Colonial history US History Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Colonial history US History - Research Paper Example This information has been gathered over the past seven days through intelligence by the forces. Relevant sources inform that there is news spreading through the countryside that some leaders had strayed in Lexington, and had weapons stored in Concord for purposes of destabilizing the crown. General Gage who sent his aides to town in the past four days organized this intelligence gathering; hence, the militias were aware of Gage’s mission and intelligence plans. Therefore, they had established a communication system so that they could know in advance when the government’s forces were coming (â€Å"The Battle of Lexington† 310). This was made to ensure that their military supplies were safe. The militia is said to be under the command and organization of sympathetic colonialists Samuel Adams and John Hancock. One of the militia’s comrades Paul Revere had organized a communication system of alerting the militia of the military’s coming and actions. On 19 April, upon spotting the British army, he used two lanterns as a signal of the British forces approach to seize the military equipments in Concord. However, aware of the generals interest in the town, the militia were said to have moved their equipment to other towns away from Concord (â€Å"The Battle of Lexington† 310). Word has it that he rode while signaling the lanterns from the north church across the Charles River. Revere and Dowse hurriedly rode their horses to the west of the town to sound the warning of the British arrival. The other messengers awakened the town by using the church bells, sounding of drums and firing shots to call everyone out. The town was suddenly running up and down from the alarms; moreover, John Parker who lined them up as the warning continued organized the militia. The militia’s actions are likely to mark the beginning of a revolution against the crown; this is expressed by the events that happened before the shot that was heard around Lexington and people say was

Finding a Familiar World Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Finding a Familiar World - Personal Statement Example Seeing people with chinky eyes, slim and with smooth reddish skin seemed so cool. It was of course different from where my own color. The people both the men and the women seem to be attractive with unique color and features. As a navy, being in the sea for most of the time, seeing people with friendly faces is a treat. We got to tour the place and it was amazing. I easily got caught by the different tourists' destinations and got to enjoy looking at the fashion and electronics products on the country. The city was really clean and the people seemed to be so discipline. The most prominent symbol in Singapore is the Merlion. The Merlion is "an imaginary creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish" and "its name combines 'mer' meaning the sea and 'lion'" (http://en.wikipedia.org, 2009). The symbol is so popular in Singapore that you see it around the country. There is a Merlion on Sentosa, on Mount Faber, and there is also the famous Merlion near the Esplanade Park and fronts Marina Bay. It is particularly visited during the night as it becomes more of an exciting view. Singapore boasts of rich art, history and culture as proven by its beautiful places such as the Singapore museum, Singapore River and Chinatown. It is also filled with the feel of nature and parks such as the Singapore Zoological garden, Crocodila Park, Haw Paw Villa, Singapore Night Safari and Singapore Botanic garden.

Differentiation Of The Self

Differentiation Of The Self Murray Bowen laid a foundation for family systems theory and established an effective way of carrying out family therapy. Among his concepts is that of differentiation of the self, which will be explored in this paper. The paper begins with my own connection with the idea. Next, I explore the theory, describing key players in its development, those related to differentiation, and how it can be used to treat family therapy issues. Keywords: Bowen, differentiation of self, family therapy I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. (Lennon and McCartney, 1967.) In the above lyrics from the song I am The Walrus, the singer sees himself and others as just another version of each other. Any differentiation between self and other is erased. The ability to self-differentiate, however, is critical for personal development, especially with respect to family members. Consequently, the differentiation of the self is not merely a theoretical idea but also a life task for all individuals, including family therapists. As I listen to this Beatles song, I reflect upon how I both might find my place in the world and how I might relate to my family of origin. I find Bowens theory of differentiation of the self compelling because it offers me a means of reviewing past family relationships and dealing with present dynamics in a positive manner, rather than simply cutting off family members entirely and disowning them. Personal Connection To The Theme My interest in Murray Bowens idea of differentiation of the self arose as I reread family therapy literature. Bowens theories spurred me to reevaluate my life, most recently my marriage of June 2010 and my first move outside my parents home in September of the same year. I had moved into this house with my family in August 9, 1974, the day that Richard Nixon resigned from office. This move from our previous home took place to live in a better school district as well as help care for my elderly maternal grandparents. Those grandparents died in 1975. On February 13, 1976, just three days after my ninth birthday and when my brother was not yet eight, my father died of a heart attack. The changes to our family dynamics were profound. At a very young age, I was forced into a position in which I had adult responsibilities as the man of the house, and as my mothers confidante, which included not only hearing adult topics, but being triangulated when my brother acted out. Other new alignments included us brothers acting against our mother and my brother and mother aligning against me. These dynamics have continued and remain the dominant modes of interactions between us three. At times, over the last nineteen years, our emotional interactions became particularly intense, including my departure to attend college, my brothers moving in and out of the house several times, and my mothers repeated illnesses. From 1991 to 2010 I served as my mothers caregiver, with extensive duties including her transportation, errands, house-cleaning, unofficial psychotherapy, and some medical care. During this period, I sacrificed career advancement and earning potential by refusing to consider jobs that would lessen my availability to her if needed. At the same time, I also pursued avenues such as computer training to keep me busy and out of the house. It was very difficult to resolve these competing goals. The dynamics began to change when I met my wife in April, 2009. We bonded over a period of six months, became engaged, and were wed on June 27, 2010. My mother was opposed to our relationship from the start, insisting that a relationship would get in the way of my schoolwork. My brother also was hostile to my wife, saying snide things. Clearly, both preferred the status quo of my enslavement. After the wedding, my wife moved into the house and helped me take care of my mother for two months. This situation soon became intolerable for all three of us. We moved out on September 1, 2010, angering my brother because he had not been consulted about our mothers care arrangements. Since then, I have provided my mother with community resources for her various needs, leaving it up to her to decide if she wishes to use them, as I do not have the time to take care of her any more. Meanwhile, I am currently addressing my self-differentiation process in both individual and couples therapy. As I reflect again upon the Beatles song, I apply it to my own situation, seeing how critical it is to differentiate on the one hand from the he (referring to a deceased father) and the he (referring to a brother), not to mention a she (referring to a mother). I know firsthand how it is a major challenge to become oneself yet at the same time retaining healthy and loving ties with ones family of origin. It is with this difficult enterprise in mind that Murray Bowen developed his highly influential theory. This paper will discuss this theory and its relation to differentiation of the self, beginning with a history of the theory, its key-players and successors. Early History and Successors According to Nichols and Schwartz (2009), Murray Bowen was a psychiatrist at the Menninger Clinic in the late 1940s. He was interested in the relationship between schizophrenics and their mothers, which he understood not as a symbiosis of two equal partners, but as an amplified version of a tendency to emotionally react in relationships. Then, while working at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which he became a part of in 1954, he initiated the hospitalization of entire families with a schizophrenic member. Among his significant findings was the realization that the entire family was involved in the bond between the mother and the disturbed child. From these observations he formulated the idea of anxious attachment, a phenomenon in which closeness in troubled families is driven by anxiety to the point that family, members were stuck together or fused to the point that they lacked personal autonomy. When the NIMH project ended in 1959, Bowen moved to Georgetown Universit y, where he worked for 31 years. In 1990, he died after a long illness, but not before imparting his wisdom to several students and successors. Nichols and Schwartz (2009) note that Bowens students Philip Guerin and Thomas Fogarty formed the Center For Family Learning in New Rochelle, New York in 1973. Guerin was interested in measuring the severity of the conflict and then singling out specific issues to work on. This therapy model had several components. Guerin stressed the multigenerational context of families, carefully defined familial relationship patterns, and paid close attention to addressing the intense emotions of the family member. Bowen also passed the mantle to Betty Carter and Monica McGoldrick, who are best known for elucidating the family life cycle and promoting feminist perspectives within the field. Perhaps Michael Kerr is Bowens most faithful student and colleague. He has been the director of the Georgetown Family Center since 1977. He wrote the book Family Evaluation with Bowen in 1988. Theoretical Constructs Bowens theory is multifaceted. According to Winek (2010), his first main idea is that of chronic anxiety, which holds them together. Bowen found that although chronic anxiety is found across the animal kingdom and it is less a cognitive response than an automatic one. When the anxiety experienced by individuals is low, those persons have a greater capacity to contemplate either a specific situation or their overall existence. When the level of anxiety increases, the ability to think about a situation calmly declines and affected individuals become far more emotionally reactive. Over time, an emotionally reactive person becomes conflicted, distant or emotionally cutoff. These cutoffs will be discussed later. As noted by Winek (2010), the contrasting ideas of differentiation and emotional fusion are important to Bowen in the attempt to relieve a patient of that anxiety. Differentiation refers to how a person functions in response to his or her level of anxiety. This is an individual reaction in that differentiated persons can deal with their anxiety on their own and allow emotional issues to be addressed without being fused with others emotions. Bowen worked with Michael Kerr to develop a differentiation scale, and stressed that the more differentiated a person was, the less likely they would be ill or irrational because of stress. In contrast, emotional fusion is in many ways an unhealthy extension of a natural process. When infants are born, they are emotionally fused with their primary caregiver, usually the mother. They have the developmental task of developing their own personality, and should be able to grow into adolescence and adulthood, move out and start their own family. If a f amily is said to be fused, family members share common emotional responses. If a single family member experience anxiety, the entire family does so as well. If one member attempts to become more autonomous, the other members collectively experience these actions as abandonment. Emotionally fused persons are disempowered in several ways. They can cope with anxiety-producing situations either emotionally or intellectually, but not both at the same time. They also have an all or nothing approach in dealing with relationships, to the point that when these relationships become too intense, they tend to cut off emotionally and physically. These acts of cutting off do not ultimately reduce anxiety, but instead increases it (Winek, 2010). Other ideas important to Bowen include the pseudo-self, which he developed with Michael Kerr. When people sense they lack positive attributes such as strength and wisdom, within themselves, they attempt to put on a false front that exhibit those traits to seek validation from others, the false self they present is the pseudo-self. Another important idea Bowen presented is that of borrowed functioning, which refers to an individual who ostensibly functions at a higher level than his or her partner. For example, in a couple in which there is a health problem, the ill partner may be functioning at a lower level in part because the other partner is invested in perpetuating a dynamic in which he or she is a caretaker. Both pseudo-self and borrowed functioning operate at an unconscious level (Winek, 2010). Winek (2010) states that the remaining constructs developed by Bowen further help to elucidate differentiation of self. Other theorists refer to a family system but Bowen calls it the emotional system. Bowen refers to a naturally occurring multigenerational transmission process, in which current generations are connected to past generations. Thus, current symptoms in a given family emotional system may derive from an earlier generation. These longstanding symptoms may persist until individual family members are able to differentiate further. One can think of differentiation, fusion and the pseudo-self all as attempts to relieve anxiety in an emotional system. According to Winek (2010), this is particularly apparent in Bowens idea of the emotional triangle. When two family members experience anxiety, they achieve balance by incorporating a third member into their relationship, thus creating the triangle. Triangles occur in what Bowen called nuclear family emotional system. Viewed in this way, any constant anxiety within a family unit over time would show up as a dysfunction within the whole family. An example of a triangle is when parents experience marital difficulties, but rather then address the problems together, they focus their attention together upon one or more children. Bowen also was able to conclude that birth order will affect a childs relationships including involvement in triangles by drawing upon Walter Tomans work concerning ten distinct personality subtypes of siblings based on birth order. Lastly, Bowen extended his work with the family to apply to society as a whole, which he believed also operates like a family, with its own multigenerational transmission, chronic anxiety, and struggles of differentiation. Within both a family and society, there are ebbs and flows in anxiety, with social problems occurring when high anxiety is present. Bowen even applied his idea of societal regression to the family therapy profession, and was concerned that it might have rapid growth, but also fade quickly like a fad. He was afraid that it might quickly ebb and flow (Winek, 2010). Fortunately for mental health professionals and society, family therapy has not faded. More Perspective On Differentiation Becvar and Becvar (2009) provide further detail regarding differentiation, noting that Bowen was concerned with two kinds of differentiation, both the external differentiation of the self from others and also the internal differentiation of feeling processes from intellectual processes. People who are undifferentiated from others are likely to marry or make permanent commitments to each other. Instead, a couple composed of two undifferentiated persons will experience one or more of the following: emotional distance between themselves, dysfunction in at least one of the spouses, open conflict, or projection of problems onto children. Children indeed are significantly affected in such a family. Bowens believed that because a child resonates the mothers instability, the mother, thinking the child is the one with the problem, becomes overprotective, thus further impairing the child. According to Bowen, simply because individuals live physically apart from their family of origin, it does not mean that they are differentiated. As noted above, even a complete emotional cut off is not a successful form of differentiation. Until emotional attachments and cutoffs are successfully negotiated, fusion will increase and the multigenerational transmission will persist. Amidst these attachment issues, a highly differentiated person will recover from stress because they have more coping mechanisms in contrast to a person who is less differentiated. Finally, Becvar and Becvar stress that though Bowen valued a high degree of differentiation, he nevertheless acknowledged that it was a theoretical ideal in which each person could be self-reliant, and not make others responsible for their emotions (Becvar and Becvar, 2009). Assessment and Treatment Issues Walsh and McGraw (2002) discuss the practical applications of Bowens theory for the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of family issues. Therapists following Bowens theory do not pathologize a single family member, but instead address the problem in the context of the family system. The first sessions consist of taking a history of the presenting problem, the nuclear family as a whole, as well as a history of both spouses extended family systems. Thus might include the initial documentation of births, divorces, and deaths on a genogram. Particular attention would be given to any triangles and emotional cutoffs that affect the nuclear family. The most important issue for Bowenians in the practical applications of his theory is to foster differentiation of the self. The reason is that if individuals increase differentiation, they can better cope with anxiety intellectually and will hopefully lessen their emotional reactivity as they improve their intellectual functioning. A related go al with family therapy is to take care of unfinished business in the family of origin. Bowenian therapists will seek to reduce anxiety and lessen symptoms. While symptom and anxiety reduction can occur between a few sessions or months of treatment, improving differentiation can take years. Along with assessment, Walsh and McGraw (2002) delineate six steps in treatment. First, the presenting problem is explored, Second the therapist works with the family to develop their genogram. Third, systemic questions are used to understand family relationships. Fourth, the focus is broadened to larger family systems. Fifth, feedback is provided to families. Finally, techniques are used to promote change. In contrast to other family therapy models, Bowenian family therapy does not employ many techniques. Those that are used are designed to decrease anxiety and emotional reactivity in the family. The use of genograms remains the most important component in this model, because genograms both organize family information and capture family dynamics. Also central to success in family therapy are other techniques. This includes the therapists commitment to a stance of emotional neutrality, thus ensuring that he or she does not being triangulated into the system. To this end, Bowenian therapists employ factual questioning to focus with the family upon their dynamics as opposed to the tense emotionality and reactivity. They make use of didactic teaching by directly teaching family members about emotional systems so that family members can think more objectively. Other helpful techniques a therapist can suggest for family members include role-playing, talking to an empty chair to represent absent members, journaling, and writing letters to each other about family situations and their feelings about them. In multiple family therapy, families work as a group, with Bowen addressing one family at a time while the other families observed (Walsh and McGraw, 2002). Discussion In preparing for this paper, I learned how much of Bowens theory made sense for my own life. My development as an adult including my familys response to my recent marriage have provided unique educational models. I have learned how to enforce boundaries with my mother and brother, while my wife does the same with her family. I started preparing this paper shortly after we started couples work to deal with our families of origin. While I have not finished my differentiation work, I see myself in the midst of the process with my wife. We want to have healthy emotional lives, and are concerned about passing on dynamics to our children. I have also realized that there are common treatment issues in all families. For example, many families like my own face anxiety in how members relate. There are degrees of fusion and separation in families. Mine has been obviously fused, probably for some generations back. I also realized that physically cutting myself off from my family or my wife doing so would not help anyone. I choose to acknowledge my own family experience with those clients I meet, and will seek to remain objective. My own preference for using Bowens model is to be more engaged than observational. I am particularly interested in using the aforementioned techniques of genograms, role-playing, letter-writing and the empty chair. As a future counselor, I also know that differentiation does not mean isolation and abandonment of ones family, and I will take that knowledge into my practice. In returning to the song lyrics, I hope that I can apply Bowens theories to my life and my work. My goal is to separate being me from he or you or she. Then, I can truly say that we are altogether as individuals, not in a fused mass.

The Genre of Cyberpunk :: Literature Science Fiction Essays

The Genre of Cyberpunk Cyberpunk is, as its authors would have it, a revolutionary new genre. The Movement is made up of radical new authors breaking from traditional SF ideology and prose. The style evokes a sense of fear and paranoia while overloading the reader with information. Aside from these indefinable feelings evoked by the genre, cyberpunk contains several concrete, identifiable themes in every story. The central theme is about fringe characters -- outsiders -- living in a grimy, seedy world ruled over by huge, all-encompassing megacorporations. The megacorps permeate the world of these characters with an impersonal, hopeless aura. One can either work for them as a wage-drone in mediocrity, or against them as against gods in a pitiful fight to outwit them. The cyberpunk world is completely overwhelmed, infused, and inundated by corporate technology such as decks, the Matrix, "prosthetic limbs, implanted circuitry, cosmetic surgery, genetic alteration" (Sterling xiii), and artificial intelligences . The megacorporate philosophy that everything can be bought and sold, like the technology that is bought and sold, makes human life cheap and worthless. Technology has replaced humans, much like machines today have already replaced workers on the assembly line. The Girl Who Was Plugged In is an exquisite example of cyberpunk, although it was published about a decade before the Movement. The story examines characters on the fringe of society; characters who are unaccepted and unaccepting of mainstream society. In the tradition of Gina and Rickenharp the rock-and-roll dinosaurs, Mona the prostitute, and Case the burned-out decker, P. Burke is a prime example of such an outcast. In her original and final form, Burke is "the ugly of the world" (Tiptree 45). She does actually worship the corporate gods and comes to love living in the luxury of society, but she would gladly throw it all away for Paul. Although born into the corporate hierarchy/family, Paul is as much an outsider as Burke. He's a revolutionary fighting the good fight against the megacorporate entity of GTX with the corp's own equipment, making shows "pregnant with social protest. An underground expression" (Tiptree 66). This fits with Sterling's comment that cyberpunk is due to th e "overlapping of worlds that were formerly separate: the realm of high tech, and the modern pop underground" (Sterling xi). If Burke and Paul constitute the punk archetypes of the story, then the high tech, the cyber, elements of the story are everywhere to be seen. The Genre of Cyberpunk :: Literature Science Fiction Essays The Genre of Cyberpunk Cyberpunk is, as its authors would have it, a revolutionary new genre. The Movement is made up of radical new authors breaking from traditional SF ideology and prose. The style evokes a sense of fear and paranoia while overloading the reader with information. Aside from these indefinable feelings evoked by the genre, cyberpunk contains several concrete, identifiable themes in every story. The central theme is about fringe characters -- outsiders -- living in a grimy, seedy world ruled over by huge, all-encompassing megacorporations. The megacorps permeate the world of these characters with an impersonal, hopeless aura. One can either work for them as a wage-drone in mediocrity, or against them as against gods in a pitiful fight to outwit them. The cyberpunk world is completely overwhelmed, infused, and inundated by corporate technology such as decks, the Matrix, "prosthetic limbs, implanted circuitry, cosmetic surgery, genetic alteration" (Sterling xiii), and artificial intelligences . The megacorporate philosophy that everything can be bought and sold, like the technology that is bought and sold, makes human life cheap and worthless. Technology has replaced humans, much like machines today have already replaced workers on the assembly line. The Girl Who Was Plugged In is an exquisite example of cyberpunk, although it was published about a decade before the Movement. The story examines characters on the fringe of society; characters who are unaccepted and unaccepting of mainstream society. In the tradition of Gina and Rickenharp the rock-and-roll dinosaurs, Mona the prostitute, and Case the burned-out decker, P. Burke is a prime example of such an outcast. In her original and final form, Burke is "the ugly of the world" (Tiptree 45). She does actually worship the corporate gods and comes to love living in the luxury of society, but she would gladly throw it all away for Paul. Although born into the corporate hierarchy/family, Paul is as much an outsider as Burke. He's a revolutionary fighting the good fight against the megacorporate entity of GTX with the corp's own equipment, making shows "pregnant with social protest. An underground expression" (Tiptree 66). This fits with Sterling's comment that cyberpunk is due to th e "overlapping of worlds that were formerly separate: the realm of high tech, and the modern pop underground" (Sterling xi). If Burke and Paul constitute the punk archetypes of the story, then the high tech, the cyber, elements of the story are everywhere to be seen.

West Coast Limited

West Coast Limited is a company that specializes in PC Hardware, printers, monitors, software, parts and range of AV equipment.   There are currently eight employees including:   One administration person, three small parts people, two forklift drivers, a manager and one goods inward department employee.In this company, each person has been taking many roles.   The following has been discovered:   The administration person handles the role primarily of checking in goods as they are received.   In addition, the administration person assists the small parts people when she has time.   The small parts people currently put away small parts then assist bookkeeping when finished. Their duties also include moving stock, unloading stock, and assisting the manager when needed.The forklift drivers spent approximately 30% of their time consolidating things then putting items away that were received by shipping.   The manager spends his time answering emails and answering the phone . He is responsible for all scanners we well, which can be time consuming considering they move very slowly.   The goods inward rep works in the department and handles strictly goods inward.Developmental NeedsIn reviewing the company’s daily tasks and the roles of the individual staff, I have recognized there are primarily ten different tasks which are pertinent to be completed daily.   The tasks include:   Checking goods in as they arrive, putting away small parts, consolidating bins, putting away receivables with forklift for larger items, bookkeeping, moving stock, checking paperwork, answering phones, answering emails and incoming scanners.There are five official titles including: forklift driver, manager, goods inward department, small parts and administration.   All of these job titles are currently performing a mixture of functions which can be damaging to the organization. First, each person is spending only a certain amount of time on their area then assistin g another area.   This is a problem considering there is a specific job that needs to be done to its fullest. Having a number of hands in the pot of each area is leaving too much room for error.   It is easy to have a lack of communication when there are so many different people working at different times, in no apparent schedule.The developmental needs begin with creating a job description for each title and defining the objectives that are needed to be completed daily.   The job description should also provide the steps necessary in order to be recognized for advancement, as well as what advancement opportunities will come next. Advancement opportunities need to be developed. This can include promotion to manager of that area, as well as the chance to post out of your department and try for a new role.   Doing this will encourage employees to be ready for change, and gain excitement in that area.In order to prepare advancement opportunities, individual performances should be measured.   This should be measured annually beginning with this year.   To begin the process of a pay scale should be created for each department and clearly communicated to the employee in that area where they stand. The key elements of what is required should be provided in a written job description.   Additionally, the steps to be measured in a performance evaluation should be provided to the employees. This will create an open environment and begin the process of communication as employees will feel informed, every step of the way.Developmental Opportunities for the TeamTeam building exercises should take place in order to build open communication.   This can be done by each department. Each department should evaluate what objectives that they need met at this time, as well as search for areas that they may be deficient and need help.   Times can be established that other departments and team members can be assigned to help the lagging department get caught up. In return, the assisting department should be prepared with a list of items that they need help with, and be prepared to ask for the same help in return.Having excellent communication is very important in times of change. Everyone handles changes differently, which is why it is important during a transition to emphasize on communication.   In order to ensure a good development of this, meetings should be held. An initial meeting, company wide should be held in order to advise employees of what transitions will take place. An estimated time frame for restructure should be provided.   An update as to the reasons for the transitions should be provided.   A point of contact for questions and concerns should be established and provided.Once an initial meeting has been completed, a regular schedule for meeting updates should be provided.   This will keep employees informed.Developmental Opportunities for each IndividualThe first step for development for an each individual is to sched ule a time for the employee to meet with the manager. This meeting should consist of the employee receiving their job description. The job description should define daily tasks and specifications. It should also provide the measurement tools of this position. The annual review process should be introduced to employees, advising of the steps that they will bemeasured. The employee should also be encouraged to offer assistance when needed, to other areas that are delinquent in their daily completion of tasks.   Considering each person will have defined duties, the process of doing their position part of the day then assisting other area’s will be deleted. The individual will only assist other areas when it is determined by management that it is necessary to obtain additional help versus offering overtime to the employees of that department.   Additionally, any questions or feedback should be encouraged. Training opportunities need to be discussed in the meeting.   This wi ll include reviewing the job description with the employee to obtain any pertinent information as to any training needs that they feel they need.Development Objectives Based on the Needs for Development, Opportunities for Team and Each IndividualIn order to define objectives for each individual, a short quiz or questionnaire should be provided containing the following questions:â€Å"Take a minute to consider your daily work tasks and identify the tools and skills you will need to perform them.What personal qualities are needed to succeed describe the mental and physical skills and tools you use to get motivated for classes, tests, presentations and reviews† (ferret 2003)This will evaluate where the employee stands and get a good idea of the additional training that they will need to receive if any in order to do a good job. This questionnaire will also identify the employee’s objectives and interest in their current roles.Team building should be encouraged considering each person is used to putting their hands in a lot of areas. Everyone reacts different to change. therefore it is important to be prepared to handle different reactions to the changes being made.   In prevention of lack of communication, the following points should be reviewed in company meetings:â€Å"1. Be aware of your feelings.  2. See the value in diversity  3. Treat people as individuals  4. Treat people with respect  5.   Be aware of differences  6. Listen7. Get involved8. Take risks9. Apologize when you make a mistake10. Speak out11. Encourage representation† (ferret 2003).Another strategy should be used to encourage adaptation to change. This includes encourage.   Encouragement should be in the area of changing the way of thinking.   Currently the daily thought process includes looking at tasks as a partial project until moving on to a new area.   This needs to be changed to looking at the big picture in effort to ensure quality and productivity .   This can be done with a lesson.   The recommended lesson is:â€Å"Working in Day Units† (Davidson 2004) as The â€Å"60 Second Procrastinator† (Davidson 2004) suggests, you need to take each project that needs to be done and organize this by each day.   For this company it will include: the amount of inventory coming in for the day, the amount of emails, busy phone times, busy email times, arranging inventory put away and small parts put away by the amount of volume. Organize the volume expected to be conducted by that department by the day and treat each day as an opportunity. Once this becomes a pattern then the company will be accustom to functioning in this manner.Assess the Program Against Development ObjectivesThe program that I designed will meet development objectives. It is designed to bring out the training issues which may exist from each employee, and to format each person with a job description, to be sure that each area is being handled by someo ne that is familiar with the whole picture of that area.   This will ensure a 100 percent focus on each area, instead of having someone who only does that part of the time, working in the area. The program is designed to create a smooth flow of operations, and provide initiatives for employees so that they want to stay with the company.In addition, the program is a developmental tool for each person. It will help to open communication and show each person that they are valued. It will encourage participation from those interested in advancement. When opportunities are provided along with objectives, people will meet those if they feel they will be rewarded and recognized.Planning the Work Activities for the TeamThe new structure for daily work activities will be as follows:Goods inward department will check in goods as they come in and handle incoming scannersOne small parts girl will put away small parts The other small parts girl will consolidate the bins Forklift driver will pu t things away that require a forklift Forklift driver will move large items that require a forklift Administration will do bookkeeping, answer phones and respond to emails Manager will oversee daily operations, and review department objectives. He will measure areas that need improvement and delegate others to assist if departments are delinquentIf there is a time when the department is clear of duties, then a list of ongoing items should be compiled in order to keep busy, such as reviewing daily tasks to ensure completion as well as preparation for upcoming busy times.Gaining Commitment for Work Activities from your TeamHave employees sign a slip recognizing that they have been advised of their job description.   Have a one on one with each employee to make sure that they are comfortable with the process and are aware of the changes that will be made.   Give them a mission statement of the company.   Give them knowledge of what the performance evaluation will entail and the a mount of raise they could receive next year according to their accomplishments.Encouraging Involvement and Assessing Progress of Work ActivitiesThe manager should provide positive reinforcement. A good tool is to keep a white board in the meeting area. A new affirmation should be listed daily for each person to review at their leisure. Whether employees comment on this or not, it is a positive reinforcement tool. An example of one of the affirmations could be:   â€Å"Every day is an opportunity- I can’t get to Friday until I step on Monday†. (Harrell 2003) He should be out and in the work area’s available to answer any questions, all while performing procedure verification to be sure that the people are doing daily tasks, and to check the progress of what is being done. He should be notified of any problem areas and then once the problem area’s in order to provide compliance.Modifying Plans to Ensure that Performance Objectives are Being Met and Relati ng this to Day to Day Management Activities:Day to day management activities should include reviewing the work areas for accomplishments daily and performing daily walk thru’s. Morning meetings to reviews and accomplishments and goals should be conducted. This will also create enthusiasm and promote positive attitudes. Managers should establish a clear set of goals pertaining to what needs to get accomplished and follow up on those goals.   One on one coaching and mentoring should be provided on a daily basis. One day a week can be spent with each area in order to accomplish this.ConclusionThere’s a lot of work to be completed, however the most positive asset that this company has at this time includes the fact that each employee has a good knowledge of primarily all areas. Despite the fact that each person will have their own job description, this experience provides a broad overview of the company and gives each department some objectives to work toward if they are interested in advancement.In conclusion, this company has daily activities established. However; they need to spend time to organize, inform, and provide incentives. Once the company is organized, they will be more productive, at which time more business will arrive.   Once employees are informed, and given tools necessary to exceed they will feel valued and important. Valued employees are happy employees, which leaves little room for turnover.ReferencesFerrett, Sharon K. Peak Performance: Success in College and Beyond.   California: Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2003Davidson, Jeff. The 60 Second Procrastinator. Massachusetts: AdamsMedia, 2004Harrell, Keith. Attitude is Everything. New York: HarperCollins, 2003A

Country Factbook Between Seden and Denmark on Organic Food Industry Essay

1. Executive summary The organic food industry is suitable for business investments in both Sweden and Denmark due to several factors. First of all, efficient local intermediary firms and certain broader macro-level institutions facilitate business and provide location advantages. Moreover, studying the business/industry culture can be used to gain insights in the business environment of Sweden/Denmark in the field of organic food. However, the complex natures of harvesting organic goods make it impossible to indicate the best location for production, as this depends on the particular product being produced. As a result, demand and supply across Sweden and Denmark are met by means of a widespread retail sector, intra-industry trade and export. Only by making an estimation of sectorial breakdown and its counterparts an (somewhat) informed investment decision can be made. Either way, it is evident that organic food industry as a whole has gained popularity due to several reasons. One example is that CSR profiles of firms have become an customary element in the product purchasing decision in recent times. It can be said that recent developments in technological- (information technology revolution) and political nature (subsidies) have contributed to this trend, documents playing an important role in particular. Since culture consists of documents and culture is more available to document analysis today it has been our choice in our data collection method. In turn, for data analysis we have made use of coding, series of events and semiotics. It is these that have allowed us to assess macroeconomic performance of Sweden and Denmark as well as its historical developments, socio-cultural conditions and the nature of competitiveness in the organic industry field. Despite the fact that Sweden and Denmark share many similarities in each one of these areas there are some differences. However, these are considered to be subtle and highly context-dependent. Therefore, we would also not like to answer our research question, ‘’How and why do the organic industry conditions differ between Sweden and Denmark? ’’ in this section, but hope that you will find an answer what is best for you in the pages of the remainder of this report. Ultimately, we will provide major findings of comparisons and recommendations, based on our views and experience gained during our research. It might be possible to ‘’tweak’’ this information in such a way in making it applicable for your particular business scenario or business plan. 2. Introduction This section is meant to state the goal, relevance and purpose of our Factbook. Furthermore, it will give rise to our lead question, being ‘’How and why do the organic industry conditions differ between Sweden and Denmark? ’’ To boot, we hope to achieve appraisal and recognition for our deliverables from whom ultimately might use and/or buy our Factbook. Like the CIA Factbook, our focus is on the industry. However, it is important to note that we have tried to achieve more than the already existing Factbooks, as they are often too comprehensive or lacking in value. We have tried to overcome the first problem by linking theory to application and writing about it. In this, our main challenge has been to take into account all aspects that somehow matter for the bottom line, the profitability of an investment project. Yet, since profitability is a relative term it might be better to speak of opportunity costs. This terminology is crucial to understand for correct business decision making to take place and also forms the backbone for our final recommendations in our Factbook. Moreover, Pugel (2009) has showed that many industries incur rising, rather than constant, marginal opportunity costs. For instance, efforts to expand Denmark/Sweden organic wheat production would fairly quickly run into rising costs caused by limits on (1) how much more land could be drawn into wheat production and how suitable this additional land would be for wheat production, (2) the availability of additional workers willing and suitable to work on the farms, and/or (3) the availability of seeds, fertilizers, and other material inputs. As for the second problem, we focus mostly on institutionalism and culture as they are lacking in other country Factbooks. Examples of institutions that can facilitate business in Sweden and Denmark are efficient local intermediary firms and certain broader macro-level institutions, both being considered to be generally available location advantages (Verbeke 2010). Concerning culture, we are particularly interested in business/industry culture. This is based on logic that our analysis is mainly on the industry level. Furthermore, Hollensen (2008) has showed that business/industry culture of business behavior and ethics is similar across borders, i. e. expected to be the same for Sweden and Denmark. By learning about the industry culture the decision maker will be aware of important ‘rules of the game’ (Hollensen 2008). Concerning the purpose, this Factbook is meant to facilitate a document that will be considered important for decision makers, i. e. policy makers but especially business investors. From an investment perspective, several hierarchical modes (domestic-based sales representatives, mergers and acquisition, alliances, greenfield) are possible. However, retailer alliances and mergers and acquisition are most popular. To illustrate, in the case of Sweden retailer alliances control 90% of the food retail stores (http://www. snee. org/filer/papers/193. pdf). Furthermore, because the organic food market in Denmark and Sweden and Europe in general is rather fragmented, mergers provide benefits and interest to investors through economies of scale (http://www. nytimes. com/2011/05/24/business/global/24organic. html). Lastly, market growth, political support and complimentary resources in both Denmark and Sweden stimulate and attract business investors. These and other issues will be elaborated in the remainder of this report. All in all, we will provide the examiner with information of which we believe to be relevant for decision makers and can be used for deciding which company, or which industries of this company, to invest in. Hereby, we have tried to identify the major dimensions relevant to comparative country studies. These have been chosen carefully and matter for the organic food industry and a wide spectrum of business within this industry. In turn, these dimensions can be used to compare the countries Sweden and Denmark. Ultimately, the contents of this Factbook are meant to stay closely connected to the country set Sweden/Denmark and it’s organic food industry, yet still is general to the extent that it allows applying the information to a concrete business case. With the final product of our Factbook we hope to have provided the reader with a clear understanding of the conditional differences between Sweden and Denmark and as such an answer to our research question. Concerning the structure of the remainder of this paper, we will subsequently discuss: methods and frameworks, introduction to organic food sector, methods and frameworks, country comparison, major findings of comparison and recommendations and the bibliography. 3. Methods and frameworks 3. 1 Method for Factbook compilation As method for our Factbook compilation we have opted to first focus on the country and then on the region. It can be described as a region-based compilation (RBC) technique. For example, if you look at technology, technology is taking place in Eindhoven in The Netherlands and not in Delfzijl. If you are going to do something with energy then you end up in Delfzijl rather than in Eindhoven. However, making such a comparison for Sweden or Denmark in terms of organic food proves difficult. To explain, people that argue that organic food is simply being harvested on the most fertile agricultural land are likely to mix up terms. That is, fertility should be clearly set aside from productivity or even best land. Indeed, you can have a highly fertile area but deficient in its use do its limited crop sizes. Moreover, a certain area of agricultural land might be appropriate to harvest a particular organic product, but is less appropriate or least suitable for other organic products. Lastly, in general organic material levels go up as you go north. But productivity does not necessarily follow the same trend because the same shorter season and lower temperatures that helped build and maintain that organic material, limits growing seasons and crops growth. In order to prevent complexity we have decided to focus more on the retail sector of Sweden and Denmark than the production sector. The retail sector will include exports as over 70 percent of the exports of industrialized countries are shipped to other industrialized countries, and nearly half of total world trade is industrialized countries trading with each other (Pugel 2009). Sweden and Denmark are no exception, as they are known to have an established intra-industry trade relationship. Besides physical locations we also like to discuss official statistics as another compilation issue. The main issue is that official statistics often rely on incomplete information and therefore involve estimation. In our report we have made use of two types of estimation, sectorial breakdown and its counterparts. We have chosen to select these two types in order to facilitate the decision maker with a reflection opportunity of a wide variety of activities he/she might be interested in. Furthermore, in an attempt to ‘standardize’ statistics we will use figures of the Central Statistics Office (or a comparable source) as much as possible for both Denmark and Sweden. We believe it is advisable to use comparable or equal sources between the two countries as it strengthens the reliability of our research. Based on previous experience and narratives we believe the Central Statistics Office (also known as Central Statistics Bureau) is one of the most easily accessible and reliable sources to be found on the Internet. Furthermore, in order to prevent possible ambiguity we will use equal terminology for both countries as much as possible, including definitions of sectors and instrument categories. Moreover, we would like to briefly discuss the overall structure of the Factbook. First of all, the executive summary is meant to provide background information on the topic of organic food as an industry and can act as a quick-review guide of what the examiner is likely to expect in the report. In this, the executive summary contains several main ideas reflected in the report itself. Furthermore, the introduction discusses more distinct the Factbook and the underlying principles. Then, data collection and data analysis show arguments for the choices we have made in conducting our empirical research. As to the chapters that follow, these are simply a representation and a more in-depth analysis of what has been announced in the previous chapters and act as to share our findings in terms of describing legal, political, environmental, institutional and cultural dimensions. Lastly, we finalise our report by concluding with major findings of comparisons and recommendations. 3. 2 Prime theories and approaches There are different theories to be utilized for compiling this Factbook. One of the main drivers for organic farming is environmental reason, which are often associated with care for the environment. Moreover, it can be argued that the choice for buying ‘’organic’’ is also driven by social cultural reasoning, having this care for the environment being embedded as part of the culture. Indeed, this is mainly the case in the Western market where awareness towards environmental issues has risen in recent times. It is terms like corporate responsibility and sustainability that have become a part of the decision making process of Western consumers as to what to buy and to whom to buy it from. In this, environmental and socio-cultural values have become an important facet in the decision making process of the consumer in general, the organic food industry being no exemption. In an attempt to verify and examine these trends we will make use of theory of Schwartz (1999) combined with the theory of planned behaviour to determine if organic food consumption offers potential for business investment to take place. As we shall see later on, Schwartz his cultural values can be used to assess the main characteristics of the average Swedish and Danish inhabitant and how these assist in making inferences about core values, behaviour and its relation to the organic food industry. In order to find more specific similarities and differences we have made use of the framework as proposed by S. Ruiz de Maya et al. (2011), who offer us a theoretical approach to the organic food industry from the consumer side. It is this that provides us with socio-cultural factors and helping the investor to decide whether Sweden or Denmark is more ‘suitable’ to invest in, depending on a particular context. In addition, the PESTLE analysis will also be utilized in this report. It is important to note that we will not be focusing on the whole framework but on the political, social and legal factors provided. By examining the political factors we can determine how these influence the organic food industry. For instance, some administrations can be beneficial for the organic food industry. For instance, by stimulating farmers to dedicate more land for organic farming and usage of organic food in government institutions. However, in another term a different administration might not be so favourable to organic farming and food, which could lead to a different situation. For example, abolishing organic farming grants. As mentioned before, the social side of organic food consumption is important. Health and environmental issues have become more important for the general public. Furthermore, the investor should keep in mind that views concerning organic food can change. These factors can have an influence on the demand. Last aspect is the legal aspects. For example, determine the definition of organic food and who or how they uphold this standard. This factor is related to the political part of the PESTLE analysis. Legislation concerning organic food is important for the Factbook. There can be differences between Denmark and Sweden concerning organic food industry. 3. 3 Method for data collection and analysis. This section will discuss our chosen method for data collection and analysis. We will start by addressing the data collection technique, after which the data collection analysis approach will follow. First of all, it can be said that our study involves both qualitative research (a focus on text) and quantitative research (a focus on numbers). However, since institutionalism and culture are clearly more qualitative we have opted to focus on qualitative data collection techniques. In the end, we have made use of solely documents as a qualitative data collection technique. Although we would have liked to include interviews and fieldwork in our research, we experienced that it is difficult, if not impossible, for us to carry out these activities successfully. First, we could not find any suitable individuals or focus groups being knowledgeable about our subject. Second, we do not believe ourselves to be proficient enough in fieldwork as to ensure reliable and valid results. Moreover, the duration of the necessary fieldwork was also expected not to fit within the given timeframe set to create the Factbook. In either case, there are some advantages of using documents as opposed to interviews and fieldwork. For example, documents are relatively cheap and quick to access (Payne & Payne, 2004). It is usually much easier to obtain data from documents than from interviews or fieldwork. Also, if there are many documents on a subject, which we believe to hold true for our case, triangulation is possible to study developments over time. In terms of sources of data, our research is limited to secondary data only. Indeed, we did not make use of any unpublished data being gathered directly from people or organizations. Instead, we have made use of published books, webpages, newspaper articles and journal articles. Somewhat surprisingly, we found that these sources were able to provide us with sufficient empirical data for our research, especially with regard to culture related aspects. Concerning the latter, we would also like to refer to Altheide (1996), who said that documents are studied to understand culture. He has pointed out that a large part of culture consists of documents. Furthermore, he has showed that culture is more available to document analysis today because of the information technology revolution. (Altheide, 1996). Finally, in order to assess the quality of the documents used, we have made use of four criteria as proposed by Scott (1990): (1) authenticity, (2) credibility, (3) representativeness & (4) meaning. Concerning the method for data analysis, we have chosen to make use of several approaches for analyzing qualitative data. Probably the one being used the most is coding. We have chosen this approach primarily because it is one of the easiest ways to analyse qualitative data. In addition, it offers many advantages. For instance, it allows reducing the size of the data and is useful for retrieving, organizing, and speeding up the analysis (Miles & Humberman, 1994). Although this method has been used throughout the entire report, it has been particular helpful in our literature review on the organic food industry, as making use of buzzwords has helped in defining the scope of our research. Moreover, it was found helpful for the executive summary and the introduction, as these are more restricted in terms of length. Here coding has acted as an instrument to make distinctions between either ‘too detailed’ or ‘too general’ more easily. Another data analysis approach we have made use of is series of events. We have made use of this approach as we considered it to be helpful to compare relevant historical developments for our industry. Listing a series of events by chronological time periods and subsequently assigning events to categories has helped to identify similarities and differences over time. As such, it allows us to pinpoint more precisely when historical developments have been most evident and how it has changed the view of the industry. Due to its very nature this approach was utilized in the historical developments section of our report. Lastly, we have made use of semiotics, which is concerned with the meaning of signs and symbols. For business and management research, semiotics is most useful in marketing, management, consumer research and information systems. This is because in these segments, signs are very important. For example, form of brand names and logos are considered to be highly important. In our view semiotics also play an influential role in the organic food industry. Currently, there is some debate about the future growth of the organic food industry; it either being with brands or retailer private labels. It has been argued that large food retailers are taking advantage of the ‘organic’ brand without making any of the associated investment. While the industry has been built by certification agencies and pioneering brands, their presence in terms of logos and brands is diminishing in supermarkets and mainstream retailers (http://www. organicmonitor. com/r0811. htm). As such, investment scenario’s in the organic food industry are less clear-cut than in the past and require careful examination of conventions governing the use of signs and sign systems. In our report, semiotics has been found crucial to explain the socio-cultural and market/industry conditions more fully. 4. Introduction sector/industry In order to provide the examiner with an introduction of the organic food industry, general trends, definitions and boundaries will be discussed. To boot, the European organic food market has a total revenue of $24. 7 billion in 2010, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8. 9% between 2006 and 2010 based on research of DATAMONITOR (2010). The European organic food market grew by 6% in 2010 to reach a value of 24. 7 billion and it is predicted that in 2015 the European organic food market will be worth $36. 8 billion, an increase of 48. 8% since 2010. According to UNCTAD, organic agriculture is defined as a holistic production management whose primarily goal is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil, life, plants, animals and people. Moreover, According to Chen (2009) organic products are goods that respect the environment and that are manufactured without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, growth hormones, antibiotics or gene manipulation. By viewing the production side, organic producers should combines best environmental practices, a high level of biodiversity, the preservation of natural resources and application of high-animal welfare standards, providing higher quality products to respond to a certain consumers’ demand. Nowadays, the concern of Western society on how products may be profoundly harmful to the environment has led to a higher demand for organic products, sustainable business activities and stricter regulations from national governments (Gurau and Ranchod, 2005). Due to this increasing concern and higher demand in European countries, it can be argued that the organic food industry is becoming a more interesting and challenging sector for investors to invest in. Furthermore, organic food industry generates revenue as the second largest market within Europe and is continuously growing. However, some boundaries as to this sector do exist. Three main boundaries we found to be of importance are price premiums, quality and availability and time factor. Of these three, price premium is expected to be the most important. This is due to the fact that organic food more often than not requires another form of processing and is more difficult to conserve. Moreover, the costs of quality control are also expected to be higher as no pesticides are used as to protect large crops. As such, it is rational that the price is more expensive than conventional food products. In effect, consumers with lack of knowledge will reconsider buying organic products because of this simple fact. Considering quality of the organic products, consumers believe that by charging a higher price this is equivalent to a higher quality. This view is based on the rationale of human beings, sometimes depicted in phrases such as ‘pay more, get more’. Whilst this ‘rule’ not always holds true, our (inner) convictions and background study has verified that this is in fact the case in the organic food industry. An example of the organic food retail sector is that high priced restaurants tend to favour organic (natural) ingredients. Based on the above, the organic products will meet consumers’ expectation by providing the products above the conventional product’s standards, with a price tag to match its difference in quality. The last constraint we would like to discuss is availability and time factor. The availability of organic products do not vary as much as that of conventional products. As organic products are often less well exposed, they are more difficult to find in stores. This is an important consideration and largely influences issues such as sales expectations, storage costs and risk of decay. Furthermore, in the following part we will discuss and analyse how the conditions of organic food provide the investor with a broader view of the organic food industry. In this, we will consider four conditions as factors being relevant for organic food: political-, cultural-, legal- and labor systems. 5. Country comparison 5. 1 Macro-economic indicators A country comparison on macro-economic indicators can be considered to be beneficial for decision makers as it gives them food for thought on the expected macroeconomic performance of that country, i. e. the behavior of a country’s output, jobs, and prices in the organic food industry in the face of changing world conditions. This judgment call about performance is basically what drives most macro-economic analysis. It can be used to assess issues such as how well a country’s economy is performing and how close it is to achieving broad desirable objectives, such as stability in average product prices (no inflation) and low unemployment (Pugel 2009). The most relevant macro-economic indicators for the organic food industry are considered to be economic indicators and financial indicators. Demographic indicators do not seem important to us as research has shown that gender or age does not have any significant effect on whether people decide to buy organic food or not (http://newhope360. com/organic-consumers-share-values-not-demographics). In order to ensure reliability we have chosen to attain all figures of these indicators from one source, namely De Grote Bosatlas (2002). Fig. 1 STATISTIEK EUROPA (part 1) Fig 2. STASTIEK EUROPA (PART 2) From figure 1 we can infer that Denmark had a higher agricultural contribution in terms of percentage towards the GDP. Moreover, Denmark has a substantial higher percentage of agricultural grounds (62. 4% versus 7. 9%) Furthermore, Denmark has a higher contribution to GDP per capita. Besides, inhabitants from Denmark are slightly wealthier than those in Sweden, when looking at GDP. Lastly, Denmarks development of the GDP in 1990-1999 has risen more than was the case for Sweden. Then, from figure 2, we can infer that Denmark has a stronger economy than Sweden, but only by a small margin. Furthermore, inflation rate for Denmark is lower, yet also again only by a small margin. Moreover, Denmark has more government spending in terms of percentage of GDP. Concerning education, Denmark spends more in terms of percentage of GDP. Besides, Denmark inhabitants generally enjoy a higher purchasing power than is the case for Swedish inhabitants. It also shows that more Danish people are working in both the agricultural and industrial sector than Sweden, these tend to work more in the service sector. Lastly, Denmark has a lower percentage of the work force being unemployed. From this preliminary analysis we can infer that in terms of economic indicators investments in Denmark are likely to require a higher yield on an investment than were the case of Sweden. This assumption is made based on the simple fact that as for many elements Denmark performs better than Sweden on compared elements. The same holds true in terms of financial indicators. Although the data may be easily said to be ‘outdated’, we believe this is not quite the case. That is, our analysis on historical development has not provide any conclusive evidence as to not believe that the relationship of these economical and financial figures to be that much different as they are today. Yet, since we do not know when the actual investment is to take place it is always advisable to check the results of a more recent research. Although we would have loved to use a more recent version of De Grote Bosatlas ourselves, we could not find ourselves in the position to get access to one during the course of this research. Luckily, we were able to find a recent figure for gross domestic expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP that verified our assumption. [pic] From the figure above it can be concluded that Denmark spends between 1. 01% and 2. 00% of its GDP on R&D activities. Sweden on the other hand spends a little more with 2. 01% and above. This corresponds with our financial records of the Grote Bosatlas, where government spending in Sweden was higher than that of Denmark in general. Furthermore, since the R&D expenditures on R&D as a percentage of GDP are larger than that of most other parts of the world, we expect no real problems for investors in this area. Background information as to why Sweden and Denmark support expenditures on the organic food industry is discussed extensively in both the chapters about socio-cultural conditions and market/industry conditions. 5. 2 Historical developments relevant for the industry. The issues with the environment have many different facets. These range; from deforestation, loss of biodiversity, pollution and many others (EBS 295, 2008). The attitude concerning these issues by the general public can change over time. Values change over time and this applies for the public perception of organic food as well. Likewise, one could say that the organic food industry is driven in a sense of improving and protecting the environment. In addition, consumers also attitude towards the environment also contribute in how they value organic food. Furthermore, not only concern for the environment but also growing awareness by the general public concerning their food and the production involved. These issues related to food production range from; health, food safety and animal welfare. (Sippo manual, 2011) The origins for organic farming in both countries are similar. In the same manner consumers started become more aware of the environment. Farmers also become more aware and began with organic farming. Both countries have had organic farming since early eighties in the general concept of the term organic farming. If we take into account the establishment of organizations concerning organic food then Denmark was a few years earlier with the founding of Danish Association of Organic Farmers in 1981. The Swedish counter part is called the Ecological Farmers Association, which was founded in 1985. Both organizations are private initiatives of organic farmers organizing themselves. (http://www. fao. org) Since the 1990’s the governments of both Denmark and Sweden have introduced various regulations concerning the organic food industry. These regulations include assigning certificates that label products as organic. In addition, the European Union also implemented regulations concerning the organic food industry. Likewise, the organizations that control and label organic foods also found their origins in late eighties early nineties. In Denmark the first organic food legislation was implemented in 1987. The government assigns the O logo to organic food. (www. fvm. dk). This state approved logo is only given to products that are conforming to the standards of â€Å"organic† as stated by Danish regulations. In addition, in Denmark only state approved farms may carry the â€Å"organic† label. In Sweden the organization that is tasked with the certification of organic food is called KRAV. Founded in 1985, this organization was formed from the Ecological Farmers Organization in order to standardize the various interpretations of the term â€Å"organic farming† and bring both farmers and food producers together. (Gunnar Rundgren, 2002) However, it should be noted that the KRAV organization is a non-governmental organization. While, it’s Danish counterpart is part of the Ministry of Agriculture. 5. 3 Socio-cultural conditions Cultural systems From the point of view of the investor, it is important to know the differences and similarities between the two countries Denmark and Sweden. In this section, we will focus on this in terms of cultural assessment. In order to describe the cultural systems of both Denmark and Sweden we have made use of five cultural dimensions as proposed by Schwartz (1999): harmony, egalitarianism, effective autonomy, mastery, and conservatism. It is these cultural dimensions that will help to describe each countries culture and detect any important similarities and differences. The cultural values focus in the article of Schwartz is on the national culture. The national culture being introduced for heterogeneous nations refers primarily to the value culture of the dominant, majority group. In this case, Schwartz tries to interpret the value priorities that characterize a society by aggregating the value priorities of individuals (e. g. Hofstede’s framework). It is depicted that individual value priorities are a product of both shared culture and unique personal experience. Moreover, Schwartz has placed his list of researched countries into different segments (clusters). Denmark and Sweden put in the first group (cluster), Finland and Italy in another, Spain as a third group and Germany, Greece and the United Kingdom in a fourth group.