File System Analysis and computer forensics Research Paper

File System Analysis and computer forensics - Research Paper Example Such kind of little level tools having an added advantage of removing false information that may be maliciously adapted by the file system code. This paper discusses the the employment of file system analysis in computer forensics, using file system analysis in different fields, as in Linux and others as well as the tools used in the file system analysis. Employing File System Analysis in Computers Forensics Computer forensics is part of numerical forensic science relating to legal indication that is found in the computers as well as digital storing means. Its main objective is to inspect digital means in a forensically way of sound with the purpose of improving, conserving, recognizing and giving facts as well as opinions around a certain info. Nelson, Phillips & Steuart, (2010) assert that even though it is mostly related with the study of corruption in computers, it may as well be used in civil records. They add that it involves alike methods and even the values of recovery of dat a. The indication from computer forensics inquiries is normally exposed to the similar rules and practices of other numerical indication and has been used in several cases. They argue that it is almost becoming accepted within the U.S as well as court system in Europea (Nelson, Phillips & Steuart, 2010). ... The newly used forensic software have got their individual gears for recovering data that is deleted. The inspection of PCs from the operating system with the use of sysadmin gears to get out evidence. The process is very important when you are mostly dealing with encrypting file system (Nelson, Phillips & Steuart, 2010). Using File System Analysis: Files are actually made up of two substances that are dissimilar where each and every file has got an inode linked to it that has metadata over that file. What the file contains are stored in form of datablocks. There are only 15 block pointers in the inode in Unix. If there are data blocks of 4K, then the likelihood of the file that is going to be addressed is about 60K. Linux supports a lot of dissimilar file systems, but mutual choices for these system disk on a block devices comprise ext* family (for instance the ext2, the ext3 as well as ext4), the btrfs, ReiserFS, XFS and JFS. There is also the UBIFS, JFFS2 and YAFFS between others, that can be used for raw flash that are without a Memory Technology Device (MTD) or even Flash Translation Layer (FTL). The usually compressed read only file system is the SquashFS. The SRM Windows File System collects statistics on the disk and file system properties that is connected to the machine. The data collected here is abridged through a lot of reports that may be to some extent modified with charts in the bang manager. FAT, FAT16, FAT32 as well as NTFS are some types of sytems files that can be maintained by the SRM Windows File System Agent for Windows and also supports discovery as well as discovery and analysis types of gathering data. HFS+ are said to be the most leading file systems that are found on any Macintosh. To identify the file system, someone may be

Beauty in The Bluest Eye Essay Example for Free

Beauty in The Bluest Eye Essay The Bluest Eye is a brilliantly written novel revealing the fictional trauma of an eleven-year-old black girl named Pecola Breedlove. This story takes place in the town of Lorain, Ohio during the 1940’s. It is told from the perspective of a young girl named Claudia MacTeer. She and her sister, Frieda, become witness to the terrible plights Pecola is unintentionally put through. Pecola chooses to hide from her disabling life behind her clouded dream of possessing the ever so cherished â€Å"bluest of eyes†. The Breedlove’s constant bickering and ever growing poverty contributes to the emotional downfall of this little girl. Pecola’s misery is obtained through the touch of her father’s hand and the voice of her community’s struggle with racial separation, anger, and ignorance. Her innocence is harshly ripped from her grasp as her father rapes her limp existence. The community’s anger with it’s own insecurities is taken out on this poor, ugly, black, non-ideal, young girl. She shields herself from this sorrow behind her obsessive plea for blue eyes. But her eyes do not replace the pain of carrying her fleeing father’s baby. Nor do they protect her from the shady eyes of her neighbours. Though this book discuses negative and disturbing situations, it teaches a very positive lesson. The theme of The Bluest Eye is that of depending on outside influences to become aware of one’s own beauty and to fabricate one’s own self image can be extremely damaging. Topic Tracking: Beauty Beauty 1: Claudia is constantly faced with white ideals of beauty. For Christmas one year, she receives a blue-eyed, blonde-haired, pink-skinned doll. Rather than adore the doll, she destroys and dismembers it as a result of her anger. Claudia feels she can never measure up to the beauty of white children, the beauty that all the world reveres. Beauty 2: The Breedloves are poor and ugly. At least that is how they think the world views them. Their beliefs that they are ugly come from white American media always portraying whites as representations of what is beautiful. Because of this, they do not strive for more, for they think that they do not deserve to have more. Beauty 3: Pecola wishes that she had blue eyes. She thinks that if her eyes were blue, and therefore beautiful according to white American standards, then her problems would go away and her life would be beautiful. Then maybe, her classmates and teachers would not despise her and think she was so ugly. She so hates hersel f that she stares at herself in the mirror trying to figure out where her ugliness comes from. Beauty 4: For one year Pecola prays that her eyes will turn blue. She has many problems in her life, starting with family issues, and she thinks that if she had blue eyes, her problems might go away. And even more than that, if she had blue eyes, people would see her as beautiful, and then she would be able to see herself as beautiful too. Being a black little girl in a society that idolizes blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty, Pecola thinks she is ugly. Pecola sympathizes for the dandelions because she knows what it is like to be devalued. She finds beauty in the weeds, for she thinks that people see her as a weed. Beauty 5: A new little girl, named Maureen Peal, comes to Claudia and Friedas school. Maureen is revered for her looks, which people deem beautiful. She has lighter skin and eyes than most of the other children, and everyone adores her because of this. She is looked upon as beautiful because her characteristics are somewhat more white than other black peoples. This causes many to be jealous of her. However, Claudia and Frieda are not jealous. They see through the standards placed on beauty, and if Maureen is what is beautiful, this means that they are not beautiful (according to society). Beauty 6: When the girls are walking home from getting ice cream after school, they pass a movie theater with a picture of Betty Grable on the building. Maureen and Pecola both say that they love Betty Grable, an icon for white American beauty with her blonde hair and blue eyes. However, showing her disdain for such standards placed on beauty, Claudia says that she prefers the actress, Hedy Lamarr, who has dark hair. Beauty 7: In her younger years, Pauline Breedlove occupied herself by going to the movies. It was here that she got her first glimpse into what idealized beauty was. She saw the Hollywood blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshells as being true representations of beauty. And anything that strayed from these looks, including her own, was seen as not pretty. American society placed their standards of beauty onto the world, and because of this, many people began to realize how far away they were from those standards. Beauty 8: Pecola goes to visit Soaphead Church with the hope that he will be able to fulfill her wish to have blue eyes. She thinks that with blue eyes, all of her problems will disappear and the world will love her because she will be beautiful. The world, seen through blue eyes, will also appear beautiful to Pecola. Beauty 9: Claudia prays that Pecolas baby will survive. She needs the baby to live to counteract societys standards set on beauty, which say that blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girls are all that is pretty. Claudia hopes that with this new black baby people will change and see blackness as something that can be admired and something that is beautiful. Topic Tracking: Culture Culture 1: Mr. Henry moves into Claudia and Friedas house. One day, the girls come home and when they walk in Mr. Henry greets them. He flatters them by telling them they look just like Greta Garbo and Ginger Rogers, two white American female actresses. These two actresses represented American societys ideal beauty, with their blonde hair and blue eyes. They, and other actresses like them, were so idealized by the media that it forced young American girls, both white and black, to question their own beauty if it differed from the standard of blond hair and blue eyes. Culture 2: After seeing the cup with Shirley Temple on it, Claudia explains her ill feelings for her. Shirley Temple was the epitome of what all of America adored in little girls: her bouncy blonde curls and big blue eyes. This sickened Claudia, as she was so different from Shirley Temple and all of the other little girls who looked like Shirley. Culture 3: Claudia tells the story about the doll she received for Christma s one year. This doll was a beautiful doll that had blonde hair, blue eyes, and pink skin. Instead of appreciating the doll like most other children would have done, Claudia dismembered and destroyed the doll. She was sick of having American ideals of beauty placed on her, which said that being white with blonde hair and blue eyes was what was deemed as beautiful. Culture 4: This excerpt from a first grade reading primer describes the perfect white family. Morrison uses these excerpts in many points of the story to illustrate the dichotomy between the ideal white family, and the family of blacks, specifically Pecolas family. The reading book perpetuates the stigma that what is seen as ideal in American culture means having a neat little house, run by two loving parents, with two children, one of which has blonde hair and blue eyes, and a fun loving dog who plays with the children. This social stigma presses on children who are different that are reading these books, and makes them think they are abnormal and unacceptable. Culture 5: The Breedloves are described. They think they are poor and ugly, and it says that much of the reason they think this is because of the white American media. The media, as part of our culture, sets the standards for what defines beauty, and anything straying from these standards is viewed as ugly. Culture 6: Pecola is constantly faced with the standards set on her society by American culture. She cannot even enjoy a piece of candy without feeling that she is different and lacking in some way in terms of beauty. When she goes to eat her Mary Jane candy, she is mesmerized by the little girl of Mary Jane on the cover, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. These cultural pressures of what defines beauty make Pecola aware of just how much she strays from that defined beauty. This eventually leads to her desire for blue eyes, which in turn leads her into madness. Culture 7: When Pecola, Maureen, Claudia and Frieda are walking home from the ice cream shop, they pass a theater with a picture of Betty Grable on it. Young girls are bombarded with American cultures ideals of beauty, such as pictures of famous actresses. Betty Grable in particular, with h er blonde hair and blue eyes, makes Pecola and Maureen want to look like her. However, despite all of their hopes and wishes, they will never be able to look like that, and they are left as the victims of a culture that standardizes and limits young children. Culture 8: During her younger years, Pauline Breedlove spent a lot of time at the movie theater. It was here where she learned American standards of true beauty. Constantly faced with actresses like Jean Harlow, the ultimate Hollywood blonde bombshell, Pauline was forced to examine her own beauty in terms of Harlows. She realized that she did not look anything like Harlow, and based on this, came to the conclusion that she must be ugly. However, her feelings of ugliness were purely based on cultural standards set on her through the medium of Hollywood. Culture 9: Claudia feels the need for Pecolas baby to be alive and healthy. She wants the baby to survive because she wants to counteract the cultural emphasis placed on white girls with blonde hair and blue eyes, exemplified by the types of white baby dolls most children adore (dolls that look like Shirley Temple). If Pecolas baby lives, maybe people can learn to love a black baby and see black as beautiful too. At least this is what Claudia is hoping for. Culture 10: Pecola beats her arms like a bird, and attempts to fly up to the sky. However, she cannot. The reason she cannot is because she has been held back by the culture in which she lives, a culture that values white beauty, and ignores black beauty. It was an inevitable end result that Pecola would never be able to achieve the standards of beauty she wanted to. She was born a black child, and unfortunately, her culture does not accept black beauty. Thus, her dreams would never be fulfilled. And even though she thinks she has blue eyes, the world around her does not recognize her as she wishes to be seen. And because of this, she is driven to madness, caused by the pressures and social standards of her culture.

What The Socratic Method Is

What The Socratic Method Is First, we must understand what the Socratic Method is, and how it applies to the notion that the unexamined life is not worth living. The Socratic Method is a process of questioning in which Socrates would have an opponent state a thesis and would then deconstruct their argument through the use of questioning and critical thinking. Better ideas are found by identifying and eliminating those that lead to contradictions. The Euthyphro offers a wonderful example of the application of this methodology. Socrates questions each of Euthyphros definitions as to what piety is, and constantly shows how these definitions fail when examined critically. Socrates contention is that Euthyphro is only giving descriptions and examples of pious things, rather than actually offering an objective answer to the essence of which makes a thing pious. Socrates complains that Euthyphro is stringing him along as he is not teaching him what piety actually is. It is important to note the way in which Socrates u ses his method with Euthyphro. Socrates acts as the student, and elevates Euthyphro to that of a mentor, which allows Socrates to lead Euthyphro though the process of critical analysis, as opposed to simply dictating information directly to him. In this way, Socrates allows Euthyphro to examine his own argument, and realize the mistakes that plague it. This begins to give an understanding of what Socrates meant by his notion of the unexamined life. What Socrates was trying to convey with his notions of the unexamined life was not that one must examine their own life for it to have worth, but rather that if one would claim that their life is worthy, they would need to examine it themselves to understand its worth. Socrates argues that living a life where one does not realize their ignorance is a life not worth living because he views knowledge to be directly tied to virtue. In order to live a worthy life, one must seek knowledge, which is a necessary component of his ethics. Using this parallel we can infer that because knowledge can be learned, it must also be possible to learn virtue. From this it follows that virtue can be taught, and we begin to understand that the Socratic Method is Socrates attempt to act as a catalyst for others self-examination. This is exactly what Socrates does with his dialogue in the Euthyphro. He feigns ignorance to elevate Euthyphro to a higher level, and guides him along the path of self-examinati on with his Socratic Method. Virtue then, becomes the pursuit of knowledge through self-examination. To put this in other words; one finds their life to be virtuous or ethical through the answers to the questions that are brought forth through internal examination. Without asking the questions, one will never receive the answers. The Apology and Crito offer strong examples of Socrates ethical philosophy. The Apology deals with the defense offered by Socrates to his accusers for allegations of impiety and corruption of the youth of. Socrates usages of the Socratic Method for the purpose of promoting others into self-examination lead him to question those who claimed to have wisdom, and ultimately he exposed them as ignorant. Questioning the beliefs of the wise men led to his charge of impiety, and the admiration he gained by the youth of Athens as a result of his actions led to his charge of corrupting the youth. Part of Socrates defense in the trial was that through his actions he was simply trying to act as a catalyst for the people of Athens to ultimately find knowledge and gain an understanding of virtue. Socrates is found guilty of the charges against him, and is sentenced to death by ingestion of hemlock. In the face of death, Socrates had the option to flee the city of Athens, but refused as it would h ave been in direct violation of his moral principles. In the Crito, Socrates discusses why he has a duty to stay and face his charge, as well as why the action of fleeing would be unethical. To Socrates, breaking one law would be an injustice to all laws and would cause great harm to the city of Athens. To escape would have been an injustice to Athens itself. As a citizen of Athens, Socrates was endorsing, and willing to abide by the law, and to break the law now after 70 years of life would in effect negate everything that he had advocated throughout his life. The Phaedo discusses notions of life, death, and the soul. With his sentence looming overhead, Socrates contemplates the idea of death and suicide with Cebes and Simmias. He says that a true philosopher should look forward to death, but at the same time however, Socrates also says that though philosophers should be willing to die, it is wrong for them to commit suicide, as he views the gods as the guardians of people and views suicide as a destruction of the gods possession void of any permission to do so. Because death is the separation of the body and the soul, the philosopher is then able to shed all of the distractions of the body wants, desires, and fears which gives them the ability to acquire the knowledge and wisdom that theyve been seeking in their lives. The practice of philosophy then, according to Socrates, is likened to a sort of training for dying in which the philosopher is called to remove himself from his bodily attachment. This offers a stark contrast between the philosopher and the layman. The layman has an illusion of virtue, while the philosopher truly becomes virtuous. The philosopher approaches death with courage, gained from the pursuit of knowledge, while the layman can only have an illusion of virtue as they do not participate in the practice of philosophy, and therefore cannot receive the knowledge and wisdom, and cannot separate themselves from the hindrance of bodily attachments. The Republic establishes that justice is in the class of things that ought to be practiced for their own good, as well as for the good of their consequences. In order to understand exactly what justice is and what it means to live ethically, Socrates gives an example of a city as a large scale concept, and then examines it on a smaller more specific level. He discusses how the people of a city will have their own basic needs, but that the city as a whole will be shared and will have a structured system of education. Socrates also explains that there are four excellences in the city: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice. Socrates compares the city to a person and says that these four excellences must also exist in a person within the soul. Since they all exist in the soul and can often contradict, it is established that the soul is made up of parts and is not a whole. The soul consists of the rational, which judges truth, and makes wise and knowledgeable decisions in accordance wi th an examined life. The spirited part of the soul is the source of desires within a person such as love, and honor, while the appetitive aspect of the soul is the source of basic cravings that act as an anchor to the material and menial word. Within the city exists different classes of individuals; the guardians, the auxiliaries and the working class, all of which represent a different aspect or nature of the soul. The guardians are considered to be the rational, and ought to be the rulers of the city as they will be the best suited to attain knowledge and live and act ethically because the guardians act on their own knowledge and wisdom through their inherent rationality, just as the rational part should rule of the soul should rule over the other three aspects. From this, Socrates says that justice is establishing the parts of the soul so that they dominate and are dominated by each other according to nature and allow for the person and for the soul to pursue wisdom. In conclusion, it is shown that the ethics of Socrates can be understood by examining the works of the Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, and Republic. Socrates uses the Socratic method as a tool to catalyze self-examination of others so that may seek out knowledge. From this quest for knowledge, virtue is obtained, and this is the main goal of philosophy in Socrates mind. Laws must be made in accordance with wisdom by those who practice philosophy, and must seek to benefit the city as a whole. Breaking one law is an injustice to all laws, and is an act of ignorance. Ethics, virtue, justice and morality all stem from what Socrates calls the examined life, in which philosophy is used as a means to gain wisdom and knowledge which act as the basis for these values. Philosophy then, is not just an occupation, but rather an integral part of life, and a necessary component of what it means to be ethical.

Julius Caesar :: essays research papers

William Shakespeare is one of the greatest play writers ever born, And this is shown by how popular his plays are still today even after thousands of years. One of his famous plays still in use today is Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar is one of the greatest plays ever written and has been read or seen by many generations. There are many topics that can be chosen to talk about in Julius Caesar and one of those topics is the presents of the supernatural Caesar or Caesar’s ghost and what affect he has on the living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my first main idea I chose the impact of Julius Caesar when he was alive and the impact of his ghost. Caesar had a big impact when he was alive and when he was dead with return of his ghost. This shows that Caesar had allot of impact on other peoples lives and even after death has an impact on people close to him and those who deceived him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second main idea was the affect on Brutus and how he experienced Caesars return a few years after Caesars death. Also how Caesars ghost was not mad at Brutus and Brutus acted like nothing had happen and he had not killed him but now worshipped him. This shows that Brutus had killed Caesar for the good of Rome in his mind and still had the up most respect for him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Third idea was what he had done for Rome and how he gave all his money to the people of Rome and also how he had a perception that if it was his time to die then he would die. This shows that Caesar believes in what is meant to happen should happen and that you can’t change was is meant to happen. But also Caesar could have prevented his death and could have more time to contribute to the history of Rome.

Understanding of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is one of the biggest problems facing our schools and businesses today. A week rarely goes by without a reminder of the pervasiveness of sexual harassment as a social problem. Sexual harassment is a growing problem in the government agencies, schools, and the corporations of the world; however, many corporations are now adopting new anti-harassment policies. (Conta) The definition of sexual harassment is any unwanted or inappropriate sexual attention. That includes touching, looks, comments, or gestures. A key part of sexual harassment is that it is one sided and unwanted. There is a great difference between sexual arassment and romance or friendship, since those are mutual feelings of two people. Often sexual harassment makes the victim feel guilty, but it is important for the victim to remember that it is not their fault, the fault lies totally on the person who is the harasser. Many times fear is involved in sexual harassment because it isn't about physical attraction, it's about power. In fact, many sexual harassment incidents take place when one person is in a position of power over the other; or when a woman has an untraditional job such as a police officer, factory worker, business executive, or ny other traditionally male job. Typical victims of harassment are young, single, college-educated, members of a minority racial or ethnic group (if male), in a trainee position (or office/ clerical positions if male), or have an immediate supervisor of the opposite Presently, it is hard for courts and others to decide when sexual harassment has taken place because the definition of sexual harassment is much too broad. Clearing up the legal definition of sexual harassment would discourage and punish harassers and bring comfort to the victims. Here are some points to remember in deciding hen sexual harassment takes place: Sexual harassment is one-sided and * It is about power and not attraction. * Subtle sexual behavior is sometimes socially acceptable, but some would consider it offensive and want it stopped. * Moderate sexual behavior is not socially acceptable, reasonable * Severe sexual behavior is never acceptable. (Swisher 28) Sexual harassment is a major problem in public schools, colleges, and universities. Surveys on college campuses show the number of respondents reporting to have been sexually harassed ranging from 40-70 percent. Only two percent of campus harassment ases involve a professor demanding sex in return for a good grade. Most cases involve male and female students. In public schools current sexual harassment definitions are inappropriate, since bad sexual behavior of today's children isn't sexual harassment, but it is a reflection of the vulgar, violent, and the sexually explicit nature of our media and culture. When little six-year-old children get suspended from school for kissing girls on the cheek, it is not an example of sexual harassment but of political Sexual harassment is still a big problem in schools and every school district in Washington now has an antiharassment policy. Junior high or middle school has the biggest problem with sexual harassment mainly because of their immaturity and out-of-control hormones†. Says Viki Simmons of the YWCA. â€Å"Many times in high school, students don't think anything about it when harassment happens, but schools are now cracking down on it†. Simmons interview) In the business world employers are now on notice that sexual harassment will no longer be tolerated in the workplace. Claims brought against alleged harassers include wrongful termination, invasion of privacy, violation of due process and free speech rights, efamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Sexual harassment usually happens to women in low-paying jobs, or women that have to have a job in order to support themselves and children. If sexual harassment happens at work, write down a detailed description of what took place, so that it is well recorded and you don't have to think back to the incident. You should keep a note pad handy for this purpose, or write it on a napkin to help you * What actually took place and what the offender said Another way to do this is to write a letter to the harasser. Be sure to keep a copy. Tell the person clearly in the letter that his behavior toward you is unwanted. Tell the person that he will be reported if the behavior doesn't stop (Kolbert). According to the research group Catalyst, recent studies have found that 40 percent to 60 percent of woman say they have been harassed sometime in their Employers have a duty to investigate allegations of sexual harassment, and their employees have a legitimate interest in knowing what activities could result in their termination. Ever clearer definitions of sexual harassment are being implemented by more and more corporations around the country. As this happens, an ncreasing number of companies are searching for new ways of protecting themselves against allegations, adopting their own anti- harassment policies to combat this growing problem. CEO's should do a variety of things to stop sexual harassment in the work place. The most important thing is senior management makes it clear to workers that harassment in any form won't be tolerated. If top managers don' take the issues seriously, employees won't either. Managers must also understand they are responsible for their Companies need an explicit written policy on sexual harassment that is widely available in the workplace. Most consultants advise companies to do more than just post the policy on bulletin boards. They should distribute it company wide, repeatedly. Copies should be included in new employee orientation packets. Employees should have clear definitions of what sexual harassment is Many companies are now offering employee training sessions on sexual harassment, and many say that follow up training is a good idea. Training programs should include all employees, rather than just managers. The tone should be gender neutral and avoid heavy discussions on male harassment that might cause some resentment among the male employees. Many times programs aren't effective because they spend a lot of time just attacking men and not the crime. Companies need a good system to deal with complaints. A clear process for handling complaints shows that a company takes them seriously. Until 1991 it was harder for woman to make allegations of sexual harassment, since woman felt like there was nothing that they could do about it. But the highly publicized hearings of Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill in 1991 changed everything. During the fall of 1991, the subject of sexual harassment grabbed news headlines. Everyone began discussing this issue and motions ran high. Judge Clarence Thomas was nominated to be a Supreme Court Justice, which is America's highest court, and Supreme Court Justices have their jobs for life. They cannot be fired. Before a person can be made a Justice, he or she must be questioned and Judge Thomas was ounce the head of a U. S. agency called the EEOC. The EEOC makes sure everyone is treated fairly when applying for a job. It also enforces laws against sexual harassment. Anita Hill is a law professor who worked with Judge Thomas at the EEOC many years ago. A few weeks into the Congressional Questioning she came orward and accused Thomas of sexual harassment. She claimed that he used to constantly ask her for dates and spoke to her about pornographic films he had seen. Anita Hill said that she was deeply offended by these remarks but felt that she could not complain. Clarence Thomas was her boss, and she thought that her career could be Anita Hill was a very believable witness. But Judge Thomas denied her charges in the strongest possible terms. Who was telling the truth? The country was divided. But the issue was being discussed everywhere. Women from all across the nation told of their experiences with sexual harassment. And many men admitted being Finally, the senate voted to approve Judge Thomas. But the vote was close. Many senators had doubts about Thomas's character. Others did not the, Thomas's career should be destroyed because of one person's story. They said there was not enough evidence to prove there was wrongdoing. In the end, everyone agreed that sexual harassment is a serious problem everyone must become more sensitive It's important to know that men have trouble too. Women are not the only victims of sexual harassment. More and more men are being harassed in the workplace, classrooms, and locker rooms. Whoever is in the position of power tends to be the harasser. Men can a be victims of both woman and other men Sexual harassment is very wide spread, but there are ways of avoiding it, such as: Keeping everything strictly on a business level. If working in the same room as the harasser, create a barrier between the two work stations with a desk or file cabinet, etc. Do not ask for personal favors or special treatment from the harasser so that he won't feel he is owed anything. Do not talk about anything personal. Sexual harassment is always wrong. No one deserves it. And it is always hurtful to the victim.

Case Nestle

NESTLE CASE STUDY Nestle is one of the oldest of all multinational businesses. The company was founded in Switzerland in 1866 by Heinrich Nestle, who established Nestle to distribute â€Å"milk food,† a type of infant food he had invented that was made from powdered milk, baked food, and sugar. From its very early days, the company looked to other countries for growth opportunities, establishing its first foreign offices in London in 1868. In 1905, the company merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk, thereby broadening the company’s product line to include both condensed milk and infant formulas.Forced by Switzerland’s small size to look outside’ its borders for growth opportunities, Nestle established condensed milk and infant food processing plants in the United States and Britain in the late 19th century and in Australia, South America, Africa, and Asia in the first three decades of the 20th century. In 1929, Nestle moved into the chocolate business when it acquired a Swiss chocolate maker. This was followed in 1938 by the development of Nestle’s most revolutionary product, Nescafe, the world’s first soluble coffee drink.After World War 11, Nestle continued to expand into other areas of the food business, primarily through a series of acquisitions that included Maggi (1947), Cross & Blackwell (1960), Findus (1962), Libby’s (1970), Stouffer’s (1973), Carnation (1985), Rowntree (1988), and Perrier (1992). By the late 1990s, Nestle had 500 factories in 76 countries and sold its products in a staggering 193 nations-almost every country in the world. In 1998, the company generated sales of close to SWF 72 billion ($51 billion), only 1 percent of which occurred in its home country.Similarly, only 3 percent of its- 210,000 employees were located in Switzerland. Nestle was the world’s biggest maker of infant formula, powdered milk, chocolates, instant coffee, soups, and mineral waters. It was number t wo in ice cream, breakfast cereals, and pet food. Roughly 38 percent of its food sales were made in Europe, 32 percent in the Americas, and 20 percent in Africa and Asia. Management Structure Nestle is a decentralized organization. Responsibility for operating decisions is pushed down to local units, which typically enjoy a high degree f autonomy with regard to decisions involving pricing, distribution, marketing, human resources, and so on. At the same time, the company is organized into seven worldwide strategic business units (SBUs) that have responsibility for high-level strategic decisions and business development. For example, a strategic business unit focuses on coffee and beverages. Another one focuses on confectionery and ice cream. These SBUs engage in overall strategy development, including acquisitions and market entry strategy. In recent years, two-thirds of Nestle’s growth has come from acquisitions, so this is a critical function.Running in parallel to this str ucture is a regional organization that divides the world into five major geographical zones, such as Europe, North America and Asia. The regional organizations assist in the overall strategy development process and are responsible for developing regional strategies (an example would be Nestle’s strategy in the Middle East, which was discussed earlier). Neither the SBU nor regional managers, however, get involved in local operating or strategic decisions on anything other than an exceptional basis.Although Nestle makes intensive use of local managers to knit its diverse worldwide operations together, the company relies on its â€Å"expatriate army. †Ã‚   This consists of about 700 managers who spend the bulk of their careers on foreign assignments, moving from one country to the next. Selected primarily on the basis of their ability, drive and willingness to live a quasi-nomadic lifestyle, these individuals often work in half-a-dozen natiosn during their careers. Nestle also uses management development programs as a strategic tool for creating an  esprit de corps  among managers.At Rive-Reine, the company’s international training center in Switzerland, the company brings together, managers from around the world, at different stages in their careers, for specially targetted development programs of two to three weeks’ duration. The objective of these programs is to give the managers a better understanding of Nestle’s culture and strategy, and to give them access to the company’s top management. The research and development operation has a special place within Nestle, which is not surprising for a company that was established to commercialize innovative foodstuffs.The R&D function comprises 18 different groups that operate in 11 countries throughout the world. Nestle spends approximately 1 percent of its annual sales revenue on R&D and has 3,100 employees dedicated to the function. Around 70 percent of the R&D budget i s spent on development initiatives. These initiatives focus on developing products and processes that fulfill market needs, as identified by the SBUs, in concert with regional and local managers. For example, Nestle instant noodle products were originally developed by the R&D group in response to the perceived needs of local operating companies through the Asian region.The company also has longer-term development projects that focus on developing new technological platforms, such as non-animal protein sources or agricultural biotechnology products. A Growth Strategy for the 21st  Century Despite its undisputed success, Nestle realized by the early 1990s, that it faced significant challenges in maintaining its growth rate. The large Western European and North American markets were mature. In several countries, population growth had stagnated and in some, there had been a small decline in food consumption.The retail environment in many Western nations had become increasingly challen ging and the balance of power was shifting away from the large-scale manufacturers of branded foods and beverages, and toward nationwide supermarket and discount chains. Increasingly, retailers found themselves in the unfamiliar position of playing off against each other – manufacturers of branded foods, thus bargaining down prices. Particularly in Europe, this trend was enhanced by the successful introduction of private-label brands by several of Europe’s leading supermarket chains.The results included increased price competition in several key segments of the food and beverage market, such as cereals, coffee and soft drinks. At Nestle, one response has been to look toward emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America for growth possibilities. The logic is simple and obvious – a combination of economic and population growth, when coupled with the widespread adoption of market-oriented economic policies by the governments of many developing nations, makes for attractive business opportunities.Many of these countries are still relatively poor, but their economies are growing rapidly. For example, if current economic growth forecasts occur, by 2010, there will be 700 million people in China and India that have income levels approaching those of Spain in the mid-1990s. As income levels rise, it is increasingly likely that consumers in these nations will start to substitute branded food products for basic foodstuffs, creating a large market opportunity for companies such as Nestle.In general, the company’s strategy had been to enter emerging markets early – before competitors – and build a substantial position by selling basic food items that appeal to the local population base, such as infant formula, condensed milk, noodles and tofu. By narrowing its initial market focus to just a handful of strategic brands, Nestle claims it can simplify life, reduce risk, and concentrate its marketing resources and manager ial effort on a limited number of key niches. The goal is to build a commanding market position in each of these niches.By pursuing such a strategy, Nestle has taken as much as 85 percent of the market for instant coffee in Mexico, 66 percent of the market for powdered milk in the Philippines, and 70 percent of the markets for soups in Chile. As income levels rise, the company progressively moves out from these niches, introducing more upscale items, such as mineral water, chocolate, cookies, and prepared foodstuffs. Although the company is known worldwide for several key brands, such as Nescafe, it uses local brands in many markets.The company owns 8,500 brands, but only 750 of them are registered in more than one country, and only 80 are registered in more than 10 countries. While the company will use the same â€Å"global brands† in multiple developed markets, in the developing world it focuses on trying to optimize ingredients and processing technology to local conditions and then using a brand name that resonates locally. Customization rather than globalization is the key to the company’s strategy in emerging markets. Executing the StrategySuccessful execution of the strategy for developing markets requires a degree of flexibility, an ability to adapt in often unforeseen ways to local conditions, and a long-term perspective that puts building a sustainable business before short-term profitability. In Nigeria, for example, a crumbling road system, aging trucks, and the danger of violence forced the company to re-think its traditional distribution methods. Instead of operating a central warehouse, as is its preference in most nations, the country.For safety reasons, trucks carrying Nestle goods are allowed to travel only during the day and frequently under-armed guard. Marketing also poses challenges in Nigeria. With little opportunity for typical Western-style advertising on television of billboards, the company hired local singers to go to t owns and villages offering a mix of entertainment and product demonstrations. China provides another interesting example of local adaptation and long-term focus. After 13 years of talks, Nestle was formally invited into China in 1987, by the Government of Heilongjiang province.Nestle opened a plant to produce powdered milk and infant formula there in 1990, but quickly realized that the local rail and road infrastructure was inadequate and inhibited the collection of milk and delivery of finished products. Rather than make do with the local infrastructure, Nestle embarked on an ambitious plan to establish its own distribution network, known as milk roads, between 27 villages in the region and factory collection points, called chilling centres.Farmers brought their milk – often on bicycles or carts – to the centres where it was weighed and analysed. Unlike the government, Nestle paid the farmers promptly. Suddenly the farmers had an incentive to produce milk and many bou ght a second cow, increasing the cow population in the district by 3,000 to 9,000 in 18 months. Area managers then organized a delivery system that used dedicated vans to deliver the milk to Nestle’s factory. Although at first glance this might seem to be a very costly solution, Nestle calculated that the long-term benefits would be substantial.Nestle’s strategy is similar to that undertaken by many European and American companies during the first waves of industrialization in those countries. Companies often had to invest in infrastructure that we now take for granted to get production off the ground. Once the infrastructure was in place, in China, Nestle’s production took off. In 1990, 316 tons of powdered milk and infant formula were produced. By 1994, output exceeded 10,000 tons and the company decided to triple capacity.Based on this experience, Nestle decided to build another two powdered milk factories in China and was aiming to generate sales of $700 mil lion by 2000. Nestle is pursuing a similar long-term bet in the Middle East, an area in which most multinational food companies have little presence. Collectively, the Middle East accounts for only about 2 percent of Nestle’s worldwide sales and the individual markets are very small. However, Nestle’s long-term strategy is based on the assumption that regional conflicts will subside and intra-regional trade ill expand as trade barriers between countries in the region come down. Once that happens, Nestle’s factories in the Middle East should be able to sell throughout the region, thereby realizing scale economies. In anticipation of this development, Nestle has established a network of factories in five countries, in the hope that each will, someday, supply the entire region with different products. The company, currently makes ice-cream in Dubai, soups and cereals in Saudi Arabia, yogurt and bouillon in Egypt, chocolate in Turkey, and ketchup and instant noodles in Syria.For the present, Nestle can survive in these markets by using local materials and focusing on local demand. The Syrian factory, for example, relies on products that use tomatoes, a major local agricultural product. Syria also produces wheat, which is the main ingredient in instant noodles. Even if trade barriers don’t come down soon, Nestle has indicated it will remain committed to the region. By using local inputs and focussing on local consumer needs, it has earned a good rate of return in the region, even though the individual markets are small.Despite its successes in places such as China and parts of the Middle East, not all of Nestle’s moves have worked out so well. Like several other Western companies, Nestle has had its problems in Japan, where a failure to adapt its coffee brand to local conditions meant the loss of a significant market opportunity to another Western company, Coca Cola. For years, Nestle’s instant coffee brand was the dominant coffee product in Japan. In the 1960s, cold canned coffee (which can be purchased from soda vending machines) started to gain a following in Japan.Nestle dismissed the product as just a coffee-flavoured drink rather than the real thing and declined to enter the market. Nestle’s local partner at the time, Kirin Beer, was so incensed at Nestle’s refusal to enter the canned coffee market that it broke off its relationship with the company. In contrast, Coca Cola entered the market with Georgia, a product developed specifically for this segment of the Japanese market. By leveraging its existing distribution channel, Coca Cola captured a 40 percent share of the $4 billion a year, market for canned coffee in Japan.Nestle, which failed to enter the market until the 1980s, has only a 4 percent share. While Nestle has built businesses from the ground up, in many emerging markets, such as Nigeria and China, in others it will purchase local companies if suitable candidates can b e found. The company pursued such a strategy in Poland, which it entered in 1994, by purchasing Goplana, the country’s second largest chocolate manufacturer. With the collapse of communism and the opening of the Polish market, income levels in Poland have started to rise and so has chocolate consumption.Once a scarce item, the market grew by 8 percent a year, throughout the 1990s. To take advantage of this opportunity, Nestle has pursued a strategy of evolution, rather than revolution. It has kept the top management of the company staffed with locals – as it does in most of its operations around the world – and carefully adjusted Goplana’s product line to better match local opportunities. At the same time, it has pumped money into Goplana’s marketing, which has enabled the unit to gain share from several other chocolate makers in the country. Still, competition in the market is intense.Eight companies, including several foreign-owned enterprises, s uch as the market leader, Wedel, which is owned by PepsiCo, are vying for market share, and this has depressed prices and profit margins, despite the healthy volume growth. Discussions: 1. Does it make sense for Nestle to focus its growth efforts on emerging markets? Why? 2. What is the company’s strategy with regard to business development in emerging markets? Does this strategy make sense? From an organizational perspective, what is required for this strategy to work effectively? 3. Through your own research on NESTLE, identify appropriate performance indicators.Once you have gathered relevant data on these, undertake a performance analysis of the company over the last five years. What does the analysis tell you about the success or otherwise of the strategy adopted by the company? 4. How would you describe Nestle’s strategic posture at the corporate level; is it pursuing a global strategy, a multidomestic strategy an international strategy or a transnational strateg y? 5. Does this overall strategic posture make sense given the markets and countries that Nestle participates in? Why? 6. Is Nestle’s management structure and philosophy aligned with its overall strategic posture?