The History of Maize from the New World to Africa Essay

The History of Maize from the New World to Africa - Essay Example At present efforts are being made in order to increase Africa’s annual local production and at the same time reduce their importation rates since corn is considered to be one of the most important food sources for the people. The History of Maize from the New World to Africa Maize (Zea mays, L.) or more popularly known around the world as corn, is a cereal crop that originated from the New World, now known as the Americas. It is a tall, annual grass, from the family Gramineae, where other important monocot cereal crops such as wheat and rice also belong (Warman, 2003). It is considered to be one of the earliest grains that were borne out of human genetic manipulation, and its high yield was one of the factors that strengthened the early agricultural societies harvesting this crop (McCann, 2005). All of the numerous uses for corn owe it to its high starch content, which can range from being cooked and served as a major carbohydrate source in every meal, to being ground into flo ur for making chips and bread, to sweets such as desserts or as sources of sweetening agents, and even alcoholic drinks like beer, thus corn shows the flexibility of its products (Warman, 2003). Also, corn is known to have small amounts of minerals such as calcium and iron, even higher than in other cultivated cereals, which adds to the crop’s high carbohydrate content and subsequently, its nutritional value (Mboya, et al., 2011). It is through the wide variety of products that can be made out of corn and rather high nutritional value that made it acceptable in many countries, and its worldwide distribution a success. Among the many areas that have come to learn about planting and harvesting corn, as well as creating a culture that highly utilizes it is Africa, where it was introduced during the time when the Portuguese were still in the process of exploring the New World, as well as beginning to enter into the slave trading business (Maddison, 2007). Starting from a few seed s, the local farmers were able to grow various varieties as well as developing the crops to contain some characteristics that were deemed important, such as having attributes that were similar with locally-grown sorghum (La Fleur, 2012). This initiated a wide acceptance of Africans to a corn corn-cultivating culture and makes it one of their most important staple crops as of date. Thus, the introduction of maize, a New World crop into the African continent and culture was brought upon by the colonial rule of the Portuguese in Southern Africa around the 1500’s, and the successful propagation of the crop in the continent created an economic boost that brought up the culture of planting and consuming maize across Africa, which remains very much alive even today. Origins of the Maize Unlike other grains and cereals which were originally bred from wild ancestors and have undergone minimal changes, the appearance of the maize or corn plant and its cob has been the product of the de liberate intervention of man in its evolution. It is hypothesized that the corn has no wild ancestor, and it has been extinct long before its cultivation began.

Business Capstone Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Capstone - Assignment Example Tesco is therefore large grocery retail, with thousands of stores distributed in more than 13 countries Role of Tesco’s Vision, Mission and Stakeholders A firm’s vision and mission statements play an important role in developing consumer royalty (Besanko et al, 2009). Tesco’s vision statement reads â€Å"Our vision is for Tesco to be most highly valued by the customers we serve, the communities in which we operate, our loyal and committed staff and our shareholders; to be a growth company; a modern and innovative company and winning locally, applying our skills globally† while the vision statement reads â€Å"creating value for customers, to earn their lifetime loyalty.† Clearly, the vision and mission statements of Tesco focus more on the target market and not the products. They focus on the benefits that the customers are going to derive from the company and its products. Besanko et al (2009) argues that such statements highly touch on the emotion s of the consumers. Consequently, they contribute to building of loyalty among the consumers of the firm’s products. ... This helped the company to expand internationally. Also, the firm changed its strategies to focus on technology under Leahys leadership, which has marked a lot of success. The employees of this company have also contributed to the development of consumer loyalty by being hard working and always being positive to customers. Macro Environment The environmental or external factors that affect the decisions taken by Tesco are grouped into six categories as discussed below: Political factors The current political issue affecting Tesco are the changes in corporate tax rate. The government of UK announced in the 2012 budget that it would reduce corporate tax by 1% for two consecutive years (2012 and 2013) from 24% to 22% (Tesco, 2012a). This will save this company a lot of funds and make it more financially stable. Economic factors The major economic issues affecting Tesco currently are high unemployment causing a reduction in aggregate consumption. This has further restricted the growth of this company in UK (Tesco, 2012a). Social factors The main social issue affecting Tesco currently is the change in consumers’ lifestyle, leading to a change in tastes and preferences. Tesco has responded to this by developing a new product range called â€Å"Clubcard† in order to suit different customer groups with different preferences (Tesco, 2012a). Technological Technology has a huge impact on the way business enterprises in all industries operate in the recent years. It has been playing as big role in shaping consumer spending habits. The internet, in particular, has opened a channel through which enterprises in the food retail industry distribute their products to customers (Tesco, 2012a). The new technology has also led to the introduction of self-service checkouts in the food

Colin Powell :: essays research papers

My Written Report is a Short Biography of Colin Luther Powell. He was born on May 5, 1937 in Presbyterian Hospital. He was born, and grew up, in the South Bronx, New York. There was a big influence of drugs and gangs where Powell lived but, he seemed to steer away from all of that (source 1, page 23). Powell's parents were immigrants from Jamaica. His mother's name is Muad Ariel McKoy. In Jamaica the McKoy fammily watched over sugar plantations. She came to America with her mother (Colin's grandmother). Powell's father's name is Luther Theophilus Powell. In Jamaica the Powell families were peasant farmers. Muad and Luther while in New York not in Jamaica (source 1, page 20, 21). Colin Powell is a smart man. Surprisingly when he was in fourth grade he was in the slow class. When he attended Junior High School, he went to an all male school. He did well academically but he was over looked by his parents because his sister, Marilyn Powell, always did better. He attended Morris High Scho ol in 1950. He was good in high school; he never got into any fights or any sort of trouble. He completed High school in 1954 (source 1, page 29, 30, 32). Powell applied to two colleges City College of New York (CCNY) and New York University (NYU). Both accepted him but he went to CCNY because it only ten dollars a semester as opposed to seven hundred and fifty dollars a semester at NYU. Powell majored in Engendering. He finished college in 1958 (source 1 pages 32, 36). While in college Powell joined the Recruit Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Powell said he joined ROTC because of the discipline and "The sense of comradery among a group of young men who were similarly motivated. Maybe it was the uniform." Another reason he said he joined is because of the association with the military [source 2 (interview page 1) (biography page 1)]. While Powell was in ROTC, he was in the Pershing Rifles. The Pershing Rifles showed that a cadet was more serious about ROTC than a regular ca det. The Pershing Rifles had to stay in ROTC their whole college career. They were distinguished through a yellow wrap worn on their right shoulder (source 1, page 40). In 1987 Powell was the Nation Security Advisor to Ronald Regan. Two years later in 1989 he became the first black officer and the youngest officer to hold the nation's highest military office, the Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Leadership in organizations Essay

Leadership is a term with a variety of definitions depending on the context that it’s been defined. One common definition of leadership is â€Å"the behavior of an individual directing the activities of a group toward a shared goal.† The following paragraphs would elaborate on one major approach of studying leadership, its strengths and weakness, and an example in which it was used in an organization. (Yukl, 2010) Participative Leadership style Participative Leadership is the most common leadership style in business settings such as hospitality. Participative Leadership â€Å"involves all members of a team in identifying essential goals and developing procedures or strategies to reach those goals.† It is also known as democratic leadership. In which the leaders often provide guidance to the group. There is active involvement on the part of everyone on the team. It also expands the range of possibilities for the team. (Yukl, 2010) Strengths of Participative Leadership Some advantages of participative leadership involve acceptance, morale, creativity and retention. Participative leadership allows employees to readily accept policies because they were involved the policy change, development one way, or the other. Morale of employees remains high because they feel that they are part of the team. It also helps bring a lot of creativity and creative ideas to the team. (Yukl, 2010) Weaknesses of Participative Leadership One potential disadvantage of participate leadership is the time factor. This leadership style does often involve the need for more time before action is taken. The disadvantages or weaknesses of participative leaderships are fewer than its advantages. Mostly employees are confused, with too much responsibilities and little guidance from management. There is room for major errors that can affect the organization at large. This  leads to lower performance, high employee turnover, customer dissatisfaction and decreased profitability. (Yu kl, 2010) Organization Example: Arizona Biltmore One example of participative leadership is at the front desk department of the Arizona Biltmore. Front Desk Agents are often involved in policies that pertain to the front desk. For example agents are given authority to resolve guest issues by rewarding them with dollar amount credit up to $100.00 based on the issue. Anything over $100.00 needs to be approved by a manager. In addition, employees are encouraged with incentives on room up sells. Thus, this motivates employee morale, brings about creativity with new ideas to improve their performance. On busy days the front office manager is at the front desk working with employees to assist guests. There is active involvement with everyone on the team. One disadvantage that applies to this organization example is there are too many responsibilities for employees and little guidance. Sometimes when agents need a manager to be around with an unresolved guest issue, the manager is not around. Therefore, this type of behavior motivates guests to give negative ratings on line about service or give positive rating if their problems are resolved. Participative Leadership has its advantages and disadvantages, and would determine an organization’s improvement or downfall if used wisely. (Yukl, 2010) References Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in Organization (7th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

Daimler s Corporate Social Responsibility - 1617 Words

Daimler’s Corporate Social Responsibility Efforts Introduction Daimler Daimler, an automobile company founded in 1998 and headquartered in Germany is the owner of Mercedes-Benz, one of the most recognizable car brands in the world. Daimler is a Fortune 500 company and produces an array of luxury automobile products including, but not limited to, cars, trucks, motorhomes, and buses. Mercedes-Benz and Daimler products are recognized and driven around the world. Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, is an initiative companies voluntarily take part in to give back to the local and global community. There are numerous domains of corporate social responsibility, such as environmental conservation and sustainability, diversity and equal employment opportunity, and volunteer service projects and charitable giving. The number of companies embracing the practice of corporate social responsibility has increased in recent years, as the public has formulated higher expectations that companies act responsibly. Numerous companies have given in to this pressure and have adopted policies to show the public that they value the different domains of CSR. However, despite this attempt to become more socially responsible, companies may excel in some areas while they lag in others, leading to a mixture of both positive and negative CSR within the same company. Daimler is one company that has both positive and negative CSR practices, with the company leading byShow MoreRelatedDaimler s Corporate Social Responsibility1428 Words   |  6 PagesDaimler’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Efforts Introduction Daimler, an automobile company headquartered in Germany is the owner of Mercedes-Benz, one of the most recognizable car brands in the world. The firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility is discussed in this report. Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility is an initiative companies voluntarily follow to give back to the local and global community. CSR includes such causes as environmental conservation andRead MoreCsr And Ethical Errors : Violation Of The Clean Air Act ( Caa )1301 Words   |  6 Pageson-board diagnostic systems on approximately 1200,000. Bribery Charges: (2010) Daimler AG, manufacturer of Mercedes cars and trucks, was another company dealing with fallout from violations of the U.S Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in 2010. The allegations included, a brand new armored S-class Mercedes given by the company to Turkmenistan s authoritarian government official as a birthday present. 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As a company Daimler, has four core objectives: technology leadership and innovation, delighted customers, best teams (regarding diversity of gender, nationality and age), and profitable growth. Additionally, Daimler has outlined four strategic areas of growth which are strengthening the coreRead MoreMercedes Benz - Corporate Strategy in Emerging Markets6322 Words   |  26 PagesMERCEDES-BENZ CORPORATE STRATEGY IN EMERGING MARKETS Submitted for: BMA5013 Corporate Strategy, Prof. Sai Yayavaram Submitted by: Pia Rauch Akhil Singhania Ayush Trivedi Jaime Garriga Beloso Là ¼thje Brandt Submission date: 04/11/2011 MERCEDES-BENZ – CORPORATE STRATEGY IN EMERGING MARKETS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8 GLOBAL HISTORY................................................................................................................. 1 MERCEDES-BENZ IN INDIA .............Read MoreCompetition and Business Unit Strategy: Walmart and Tesco2824 Words   |  11 Pagesvalue and to keep and support those businesses that it can help succeed. Furthermore, the corporation develops new policies for managing its existing businesses so that the benefit from belonging to Calder increases. The major and necessary task of corporate management in a multi-business firm is managing its set of business units to increase sustainable overall economic performance relative to other investment opportunities. Perhaps the best-known framework for characterizing relationships among theRead MoreTesla Ford s Influence On American Innovation Essay1567 Words   |  7 PagesUCLA Extension Abstract Tesla Motors was established in 2003 by entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Today, Tesla Motors provides power train components for car producers, including Daimler and Toyota, designs and manufactures Model S, the first world ‘s premium zero-emission sedan that became the third best-selling all-electric car in the U.S. The company is worth more than $25 billion and has one of the highest growth rate in U.S. This success of the company is contributedRead MoreA Brief Note On International Business And The Multinational Enterprise1895 Words   |  8 Pages STUDENT ID: S00801773 International Business the Multinational Enterprise INB 430 Movement of Daimler AG in India Word Count: 1460 Contents Introduction 3 Barriers in Globalization 3 Movement to foreign market 5 Global Strategic Partnership 6 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction Moving to new country is never easy for any organization and lot of brainstorming and research needs to be done beforeRead MoreStrategic Marketing Planning For Mercedes Benz2745 Words   |  11 Pagesactivities of the company. 4. Findings 4.1 Business description of Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz was founded in 1886 by Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz in Germany. They invented the first automobile in the world and the company still has an important influence on today’s mobility and innovation of automobiles. Mercedes-Benz is one of the various brands of the brand portfolio from Daimler. It also includes the brands: Smart, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, Seat, Fuso and Thomas Built Buses. Mercedes-BenzRead MoreMercedes Benz Organization Behavior Essay2124 Words   |  9 PagesPart A (Ari): Mercedes-Benz is a division of Daimler AG, manufacturing luxury vehicles, buses, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz organization has been around for well over a decade, submitting their first patent for the first car invented by the organization in 1886. Since the creation of the first car, Mercedes-Benz has set the pace for what all cars might someday become (M-BUSA). The companys first vehicle not only changed the way people moved about, but it also sparked a future of innovation

Analysis of Thomas Nagel´s Free Will - 941 Words

Thomas Nagel covers the issues of the purpose of humanity in his piece, â€Å"Free Will†. There are several topics that Nagel covers as he starts out hopeful of the idea of free will itself. Free will defined by Merriam Webster as freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention. All our lives we are taught that we do things on our own accord and that we have the right to choose the things that happen to us. He gives the example of choosing between a peach and some cake. This, actually, is not a real example of free will, but rather personal preference that has been predetermined from our upbringing, the environment we are placed in and even and even genetics. I could choose the peach because I know that my predetermined genes will eventually make me into a diabetic so I want to stay as healthy as I can. That in itself does not give me a very wide scope of choices, but more or less narrows it. As he goes on, he explains that w e all want to think that we have â€Å"free will†. We want to think that we have our own choices and the ability to drive our own lives at our own expense. Yet, when it comes down to it, that is not the case at all. According to his take on it, nothing would be able to be predicted about the future if there was such a thing as free will. A simpler way to look at it is the discussion we had towards the very beginning of the course. We discussed how everything seems to come from something, so how can something comeShow MoreRelatedFunctionalism Of Sociology And Social Anthropology Essay3360 Words   |  14 PagesIN SOCIOLOGY In sociology and social anthropology the term functional analysis is used not only in the mathematical sense, where a function expresses a correspondence between two variables such that the second, or dependent, variable is said to be a function of the first, or the independent variable. Sociologists, of course, like all scientists, are interested in establishing such dependencies. The term functional analysis in their work also has a special connotation similar to the use of theRead MoreHow Does Plato s Allegory Of The Cave Illuminate The Value Of Philosophy?1915 Words   |  8 Pagesconstruct an example of each). Describe what fallacies are, and give examples of the most prominent ones. How does Plato s Allegory of the Cave illuminate the value of philosophy? To begin, it is important to understand and analyze what philosophy is and ultimately what a philosophical question is. Philosophy is a quest after knowledge. Philosophy is the action of thought and analysis, in fact, it is a pretty unique type of thought system. It is here that you begin to find the fundamental differencesRead MoreHumanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management5779 Words   |  24 PagesDublin Recommended Citation Scholten, K., Sharkey Scott, P., Fynes, B. Le)agility in humanitarian aid (NGO) supply International Journal of Physical Distribution Logistics Management Volume: 40 Issue: 8/9 2010 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Management at ARROW@DIT. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by an authorized administrator of ARROW@DIT. For more information, please contact yvonne.desmond@dit.ie. (Le)Agility in Humanitarian Aid SupplyRead MoreFreshwater Mussel and Water Quality: a Review of the Effects of Hydrologic and Instream Habitat Alterations9693 Words   |  39 PagesProceedings of the First Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society Symposium, 1999, pages 261-274  © 2000 Ohio Biological Survey Freshwater mussels and water quality: A review of the effects of hydrologic and instream habitat alterations G. Thomas Watters1 Ohio Biological Survey and Aquatic Ecology Laboratory; 1315 Kinnear Road, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43212 ABSTRACT: Hydraulic impacts represent a suite of habitat alterations that, although having different causes, often have similarRead MoreFactors Affecting Consumer Choice of Mobile Phones: Two Studies from Finland8854 Words   |  36 Pageson consumers’ possible future needs and thus companies that best hunch the technologies and services of future will be the leaders in the discipline (for discussion of technology push see, e.g., Brown, 1991; Hamel and Prahalad, 1991; Kumar, 1997; Nagel, 2003). Karjaluoto et al. 61 The telecommunications sector has been struggling over the past years, not only due to high prices companies paid for UMTS licenses but also due to the global economic downturn. Although the mobile phone handset marketRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pageselements, universals, and gods; the analysis of patterns of reasoning and argument; the nature of the good life and the importance of understanding and knowledge in order to pursue it; the explication of the concept of justice, and its relation to various political systems[8]. In this period the crucial features of the philosophical method were established: a critical approach to received or established views, and the appeal to reason and argumentation. [pic] [pic] St. Thomas Aquinas [edit] Medieval philosophyRead MoreOrganizational Behaviour Analysis28615 Words   |  115 PagesORGANISATIONAL ANALYSIS: Notes and essays for the workshop to be held on 15th - 16th Novemeber 2007 at The Marriot Hotel Slough Berkshire SL3 8PT Dr. Lesley Prince, C.Psychol., AFBPsS University of Birmingham November 2007  © Dr. Lesley Prince 2007. Organisational Analysis: Notes and Essays Page i Page ii Please do not attempt to eat these notes. CONTENTS Introduction to the Workshop Topics And Themes The Nature and Scope of Organisation Theory Levels of Analysis The MetaphoricalRead MoreTorts study notes Essay17110 Words   |  69 Pagesunappreciative of the actual content of Calabresi’s analysis. In 1971 and 1972, Posner published his own first torts articles.37 Interpreting the negligence concept in light of Judge Hand’s formula, the 1972 article set forth and elaborated on Posner’s view that tort doctrines one-by-one are generally impressive in the economic logic they contain.38 Posner, then, was the first to explain and commend the common law of personal injury torts in the terms of economic analysis.39 He has in turn been followed by wavesRead MoreExistentialism vs Essentialism23287 Words   |  94 Pagesas a free amp; responsible agent, determining their own development through acts of the will. Existentialism * is a philosophical term which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives. Existentialism asserts that â€Å"existence precedes essence,† which is in opposition to the classical doctrine that â€Å"essence precedes existence.† The claim â€Å"existence precedes essence† is a rejection of the idea that human nature has an end or goal. In this sense, humans are free to

Homer s The Odyssey And Virgil s ÂŹ The Aeneid - 1295 Words

Homer’s The Odyssey and Virgil’s  ¬The Aeneid are both epic poems chronicling the travels and trials of their respective heroes. Though both stories deal with the fates of their leading men, Homer employs the use of hubris with his protagonist, Odysseus, while Virgil utilizes the trait of pietas with his protagonist, Aeneas. A comparative analysis of the heroes in their reactions to the mythical creatures they encounter, their relationships with the women they love, and their ultimate purposes in seeking passage to the underworld demonstrate the differences in their fatal character flaws. In both The Odyssey and The Aeneid, the heroes are on separate journeys to ultimately find their home. Odysseus is returning after a long war, while Aeneas is seeking to establish Rome. Along the way, both men engage in various battles, but their responses to the conflicts they face show a clear separation in the way these great men think and behave. Odysseus is a head-strong, nearly reckless leader whose excessive pride, or hubris, gets his men involved in many scrapes that cost valuable lives. Such is the case in Odysseus’ dealings with Polyphemus, the Cyclops. His men insist that they load animals aboard the ship and flee to safety, away from the land of giants (Homer 9.241-246). Instead of following the advice of his crewmen, Odysseus admits, â€Å"Ah, / how sound that was! Yet I refused. I wished / to see the caveman, what he had to offer –† (9.247-249). Even though he knows that setting