Developments in the travel and tourism industry

Select two recent or current developments in the travel and tourism industry and explain how these developments have affected career opportunities and job roles within the industry. In this first part of the question, I will talk about how technology has affected careers and job roles within the travel & tourism industry. Technology has been the biggest development on the travel & tourism industry within the last ten years. It has allowed many companies to offer improved service to customers and help with the start up of many other businesses. Computers have been used for many years especially within the airline industry for tasks such as check in and ATC (Air Traffic Control), but now computers are being used in travel agents and tour operators. This could have affect on jobs, as computerisation will lead to less paper work. Computers are also used to access the Internet and customers are seeing the benefits of using this method of booking. Online booking also cuts out paying the travel agent commission; prices are also generally lower on the Internet. A new type of travel agent is appearing on the Internet, which specialises in e-commerce (electronic business) and example of this type of organisation is Expedia. Organisations such as this can be used to book all the principles of a holiday in one place. This also affects jobs, as only two or three people will need to be employed to ensure the systems work properly. This could affect many travel agents; some have already closed, as they cannot compete with the competition that is being given from online organisations. Some companies may choose to integrate, but this can also lead to a loss in jobs, as the amount of staff required maybe lower. As I mentioned previously, computers have been used in the airline and airport sector for many years. Airlines now use computers in a different way. Thanks to the advances in technology, passengers can now check in using a kiosk within the terminal building and at Waterloo Station, London, when travelling with British Airways. It is also possible to check in online 24 hours before a flight departure. The introduction of check in kiosks will inevitably mean that fewer customer service agents will be required. Not all development within the industry will lead to loss of jobs; one example of this is Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport. More staff will be employed when British Airways moves all of its flights and services from Terminal 1 & 4 to Terminal 5. More staff will be employed to work within shops, stations and facilities that will be available to customers when the terminal opens in 2008. Aircraft are also becoming more technologically advanced, two of the world biggest aircraft manufactures, Boeing and Airbus are developing new aircraft that will changed the way passengers travel. The Airbus A380 will become the largest civil aircraft in the world; and will have a maximum captivity will be 840 passengers. Singapore Airlines among others will be modifying the cabin to included bars, shops and gyms that will require staff to attend and maintain while in the air. There will be more career opportunities such as cabin crew and aircraft pilot when the new aircraft are introduced into service. An extension of aircraft is the possibility of space travel. Staff that will be employed for space travel will have to be trained to a higher level of health and safety and will be specialised in the working of and running of the craft. Visitor attractions have been using technology to their advantage. The safety of rides in theme parks can closely be monitored with computers, if a hazard occurs it can be located quickly and action can be taken. This will reduced the amount of mechanics needed to look after the rides. Technology has also allowed rides to have a higher thrill factor without compromising the safety of riders. Thorpe Park is the first theme park in the world to have a ten-loop roller coaster. It is kept safe with the use of computers, so that the ride operators can ensure high levels of safety.

Combined sentence Essay

1) Sexism extends even into the area of automobile driving, it seems. Believing that they are far better drivers than women. Men consider women drivers incompetent, inattentive, and even dangerous behind the wheel. -It seems that sexism extends even into the area of automobile driving. Believing that they are far better drivers than women, men consider women drivers incompetent, inattentive, and even dangerous behind the wheel. 2) However, statistics prove that women are, in fact, safer drivers than men. For example, insurance rates. Insurance rates for women are 20 percent lower than they are for men. Another proof is that more accidents are caused by male drivers between the ages of 18 and 25 than by any other group. Also, the greater percentage of accidents involving deaths cause by men. Although women are criticized for being too cautious. They are really just being safe drivers. -However, statistics prove that women are, in fact, safer drivers than men. For example, insurance rates for women are 20 percent lower than they are for men. Another proof is that more accidents are caused by male drivers between the ages of 18 and 25 than by any other group and the greater percentage of accidents involving deaths cause by men. Although women are criticized for being too cautious, they are really just being safe drivers. 3) The reasons for women drivers’ safer driving habits can perhaps be found in the different attitudes of the sexes toward automobiles. On the one hand, women drivers who regard the automobile as a convenience. Like a washing machine. On the other hand men regard the automobile as an extension of their egos. Using it as a weapon when they feel particularly aggressive. Or using it as a status symbol. -The reasons for women drivers’ safer driving habits can perhaps be found in the different attitudes of the sexes toward automobiles. On the one hand, women drivers who regard the automobile as a convenience like a washing machine; on the other hand, men regard the automobile as an extension of their egos, using it as a weapon when they feel particularly aggressive, or using it as a status symbol. 4) All in all, women are safer drivers. Because of their attitude. Men can  learn to become safe drivers. If they adopt the attitude that an automobile is merely a convenience. -All in all, women are safer drivers because of their attitude. Men can learn to become safe drivers, if they adopt the attitude that an automobile is merely a convenience. 2. (a) Electric cars are powered solely by batteries. (b) The new hybrid vehicles switch between electricity and gasoline. -Electric cars are powered solely by batteries, but the new hybrid vehicles switch between electricity and gasoline. 3. (a) Government and private agencies have spent billions of dollars advertising the dangers of smoking. (b) The number of smokers is still increasing. -Even though government and private agencies have spent billions of dollars advertising the dangers of smoking, the number of smokers is still increasing. 4. (a) Some students go to a vocational school to learn a trade. (b) Some students go to college to earn a degree -Some students go to a vocational school to learn a trade, but some students go to college to earn a degree. 5. (a) The grading system at our college should be abolished. (b) The students do not like getting grades.(c) The instructions do not enjoy giving grades. -The grading system at our college should be abolished as (or because/since) the students do not like getting grades, and the instructions do not enjoy giving grades. 6. (a) Education in a free society teaches children how to think. (b) Education in a dictatorship teaches children what to think. -Education in a free society teaches children how to think, but education in a dictatorship teaches children what to think.

The Management of Change of General Motors (GM) and Dell Essay

The Management of Change of General Motors (GM) and Dell - Essay Example This essay discusses that the organizational change is a constant procedure of remaking the ideas and approach of the organization by shifting the tactical routes and operations of the organization. This change assists the organization to enhance its potential with the greater monetary returns and its plan to meet the changing conditions and requirement of the clients. The main element that the organizations should look into before making any changes is to decide the future goals and objectives of the business and to see that how the resources should be implemented in order to make the change successful without the resistance of the employees at all the levels of the organization structure. The adjustment for the changing goals and the customer demand has become a big challenge for the organizations to meet the global competition. This job has become more difficult and complicated for the organization because they are not sure that their employees can handle and cope up with the chan ge or not. In the sector of profitability, the growth of global market and shift in political situations has made a way for the new markets of products and services that is never seen before in the corporate sector. In response to this changing pace, the organizations are adopting simple and reactive structure in which the culture is such that it empowers the employees and teamwork is the main driving force. Because of this changing environment, the employees expect that they will be involved in the decision regarding the organizational change. ... t position and share of the company falls due to change in demand of the customers and increase of competition from the car manufacturers of Japan (GM, 2012). Reason for Change: Previously, the company made many efforts to overcome the decline of sales, bad brand image, declining market share and some other reasons but most of those changes effort were failed due to communication gap between the top management and the employee’s and also because of the poor management. In 2009, the company was in extreme financial crises and the US Government would impose bankruptcy if the company will not be able to pay its debt. The new CEO fritz Henderson focus was to restructure the company within 2 months in order to save the company from bankruptcy. The company granted the financial and time aid from the US Government in order to exist as a company and payoff all the debts. The global recession made the company in financial crises and the management failed to overcome that pressure (Ande rsen, 2011). The basic reason for change is to improve the competitiveness of the company by cutting down the number of employees working and to decrease the other brands that General Motors owned. In addition, the company wants to change its overall structure by making it less bureaucratic and cut off the layers of management that is unnecessary for the company. This way the company assumes to save money and to the decision-making speed will also increase. The second point that the company decided was to change the culture of the company that would help to improve the market focus. This meant that the company would build the cars that are according to the requirement of the customers. This will help the company to see a definite path and help to come out of the financial crises that it was

Occupational Asthma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Occupational Asthma - Essay Example OA is a disease characterized by variable obstruction of airflow and/or airway hyperresponsiveness attributable to factors associated with the workplace rather than to stimuli found outside that environment. (Nicholson, 2002) This requires a period of time for sensitization to the causative agent to develop, and therefore, there is a latent period between exposure and the appearance of symptoms. The following subtypes are distinguished according to the substances responsible for causing the disease: - Immunologic OA caused by high molecular weight substances. This usually occurs via an immunologic mechanism involving immunoglobulin (Ig) E. - Immunologic OA caused by low molecular weight substances. In this case, there is generally no clear involvement of IgE. (Anees, 2004) This type of OA occurs as a result of irritation or toxicity. Two subtypes can be distinguished: - Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS). This is caused by single or multiple exposures to high doses of an irritant. Its onset, however, is linked to a single exposure. It is also known as OA without a latent period, since the symptoms appear within 24 hours of exposure. - OA caused by low doses of irritants. This occurs after repeated contact with low doses of the causative agent. ... It is a condition of particular current relevance but that is still under discussion. 3. Other variants of OA. This category includes OA with special or distinctive characteristics: - Asthma-like disorders. These are due to exposure to plant-derived dust (grain, cotton, and other textile fibers) and also to dust from confined animals. - Potroom asthma. This occurs in workers involved in the production of aluminium. Prevalence and Incidence Notable discrepancies are found in the data on prevalence and incidence currently available in the medical literature. Differences in the design of epidemiologic studies, the definition of OA, the study population, and the country in which the study was performed account for some of the discrepancies and the consequent difficulty in making comparisons. Some of the data can be found in a recent review article. It has been reported that 4% to 58% of all cases of asthma may be occupational in origin. A recent review of the literature estimated a mean value of 15%. Immunologic OA caused by high molecular weight substances is the most common form. (Anees, 2004) The prevalence of the disease varies depending on the causative agent and it has been shown to occur in 4% to 12% of animal laboratory workers, 79% of bakers, and 1% to 7% of health care workers exposed to latex. The prevalence of OA caused by sensitization to low molecular weight substances is less clear, although some authors estimate it at around 40% of all cases of OA. The agents most frequently implicated in the disease in industrialized countries have generally been the isocyanates, which cause asthma in 2% to 10% of workers. (Nicholson, 2002) In British Colombia, Canada, where the wood industry is very extensive, another agent, cedar wood, is more common and is

Shakespear writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shakespear writing - Essay Example Some characters are showed in the process of transformation while their nature is changed due to some crucial events or trial. These characters are, for instance, Cordelia, who embodies good and Edmund, who symbolizes evil. King Lear's personality goes the whole way due to his folly and imprudence that lead him from denial to rage and to madness. It is customary to suppose that Shakespeare and the other writers of this period kept to the traditional conviction that human nature is interrelated with the environment, and all possible alterations break the order, which would influence both human nature and the surroundings. That is why in many Shakespeare's tragedies personal conflicts are accompanied with some natural disasters. King Lear is not an exception. Breaking one of the pattern parts leads to collapses in other essential parts. Behavior of Lear's daughters, violating all moral and natural laws, hurting their father, breaking gratitude and obedience, that are usually expressed by the children in relation to their parents, is intensified with the scene of a storm raging outdoors. This illustrates unnatural behavior of Lear's daughters and predicts his worsening condition in future. At the beginning of this tragedy King Lear is portrayed as conceited, proud and hot-tempered king. He cannot be regarded either as positive or negative character. But the subsequent events described in the play show us how his follies result in refuse from his only loving daughter. He also realizes that the other daughters who seemed to be devoted and loving before, turned out to be ungrateful and indifferent, their assurances of sincere love turned out to be just mere words. It is necessary to note that Lear realizes what will be the end of the process of changes that occur to his personality. He predicts his condition, crying: "O fool, I shall go mad!" (Act II, scene 4). In the events that are described in Act II the author uses not only cruelty of Lear's daughters, but also the symbolic elements to describe how Lear's conscience threshold is surpassed, how his personality is torn apart and how he is left to seek for his identity. This makes Lear begin his way of transformation, to his natural identity, while he gets rid of the deception and artifice, and imaginary significance of the power and throne, created by him for his own self-appraisal, he fully reconsiders his roles of father and king. Later he described in the scene representing the storm, while he tries to resist the forces of nature, and this is the scene, reflecting the idea of a human weakness. Lear seems to be a honorable man, and we know he was, and he hangs up on the feeling on love as the subject that can be measured. He thinks that the daughter he would love the most and desire to live with will be the one that will give the answer that he wishes to hear, asking the question about the number of knights they let him to keep. He states, I'll go with thee. Thy fifty yet doth double five-and-twenty, And thou are twice her love" (Act II, scene 4). By this scene and these words the author clearly makes us understand that his hero is wrong, and he will soon assure that this is not true. This is the stage of denial, while the character mistakenly compares feelings and material objects, judging the devotion and love by the empty words that mean

Summary report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Summary report - Essay Example During the period between 1993 and 2010, Dr. Lvov has published more than 70 papers on layer-by-layer assembly. Nano-assembly on microtemplates and nanocapsules are described. The most interesting, however, as the potential applications of halloysite, as described by Lvov: these include delivery of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, anticorrosion agents for protective coating, plastic fillers and drug sustained release, hydrogen storage and even catalytic materials (Lvov). This information is followed by empirical research findings. Some authors concentrate on the analysis of nanoparticles use in medicine. Zheng et al discuss the benefits of layer-by-layer encapsulation for the poorly water-soluble anticancer drugs (7679). In this study, the researchers mixed curcumin with an organic solvent miscible with water, obtained curcumin crystals of 60-100 mm size via ultrasonication, and coated them with the help of biocompatible polyelectrolytes (Zheng et al 7679). The use of layer-by-layer encapsulation proved to effective in sustained drug release from nanoparticles (Zheng et al 7679). Franz et al followed the similar pattern and explored nano self-assembly coating of A.vinosum, to gain better knowledge of substrate uptake in bacteria (164). The authors found out that the coated cells surface charge does not affect sulfide uptake: obviously, defining the surface properties of bacteria has far-reaching implications for microbiological and biotechnological applications (Franz et al. 167). In a similar vein, Shutava et al prove that layer-by-layer techniques can be successfully utilized, to help the encapsulated anticancer drug material to retain its biological activity and block hypatocyte growth factor (1877). Layer-by-layer techniques can also involve the use of tubular halloysite clay, to ensure the sustained release of drug loaded halloysite tubes (Veerbadran et al. 100). In this context, Abdullayev et al.

The Aleph Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Aleph - Essay Example Driven by a rather natural desire to be close to her place and relatives, he lives near her house to have someone to share his trouble with. At that time he gets acquainted with the dead woman’s brother, Carlos Argentino Daneri. The attitude of Borges’ attitude towards him is rather interesting. He is a poet, but a protagonist treats him and his gift with irony considering him to be a plain layman. Daneri is writing a very long epic poem about all the places on the Earth as if he visited them himself. He is dreaming about winning a prize and become famous. This desire irritates Borges. One day Carlos calls Borges’ number asking for help. He appeared in a trouble as his house has to be destroyed by some business. However, Daneri worries not because he loves the place he lives in. He discloses his secret he was hiding for long: there is an Aleph in one of the rooms of his house, and he simply can’t lose him, because he needs him to finish his great poem: â⠂¬Å"Yes, the only place on earth where all places are — seen from every angle, each standing clear, without any confusion or blending. I kept the discovery to myself and went back every chance I got. As a child, I did not foresee that this privilege was granted me so that later I could write the poem. Zunino and Zungri will not strip me of what’s mine — no, and a thousand times no! Legal code in hand, Doctor Zunni will prove that my Aleph is inalienable† (Borges). Borges does not like Daneri and can’t believe him, but he still comes to see the Aleph. Actually, he does not trust the poet thinking that the wants to kill him, thus behaves very carefully. â€Å"The full knowledge of a fact sometimes enables you to see all at once many supporting but previously unsuspected things. It amazed me not to have suspected until that moment that Carlos Argentino was a madman† (Borges). Having come to his

Government Structure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Government Structure - Essay Example tract function model of government is connected deeply with the idea of the modern democracy where the government is formed with the will of the people. It is different from a constitutional monarchy such as the one present in the UK since the monarch remains the head of the government as well as the country while in a pure contract function model of government an elected representative becomes the head of state and leads the country (Hawkesworth and Kogan, 1992). The contract function model is based on the ideas of a social contract which has been credited to the ideas presented by Hobbes. His philosophy of government suggested that governments are formed by the banding of people and they earn their right to govern with the will and acceptance of the people. Thus there is an established (if often unwritten) contract between the people and their government regarding the social order which is maintained from both sides (Hawkesworth and Kogan, 1992). Violations of the contract from the side of the government give the people the right to revolt against the government while violations of the contract from the side of the people give the government the right to imprison them or ever deprive them of their lives in certain cases such as treason. While governments affect the people they govern in many different ways, the people who form a government also affect it in terms of their culture with regard to the political culture and the social culture. For example, even though countries such as China are democracies in a technical sense, the culture of the country remains a communist one for the most part. Of course the Chinese system of government has been affected by cultural changes that have come as a part of the economic development that China has seen in recent years but the government systems and bureaucracies remain connected with communism as a cultural artifact (Wortman, 1987). In this way, the political culture and the social culture affect how governments are

How fast-food has a significant impact in Childhood obesity Research Paper

How fast-food has a significant impact in Childhood obesity - Research Paper Example How fast-food has a significant impact in Childhood obesity? Childhood obesity is a serious/major public health concern and it currently getting a great amount of attention because of its wider economic impacts, as well as the long term consequences on children’s overall health, quality of life, academic achievements and productivity as they turn into adults. Fortunately, latest findings point out that the growth in the proportion of children categorized as obese or overweight has finally leveled off. Nevertheless, rates of obesity and overweight still remain high. â€Å"Almost 35% of children aged 6 to 19 years are overweight and roughly 19% are obese†. Taking health into consideration, the effects of obesity among children include coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, orthopedic abnormalities and respiratory problems. One of the fields of the food industry, which is being held responsible for the prevalence of childhood obesity, is the FAFH – food-away-from-home – sector, in essence, the fast food industry. From the late 70’s till the mid 90’s, the volume of foods consumed away from home went up considerably from 16% to 29%. The eating patterns of children, particularly those in school, have echoed the fast growth of the FAFH industry. In the late 70’s, children obtained roughly 20% of their caloric intake from food FAFH sources. The data obesity surveys conducted from 2003 to 2006 show that food-away-from-home was liable for 35% of children’s caloric intake. A number of surveys have argued that children who take more fast-food have much lower dietary quality are also expected to be obese or overweight. This paper will discuss how fast-food has a significant impact in Childhood obesity. Background Whereas the main motivation of centering on children is the accessibility of geographically explicit information on weight measures for an extremely big sample, children are a significant group to research in their own right. â€Å"Among school aged chi ldren, 6-19 rates of overweight have soared from about 5% in the early 1970s to 16%, in 1999-2002† (Currie et al. 5). These rates are of significant concern provided that children who are obese are most expected to be obese or overweight as grownups and are gradually suffering from illnesses related to overweight when still young. Critics of the fast food sector point to a number of features, which might make fast food less healthy compared to other types of FAFH. These comprise of low time and monetary costs, high calorie levels of signature menu items and large portions. For sure, energy densities for personal food items are normally too high that it would be hard for people consuming them not to go past their normally recommended dietary intakes (Currie et al. 6). A number of consumers might be specifically defenseless. In two randomized practical trials concerning 26 overweight and 28 normal-weight children, Sinclair et al. (2833) contrasted caloric intakes on â€Å"unres tricted fast-food days,† as well as â€Å"no fast-food days.† The researchers found out that overweight children had much higher caloric intakes on â€Å"fast-food days† compared to â€Å"none fast-food days. The main fast food chains are also concerned in aggressive advertising to children. One particular experimental study of children aged three to five years provided them identical pairs of beverages and foods, the only distinction being that some foods were packaged by McDonalds (Robinson et al. 792). Data Sources and Summary Statistics Data for this paper came from three sources: school data and restaurant data. School Data The data on children from this study came from Californian schools from the late 90 and early 2000s up to 2007. The study of mostly 9th graders, which the paper centers on, represents 3.6 million student-year observations. In California, during spring, 9th graders are normally given fitness assessment test,

Healthy lifestyle Essay Example for Free

Healthy lifestyle Essay A persons health is measured in various methods and achievements, whether it is measured by weight, levels of stress, or just overall quality of life. People are relentlessly searching for the most efficient way to be more physically, nutritionally, and emotionally fit. On this quest for superior health there are four habits that need to be recognized to reach this goal, and they are smoking, drinking, overeating, and exercising. (Berger, 502). Cigarette smoking is a common, unhealthy habit among American adults. With 20. 8% of all adults smoking, its the most preventable cause of death in the US, making up one in every five deaths this year. (Center for Disease Control Prevention, n.d.). It not only significantly increases your chance at getting lung cancer; it also increases the rate for getting cancer of the bladder, kidneys, mouth and stomach. (Berger, 503). These deaths are preventable by people quitting smoking. There are over-the-counter medications, prescription medications, as well as just cold turkey to quit smoking. Alcohol is another drug that can lead to bad health. Alcohol can produce significant problems with the lever, heart, stomach and increases the likelihood of getting cancer. (Berger, 504). With this danger, groups have been founded to help stop using alcohol. The most familiar group is Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935, has no affiliation to any company, government, or private enterprise, and only requires the members to have the want to stop drinking. (Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 2008). Overeating and obesity is a common health problem among Americans today. We live in a very hectic world with just as frantic schedules. With the onset of the technological world and hectic schedules, fast food restaurants have found their ideal target. With consumers not having to even get out of their cars to super-size their double quarter-pounder has made us obese. There is a solution to this problem though. Through a reasonable amount of caloric intake of the right foods and a moderate, convenient exercise plan American can win the battle of the bulgeExercise is a very proactive way of increasing ones health. Many people exercise to lose weight, but the  benefits of exercise is vast. Regular physical activity can reduce your risk for several diseases and conditions and improve your overall quality of life. Regular physical activity can help protect you from the following health problems: hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. (Berger, 507). References Berger, K. S. (2005). The Developing Person: Through the Life Span. (Sixth Ed.). New York, New York: Worth Publishers. Center for Disease Control Prevention. (n.d.). Adult Cigarette Smoking in the United States:Current Estimates. Retrieved on July 13, 2008, from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/adult_cig_smoking.htm. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. (2008). A.A. Fact File. Retrieved on July 13, 2008, from http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/en_pdfs/m-24_aafactfile.pdf.

Production of Single Cell Protein

Production of Single Cell Protein ABSTRACT The possibility of using Koji making fermentor for, Arachniotus citrinus and Candida utilis, single cell protein (SCP) production was investigated. The MBP was produced from deoiled rice bran in 300 Kg Koji making fermentor after optimize fermentation conditions in 250 ml flasks by solid state fermentation. The A. citrinus supported maximum values of substrate to water ratio (1:2), 0.05% MgSO4.7H2O, 0.075% CaCl2. 2H2O, 0.25% KH2PO4, C:N (12:1), 1ml molasses (10% solution), 0.6 ml yeast sludge, and 2 ml corn steep liquor while 2ml molasses (10% solution) and 0.25g urea for C. utilis for maximum crude protein productivity. The SCP in the 300 Kg Koji making fermentor contained crude protein, true protein, protein gain, ether extract, ash, crude fiber, and RNA content of 30.13 %, 23.74 %, 2.97 %, 14.71 %, 6.77 %, 3.383% respectively. The dried SCP showed a gross energy value of 3675 Kcal/kg and contained increase the levels of all essential and non-essential amino acids. The results sugg est that A. citrinus and C. utilis cultures can be used for the production of SCP without extensive modification in Koji making fermentor on large scale solid state fermentation. Keywords: Solid state fermentation; Rice bran; single cell protein; Arachniotus citrinus; Candida utilis; Koji making fermentor 1. Introduction A growing alarm for the severe food scarcity for the worlds increasing population has led to the utilization of non-conventional food sources as potential alternatives. Developing countries like Pakistan urgently need to increase livestock and poultry production to enhance meat, milk and egg supplies to meet protein requirement of increasing population. In Pakistan, poultry industry has played a main responsibility in providing animal protein (in the form of eggs and meat) to common man. But feed industry is facing massive shortage of both plant and animal based feed ingredients. These are the main constraints in the development of poultry industry. (Rajoka et al., 2006) One possible alternative is to ferment cheap non-conventional agro-industrial by-products to produce single cell protein (SCP). These residues through fermentation will reduce the pollution as well as provide a potential source of carbon and energy for production of SCP which is an economical, quite comparable to animal protein and potential supplemental protein source. The SCP can replace costly conventional protein sources like soybean meal and fishmeal for feeding poultry, livestock and humans (Singh et al., 1991; Pacheco et al., 1997, Anupama and P. Ravindera., 2000). Solid state fermentation (SSF) refers to the cultivation of microorganisms (mainly fungi) on a solid medium, with a moisture content that ensures growth and metabolism of microorganisms [5]. (Del Bianchi et al., 2001). In SSF, the solid material acts as physical support and source of different nutrients. SSF systems offer several economical and practical advantages such as: higher product concentration, improved product recovery, very simple cultivation equipment, reduced waste water output, lower capital investment and lower plant operation costs (Muniswaran et al., 1994). In SSF of agro-industrial byproducts can be increase their nutritional chemical composition, example, by increasing protein content [6,7]. (Rudravaram et al., 2006; Ravinder et al., 2003), improve the phenolic content and antioxidant potential of fermented foods by using different microorganisms. (Lin et al., 2006; Zhang et al., 2008, Lee et al., 2008, Randhir et al., 2004, Lateef et al., 2008; Bhanja et al. (2008 ). The yeast Candida utilis has been frequently used in SCP production because of its ease of isolation, can grew very well at room temperature, ability to utilize a variety of carbon sources such as rice polishings (Rajoka et al., 2006), potato starch waste waters (GÃ ©linas and Barrette, 2007), salad oil manufacturing wastewater (Zheng et al., 2005) and molasses (Nigam and Vogel, 1991), to support high protein yield, its minimal energy requirements and. It has been used for production of several industrial products both for human and animal consumption (Zayed and Mostafa, 1992; Pacheco et al., 1997; Kondo et al., 1997; Otero et al., 1998, Adoki, 2002). It has also been used as a host to produce several chemicals, such as glutathione (Liang et al., 2008), monellin (Kondo et al., 1997) and ethyl acetate (Christen et al., 1999). Mycelia tips of fungi easily penetrate in hard substrate and produce much higher amount of the SCP as compared to submerged fermentation.6 A novel native fungal strain, Arachniotus citrinus is a white rot mesophillic fungus and has been used for the SCP on small scale by using different agro industrial wastes.7 [Shaukat et al., 2006] Previous studies of Arachniotus citrinus also proved that it has effective cellulases, glucoamylase producer in waste bread medium. strong resistance profile of from A. citrinus against proteases was observed. Jabbar et al., 2004; However, there is no literature reported to optimize the culture conditions for A. citrinus and C. utilis in rice bran on large scale by using Koji making fermentor for its reutilization in poultry rations and its biological evaluation in chickens. The main goal is to develop an optimal process on large scale SCP for rice bran with high protein content for poultry and livestock feed industry. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. Rice bran Rice bran was obtained from National Feed Industries, Lahore, Pakistan. It was then sealed in polyethylene bags and stored at 4Â °C for further use. 2.2. Determination of different components in rice bran The proximate analysis of rice bran was conducted to estimate its nutritive composition by following the methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC,1994). Triplicate samples of rice bran were analyzed for moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, total ash, nitrogen free extract and cellulose contents. 2.3. Organism Arachniotus citrinus and Candida utilis (a gift from the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, Pakistan) were obtained. Both microorganisms were maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA) slants at 4Â °C and regular shifting on the PDA slant at the interval of 15 days to keep them viable. Both Arachniotus citrinus and Candida utilis were used to prepare seed culture by transferring a loopful of cells to 200 ml seed culture medium in a 1000 ml Erlenmeyer flask. The medium for Arachniotus citrinus was containing (g/L) rice bran, 20; CaCl2. 2H2O, 0.025; MgSO4.7H2O, 0.025; KH2PO4, 2; Urea 18.9 and grown at 35Â °C with pH 4 while the medium for C. utilis was containing (g L-1) KH2PO4,5.0; (NH4)2SO4, 5.0; CaCl2, 0.13; MgSO4, 0.5; yeast extract, 0.5 and grown at 35Â °C with pH 6 on an orbital shaker (150 rpm for 24 h). 13,14 2.3.1. Effect of moisture content on Arachniotus citrinus SCP production Factors such as moisture content, ionic concentrations of MgSO4.7H2O, CaCl2 .2H2O, KH2PO4 , carbon to nitrogen ration(C:N), molasses (10% solution), yeast sludge, and corn steep liquor for Arachniotus citrinus and molasses (10% solution) and urea for C. utilis affecting the SCP production were standardized by adopting the search technique by varying one factor at a time. The optimized parameter of one experiment was followed for succeeding experiments. In the first experiment, the effect of moisture content (ranging from substrate to water ratios of 1:2, 1:1, 1.5:1, and 2:1) on fungal SCP production, 5 g of rice bran was steamed, inoculated and incubated for 3 days at 35 Â °C for the optimization of water content. All media were adjusted to pH 4.0 with 1 M NaOH or 1 M HCl. A portion of SCP was used for the estimation of crude protein and true protein by following the methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 1994). The protein gain in the fermented rice bran was calculated according to Equation 1, while, the correction factors of 5.7 for rice bran and of 6.25 for fermented biomass calculations. Protein Gain %=[(NF-NF0) X6.25] X100 (NF0X5.7) Where NF = nitrogen content in fermented rice bran on as such basis, NF0= nitrogen content in unfermented bran. The moisture content favoring maximum fungal SCP production was followed for subsequent experiments. 2.3.2. Effect of ionic concentration on fungal SCP To find out the influence of different ionic concentrations of MgSO4.7H2O, CaCl2 .2H2O and KH2PO4 on A. citrinus SCP production, SSF was carried out for 3 days at 35Â °C with pH 4 at ionic concentrations of MgSO4.7H2O (0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1%), CaCl2 .2H2O (0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1%) and KH2PO4 (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25 %). The ionic concentrations giving high amount of SCP were taken as an optimum and applied for subsequent evaluation. All other chemicals were of analytical grade. 2.3.3. Effect of molasses The effect of different levels of 10% molasses (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 ml) on fungal SCP was also evaluated by conducting experiments for incubation period of 3 days at 35Â °C with pH 4. The other parameters were kept at their optimum levels. 2.3.4. Effect of yeast sludge Experiments were conducted to find out the effect of various concentrations of yeast sludge on SCP production of A. citrinus by conducting SSF on sterilized 5g rice bran in 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask for 3 days at 35Â °C with pH 4. Optimum levels of all the other derived parameters were used. The yeast sludge giving maximum SCP production was determined as an optimum level of yeast sludge. 2.4. Effect of corn steep liquor The effect of various concentrations of corn steep liquor (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 ml) on fungal SCP was also evaluated by conducting experiments at 35Â °C with pH 4 for incubation period of 3 days. The other parameters were kept at their optimum levels. Corn steep liquor was obtained(a gift) from the Rafhan Maize Products (Pvt) Ltd, Faisalabad. 2.5. Effect of various concentrations of molasses and urea on Candida utilis SCP production To demonstrate the influence of various concentrations of 10% molasses (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 ml), and urea (0, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, and 0.3g) on yeast SCP production, experiments were conducted on 5g sterilized rice bran with C. utilis for 3 days at 35Â °C with the pH of 6.0. The media were adjusted to pH 6.0 with 1 M NaOH or 1 M HCl. 2.6 Large scale single cell protein production by solid state fermentation The optimum conditions determined for SCP production by SSF of A. citrinus and C. utilis (in 250ml Erlenmeyer flask) were extended to ferment 300 kg rice bran in a Koji making fermentor (Fujiwara Techno- Art Co. Ltd, Japan) for the production of SCP(Fig 1). A simple SSF process was followed. Major components of the rotary bed koji maker are a round bed with a perforated bottom plate for up-flow aeration; a set of adjustable speed mixer for plowing up rice bran during SSF; a set of screw for sterilized substrate feed-in and SCP discharge, an air sterilizer and a humidifier. Temperature and humidity sensors are inserted for monitoring and control the temperature and humidity, respectively. pH was monitored frequently by using pH meter. There was some modification (the Koji bed was covered with cheesecloth) for large scale SCP production of A. citrinus and C. utilis in a more hygienic and controllable conditions with mechanized koji making facilities. The SCP product obtained on large s cale was analyzed after drying at 70 Â °C in a hot air oven (AOAC Methods, 1994) and RNA content was analyzed as described previously (Pacheco et al., 1997; Rajoka et al., 2006). 2.6.2. Gross energy It was determined by Parr oxygen method using Parr oxygen bomb calorimeter. The calorific value was calculated from the heat generated by the combustion of known weight of the sample in the presence of 20 atmospheric pressure of oxygen reaction. 3. Results and Discussion Rice bran is a by-product of the rice milling industry and used in animal feed, in fertilizer and by the cosmetics industry. It has a high nutritive value and serves as a valuable feed for cattle, poultry, and pigs. The protein content (10-15 %) of rice bran supply almost the same amount of protein as wheat and oats and even its protein is of considerably better quality than maize. The chemical composition of rice bran used in this experiment for SCP protein contain moisture content 2.50%, crude protein 13.50%, crude fat 3.01%, crude fiber 11.82%, ash content 11.40%, carbon content 40.35% and cellulose 9.70%. Because of the high nutrient contents, it was selected as a potential alternative substrate for the production of SCP by using A. citrinus and C. utilis. The primary objectives of this study were to evaluate the potential of A. citrinus for SSF by using rice bran and production of fungal and yeast C. utilis biomass protein on large scale. Maximum microbial biomass protein from A . citrinus was obtained at optimal temperature 35 Â °C, pH 4 and incubation time 3 d while for C. utilis optimal temperature 35 Â °C, pH 6 and incubation time 3 d were selected (data not shown). 3.1. Effect of moisture content Solid-state fermentation is a well adopted method for cultivating fungi on agro-industrial wastes. It offers benefits for production of numerous enzymes and various chemicals. Solid-state fermentation has lower energy requirements, smaller effluent volumes, higher productivity, simple and easy operation of solid state fermentors. SSF is significantly affected by different factors such as selection of a proper strain, substrate and other processing parameters for fermentation such as moisture content, temperature, pH, incubation period, ionic concentrations of different anions and cations, different sources of carbon and nitrogen etc. In this study, different levels of moisture content were used to determine the optimum level of water to obtain maximum yield of fungal A. citrinus SCP. The results of our study indicated that the maximum level of SCP production (in terms of crude protein %) was observed at substrate to water ratio of 1:2 by using fungal A. citrinus in SSF. A significant decrease (p< 0.05) in SCP production was observed at 1:1(2.24%), 1.5:1(16.39%) and 2:1(23.57%) as compared to 1:1. A similar trend was observed in true protein% and protein gain%. The maximum level of true protein% was observed at 1:2 while it was decreased at 1:1(1.15%), 1.5:1(15.78%) and 2:1(23.19%) as compared to 1:1. The highest protein gain % was observed at 1:2 while it was decreased at 1:1(5.08%), 1.5:1(37.27%) and 2:1(53.66%) as compared to 1:1. It was already reported that at 6% moisture (w/v) corn stover had increased the microbial biomass protein production by sequential culture fermentation with Arachniotus sp., at pH 4, 35 Â °C for 72 h and then followed by C. utilis fermentation at pH 6, 35 Â °C for 72 h (Ahmad et al., 2010). Zambare., (2010) found that Aspergillus oryzae had increased the glucoamylase enzyme production at 100% (v/w) initial moisture by using different agro-industrial wastes of SSF. Sharma and Satyanarayana., 2012 found the highest production of a pectinase enzyme of Bacillus pumilus dcsr1 at moisture ratio of 1 : 2.5 by using different agro-residues in SSF. Generally low moisture content has been reported for maximum fungal growth, more utilization of substrate and significant advantage is lowering the risk of bacterial species contamination. This variation in moisture content might be due to differences in fermenting fungal specie, and substrate. The reduction in SCP production at 1:1 of moisture content might be due to non-availability of nutrients due to lower moisture content and of lower water activity that affected the microbial activities because of limitation in the nutrient solubilization, lower degree of substrate swelling and decrease in diffusion of gas to the cell during fermentation (Nagadi and Correria, 1992; Ellaiah et al., 2004). Even higher concentrations of moisture also affected the microbial enzymes metabolic activities as a result of substrate stickiness, less porous nature of substrate and very limited oxygen transfer during the process of SSF in fermentor (Kumar et al., 2003; Pandey et al., 2000). Effect of different ionic concentrations of MgSO4.7H2O, CaCl2 .2H2O, and KH2PO4 on SCP production All the required metallic elements Mg, Ca and K can be supplied in the form of the cations of inorganic salts and they are normally required in relatively large amounts. Significant variation (p< 0.05) of SCP production was observed at different concentrations of MgSO4.7H2O. Maximum production was observed at 0.05%MgSO4.7H2O. Beyond 0.05%MgSO4.7H2O, the production of SCP was significantly lower. Concentrations above 0.05%MgSO4.7H2O also reduce the biomass production indicating the optimum level of MgSO4.7H2O for SCP production for A. citrinus was 0.05%. A significant difference (p< 0.05) in SCP production (on crude protein% basis) was observed at control 0.0% (1.43%), 0.025% (0.24%) 0.075% (4.46%) and 0.10% (5.28%) as compared to 0.05% MgSO4.7H2O. When we compared supplementation of different levels of MgSO4.7H2O for SCP production, we found that there were increased in production of SCP at 0.025% (1.20%) and 0.05% (1.45%) while there were decreased at 0.075% (3.07%) and 0.10% (3.91%) as compared to control 0.0% MgSO4.7H2O. The maximum levels of true protein% were observed at 0.025% and 0.05%. The average value of TP% was 17.08 Â ± 0.06. When we compared with the highest value of TP% with different levels of MgSO4.7H2O, it was found that the TP% was lower at 0.0% (1.87%) while it was decreased at 0.05% (0.23%), 0.075% (4.85%) and 0.1% (9.76%) of MgSO4.7H2O. When we compared the effect of different levels of MgSO4.7H2O on true protein%, we found that there were increased in TP% at 0.025% (1.37%) and 0.05% (1.66%) while there were decreased at 0.075% (3.03%) and 0.10% (8.04%) as compared to control 0.0% MgSO4.7H2O. The highest protein gain% was observed at 0.05% MgSO4.7H2O 88.46 Â ± 0.11 while it was lower at 0.0% (3.91%), 0.025% (0.55%) and decreased at 0.075% (10.0%) and 0.10% (21.02%) as compared to 0.05% MgSO4.7H2O. When we compared the influence of different inclusion levels of MgSO4.7H2O on protein gain%, we found that there were increased in PG% at 0.025% (2.69%) and 0.05% (3.26%) while there were decreased at 0.075% (7.06%) and 0.10% (18.44%) as compared to control 0.0% MgSO4.7H2O. Production of A. citrinus biomass protein was greatly influenced by different levels of CaCl2.2H2O. A significant increase in SCP production was observed in SSF by increasing the initial levels of CaCl2.2H2O from 0.025% to 0.075%. Maximum production of SCP was observed at 0.075% CaCl2.2H2O (24.66% Â ± 0.00). However, at 0.10% CaCl2.2H2O SCP production was decreased significantly (Table. 3). Significant variation (p< 0.05) in SCP production (on crude protein% basis) was observed at control 0.0% (1.01%), 0.025% (0.64%) 0.05% (0.28%) and 0.1% (1.45%) as compared to 0.075% CaCl2.2H2O. When we compared supplementation of different levels of CaCl2.2H2O for SCP production, we found that there were increased in production of SCP at 0.025% (0.36%), 0.05% (0.73%) and 0.075% (1.02%) while there was decreased at 0.10% (0.45%) as compared to control 0.0% CaCl2.2H2O. The maximum levels of true protein% were observed at 0.05% and 0.075% (average value 17.26 Â ± 0.01). When we compared the highest value of TP% with other levels of CaCl2.2H2O, it was found that the TP% was lower at 0.0% (1.01%), 0.025% (0.64%) and 0.05% (0.28%) while it was decreased at 0.01% (1.45%) of CaCl2.2H2O. However, when we compared the effect of different levels of CaCl2.2H2O on true protein%, we found that there were increased in TP% at 0.025% (0.35%), 0.05% (0.93%) and 0.075% (1.22%) while there was decreased at 0.10% (0.05%) as compared to control 0.0% CaCl2.2H2O. The highest protein gain% was observed at 0.075% (90.69% Â ± 0.05) CaCl2.2H2O while it was lower at 0.0% (2.28%), 0.025% (1.43%) and 0.05% (0.61%) and decreased at 0.10% (3.21%) as compared to 0.075% CaCl2.2H2O. When we compared the influence of different inclusion levels of CaCl2.2H2O on protein gain%, we found that there were increased in PG% at 0.025% (0.86%), 0.05% (1.70%) and 0.075% (2.33%) while there was decreased at 0.10% (0.95%) as compared to control 0.0% CaCl2.2H2O. The maximum level of fungal SCP production was observed at 0.25% KH2PO4 level. A significant increase (p< 0.05) was observed in SCP production from 0.05-0.25% KH2PO4 after SSF of rice bran with A. citrinus. Significant variations (p< 0.05) in the SCP production was observed at 0.0% (15.29%), 0.05% (14.30%), 0.10% (11.55%), 0.15% (7.35%) and 0.20% (2.68%) as compared to maximum increase production of SSP at 0.25% KH2PO4. When we compared supplementation of different levels of KH2PO4 for SCP production, we found that there were increased in production of SCP at 0.05% (1.17%), 0.10% (4.42%), 0.15% (9.37%), 0.20% (14.89%) and 0.25% (18.06%) as compared to control 0.0% KH2PO4. A similar trend was observed in true protein% and protein gain%. The maximum level of true protein% was observed at 0.25% KH2PO4 (20.39% Â ± 0.02). The true protein% of different levels of KH2PO4 were observed at 0.0% (15.49%), 0.05% (14.46%), 0.10% (11.47%), 0.15% (7.55%) and 0.20% (2.79%) as compared to 0.25%. However, when we compared the effect of different levels of KH2PO4 on true protein%, we found that there were increased in TP% at 0.05% (1.21%), 0.10% (4.75%), 0.15% (9.40%), 0.20% (15.03%) and 0.25% (18.34%) as compared to control 0.0% KH2PO4. The highest protein gain% was observed at 0.25% (126.69% Â ± 0.17). The protein gain% of different levels of KH2PO4 were observed at 0.0% (28.57%), 0.05% (26.71%), 0.10% (21.58%), 0.15% (13.75%) and 0.20% (5.00%) as compared to 0.25% KH2PO4. When we compared the influence of different inclusion levels of KH2PO4 on protein gain%, we found that there were increased in PG% at 0.05% (2.60%), 0.10% (9.79%), 0.15% (20.74%), 0.20% (32.99%) and 0.25% (40.00%) as compared to control 0.0% KH2PO4. These finding agree with the studies of Baig et al (2002); Xu and Yun (2003); Xiao et al (2004), Athar et al., 2009 and Ahmad et al., 2010. At these concentrations of 0.05% MgSO4.7H2O, 0.075% CaCl2.2H2O, and 0.25%KH2PO4 maximum SCP was produced. It has been reported that mineral ions play a pivotal role in fungal growth and in their secondary metabolite formations. Chardonnet et al.(1999) found that external Ca2+ can play an indirect role in fungal growth by altering internal Ca2+, which controls the cytoplasmic Ca2+ gradient, and the activity of fungal enzymes involved in cell wall expansion. The direct effect of Ca2+ on the fungal cell wall may also be a significant factor in cell membrane permeability interactions. In contrast, Papagianni (2004) found that increased concentrations of Ca2+ inhibit the synthesis of fungal biopolymers might be due to effect on enzymes such as b-glucan synthesis. For higher CaCl2.2H2O concentrations, the calcium ion content of the cell wall increased, resulting in reduced protein and neutral sugar contents. Mg2+ is also an essential metal ion to all fungi. It act as a cofactor in enzymatic reactions, stabilizes the plasma membrane, and its uptake is ATP dependent. Potassium ion is very import ant for the regulation of osmotic strength and intracellular pH while phosphorus plays an important role in all phases of cellular metabolism (Conn and strumpf,1976; Verchtert, 1990). PO4-3 (phosphate), in the form of K- salt, was added because K+ is required for the absorption of phosphate. On the other hand, when Na2HPO4 and (NH4)2HPO4 were added to bacterial, yeast and fungal cultures, poor growth rates and higher resting oxygen consumption were observed as compared to K fed microbes(Conway and Moore,1954). This could be probably due to the death of fermenting microorganisms caused by reverse osmosis in the presence of higher concentrations of ions. A combination of Ca2+ Mg2+ and K+ ions gave rise to enhanced mycelia growth of A. citrinus in SSF of rice bran. Effect of carbon: nitrogen ratio on SCP production by fermentation with A. citrinus The Carbon to Nitrogen (C/N) ratio is important in a biological process. Microorganisms require a proper nitrogen supplement for metabolism during fermentation. It is a major nutrient for fungal growth. High concentrations of nitrogen have increasing the fungal growth and biomass yield. It is necessary to maintain proper composition of the growth media for efficient fermentation process so that the C:N ratio remains within desired range. Microorganisms generally utilize carbon 25-30 times faster than nitrogen during anaerobic digestion. The C: N ratio of 12:1 produced maximum SCP production (29.91 Â ± 0.02) by fermentation with A. citrinus (Table. 5). A significant variation (p< 0.05) in the CP% production was observed. We found that there were decrease in the production of CP% when we supplied different C:N ratios of 15:1 (14.91%), 17:1 (0.70%), 19:1 (8.72%), 21:1 (10.76%) and 23:1 (15.84%) as compared to C: N of 12:1. The maximum level of TP% was observed at C: N of 12:1 (29.94% Â ± 0.04). However, when we compared the effect of different ratios of C:N on TP%, we found that there were decreased in TP% at 15:1 (40.40%), 17:1 (28.72%), 19:1 (36.13%), 21:1 (37.54%) and 23:1 (41.11%) as compared to C: N of 12:1. The highest PG% was observed at C: N of 12:1 (133.33% Â ± 0.22). When we compared the influence of different ratios of C:N on PG%, we found that there were decreased in PG% at 15:1 (27.16%), 17:1 (1.29%), 19:1 (15.89%), 21:1 (19.63%) and 23:1 (28.86%) as compared to control C: N of 12:1. in agreement with Kiani (1989), Gutierrez et al (2004) and Zheng et al (2005) Rajoka et al., 2004, Athar et al., 2009; Ali et al., 2010 . This could be due to the fact that when C:N was 12:1, maximum production of biomass protein was produced. If the ratio was increased above this level, excess urea was produced which was responsible for the increase in pH and ultimately reduced the production of single cell protein. Replacement of one nitrogen source for another in the medium causes a change in protein synthesis as well as product formation. To explore the influence of nitrogen sources on production of crude protein and RNA, were compared to, urea, and corn steep liquor (which are cheap nitrogen sources) when added to rice polishings medium. The results (Table 1) show that these nitrogen compounds influenced the production of protein productivity and RNA content to varying degrees. Generally, the results confirmed that corn steep liquor, a low-cost by-product of the starch industry, supported the maximum kinetic parameters of crude protein compared to those of other nitrogen compounds. The organism produced lower SCP from sodium nitrate and ammonium nitrate and was attributed to low nitrate reductase activity in the organism. However, the maximum EPS production was achieved when yeast extract was employed as nitro-gen source An appropriate amount of C: N ratio is the key to get maximum yield of SCP.19,20 Urea is a low cost fertilizer and supported maximum SCP production which was in agreement with previous studies.21,22 Effect of supplementation with molasses (10% solution) on SCP production by fermentation with A. citrinus Fermentation was carried out at different concentration of cane molasses (10% solution) to standardize the optimum level of molasses. High levels of SCP formed at 1ml of molasses (10% solution). Further addition of molasses results in decreased SCP production (table. 5). Significant variations (p< 0.05) in the SCP production were observed at 0.0 ml (3.28%), 2 ml (2.78%), 3 ml (7.99%), 4 ml (19.34%), 5 ml (34.20%) and 6 ml (53.90%) as compared to the highest production of SCP at 1 ml of molasses (10% solution). However, when we compared supplementation of different levels of molasses (10% solution) for SCP production, we found that there were increased in production of SCP at 1 ml (3.39%) and 2 ml (0.59%) levels. However, further addition of molasses (10% solution) at 3 ml (4.87%), 4 ml (16.60%), 5 ml (31.97%) and 6 ml (52.33%) decreased the SCP production when we compared these levels with control 0.0 ml molasses (10% solution). A similar trend was observed in true protein% and protein gain%. The maximum level of true protein% was observed at 1 ml of 10% molasses (22.26% Â ± 0.15). The true protein% of different levels of 10% molasses were observed at 0.0 ml (3.68%), 2 ml (3.14%), 3 ml (8.04%), 4 ml (19.72%), 5 ml (34.54%) and 6 ml (54.08%) as compared to the highest production of SCP at 1 ml of molasses (10% solution). However, when we compared supplementation of different levels of molasses (10% solution) for SCP production, we found that there were increased in production of SCP at 1 ml (3.82%) and 2 ml (0.55%) levels. However, further addition of molasses (10% solution) at 3 ml (4.80%), 4 ml (16.65%), 5 ml (32.04%) and 6 ml (52.33%) decreased the SCP production when we compared these levels with control 0.0 ml molasses (10% solution). The highest protein gain% was observed at 1 ml of 10% molasses (147.32% Â ± 0.86). The PG% of different levels of 10% molasses were observed at 0.0 ml (5.73%), 2 ml (4.87%), 3 ml (13.94%), 4 ml (33.77%), 5 ml (59.66%) and 6 ml (94.01%) as compared to the highest production of SCP at 1 ml of molasses (10% solution). However, when we compared supplementation of different levels of molasses (10% solution) for SCP production, we found that there were increased in production of SCP at 1 ml (6.08%) and 2 ml (0.93%) levels. However, further addition of molasses (10% solution) at 3 ml (8.71%), 4 ml (29.74%), 5 ml (57.2%) and 6 ml (93.65%) decreased the SCP production when we compared these levels with control 0.0 ml molasses (10% solution). Flasks experiments using molasses and sucrose for enzyme production showed a pH increase during the fermentation. High pH affects the enzyme stability. Consumption of sucrose or glucose as carbon source is not cost-effective in the production of microbial biomass protein. Low cost substrates such as cane molasses can be used for the production of microbial biomass protein for animal feed supplements.23,24 In addition, molasses is widely available from the sugar industry and consist of water, sucrose (47-50%, w/w) which is the disaccharide most easily exploited by yeast cells. It also contain 0.5-1% nitrogen, proteins, vitamins, amino acids, organic acids and heavy metals.25 Therefore, it is a very attractive carbon source for SCP production economically. In this study, molasses were added to the fermentation medium to enhance the SCP production. Among different concentrations of molasses, 1 and 2 ml molasses gave higher SCP production by fermentation with Arachniotus sp. and C. utili s, respectively (Fig. 6 and Fig. 7). The results of our experiment were agreed with the previous studies.17, 26 The present results showed the potential of Arachniotus sp. and C. utilis to grow on cheap substrates like rice bran along with molasses for SCP production. Effect of Yeast Sludge Significant variation (p< 0.05) of SCP production was observed at different yeast sludge levels. Maximum production was observed at 0.6 ml (Table. 2). Beyond 0.6 ml, the production was significantly reduced. Yeast sludge above 0.6 ml also reduces the SCP production indicating the optimum level of yeast sludge for biomass production for A. citrinus was 0.6 ml. Significant variations (p< 0.05) in the SCP production were observed at 0.0 ml (5.22%), 0.2 ml (3.55%), 0.4 ml (1.79%), 0.8 ml (8.09%), 1.0 ml (15.32%) and 1.2 ml (22.04%) as compared to the highest production of SCP at 0.6 ml of YS. Ho

Anylasis of Humbert :: essays research papers

Humbert Humbert   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Humbert Humbert in the book Lolita is the type of person who will do anything to satisfy his needs. When Humbert is institutionalized in an insane asylum he toys with the doctors. Once he got to a certain age Humbert felt like he needed to get married to suppress his sexual desires, so he did. Later on Humbert realizes the only way he can be with Lolita is by marrying her mother, Charlotte. After Hubert loses his control on Lolita he gets the need to get revenge on the person who has taken Lolita from him. A person can grow up into being a very needy person or someone who always needs to be in control by how they are raised and their surroundings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second instance of Humbert goes into a mental asylum he manipulates the doctors making them believe false diagnoses. He gets a certain joy from tricking the doctors. Humbert describes the joy: â€Å"I discovered there was an endless source of robust enjoyment in trifling with psychiatrists: cunningly leading them on; never letting them see that you know all the tricks of the trade, inventing for them elaborate dreams†¦ teasing them with fake primal scenes†¦ (Nabokov 34) He goes to certain extremes to satisfy his wants. Humbert goes as far as bribing a nurse so he can see that the doctors were misdiagnosing him. This back and forth with the doctors was nothing more than a game for Humber. This type of control was making him really happy so he decided to stay even longer than he needed to at the insane asylum. â€Å"The sport was so excellent, in results in my case so ruddy that I stayed on for a whole month after I was quite well. And then I added another week just for the pleasure of taking on a powerful newcomer.† (Nabokov 34)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Once he became a young adult Humbert knew that he needed to repress his sexual desires for young nymphets so he married Valeria. When he married Valeria, she was a very young looking polish girl. This way he was able to be with someone that reminded him of nymphets and still able to have a certain sense of security. â€Å"†¦what really attracted me to Valeria was the imitation she gave of a little girl.† (Nabokov 25) Humbert didn’t really love her he was just using her for her young looks.

Drowsy Driving: A Health Promotion Teaching Tool Proposal Essay

Drowsy Driving: A Health Promotion Teaching Tool Proposal This paper is a proposal for a health promotion teaching tool to raise awareness of the dangers of drowsy driving and to provide some tips and hints to help people reduce their risk and increase their safety while driving. The target audience is primarily the status post motor vehicle accident patient recovering as an inpatient on the medical/surgical unit of New London Hospital. However, there may be a useful spill-over effect and this tool could also be used by families and visitors to the Medical Surgical unit. The tool would be available on the medical/surgical unit of the hospital in the form of a tri-fold color pamphlet, placed in a hallway between the patient rooms and the rehabilitation gym. The expected outcome is that after picking up and reading the tool, patients would be more aware of the risks and hazards of drowsy driving and make choices to reduce their risk and increase their personal safety when driving. DROWSY DRIVING In the past several decades, our society has grown from a ‘one for the road’ attitude to a zero tolerance approach to driving while intoxicated. A quick look at the evening news shows us that many different states considering measures to prevent texting while driving, and ‘distracted driving’ is now a phase in common use. We understand the dangers of driving under the influence, texting while driving and distracted driving; however, drowsy driving continues to be a problem on our roads. Needs assessment Between 1998 and 2008, 16.5% of fatal car accidents in the US involved a drowsy driver, and 13% of non-fatal accidents where at least one person was admitted to the hospital involved a drowsy d... ... the American Medical Association .1998; 279(23):1908-1913. doi:10.1001/jama.279.23.1908. Microsoft. (2014) Test Your Documents Readability. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/test-your-document-s-readability-HP010148506.aspx#BM2 National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration (n.d.) Drowsy Driving and Automobile Crashes. Retrieved from: http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/drowsy_driving1/drowsy.html Tefft, B., (2012). Prevalence of Motor Vehicle Crashes Involving Drowsy Drivers, United States, 1999-2008. Accident Analysis and Prevention. 45(2012) 180-186. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1016/j.aap.2011.05.028 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2013). Healthy People 2020 Initiatives: Injury and violence prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/objectiveslist.aspx?topicId=24

Inconsistent Roles Essay -- essays papers

Inconsistent Roles The Colonial era spans nearly two hundred years with each settlement in the New World containing distinctive characteristics. Location in the new world is one factor that shaped women’s lives but religion and economics also played a massive role. These roles however were constantly changing and often contradicting. Since there is numerous factors that contributed to the shaping of women’s private and public roles in the seventeenth and eighteenth century it is impossible to categories all colonial woman in one group. Some historians refer to this period as the golden age of women; however, I tend to see this period as oppressive, with only few examples of women exercising social and public powers. The vast amount of women who came to the New World in the earliest days of colonial settlement came as indentured servants to the Chesapeake region. The New World was underdeveloped and sparsely populated; therefore, the women were expected to not only perform their traditional female work but also engage hard manual labor. Early colonial women in some respects were allotted more freedom than women of latter generations; yet, this was not a product of ideology, but rather necessity. European men did not support the idea of equality and saw women as their inferior; however, female inferiority was minimized due to the harsh conditions affecting the entire populous of the New World. The women who lived out the duration of their contract or who were bought out of servitude were quickly married and just as quickly widowed. This factor granted women more power and access to land. Some widows would assert power through courts to guarantee claims to their deceased husbands land. Lois Green Carr and Lorena S. Walsh in The Planters Wife describe how many husbands left their entire estate to their widows entrusting them with the responsibility of managing his estate and dividing the land between their children. â€Å"A husband made his wife his executor and thus responsible for paying his debts and preserving the estate.† By today’s standards the practice of leaving property to a wife is the norm; yet, prior to seventeenth century this practice was virtually nonexistent. Carr and Walsh continue by stating, â€Å"Evidently, in the politics of family life women enjoyed great respect.† Therefore, while the Chesapeake colonies remained underdeveloped women ... ... been more emotionally pleasing but still the women remained distant from the outside public realm. The Quakers shared in an exceptional amount of equally that was never adopted or accepted by the dominant classes in the colonies. The last years of the colonial era did allow for increased rights and autonomy for women but it still was tangled with contradictions and in no respect could be deemed as the golden age of women. Bibliography: Lois Green Carr and Lorena Walsh, The Planter’s Wife: The Experience of White Women in Seventeenth-Century Maryland. The William and Mary Quarterly, October 1977, 556-557. Ibid. 557. Laurel Ulrich, Good wives, The Ways of her Household (Oxford University Press, 1983), 22. Ibid. 32. Nancy F. Cott, Roots of Bitterness: Documents of the Social History of American Woman, Examination Of Anne Hutchinson (Northeastern U. Press. Boston 1996), 3-10 Carol Karlsen, The Devil in the shape of a woman: Witchcraft in colonial New England (New York: W. W. Norton, 1987), 116 Linda K. Kerber, women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America (Chapel Hill: Univ. of North Carolina Press, 1980), 38 Ibid. Chap. 4

Organisational dialogue

First, this essay will explore the definitions of dialogue as well as organizational cultures and how these concepts related to each other. It is followed by a discussion on the ways that dialogue may have positive effects regarding the cultural aspects. The final section of this essay pays attention to the challenges of and solutions to implementing and promoting dialogue within an organization. There Is a variety of deflations of dialogue.The derivation of this word stems from the Greek roots dialogs which consists of did and logos. Did means through, and logos means the word, or more specifically, the meaning of the word' (Boom 1996, p. 6). Based on its origin, Boom (1996) defines dialogue as a combination of communication practices flowing through and among people, focused on discovering the essence and power of people thinking and how the group's culture is built through this process.Isaacs (1999) believes that dialogue Is, In particular, a flow of meaning, while Gerard and Elea nor (2001 ) define dialogue by contrasting It with discussion and conclude that dialogue is seeing the whole and connections between arts, learning through asking and answering, and creating shared meaning among group members. In further similarities, Gerard and Turfs (1995) assume that dialogue is concerned with the environment where belief and communication diversity are encouraged In terms of respects, honors and values, as well as awareness to raise the creation of shared meaning.The role of dialogue in relation to organizational culture is of thorough understanding through many deferent organizational culture definitions. In fact, we all commonly think that it is the way we do things around but through research of organizational behavior, Machines, Lessons & Traveling (2013) believe it ‘consists of values and assumptions shared within an organization' (p. 448). At the same time, for E. C. Martins and F. Turbulence (2003), the central Ingredient of culture Inside an organi zation is the subconscious shared values and beliefs.A powerful culture offers shared values that ensure everyone in the organization focus on the same goals and objectives (Robbins, 1996). Organization has its culture usually performs higher in the market. In a word, the key feature of building and transforming organizational ultra Is creating and maintaining shared values that seem to be the main purposes of outlining dialogue among members. Through practicing dialogue, collective communication is created, and organizational culture is transformed. These aspects include transformation of member behavior, the experiential feeling of community and people's attitudes.Firstly, in the comparison between dialogue and discussion of Gerard and Eleanor (2001), the main role of dialogue is to help people learn how to communicate with each other differently and produce collective understanding. While in discussion, people intend to keep their opinions and only the most powerful and influence d person might decide the results of the whole group, dialogue, in contrast, gives members a commitment to a common set of guidelines (Gerard and Turfs 1995). Participants try to minimize conflicts and bring all different points of view into a standard value.Therefore, the more often people practice dialogue, the more behavioral changing they have to integrate and sustain in community. Moreover, based on Bomb's research in 1996, Isaacs (1999) stated four principles of dialogue which include listening, respecting, suspending and voicing. Among these principles, listening skill plays an important role in changing behavior of a group. As a whole song could not be sensed and understood through a single note (Isaacs 1999), organizational cultures and objectives are not able to be established by a single idea.Hence, dialogue is a powerful tool to encourage people to listen thoroughly to others' ideas and engage in the conversation. Then, shared meanings, or the culture of the company is g radually transformed. Secondly, by setting up the conditions of community, dialogue transforms the feeling of the corporation culture (Gerard and Turfs 1995). When a new group starts to involve in the community, dialogue will generate an atmosphere having the ‘experiential feel' (Gerard and Turfs 1995, p. 148) of community.In an organizational scope, employees commence to sense what the company's culture would seem to be in full community based on its principles. Furthermore, for Sense (1995), dialogue is as a facilitator for team learning. He believes that team is the key feature to create shared values, and through the application of dialogue into team learning process, knowledge and feeling of the community cultures are transferred from one to others, ND individual's values as well as beliefs are positively transformed and integrated into the collective cultures.The final aspect that dialogue has the power to change the organizational culture is attitudinal transformation. As participants experience the effects of dialogue, the attitude level becomes as a ‘byproduct of the incorporation of new modes of behavior and learning the â€Å"feel† of what being in community is like' (Gerard and Turfs 1995, p. 148). Then, cooperative and collaborative attitudes start to replace the attitudes of inflexible individualism. This statement is conformable with the research f Scheme (1993) where he describes dialogue as talking around the campfire' (p. 391).During the past time, meetings were usually held around a campfire where people could simply share their opinion without any discussion or arguments. Through that, (Scheme 1993) and spend time listening to others' opinions before reflecting on their assumptions. Moreover, Isaacs (1999) also emphasized the main goal of the respecting principle of dialogue that is not to seek a decision, but to tolerate difference, gap and conflict. Therefore, the more people practice dialogue, the more hey have collect ive orientation by gradually changing their individualistic behavior, and then, the whole organizational culture is enhanced.Although dialogue has been proved to have a positive effect on organizational culture, people still face challenges in applying it into organization learning system. First, most organizations are generally a hierarchy and authorized structure which is contrary to the principles of dialogue (Boom, 1996), so employees tend to afraid of expressing their ideas or opinions to the people who are at higher level. In fact, in some top-down companies, managers have the right to create and change organizational culture as well as enforce rules and delegate duties to employees.Although it has its value, this structure might find it difficult to get dialogue going. Moreover, there are situations where people have different ideas and assumptions, and dialogue might become frustrated. If someone is not willing to listen to other's assumptions, it is considered as an act of violence (Boom, 1996) which may lead to an argument and no results could be concluded. And last but not least, in case of a cross-culture organization, dialogue becomes a more complicated and lengthy Scheme 1993) process due to the different cultural backgrounds of the employees.Then, it is necessary for companies to allocate more time and resources in designing dialogue process that may help employees communicate effectively, and the organizational culture is transformed on the right track. Despite all these challenges, dialogue still plays a significant role in transforming organizational culture if companies have methods and strategies to apply it appropriately. Sense (2006) gives a simple analysis about balancing dialogue and discussion within members of an organization. As ‘in a discussion, decisions are made.In a dialogue, complex issues are explored' (Sense 2006, p. 230), learning team must learn how to control movement back and forth between dialogue and discussion and distinguish between the ground rules and the goals to have both dialogue and constructive discussion. Communication audit is another approach to deal with the organizational practice of dialogue. For Harrier and Tourist (2004), communication audit is the key to creating a world-class communication system since the results of communicating performance among all staffs is accurately reported to the managers.This process is effective to solve problems both in top-down organization and cross-culture since it reveals communication strengths and weaknesses among employees at all levels as well as suggests solutions for improvement. In conclusion, dialogue has proved itself as an effective but challenging way of transforming organizational culture. Through behavioral, experiential and attitudinal transformation, corporation culture is positively changed as dialogue awareness of the collective assumptions, minimize arguments and by practicing dialogue, people learn how to accept the differ ences of others.

Ikea’s Organizational Behavior

INTRO: IKEA is known for its strong organizational values, which are based on Swedish norms and in particular the opinions and values of the founder himself. It is not unusual to see IKEA employees following the norms and values even outside the working hours, but how important is OB really for IKEA? IKEA’S BRIEF HISTORY 1940-1950 A Swedish 17-year-old man named Ingvar Kampard founded Ikea in 1943. It all began with the Ikea catalogue that was sent from house to house, which is still known today as Ikeas signature. In 1948 the range of IKEA products extended to furniture and by 1958 the first store is opened. 960-1970 By the end of the seventies, Ikea manages to not only open stores all over Europe, but in Canada and Australia as well. 1980s The large cash flow start coming in once Ikea enters the US in1985. By this time IKEA has 10,000 co-workers and 60 stores. Ingvar Kampard retires from Group Management and becomes an advisor to the parent company INGKA Holding B. V. 1990s In 90s IKEA expands in Eastern Europe as well as China. In 1990 the first environmental policy and social responsibility policy is introduced in IKEA.In 1997 IKEA launches Children`s furniture and becomes a retailer with offers to the entire family. By 1999 IKEA group grows to 50,000 co-workers and has 158 stores in 29 countries. 2000s In the year 2000 IKEA arrives to Moscow, Russia and same year Code of Conduct is introduced, called IKEA WAY. Following years IKEA is actively participates in world donating events and promotion of social responsibility. IKEA AT A GLANCE 287 IKEA GROUP STORES WORLDWITE In 2011 IKEA Group opened 7 new stores in 7 countries. As of 31. 08. 2011 it had 287 stores in 26 countries 13 0888 3 144 49 Top 5 purchasing countries: 1. China 22% 2. Poland 18% 3. Italy 8% 4. Sweden 5% 5. Germany 4% Top 5 Selling Countries: 1. Germany 15% 2. USA 11% 3. France 10% 4. Italy 7% 5. Sweden 6% CO -WORKERS PER FUNCTION * Purchasing, distribution, wholesale, range & other: 1 4,300 * Retail: 100,000 * Swedwood: 16,000 * Swedspan: 700 * Total co-workers in FY11 131. 000 TOTAL SALES: Sales increased by 6. 9% compared to 2010. Total sales amounted to EUR 24. 7 billion. SUPPLIERS IN 2011: 1,018 suppliers in 53 countriesPRODUCTS: The IKEA range consists of approximately 9,500 products. PRINTED CATALOGUES, LANGUAGES & EDITIONS: The IKEA catalogue was printed in more than 208 million copies in 30 languages and 59 editions. STORE VISITS: In 2011, the IKEA Group stores had 655 million visits. IKEA . COM: IKEA websites had 870 million visits in 2011 As for Ikeas competitors, there is Wal-Mart, Howden and Ashley Furniture. Company Employees According to Emil Svallingsson who is an employee at IKEA for 10 years, about 50% of the employees are proud of their jobs.The other half refers the individuals who do not share the exact same vision about the company, and need to be told how to do things and have a stereotypical â€Å"boss†, rather than be all a part of one team. Culture Center – Together In the hometown of IKEA, Almhult, there is a Culture Center called â€Å"Together†. It is a place for employees all over the world to attend education, meetings and to learn about the company culture. There is a lecture hall, access to product archives and documents, as well as exhibitions and interactive installations.Employees are stating that the center is a great help to keep their foundational values alive and that it makes them more motivated in the everyday work life. â€Å"Together† works as a meeting place for people working at IKEA as well as a place for developing employment skills. The main idea is to gather the IKEA culture in to one building. Since there are more and more warehouses build over the world, it is not always easy to keep the same values for everyone, and therefore the center is the beginning to keep the company culture as Ingvar first created it to be. Our heart is in Almhult and it's amazing to be a ble to have a cultural center here. † -Ingvar Kamprad â€Å"Together† is also a great example of their flat organizational structure. Hopes are that employees, by themselves, will get a deeper understanding for the culture and by that develop IKEAs future together. † Ikeas center provides different exercises to the employees that show the entire IKEA concept and how it works at its best; how all the employees’ jobs together create one big job structure, and how products are being made and the importance of raw materials.At IKEA, training is crucial to keep the social work environment functional. From the training sessions, the hope is to develop awareness, knowledge and responsibility. All employees receive this training in order to take charge of their own development. In general, IKEA wants to give the opportunities for co-workers to grow, both at an individual level, but also in their professional roles. In return, IKEA expects their co-workers to do the ir job as well as possible depending on their ability and experience, take responsibility, and be willing to develop and grow continually and to act in an open and straightforward manner.Workforce Diversity Gender The gender diversity at IKEA is probably among the best one's over the world. They have applied special workforce diversity programs in all departments, and are working for a continuing development. The program is based on â€Å"stomach feeling† and employee’s opinions in order to fill the positions in a fair way. In the warehouses, there is quite an equal diversity between genders. Right now, globally it is about 54% are women and 46% men. Even among the higher positioned jobs such as warehouse responsible, it's equally divided, 52. % measured to be women and 47. 5% men. However, when you are getting really high up in the working positions, such as the top board, there are no women. According to Hakan Sandman, the Marketing Director of IKEA France, the gende r diversity is very equal overall; but that it also depends on what department one is looking at. Human Resources department tend to be mostly women, as well as the Marketing department where Mr. Sandman is the only man. THE AGE DISTRIBUTION OF CO-WORKERS IN IKEAThis pie chart represents employees’ gender distribution at IKEA globally, but for example in Sweden it looks different: The age distribution in IKEA Globally: Workforce Diversity: Ethnicity Ikeas main philosophy is â€Å"The People Philosophy†: though in the past their strategy was â€Å"Swedes†, they have abandoned it in 1998 with the rise of globalization. Currently they have a lot of long-time workers from different cultures and backgrounds. IKEA sees the diversity matter as a subject for creating more challenging business atmosphere.France’s new store in Avignon has staff from 21 different nationalities. Since 1998 they have changed their recruitment base to: including everyone and not just S wedish people. Recruited staff are immediately made aware of IKEA`s cultural diversity philosophy; first day at work new staff get exercise to tell their group members something unique or different about themselves. â€Å"As a global player it is very important for IKEA to be aware of what the world looks like today, and how it will change in the future. The only common thing for all of us is that we are different.If we accept and understand this fact we can start to use this Diversity for the best of ourselves and for IKEA† (Fajtova, 2007) The corporate language of IKEA is English and in their TV commercials they feature a wide variety of different ethnicities, ages, genders and race. Holistic Responsibility: â€Å"IKEA is a leader in setting high environmental standards for its product. That means employing strict manufacturing methods and supply processes so that materials, technologies and transportation have the least amaging effects on the environment. â€Å"1  œ Rene Hausler, Partner, IKEA-San Diego Franchisee. â€Å"We consider IKEA to be setting an excellent example for other corporations to follow. IKEA is prepared to go further than just saying ‘no' to a supplier who exploits children. The company is showing a genuine interest in bringing about improvement for children by assuming a responsibility for child labour issues. â€Å"2 – Ingvar Hjartso, UNICEF Representative. It seems as if today everyone is praising Ikea, and it is not without a reason.Ikea is a remarkably socially responsible company, it sets example to so many other companies that simply are profit driven, and do nothing but destroy the eco system, or poison the environment with chemicals such as â€Å"the monstrato†. Therefore, Ikea is rewarded and recognized highly for its CSR, it has received numerous awards, including the one on April 2005, the Outstanding Sustainable Style Achievement (OSSA)3 Award for eliminating the usage of Polybrominated Di phenyl Ether (PBDE),4 a toxic fire suppressor used in manufacturing furniture.In addition, earlier in 2004, IKEA had received the BUPA Healthy Communities award for Excellence,5 an award funded by the Ministry of Health, UK. The company pays a great deal of attention to different problems in the society and the environment; this did not begin recently, for more than twenty years Ikea has been environmentally conscientious. It began in 1989 when the then president of Ikea said that the â€Å"Environment is not just a new fashion, it will not fade away, it is the new reality and we have to adapt to it. And so, in 1990 in association with Karl-Henrik Robert, was initiated The Natural Step (TNS) environmental program in IKEA. And so throughout the years, one by one it began tackling different environmental issues; waste management were the first thing that Ikea took seriously, and so each IKEA store started having an â€Å"environmental coordinator† who worked towards waste recy cling and energy conservation, and also trained employees on environmental aspects. Since 1999, IKEA has works actively to reduce waste in manufacturing. Where possible, waste from one manufacturing process was to be used in the production of other items.And it did not end there; most IKEA stores provided collection points for customers to return waste. In the recent years, Ikea has been trying hard to be environmentally friendly, and it began rewarding the same behavior in its employees. It varies throughout the Ikea’s in different countries; IKEA Poland stores provide facilities for bikes, maps of bike paths and tools to repair customer bikes, IKEA Denmark lends out bicycles equipped with trailers at its stores, IKEA UK stores offer interest free loans and a 15 percent rebate to co-workers travelling to work by public transport.And in May 2007, IKEA Canada launched a Hybrid Parking Program, rewarding customers driving a hybrid or fuel-efficient car, with a premium parking s pot. Throughout the years, Ikea’s interest rose in a better future for our children through a better environment rose; when it came to energy consumption, the company’s data showed that IKEA it consumed a huge amount of energy for electricity, but, Ikea did not simply decide to switch off the lights on earth day. The company went a step further; it tried to consciously reduce its energy consumption. Therefore, in 2003 IKEA launched a ‘Kill-a-Watt-Energy Saving Competition. The competition was open to all IKEA stores across the world and it aimed to achieve reduction in energy consumption and also to create awareness among employees regarding electricity costs. By the end of the competition, IKEA had saved energy equivalent to providing electricity to 2,000 households, or two IKEA stores for a year. From waste to energy, Ikea then focused on forestry; around 75% of the raw materials used for Ikea’s furniture, catalogs and packaging came from timber. Hence, conservation of forests was an important environmental issue. IKEA worked with groups such as Greenpeace to formulate policies for sustainable forestry.IKEA was also a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). As a result of consultations with these organizations, IKEA banned the usage of timber from intact natural forests. Many companies in industries, such as the diamond industry, choose to be ignorant; companies ignore or lack interest in where their diamonds come from, but often the blood diamonds that they purchase give life to more slavery. And even though there are a lot of different forms of slavery throughout the world, Ikea is one of the companies that does not tolerate it and even though child labor oes exist in countries where IKEA products are manufactured, IKEA does not accept child labor at its suppliers or their sub-contractors, and works actively to prevent it. The company has a special code of conduct called The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor, and monitor ing of compliance with The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labor is done by IKEA trading service offices and with unannounced visits by KPMG to suppliers and sub-contractors in South Asia. As listen above, we can see that throughout the years Ikea has demonstrated over and over again that its responsibility goes beyond home furnishing.It undertook several projects for community development and a lot of its projects were centered on children, such as the one in August 2000, IKEA initiated the Child Rights Program in India in association with UNICEF. The project started in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and the aim of the project was to prevent child labor in ‘the carpet belt' of UP, by addressing root causes such as poverty, illiteracy and ill health. The company’s CSR extended from the community and environment, to the suppliers. Ikea did not choose to be ignorant about where their suppliers got their goods.So it launched ‘The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furn ishing Products (IWAY)' in September 2000, this way all of Ikea’s 2,000 suppliers spread across 55 countries, had the ‘code of conduct' to adhere to. Student Support Programs: Ikea helps students of all ages throughout the world; it has aligned with is Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success (ESSS is designed to assist children with language, social and emotional development); an early reading readiness program that IKEA supports through financial and in-kind product donations.In addition, since early 2001, the IKEA Group supports one-year scholarships for students from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia to study forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Alnarp, Sweden. The purpose of the scholarships is to support competence building in sustainable forestry in countries that are important wood sources for IKEA, and to help future forestry professionals in those countries develop relationships with each other.And it doesn’t stop there; due to the fact that many IKEA products are made with cotton, they partnered with the WWF to run Farmer Field Schools in Pakistan and India. Ikea over and over again displays its care for the society and the environment, it is because the company is not simply profit driven, it has a vision; and the vision is â€Å"to create a better everyday life for the many people. This includes doing what we can to help create a world where we take better care of the environment, the earth’s resources, and each other†. Internal Communication: Communication & EqualityThe CEO of the company has a specific culture that has been passed on since Ikea was founded, and this culture is communicated to all of the employees. She states that when she hires a â€Å"co-worker,† as IKEA terms employees, her plan is to help the person through his or her slumps. One of her greatest rewards is to see a worker she has worked with excel, and she believes all super visors and managers should serve as mentors. Every manager is also a team member, â€Å"I’m responsible but not the center of the universe. There is always someone who knows more than you do.And there are always new things that you can learn, which I think is the essence of why I work with IKEA. † Par Sundqvist Store distribution manager Sweden In Ikea a manager is not â€Å"the boss† or the one who commands and rules his department. Due to the low power distance in Sweden, Ikea was founded on the basis that everyone is equal. And based on the chart below of Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, one can see that because of the relatively low power distance in the U. S. , it was quite easy to communicate this approach to all the â€Å"co-workers† in Ikea North America. Exhibit 1.A Cultural Dimensions Theory Exhibit 2. A Cultural Dimensions Theory In Exhibit 1. A, one can see the power distance in both Sweden and the United States, though ther e may seem like there is a difference, once it is compared with Exhibit 2. A one can see that compared to countries such as China who have a high power distance, on average, the power distance is relatively the same in both the U. S and Sweden. Therefore, it can be concluded that Ikea’s Scandinavian way of doing business with the absence of the traditional â€Å"boss† was understood and quickly absorbed by Ikea North America.Equality within the company is emphasized and communicated to all of Ikea’s stakeholders; and though according to â€Å"glassdoor† Ikea employees give the company’s ability to communicate an average 3. 5 rating, they give serious leadership a poor rating of 3. 1 because according to the employees â€Å"there is a little too much equality†, employees want to be guided and told what to do a little more. It seems that not all employees are ready to be treated equality with their bosses and be all a part of one team. Based o n the latest updates on glassdoor, the company rating is a 3. ; the employees say it is â€Å"ok†. This company rating is based on eight components; career opportunities, communication, compensation & benefits, employee morale, recognition and feedback, senior leadership, work/life balance, fairness & respect. The lowest scores of 3. 1 were in career opportunities and in senior leadership. Two of the â€Å"Top Ten Reasons Why Good Employees Quit† are listed in the components that make up glassdoor’s company rating; employees have given to â€Å"Recognition and feedback† a score of 3. , and when it came to rating the â€Å"work/life balance†, IKEA employees gave the highest rating to it. Employees believe that better than anything else the company takes good care of their employee’s need of the work/life balance. Even though the rating seems to be solely satisfactory, it doesn’t truly represent the reality. Based on the rating one will assume that the company’s job demand is at a mediocre level, however, IKEA jobs are actually highly demanded; in Florida USA, IKEA had over 10 000 applicants for only 450 job.And in Sweden, Ikea ranks on the top 5 companies that university graduates want to work for. In addition, Ikea was on the â€Å"Top 200 World's Most Reputable Companies† (#2), Forbes, in 2009 and on the same year it was on the list of â€Å"Best Places to Work in Orange County† (Large companies), Best Companies Group, 2009. Pay and Benefits According to glassdoor. com Ikea employee’s rating of Compensation ; benefits is a mediocre 3. 4, however it does not portray the full picture. Where some believe that Ikea does a mediocre job, others are enjoying the vast benefits that Ikea provides them.Last fall Working Mother magazine named IKEA North America one of the 100 best companies for working mothers and singled out Spiers-Lopez for its Family Champion Award. The award was given for I kea great paid maternity leave and flexible work schedules. In addition, Ikea provides a number of benefits that are not usually offered to retail workers in the U. S. such as â€Å"full medical and dental insurance for those who work as little as 20 hours a week, including coverage for domestic partners and children; tuition assistance; and a 401(k) matching plan†.In addition, they receive long breaks, free uniform and the company has a food plan, it is known as the â€Å"$3 meals†. As for the facilities, there are lounges, relaxation rooms and showers. Ikea has all sorts of benefits from end of the year gift, to long service awards to sick pay and first day of school leave. Lastly, Ikea unlike most companies provides even part time workers with benefit packages. Bonuses in the company may vary, but on average the bonus of a sales associate is $785, and the team leader receives $1,002.However no all positions receive such high bonuses, when it comes to Ikea cashiers, they receive $50, and customer service associates receive $100. And all full time employees receive a 10% discount; it increases to 15% after 7 years of work. The employee discount comes hand in hand with home delivery and assembly of the furniture, always free of charge. All employees in Ikea receive above the minimum wage rate; most are paid by hour except a few who receive a fixed salary; the team leaders receives $39,908 and the department supervisor $34,712.Sales associates hourly pay is $10. 39, Ikea cashier’s is $9. 65/hour, customer serve associates receive $9. 38/hour, floor associates receive $10. 00/hour, Safety ; Loss prevention agent’s pay is $12. 69/hour and the pay of a co-worker is $13. 15/hr. On average the pay is around $12 per hour, with exception the interior designer who receives $16. 56 per hour. As for pension, at the moment, IKEA is building a new global pension package where they want to construct a global second-pillar retirement benefit struc ture. It is planned to be a fixed interest rate of 3. % on contributions. In 2000, IKEA introduced a multi-fund pension arrangement for their employees, which also can be used as a private retirement fund if they leave. The arrangement also offers workers who moves between countries a choice of asset mixes in which they can invest contributions. Co-workers at IKEA are able to transfer money between funds or split contributions between different plans, depending on their age and risk taking profile. It can also be mentioned that even if you choose to leave your job at IKEA, you may remain in the pension agreement. Everyone should have the same amount† – Ingvar Kamprad Ingvar also wishes to start a bonus program for employees over the world, but it is not yet defines how much money we are talking about. IKEA has 131 000 employees so the amount will easily reach very high numbers. So far, there are only 3 principles decided around the future wish; Everyone gets same amount , everyone can take part and its related to Inka holdings financial results. (Inka holdings is IKEA’s Dutch holding company) Improvements and Changes in 2011:The workforce turnover has decreased to 22% in 2011, and 81% of employees now come back from maternity leave: 100% at management level and 78% of hourly-paid workers. Thirdly, 2011 employee satisfaction survey came up with results that employees` favorability to rewards and benefits boosted by 5% in IKEA. Fourthly, IKEA launched family-friendly benefits such as a staff support program and childcare vouchers, as well as an loan with no interest in order to cover costs a month after birth. IKEA: TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT IKEA uses mostly 3 different types of training: * Induction training (35%) Mentoring (40%) * Coaching (25%) 85% of training is on-the-job training and only 15% off-the-job training. Differences between IKEA houses per region in relation to Educational background of co-workers IKEA`s workforce has reached al ready 131,000 employees and these people are an epicenter of IKEA values. Value is a core word for company`s strategy and co-workers` involvement in it. IKEA is doubling their sales every five years; however it does not doubling their staff. One of its keys to such a success lies in training and development programs constantly offered to the employees.Each employee is offered 40-hour training every year in average. Since the very beginning employees` development was perceived as a non-stop process in IKEA. The first period for all newcomers is training in IKEA’s culture. It usually implicates learning about the company’s history by watching the educational videos. Many co-workers start they way in IKEA as part-time co-workers and shift progressively to full-time, seniors, deputies etc. Along their career path they are getting cultural training and regularly acquire IKEA’s values.The major part of training is acquiring the core aptitudes and skills such as teamwo rk, efficiency, mobility, leadership, that were considered necessary for a successful career at IKEA. Networking in IKEA takes important role in training and development. When new employee joins the â€Å"family† he/she gets immediate access to a local network. Curt Temin, who works globally with learning and development within IKEA Group, regards â€Å"networking as the ultimate tool for professional development†. One of the very first things new employee learns is an ancient Swedish word â€Å"fika† (coffee break).In IKEA they understand that even informal meetings and communication between people lead to knowledge transfer and this is where development starts. â€Å"People’s careers are only as limited as they want them to be at IKEA,† concludes Jeff Wilson, learning and development manager for IKEA US. 90% of all positions inside IKEA globally are filled inside, and 35% of those jobs are managing positions. To keep such a high data company has launched a personal development program called â€Å"PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE†, which has 3 components and takes place ones a year.This program is open to employees who already became aware with companies values, understand their position within the company and ready for self-development. At the first step staff is invited to investigate strengths, weaknesses, self-awareness and career pathways. The second step includes meeting with manager to discuss previous conclusions, perform a skills gap examination and choose position to develop toward desired path. There are online career centers available at this stage to provide all necessary reference materials to complete this stage. Last third step in the program leads to setting goals by employee and making an action plan.IKEA has created environment for growth founded on belief that good people can be even better. In the year 2002 the â€Å"SKILLS ESCALATOR† program was born from this idea. The Skills Escalator is compound of 4 main steps. When employee starts job as a trainee comes the first step. The second comes when employee actually step into planned responsibility. The third step is called â€Å"senior† because at this stage staff becomes leading with tasks of coaching others in their specific work. When the employee has become a mentor and expert it means the last fourth step of program has been reached.This program was created due to willingness of the company to employ people not solely for one role but to take a leading position in long-term. The core idea lies in progress, in order to learn and then train others. In IKEA nobody is a trainee longer than one year. The â€Å"SKILLS ESCALATOR† always gives opportunity for staff to get higher skills level. Employees are progressing while working, they perform work and see which skill are necessary and how attain them during the working process and receiving feedback Employees are confronted with a coach, who is not telling exactly what to do, but help to ind an answer by giving few leading questions. Therefore employees receive help and support, but in such a way they describe what they need to know rather told in advanced. It gives employees control over own development. This relates to on-the-job training, which is most used training process in IKEA. In fall 2011 IKEA launched mentoring initiative â€Å"PARTNERS FOR GROWTH† which was directed by famous mentoring consultant Dr. Lois Zachary of Leadership Development Services. This program was set up to help co-workers establish vital relationships to maintain them in piloting IKEA and in pursuing their own personal development.This program targets only to the IKEA`s key management. Jeff Wilson, Leaning & Development Manager in US explains that â€Å"Partners for Growth† will have a crucial influence on IKEA, he believes, that among many other programs this one is one of the most important. As IKEA has big expansion plans for next 10 years this program will lie in the very heart of the process. A lot of efforts will be given to co-workers` development programs such this one, due to the need of greater capability for people to take superior responsibilities in US and Canada.Pernille Lopez, President of IKEA NA admits that Zachary`s knowledge helped to line up a triumphant monitoring strategy with his own. Lopez confirms, that IKEA`s main goal is to help co-workers to do their job better by developing and empowering staff. In IKEA they take extra steps in mentoring program. IKEA base mentoring program on growth of both mentee and mentor holding expectation of creating better employees by making them a partners. Innate result of this program turns IKEA`s mentees to future mentors. Major mentor to IKEA`s mentoring support groups, Dr.Zachary praises company`s commitment to development processes and finds those innovative and hopes to see mentoring process as a natural aspect of the IKEA`s culture in the next few years. â€Å"P ARTNERS FOR GROWTH† soothes the progress of individual learning, encourages professional and personal development, and has 4 strategic goals: * Develop Leaders from top to bottom – Support career development across the board – Develop and support diversity through IKEA organization – Strengthen IKEA culture Interest of employees in IKEA for more internal training | Percentage| Yes| 79%| No| 4%| Don`t know| 16%| Totals| 100%|PASSIONATE CAREER IN IKEA In IKEA at entry level all employees are hired externally, then those employees are making their way up through promotions. Only 10% of employees on higher levels are hired externally mostly because of lack of eligible candidates. Career planning in any organization is based on how the organization may help and helps its employees in planning their careers. IKEA behave as a supportive partner, in managing its employees careers, for example, by lowering the work load while employee is taking any educational prog ram, by giving time off to study, or by paying a part of the tuition fee.Therefore, career planning may include anything from policies on hiring and promotions and collecting data about personal preferences to Educational Assistance Programs and flexible working hours. Educational Assistance Program gives employees monetary benefits for taking certain training or courses. To be eligible for those benefits the employee must pass the course with the mark of 75% or higher. Those benefits depend on the course taken and on the level at which the employee is. Nonetheless, IKEA offers also its own training and development program.Whereas the company and the level of employment require certain training programs, others are optional. IKEA says that career planning mostly depends on their employees if they want to be pro-active rather than reactive, if they are willing to take more responsibility and to learn more, positions are always posted in the store and every employee may apply upon mee ting certain requirements and having good performance appraisals. IKEA as being in retail industry hires many people on a part time basis, therefore it may offer what is called flexible working hours.This primarily means that employees have a choice what day to work and what hours to work, since they are not required to work 40 hours a week. Flex work enables co-workers to balance home and work careers as well as to spend more time on personal development. Nonetheless, flex work program depends on where the co-worker is working, for instance, in some departments, such as IKEA Trading, co-workers are required to work 8 hours a day but it does not have to be in straight time as long as they have eight hours a day worked.Whereas, in other departments it means that co-worker may choose which days to take off and which days to work. Promotions within IKEA may be vertical or lateral. The policy states that in order to be eligible for promotion for a position lower than management position , the candidate must work with the company at least six months, and to be eligible for promotion for management position the candidate must work at least three years. IKEA provides good program for those employees that would like to, and are eligible for, relocation to different country.Interested co-worker needs to meet certain requirements and be the best candidate for that position. In case of not having the language knowledge IKEA provides language training therefore upon arriving in the new workplace the promoted candidate can communicate with others. This tactic ensures that all employees meeting the requirements may be chosen and the language is not a barrier. IKEA, as a part of career planning of its employees, also does succession planning in conjunction with management. It means that IKEA has charts with listed higher positions, employees on that positions, and relationships between those positions.In case of any vacancies the chart lists prospective successors that may st ep up into that position. IKEA in developing such charts takes into consideration performance appraisals, experience, personal characteristics, and personal preferences of the candidate. As mentioned earlier IKEA does it in conjunction with managers, it means each candidate's qualifications are confirmed by the manager and that manager decides whether the candidate is ready to be promoted or not. Feelings of employees in relation to competences utilized in the right way within the company TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE: EMPLOYEESIKEA always tends to give greater value to its people by calling them co-workers, in such a way highlighting the importance of workforce in this company. The most important values for communication strategy in IKEA are respect, cost consciousness, togetherness and simplicity. During the hiring process IKEA is willing to take people who are willing to growth both professionally and individually, it is always stressed and emphasized during the recruitment. IKEA wishes to create sort of a partnership with its co-workers, it is ready to listen to their ambitions and particularly interested in hiring people who share IKEA`s values.In IKEA responsibility is given to co-workers and strategy of empowerment is applied. Therefore co-workers in IKEA are not afraid of making mistakes and are encouraged to innovative way of thinking. Worst enemy or evolution in IKEA is fear of mistakes. One of the factors IKEA using to make their employees feel better at the work place is absolute avoidance of status symbols. This system allows people to feel equal. The inspiration comes from the top management, and particularly from Ingvar Kampard who brings a great encouragement through his own life.For instance, he always uses public transport instead of taxis or car whenever it is possible. This again sets a good example for cost-consciousness from the highest level on, shows that managers do not expect things from their co-workers that they aren’t willing to do themselves. For Christmas 2006 IKEA has given 9000 bicycles to its employees with a purpose of cutting down the pollution and stick to idea of togetherness and cost-consciousness, which comes from top management. The staff is getting 15% off travel tickets on public transport to sustain same goals.Another example of how IKEA takes care of its employees is training and learning which not necessarily be important for the jobs performed. In 2002 Scottish IKEA introduced IT training for co-workers even thou most of those employees were not using computers in their jobs. IKEA tries to support co-workers, increase self-awareness and encourage them through continuous motivation and incentives. As mentioned before, preference during the recruitment process is given to people who are ready to grow both professionally and personally in IKEA.Regarding the motivating theories, when we begin using McGregor’s theory of X and Y, it can be safely stated that IKEA recognizes its employees as theory Y. IKEA consequently supplies the employees with benefits and incentives in order to give the opportunity for the workforce to grow themselves and their careers. Success of IKEA does not lie in cheap prices, but particularly in treatment of so-called co-workers and direct outcome of it. IKEA has two programs directed towards older employees: The duration of notice of termination of employment is increased by one month per year of employment for employees who are 40 years of age or older.The maximum raise is six months and is in addition to the length of notice according to the law. After ten years of work in IKEA, employees going on pension are allowed to a period of six months of reduced working time with full payment before the retirement. This helps to ease the transition from work to retirement by letting leisure to gradually take the place of work. Differences between IKEA per region in relation to Perceived Stress on the workplace Differences between IKEA per region in relation to how loyal employees feel towards the companyDifferences between IKEA per region in relation if they see themselves working in the company in the next 5 years TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE: CUSTOMERS * 1 million customers visit IKEA every day * The average customer makes 3. 5 store visits per year * The average age of a customer is 42 * 60 per cent of them are female * 150 million meatballs a year are served in IKEA restaurants * 145 million catalogues are printed in 48 editions and 25 languages * IKEA staff conduct 50000 yearly â€Å"home visits† where they visit customers' homes (in exchange for an IKEA credit voucher) to find out what frustrates customers about IKEA products.All business organizations need to make sure that their customers are satisfied with the service they receive because customers are the most important part of any successful organization. IKEA is acting according to the A. R. T. of great service, to carry out a good customer service: Approachable- a n organization must create an open and friendly environment that will influence customers to come in with self-assurance so that their matter can be dealt with. Responsive -all staff should take responsibility of their action. Customer service should be flexible and provide precise and honest information, at all times.Timely – done accurately and efficiently at all time. Many businesses record customer complaints so that, they can review the matter, and to improve its customer service. THE WORK WELL PROGRAM HEALTHY PEOPLE= HEALTHY ORGANIZATION Retention of senior co-workers in IKEA in ways of: * twice a month offered body massage; * specialized course in healthy lifestyle containing a personal diet program, and guidance on losing (or gaining) weight; * help to stop smoking, handle stress or manage situations of conflict; * providing discount on fees to fitness centers; providing comprehensive health insurance coverage providing medical treatment and rehabilitation therapy in private clinics to encourage quick recovery and return to the workplace after illness; * a local project promoting good working attitude through colleague-to-colleague guidance in standing, sitting and lifting correctly Discrimination in IKEA USA Ikea has their way of conduct called the IWAY standing for ‘The IKEA Way on Purchasing Home Furnishing Products’. It defines what suppliers can expect from IKEA and specifies what IKEA requires from its suppliers. Moreover the IWAY guides the work of employees.It covers working conditions, the prevention of child labor, the environment, responsible forestry management and more. Suppliers are responsible for communicating the content of the IKEA code of conduct to co-workers and sub-contractors and ensuring that all required measures are implemented at their own operations. For example, talking about discrimination the IWAY mentions: ‘The IKEA supplier shall not discriminate with regards to workers based on race, religion, beliefs, gender, marital or maternal status, age, political affiliation, national origin, disability, sexual orientation or any other basis. Discrimination is therefore forbidden not only concerning the race but also the gender, religion, beliefs, marital or maternal status etc. However in April 2011, complaints of racial discrimination were present in Virginia, more precisely in the city of Danville. Six African American employees have filed discrimination complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that black workers at Swedwood's (an industrial group within the IKEA Group of companies) U. S. actory are assigned to the lowest-paying departments and to the least desirable third shift which means from 11 p. m. to 7 a. m. One of the women, Jackie Maubin, mentioned that white people were more likely to receive more money than black people. Swedwood found solutions to face those issues by showing those complaints through mediation and Ikea had offered Maubin 1000 dollars. The company Ikea is trying to eliminate discrimination by hiring based on workers individual skills and ability to do the job.CONCLUSION: As shown thoroughly throughout this report, in both theory and practice, OB is IKEA’s top priority; the company pays a great deal of attention and energy to the company’s organizational behavior. It is part of Ikeas foundation, which results in great success. Though of course, whether OB is IKEA’s number one, or number two priority, it varies depending on factors such as the country in which that particular IKEA is located, as well as the culture in which it operates in.Though the origin of the Swedish IKEA has OB as a number one priority, it slightly varies depending on the location of each IKEA store or warehouse, that is due to the fact that cultures and norm and ways of doing business vary all over the world, and even though IKEA does its best to keep OB its number one priority, it is not the number one prior ity in every single IKEA all over the world. There is still room for improvement though in comparison to other companies, IKEA certainly never neglects the important of OB, but whether it is the number one or number three priority, that varies all over the world.Appendix: Interview With Emil Svallingsson, Warehouse Employee at IKEA Sweden for 10 Years According to you, how are employees being treated at the IKEA warehouse? In an equal way? In general, all employees are treated well, even though some bad things has shown during my 10 years at IKEA. If you are complaining, you are risking to not get a promotion. People were always quitting and new were starting, mostly because of annoying costumers and due to a too small number of employees. IKEA is constantly trying to cut down on their staff in order to have the consumers doing as much as possible.During a very long time, no new people were hired at my department. Additionally, I have to say that there always have been a good diver sity between men/women, religion and age. It's a good mix! Are employees proud about their jobs? †No, it's about 50/50 I would say. 50% thinks IKEA is amazing and a wonderful place to work. We call those certain people the â€Å"IKEAns†, like Indiens. The other 50% are mostly working there because of a lack of other things to do. †Is IKEA a good environment for new initiatives? You always have to push yourself forward and be initiative if you want something to happen with your carrier. It is almost expected from the employees to do more than it says in their contract if they want to achieve higher positions. †Are employees actively involved to develop IKEA, or are they according to you, in need of being â€Å"pushed† forward in order to develop? †Again, that's 50/50. The ones who believes in the IKEA concept (the IKEA`ns) loves to be a part of the IKEA family and they do not have to be pushed. The rest of us might need a clear goal to be motivat ed.I would have liked to just have a small percentage of the extra money I earned if my selling went extra well for example. They don't have systems like that. Time to time, they did have a small competition or party for the employees though. That was fun. Interview with the French marketing director Hakan Sandman How are decisions in general being taken at IKEA? Ikea is very democratic in general, even though it's different between different countries. It differs depending on a country's general values and how the people are looking at the word Trust. It is easy to say, Yes†- we trust our employees! but not as easy to live. I would say that IKEA Sweden trust their employees most of all countries, but in comparison to other companies in France, we are very good at trusting and giving away responsibilities. How are the people at IKEA helping each other in order to move forward as a group? At IKEA, it is important that it's easy for our employees to understand and live our value s and beliefs. In the retail department, there are so many people who comes and goes, so it is important that the new ones are able to learn quickly and that the old ones are willing to teach.One of our most important slogans is: â€Å"Lead by Example† which basically means that you have to live as you learn. When the founder, Ingvar Kamprad, where in his forties, he was driving around in a Porsche, drinking champagne with beautiful women and he was living a very different life from today. He later on realized the importance of guiding people by being the example himself, and started to behave in a more appropriate way for IKEA. So what is â€Å"appropriate† for IKEA? It is important for anyone who works at IKEA to be a good example when it comes to money. You have to live as you learn and you are not opposed to waist them.An example of this is when a person at IKEA Russia once where spending a bit too much, which lead to that the company lost 50 million euro. Ingvar h imself then went to the person who was responsible for the act, but instead of yelling at him for what he did, he started to lecture about good behavior and the norms of IKEA. In this case, Ingvar saw that it wasn’t the money that were important in the situation, but the symbolic act to waist 50 millions. It was just not good for IKEAs reputation. At the same time he managed to â€Å"Lead by Example† by being a really good and understanding leader. Is it really that equal at IKEA?IKEA is a flat organization, which means it is not hierarchic. Our decisions may take longer time, but when letting everyone decide, people all over the organization will truly believe in the decision and work more efficient to get through with the new idea. At IKEA, it is important to feel the â€Å"We- Spirit†. Since we are doing things together, that leads to more personal energy and everyone will be more effective. Do you prefer it like that or the other way around? Sometimes, it ma y be hard to take a decision within the overall budget for example, cause we don’t really have anyone who Really decides.Everyone might want different things and that can require more time and energy than it would have done in a hierarchical organization. But in the end, I really prefer the flat type of organization. How to you get a flat organization to be effective? It's all about a balance between time efficiency and democracy. In the warehouses, there is somewhat a hierarchy, but as flat as possible. It wouldn't work otherwise. Ingvar himself is very concerned about his employees though and likes to spend time in warehouses in order to take in the opinions of people working there. He wants them to also have power.But is it really that equal between men and women? Every department sets its own goals every year. The goals are based on feeling form the employees but also on measured facts. In the very top, there are more men than women. A lot of women are working in HR depar tment and marketing. I'm the only man at the marketing department! It is really well divided between warehouse bosses though, I would say very close to 50/50 for men and women. 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