International Business Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Business Practices - Essay Example The penetration of the company into the global market is facilitated by its market entry strategy which is licensing. When deciding to expand its market, Coca-cola sells a domestic firm the right to use the company's manufacturing process, trademark patent, trade secret, and other item of value for a fee or royalty. The organizational structure of Coca-cola is highly decentralized. The company does this by "cutting half of the staff at its Atlanta headquarters and moving the regional chieftains closer to their local market" (Organizational Structure 2003). This management structure is observed throughout the firm's international operation. In India, the managers have been given the authority to implement decision within their scope of responsibility. This type of organizational structure supports the primary market entry strategy of Coca-cola as discussed above. Since licensing involves little contact and interference with the licensee, the decentralized organizational structure is very conducive to Coca-cola. Dell, Inc. is one of the largest personal computer manufacturers in the world. The company was able establish in the global IT industry because of its very efficient market entry strategy. In capturing foreign markets, Dell directly invest in a country by developing foreign-based assembly or manufacturing facility.

Todays Justice System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Todays Justice System - Essay Example However, there is no denying the fact that justice also happens to be a highly subjective concept, which is often susceptible to diverse interpretations. What may seem just to a person or a group may sound unjust or partial to many other. In that context, it will be interesting to have a look into the concept of justice as per Confucius, Machiavelli and Lao-tzu, to facilitate a bit better understanding of the contemporary justice system. The Confucian concept of justice is woven around the notion of 'gong', which if roughly translated means 'impartiality' (Cleary, 2000). Hence, Confucian dogmas strongly instruct the state and the justice system to resolve and solve the social conflicts and differences without resorting to any sort or form of discrimination or partiality. According to Confucius, the overall sense of direction and moral health of any society depends on the extent to which virtue and uprightness manage to permeate the social, commercial and personal spheres of life (Cleary, 2000). Therefore, the people only tend to develop a strong affinity with propriety if there prevails a sense of justice in any society. ... Therefore, the people only tend to develop a strong affinity with propriety if there prevails a sense of justice in any society. It is understood that justice to Confucius meant absolute fairness and total absence of any sort of favoritism. Thus, in the given context, the fair and equitable distribution and allocation of national resources and opportunities of growth constitute an integral part of the Confucian concept of justice (Cleary, 2000). Confucius favored a concept of justice that distinctly favored the marginalized and weaker sections of the society and ensured their well being and safety. Contrary to Confucius, the Machiavellian concept of justice is blatantly opportunistic. Machiavelli holds that the means are always subservient to the ends (Machiavelli, 1984). Thus, the direct premise of this line of reasoning is that the state or the political authority can resort to any line of action while dispensing justice, provide the delivered verdict or conclusion aid and abets the political authority in achieving its coveted and vested aims and objectives (Machiavelli, 1984). Therefore, according to the Machiavellian notion of justice, justice does not happen to be a means to disseminate a sense of fairness in the society, but a tool to further the interests of those in power. Justice merely dwindles to being a convenient tool rather then being an exalted institution and a reliable pillar of social stability. To Machiavelli, virtue and fairness meant any thing that furthered the narrow interests of the state (Machiavelli, 1984). In the Machiavellian concept of justice, pre servation and protection of the realm takes preponderance over everything else.Lao-Tzu's concept

Barilla’s manufacturing Essay Example for Free

Barilla’s manufacturing Essay Manufacturing: Barilla has 25 plants, including large flour mills, pasta plants, and fresh bread, as well as plants producing specialty products. Raw materials, in the manufacturing process, were transformed to packaged pasta on fully-automated 120 meter long production lines. The plants were specialized by the type of pasta they would produce, with the primary distinction based on the composition of the pasta, e.g. dry or fresh pasta, pasta with or without eggs and spinach. Also, even within the same family of pasta products, individual products were assigned to plants based on the size and shape of the pasta. The manufacturing process at Barilla was very precise, and required tight heat and humidity specifications in the pasta dry process, so as to keep the changeover cost low and quality high. Distribution: Barilla divided its products into â€Å"dry† and â€Å"fresh† product categories and maintained a different distribution system for the two categories. The dry products category includes dry pasta and longer shelf-life bakery products, whereas, the fresh products category includes fresh pasta products (with 21-day shelf life) and fresh bread (with one-day shelf life). Barilla had two central distribution centers (CDC) to which the products shipped from the plants. The fresh products were then purchased from these CDC’s by independent agents who then channeled the products through 70 regional warehouses located throughout Italy. From the CDC’s approximately 65% of the dry products went to the supermarkets, 70% of these (65% of dry products) went to super market chains, whereas, the remaining 30% went to independent super markets. The remaining 35% of dry products were distributed from the CDC’s to Barilla’s internally owned regional warehouses, which then distributed them to small  independent shops – Signora Maria Shops. Dry products destined for supermarket chains were distributed from the CDC to the chain’s own distribution organization, known as Grande Distribuzione (GD). While those destined for independent supermarkets were distributed from the CDC to a distributor known as Distribuzione Organizzata (DO), which acted as a centralized buying organization for a large number of independent supermarkets. The CDCs held a month’s inventory for dry products, and 3 days for fresh products. The GD, DO and the internally owned regional warehouses (for Signora Maria shops) held a two-week supply for Barilla’s dry products. The following figure (Figure 1) shows an illustration of Barilla’s distribution system for dry products: Figure 1: Barillas Distribution Network for Dry Products What is the problem faced by Barilla? What do you think are the factors causing this problem? Barilla’s pasta supply chain suffers from classic bullwhip-effect problem. It has been experiencing large amounts of variability in demand resulting in operational inefficiency and increased manufacturing, inventory, and distribution costs. The underlying factors of the fluctuating demand include Barilla’s sales strategy relying heavily on the use of promotions in the form of price, transportation and volume discounts; sales representatives being rewarded based on the amount of product sold to distributors, which led to sales representatives trying to push product to the distributors during promotions, decreasing the ability to accurately forecast sales; the distributors having full control over their orders leading to gaming behaviors; and the lack of a computer forecasting system at the distributor level. Describe the solution proposed by Brando Vitali. Why do you think this would help alleviate the problem? Brando Vitali suggested the implementation of a Just-In-Time Distribution  (JITD) strategy, which is essentially the Vendor Management Inventory (VMI) strategy. Barilla will be in charge of the channel between the CDCs and the distributor and decide on the timing and size of shipments to its distributors. Thus, unlike traditional supply chains in which distributors place orders and manufacturers try to satisfy these orders as much as possible, in JITD Barillas own logistics organization would specify the appropriate delivery quantities – those that will more effectively meet the end customer’s needs yet would also more evenly distribute the workload on Barilla’s manufacturing and logistics system. If implemented, Barilla can make better delivery decisions and improve its demand forecasts, be more effective in meeting end-customers needs, and more evenly distribute the workload on its manufacturing and logistics systems. Also, the inventory levels at CDCs will a lso be reduced. What conflicts or barriers internal to Barilla does the JITD program create? What causes these conflicts? How should Giorgio Maggiali deal with these internal conflicts? The main resistance internal to Barilla was from the sales and marketing functions, which Barilla, until now, has relied upon for its success. The sales representatives feared reduction in both their responsibilities and bonuses due to a flatted sales level. The marketing people also feared a reduction in responsibilities as trade promotions would be difficult to run with a JITD strategy. There were also concerns about inability to adjust shipments quickly to stock outs, lack of infrastructure to handle JITD, vague cost benefits, and increased competitor shelf space at distributors. I think Maggiali should demonstrate that JITD benefits not just Barilla, but also the distributors. He should run experiments at one or more distributor sites and prove his case. Also, Maggiali should encourage the marketing and sales people to look at the overall benefit to the supply chain. By getting the top management involved, by effectively advocating the benefits for the entire supply chain, and by removing the obstacles of sales incentives and reduced responsibility, Maggiali can effectively deal with this problem and get JITD implemented. How do you think a typical Barilla customer would respond to JITD? Why? How would you convince the customer that the JITD program was worth trying? If you are not able to sway the customer, what alternatives would you suggest to combat some of the difficulties that Barilla’s operating system faces? I think a typical Barilla customer, if explained to properly, should be able to comprehend the benefits associated with JITD for the entire supply chain. I would convince the customer by mentioning the benefits of the JITD in removing the bullwhip effect. I would point out the fact that they would actually be reducing their costs significantly because Barilla would be responsible for monitoring and replenishing their inventories when levels are low. Moreover, the reduced inventory levels would also save them the cost for both inventories and space. If however, I am not able to convince the customers, I will try other modes, in my capability, to effectively respond to the fluctuating demand. For this purposes, I would either reduce the varieties of products being offered which will reduce the need to have so many different inventories and SKU for both customers and Barilla. I could also try implementing the Just-In-Time (lean production) approach for Barillas manufacturing processes – processes which are internal and Barilla has full control over.

Supply Chain Management Case Study: Turkish Airline

Supply Chain Management Case Study: Turkish Airline At present, many companies are usually seeing their profits and income slip through their fingers as result of the of process gaps existing in various departments. As clienteles, staffs, partners or dealers move through a companys business processes, new publically conscious tools can inhibit them from getting stuck in multifaceted processes. Therefore, there is a need for synchronizing and integrating various processes which include; operation process, market process, production and procurement process. If not, a lack of synchronization and integration of various business processes can deny many of the vital benefits resulting from employing commercial process management and business instructions management or any other solutions that guarantee operational competence and efficiency. Before looking at how Turkish airline can Synchronize and integrate operation process, market process, production and procurement process, there is a need for defining what is meant by each of the processes; Marketing process This is the marketing model that any company must find a way to realizeunsatisfiedconsumer needs and bring to market goods and services that fulfill those desires. The procedure of doing so can be exhibited in a series of steps that ensure unsatisfied consumers fulfill their desires. Operational processes These are the processes that ensure consistenttactic to all activities accomplished. There is no anycompany that can afford several ways to undertake activities, nor can it afford extraopenings to encouragedisaster from lack of documented and well-definedoperational process. Production process Production process is focused with transmuting a variety of inputs into yields that are essentialto the market. All production process encompasses a sequence of networks in a production chain. In every stage, value is added during production process. Procurement process This is a process thataida firm in acquiring goods and services from peripheral dealers. Having looked at the meaning of operation process, market process, production and procurement process, it is very clear that all this processes are very vital in the operation of any organization. Therefore, Turkish airline can Synchronize and integrate these processes in the following ways: In order for Turkish airline to Synchronize and integrate these processes at the correct time at the right place at the right quintets, so they can shrink the cost and upsurge customer services fulfillment simultaneously, they need to do matching. Matching is the process of collecting and relating all the similar activities in the organization. Through matching process, Turkish airline will be able to synchronize and integrate all the company processes. This will be done by putting all the related activities in every process then relate them. This will ensure employing a certain group of workers to work in those clustered processes from different departments (processes) in the company. This will help Turkish airline save a lot of money due to the reduction in the number of employees. This is because; one employee can work in different department within the same airline. Apart from synchronizing Market, operation, production and procurement processes, integration process would be very important integration in order to reduce operation cost and increase customer satisfaction. Integration, in Turkish airline, can be done by investigating affiliations across a corporate compendium in order to formtaxonomiesand unifyprocesses into a standardized system. To do this, it will include both merging and matching methods. Through integration, processes within the airline which are closely related will be unified thus forming one standardized system. This will help in saving time in saving customers, lower operation cost due to reduction in the number of employees and also be able to increase customers satisfaction due to the existence of a standardized system of operation. Outsource the Catering Since Turkish airline is a very big airline, it must outsource some services like catering because this is the service that requires a lot of working strategies. Turkish airline should therefore identify large company of caterers who have their in-house experts for nearly everything that is required to done in catering department in Turkish airline. It would be a way forward for Turkish airline to hire outside experts for special catering services that are required in order to cater for various kinds of the customers travelling in Turkish airline. By employing this catering company, the Turkish airline should divide the kind of miles to be offered to the travellers travelling in Turkish airline. This will ensure that customer only chose their preferred meal from the available set of food items and drinks available for every type of schedule. This will ensure that there is catering services for breakfast, lunch and dinner which will depend on the schedule of the airline. In doing this, Turkish airline will be able to save a lot of money by ensuring only food items prepared are suitable a certain type of travel schedule. It will also avoid inconvenience of the customers ordering something which is not available. Also, this will increase customer satisfactions since customers will be choosing items available in the menu for a certain schedule of the airline. This will help market Turkish airline since customers will be satisfied by the services being offered by the Turkish airline. This will therefore increase the number of returning customers and also help Turkish airline attract other new customers through the good thing being said by the old customers of Turkish airline. Supply Chain Management Supply chain management means the oversight of information, finances and materials as they shift in a procedure from the supplier to the manufacturer to the wholesaler to the retailer and to consumers. Supply chain management engrosses integrating and coordinating the flows both among and within companies. It is believed that, the final goal of all efficient supply chain management systems is to lower inventory, with the presumption that, all products are readily available when they are needed. Supply chain management surge can be subdivided into three key flows: The information flow The product flow The finances flow Products flow involves the faction of goods from the supplier to the customer, and all customers returns or service necessities. The data flow involves conveying orders as well as updating the delivery status. The financial flows consist of payment schedules, title and consignment ownership and credit terms provisions. There exist two key types of supply chain management software: execution applications and planning applications. Planning applications make use of advanced algorithms to examine the most appropriate means to fill orders. Execution applications pursue the physical characteristics of goods, materials management, and the financial information engrossing entire parties. Some supply chain management applications are focused on open information models, which support the distribution of information both outside and inside the enterprise. This is known as the comprehensive enterprise, and may include main suppliers, end customers and manufacturers of a particular company. This shared information might reside in variedÂÂ  data warehouses or database systems at several different companies and sites. By giving out the data upstream with the companys suppliers and the downstream with the companys clients, supply chain management applications have the capability to upgrade the market-to-time products, allow all parties and reduce costs in the supply chain management to better manage the current resources as well as plan for future necessities. Supply Chain In early 2008 AMR Research (2008b) reported that, firms in the Supply Chain Top 25 reported an average total stock market return for 2007 of 17.89%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) had average returns of 6.43% and the SP 500 index had average returns of 3.53% during the same period (Hauser 2010, 446-462). At the time the Supply Chain Top 25 included firms in the computer, electronics, automotive, retail, beverage, health care, apparel, and pharmaceutical industries, indicating a widespread recognition of the value of effective supply chain practices. Later in 2008, when the stock markets were down substantially, the Supply Chain Top 25 was down significantly less than the DJIA and SP 500 indices (Hambrick 2009, 193-206). But it is not all good news for firms participating in supply chains. The downside of ineffective supply chain practices can have a substantial negative effect on firm performance as well. In a study of supply chain glitches, Holbrook (2007) found that when publically traded firms experienced supply chain disruptions, the average abnormal financial returns to firms over the subsequent two year period was close to -40%, and the equity risk of the firms increased at the same time. But supply chain problems are not limited to supply disruptions. Being introduced the design for the new 787 Dreamliner several years ago, but has had numerous production problems with supply availability, collaborative design and development challenges, and problems developing new materials for production (Holbrook 2007, 21-71). In a different industry, Ericsson experienced a supplier problem when a small fire eliminated supply of a critical cell phone chip, and the firm never recovered (Hauser 2010, 446-462). There are many examples of how firms have suffered from ineffective management of supply chains, but regardless of the specific causes firms recognize that mere participation in competitive supply chains does not mean the firm will gain potential benefits. These issues present a conundrum: why do some firms gain significant advantage for supply chains, while others do not and may even underperform relative to their competition? Why is this important? Because planning and implementing effective supply chain practices requires managers to make decisions today that affect how well firms will perform in the future, and the costs of poor decisions today have dramatic effects on future firm performance (Harland 2003, 51-62). Supply chain analysis Why do some firms achieve success with their supply chain practices while others underperform to their potential? One potential answer to this puzzle lies in understanding the difference between the breadth of an overall supply chain versus the effective span of control or influence that a firm has on its particular supply chain, and how the span of influence can be used to competitive advantage. For example, Toyota and Wal-Mart have worked to extend their span of control in supply chains beyond their immediate suppliers while working to implement strategic information systems that provide increased visibility of information in their supply chains to help improve flow of product, reduce inventories, and reduce overall supply chain costs (Hambrick 2009, 193-206). This increased visibility also provides early warning of problems that may be developing in the supply chain, providing additional reaction time that may mean the difference between a supply disruption and effective performance. The value of increased visibility has strategic benefits to firms. Some firms, particularly large firms that have the power of high purchase volumes to induce suppliers to participate in supply chain initiatives may do very well in return. But there are limits on span of control in multi-firm relationships and many firms do not achieve the ability to increase their span of control and leverage in supply chains (Habib 2007, 589-606). If a firm has a low-cost strategy, then the firm should optimize and coordinate the supply chain by having frequent and timely deliveries from suppliers to reduce the required level of inventory and achieve low cost. There are two types of generic strategies to achieve a competitive advantage: low-cost and differentiation strategies. A low-cost strategy enables a firm to design and produce a product more efficiently than its competitors. A differentiation strategy allows a firm to offer a variety of products to the customer with reliability and responsive services (Gutman 2002, 60-72). Functional products which are considered to have stable and predictable demand require an efficient process (efficient chains) to supply that product. On the other hand, innovative products which are considered to have unpredictable demand require a responsive supply chain. This match between product type and supply chain strategy will result in a better profit margin for the organization. An efficient supply chain strategy aims at cutting cost and eliminating non-value activities (Gordon 2007, 396-415). A responsive supply chain strategy tends to focus on being flexible and responsive to changes in customers demand. An agile supply chain strategy combines both risk-hedging and responsive supply chain strategies. In other words, it aims at being flexible and responsive to customers while pooling and sharing resources among suppliers (Glazer 2006, 1-19). Effective Supply Chain Span of Control What happens when a firms effective span of control in a supply chain is less that the span of the total supply chain? If the firm cannot see problems that occur beyond its supply chain span of control, the unforeseen problems can affect business continuity and supply chain performance with no prior warning. The Ericsson example above, where the customer was not aware of the extensive contamination of the chip production plant that resulted in months of delays, is but one example. And increased visibility is not a panacea. In 2003, When Apple was planning to launch its G5 computer using chips from IBM, the launch was delayed by a multi-state power outage because Apple was using a single source strategy in its supply chain for the CPU processor chip (Ghoshal 2007, 425-440). These issues of visibility, control, and coordination all fall under the realm of SCD. They require investments in developing specific capabilities that substitute for the internal control that would be available through vertical integration (Ganesan 2007, 1-19). This observation suggests that superior SCD provides another potential answer to the puzzle of why some firms performance better than others through the use of effective supply chain strategies. This leads to a discussion of SCD (Galunic 2010, 215-255). Capabilities As previously noted, when firms develop specific capabilities in supply chains these capabilities influence how the supply chain performs. Thus, once a capability is implemented it changes the behavior of the system. When the underlying behavior of a organizational system is systematically influenced, it is said to have properties that are identified with that behavior (Christopher 2007, 1-10). For example, firms develop capabilities to improve responsiveness in uncertain environments, and once successfully implemented these firms are said to have agility. Agility is one of many properties that have been identified in supply chains, as noted below. To build on this introduction to properties the discussion turns to defining the term properties and then examples of properties are provided within a supply chain context (Child 2005, 1-22). Supply Chain Relationship Structure Costs and benefits In choosing an SCRS, for every benefit there is a corresponding cost. With a modular SCRS, the expected increase in flexibility and responsiveness comes at the cost of more relationships to manage, more suppliers to qualify, more inter-firm interface standards to define/gain acceptance, and a spread of purchase volume commitments to more than one company, resulting in lower purchase volume leverage. For a firm employing a modular SCRS, the benefits of lower switching costs and responsiveness are traded-off by lower visibility to identify potential problems and the loss of lower total system costs that are available through more extensive coordination and communication practices (Holbrook 2007, 21-71). For an integrated SCRS, the advantages of higher visibility, improved coordination, lower inventories, and lower system cost come at the expense of investments in more integrated information systems, more human capital to maintain closer relationships, and lower flexibility and higher switching costs during dynamic competitive environments. When relationships are switched in an integrated SCRS, the new relationships and integrated processes have to be integrated over time, increasing investments in new suppliers and increasing human capital to aid in the transition. In addition, if a firm over-invests in a relationship, it negates some of the performance benefits, particularly financial performance (Harland 2003, 51-62). If a firm under-invests, it loses some of the potential benefits. Thus there are trade-offs that firms must consider between increased coordination and investment, and between control versus flexibility during environmental change. These SCRS-related costs and benefits need to be placed in the context of a firms desired strategic outcome.

Parthenogenesis Essay -- Asexual Reproduction, Honeybees

Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction found most commonly in lower organisms and plants. Sometimes known as virgin birth, parthenogenesis, involves the growth of an individual without fertilization. Discovered in the 18th century by naturalist and philosopher, Charles Bonnet, parthenogenesis is a progressive evolutionary strategy that some organisms have employed to maintain a colony. Just as there are benefits to organisms that utilize parthenogenesis, like reproduction without the need of male gametes, there are costs, such as a decrease in genetic variation. In the intricate eusocial organization of honeybees, there are three social classes –queen bee, worker bees and drone bees. The queen bee, as the name entails, holds the superior position in the colony. The queen bee lays all the eggs in the colony, being the only bee with a set of completely developed ovaries and having life-long fertility (Back Yard Beekeepers Association n.d.). After only one mating flight were the queen mates with a couple male drone bees, she stores the sperm to later fertilizes some of the eggs. The eggs that get fertilized develop into female worker bees and the eggs that develop without fertilization produce male drone bees. Due to the high maintenance of both the colony and its products, i.e. honey, most of the bees in a hive are female worker bees. These worker bees carry on a magnitude of different tasks, not including reproduction, which is reserved only for the queen. The male drone bees are reserved for mating with the queen bee. Following copula tion, the drone dies because of their barbed sex organ (Back Yard Beekeepers Association n.d.). Scientists have been puzzled at how this multifaceted organization is maintained bu... ...nd genetic factors play a part in sex-determination (Slobodchikoff and Daly 1971). However in some other hymenopterans, parthenogenesis occurs via thelytoky parthenogenesis. There is a subspecies of honeybee, the Cape bee (Apis mellifera capensis), which is known to exhibit thelytoky, the production of diploid females from unfertilized eggs, eliminating the paternal genome (Heimpel and de Boer 2008). In the case of the Cape bee, the queen bee determines whether the eggs are haploid or diploid (Oldroyd et al. 2008). By thelytoky parthenogenesis, the Cape queen be can produce clones of herself (Oldroyd et al. 2008). Undergoing a different form of parthenogenesis gives Cape bees the advantage of creating males that could mate with other queens (Oldroyd et al. 2008), involving one individual for reproduction, and a decrease in gene loss (Slobodchikoff and Daly 1971).

Egalitarianism and the Cash Economy among the Central Kalahari San Essa

Egalitarianism and the Cash Economy among the Central Kalahari San Jiro Tanaka’s research on the Central Kalahari San explored the changes in the San society and determined the overall effects on the culture. Tanaka looked at a group of people who had recently switched from a hunting and gathering existence to a more sedentary way of life. She found that though there were differences in the everyday lives of the San, they were able to preserve their language, cultural identity, and egalitarian ideals. Tanaka attributes the changes in the San society to influences by the government and Christian missionaries in the 1970s. Tanaka’s research, which occurred in the 1980s, found that the San’s views on labor, the way goods were given and received, and their value system had altered as a result of their contact with outside groups. The groups promoting these changes were attempting to modernize the San. The various groups in the Central Kalahari began to lead sedentary lifestyles built around villages which included schools, medical facilities, a permanent water supply, and agricultural systems. The changes in the San society were far reaching. Sedentary living meant that higher concentrations of people were living in smaller areas, and the gatherers soon found the plant resources almost depleted in the area around the settlement. In addition, collective equestrian hunting gained prominence over solo bow-and-arrow hunting. Though some families have been successful at livestock raising and cultivation of crops, Tanaka found that these are not significant contributors to the economy of the San. The idea of a dominant cash economy was completely new to the San. Before the 1980s, they had only traded on a sm... ...bility to reproduce themselves as a society while limiting the accumulation of wealth and power" (1993:174). Thus, like Tanaka, Lee believes that though they have altered their lifestyle, the Dobe have not abandoned their fundamental ideal of egalitarianism. They have managed to assert some control over the degree to which their society is modernizing. The analyses formed by Lee and Tanaka leads one to question to role of the hunter-gatherer society in the present mindset of those who study these cultures. Do we feel as if modernization de-romanticizes our conception of hunter-gather societies? Is it possible that groups are happier in with their new lifestyles? Is it possible for us to decide what is best for these groups? Was change inevitable? These are just some of the questions which come to mind when exploring the changes in different cultural groups.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

â€Å"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness† is the cornerstone of our nations Declaration of Independence. When considering this quote and identifying an individual or group of individuals who have continued to pursue this belief in the twentieth century and beyond, one must consider the name Cesar Chavez and the organization, The United Farm Workers, he was so instrumental in its formation, as being synonymous with this phrase. (U. S. Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776))Cesar Estrada Chavez was born March 31, 1927 on a small farm near Yuma, Arizona that his grandfather had homesteaded during the 1880's. Chavez was the second born of six children to Librado and Juana Chavez. At age 7 Cesar began school, but found it very difficult due to the fact that his family only spoke Spanish. Chavez preferred to learn from his uncles and grandparents who would read to him in Spanish and additionally he learned many things from his mother who believed that violence and selfis hness were wrong and stressed this with all her children.In the 1930's, at age 10, Chavez was forced to begin his life as a migrant farm worker when his father lost the land homesteaded by his grandfather during the Great Depression. These were bitterly poor times for the Chavez family and together with thousands of other displaced families, they migrated throughout the Southwestern United States, laboring in the fields and vineyards. Cesar in an effort to help support his parents and brothers and sisters dropped out of school after the eighth grade. (www. clnet. ucla. edu) At the age of 18, Chavez joined the U. S.Navy and served in the western Pacific front during the end of World War II. In 1948, Cesar married Helen Fabela, who he had met while working the vineyards in Delano, they later settled in the East San Jose barrio of Sal Si Puedes, where Chavez later authored a book entitled â€Å"Sal Si Puedes (Escape If You Can)†. Following his return from serving in the U. S. Na vy and his marriage to Helen, he returned to the fields as a migrant farm laborer, but he began to fight for change. That same year, 1948, Cesar took part in his first of many strikes in protest of low wages and poor working conditions.However, within several days the workers were forced back to the fields. In 1952, Chavez met Fred Ross, who was an organizer for a group known as the Community Service Organization (CSO), which was a barrio-based self-help group that was sponsored by a Chicago-based group which had been formed by Saul Alinsky called the Industrial Area Foundation. Chavez soon became a full-time organizer with CSO, coordinating and spearheading voter registration drives, battling racial and economic discrimination against Hispanic residents, and organizing new CSO chapters across California and Arizona.Chavez became the national director of CSO in the late 1950's and early 1960's, but his dream was to create an organization to help farm workers whose suffering he not o nly empathized with, but had shared and endured. After approximately 10 years of acting as the national director and continuing to organize Hispanic's throughout California and Arizona for the CSO, Chavez resigned his paid position, the first regular paying full-time job he had since being discharged from the Navy, as he was unable to convince the CSO to commit itself solely to farm worker organizing.Following his resignation he moved his wife and 8 children back to Delano, California where he became a full-time organizer of farm workers and founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) , and this newly founded organization grew rapidly. (www. clnet. ucla. edu) In 1965 the NFWA, headed by Chavez, began a boycott of grape growers in Delano, California, which lasted some 5 years. In 1966, during this boycott, Chavez led his followers on a 340 mile march to the state capitol in Sacramento, California to bring the plight of the farm workers to national attention.The march started with only 75 workers and supporters and the rally ended in Sacramento with over 10,000 people on the capitol steps. That same year Schenley Vineyards was the first grower to negotiate this nation's union contract with a farm union, the NFWA. In 1966, the NFWA merged with the mostly Filipino-American union, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee (AWOC) to form the United Farm Workers (UFW). As the strike continued and the story of the farm workers became more widely known in the United States and around the world, many Americans rallied to their cause and joined the boycott of all table grapes produced in the U.S.. By 1970 more than 65 percent of California grape growers had negotiated and signed labor contracts with the UFW. Also, to avoid a similar UFW boycott, many of the Salinas Valley lettuce and vegetable growers signed labor contracts with the Teamsters Union. In response to this Chavez and the UFW called for a boycott of lettuce and more than 10,000 farm workers in Ca lifornia's Central Coast went on strike. In 1972, as the UFW membership continued to grow and increase in numbers, the UFW became the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO.By 1979 the UFW had won pay increases for its members and had signed contracts with a significant number of growers of lettuce and other produce growing farms, and their membership grew to over 100,000. The UFW experienced numerous conflicts with the Teamsters Union which led to the murder of several UFW supporters. These events, coupled with the election, in California, of the Republican governor George Deukmejian whose administration supported the growers, led to many setbacks for the UFW movement as thousands of farm workers were fired, and their membership began to decline.From the mid 1980's through the early 1990's Chavez and the UFW continued their fight for improved conditions for farm workers. On April 23, 1993, Cesar Chavez died in his sleep at the home of a migrant farm worker in San Luis, Arizona. In commemoration of his life 35,000 mourners walked behind Chavez's casket during his funeral which was held 6 days after his death in Delano, California. In 1994, President Bill Clinton honored Cesar Chavez's fight for farm workers rights by awarding him the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.In his citation President Clinton praised Chavez for having â€Å"faced formidable, often violent opposition with dignity and nonviolence†. (www. ufw. org) Following his death, Chavez was succeeded as leader of the UFW by the veteran UFW organizer, Arturo S. Rodriguez. In 1994, in honor of Cesar Chavez, Rodriguez and his supporters retraced the steps of Chavez's historic march of 1966. By the time this commemorative march reached the steps of the state capitol in Sacramento it had amassed over 20,000 in UFW workers and supporters, thus marking the start of a new UFW campaign to unit, organize, and empower farm workers.This reinvigoration of the UFW movement has since si gned up more workers in California as well as Florida and the state of Washington. Since this rejuvenation of membership the UFW, in the early 21st century, has continued to fight for better wages, win better collective bargaining rights, and gain better housing and sanitation for its worker members as well as restrict the use of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and other dangerous pesticides which are commonly used by growers. Cesar Chavez, by his tenacity, drive, and personal efforts, left our world better than he found it, and his legacy inspires us still.He was for his own people, the farm worker, who labored in the fields and yearned for respect and self-sufficiency and who associated themselves and their hopes on this man who, with faith and discipline, soft spoken humility, and amazing inner strength, led a courageous life. Every day in California and in other states where farm workers are organizing, Cesar Chavez lives in their hearts and he lives wherever Americans far m workers, who he inspired, work nonviolently for social change. (www. ufw. org)