Odi Case

Optical Distortions (ODI) is a start up with limited resources and a product that can change the egg production business. Its product, contact lenses for chickens, would reduce the vision of the hen and achieve two desirable results in the behavior of the chicken. These behaviors include reduction in cannibalism and reduction in amount of food required for chicken. And as a further result, the reduction in cannibalism rate removed the need to debeak the birds, which adds further economic value to the farmers. These benefits far outstrip the costs of the contact lenses themselves.And for ODI, there are definitely profits to be had if the products can be marketed well before the competitors can enter the market in a few years. Therefore, ODI should introduce their product according to my analysis below. The issue ODI is facing is that it currently has no revenue flow. And to stay competitive in the industry, ODI is estimating it will have large expenses coming up quickly to grow quickl y enough to stay viable. Therefore, ODI must capitalize as soon as possible. Also, on the consumer front, the product is completely unknown to its customers.It will face a slightly uphill battle to convince potential customers that its product is better than the other more â€Å"conventional† methods provided by other vendors in the poultry egg production industry. On the competitor side, ODI has little breathing room. It expects that the competitors can be kept out of the market for at most two to three years thanks to patents and licenses that ODI currently holds. And ODI believes that competitors will likely try to enter the market as soon as possible because of the potential impact that the lenses hold on the egg production industry.Thankfully, ODI’s collaborator, New World, has entered into an exclusive contract with ODI on the non-human use of hydrophilic polymer. Given the general market information, we need more detailed understanding of the current market to d etermine a strategy for ODI. 1. How big is the market for ODI chicken lenses? First, we must determine the market size of the ODI’s contact lenses. According to information provided by Garrison, that ODI can only profitably sell to a farm if that farm had at least 10,000 chickens in its flock. As our first target market, California, we must determine the number of farms nd chickens in farms with more than 10,000 chickens. We are shown the distribution of farms in Exhibit 3. However, we are only shown break outs of farms with 20,000 more chickens. We can still use this information, because farms with just over 10,000 chickens is barely profitable, so we can concentrate on them later on in the process as ODI’s product becomes more mature. Hence, there are 521 farms with 20,000 hens or more, with 39,929,680 million chickens. (Please note that this is approximately 86. 4% of all chicken in California farms. ) The market size for ODI’s lenses in California is fairly big at 39,929,680 potential chickens.And nationwide, which will be the eventual target market for ODI, there are 197,970,487 chickens currently. And according exhibit 4, the trend in chicken farming shows that this market will continue to increase for two reasons. First, there is a net growth in the number of birds in flocks. Second, there is a trend for reduction of smaller farms and increase at the medium and large farms. And since we are targeting only medium and large farms, we can expect the number of birds in this market to continue to increase. 2. Who are the potential customers for such a product? Why would they buy it?Next, we need to identify potential customers for the product. The clear customers are farmers of the egg farms, we will call this the direct to consumer (DTC) market. The farmers would definitely buy the product if they are aware of the cost savings it provides. For each 10,000 chicken, the farmer can expect to see savings of $2,617. 60 ignoring the additiona l costs imposed by the lenses (please see appendix 1 for the estimated savings calculations). If we sell the lenses at the 8 cents per pair, then we will be adding approximately $800 to the cost of the farmer in costs. This means the farmer can see a net savings of $1,817. 0 by switching to the contact lenses over debeaking. In addition to these farms, perhaps, services firms that provide labor for debeaking may be also customers; this would be a business to business (B2B) market. These firms may wish to diversify their offering if they see additional value for their end customers (the farmers). These firms will buy if debeaking becomes less popular due to our new contact lenses. Since their primary offering is labor, they will want the advantage of being the one stop shop. The one stop shop here means that the farmers will only have to deal with 1 contract as opposed to multiple.This is an offering that the services firms will want to have when dealing the farmers, which means they will need to purchase our lenses. 3. Would potential customers eagerly adopt or would they resist adopting this product? Why? Next, is to understand the early adopters versus the market laggards. I believe that the early adopters would be the large farms. They have the most to gain from purchasing the lenses. Additionally, since they have so many birds, they can run a test trial on 10,000 or even 20,000 birds for the first year and observe the results before rolling out the lenses to the rest of the birds.This makes the switch a little easier on the farmers. Since the product hasn’t been on the market ever, I can imagine that there will be significant resistance at the start due to the lack of experience with the product. However, I would also like to acknowledge that there is a possibility that these large farms are likely to have existing contracts with other firms (for example for debeaking) that would make it hard to switch. Additionally, it may be more difficult to conv ince several decision makers to agree on the large farm to make the change happen.On the other hand, the medium farms only have one decision maker and may be converted to using the contact lenses quickly. But due to their size and amount of savings, I can see reluctance to take on the risk of an â€Å"unproven† product. The market laggards would definitely be the small farms and services firms. For small farms, it is just too much risk for the untested product. And services firm will not purchase until there is sufficient number of farms switching from debeaking to contact lenses and it’s starting to hurt their business. 4.Given the financial constraints faced by the company, are the ODI lenses an economically viable product? We should now understand if the product is financially viable. If we sell the lenses at 8 cents per pair, then must sell at least 13,229,167 pair of lenses to break even. This is due to costs of the $586,000 for the personnel and office for the re gional office (see appendix 2 for the cost assumptions) and then the $25,000 licensing fee then must to New World, as well as the $24,000 for the two injection molds they would need. And their margins are 4. 8 cents per pair, so $635,000 / $0. 048 gets use the 13. million pairs. Please note that this number is approximately 33% of the potential market (39. 9 million) that we identified earlier. Since Garrison that 50% penetration is feasible, we would be quite profitable. Even if we add in the $250,000 R&D expense, then our require # of lenses is 18,687,500 lenses (thanks to the need for a third injection mold). However, even at this number of required lenses, this is approximately 46% of the market, and under the 50% share of market rate that ODI is forecasting. This means that we will remain profitable. And as ODI expands to the nation, their costs rise to be about $4. 63 million (see appendix 3), which would require 84,645,834 lenses to break even, well under the 50% mark for the 197,970,487 chickens in farms with 20,000 chickens (42. 8%). Hence, the product should be profitable. 5. Would you recommend introduction of ODI chicken lenses? At this point I would recommend the introduction of ODI chicken lenses if the forecasts that we see in the case are accurate, because there is clearly benefits for both ODI and the customers. However, we need to explore the possibilities of alternatives. The only other feasible alternative is to license the product to larger agricultural supply firms.The benefit of licensing is that ODI would dramatically reduce its costs and recognize income right away. And they would not have to convince individual farms. All they have to do is pitch the product to corporate executives. However, they do face the issue that the large agricultural supply firm would likely kick ODI out as soon as the patent protection runs out. And without the on the ground presence, ODI would lose all revenue sources in three years. Therefore, this approach is extremely dangerous compared to actually selling the lenses themselves, which according to our analysis will be profitable.Therefore, ODI should introduce the lenses on its own. 6. If introduced, how should ODI segment the market? In which markets should ODI concentrate its effort and why? Now that we believe that ODI should sell the chicken contact lenses, we need to understand how to market the product. First, we need to segment the market into distinct, mutually exclusive, identifiable segments. The two segmentation metrics that immediately come to mind are Farm Flock Size and Cannibalization Rate of Strains at the Farm. Farm Flock Size will be broken into the 20,000 to 49,000, 50,000 to 99,000, and 100,000 or more identified in Exhibit 3.Cannibalization Rate of Strains at the Farm will be divided into High Cannibalization Rate, Medium Cannibalization Rate, and Low Cannibalization Rate. There are metrics that we can use to segment the farms, but we want to make sure that we d o not put so many metrics that there are only a few farms in each segment. The idea is to have large, identifiable, distinct, and stable segments. Here, Farm Flock Size and Cannibalization Rates make good metrics because not only do they divide the similar farms into the same bucket and different farms into distinct buckets, but they also measure the value of presented to the farmers.Flock size because larger size represent more potential for savings for farmers and more potential for earning for ODI. And high cannibalization rate also represent potential for savings for farms due to less hens lost to cannibalization and more likely ease of sale for ODI since the farmers have more incentives to try the lenses. And given these segments, ODI should focus on the large farms with high cannibalization rates (please see appendix 4 for targeting sequence). This group will have the highest market potential and be the most receptive to the product. 7. How should chicken lenses be marketed?Fi nally, we need to see how to actually implement the marketing plan. Our marketing plan will have the following components. One, sales force at the regional offices will be talking directly with the customers to convince them that there is value in the product. And two, headquarters will be responsible for advertising in industry related publications and attending trade shows to promote the product. As part of the messaging, we will advise our customers that the contact lenses as a product to substitute debeaking to reduce cannibalization rates with extra benefits.The benefits are three fold, reduction of cannibalization rates to ~4. 5%, reduction in trauma from debeaking (~50,769 eggs per 10,000 chickens), and finally, savings in chicken feed (14. 235 tons per 10,000 chickens per year). We want to concentrate on the fact that our product is more effective than debeaking at reducing cannibalization and has additional beneficial effects that far outweighs the costs of the lenses itsel f. And according to Garrison, because he customers are independent-minded type of men who would react unfavorable if they felt cheated, we cannot have low introductory rate that may upset the customer base. This also means that these customers are not likely to be the type to jump on the band wagon and we will need to make sure our sales representatives reach each of these farms. This would mean that even favorable word of mouth will not contribute significantly to our sales due to the characteristics of the customers. Our sales force should not only explain the properties our lenses, but also do demonstrations to let the farmers see for themselves.And we must have our sales forces reach out frequently the customers to reinforce the message throughout the year, so when we get to the few weeks where the new hens are bought, we can convince the farmer to try the ODI lenses on their farm. Additionally, at the trade shows, we would also demonstrate the difference between hens wearing ou r lenses versus hens that do not wear the lenses. This would serve to introduce the product to new potential customers. We should use the trade shows also as a CRM opportunity; we should also collect contact information for our sales representatives to follow up on.This type of reinforced messaging will be effective in convincing customers to switch. And after we’ve brought the innovators and early adopters on board, we need to ensure customer satisfaction for these influential groups. Bad word of mouth is generally stickier than good word of mouth, and could be damaging to our brand even if the customers are generally independent-minded. And to achieve good customer satisfaction, we need to address customer issues as they emerge. So by the time we get to the Early Majority and the Late Majority, we can address any concerns that they have with the product.We will use the following positioning statement until ODI diversify into other products: â€Å"For farmers in egg product ion who have more than 10,000 chickens in their flock, Optical Distortion, Inc. (ODI) is a specialty agricultural supplier that provides contact lenses for chickens intended to reduce food required and reduce cannibalization rate. Unlike other agricultural suppliers offering to debeak the birds, ODI provides a solution that results superior reduction in cannibalization rates, reduction in food wasted and required, and reduction in losses of production resulting from traumas associated with debeaking. Appendix 1: | | | | | Saving Opportunities for 10,000 chicken| # of Chicken Affected| Value Per Chicken| Value| Information from the case| Reduction in Canalbalism (4. 5% additional survive)| 450 | $0. 66 | $297. 00 | Exhibit 5 – 22 dozen per year @ $0. 03 per dozen per hen| Reduction of Trauma| 10,000 | $0. 01 | $126. 92 | Exhibit 5 – 22 dozen per year -> 22/52 dozen per week @ $0. 03 per dozen per hen| Savings in Food| 10,000 | $0. 22 | $2,193. 67 | 0. 78 lbs per 100 bir ds per day @ $158 per ton of feed| Appendix 2:Cost for Regional Offices| # of Item| Value Per Item| Value| Office and Warehouse1| 1| $196,000 | $196,000 | Sales Representatives2| 8| $40,000 | $320,000 | Tech Representatives3| 2| $35,000 | $70,000 | Total|   |   | $586,000 | 1. Office and Warehouse price from Table B. 2. Sales Representatives based on capacity of 80 farms, and the assumption that each sales will only cover farms of one particular size present in Exhibit 3 (20,000 to 49,000, 50,000 to 99,000, and 100,000 or more). 3. Tech Representatives based on ratio of 1 tech representative per 5 sales representatives.Appendix 3: Estimated National Costs| Units| Cost per Unit| Costs| Comments/Assumptions| Regional Offices| 5| $586,000| $2,930,000| Assumed that regional offices costs are similar to California| Headquarter Costs| 1| $614,000| $614,000| Estimated cost at 60 million pairs| Advertising| 1| $100,000| $100,000| Monthly advertising for 1 year in 8 leading industry publ ications| New World License| 1| $25,000| $25,000| $50,000 over 2 years| Injection Molds| 12| $12,000| $144,000| $12,000 per mold, which produces 7. million a year| R&D Costs| 1| $250,000| $250,000| Required for diversifying the company| Total|   |   | $4,063,000 |   | Appendix 4: | | Farm Flock Size| | | 20,000 to 49,000| 50,000 to 99,000| 100,000 or more| Cannibalization Rate| Low| 4| 4| 3| | Medium| 4| 3| 2| | High| 3| 2| 1| First target group 1, then followed by group 2, group 3, and group 4. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. In the analysis, I am assuming that 1kg ? 2 lbs and 1 ton ? 2,000 lbs.

World Heritage Side

Introduction World Heritage is the diversity of the planet, and the achievements of its peoples. They are cultural or natural sites, monuments, cities or geographical habitat places of beauty and wonder; mystery and grandeur; memory and meaning (WiseGeek, 2012). In short, they represent the best Earth has to offer. The World Heritage Sites are registered and deserved of protection and preservation by the UNESCO. The idea of cultural and natural conservation to preserve the world significance is necessary for everyone.Each country has set up the program for the world heritage preservation. Not only it is considered to be the benefit of the international countries for preservation but also all people should help to take care of and make public relations to foreigners to visit the valuable site. Because it can build income into the country and it is deemed to announce the significance of each country around the world. Therefore, each country should preserve and protect their own heritag e and proud of it.The world heritage sites are considered as the natural and cultural significance. There is the international program for selecting the cultural and natural sites which are unique and some of them would be obtained funds to reform or improve each site. The fund promotes technical and financial assistance to World Heritage sites, including the enhancement of heritage sites in compliance with the Convention and the development of management plans.Each country must take the Tentative list and the file is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union. Then, the Committee will make their decision for cultural and natural criteria and they will divide the countries into five zones to set a breakdown of the sites. This Graph of the world heritage [pic] |Country |Natural |Cultural |Mixed |Total | |North America &Europe 73 |432 |11 |513 | |Asia Pacific |51 |142 |9 |203 | |Africa |35 |43 |4 |82 | |Arab States |4 |63 |1 |68 | |L atin America & The |32 |62 |3 |97 | |Subtotal |196 |742 |28 |966 | |Less duplication |13 |17 |0 |30 | |Total |188 |745 |29 |962 | (Data source from wikipedia) At present, there are 962 properties are listed; 745 cultural sites, 188 natural sites and 29 mixed properties.The sites are designated as having â€Å"outstanding universal value† under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. This convention, which was adopted by UNESCO in 1972, provides a framework for international cooperation in preserving and protecting cultural treasures and natural areas throughout the world. There are three types of sites: cultural, natural, and mixed. Cultural heritage sites include hundreds of historic buildings and town sites, important archaeological sites, and works of monumental sculpture or painting. The ratio of cultural to natural sites on the World Heritage List is roughly 3 to 1. Several new sites are added to the list at the middle of each year.World Heritage designations often boost local economies by encouraging tourism; in addition, UNESCO funds numerous efforts to preserve and restore sites in developing nations subject to unusual levels of pollution, natural hazards, or other problems may be placed on the associated List of World Heritage in Danger until improvements are made. There are two world heritage sites which will be studied for this research; Kakadu National Park in Australia and the Great Wall of China. The first one was classified as the mixed world heritage site because this national park represents unity of archaeology and ethnology. It is located in the north of Australia and it had been living areas for more than 40,000 years ago. (Thai World Heritage Information Centre, 2012) Many beautiful arts were found such as mural painting, rock engraving, and archaeological sites with the record of history and living things’ life style.The evidences have been emerged since the era of hunting prior t o the era of aborigines. Therefore, it is the symbolic sample with complicated ecosystem in plain and lowland areas including it is a habitat for plants and rare regional animals. There are many plants and animals so this national park has diversity of plants and many species of land and marine animals such as bird, ant, insect, turtle, dugong, etc. This area is also benefits for hundred of aboriginal people so it is very interesting to study their lives and cultures as well. Since this national park is archaeological areas so to analyze and get important evidences for this prominent place is very necessary.Many valuable things found are excavated and identified such as stone tools, axes, polished stone, and the sites of rock painting for 18,000 years ago. It was proposed as the cultural property on the World Heritage List in 1981. Until many academicians supported and preserved this national park by establishing a fund of documentary evidence and served as important sources of info rmation. The second one is the Great Wall of China. It was established in c. 220 B. C. The Qin Shi Huang dynasty (Rosenberg, 2012) graciously pleased to join all parts of an old fort together in order to protect invasion. The construction had been continued until the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). (Rosenberg, 2012) Then, the Great Wall of China became the world's largest military object.The historical and strategic importance is accompanied with architectural features. Its total length is more than 20,000 kilometers. Before construction of bricks, it was constructed by rock, soil, and wood and some places used granite or mud. At present, the Great Wall of China is the largest construction in the world and longest time for building and it was also given a name of the largest grave. It is because almost million labors and prisoners were fettered at their necks among bad weather condition for long time so thousands of them died and buried under the wall. This research indicates the worthy e lements including historical and cultural information.However, at moment tourists are facing some problem to reach the Great of Wall, for example, the remoteness of the sites made it more difficult for tourists to travel to them (Vazifdar 2012). Therefore, we should more consider its benefits and elaborately introspect how the difficult methods of the Great Wall of China building and study in-depth information, we will know that China has the regulations on the protection of the Great Wall and systematical management. The regulation has well regulated visitors' and local residents' behaviors on the Great Wall. When they visit the wall, tourists must observe his or her obligations to protect it. The regulation has 31 articles in all regarding to every uncivil behavior those tourists or local residents may practice on the wall (Travelchinaguide, 2012).Further study, research and fieldwork should be promoted in heritage conservation and preservation and both public and private sectors should cooperate with local and international partners. In addition, coordinating with its UNESCO partner and World Heritage Centre, will facilitate the exchange of research, scholarship, technical expertise, and student training in historic preservation and cultural resources management related to UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The important principles should be setting up innovate policies, practicing in the field of historic preservation, and emphasizing on sustainable development for a dynamic environment. The beneficial knowledge will be expanded through many researched with faculty and scholars working in fields related to heritage studies and preservation.In addition, the systematical design and management to prepare for work in the conservation are very essential because we can take account into restoration, adaptive reuse of historic buildings, landscapes and cultural artifacts. World Heritage Studies is a unique and innovative program that takes up the technical, socio-econo mic, cultural, ecological and political challenges related to the protection of World Heritage. Then, we can develop concepts and strategies for the preservation and future use of World Heritage Sites including the planning and work for infrastructure to promote a gentle and sustainable tourism, the establishment of participatory structures to involve and educate local populations, and decision-makers.We work as educators at heritage sites and museums developing new concepts of presentation beyond the traditional exhibition thus stressing the future-oriented aspects of heritage. In conclusion, this research was to study the protection and preservation of World Heritage Sites. World Heritage belongs to all humanity and the rights of the global collective must replace the old individual rights. To persuade the public, a new revolutionary way of thinking or systems thinking should replace the contrary old thoughts and ways. The key elements approach to the protection and management of World Heritage Sited are designation of specific assets within World Heritage Sites (listed buildings, schedule ancient monuments, parks and gardens, conservation areas, areas of outstanding national beauty, etc. , consideration in the determination of planning applications, policy inclusion should be conducted by local authorities in their local plan to protect the outstanding universal value, authenticity and integrity of World Heritage Sites, an agreed management plan should be available for each world heritage site, local commitment, a stakeholders steering group and support from the key partners, and effective coordination, normally by a dedicated coordinator. (Department for Communities and Local Government) The establishment of various forms display and transfer knowledge for new interpretations of World Heritage. A further field of employment is the work of specialists in national and international educational institutions, especially in the field of adult education. A new i mage of World Heritage will be contributed to widening the access to this topic for broader segments of society. Photo references: [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] [pic] ReferencesDepartment for Communities and Local Government (2012). Protection of World Heritage Sites. Retrieved from www. bath-preservation-trust. org. uk/index. php? s. Encyclopedia Britannica (2012). Kakadu National Park. Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com/search? query=Kakadu+National+Park+ Rosenberg, M (2012). The Great Wall of  China :The Ancient Great Wall of China is a World Heritage  Site. Retreived from http://geography. about. com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/greatwall. htm Thai World Heritage Information Centre. (2012). Asia and the Pacific. Retrieved from http://www. thaiwhic. go. th/heritageList. aspx? region=Asia%20and%20the%20Pacific Travelchinaguide. com.Regulation on Great Wall Protection (2012). Retrieved from http://www. travelchinaguide. com/china_great_wall/wall protection/law/ University of Technology (2012). World Heritage Studies. Retrieved from http://www. enqa. net/humanities-arts/world-heritage-studies-brandenburg-university-of-technology/view-details. html Vazifdar, L (2012). UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China Threatened Due to Tourism. Retrieved from http://www. travelerstoday. com/articles/2700/20120814/unesco-world-heritage-sites-china-threatened-tourism-great-wall. htm WiseGEEK (2012). What is a world Heritage Site?. Retrieved from http://www. wisegeek. com/what-is-a-world-heritage-site. htm

If Venerus Implements the Suggested Methodology?

If Venerus implements the suggested methodology, what would be the range of discount rates that AES would use around the world? * 12% discount rate was used for all projects * Venerus felt that this model worked fairly well In 1990s this model of capital budgeting was exported to projects overseas * model became increasingly strained with the expansions in Brazil and Argentina * because hedging key exposures such as regulatory or currency risk was not feasible * the ever-increasing complexity in the financing of international operations is another problem * when subsidiaries’ local currency real exchange rates depreciated, leverage at the subsidiary and holding company level effectively increased, and the subsidiaries struggled to service their foreign currency debt * Venerus’s solution to the problem had to be consistent, transparent, and accessible As a starting point, he considered the 15 representative projects shown in Exhibit 7a and, using the financial data in Ex hibit 7b * he endeavored to derive a weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for each project using a standard methodology: * he endeavored to derive a weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for each project using a standard methodology: WACC=EVre+DVrd1-? In order to calculate each WACC, Venerus knew he would have to measure all of the constituent parts for the 15 projects: * the cost of debt * the target capital structure * the local country tax rates * an appropriate cost of equity Venerus feared the use of a World CAPM might yield artificially low costs of capital.Similarly, Venerus did not advocate the use of a â€Å"Local CAPM† where beta measured the covariance of a project’s returns with a portfolio of local equities. Countries such as Tanzania or Georgia, where AES had projects, did not have any meaningful equity markets or local benchmarks. Still, he knew he had to find a way to capture the country-specific risks in foreign markets. 1. he calculated a cost of debt and cost of equity for each of the 15 projects using U. S. market data 2. he added the difference between the yield on local government bonds and the yield on corresponding U. S. Treasury bonds to both the cost of debt and the cost of equity Summary of WACC Calculations for AES

Emotional Intelligence and it's Impact on Leadership Styles Essay

Emotional Intelligence and it's Impact on Leadership Styles - Essay Example Emotional intelligence Emotional Intelligence is a collective name for a set of social and emotional abilities which would help people to adapt to the routine demands and it is the ability to be more effective in relationships of varied nature (MacCann, Matthews, Zeidner, & Richards, 2004). Another definition of emotional intelligence is â€Å"the set of abilities that involves perceiving and reasoning abstractly with information that emerges from feelings† (Mandell and Phewanti ,2003) In a team environment, the role of emotional intelligence is turning to be of increased importance. Barling et al (157) has opined that the five characteristics of emotional intelligence includes, understanding other persons emotions; knowing to manage these emotions; emotional self control; empathy and management of relations. The application of these components in management has been a subject of research for several years. Emotional Intelligence and Transformational leadership Transformationa l leadership involves the leader motivating the team members to perform beyond the expected limits of performance (Sivanathan & Fekkan, 198). In general it has been opined that emotional intelligence is a prerequisite for any sustainable leadership model. It must be noted here that transformational leadership has been suggested to have sustained results than transactional leadership which is based on contingent rewards and other tangible benefits. Transformational leadership demands to a large extend the understanding of the followers’ emotions. In this context, the characteristics of emotional intelligence will compliment the functionalities of a transformational leader. According to Ashforth and Humphrey (1995), â€Å"emotions are an integral and inseparable part of everyday organizational life† (p. 97) . Thus a team environment will involve varied range of emotions. The skill to understand the other person’s emotions can be used to analyse the satisfaction an d the motivational requirements of the team members. This argument is supported by George (2000) as he opined that transformational leaders appraise and engage in emotions and they effectively use these emotions for the well being of the team. Moreover, emotional self control would help the leader to establish himself or herself as a role model for other to follow. Goleman (1998) has opined the need of emotional intelligence as a mandatory quality to be successful as leaders and that the transformational behaviors of leaders are directly proportional to the level of their emotional intelligence. Top Management & Emotional Intelligence The importance of emotional intelligence for a professional working at the top management level has been asserted by management experts. It has been opined that the importance of emotional intelligence increases with the increase in managerial responsibilities and one’s professional advances within the organization. The challenges of a leader in creases in multiple disciplines as the person climbs up the managerial ladder. This must be read together with the fact that, as the area of management broadens, the cultural and professional diversity also widens. This limits the scope of transactional style of leadership to be effective to have a sustainable leadership. There are several studies which analysed various levels of top management

How children from a divorced family are effected Essay

How children from a divorced family are effected - Essay Example The specific dialogues are taken from the hit sitcom show two and a half men declared as the biggest comedy hit of the last decade by The New York Times. The sitcom is based on the life of Harper brothers; Charlie and Alan Harper and Alan’s son Jake, who is referred to as a half man in the title of the sitcom. After the divorce Alan and Jake move to Charlie’s place forming unique relationships amongst themselves with changing circumstances and behaviors exhibited by these three characters. Alan is a dim wit and weak personality with childhood issues of his own, lives with his brother but has no say in the household matters. He has a tendency to be obnoxious, exhibits vindictive behavior towards her mother and sees his alcoholic sex addicted brother as an inspiration. Jake is a lethargic child with low self esteem and no real ambitions, after his parent’s divorce he spends time with his mother and father but is more influenced by his father and uncle. He has low i ntelligence and no concern for personal hygiene but is aware of the norms prevalent in the house; norms set by Charlie. Charlie Harper is an alcoholic and sex addict on a self destructive pattern, a confident and self righteous person but in a wrong way. He has no respect for the opposite sex and has no desire for a real relationship. In the episode ‘The big pink things with coconut’, Jake is stretched away from his grandmother by Alan as he does not want her to damage the self esteem of Jake something she did to her own children, Alan and Charlie. This shows that the Harper brothers have childhood issues of their own and treat their own mother poorly. In the same episode ‘The big pink things with coconut’, Charlie curses her mother for faking illness and wishes her to die, an extremely disturbing behavior from a son and represents a total breakdown in the relationship. The personality of Charlie Harper is a significant influence on Jake and Alan, who has n o respect for the opposite sex, no concern for his health or the affects he is having on the child due to his abysmal behavior. Jake’s lazy attitude and direction less life is due to his unsuccessful father who married and divorced two women. Using the scenarios in the sitcom the essay investigates and defines the affects single parenting has no children and how they view different relationships. Working Thesis: The sitcom is packed with instances where the child exhibits an unusual behavior towards life, relationships and marriage. Being influenced by the nature and attitudes of accompanying elders the child has a lackluster personality with no goals in life, no respect towards elders and no real want for a healthy relationship. During the past two decades the American family system has experienced significant change from the ideal of nuclear family, the common families seen in America today are single parent families. These single parent families due to one reason or the ot her are headed by either mother or the father and in some cases by grandparents (Coontz). There are many elements that result in to single parenting but dissolution of marriage or divorce is the most common and leaves many psychological effects on the growing child. The life of a single parent and accompanying child can be difficult, besides the obvious economic hardships there are many emotional effects resulting in depression and behavioral instability. According to Stephaine Coontz (1992), children undergoing a parental divorce try to cope up with the mental stress by finding refuge

Global Trade Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Global Trade Operations - Essay Example The International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) are rules and regulations that govern international trade because when two parties are involved in international trade disputes or misunderstanding may arise hence making Incoterm a central component in the development of international trade across the globe (Branch 2009, p.4). The International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) established these guidelines in the year 1936. However, they have greatly evolved since that time. The main aim of these international trade guidelines is to spell out the legal obligation of the two parties involved in the trade. Additionally, this minimizes misunderstandings and conflict between the two parties. International trade can prove difficult when the two parties face obstacles such as language barrier and other limitations. This makes the International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) a very important aspect of the trade. The International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) apply globally hence making them generally acce ptable by all countries. The contract of the sale of goods is the area of focus in the International Commercial Terms (Incoterm). Additionally, the International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) covers all the aspects of transportation of goods, obligation of both parties and other requirements such as insurance. The International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) entails eleven terms that are fundamental in international trade. Furthermore, these terms fall under four major divisions these include â€Å"C† terms â€Å"D† terms â€Å"E† terms and â€Å"F† terms. The seller or exporter has to follow the International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) in order to complete a successful business transaction. Additionally, the procedures under International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) follow each other sequentially and in order of the degree of responsibility. However, one can better understand the terms used in the International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) when using a typica l example of a business transaction between an importer and an exporter hence making the application of these terms relevant. An international business transaction has to involve two different countries and in order to use all the applicable procedures in the International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) it is important to use two different countries that are not on the same bloc due some waivers, trade agreements and other issues like memorandum of understanding Description of the business Transaction The main business transaction that is most appropriate and fits the criteria of the International Commercial Terms (Incoterm) is importation and exportation of Japanese cars. This has been a very successful trade between Japan and other countries of the world. Additionally, most of the cars manufactured in the world come form Japan hence making a study on how the business transactions take place very informative. However, one main reason as to why this particular trade meets the criteria is that very many legal formalities are involved in the importation and exportation of vehicles from one country to another. Additionally, this kind of trade deals with incredibly many different nationalities hence providing readily available information that is useful. However, several countries have different rules and regulations that govern the importation of cars. For instance, in other countries one cannot import a car that is more than eight years old or the vehicle must be in a certain condition. All these rules and regulations involved when importing or exporting a vehicle make the trade more sophisticated. Countries involved in the business transaction The two main countries that we are going to focus on are the United

Better Place Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Better Place Company - Essay Example The headquarters of the company is located in Israel at the R&D center, at Palo Alto and also in California. The use of such vehicles will reduce the risks that are caused by the harmful emissions of carbon. It is as a result of this that most of the governments, organizations and businesses have prioritised the need for reducing the effects of carbon emissions. Mission. To be a company that is able to hasten the change in the automobile industry from the use of vehicles that are oil based and promote the adoption of vehicles that use electricity- renewable energy. Vision Better Place vision is to be able to create linkages among car companies, utilities, battery companies and also consumers in order to successful promote the adoption of EVs. Stakeholders Stakeholders in a company are mainly the people, groups or organizations that draw certain interest towards the business strategy of a company. Better Place Company is supported by majority stakeholders who have interest in the prod uct that is being generated by the company (Johnson, p153). Stakeholder’s expectations are a major concern that the manager of Better Place had to deal with due to the fact that the success of the adoption of the Electric Vehicles depended on the decisions that were made by the stakeholders. Being an automobile company Better Place stakeholders include car companies, automobile manufacturers, governments, utility companies, battery manufacturers, investors and potential consumers for the Electric Vehicles. Better Place stakeholders can be classified into three groups (Johnson, p155): Technological stakeholders-This group of stakeholders involve the competitors that bring up new technologies with an aim of making improvements in the standards of the industry. Economic stakeholders-They involve the competitors, the suppliers and the manufacturers. In the case of the company it involves the car companies, automobile manufacturers and the battery manufacturers. Socio/political st akeholders-such stakeholders include governments as well as various agencies that are interested in the business strategy of the company. The rollout strategy of Better Place was adopted by various governments such as Japan, Australia, Hawaii, Toronto, Israel and Canada. Despite the go ahead by most stakeholders Better place faced a number of challenges while trying to affect the use of their business model. The first challenge focussed on the company’s reputation: Better Place lacked a convincing marketing strategy and as a result it was quite hard for consumers to adopt its product. The other challenge was focused on the company trying to convince the various stakeholders that the adoption of the EVs as a mode of transport that would be viable. The figure below shows the stakeholder mapping of the power/interest matrix: The customers in segment B are those that are largely supportive of Better Place business strategy. Customers in segment C are those that are hostile and th e customers in segment D are those that are indifferent. The investors, car companies and the government in segment D are of major importance to the company due to the fact that acceptability of the strategy depends solely on them and thus they hold the highest power as the key players. Utility Companies also hold vital role as key players for instance governments were offering rebates imposed on tax on the electric vehicles in order to achieve renewable energy objectives. Manufacturers of batteries and automobile in segment B play the role of ensuring there are adequate supplies of the components required by the EVs. Industry and scenario Analyses

Compare and contrast the book with other materials Essay

Compare and contrast the book with other materials - Essay Example d that women were underrepresented in the work place because most of the jobs in the factories require a lot of physical energy making women unfit for these jobs. However, today with the major advancements in technology, a lot of jobs do not call for physical energy. This means that both women and men work well without difficulties. However, it is observed that even in these jobs, women are still underrepresented. I agree with the author that there is need to increase the diversity in the workplace by having an equal representation of both genders. It is true that both men and women have their biological differences, this also influences their perspectives and this can be tapped to get better performance at the work place. Women are also the care givers and homemakers; this should not be used as an excuse of not giving them jobs. However, I tend to disagree with the author that men should not be obligated to support their spouses. This is because the systems that already exist favor the male gender and removal of spousal support would only make the situation of the women worse. There is a need to have a complete overhaul of the current system and ensure that women get equal opportunities as the men and they would be able to support themselves. The salaries also need to be harmonized because you would observe in many instances women are given lower wages and salaries despite performing similar tasks to their male counterparts. The letter from Birmingham jail by Martin Luther King Junior is a justification of the nonviolent action that was being taken by Luther follow in Birmingham. The clergymen in the south have termed the move as untimely and unwise. According to him, the measures that the back people were conducting in order to have their rights given to them is incomparable to the injustices that the whites had metered towards the blacks. He says that they had burned down their houses, enslaved them and the segregation in Birmingham was worse than any other

Family Law in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Family Law in America - Essay Example In this paper, the case involving Eric and Cindy epitomizes a case whereby spouses are in total agreement until they decide to divorce. Both parties share responsibilities at their home and prior to their marriage, they had signed a prenuptial agreement. The wife disclosed much of her assets and the husband agreed to share the responsibilities at home. Nonetheless, since they have agreed to file a divorce and their case is an uncontested divorce, it looks simple. However, the challenge is that there is no clarity as to whether they have agreed on property division, child custody, and support issues. Since they have agreed to part ways, one of the spouses hires an attorney to prepare the obligatory paperwork. In this case, the wife will only be required to read and sign both the waiver and the final decree. Ethically, it is not possible to represent two parties in a divorce when there is a conflict of interest. If one attorney tries to represent the husband and the wife, in this case, he or she may face some problems. If the attorney takes a side and informs one party that the deal would make it possible for him or her to gain financially, it might anger one party. If the attorney manipulates any party to decide otherwise, the case is considered unethical. In fact, one attorney cannot represent two parties with conflict of interest. Getting an annulment is out of questions because it is a court order that a marriage never existed. Annulment could only be granted if the spouse was already married to someone else. Annulments are very rare. In this case, there is no such a case whereby the husband is claimed to have been married to someone else. However, the case indicates that the wife had mental issues, but still the issues never avoided her from agreeing to marry. She was not forced to marry, they all agreed. Annulment, in this case, is not appropriate because after realizing that the wife had mental problems, the husband was willing to continue with the married out of love.

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton 1783-1800 Essay Example for Free

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton 1783-1800 Essay The post-revolutionary war period of the Unites States saw the establishment of the first party system and an enlarging gap in viewpoints between the wealthy and the common man. One might argue that a political party develops in response to a series of controversial issues yet to a great extent the contradictory views of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson over issues related to views of government, the role of government and social philosophy in foreign and domestic affairs, were primarily responsible for shaping the rise of political parties from 1783-1800. Originally feared by the forefathers, the rise of political parties emerged from intense ideological struggles over views of government between two political leaders important to President Washington’s Cabinet, Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. Alexander Hamilton exerted the most influence within the newly emerging Federalist Party. He believed that only an enlightened ruling class could produce a strong, stable and effective federal government. The government therefore needed the support of wealthy men and the promotion of manufacturing interests. Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans defended more the rights of the common man and an agrarian society with limited power from the federal government. His basic principle was grounded in a belief that the people had a more honest and disinterested influence in politics than the wealthy. The Republican Party attracted more of the common people while the Federalist Party drew support from the aristocracy. Although neither side was willing to admit to it, these institutions were known as the first party system. Both parties stance on who should have more power in the government contributed to the largely diverse views of the common man and the wealthy man. Hamilton and Jefferson’s differences in social philosophy over the interpretation of the Constitution and the establishment of a national bank further strengthened the rise of established political parties. Federalists called for the national debt to be funded and hoped to create a large national bank credited by wealthy men. Hamilton defended it in a plan presented to Congress by claiming the general nature of the Constitution allowed for corporations to assist in carrying out by â€Å"all means† necessary that which is required to carry out the duties of government. If permitted, this vein of reasoning presented a broad interpretation of the Constitution, one that relied upon the â€Å"elastic clause† to justif y that which is considered  Ã¢â‚¬Å"necessary and proper†. Jefferson and the Republicans felt the bank was unconstitutional and his opinion on the Constitutionality of a National Bank (1791) required a strict or literal interpretation that drew upon a philosophy of government that stated powers not delegated belonged, or better, are reserved, for the people and the states. This included the incorporation of a bank which is not a delegated power given to government in the Constitution. Hamilton’s rebuttal can be seen in a letter to George Washington that argued for a broad interpretation of the Constitution on the grounds that it gave to the government delegated and implied powers. In essence, all powers deemed â€Å"necessary and proper† for the fulfillment of delegated duties are constitutional, like the incorporation of a bank. This became known as the elastic clause and would be applied in later debates over constitutional interpretation. Both parties reaction to the Constitutionality of a national bank show their contrasting beliefs in how the Constitution was to be interpreted. Proving to be a major point of contention between the developing sides, Federalists also called for an excise tax to be placed on distillers of alcohol. The Whiskey Rebellion was the inevitable consequence of the enactment of this tax. Hamilton argued in his efforts to suppress the Whiskey Boys that the people, in ratifying the Constitution, had given the central governme nt the power to tax for the purpose of paying off debts and providing for the nation’s defense. Since the Constitution had not been amended contrary to those powers Hamilton believed that President Washington had been justified in levying the tax and the Whiskey Rebellion was therefore an unjustified rebellion that needed to be put down by the central government. The Republicans, highly suspicious of taxation as the American colonists had once been, did not believe the excise tax to be constitutional and celebrated the Whiskey Rebellion as an act of protecting rights against an abusive government action. The people had to be the safeguard of the new Republic. The Federalist political cartoon Mad Tom in a Rage portrayed Thomas Jefferson as a liquor soaked anarchist aided by the devil in order to bring the government down. The reactions to the Whiskey Rebellion reflect how the Federalists and Republicans differed in their interpretation of the Constitution. In social philosophy, the two politicians articulated their party’s disagreement over foreign policy concerns regarding the â€Å"revolution† in France. When the French Revolution grew to its most radical peak the Federalists reacted with horror as citizens overthrew the aristocracy. In launching the New Ship of State Hamilton said he did not see the French Revolution as comparable to the American Revolution and doubted if a â€Å"free and good government† was likely to result from the war in France. Thomas Jefferson’s response was to stress the potential outcome of the Revolution, how it would benefit the whole of mankind, meaning the common man, and how this result could only be won with the spilling of blood, thereby justifying the excesses of violence in the name of republicanism. Many Republicans even imitated French Jacobins in dress and in speaking. As tension in Europe grew Federalists favored an alliance with Great Britain while Republicans generally favored a greater alliance to the French. Jay’s Treaty was generally seen as a Hamiltonian move to increase the likelihood of a political relationship with Britain over one with France. The difference between the Federalist and Republican social philosophies regarding foreign relations is most easily seen among Hamilton and Jefferson’s different reactions to the French Revolution. When the Federalists tried to silence the Republican opposition the result was the vastly unpopular Alien and Sedition Acts passed under the Federalist presidency of John Adams. The Alien Act ordered all foreigners considered dangerous to leave the United States. As a result many Republicans found much of its support grew within the nation. The Sedition Act Read That if any person shall write, print, utter, or publish.scandalous and malicious writings against the government of the United St atessuch person shall be punished. The Sedition Act convicted ten men most of whom were Republicans news editors criticizing the Federal government. The Republicans interpreted these laws as an attempt to destroy them and violate the principles of free speech. They fought back with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions. The Virginia Resolution pointed out how the Acts violated the rights of free speech protected in the Constitution. Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolution argued the state’s compact (or state’s right) theory that acts by the central government could be nullified by the sovereign states if deemed unconstitutional as the Resolution so deemed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The resolutions nullified the laws and contributed to the rise of Republicanism and the fall of Federalism. The controversial issue contributed largely to the Federalist party’s defeat in  the presidential election of 1800. The differing opinions on how the government in the post-Revolutionary war period should be run ultimately created the first rise in political parties. The Federalist belief in a government run by wealthy men and opposing Republican support for an agrarian society split the nations’ people in support of a government most beneficial to them. Differing reactions to the French Revolution showed the distinct difference in Federalist and Republican over foreign policy. The National Bank an d the excise tax on liquor revealed differing views on how strictly the Constitution should be interpreted and the Alien and Sedition Acts reveal an attempt of one party to dissolve another. The contrasting views of Hamilton’s Federalism and Jefferson’s Republicanism were the ultimate contributors to splitting the nation on views of government and establishing the first political parties.

Biochemical Importance of Water

Biochemical Importance of Water Water is often referred to as the universal solvent and without there would be no life on this planet. Its involvement is extensive from cellular processes in organism to providing a habitat for life. In this essay I will examine the reason for waters properties and how its properties allow for its vast involvement. A water molecule is comprised of 2 hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom. The oxygen forms 4 sp3 hybrid orbitals resulting in a tetrahedral shape. The sp3 hybrid orbitals come about from the overlap of the 2s orbital and the 2px, 2py and 2pz orbitals of the oxygen. Two of these hybrids then overlap with the 1s orbital of the hydrogens resulting in two covalent bonds. The other orbitals are occupied by the 2 lone pairs on the oxygen. The VSEPR (valence shell electron pair repulsion) theory states that electrons repel each other and as a result of this the electrons that surround an atom spatially arrange themselves maximising the distance between one another in the effort to reduce this repulsive effect1. However, lone pairs have a greater repulsive effect than valence electrons which results in the distortion of the angle by effecting the positions of the other electrons; this property accounts for waters shape being bent rather than tetrahedral and having a bond angle of 104.5Â ° rather than a tetrahedral angle of 109.5Â °1. Waters polar nature is contingent upon the difference in the electronegativities of its atoms. Oxygen has a greater electronegativity than hydrogen resulting in oxygen having a bigger pull on the electrons than the hydrogen. The result of this is an inductive effect where the electrons in the covalent bond being drawn closer to the oxygen. As a result of the inductive effect, the oxygen has a partial negative charge (ÃŽ ´-) while the hydrogens possess a partial positive charge (ÃŽ ´+) producing a polar substance. Waters polar nature allows for the formation of hydrogen bonds between one another. The partially positive hydrogen of one atom forms a hydrogen bond with partially negative oxygen of another water molecule. The partial charges on the atoms that make up water allow it to act as a solvent for ionic or polar substances. In the case of ions, the water can break bonds between one another to form ion-dipole bonds as well as dipole-dipole bonds5. The charge of the ion attracts the opposite charge on the water and is surrounded by the solvent molecules forming either one or more hydration shells. Certain biological molecules possess both polar and non polar regions. The polar regions are said to be hydrophilic and will interact with the solvent through hydrogen bonding. The non polar regions are unable to form hydrogen bonds with the water and therefore are unable to interact with it. The water is said to have a hydrophobic effect2 upon these non polar molecules as they interfere with the hydrogen bonding between water molecules. These biological molecules position themselves so that the orientation of the hydrophilic head faces outwards into the solvent while the hydrophobic tail points inwards away from the solvent. Examples of this process would be the micelles, which position themselves so that they form globules and bilayers where they position themselves so that there are two layers of hydrophilic heads pointing outwards into the solvent on either side with the tails conjugating in between. The bond strength of hydrogen is weak comparatively, it is approximately 20 kJ mol-1 compared to 460 kJ mol-1 for the covalent bond between the oxygen and the hydrogen3. Although hydrogen bonds are weak individually they have a cumulative effect. Due to the vast number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds in water, water has a high specific heat capacity for its molecular weight (4.18 J K-1 g-1)5 meaning waters able to absorb a substantially high value for heat and as a result the temperature increase is minimal4. This is what makes water an effective temperature buffer. Water spreads the energy from the thermal increase across the entirety of its system; this is the reasoning behind why water is used by organisms to regulate their temperature. Sweat is comprised of water and salt, due to waters high specific heat capacity it requires a lot of energy to evaporate the sweet off the body6. The thermal energy generated by the body is used to evaporate the sweat which in turn cools the body down. This principle also explains why water can exist in liquid forms and allows for the existence of oceans, lakes, etc. Waters existence as a liquid is vital to existence of life. Osmosis is the movement of water from a region of high concentration to an area of low concentration through a semi permeable membrane. If animal cells were surrounded by an aqueous environment which differs in water potential from their own it could result in cell shrinkage or bursting. In an effort to prevent this, the cells are immersed in an aqueous solution with a similar osmotic potential to that in the cell (isotonic). An example of where osmosis plays a large part in biology is in homeostasis. Water regulation in the body is controlled by the osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus of the brain. The low levels of water in the blood cause these cells to shrink due to osmosis; this causes neurosecretory cells to release the hormone ADH (anti-diuretic hormone)7. Controlling the levels of ADH controls the permeability of the collecting duct, in the liver, to water and thereby controlling the levels of water in the blood and subsequently the body. Each water molecule forms four hydrogen bonds with 4 other water molecules. Although these water molecules dont stay constantly bonded to each other, reorienting every 10-12 s 3, the extensive network of these bonds results in a large cohesive force holding water together. This is vital for the role water plays for transpiration in plants. When water evaporates and leaves through the stomata a water gradient causes the water to be pulled up the xylem. The water molecules above drag the ones below it due the bonds between them. Waters adhesive properties also play a role in this as it gives water the ability to overcome the gravitational force acting upon it through the adhesion between the water and the cell walls in the xylem. Water is used inside complex organisms to break down macromolecules into their sub units. One of the hydrogens of the water is added to one substituent while the hydroxyl group in water is added to the other sub unit. This process is therefore known as hydrolysis. This is important in terms of converting long term storage of carbohydrates, such as glycogen in the body and starch in plants, into short term carbohydrates used in metabolism. The reverse of this process is known as dehydration. When monomers come together to form polymers, the hydroxyl of one and the hydrogen of the other leave giving rise to a polymer. An example of this would be the reaction between amino acids to form proteins, the hydrogen on the amine group and the hydroxyl group of the carboxyl group on the other. Water plays a role in respiration; it cleaves a phosphate off ATP, energy currency of cells, to give ADP and energy for respiration. Waters is produced from the combining of hydrogen ions, electrons and oxygen in oxidative phosphorylation. The significance of this is, the formation of water allows the process to continue7; if water didnt form then cell death would follow. For instance, cyanide inhibits the formation of water from oxidative phosphorylation7. In photosynthesis, water replenishes the electrons lost by the reaction centre. The hydrogen ions of water pass through the channel in the stalk particle providing the energy for phosphorylation of ADP to ATP. The oxygen that is left combines with another to form O2 and is used in cellular respiration. Water contributes to buffering changes in pH in organisms. It combines with carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid. The carbonic acid dissociates into hydrogen ions and bicarbonate. All these processes are reversible in both directions. This allows it to act as a buffer. If the pH increases the carbon dioxide and water react to form carbonic acid which, in turn, dissociates to release hydrogen ions, which decrease the pH, and bicarbonate6. The reverse occurs for a decrease in pH. In conclusion, the significant processes that water is involved in are due to its polarity and its ability to form hydrogen bonds.