Blackberry Right Strategy Essay Example

Blackberry Right Strategy Essay The implementation of correct strategy in an organization is of vital importance. The reason for this is that strategy helps an organization to reach goals and it helps an organization to prosper. The correct Strategy and implementation also helps an organization to have a competitive advantage over its rivals. An organization with a competitive advantage can dictate terms to its rivals and can buy of niche markets supplying similar products. The aim of this assignment is to form an analysis of the strategic positioning of blackberry’s firm. This assignment will compare blackberry to its arch rivals and will review if blackberry’s performance is better than its rivals or not. We will also explain the reason behind the rebranding phase from the change of Research in motion to Blackberry. We will assess if we agree with the current strategies or not, and give a reason to why we think so. RESEARCH IN MOTION REBRANDS ITSELF AS BLACKBERRY CEO Thorsten Heins announced that his company will no longer be known as Research in Motion at a Blackberry event. He stated that it will be rebranded as â€Å"BLACKBERRY†. We have reinvented the company, and we want to represent this in our brand, Heins said. One brand. One promise. Our customers use a BlackBerry, our employees work for BlackBerry, and our shareholders are owners of BlackBerry. (Website 1). We will write a custom essay sample on Blackberry Right Strategy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Blackberry Right Strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Blackberry Right Strategy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Blackberry is also changing its stock symbols to reflect the change. It will be listed as BBRY in NASDAQ and BB in TSX. * It’s out with the old and in with the new as RIM rebrands itself with a new name, a new operating system and a new phone. It’s a bold step for a company that made several missteps after ruling the smartphone segment and believes it must start over from scratch with new products and a new brand. By changing its name and launching an excellent operating system that runs on impressive phones, BlackBerry is doing more than writing a new chapter. It’s starting a new book. The importance of this cannot be overstated as the company that once defined the smartphone segment struggles to remain relevant in the era of Google and Apple. Even though Blackberry is turning this new leaf through Rebranding they must not forget that whilst they were regrouping their competitors were constantly improving. Samsung and Apple in particular have become so dominant in the mobile industry. They managed to get into the cell phone industry through their Brand names Samsung and Apple which are world renown and very reliable products. Once in they took the world by storm by releasing A grade products in the Smartphone industry and have just made their Brands stronger. Blackberry needs to recognize their presence and start becoming much more innovative than they have been in the past. They need to ensure that they build a strong brand to compete and become better than the likes of Samsung and Apple. STRATEGIC POSITIONING OF BLACKBERRY Strategic positioning is the overall intended objectives and approach to a situation. Most business managers will carefully develop a well thought out strategic position and take considerable steps to communicate it to staff clearly so that all parts of the business can be operating towards the firms stated goals. Blackberry has to realise that they are competing in a high velocity market which is turbulent. What this means is that the technology is improving at such a rapid pace that they have to keep up to the pace otherwise they will fall back in the race to supremacy in the phenomenon of Smartphones. Short product life cycle poses a huge threat to Blackberry therefor in order to eliminate this demon they need to ensure that they constantly invest aggressively in Ramp;D to stay on the leading of technological know how (Corporate Strategy Notes, Tailoring Strategy to Fit Specific Industry and Company Situations, Page 4 of 8). At Present Blackberry is not doing so therefore their strategic position is unstable and they face the problem of falling behind their current rivals and new rivals. A case in point is Blackberry. Not so long ago, it was arguably the standard corporate accessory. If you were working for a blue chip multinational, chances are that a Blackberry phone was your standard issue kit. Now it’s very different. Apple’s iPhone has successfully made the transition from niche to mainstream use, while Samsung and other android mobile providers have developed feature-rich devices for non-Apple users. Blackberry got squeezed from both sides, and is now struggling to define its relevance. It recently launched its new product, the Z10, which at first glance could be mistaken for the iPhone. While it’s not easy for a brand to create a strong and differentiated competitive position in a crowded marketplace, that’s a more sustainable strategic alternative than either a) copying your competition or b) ignoring your competition in the hope that it will go away. As competitive positioning strategies go, this â€Å"head in the sand† approach is not only wishful thinking, but does nothing to build a brand’s credibility. Effective competitive positioning demands that you understand not only the real benefits your product offers to your customer base, but that you also understand and can articulate how those measure up against your competitors. Pretending they don’t exist gets you nowhere. The strategy chosen by Blackberry is dependent on situational factors and the direction the organizations owners wish to take. At present the situational factors include the threat and competition posed by Apple and Samsung in particular as they are emerging and improving day by day therefore Blackberry has to have the right strategy in order to keep up with them. Blackberry’s strategic position in the market is unstable at present because of the several external and internal forces being presented. The reason that we say it is unstable is because internally Blackberry is carrying out their strategies efficiently. That doesn’t mean that they are in a good place, because you can have Great Strategies, but they could be implemented poorly and in this case you can have mediocre strategies which are being implemented brilliantly. The efficient implementation masks that the strategy is mediocre but as we see in the performance of the product on a financial and technological level it does not live up to the standards in the competing smartphone industry. Therefore this is our core reason for saying that Blackberry’s strategic position is unstable. IF they don’t change their strategic position from being unstable to stable it may cause them to falter in years to come. If Blackberry releases a new line of Smartphones and they are a flop in the industry they will go from bad to worse and the consequence of that will result in the company losing lots of profit. If they do decide to formulate new strategies and implement them with efficiency it will result in them being able to compete in the market more fiercely and they would become much more financially and technologically stable. Whilst it is very easy of the tongue to say we are just going to adopt new strategies and succeed, we need to ensure we carry out Research and Development actions to ensure we obtain vital information to devise a plan of how we are going to go forward. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Research and Development departments are common in many larger companies, especially those working with newer products or technologies subject to important shifts. While research and development work can be instrumental in creating new products or adding features to old products, the work that the department does is more complex than simple innovation. Ramp;D is connected to marketing, cost management and other parts of business strategy. (Website 2) Blackberry has made a valiant effort with their Ramp;D department however it isn’t fully up to the standards of their competitors in the ndustry. This doesn’t mean that they are bad, their competitors are just on another level at present. More efficient Research and Development will ensure they get on par or even surpass the performance of their competitors. Blackberry has been good in the development phase as they have had their set norms being the Curve, Bold and Torch which they have developed and upgraded really well ov er the years. The curve has had the 8900 which was primarily 2G, however through development they now offer the 9380 which has a 2G-3G option and that is just focusing on one aspect. Others may include a slimmer phone, more user friendly buttons, variety of different colour options etc. This shows us that the Smartphone is constantly improving however it isn’t going that extra mile to ensure that they get a larger market share. A possible reason for this is that Blackberry is content with their profit as it stands and they do not want to risk investment being lost if they have a new proposition being a flop. The consequences of Risks are Rewards or Punishment and there is a very fine line between them. Blackberry has come out their shell in recent months with their release of the Q10 and Z10 Smartphones however it hasn’t really lifted off the ground very well. Sales are low and there consumers prefer the Apple iPhone or the Samsung S3 because they feel it is much easier to use and it has more to offer. The new release looks somewhat identical to the iPhone, some begin to think that Blackberry has adopted the strategy of copying the competition thinking that it may benefit them however the technology also has to match that of the iPhone, and so far it isn’t living up to those standards. Therefore Blackberry needs to go back to the drawing board and carry out thorough Research and Development programmes on how they really want to move forward because the Q10 and Z10 is more of a flop then a success as it stands. Even though the overall outlook on the new release is good, it still falls short of the standards of its competitors. Blackberry needs to find that cutting edge and decisive new form of technology that will allow them to compete up there with the likes of Samsung and Apple or even better them. For now they are just playing second fiddle and trying to catch up to the rapid pace that their competitors are moving at. The External Environment PORTER Porter’s 5 force analysis plays a vital role in how Blackberry goes about working around competition, and how they isolate competitive advantage or disadvantage of the company. It will also enable Blackberry to strategize accordingly to ensure they are up to standards in the market. 1. Competitive pressures associated with the market maneuvering and jockeying for buyer patronage that goes on among rival sellers in the industry†. The 1st Force enables for Blackberry to distinguish their Rival sellers in the industry and be able to release new cutting edge technology that is better than theirs in order for them to keep up to speed and stay ahead of the competition. 2. â€Å"Competitive pressures associated with the threat of new entrants into the market†. This Force enables Blackberry to realise that there is alwa ys the threat of new entrants in the market. To eliminate this pressure Blackberry always needs to have the latest technology to ensure that if new entrants emerge in the market with good technology they can compete with them or eliminate them instead of losing market share. 3. â€Å"Competitive pressures coming from the attempts of companies in other industries to win buyers over to their own substitute products†. The 3rd Force shows Blackberry that companies like Samsung and Apple who are generally associated with Tv’s and Ipod’s respectively in a totally different industry can come into the market with substitute products and compete with them. At present Samsung and Apple have first class products with the best technology and Blackberry is falling back very fast. This is a major area of concern and is an area where Blackberry needs to catch up with very fast or it will result in them soon being a midget in the market. 4. â€Å"Competitive pressures stemming from buyer bargaining power and seller-buyer collaboration†. From the 4th force Blackberry realise that it must have a good customer relationship in order for them to gain a bigger market share. Blackberry must allow the buyer some bargaining power otherwise the buyer will feel hard done by and may seek elsewhere. There must be a good level of collaboration between buyer and supplier that will ensure that Blackberry moves forward smoothly in the market. 5. â€Å"Competitive pressure stemming from supplier bargaining power and supplier-seller collaboration†. The 5th force shows Blackberry that they must have a good relationship with their suppliers in order to obtain their materials at good low prices. If the collaboration is good the result would be low production cost and higher profits. (Corporate Strategy Notes, Analysing the External Environment, Page 2 0f 6) GENERAL INDIRECT ENVIRONMENT (PESTEL) There are some factors that Blackberry has no control of in the external environment and they have to work around these problems. On the Political Sphere they are affected by the taxation policy which may ultimately affect their returns therefore they need to ensure that their profits are good and their tax is up to date which will enable them to be in the safe zone with the tax man. They have to also come to terms with the foreign tax regulations. The Economic sector is probably one of the most delicate. Changes in the economic sector have to be acted upon stealthily because it can affect the Blackberry in a big way. Inflation poses a big threat because with inflation comes higher cost for everything. Interest rates also play a major role. Social influence is a sector which Blackberry thrives on. The social sector includes lifestyle changes, levels of education, social mobility etc. The aim of Blackberry is to attract the masses with their product which will enable them to become more connected socially. Their Blackberry Messenger service does wonders in regard to this because it allows people to network at a high pace. The technological environment poses one of the biggest threats to Blackberry. As technology is rapidly improving it will be up to Blackberry to keep up with the pace, if not then they will lag behind and may suffer losses. They have no control over how fast technology improves therefore they will have to be on the ball. The Environmental sector includes waste disposal and energy consumption in connection with Blackberry. Blackberry needs to find the most efficient and green methods in manufacturing their product in order for them to save money and be safe in regard to the protection laws. Blackberry has to ensure at all times that they do not violate any labour laws and Employment laws. They must also make sure that they are keeping up to scratch with the Health and Safety Standards to ensure they don’t obtain any fines that would cause them loss of profit. (Strategic and Operations Management, Module 5, External Environment Assessment, General Indirect Environment, Page 23) SWOT ANALYSIS The purpose of the Swot analysis for Blackberry is to clearly identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is important for Blackberry to know where they stand and where they need to improve. Blackberry has various strengths in the industry. Their social networks are among the best out there and this is probably the only reason that Blackberry is surviving in the market. They need to continue using this as their major advantage over their rivals. At present Blackberry has a large consumer base because of its social network BBM, it enables people to network socially and for business. Blackberry need to continue enhancing the technology in this sphere to ensure they keep the market interested with the product. Another Strength of Blackberry is that they offer you a variety of phones to choose from, it isn’t as limited as to the likes of Samsung and Apple. This offers the customer a choice as to what they prefer, many may not like a specific design so they opt for something else and Blackberry has many choices to offer therefore this is a major strength for them. Blackberry has many weaknesses which they need to rectify in order to keep up to the likes of Samsung and Apple in the industry. Blackberry does not advertise as much as Samsung and Apple, this means that their rivals are getting much more exposure than them. They need to rectify this matter otherwise they will quickly lose market share and consumer base. They need to advertise on platforms like television, radio and billboards in busy areas in order to make customers aware of their product. Blackberry has a lot of software problems which need to be rectified. They don’t have many features as to the likes of Samsung and Apple, this means that they begin to lag behind the likes of their competitors. Therefore Blackberry needs to carry out Ramp;D programmes in order for them to come up to standards. There will always be opportunities for Blackberry in the market and they need to pounce on them in order to move forward consistently. Blackberry Applications are constantly improving and this forms a major opportunity for them as customers like good applications and with the improvement they can lure more customers in. Blackberry Pricing is becoming more and more affordable for the average man and this is a good opportunity for Blackberry to cut profits and lower prices in order to get a large customer. Threats are the major concern of Blackberry because this is what dictates how they perform in the market based on the performance of their competitors. The major threat comes from the likes of Samsung and Apple because of their ability to be innovative to the extremes and release cutting edge technology on a regular basis. This will cause Blackberry to seriously lag behind therefore it poses a major threat. RECCOMENDATIONS We recommend that Blackberry develops new strategies in order to compete strongly in the market again because as it stands with their current strategies they are fairly unstable and in huge trouble if they mess up the slightest bit. Blackberry needs to do more advertising compared to Samsung and Apple to ensure that they are able to compete in the industry strongly. They need to implement long term corporate strategies in order to better their strategic positions. They need to have excellent strategies and implement them accordingly in order to become a better company. Blackberry needs to do more market research on the external environment. As we know the external environment is uncontrollable however Blackberry must develop back up plans that will enable them to adapt to change accordingly in the external environment. They need to research and monitor the progress of their competitors in order to keep up to par or keep ahead of them in the technology sphere in order to claim a larger consumer base. Blackberry needs to carry out more thorough Ramp;D programmes in order for them to develop new cutting edge technology which they can offer to their consumers, they further need to incorporate many more features in the phone which will make consumers much more interested in the product. The prime reason that we do not agree with the current strategies of Blackberry is because with their current strategies their strategic position is very weak. In order to change this Blackberry needs to adopt all of the above in order to come up to scratch with their rivals. CONCLUSION We have come to a collective agreement that Blackberry is still a major force in the smartphone industry however they are beginning to fade because of the competition in the industry. Blackberry lacks a good decisive strategy in order to compete on the levels of Samsung and Blackberry. Their technology is good but it’s not the best. They are not able to keep up to the speed that technology is improving and this is causing them to fall behind very fast. More thorough Ramp;D programmes and better strategies will enable them to fight their way back into the market and will give them the opportunity to get on par with their competitors and even surpass them. If they decide to keep their current strategies they will face the consequence of losing their large consumer base which they have achieved with great difficulty. They will lose a massive market share to the likes of their rivals and new entrants into the smartphone industry. Their stock shares have dropped drastically over the last few months because their sales have dropped substantially and the release of their new phone Z10 has not lived up to their expectations. Therefore this will result in them further falling behind in the industry. Now it is up to their corporates to formulate and devise new strategies and implement them with efficiency in order to move forward.

last mohicans essays

last mohicans essays The French and Indian War of the eighteenth century had uniquely complex qualities, matched by the gravity of its outcome. The myriad of cultures involved the French, Canadian, American, English, Algonquians, and Iroquois whom make this era fascinating. The multi-ethnic element made it a war built upon fragile alliances, often undermined by factional disputes and shifting fortunes. Violent as it was, its battlefields encompassed some of the most beautiful country to be found anywhere. Its richness in diverse cultures, the severity of its bloody violence, and the beauty of its landscape, all combine to make this an era with great depth of interest. It is entertaining and educational to witness a re-enactment event of a historical film and novel called The Last of the Mohicans. In the wake of the 1992 debates about Columbus, the discovery of the Americas, and whether terms such as 'holocaust', 'genocide', and 'racism' should be applied to what happened to Native Americans, Michael Mann's film remake of James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans continues a process of historical erasure or forgetting that Cooper and his contemporaries began. The sentimental racism expressed in Cooper's novel involves the ideas of the auto-genocide of 'savagery' and the inevitable extinction of all Native Americans. Though Mann purported to take great pains in his film to be historically accurate, the film is only accurate in relation to trivial details. It thoroughly scrambles major aspects of Cooper's text, including converting the aging Natty Bumppo into a young sex symbol (Daniel Day-Lewis). More importantly, the film completely erases Cooper's sentimental racism by, for instance, turning Chingachgook rather than his son, Uncas, into the 'last' of his tribe, and t hereby overlooking the motif of the futureless child central to that racism. But in eliminating Cooper's racism, the film in a sense perfects the novel, because the sentimentalis...

Constractivisim Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Constractivisim - Essay Example The practice of constructing knowledge from experiences and ideas best describes constructivism. On the same note, assimilation and accommodation enhances the extent to which knowledge is constructed. It is important to note that different people have different internal representations that build diverse understanding of the world. In this respect, frameworks inform the understanding of the world differ from one person to another. The importance of this observation is that learn to create new experiences without altering their framework of understanding. This allows an individual to assimilate emerging experiences while capitalizing on what they already know. In addition, accommodation in the context of constructivism helps align reframed mental frameworks with new experiences and/or ideas (Fosnot, 2013). In so doing, individuals learn to construct knowledge from emerging trends in the world. Constructivism theory is an integral part of technological development. For example, programming languages are always changing. Such changes are subject to the influence of diverse and dynamic factors, but the common denominator is that they produce relevant knowledge that enhances the understanding of the world. Programming is notably an experience and the expression of an idea. On the same note, programming gives rise to new experiences and ideas that people choose to assimilate and/or accommodate. A key example in that regard is the use of Logo programming language, which Duffy and Jonassen (2013) essentially associate with constructivism. Most importantly, technology is a key tool in today’s instructional strategies. More and more academic institutions are increasingly embracing the use of educational technology. This shows that technology is an important factor in the construction of knowledge. Additionally, individual experiences and ideas, with assimilation and accommo dation, construct knowledge

Microcredit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microcredit - Essay Example From the research paper of Agnes Loteta Dimandja, the economical status of Africa and the status of the women of the region and the present situation of the country in context of the human rights of the women can be concisely understood. Statistics from IMF, World Bank and other institute revealed that the poorest person on the earth lives in the Sub-Saharan Africa and probably she is a woman. As per the current situation of the Africa, where the basic human right are being violated, women are denied their dignity. It has been observed that the women in these societies came to be some of the first victims of the ongoing situation of violence and this is because of their internal wars. Women in these nations are found to beg for peace as peace is something that should exist as the necessary condition for development. This picture depicts the dominated position of the African women (Dimandja, 2004). Niara Sudarkasa has conducted a study regarding the status of the women in the indigenous African Society. As per her view, in the African Societies the female and the male have been time and again described as the complementary and separate. Usually it has been seen that, whenever any writer compare female and male in Africa, in most of the occasions, they certify men with a higher status and to be in a better situation and the women are portrayed as a saddle in home and domesticity (Sudarkasa, 1986). Wail S. Hassan has discussed about the â€Å"Man & Masculinity† in his article â€Å"Gender (and) Imperialism†. In his article, he had added the view of Judith Butler, who argued that gender assumed normative masculinity which has balanced against the femininity interpreted as deviation. This normative masculinity declares itself in colonial dissertation. During that time, as per the Frantz Fanon and Cornel, the racial discourse has symbolized the

Background Of Nike Inc Commerce Essay

Background Of Nike Inc Commerce Essay This report is to identify and analyze as well evaluate Business ethics of Nike, Inc. Nike produces a wide range of sports equipment. Due to the volume and the market expanded for the products, Nike need to source for multiple manufacturers in different country in order to support its production. Herein, we will analyze ethical issues and dilemmas that Nikes International business operation had faced while manufacturing its goods in foreign lands. There are three ethical dilemmas been criticized towards Nike: sweatshop issue, child labour issue and discrimination issue. Besides that, we also will evaluate the ways Nike has dealt with those dilemmas. Nike had made six promises or initiatives to deal with their sweatshop and child labour issue, whereas compensation is used to solve the employees discrimination issue. This report as well covers the ethical best practices and values of Nike Inc. Nikes corporate social responsibilities and corporate governance will be discussed in details in order to evaluate the best practices and values that Nike had practiced. 1.1 Background of Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. is a worldwide American corporation, which focus in design, development, worldwide marketing and selling sports product. It was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight on January 25, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports, and officially known as Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1978. Nike is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area, United States. As of year 2012, Nike employed more than 44,000 people worldwide with an excess of US$24.1 billion in its fiscal year 2012 (ending May 31, 2012). Nikes brand alone is valued at US$10.7 billion making it the most valuable brand among other sports businesses (http://nikeinc.com/pages/history-heritage). 2.0 Nikes Ethical Dilemmas Nike has been accused for several ethical issues in developing and under developed economies, at sweatshops, hired child labour, and discrimination, which impacted their stakeholders. According to Freeman (1984), stakeholder is referring to any group or individual that can affect or is affected by how organisations carry its objectives (Crane and Matten, 2007). In order to reduce the impact to the stakeholders, Nike had tried to course correction and public relations as a measure to salvage the bad image generated by the accusation. According to Crane and Matten (2007), ethic is defined as pertaining or dealing with the study of morality and the reason that apply to elucidate specific rules and principles that determine the rightness and wrongness for certain action and the goodness and the badness of the motives for that situation or action. In this reports, three major ethical dilemmas will be analyze, child labour, sweatshops issue, discrimination issues. 2.1 Sweatshop / Poor Conditions of Working Environment Sweatshop also been known as sweat factory is refer to any working environment that is considered and negatively involved in poor, unacceptably difficult or dangerous situation that can harm the employees. Sweatshop workers worked for long hours and sometimes exceeding 14 hours daily with a pay below living wage. Nike were attacked for unethically took advantage of these labour markets. However, Nike has denied this claim many times, and expressed that they did not have any control over the factories. Nike factories in Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia and china been criticized due to the negative press are exposed to the public which been revealed from the interviews of factory workers interview, site visits and the protest by activist which showed is Nikes fault for allowing poor condition of working conditions are persist in these factories. According to ABC News, April 2010 in Vietnam, thousands of Nike factory workers went on strike due to poor working conditions and low wages. Beside that, workers were unable to leave the plant if they did not meet the quota or target before attempting to go home. All these showed Nike seriously committed to the violation of human rights. Thuyen Nguyen part of the Vietnam Labour Watch wrote one extreme situation documented in 1996, when 100 workers were forced kneel in the sun for an hour because one of the workers had spilled fruit on the alter. According to Vietnam Nike Fact Sheet (1996), 15 Vietnamese women workers told CBS News that they were hit over the head by their supervisor due to poor sewing. Two workers were sent to the hospital after the incident. Nikes CEO Phil Knight respond to above two incidents by minimized the first incident, stating incorrectly there were only one worker was truck on the arm. Besides that, fact sheet as well stated there were 45 women workers were forced by the Nike supervisors to kneel down with their hands up in the air for 25 minutes. Apart from that, Vietnam fact sheet as well stat ed that, Women workers form Nike factory told CBS News that they are forced to work overtime to meet a daily target which is set unrealistically high. Most workers at Vietnam Nike plants are forced to work exceeded 600 hours of overtime per year, and according to Vietnam Labour Law Article 69, the labour user and labourer are allow to work overtime, but it is limit to not more than four hours a day and not more than 200 hours per year. Nike factories in Vietnam are clear violation of this Article. In Vietnam case, workers are treated slavery, there are only 24 hours in a day but they have to spend 16 hours or more at work in order to keep a job, it is a complete denial of a right to life, or in other words is a human rights violation. Another case happened in International Womens Day of 1997, 56 women failed to wear the proper shoes into the Nike factory. In order to let they learn from their mistake through punishment, they were forced outside in the heat to run around the building . As a result of the punishment, many women fainted due to dehydration and spent the day in the hospital. This entire incident stated above was the physical abuse towards the workers. It is an embarrassment for Nike to have its image associated with sweatshops in Asia, the revelations is threatened to the sales of Nikes products. Sales were declining and Nike was being claimed by the media as a company who was willing to exploit workers and deprive them of the basic wage needed to sustain them in an effort in order to expand profits. 2.2 Child Labour Issue Another ethical major issue is child labour. Nike was labelled as forced children as slavery in hazardous working conditions for below-subsistence wages (Hill, 2009). According to Hill (2009), Nike was found for producing the popular Air Jordan sneakers using 11-year olds in Indonesia making 14 cents per hour. According to Hill (2009), a Nike factory which owed by Korean Subcontractor, hired children as young as 13 years old as workers for earning less than 10 cents per hour were required to work up to 17 hours a day without talking. Child labour is scattered all over Pakistan, but the greatest impact was on a north-western province called Sialkot. Sialkot is an important centre for the production of goods for export, especially sporting goods. Child labour exists in both the export and domestic sectors of the economy in Sialkot. In Pakistan, livelihood is difficult and many families had to push their children to employment. In year 1996, Life Magazine reported an article regarding the child labour in Nike Pakistan, this is when Nike was found hired children as their labour. The article included a photograph showed twelve years old boy, called Tariq was surrounded by the Nike soccer ball, which he spent most of a day to stitching together for the pay of 60 cents. When this photograph was exposed, activists all across Canada and United States were standing in front of Nike shop by holding up Tariqs photograph to pressure Nike to solve the problem. This had caused Nike faced ethical issue about its labour practice abroad, and as well faced to public relations impact which adversely affect their reputation and image. (http://www1.american.edu/ted/nike.htm). Nike factory in Pakistan, child labours were using in the production of soccer balls, more than 200 children some of which are as young as 4 or 5, involved in the process (Sengel, 2005). Children stitch soccer ball for only 60 cents an hour. According to 1.american.edu, Nikes entered in to the Pakistan markets was part of its long term strategic planning. Nike went into Pakistan, with having full knowledge of the favourable conditions prevailing in terms of child labour and has taken no precautions to prevent the use of child labour in the production of its soccer balls. Instead Nike has made a profit from their Pakistans contractor who has used bonded child labour in the production process. According to a Foulball campaign report, Nike has refused twice to have a check in their Saga-managed centre in Pakistan while conversely Nikes rival Reebok readily granted access to its Moltex-managed centre in Pakistan (http://www1.american.edu/ted/nike.htm). Several rumours come out regarding this matter, it let government have no choice to pressure Nike to look into and solve this problem. According to Teds case studies (1999), in Indonesian a 12 years old girl was working 70 hours a week, in an unhealthy environment plant making shoes for Nike. Nike is profiting from the cheap labour cost of production, due to the contracted factory is employing children to make the product. Nike ignored the laws that protecting the workers in prefer of cutting costs and lowering health standards. According to Cà ©sar Rodrà ­guez (2005), political leaders were bribed by factory supervisors in order to limit governmental interference. The leaders passed the messages to military and police units to overlook the conditions in factories so that the illegal environment could remain open and functioning. Leaders also were warned to watch for the signs of labour activists near the factories to prevent workers from aligning with activists for better conditions. 2.3 Discrimination Issue There was a court case on Nike discrimination issue in 2003 in Chicago. According to Barbara Rose the reporter to Chicago Tribune, 2003, this dilemma happened obviously, Nike Chicago was not complying with their matter of respect policy under the Nike code of ethics. Nike prohibited discrimination and harassment to happen, in order to prevent these situation happens, Nike provides employees with an effective complaint process. But, this court case has clearly showed that, there are not all the Nikes store is complying with their Code of Ethics. The plaintiffs of the case stated that African-American employees claimed that they are being segregated for poor treatment. The employees were alleged that Chicagos Nike had involved in discrimination issue that Nike segregated African-Americans into lower paying jobs such as stockroom or cashier positions. Besides that, African-Americans as well do not have opportunity to get promotion to sales position by failing to post job openings. Nike s store supervisor are only hired African-American into part-time rather than the full-time positions that can received better benefits, for example: health insurance and paid vacation, this condition of employment is vary than Caucasian staff. Caucasian staff was hired as full time staff which means they can get all the benefits of the company. Apart from this, African-American employees are subjected to searches when leaving the store, while Caucasian employees were free from such searches. According to the suit, work rules and regulations reg arding attendance, sick leave and employee discounts also were unequally applied. The area of the complaint is clear stated that this discrimination is the caused a hostile work environment. Nike Chicagos supervisor was not complying with the Nike code of ethics, under matter of respect policy. This dilemma leads to racial discrimination, which pressure the employee to sound out their rights by putting court case against Nike. Due to this is a sensitive issue, Nike was under the government pressure to settle this court case as fast as they could. 3.0 Action Taken By Nike to Deal with Ethical Dilemmas Ethical dilemmas faced by Nike is adversely impact their reputation and image. When reputation drop, sales as well will drop, due to customer will no longer confidence to Nikes products, and this will lead to financial impact to Nike. In order to overcome and solve to the ethical dilemmas that Nike had committed, Nike has come out the action to deal with the ethical dilemmas. 3.1 Ways Deal With Sweatshop According to the analysis in 2.1, Nike overseas contracted their works to foreign companies and therefore not under their direct supervision. However, when news about the harsh conditions was being revealed, actions were taken against Nike. According Global Exchange (2001), six promises were made by Nikes President, Phil Knight and Nike factories throughout the world were required to obey the rules (http://www.squidoo.com/nike-sweatshop-allegations). The first initiative is stop using the harmful chemical adhesive called toluene. Nike found toluene caused harmful effects to workers who are not properly guarded by wearing masks or gloves to prevent the poison and the fumes that it emits. To respond to this critic, Nike was able to create water-based adhesive athletic shoes, which has no such side effects. By this creation, Nike managed to establish a positive air quality control model for their competitors. Phil Knight also assured that Nike would continue with its research and ensure all Nike factories met United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards in indoor air quality. In order to assure this requirement, Nike stated that indoor air testing of all footwear factories and follow-up testing were required to conduct when necessary. These tests would be a climax in the final report that made by independent non-government organization (NGO). Nike were given three months of improvement or correction on the air quality levels from the date of the final report were made. Nike responded to the child labour ethical dilemma by practising the second initiative. Nike raised the minimum age of all footwear factories to 18 years old and raised the minimum age of apparel and equipment factories to 16 years old. Phil Knight reported that Nike has zero tolerance for underage labour, and there has never been a time in Nikes history where child labour has been a problem, as well that it really hasnt been a problem in the shoe industry as a whole (http://www.stanford.edu). In the third initiative, Nike is recognized the need for the independent monitoring of the manufacturing facilities. The monitoring system is a very important initiative; in the meantime it established a means of public accountability. By referring to immediately launching a structured monitoring system, Nike was implying that their current working conditions are sufficient. This initiative was improving and avoids the sweatshop condition which occurred in Nikes factories. By implemented this monitoring system, any of poor condition of working environment detected efficiently and the period take to solve the problem is shortened. Referring to 2.1 sweatshop issue which happened in Vietnam , 2003, this initiative practised by Nike factory and solve the sweatshop issue by paying the average wage of $54 a month; it is a three times the minimum for a state-owned enterprise. Nike job provide the benefit with a regular wage, with free or subsidized meals, free medical services and training as well as education. Better working conditions and higher pay lead the economic productivity been improved. According to Jakarta post (2011), Nike as well developing programs to train factorys manager cultural sensitivity as well as their leadership skills. To avoid any abusive treatment cases happen again, Nikes headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon has invested heavily in training managers and more closely monitoring their activities in the Nikes factories (Wright.S, 2011). The fourth and fifth initiatives are to improve and making positive contribution or offering benefits to employees. These initiatives are improving the Nike poor working conditions and child labour issue. Nike offered an educational program in the factories; including middle and high school equivalency course accessibility, as well as free class during non-working hours for all workers in Nike footwear factories. In these Initiatives, Nikes factories are encouraged to raise the pay of employees who complete the programme. Besides that, in Nikes fifth initiative, small business loan program provide funds to support thousand families each in the nations of Indonesia, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Thailand. This program provides loans to women who wish to create small businesses and as well support those unemployed women who can run small businesses that increase their familys economic well-being as well as subsidize to the societys overall development are the effort of this program. When the economics of families is increased, children will not need to work to earn living wage, therefore they can have better education. Finally, the sixth initiative is to support the independent research by sponsoring the university research or open forums to explore issues related to global manufacturing and reasonable business practices (Tim.c, 2001). Sponsorship made by Nike could increase their reputation and good image; it can be a method to release positive press which can please the public and stakeholders, so that the negative issue will be forgotten. By introducing and applying the six initiatives, Nike is practising descriptive stakeholder theory in their action taken. Descriptive stakeholder theory is defined as a company is trying to find out whether and how company actually do take into account stakeholder interest (Crane and Matten, 2007). From the six initiatives applied, Nike attempting to please their stakeholder by applying these initiatives, and it as well as guidelines to their management. Improvement can be seen, criticisms from the public is successful responded by these initiatives. Poor condition of working environment is closely monitored, low wages been raised, child labours been solved by providing benefits to employees, when a family income increased, children are not needed to work in order to earn living wage. Nike is aware to the ethical dilemmas they faced, and certainly precaution is developed to avoid such criticisms occur again. 3.2 Compensation The decision by paying compensation to the workers is one of the actions taken by Nike to solve their bad image that created to the public, they hope that by this case been settled, and the reputation of Nike could be increase. Nike has denied the accusation of discrimination issue in court. However, Nike settled the lawsuit by paying compensation amounted US $7.6 million. In addition, the settlement called to appoint a diversity consultant to ensure Nike Chicago complied with the consent decree. (David.S, 2007). Nike agreed in the settlement to improve their work force more tolerant and more diversity. For example: Nikes store in Chicago would need to have diversity consultant and all their supervisors and managers are required to train in diversity (Sachdev.A, 2007). By the agreement which Nike promised in the settlement, the discrimination issue and their business ethics been closely monitored. As a result, Nike can practised business ethically and convinced publics to trust their products again. 4.0 Nike Best Practices and Values Even though Nike have ethical dilemmas issue, but they all the while have practice their best practices and values in order to keep their corporate operating in good faith and as well provide positive contribution to the stakeholders and society. It is a duty for a corporation to contribute to society, best practices can in the form of charity, donation, sponsorship, and so on. With best practices, values can be added into the corporations reputation and image; it can increase the confidence and maintain the loyalty of the stakeholders toward the corporation. 4.1 Corporate Social Responsibilities Corporate social responsibilities (CSR) are the policy of the company itself to conduct social activities, such as donation, charity, sponsorship, community involvement, and protect of environment, to benefits their stakeholders. It is a process that a company makes positive contribution and impacts to the society to form a long term investment in a safer, better educated, more fairness community, which can create beneficial and stable circumstances to do business for the corporation (Crane and Matten, 2007). According to Nike annual report 2009, Nike is committed to CSR, they are driven to do not only is required by the law, but also what is expected of a leader. Donation is one of the Nikes compassion toward the society. Nike donated USD $1 million to the Lance Armstrong Foudation (LAF) on May 17, 2004. LAF and Nike were together launched the campaign of Wear Yellow Live Strong, to raise fund for LAFs backup support, education, public health and also their research Programs. Nike donations had led LAFs fund raised to additional millions of dollars through the sale of yellow wristbands. As of October 28, 2004, there are more than 20 million of wristbands being sold, this efforts benefits the LAF programs to help the people who living with cancer. Nike continued this contribution by carried out by selling the LIVESTRONG wristband in all the Nike stores and outlets. According to Crane and Matten, 2007, corporate social responsibility is differentiated into four aspects: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Nike is apply to philanthropic responsibilities by improving the education programs for the society community who with low income families. In April 2004, Nike is committed to Head Start, a National School Readiness Program that provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition and the services of parent involvement to the low income children and families. The contribution of USD $ 5.2 million from Nike has help Head Start Programs to provide a total of 2102 computers to reach thousands of kids and their families. Besides that, on Dec 14, 2004, Nike launched NikeGO Afterschool program associated with SPARK (Sports, Play and Active Recreation for Kids), this programs brings physical activity which including training and education plan. Nike as well donated the Nike products of equipment kits and other facilities to chi ldren age five to fourteen of the program. In order to expand the benefit to more community, Nike also launch the programs in a total of 42 sites in United States (http://www.knowmore.org). From Nike Sustainability report, Nike is trying to do their best in practice in how to doing the right thing and just and fair to all. When natural disaster happened, Nike expressed their sympathy by the helping communities who are affected by disaster with funding and product donations, in order to immediately replace what had been lost. However, Nike found that by donation, they did not always meet the needs of those affected at the right time or in the right ways. Nike had refine their approach, and they found that by supporting NGO partners, such as Mercy Corps and CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere), during the immediately consequences of a disaster through donation and supporting by Nikes employees who wanted to contribute to help the disaster victims. Nike as well concentrate in using the power of sport to assist young people who affected by natural disasters to overcome with the trauma of losing loved ones, their homes, their properties and sometimes even their communities. Moving Forward Program is created By Nike and NGO partners to overcome and help communities rebuild after the natural disaster. This program provided tools to teachers, trainers and parent to assist youth post-disaster through well-designed sports activities and counselling courses. This program as well has been implemented in many communities around the world, such as: Japan, China, Peru and Haiti. Nike is so passionate about the impact of the program and its adaptability that Nike has made it available online for any community or organization to practice. Besides that, Nikes employees who volunteer to involve in assisting to rebuild schools and community centres. For example, the earthquake happened in Haiti, January 2010, there are more than 1600 of Nike employees had made personal donations which totalled more than USD $170,000, after combined with Nike donation, the total of Haiti disaster relief was USD $450,000. Beside of this case, for Japan Tsunami in 201 1, Nike had contributed USD$1 million in cash and product in value of USD $250,000 to relief and rebuilding efforts to the disaster victims. From the CSR had done by Nike, Nike is applied to the Ethics of Duties. Ethics of Duties is defined as values judge by the morality issue no matter who is involved or profits and who is harmed by the principles (Crane and Matten, 2007). It is concerned with what people do, but not based on the consequences of their actions. Nike practiced CSR in their corporation is because there are doing the right thing, and also because its the right thing to do. Nike justify that CSR is an action by showing that it produced good consequences. 4.1 Corporate Governance Nike has made a commitment to improving business ethics by adhering to a Code of Ethics, which is a set of guidelines for worker health and safety, environmental responsibility, fair employment, and non-discrimination. Nike code of ethics for employees is called Inside the Lines; it is about the standards of conduct that Nike expect of all their employees. Nikes employees are required to verify that they have read and understand Inside the Lines annually (www.nikeresponsibility.com, 2011). Nike had set a global toll- free Alert Line for employees to report any suspected violations of the law or their code of ethics, all the details of the employees are confidential, this as well called as Whistle Blowing Act. Reported are not limited to any of the concerns around accounting, auditing or internal control are communicated to the Boards audit committee, which appropriate action is determined. This act is encouraged employee to be responsible to the company, by concern and aware what is actually happening in the company, and spelt out to the alert line in order to points out the violations, so that company will grow better and practised business ethics. Nike required the work-related activities of every employee must reflect the standards of honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness, fairness, and concern for others and responsibility. Nike expected employees to be sensitive to any situations that can badly impact Nikes reputation and are expected to use wise judgment and rational e in the way conduct business. This Code of Ethics applies to Nike itself and its worldwide subsidiaries (Nike Code of Ethics, 2011). In Nike code of ethics, they are committed to socially responsible practices; they are driven to do not only what is required by law, but also what is expected of a leader. Same expectations are applied towards all their business partners. Nike code of ethics covers contractors who manufacture Nike product. This code requires Nike partners management practices to respect the labour and employment rights of all employees, to minimize the impact on the environment, provide a safe and healthy work place, and promote the health and benefits of all employees. It is a responsibility for Nike team member to compliance with the Nike code of ethics (Nike Code of Ethics, 2011). From the code of export and import laws, Nikes policy is to comply with United States Anti-boycott laws. This law is intended to avoid Nike from participate in any action to support of a boycott imposed by one country upon a country that is friendly to U.S. This is strictly prohibited in Nike, Inc (Nike Code of Ethics, 2011). In the code of conflict of interest, Nike stated bribery and corruption is prohibited. A conflict of interest will rise when Nikes employee using Nikes reputation or name to gain personal interest from or to the companies that is doing business with Nike, this will results bribery or corruption. Employee not allows taking the opportunities to benefits themselves or others, and as well employees are never should compete with Nike. This code is protecting Nike to involve in bribery and corruption case which can adversely impact Nikes reputation and image. This code as well shown Nike make business decision with honesty and integrity, and they are considering their corporate objectives by right things and fairness is practiced by Nike to run their business (Nike Code of Ethics, 2011). In order to practice right and justice in Nike business, Nike set policy to compete fairly and must comply with antitrust and competition laws in everywhere they do business. All product development must meet business ethical standards (Nike Code of Ethics, 2011). Nike will not tolerate retaliation against to the employees who failure to comply with the Nike code of ethics. Any employees who been reported for suspected in violation of law or policy, investigation will be conducted. Appropriate action will be taken by Nike after the investigation to prevent future violations. Besides that, refer to local law or violation of the code of ethics, action taken might lead to termination of employment. Waiver of provision of the Nike code of ethics can only be made by the Board of Directors. It is only will be promptly disclosed to shareholders when required (Nike Code of Ethics, 2011). From the above code of ethics that Nike implemented, Nike obviously is practicing the ethics of right and justice. Ethics right and Justice is define as the natural rights, such as human rights, company rights, property rights and etc, that should be respected and protected in every single action (Crane Matten, 2007). By adhering code of ethics, Nike is practiced rights and justice for human rights (employee) and as well company rights (Nike itself). By conducting the code of ethics, Nike not only protects their rights as a corporation, but as well they respected the human rights of their employees. Nike treats all the employees and contractor as a whole, no one have extra benefits or extra authority, no matter who commit violations, action will be taken by Nike against the violations. 5.0 Conclusion Business ethics is very important to a corporation. By conducting ethical business, Nike will have avoided the ethical dilemmas which adversely impact to their image and reputation. When there is no ethical dilemma, then there will no compensation to be made, which will impact the Nikes financial performance. It is essential for Nike to practice business ethics; it let Nike to know what right thing to do and what the wrong thing not to do, such as: violation of human rights or laws. Business ethics can assure the corporation to survive; due to no criticism will lead to good reputation and good profitability.

Sustainability Through Dendro Powered Electricity Generation Environmental Sciences Essay

Long-run GHG and local pollutants decreaseThe undertaking will ensue in coevals of power of 14,000 MWh at an one-year 80 % works capacity use factor utilizing sustainably produced fuelwood. This will displace an tantamount volume of electricity that would otherwise be generated by dodo fuel based thermic power workss and fed into the Sri Lanka national grid. Harmonizing to the long- term coevals program of the CEB, electricity demand is turning at an mean one-year rate of 7 – 8 % . Due to societal, economic and environmental impacts associated with the development, farther development of large-scale hydro resources is going progressively hard. The CEB forecasts thermic power coevals capacity to increase its 2005 degree of 1266 MW to a mark degree of 4,230 MW in 2019. The bing thermic workss include gas turbines fuel oil fired reciprocating engines, and combined rhythm workss. The enlargement works prognosis includes gas turbines, combined rhythm workss, Diesel workss, furnace oil workss, and coal workss. Economic, societal, environmental and technological benefits Economic benefits The entree of electrification is tremendous difference in regional in the state. In the western state where about 90 per centum of family have entree to electricity while North cardinal state have entree to electricity about 65 per centum. In the Sabaragamuwa, Uwa, North Western and East between 40 to 50 per centum of families without entree to electricity. The entire figure of electrification of small town strategies was increased from 2115 to 14690 since 1980 and 1998. By 2015, the Government plans to provide electrification to about 100 per centum of the state ‘s small towns. Some 600 rural electrification strategies, covering eight states will supply electricity supply to about 112,500 extra families and other consumers, Some 600km of 33 kilovolts distribution lines will be supplied to beef up CEB ‘s bing webs in rural countries to cut down overloading and losingss on those lines. A scope of alternate energy beginnings ( solar, air current, mini-hydro and biomass ) wi ll besides be developed through community-based organisations and the private sector to spread out rural electricity entree, peculiarly in the more distant, dry zone parts. Where capital costs for rural electrification are prohibitory, crystalline subsidies will be provided, to spread out entree. Merely the agribusiness entirely would non be equal to increase incomes in the rural countries. There is discoursing facts that these rural households that gain the extreme portion of their income from off-farm income are cagey to work their manner out of poorness faster. Access of electricity is besides of import to any off farm activity. Electric illuming besides makes a important part to the quality and success of rural instruction. Economic benefits of the undertaking are discussed farther below. ( a ) Adequate electricity supply- In order for the national economic system to turn, adequate and dependable supply of electricity should be available at low-cost monetary values. Despite puting big amounts of borrowed money on the electricity sector for the past many old ages, our state is unable to run into the turning demand for electricity. Furthermore, our electricity monetary values are one of the highest in the part. These defects could be remedied if we could acquire our private sector to put on moderate graduated table decentralized power workss with autochthonal fuel supply. The survey carried out by the Ministry of Science and Technology with EU support reveals that over 4000 MW of biomass based electrical power could be generated by change overing the debauched fringy land available in the state. The proposed 2 MW works would turn out the commercial viability of this construct. ( B ) Organic nitrogen-bearing fertilizer- Nitrogenous chemical fertiliser such as urea had been extensively used in the agricultural sectors in Sri Lanka. The current one-year use is in the part of 0.4 million metric tons. The entire national demands of urea are imported at a cost of around US $ 50 million per twelvemonth. In the recent yesteryear, the monetary value of imported carbamide had been lifting steeply. In order to prolong the husbandman community and to guarantee equal supply of our basic nutrient, the authorities had been supplying some grade of subsidy for urea. At nowadays this has reached about a 3rd of the existent cost. Even with this heavy subsidy, paddy husbandmans are unable to do a populating out of rice cultivation. On the other manus, giver bureaus such as the World Bank/ IMF etc. have been exerting force per unit area through WTO on the authorities to minimise all signifiers of subsidies and let the market forces to find the optimal allotment of resources. As explained in Chapter 3, from a Gliricidia energy plantation, the mean output of wood per hectare per twelvemonth is 30 metric tons ( at 20 % wet ) and the corresponding output of fresh leaf is 26 metric tons. Systematic surveies carried out by the Coconut Research Institute had revealed that the application of 50 kilograms of fresh Gliricidia leaf for a coconut thenar provides the equivalent of N from 800 gms of urea [ †¦ .. ] . Furthermore the application of leaf improves the wellness of dirt by increasing the organic content in dirt. The aim of this undertaking is to show the commercialization of the construct of sustainable fuelwood production from Gliricidia energy plantations and the operation of an associated biomass power coevals installation. This 2 MW installation would necessitate the equivalent of 800 hour angle of Gliricidia plantations. Harmonizing to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Land Use Policy Planning Division of the Ministry of Lands, the entire extent of debauched fringy land in the state is around 1.6 million hectares. This means that the entire potency of Gliricidia leaf production in the state is 1.6 ten 26 = 41.6 million metric tons yearly. This is tantamount to 0.67 million metric tons of carbamide. The states entire one-year use of carbamide is merely 0.4 million metric tons. The cautionary value of this is USD 96 million. This clearly shows the economic benefit of Gliricidia energy plantation to the agricultural sector. [ †¦ ] ( degree Celsius ) Increasing the capacity of national milk production- About 60 % of our national one-year demands of milk amounting to 500 million liters are imported at a cost of USD 125 million. One ground for our failure to bring forth our demand of milk is the deficiency of nitrogen-bearing fresh fish for our cowss. Though we have equal measures of carbonaceous fresh fish in the signifier of rice straw, nitrogen-bearing fresh fish is in short supply. Gliricidia leaf is an first-class nitrogen-bearing fresh fish. A 1-hectare plantation of Gliricidia would give 30 metric tons of wood and 26 metric tons of fresh leaf per twelvemonth. Along with 26 metric tons of rice straw, this measure of leaf is sufficient to feed 6 cattles. The one-year income from the sale of milk from 5 cattles would amount to USD 1,654 per twelvemonth. This construct of incorporating Gliricidia Energy Plantation with the rapid enlargement of dairy industry in Sri Lanka may non be realized in the short term. Equally far as this undertaking is concerned, it is expected that the pr esent cattle population of 84 cowss would be expanded to 500 within the undertaking boundary. Possibly this would move as a accelerator for other countries to follow suit. In the average clip excess leaf produced would be used as organic fertiliser. The 1.6 million hectares of debauched fringy land in our state could be used to bring forth the state ‘s full demands of milk. Droppings from the cattles could be used as organic nitrogen-bearing fertiliser replacing urea as described in subdivision ( B ) above. It should be noted that the usage of leaf as fresh fish and the droppings as nitrogen-bearing fertiliser brings more benefits than straight utilizing the leaf as green organic fertiliser. Nitrogen in cow droppings is easy absorbed by workss therefore cut downing leaching and evaporative losingss. ( vitamin D ) Auxiliary harvests in the entree manner in energy plantations- As described in Chapter 3, an entree manner with a 4-meter breadth will be provided at 11-meter intervals in the energy plantations. This spread is provided to supply entree for tractors to roll up and transport the fuelwood harvested in the 11-meter broad strips of trees in the energy plantations. These spreads are used as entree manner merely one time in 6 to 8 months. These spreads besides function as limit of blocks to ease systematic harvest home. A major disadvantage of supplying this spread is it encourages the growing of weeds, peculiarly Guina A and B ( Panicum upper limit ) and Illuk ( Imperate cylindrica ) . One manner of minimising the growing of weeds and optimizing the land infinite in energy plantations is to turn short-run hard currency harvests in these spreads during the two short rainy seasons ( April to June and October to January ) . Crops such as corn, sorghum, benne, black-eyed pea, mung bean, black gm etc. are suited for short-run harvests. Gross from these hard currency harvests would better the economic viability and heighten the sustainability of the plantations. Leaf of Gliricidia subdivisions harvested could be used as organic fertiliser for the hard currency harvest. Gliricidia leaf has the undermentioned alimentary contents: 3 to 4.5 % N, 0.2 to 0.3 % P, 1.5 to 3.5 % K, 1 to 1.4 % Ca and 0.4 to 0.6 % Mg. Furthermore the debut leaf to the dirt increases the organic content and improves the dirt. ( vitamin E ) Conservation of foreign exchange- Ever since the state adopted an â€Å" unfastened economic † policy in 1977, the para value of Sri Lankan Rupee has been deprecating in an exponential mode. Figure 15 illustrates this characteristic.Start of Open EconomyFigure 15: Depreciation of SLR with regard to USD since the ‘open economic system ‘ [ †¦ ] The primary ground for this depreciation is that the demand for foreign currency is much higher than the supply of foreign currency. There are two ways of deciding this crisis. One is to increase the supply of foreign currency. That is by increasing exports and spread outing the services, which bring foreign exchange to the state ( such as touristry, foreign employment etc ) . The 2nd manner is to cut down imports. Unfortunately, since 1977, we have been following merely the first method. This has non resolved the crisis. Therefore, we need to follow the 2nd way every bit good. That is we should cut down foreign currency outgo. In other words, if we should try to bring forth locally whatever goods or services which can be produced locally at competitory cost instead than importing such merchandises at a higher cost. Electricity produced by IPPs is a authoritative illustration. For the twelvemonth 2004, the mean monetary value paid for imported fuel based electricity produced by IPPs was SLR 9.20 ( USD 0.0902 ) per kWh, whereas the monetary value paid for local resource based electricity for the same twelvemonth was merely SLR 5.49 ( USD 0.0538 ) per kWh. If the same mean monetary value is paid for both, the state could bring forth all the electricity demands from local resources. The entire foreign exchange demands to run into the expected thermal based electricity from imported dodo fuel, including the foreign capital, fuel, runing and foreign transmittal costs for the twelvemonth 2005 to 2015 ( based on US Cts 8/kWh ) are given in Table 04 below. It is of import to observe that by the twelvemonth 2015, the expected foreign exchange demands needed exceed the expected foreign exchange net incomes from traditional harvests – tea, gum elastic and coconut ( USD 1000 million ) . With such big demand for foreign exchange, and with the expected diminution in foreign exchange income from the local garment industry when the Multi-fibre Agreement comes into consequence in the twelvemonth 2005, the state of affairs would be wholly unwieldy. If we develop local biomass resources, these demands could be reduced to manageable degrees. Sri Lanka is wholly null of any proved militias of fossil fuels. All demands of crude oil fuels are imported from the Middle Eastern states. If we decide to import coal, so we would import it from Australia. Depending on imported fuels to run into most of our energy would put the state in a serious insecure place. Development of autochthonal resources would put the state in a unafraid place. 5.2.2 Social benefits The undertaking has a big constituent for community engagement throughout-grower system. Fuelwood harvested from sustainable energy plantations will be used as fuel for the power works. Fuel wood plantations will be managed both as a big graduated table plantations every bit good as small-scale husbandman out-grower system. The out-grower system will cut down the poorness degree in the part, so that the undertaking has societal benefits. A farmer household can gain sum SLR 25,000 per twelvemonth from a hectare of land from cultivating Gliricidia for fuel wood. If this wood could be cut into 50 to 100 millimeter pieces, so the income would increase to Rs. 45,000 per hectare, as the current sale monetary value of cut wood ready for gasification or direct eating to boilers is Rs. 1.50 per kilogram at the farm gate and Rs. 2.75 per kilogram at the energy transition Centres. The undertaking is be aftering to present an incorporate attack for fuel wood plantation, which include cowss farming utilizing leaf fresh fish, organic fertiliser utilizing waste, and outflowing fertiliser or biogas, and organic agribusiness merchandises. Farmers can gain around SLR 45,000 from selling 30 dozenss of fuel wood, SLR 7,350 from selling 32 dozenss of droppings as organic fertiliser and SLR 168,750 from selling 6750 liters of milk. Around 2000 households are expected to take part in the out-grower strategy so that their income will increase the undertaking besides provides regular day-to-day emplacement for around 50 people throughout the twelvemonth in the fuel wood aggregation and transit activities. in the fuelwood aggregation and transit activities. In add-on to this, during the building phase, a big figure of skilled and unskilled workers will be hired from the local countries. Over 50 % of the employees are likely to be hired from the nearby communities. Additional roads will be built by the company to entree the human dynamo and the plantations. These roads are available for usage by the local people and in some instances will supply motorable entree to their places where there were merely footpaths earlier. The undertaking is expected to supply the undermentioned societal benefits. ( a ) Supplying employment for rural hapless – The Government of Sri Lanka yearly spends SLR 8,500 1000000s ( USD 83 million ) on poorness relief on the about 25 % of the entire population. Over halve of the entire population in the state are populating in the rural countries. Most of them are engaged in agricultural activity. Despite the huge sum of money spent in many agricultural development undertakings such as the Mahaweli Project, the farming community in the state is populating at subsistence degree. Most of the husbandmans are engaged in paddy cultivation. This provides merely intermittent employment chance, numbering 5 to 6 months in a twelvemonth. During the balance 6 to 7 months, these workers look for alternate employment. Many of them are tempted to acquire involved in illegal activities. The proposed method of sporadically reaping mature subdivisions and utilizing the wood as fuel for electricity coevals and the leaf as fresh fish and organic fertiliser would ( a ) provide employment chance during the slack periods and ( B ) increases the one-year income well for the husbandmans in the dry zones. The constitution of plantations and periodical harvest home provides around 30,000 man-days of work yearly for each MW of power works, averaging 76 man-days per hectare. Assuming a household is entrusted with 1 hour angle of plantation and provided with 6 cattles, the one-year income for this household is as follows: Income from wood ( SLR/ha/y ) : SLR 45,000 ( USD 441 ) Income from milk ( SLR/ha/y ) : SLR 168,750 ( USD 1,654 ) Income from droppings ( SLR/ha/y ) : SLR 7350 ( USD 72 ) Entire SLR.221,100 ( USD2,168 ) A household is expected to give merely 76 man-days of work per twelvemonth on these activities. Rest of the clip could be devoted to traditional rice cultivation. ( B ) Nutrition for children- It has been found that most of the rural kids are enduring of malnutrition. The production of milk in each family would ensue in deciding this crisis. The undertaking is expected to better the quality of the rural hapless through increased income, which will further ease the obliteration of child malnutrition. ( degree Celsius ) Electrification of villages- The Government of Sri Lanka has revealed that merely 80 % of the families in the state would be connected to the national electricity grid. The balance 20 % of the population amounting to over 1 million is to be provided with off-grid system. The World Bank funded Renewable Energy for Rural Economic Development ( RERED ) plan is expected to cover approximately 5 % of this 1 million families. The proposal to set up biomass based power coevals undertakings in rural countries would widen the national electricity grid to countries, which would non hold otherwise been reached. Besides the debut of this engineering would excite the constitution of biomass based off-grid systems to supply electricity to rural communities. ( vitamin D ) Cleaner fuel for rural household- The debut of 6 cattles per family would promote the use of biogas systems to these families. Biogas therefore produced could be used for cookery or for electricity coevals in stray single families. The usage of biogas for cooking would ensue in the wellness of the household vastly as it would extinguish fume from traditional wood ranges. 5.2.3 Environmental benefits There are no issues related to pollution as a consequence of this undertaking. Fuelwood plantations will be established in under-utilised lands. This in fact will be a solution for the land debasement job of the state. Fuelwood plantation will back up to keep ecological balance in the part. Most of the debauched lands are in close propinquity to the rice Paddy Fieldss. The paddy Fieldss constitute the low-lying lands the debauched shifting cultivated lands constitute the high-lying lands. Normally, shortly after the harvest home of rice Paddy, the husbandmans cultivate the high-land country by the â€Å" Slash & A ; Burn/ Shifting Cultivation † method. By presenting Gliricidia as an energy plantation harvest, these husbandmans could change over these debauched lands into a sustainable and perennial harvest land. There will be no demand for firing or switching activities. Though non advocated in this undertaking, â€Å" Alley Cropping † system with Giricidia and chash ha rvests like maize has been demonstrated in Sri Lanka. In this system, Gliricidia ( or Leucena ) trees are planted in rows with a spacing of 0.5 metres within the rows and 2 to 3 metres between rows. These lines of trees lie in the East – West way ( along the way of the Sun ) . At the terminal of the monsoon rains in January, the side subdivisions of Gliricidia trees are cut go forthing the chief root integral. In between the lines of Gliricidia trees, short-run hard currency harvest such as maize is planted. In three months the maize would maturate and would be ready for crop. Gliricidia trees are allowed to turn and the subdivisions harvest at the terminal of the following monsoon season in January following twelvemonth. This manner, the husbandmans could acquire a significant income from three beginnings: ( 1 ) Traditional paddy cultivation in the low-lying lands ; ( 2 ) Short-run hard currency harvests: ( 3 ) Perennial Gliricidia brush wood and leaf. Environmental benefits of the undertaking are discussed below: ( a ) Suspension of emanations of GHG and other pollutants – Sri Lanka has ratified the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. Therefore, we have a moral duty to cut down emanations of GHGs. The ‘Business As Usual ‘ option adopted by contrivers depends to a great extent on coal as the major fuel in run intoing our hereafter electricity demand. Figure 16 illustrates the fuel demands for electricity coevals harmonizing to BAU scenario.CoalOilFigure 16: Fuel demands for electricity coevals: BAU scenario Table 05 gives the CO2 and other pollutant emanations of power coevals under this scenario. This is illustrated in Figure 17. The estimated baseline emanation of particulates, SOX, NOX and CO2 are given in the tabular array 05. This undertaking will displace the tantamount sum of CO2 and SOX about in its entireness and to great extent of NOX and particulates. Figure 17: Tendencies of baseline emanation from electricity coevals As illustrated in Figure17, the emanations of GHG from the power sector will increase bit by bit while the particulate affair emanation will worsen if the baseline scenario continues. Harmonizing to the public-service corporation ( CEB ) , the largest beginning of particulates are IC engines used with furnace oil or residuary oil. With the debut of coal based power workss, the reciprocating workss would be phased out. Coal power workss will be provided with electrostatic precipitators and bag filters etc. to minimise particulate emanation. Hence, CEB expects the particulate emanation degrees to drop over the old ages. The proposed 2MW power works based on sustainable supply of fuelwood from SRC Gliricidia plantations would ensue in zero CO2 emanation, therefore dramatically bettering the emanation degrees. The undertaking besides expects to command other pollutants such as SOX, NOX and particulate affair. The proposed method of electricity coevals is an alternate to the dodo fuel bas ed electricity coevals soon practiced and planned for future enlargement. Fossil fuels such as oil and coal would non merely breathe C dioxide, they besides emit big measures of sulfur dioxide and oxides of N. Sulphur and nitrogen content of woody biomass are undistinguished compared to those present in fossil fuels. All ash produced in the procedure will be returned to the plantation country and will be applied as organic fertiliser. Thus the bottom ash disposal jobs encountered in coal based power coevals would non be encountered in the proposed method. The proposed system eliminates most of the environmental jobs encountered in dodo fuel based power coevals methods. The impact of the proposed 2 MW biomass power works on the national emanation degree would no uncertainty be really undistinguished. But the possible in Sri Lanka for sustainable biomass based electricity coevals is really big. There are over 1.6 million hour angle of debauched land available for sustainable energy plantations. This would be adequate to bring forth 4000 MW of electricity with an one-year end product of 28,000 GWh. Our hydropower potency is around 6000 GWh per twelvemonth. Hence biomass plus hydro we have a potency of 34,000 GWh per twelvemonth. Our present demand for electricity is 8000 GWh/ twelvemonth. Even at 8 % steady growing, we could bring forth all our electricity ( without any fossil fuels ) for many 20 more old ages to come. By that clip there would be many renewable engineerings which are commercially feasible. Furthermore, Gliricidia plantations from the 1.6 million hour angle of debauched land would bring forth 42 million metric tons of leaf. This together with the rice straw soon incinerated in the Paddy Fieldss could be used to bring forth biogas. This could be used as conveyance fuel ( like in Sweden in Switzerland ) . This would extinguish the emanations from the conveyance sector. ( B ) Change by reversaling land degradation- About a 3rd of the land countries of the state amounting to approximately 1.6 to 2.0 million hectares are in a debauched province. These extents of land were productive dry zone forests a few hundred old ages ago. The primary ground for debasement had been unsustainable pattern of cut and burn signifier of switching cultivation adopted by coevalss of subsistence agriculture in these countries. Most of these countries receive an one-year rainfall of about 1250 millimeter. Most of this rainfall is received during the monsoon months of October to December. Agricultural activity could be practiced merely during this monsoon period. Consecutive cut and burn system of agribusiness with unequal fallow period to recover birthrate has resulted in debasement of these lands. Locations of these lands are given in Figure 18 below. Figure 18: Locations of debauched fringy land As the pattern of cut and burn signifier of agribusiness is still go oning in these countries, the extent of these lands is bit by bit increasing. Furthermore, the grade of debasement is besides on the addition due to firing followed by dirt eroding. The procedure of desertification has already started in some of these countries. Unless remedial methods are taken, these lands will stop up as comeuppances. One possible manner of reconstructing the initial position of these lands is to present some tree screen with lasting closed canopy. The proposed method of seting N repairing Gliricidia trees at a spacing of 1 metre by 1 metre and periodical harvest home of selected mature subdivisions go forthing the chief root and the stamp subdivisions integral would be a satisfactory method of up-grading this land. As ash from the burning of wood would be returned to the dirt, dirt foods will be sustained. ( degree Celsius ) Renewable energy beginning and C sink – The proposed method of seting N repairing Gliricidia trees at a spacing of 1 metre by 1 metre and periodical harvest home of selected mature subdivisions go forthing the chief root and the stamp subdivisions in tact would ensue in prolonging the C balance in the system. In the land readying stage, merely the weedy biomass would be removed. All productive bing tree harvests would be retained till they reach their economic life. ( vitamin D ) Organic nitrogen-bearing fertiliser to replace chemical urea fertilizer- As mentioned in subdivision ( B ) , the proposed method besides produces big measures of organic nitrogen-bearing fertilisers, replacing chemical urea fertiliser manufactured from fossil fuels. Apart from extinguishing the tantamount sum of C dioxide emanation, the usage of organic nitrogen-bearing fertiliser increases the organic content of the dirt therefore heightening the environmental impact. 5.2.4 Technological benefits The new engineerings expected to be introduced by the undertaking include the followers: ( a ) Biomass production engineering – As mentioned earlier in Chapter 3 â€Å" Modern method of fuelwood production † , bio fuel for the proposed power works will be produced in Short Rotation Coppice plantation utilizing modern methods. This engineering, though introduced to the state late, it has non yet been practised in commercial graduated table operation. The debut of 2000 hectares of SRC plantations utilizing this modern method would transform the full dry zone country into a healthy, sustainable and profitable zone. The undermentioned characteristics of biomass fuel production are described in Annex A Land Preparation Planting Materials Constitution of Plantations Care of Plantations Harvesting, roll uping and transporting of wood ( B ) Biomass energy transition technology- Apart from a few sugar Millss, a freshly introduced presentation unit and a power undertaking under building, there are no commercial graduated table bio fuel based electricity bring forthing installations in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the Sugar industries use merely the waste baggase as fuel utilizing crude inactive grating burning systems. The freshly introduced presentation unit consist of a biomass down bill of exchange gasifier with H2O scrubber/ gas ice chest and a spark-ignition based IC engine-generator with an end product of 35 kilowatt. This is installed in a distant rural are to supply electricity to 100 families. The other works is a 1 MW power works with boiler-steam turbine system. The proposed power works will utilize Circulating Fluidised Bed burning system with high force per unit area and high temperature steam coevals. These factors will well better the steam use efficiency, therefore cut downing the operational cost, peculiarly, if the cost of fuel constitutes a important portion in the concluding cost of electricity. Furthermore, the improved burning system would cut down the emanation degree. Features of electricity coevals are discussed below. The alternator of the system is designed for 3200 kVA with a power factor of 0.8. This power end product would be 2.56 MW. But with parasitic burden, the expected net end product is 2 MW. Fuel treatment- Fuel wood from the plantations would get in dawdlers. These would be weighed and moisture degree determined by portable wet metres. These will be stacked in the storage country in the power station. Fuel wood from the storage pace would be removed on a ‘first-in-first-out ‘ footing. These would be chipped to allow size ( for fluidised burning ) and stored in a hopper. Flue gas from the boiler would be assorted with ambient air and would be used to dry the wood french friess to the coveted wet degree for burning. Combustion system and boiler- The steam generator shall be of natural circulation, balanced draft, and fluidised bed burning ( FBC ) type, designed for firing wood french friess. The capacity of boiler is about 35 TPH on maximal uninterrupted footing at approximately 60kg/cm2 ( g. ) operating force per unit area and about 490oC temperature. The economizer subdivision of the boiler shall be of nonaˆ‘steaming type. Super warmer subdivision shall be designed so as to keep rated steam temperature of about 490oC at mercantile establishment over the control scope of 60 % to 100 % MCR burden. A steam de-superheating station with proviso for spray H2O tapped off from feed H2O discharge shrieking shall be provided. Air pre-heaters of cannular type shall be provided for steam temperature control. The AFBC shall dwell of in-bed / above-bed ace warmer subdivisions, bed evaporator, H2O walls/refractory walls, economiser and air preaˆ‘heater. The boiler shall be equipped with a suited fuel fire system. The complete boiler shall be bottom-supported type and be provided with all back uping steel platform, galleries, staircases for easy attack and care of the units. Adequate conditions protection shall be provided for instruments and runing forces. Necessary liner and insularity along with repairing stuffs to restrict outside surface temperature to a safe degree shall be provided. Monorails and hoists required for managing motors, fans shall be provided. A trim boiler provender pump shall be provided. Turbine- The turbine shall be of Multistage, Nozzle governed, Horizontal spindle, two bearings, Impulse type with hydraulicly operated halt and exigency valve and built-in steam strainer, hydraulicly operated Throttle/ Regulating valves shall be used as the chief power coevals equipment. Turbine steam recess conditions will be maximal uninterrupted footing at approximately 60kg/cm2 ( g. ) operating force per unit area and about 490oC temperature. The exhaust force per unit area shall be about 0.1 saloon ( a ) . Condenser- The capacitor shall be of shell and tubing building, horizontal, divided H2O box with built-in hot good. Cooling tower- The chilling tower shall be of forced-draft type with concrete building and aggregation pool. Alternator- The alternator shall be an AC synchronal generator with 3200kVA, 3.3kV, 50Hz, 3-phase, 4-wire system coupled to the steam turbine through a velocity decrease gearbox complete with following ( a ) Brush less exciter ( B ) Twin bearings ( degree Celsius ) AVR and excitement panel ( vitamin D ) Antiaˆ‘condensation warmers ( vitamin E ) VARs control Auxiliaries- The undermentioned aides shall be provided: ( a ) Auxiliaries for generator protection and control panel ( B ) Generator ledgeman ( degree Celsius ) Battery with care tools ( vitamin D ) Battery courser and DC distribution panel. ( vitamin E ) Standby Generator for ‘Black Start ‘ . Fuel feed system- The fuel provender system shall dwell of a chipper, a drier using energy in boiler fluke gas, a mechanical/ pneumatic conveyance system directed into the burning chamber of the boiler. The fuel shall be stored in the storage country and fed manually in to the splintering machine. Ash remotion disposal- Ash shall be collected at the underside of the ash aggregation system. The disposal shall be done manually by opening the ash disposal door and collected in an ash cavity. Manual disposal is required thenceforth. The ash can be used as a fertiliser for the plantations. Features of fuelwood samples collected in the undertaking country have been analysed. Consequences obtained are as follows: Other impacts of the undertaking Positive impacts This undertaking will be an illustration for an attempt to advance sustainable biomass energy based electricity coevals with community engagement. Experience of this undertaking could be shared at national, regional and planetary degrees. Negative impacts One of the negative impacts of the undertaking would be the force per unit area on demand for land in the hereafter. If this undertaking is successful, many similar undertakings will be established throughout the state. This will negatively act upon other land usage options, such as agribusiness and small town enlargement etc.

The Demand for Slavery

â€Å"Keeping in mind Gregory O'Malley's article, â€Å"Beyond the Middle Passage: Slave Migration from the Caribbean to North America, 1619-1807,† as well as materials from the lectures, describe the contribution of African-Americans, whether slave or free, to the composition of the population of the United States by 1790. How important does O'Malley believe that second voyages, from Caribbean islands to the mainland, were in creating the African American population of the colonies on the North American continent that became the United States? How and why do O'Malleys estimates differ from those of other historians?What implications may his findings have for how Africans were absorbed into mainland society? † The New Demand for Slavery By the year 1790, slave trade became the dominant source of labor in the English colonies, and the Caribbean. The bound labor made it to America in two different routes, and often determined their worth, but they never became more than a minority. The slave trade provided a substantial growth in the Colonies, now allowing the whites to have workers that could complete the hard tasks, undesired by traditional colonial people.The bound Africans were thought to be essential labor, hich made the slave trade take off, and the importation numbers to rise. Therefore these areas, with an excessive deal of hard work, often felt that the bound labor was essential for economic growth and the United States population began to increase as the bound labor became favored. African forced labor contributed to the population of the inland Colonies and the Caribbean, but made a different effect in each area, as stated in the lecture.As the rising need for laborers increased, so did the number of bound labor. Where the labor first began to peak, was in the Caribbean. The weather was blistering, due to he tropical climate. This made disease prevalent in place like the West Indies, which made the Europeans avoid the hard effort needed. The Europeans also avoided the work in the West Indies when they found out the work was undesirable, very laborious, and by the time they reached freedom, they would not be able to afford land on the islands.Due to this, they had to satisfy the need for workers by finding involuntary people to complete the task. The number of slaves began to rise in the southern colonies, as soon they began to recognize that tobacco production was cheaper and more productive than sugar lantations. Natural reproduction tremendously drove the slave populace up, but also did the demand for workers on the tobacco fields. O'Malley stated in the first census, taken in 1790, that one in five people came from African origins.Today, in the twenty-first century, nearly twelve percent of the American population was made up of slaves. The shipping records indicate the number of slaves that came directly to America, but not the exact population of slaves in the Colonies. Slaves were favored straight from Africa, because they thought the forced labors coming from the Therefore, many slaves were unaccounted for, because that seemed irrelevant to the fact that they needed workers fast, to support the economic growth, and fulfill the hard work being set forth.The trips from the Caribbean were still significant, but varied under certain rule. Under the Spanish rule, slaves from the Caribbean were favored, but under the French rule, slaves were favored straight from Africa. O'Malley states that the slave population can be different than what other historians consider, because the ships from the Caribbean often admitted to having more slaves aboard them then they ctually wrote down on the records. This could supply many more slaves to the Colonies that were unaccounted for, which could have helped drive the population.O'Malley implicated that many more Africans could have been shipped than what accounted for. Thus, it shows how the people often thought of the slaves more as a piece of luggage, ra ther than a real, living, breathing human being. The bound laborers were forcibly taken from their home, and put on a land they knew nothing about. The slaves were forced to work in the hot conditions of Caribbean, or even on plantations of the southern colonies. The distribution of the ound labor varied across areas that needed the workers, but could also afford them.The exact number of persons with African decent cannot be told, because many were not recorded on overstocked ships, and many voyages were not tracked, especially from the Caribbean. Discrimination played a major role in their everyday life, where they were treated like a piece of property, rather than a human being. After the harsh treatment, the bound laborers finally were labeled free at the end of the Civil War, but this was only a beginning of their struggle to be treated like an individual of the United States of America.