate the employee as well as media rumour, Coca-Colas CEO took step to ensure a smooth relationship with the new people in the company. He personally met the finance heads in every territory and made the companys policy plan clear to them. To meet the corporate objectives HR changed the performance appraisal system and to increase employee satisfaction level, Dabur identified certain key performance areas(KPAs) for each employee where performance appraisal and compensation planning were now based on KPAs and employee training was also given a renewed focus, As a facts of motivation Dabur introduced Daburs employee friendly initiatives included annual sales conferences at places like Mauritius . These conferences, attended by over hundred sales executives of the company, combined both work and play aspects for better employee morale and performance. Task 7: Learning Organization: A learning organization is one that continually improve by rapidly creating and refining the capabilities required for future success(Wick and Leon,1995). According to Senge, Learning organization is that where people continually expand their capacity to create the result they truly desire where new and expansive pattern of thinking are nurtured where collective aspiration is set free and where people are continually learning how to learn together. Kandola and Fullerton (1994) proposed a model which reflects the importance of the learning organization and its rational practice in business: Shared Vision: It enables the organization to identify, respond to and benefit from future opportunity. Empowering management: Empoewering the managers and employees in varied extent improve the performance. Enabling structure: organizational structure and its related knowledge aware the employees about their duties and responsibilities according to their hierarchy or organizational structure. Supportive culture : which reveals the expression of the employees, opinion ship, liberty in speech may be the practice of the organization which make the culture of the favourable working organization. Motivated workforce: Learning organization is to learn employess how to be knowledgeable about their right and wants to learn continuously. Enhanced learning: process and policies exist to encourage learning amongst all employees. Knowledge Management: Knowledge management is any process or practice of creating, acquiring , capturing. Sharing and using knowledge, wherever it resides, to enhance learning and performance in organizations(Scarborouogh Swan and Preston,1999). Knowledge management is concern with both stock and flows of knowledge. Stock included expertise and encoded knowledge in computer system. Flows represent the ways in which knowledge is transferred from one people to another people or from one people to data base. It involves transforming knowledge resources by identifying relevant information and then disseminating it so that learning can be take place. In practice of knowledge management the strategis promote the sharing of knowledge by linking