Under Armour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Under Armour - Essay Example The fact that Under Armour has fewer retail stores it means that it has fewer powerful buyers who can often dictate terms. In terms of competitive rivalry, the two companies do not pose a serious threat since Under Armour itself offers unique products. However, all the competitors have allocated a sizeable budget on research, meaning that they are likely to offer undifferentiated products and services that may reduce attractiveness of Under Armour. Under Armour doesn’t pose the threat of new entry since the other two corporations have the advantage of the economies of scale, and considering their budgetary allocations on marketing, Under Armour is less likely to capitalize on the threat of substitution. Under Armour has a major strength of manufacturing the most unique brand in the market. However, the weakness of fewer retail stores and the threat posed by other corporations like Nike and Adidas Group gives it a lesser advantage in the market. Broadening the company’s product offering to all athletes and increasing its sale, designing kits that can be worn under different weather conditions, marketing and product promotion (Thomson, 2012). All the three companies are engaged in sponsorships and endorsements for product promotion and marketing. They have also allocated sizeable amounts of resources on research and development of new products. On one hand, Under Armour has the advantage of its unique products in the market, and on the other hand, it has a disadvantage of unfavorable competition in terms of capital against the other two. He needs to address the issue of the growing number of individual items produced, uncertainties surrounding consumer demand that affects accurate projections of items to order (Thomson, 2012), and how to acquire the lion’s share of the market. Carrying out proper survey in

ILSC 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ILSC 2 - Essay Example Involving and engaging employees in the decision-making process or working together with employees, as a team is another way of motivating employees.Many employees become contended with their work and also become active in the company when they are engaged in the decision-making process or work together as a team. Team building is crucial because it enables employees to improve their performance level because of accomplishing their task faster and effectively (Mayhem 2013, pr.6).For instance, Sony Company is one of the well-known corporations that have increased their revenues because of increased innovative products. This is because the company has a unique way of motivating their employees through involving and engaging them in the decision-making process, as well as, treating everyone equal (Smith 2013, pp. 16).James (2008, p. 433)offers some effective leadership strategies such as motivation and teamwork as valuable means for achieving competitive advantage in the company. Many l eaders have made significant efforts of incorporating varied leadership strategies in order to meet the organizational needs. Northouse (2010, p. 24) also argues that managers need to examine their own traits since this will enable them to recognize their weakness or strengths vital for understanding the way followers perceive them in the work environment. This is crucial because it can enable leaders to engage or create the good relationship with their employees; thus improving the industrial relations.

Overall strategic objective and the marketing plan

Overall strategic objective and the marketing plan There is much overlap between overall strategic objective and the marketing plan of an organization. Marketing plan keeps eye at consumer needs and organizations ability to satisfy them and these factors direct the companys overall strategic plan. If company fail to throw appropriate marketing strategy, the ultimate goal of profit maximization and expansion of business will be in hard condition. Organization should build suitable marketing plan which helps to achieve companys overall strategic objectives. This study is based on worlds leading electronic and software based company Apple Inc. which was funded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976 and is known as computer giant. It designs, manufactures and markets personal computers, mobile communication devices, and portable digital music and video players and sell variety of related software services peripherals and networking solutions. It is also known as innovative company and it has demonstrated that innovation can lead to market dominance. It operates it business with the motto think different. Apple offers a range of electronic and software product and services such as PC, Mac Book, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iTunes, Mac OS X, iLife, iWork, Safari and enormous range of applications worldwide through online store, direct sales force, third party sales, whole sellers, resellers, value added resellers and digital content and applications through the iTunes store to satisfy the desires of modern consumer. In this context apple has in troduced another innovative product iPhone4 smart phone and marketing plan of iPhone4 is the main focus of this study. This study has got five separate sections. The first part is introductory part which identifies and justifies the objectives of the study. The second part explores how the marketing plan supports the strategic objectives of the Apple, third part explains how Apple construct it marketing plan, forth section discusses how Apple promotes the marketing plan to support its strategic objectives. The last section is about the conclusion and summary findings which are developed from the discussion and analysis and recommendations for further improvement. Explaining the strategy of the organization impacting on the marketing plan. Each and every organization stands with business plan to set its overall direction for the company for their existence and this plan sets out how the company is to achieve its strategic aims and objectives. The strategic aims and objectives of a business inform and shape its business plan and an essential part of the overall business plan is the marketing plan. Thus the marketing plan is guided by strategic objective of the business and there should be alignment between the strategic objectives and marketing plan to meet the ultimate goals of an organization (e.g. profit or sales growth). The relationship between strategic objectives and the marketing plan is clarified by following diagram. Business aims objectives Business plan Product services their position in market Market data including size trends competition Business aims objectives Marketing plan Financial information including budgets Figure: Key element of business plan In context of Apple, it committed to offer the range of best possible innovative technological product and services and put that technology in the hand of as many people as possible. Apple leading towards market dominance through its innovation and Apple has already demonstrated it by offering innovative products like iPod, iPhone, iPad. Apple is also committed to protect the environment, health and safety of employees, customers and the global communities where it operates and recognize that by integrating sound environmental health and safety management practices into all aspects of its business. Apple can offer innovative technological products and services while conserving and enhancing recourses for future generations. Apple is leading towards market leader through its effective marketing plan. Apples marketing plan is directed by its strategic planning. In this context Jobbers six planning question helps to apple to align strategic objectives and marketing plan. The six questio ns are as follows. Where are we now? How did we get here? Where are we heading? Where we would like to be? How do we get there? Are we on course? These are the key planning question not only for the marketing plan but for the other plan as well. If any organization wishes to construct effective marketing plan to meet strategic objectives they should address these questions. The first three questions can be addressed by the help of business mission, market audit, SWOT analysis. It gives the concrete shape of marketing plan. The first question emphasis the current position of the company like market share, competition. Apple has dominance market share with its core competencies innovation. The second question focuses on an analysis of significant events that had a bearing on the achievement and shortcoming identifies earlier. Apple get this position by the help of innovation and with the motto of think different Third question point out the direction of the business in future. By the help of market audit and SWOT analysis a business can set the direction. Apple is leading towards market dominance. Fourth question is talk about the objectives or vision of the business. Apple wishes to be a market leader. The fifth question focuses on the course of action which is going to be done in order to achieve the final goal. Apple wishes to meet its objectives by the help of core strategy, marketing mix decision, organization and implementation of marketing plan. Final question emphasis the continuous controlling mechanism whether we are in right track or not if not and what may be the next step to walk on right course. In order to address jobbers first three planning question and to build effective marketing plan a business must conduct market audit. Market audit concern with systematic examination of a businesss marketing environment, objectives, strategies and activities with the view to identify strategic issues, problems and opportunities. It is the cornerstone of the marketing planning process. It keeps eye on environmental forces which may affect the marketing plan: internal and external factor. Internal factor is also known as micro factor which are in hand of a business which mainly focus on the five different factors: Operating results (sales, market share, profit margin and cost), Strategic issue analysis (marketing objectives, market segmentation, competitive advantages, core competencies, positioning, portfolio analysis), marketing mix effectiveness (product, price, promotion, distribution) marketing structure (marketing organization, marketing training, internal communication), marketing system (marketing information system, marketing planning system and marketing control system). External factor are not in business hand so business itself should change to make effective planning. External factor contains macro environment (PESTEL factor) which are economic factor (inflation, interest rate, unemployment), social and cultural (age distribution, lifestyle change, values and attributes), technological factor (new products and process technologies, materials) political and legal factor (monopoly control, new laws, regulations) ecological factor (conversion, pollution, energy). In order to construct effective marketing plan Apple should consider market audit because without considering these factor apple can not meet its strategic objectives. After analysing these factor apple can get present background data on the market, product, competition and distribution. Identifying the components part of marketing plan of Apple. SWOT analysis the strategic technique to evaluate the strategic position of a business by identifying its strength, weakness, opportunity and threats. It helps to address the planning question where are we now? How did we get here? Where we are heading? Once SWOT analysis is done an idea can be developed to how to turn weakness into strength and threats into opportunity, it helps to construct effective marketing plan. In context of apple iPhone 4, the price is high, it can not afford by middle income level people and the treats may be the increased competition which pressure apple to reduce the price because there are other strong competitors as well who produce less priced smart phone and it also difficult to expand in Asian market because without internet server iPhone cannot be operated. So this SWOT analysis helps to Apple how to turn these weaknesses into strength and treats into opportunity in order to construct the marketing plan and these factor helps to build the shape of marketing plan. Once market audit and SWOT analysis has been done it leads to set marketing objectives. Marketing objective keeps eye on two types of objective: strategic trust and strategic objective. It addresses the planning question: where we would like to be? Strategic trust defines the future direction of a business. By the help of Ansoff of Matrix a business can develop strategic trust which product to sell in which market. Figure: Ansoff Matrix Source: www.courseware.finntrack.eu According to Ansoff Matrix there are four strategic alternatives which are market penetration, market development, production development and diversification. Among these four alternatives the Apple has selected a product development alternative and decided to sell new product (iPhone 4) in the existing market. Another part of marketing objective is the strategic objective which deals with the process of planning at the product level. There are four types of alternative: build, hold, harvest and divest. To analyse appropriate alternative, there are various no of product planning portfolio tools such as BCG matrix, General Electric Market Alternatives-Competitive Position Model, Shell Directional Policy Matrix. Even though, this study is going to keep eyes on BCG matrix. Figure: BCG Matrix Source: www.apps.develebridge.net The iPhone is new product and it has low market share but high market growth so it contain to the question mark. This represents high demand due to low market share. So for the new product, the strategic objective will inevitably be to build sales and market share. The important point to keep in mind at this stage is that building sales and market share is only the sensible strategic objective of iPhone 4. Overall, strategic trust and strategic objective characterize where the business and its product intended to go in future. After setting marketing objective a business must determine the means of achieving them. Core strategy focuses on how the objectives can be accomplished and it contains three key elements: target market, competitive advantage and competitor target. Core strategy helps gives the answer of the planning question how do we get there? iPhones primary customer targets is the middle-upper income professional that need one portable device to coordinate their busy schedules and communicate with colleagues, friends and family and secondary consumer targets are high school, college and graduate students who need one portable multifunction device. Identifying issues of risk within a marketing plan of Apple Constructing a marketing plan is not an easy process and it is not out of risk factor which may lead to failure if marketing planner unable to address potential problems effectively and Apple is not also escaped from potential problem which may be: Political behaviour: Typically, marketing planning is a resource allocation process by manager. In this allocation process the power base, career opportunities and salaries may bring conflict. Perception of planning: There are different people involve in this planning with different perception and they wishes to apply their perception to construct the plan which may be the cause of conflict. Reward system: The reward system of business emphasize only short term reward. Managers may overweight the short term focuses rather than long term focuses and the marketing plan not only concern with short. Basically, it is concerned with long term which thing may be underweighted by manager and marketing plan is treated as the secondary focus. Cultural clashes: Cultural clash is another potential problem associated with marketing plan because in a business we can get different culture which may be the reason of conflict like as the business may plan by making incremental decision and strategic planning may challenge the status quo. Lack of knowledge and skills: In planning process, the manager may not has the sufficient knowledge in terms of market segmentation, competitive advantages and the nature of strategic objective and lack of skills in terms of analysing competitive situation and defining core strategy which may lead to failure. Lack of information: The systematic marketing planning system needs accurate information inputs in terms of market share, size and growth rates. These are basic inputs into the marketing audit which may unavailable. In order to construct the effective marketing plan marketing manager should overcome from these problems. To overcome from potential problems leading to risk, apple can use Jobbers formulation of remedies which are as follows: Senior management must support the middle management and coordinate with them and must be committed to the planning process. To address cultural clashes, there should be match between planning process and the culture of the business. The reward system should focus on long term objective rather than focusing on the short term. There should be clear communication system in both ways top to down or bottom to top. Management can conduct training program to marketing personnel in order to provide knowledge and skills about to perform the planning job. 2.1 Identifying the levels of importance of each component of the plan. The marketing mix is the set of marketing tools which a business blends to achieve the marketing goals in a defined target market. Effective marketing mix decision ensure that a business is marketing the right product to the right person in the right place and at the right time which is the key success factor of the marketing plan. It helps to gain competitive advantages with considering market segmentation. Basically, there are two frameworks in order to manage effective marketing mix decision at product or service level: 7Ps and 4Cs. Although, Apple may use 7Ps framework in order to manage effective marketing decision which are mentioned below. Product: The iPhone 4 combine three amazing products- a mobile phone, wide screen iPod, and a breakthrough internet deviceinto one small, lightweight, hand held device with the best e-mail ever on a mobile phone, full screen with browsing, multi touch screen, and applications which gives the best experience of smart phone to the consumers. Place: Apple has set the distribution channel which is appropriate and convenient to its targeted customer. It is offering this product not only through its own retail store and online store but it has build channel with other retail store and the network providers which give easy assess to the target customers. Promotion: In order to promote iPhone 4 to the targeted market segment Apple is using several promotional tools like advertising, publicity, direct marketing, internet marketing, Bluetooth marketing etc. which really helps Apple to bust the sales. Apple is using both below the line and above the line promotional strategy. Price: As other organization apple have their own pricing policy and the price of the iPhone 4 is marked according to it. The price of the iPhone may affect by marketing objective, marketing mix strategy, costs, nature and demand of the market, competition and other environmental forces like economy, reseller, government etc. Other components of marketing mix decision are people, process and physical evidence. These components of marketing mix of Apple are well blended; the marketing strategy is well joined with strategy. 2.2 Identifying mitigation strategies for high risk components of the plan of Apple Once marketing mix decisions have been done the marketing plan leads towards action plan. Action plan refers to the specific steps that must be taken and specific activities that must be performed well to achieve designed strategic objectives. It talks about the specific task: what will be done? Who is responsible for doing it? , time horizon: when will it be done? , resource allocation: how much will it be cost? In terms of Apple it has addressed these questions through its market plan to make marketing mix decision towards perform. Apple has set specific task (i.e. sales programmes, promotion programmes) and delegate responsibility to related person (i.e. marketing manager, sales assistance etc) in order to implement marketing mix decision with convenient time bound. Furthermore, in order to implement action plan programme Apple need supporting budget which talks about resource allocation (i.e. cost and revenue). Without supporting marketing budget the action plan can not be completed because it is the most important part of marketing plan. Although, Each and every company have limited resources which may limit actions and Apple has considered it as well. So in terms of producing budget, Apple is aware of how limited resources produce optimum output and it has produced projected income statement for lunching iPhone 4 which gives the around figure of sales revenue which made up of forecasted unit sales and average net price, cost which made up of cost production, physical distribution and marketing and profit margin. Apple also has conducted Breakeven Analysis which determines the sales units where apple in position of neither profit nor loss from the sales of iPhone 4. It can provide additional information for the budgets or financial section of the marketing planning. Apple has used key performance standards like costs/sales ratios, market shares, territory quotes, comparison with competitors in order to monitor the actions programme. 2.3 Producing marketing plan for Apple. Marketing mix framework helps to enlighten consumers needs, how to exploit the competitive advantages that blends the core strategy with marketing mix and this helps to match corporate resources. Apple has set unique blend of product offering, pricing, promotion and distribution system designed to reach at targeted market. The marketing plan of iPhone 4 mainly focus the consumer satisfaction, the key goal of marketing plan, that can be only achieved by designing the marketing mix suitable for the customer groups or market segments. Marketing mix planning requires all possible tools analysis, such as segment analysis, market research and competitor analysis which play vital role in construction of marketing plan. So overall, marketing mix decision significantly contributes to make the effective marketing plan of iPhone4. Market planning process provided a well-defined path from generating a business mission to implementing and controlling the resultant plans for Apple. The typical marketing plan structure is as follows: Section Purpose Executive summary A short overview of the plan for a quick management review: Current marketing situation The marketing audit to present background data on the market,product,competition and distribution SWOT Analysis Identifies the companys main strengths and weakness and the main opportunities and threats facing the product or service Objectives and issues Define the companys objectives in the area of sales. Market share and profits and the issues that will affect these objectives Marketing strategy Presents the broad marketing approach that will be used to achieve the plans objectives Action programmes Specifies what will be done, who will do it. When it will be done and what it will coast Budgets A projected profit and loss statement that forecasts the expected financial outcomes from the plan Controls Indicates how the progress of the plan will be monitored 3.1 Discussing how the plan supports strategic objectives. David Jobber suggested five different organization structures in order to implement a marketing plan namely: no marketing organization, functional organization, product base organization, market centred organization and matrix organization. Out of these five structures, Apple has structured as a product based organization which focus on individual responsibilities to product managers for managing product lines. Specifically Apple focussed for individual product lines and can develop own marketing mix which helps to apple to align marketing plan to strategic objectives. 3.3 Identifying an evaluation and review measures for the agreed plan. The marketing plan is a cycle that begins and ends with evaluation. The final stage of in the marketing plan is to measure the outcome of the marketing activities against the original objectives and targets. Continuous evaluation helps the marketing team to focus on modifying or introducing new activities to achieve objectives. Apple adopted a range of key performance indicator to asses the success of the iPhone 4s marketing plan. Market share: Did the iPhone 4 hit the market share and help to achieve its market share objective? iPhone 4 is market leader of smart phone in some European countries and is consistently gaining market share. Overall sales: Was this in line with objectives? iPhone 4 is increasing sales significantly comparatively to other competitors. It is meeting the expectation line. Brand image ratings: Apple has an extremely positive brand image with consumers compared to other brand. iPhone 4 is able to increase the brand loyalty of Apple which helps to retain the consumer because consumer are getting the best smart phone experience. Profitability: iPhone 4 is significantly contributing Apples profit margin. These results show that the iPhone 4s marketing plan met the overall targets, which was a significant achievement, considering the difficult economic environment. The marketing plan for iPhone 4 used past performance and forecast data to build a new marketing strategy. This built on the brand and companys strength to take advantage of the increasing change of consumer towards smart phone.

Stress, The Invisible Tiger :: miscellaneous

Stress, The Invisible Tiger I was assigned to read the book Fighting Invisible Tigers by Earl Hipp. The reason I was assigned this specific book is because I was at Oconto County Teen Court for fighting at school and told the panel I had an anger problem. This book, I think, was a very good one for me because before reading this book I got angry at very little things, was stressed all the time, and didn’t know how to handle either thing. After reading this, I now know how to handle things that stress me and simply how to look at things differently so I can be happier and life be easier. The first part of the book was the introduction. The main concept of then introduction was to point out that hundreds of young people feel stressed out by live, and I’m not the only one. I thought that was a good point to bring up because at times, when you have so much stress you feel like your all alone and no one can help or would understand. I use to be embarrassed and mad about the idea of going to a counselor because of the common misconception that only crazy people go to them and if you do your weird. After reading the introduction I realized that sometimes you need to let others help you figure out things about you and you cant do it alone. I now look forward to going to counseling, instead of dreading it, because I think of it as a way for me to vent and work on not getting upset so easily. The first section of the book titled â€Å"Life in the Jungle† taught me the history of stress and lots of other things about it. Stress, I learned, is a feeling you get from everyday problems and challenges. When you get the depressed feeling its when you have reached your limit of internal pressure. Internal pressure simply is just the amount of pressure and stresses you can handle. I sort of had an idea that stress could, over a long period of time, mess you up in the head but what I didn’t really realize was that stress can also lead to illness’s, long-term depression, and even bigger problems. Of course with learning about stress came some bad news. There is no easy way or quick way to manage stress, and you cant get rid of stress completely.

Feasibility Analysis

Liability insurance, and especially mall-practice insurance, would be essential to my business. * Neurology is a continuously expanding profession and this trend will most likely continue upward for some time. * Neurological disorders tend to affect the elderly most frequently. Taking this into consideration (along with the retirement of the baby-boomer generation) the demographics of my customers will most likely consist of elderly patients. The Industry & Market * The healthcare industry will almost definitely continue to expand nation-wide. * My market practice is nearly unlimited. I can increase the size of my business by taking on partners, associates, etc. * There would not be much competition to begin with, and If were to be the best, then there would be close to none. * My customer pool would consist of anyone with a neurological disorder.Again, this mostly consists of the elderly. * My potential market penetration is high considering that many communities have a shortage of neurologists. Financial Projections * My pricing would mainly be driven by insurance companies. The likelihood of making a profit is very high considering that most neurologists make between a year. * I am unable to come up with a sales revenue forecast at tans time Owe to tense projections Dealing Tar In ten Utter; out one would need to owe created projecting from the time of startup, to three years down the road. A attention cost forecast, would depend on the cost of labor, fixed costs, malpractice insurance, other variable costs, etc. A specific number is unattainable at this time. * The gross profit of the average neurologist is roughly 15%; the net profit is typically about 7 h So the gross-net profit margin is about half. * The fixed operating expenses would consist of property tax, utilities, equipment, etc. The variable costs would be limited, most likely consisting of hiring additional staff upon expansion. * Taxes would most likely be high, but so would profits.Hence my in come would be gig regardless of taxes. Future Action Plan * The start-up capital needed typically runs around $500,000. * The sources of my start-up capital would most likely consist of loans (from the bank and from my father. ) * A strategic plan must be written specifying any steps that are to be taken but, again, cannot be written at this early a stage. * A business plan must also be written, detailing my practice head-to-toe. This will also be written at a later stage. * On a side note, a business consultant is most likely necessary to insure the success and continued success of my practice.

Overpopulation and Water shortage Essay

Increased life expectancies as a result of advances in science are causing overpopulation. In the west immigration and increased life expectancies are causing overpopulation. This directly translates to various economic and social problems for all the residents in an area due to the increased strain in resources. While there is increased need for other countries to adapt better policies that will improve the living conditions for its residents and curb the need to immigrate, nations have to address the issues that are resulting from overpopulation. These issues arising from overpopulation include starvation due to increased population, reduced food supplies and increased prices of food. In addition there is an increasing danger of water shortages in the world due to overexploitation of water resources. The issue of water shortages also arises from the changing global climatic patterns which have resorted from global warming as a result of climate unfriendly practices such as deforestation from increased need for land to settle on and increased air pollution due to increased number of industries and emissions. Systems such as healthcare have also not been spared from strain due to overpopulation and people are receiving lower quality medical care resulting to more deaths. Environmental degradation and overexploitation of available natural resources is a result of overpopulation. Populations are polluting the environment more by inefficient waste disposal mechanisms and increased air and water pollution. Overpopulation results to overcrowding and increased levels of unemployment which has led to increased poverty, more injustices, violence, hunger and an increase in spreading diseases. Human beings like all other species depend on natural ecosystems self regulating processes for supply of basic life support processes such as the purification of air, decomposition of waste, climate regulation and the supply of water. Water is a natural renewable resource that will automatically self renew. However this is when all other natural processes are held constant. An increase in the population of people living in an area to an amount that will bring a strain to all natural resources is called overpopulation. The integrity of all these ecosystems is compromised by the strain and as a result there is either insufficient water supply or a compromise in the quality of water (Zuckerman & Jefferson, 56) There is a world wide crisis over water. According to the recent report by the United Nations, the problems arising from water shortages cannot be ignored. More than thirty one countries are currently facing dire water shortages. More than a billion of the world’s population is facing water scarcity or is lacking access to clean water for drinking. The reports published by World Bank predict that by 2025, more than two thirds of the world population will have insufficient water (Cooper, 16). The amount of water being consumed is on an upward global trend and is doubling every two decades due to the increasing populations and needs. At the same time, the available water resources are under the constant threat of pollution, depletion and overexploitation in a bid to meet the rising needs. Countries and municipal systems have proved inefficient in the provision of sufficient and safe water to the constantly increasing population. In addition the most crucial aspect to this dilemma is the strain the over population is placing on the existing water resources. Illinois is the fifth largest state in the United States with a population of more than 12. 4 million people. More immigrants are moving to Illinois and experts predict a slow but rapid increase in the state in the future. Illinois has always been thought to have ample water supply. The fact that Lake Michigan has constantly supplied Illinois with water has always given residents security in water supply. Researchers have raised concern over this current trend of affairs and have predicted that in the next fifteen years Illinois will be facing possible water shortage crisis. Cities in the south like Chicago and Bloomington used cooperative agreement with the surrounding California states to limit their water consumption. In the Chicago area, similar to other parts of the continent, awareness on the looming water crisis as experienced by other states in the south has resulted in local and state officials implementing measures that will allow conservation of the fresh water supplies and ensure that water is more efficiently used by the residents (Zuckerman & Jefferson, 64). Illinois as a state has realized the importance of addressing impending water crisis before they become a reality. The solution to the looming water shortages in Illinois were first geared towards increasing the number of water supplies in the state by digging more wells and aquifers. There was an outcry by environmental conservationists and as all the stakeholders began to realize that this approach would not last them long, they initiated a better strategy into the 21st century. This approach is on better management of the already established supplies. To this ideal, numerous water conservation programs have been established at the regional level that are geared towards the application of better water saving approaches at the individual level. In addition they advocate for residents to use water efficient appliances as well as fixtures. The battle over water resources at the Southern states has created awareness among all the US states and the politicians and policy makers have geared their efforts towards addressing the threat of water shortages. Illinois is one of the eight states of United Sates of America which approved the Great Lakes Compact. This is an initiative by the southern states to protect the five great lakes by restricting and regulating access to them thereby ensuring a constant safe supply of water for those Southern Sates in the future. There is a rapid growth in all the towns in Illinois and due to this the demand for water has increased. This has translated to higher water consumption and Illinois is approaching the maximum allotted limit from Lake Michigan. These limits have been in use since 1985 after being decreed by the Supreme Court in 1967. Researches have been analyzing the possibility of utilizing alternative water supplies such as Aquifers for meeting the growing water demands. They discovered that the aquifers would only sustain water use up to 2030 if the populations’ consumption remained stable. Under the growing population strain and the corresponding rising need for more water that would not be enough for sustaining the population (Cooper, 20). Sufficient fresh water which is of good quality is vital for any state to sustain the various people and animals living there. Water is a basic need used for drinking and bathing, irrigation, sustaining fisheries and other crucial services in a state (Shah, 90). There is a global change in the climatic conditions and this has led to the eventual and rapid disappearance of critical ecosystems not only in Bloomington but also in other cities all over the world threatening the continuous supply of water for their increasing populations. The situation at hand in Bloomington is that which is being faced by all the other cities all over the United States. Bloomington city is located in the center of Illinois southwest of Chicago. It is the largest county in Illinois with a population of more than 64. 8 million. Bloomington is the fastest growing city in Illinois and recorded a population growth of more than 20%. There is an increased trend over the last few years due to increased immigration. The city council of Bloomington is working towards the expansion of the Monroe WTPs’ capacity. They are attempting to address this issue by using membrane filtration to bring the additional flow to provide population with sufficient water. Bloomington is major city in Illinois. The main source of drinking water for Bloomington city is Monroe Reservoir. Lake Griffy and Lake Lemon supplement the water supply. In Bloomington, the main regional water conservation body is campaigning for addressing both quality and quantity water issues for Bloomington’s rapidly growing population. Among the recommended strategies they have given to improve the quality of water they are advocating for planting green roofs and eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers. This is because the chemical residues are eventually drained off to the lakes and the water reservoirs. In addition residents are dissuaded from over exploiting fossil fuels and instead using alternative energy (Shah, 102). To address the issue of water shortages the city has focused on implementing measures that will reduce water use for the growing population. They have recommended and are facilitating the implementation of better strategies which will lead the way towards the achievement of a self sustainable biosphere in the light of the increasing population. These include the installation of low flow shower heads, introduction of machines that maximize washing loads, ensuring roof run off is not wasted and is instead used for irrigation and landscaping with native plants that are water efficient. Experts have also advocated for the installation of ultra flow sanitary units, better washing machines and more water efficient sprinkler systems (Shah, 86). The increase in the human population is inevitable and the state and city policy makers have had to address the issue of the increasing strain in natural resources including water. For this approach to be successful, Bloomington like other cities needs to engage a more cyclical approach which will be more efficient and cost effective to ensure long term future sustainability of water resources for its growing population. Bloomington seems to be taking initiative towards implementing this model by an increase in recycling strategies, decreasing the water consumption and toxic releases to the water sources and air. The Bloomington city government seems to have acknowledged the need to do more in regard to establishing initiatives that are addressing the impending overpopulation crisis. To this regard, they have established a commission on sustainability that addresses issues regarding the establishment of policies geared towards conservation of the already available resources. The mayor signed the climate protection agreement and implemented city council resolutions which are Kyoto protocol friendly. These have worked towards reducing the soaring green gas emissions which are targeted towards stabilizing global climatic conditions (Zuckerman & Jefferson, 76). The town needs to increase the North’s supply by incorporating Lake Lemon and Lake Griffy as well as the Bean Blossom Creek. This would only be more slightly expensive than the current model and would supply water to a larger region and would serve as a better supply alternative for Lake Monroe. Other sources that would end the impending crisis would include investing in ground water supplies. Aquifers in the north would supplement the water supply but this would require an intensive study and analysis to ensure that they are a safe alternative for sully of water for consumption. Both of these approaches would ensure reliability in supply but in the light of the growing populations there is need to do more to ensure that these supplies will be consistent and will supply water for the populations. More crucial to implementing any conservation approach is the need to create water awareness campaigns for the residents. There is need to translate the soaring water costs and the reasons behind it so that communities can actively participate in implementing the recommended approaches. REFERENCES Ben Zuckerman & David Jefferson, Human Population and the Environmental Crisis, New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 1996, 18-78. Anup Shah, Ecology and the Crisis of Overpopulation: Future Prospects for Global Sustainability, Northampton: Edward Elgar publishers, 1998, 86-162. Mary H Cooper, Water Shortages: Is There Enough Fresh Water for Everyone? , Washington: CQ Press, 2003, 16-35.

The Fall of Communism essays

The Fall of Communism essays Politics and Government in central and Eastern Europe. In this essay, I will examine what Communism is, the factors that have led to the collapse of Communism and how Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Communism is a political philosophy based upon the principle of collective ownership of both property and the means of production. Communists therefore, view history from the perspective of class struggle and seek to establish a classless society, or in its most ideal form a "dictatorship of the proletariat."1 The idea of a communal society, a fundamental element of communist thought, is not knew, but dates back to the ancient Greeks and was advanced by Plato in his philosophical work the Republic and T. More's Utopia in 1516, which promoted the idea of a communal society. The Industrial Revolution and the severe economic hardships suffered by workers, however, gave rise to socialism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and modern communism emerged from the socialist movement, first as a radical wing of socialism and finally in early twentieth century as a separate and distinct ideology of revolution and collective ownership. The fundamental rivalry between communist and capitalist societies has been a factor in world history since the creation of the first Communist State, the USSR, and therefore, since one was destined to collapse at the end, Communism collapsed. There are many factors which have contributed, over the years, to the collapse of communism, such as the Soviet economic stagnation, the political corruption and the lack of reforms, but the actual collapse of Communism is mainly due to Gorbachev's radical reforms and this is what I am going to focus on. The momentous changes that took place in the Soviet Union under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev are usually described by two Russian words: glasnost and perestroika. The terms glasnost and perestroika came into common use ...