Globalization Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Globalization - Case Study Example Many things have conspired to make this trend a reality, primary of which is the constant push for globalization from liberal political theories that a â€Å"rising tide lifts all boats† as famously uttered by former president John F. Kennedy in one of his speeches. Another is rapid technology, especially in the areas of information and communications technologies (ICT) in which both geographic distance and time zone differentials had been shortened or compressed, in what is now called as a â€Å"flat world† where people produce goods and services continuously on a twenty-four hour basis. A very frequent theme of globalization critics is the concept of a â€Å"race to the bottom† in which manufacturers try to get the cheapest products made abroad at the lowest labor costs possible. These issues are the main concerns in this management case study regarding bicycle manufacturing. Discussion Super Sized Cycles is a little niche maker of custom-built bicycles intende d for big (obese or fat) people who are too big or heavy for ordinary and conventional bicycles. It is owned by Ms. Denizot and is in existence for barely five years already and operates out of the Burlington city in Vermont State in the United States of America. Her bikes are certainly not cheap, as these costs range from $699 up to $3,395 in price but these are built sturdier to carry overweight people and not collapse under a heavy load; the wheels, tires, seats, and steel frames are built much stronger than ordinary bikes. Sales last year was around $104,000 only. Mission Statement – Big Bikes for Big People at an affordable price of high quality Target Market – the obvious target market for this small niche-market manufacturer of big bikes are people who are obese or overweight which ordinary bicycles cannot carry as their big weight cause these ordinary bikes to either collapse or suffer a flat tire. There is now a sizable number of people who belong to this cate gory of overweight people as there is an on-going obesity epidemic in the United States of America due to changing lifestyle patterns, primarily the lack of any adequate physical exercise to burn off excess calories and the habits of many people to consume a lot of junk foods such as fast-food which are low in nutrients but high in bad cholesterol. In fact, this obesity epidemic is now so bad it is estimated that one out of every three adult Americans is considered overweight based on the body mass index or BMI which is the easiest way to measure if a person is obese or not (The Economist para. 3). Even children today are also markedly obese compared to kids two or three decades ago. Economists have considered imposing a so-called â€Å"fat tax† to discourage the people from eating too much junk food these days. However, there is another more positive approach to changing people behaviors through an activist approach which is to encourage obese people to be more physically ac tive through exercise. One of the healthier and more fun ways to do so is through biking and Super Sized Cycles has wonderfully found this viable alternative by offering to overweight people the chance to own a bike that is suitable for their size. There is a clear customer need for big bikes for big people who often cannot find the right bike. A generic business-level strategy for this small company for big bikers is to market exclusively to people who are considered obese based on their individual BMI. This is a type of focused strategy which means the company should sell big bikes only and nothing else that will dilute its strategy and make it lose its marketing focus. Examples are the two models that the owner had developed by herself (named as â€Å"

Protein Concentration Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Protein Concentration - Lab Report Example The two most common examples are -helix and -sheet (fig. 1) Proteins are not completely rigid systems and they shift between several related structures while they perform their biological functions or roles. Such changes are often induced by the binding of a substrate to the protein's active site. The Biuret reagent is composed of potassium hydroxide (KOH), copper (II) sulphate (CuSO4) and potassium sodium tartrate (KNaC4H4O64H2O). This reagent is used in a protein assay, a colorimetric test to determine protein concentration by detecting the Cu2+ ion with the help of spectrometric methods. In the presence of proteins, this blue reagent turns purple, while when there are short-chain polypeptides in solution it turns pink [MadSci Network]. A spectrometer is an optical instrument used to measure properties of light (intensity, polarisation, etc) over a specific range of the electromagnetic spectrum (in this experiment UV-Vis at a 560nm). The independent variable is generally the wavelength of the light expressed as nanometers. These instruments are used in spectroscopy to measure the interaction between radiation and matter. In this experiment, UV/Vis spectroscopy is used to determine the concentration of a solution of proteins with the aforementioned Biuret agent. The Beer-Lambert law (A=lc, where A is the absorbance, is the absorption coefficient, l is the distance light travels through the material, c is the concentration of the species that absorbs the light) establishes that the absorbance of any solution is directly proportional to the concentration of the solution [Sheffield Hallam University]. To establish the concentration of a solution, it is necessary to know first how the absorbance changes with the concentration. In order to achieve this, the calibration curve must be determined. AIMS Protein solutions are colourless so cannot be easily determined by simple colorimetric methods. Biuret reagent (copper sulphate, sodium hydroxide, and sodium potassium tartrate) reacts with compounds containing two or more peptide bonds to give a purple-violet colour, so this reaction can be used for a colorimetric method for estimating the concentration of protein in solution. This experiment involves treating a series of proteins of known concentration with Biuret reagent. The data obtained may be used to draw a standard curve. This curve can then be used to estimate the concentration of 2 protein solutions for which the concentrations are not known. METHODS You have been provided with: (a) protein standard solution (albumin) 10 mg/ml (b) albumin solutions X and Y of unknown concentration (c) Biuret reagent (d) de-ionised water Prepare the following in labelled test tubes, mix well and leave for 20-30 minutes at room temperature: Tube A B C D E F G Protein standard (ml) 4 3 2 1 0 - - De-ionised water (ml) 0 1 2 3 4 - - Unknown albumin X (ml) - - - - - 4 - Unknown albumin Y (ml) - - - - - - 4 Biuret reagent (ml) 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 Read the absorbance at 540nm for solutions A - G (first using tube E as the blank to zero the