A Roman Senator and the Ides of March

A Roman senator heard a rumor of an assassination attempt against Julius Caesar. There were two things in his mind: 1) if the assassination succeeded, should be declared legitimate by the Roman senate, and 2) assuming Julius Caesar is a power hungry tyrant, should the assassination a matter of public policy be endorsed by the Roman Senate.Now this senator approached the Great Forum to explain his views of Julius Caesar. In his mind, Caesar is a tyrant inclined to destroy the Roman aristocracy. Although Caesar conquered lands for Rome, it does not suffice to declare him â€Å"dictator for life.† In his thoughts, if Caesar was a true leader of the Roman world, he must learn to relinquish power when required by the state.The Roman senator approached one of the benches of the Roman Senate, and began to talk. He concealed his thoughts about Caesar in metaphors and ironies, offering the Senate both the opportunity to criticize Caesar (in the form of satire) and the chance not to be killed by Caesar. Now came the Ides of March: the day of Caesar’s assassination. A senator born from a noble Roman family, this senator decided to join Brutus and Cassius.Before the assassination, he argued that â€Å"killing Caesar should be thought off as an honorable duty to the state.† Only an assassination can save the Roman Republic from the sting of a new â€Å"kingship.† Then appeared flashes of Pompey in his mind: the true champion of the Roman Republic. The Ides of March to him was his greatest achievement; that is, the means to liberate the Roman world from the bonds of a tyrant.Work CitedGibbon, Edward. The Roman Republic. Ed. By Nero A. Saunders. London: London Publishing House, 1790/1967.

Secrets About Health Education Essay Topics Revealed

Secrets About Health Education Essay Topics Revealed Writing a persuasive, argumentative essay can be challenging, and at times it can find a little confusing. Education scholars are continuously evolving the way that they think about how we learn and what's taught. Other individuals think education will not operate. Students are accustomed to the fact which their professors give them with the assignment's topic. Using Health Education Essay Topics The aim is to wind up getting fewer people to smoke. Some people today live their lives in accordance with their religion even though others don't think you should factor that into decision making in regards to determining rules for everybody. On the other hand, they doubt the effectiveness of education for certain reasons. Just since there is a continuous ban on a product doesn't indicate that it may help the men and women who already understand what using cigarettes is like. Health Education Essay Topics The topics mentioned previously are excellent starting points that may be used to make an exceptional project on health troubles. Doing extensive research on particular topics will boost your wisdom and your outlook on the health care world altogether. To comprehend the reason it is important to define both terms. Use what you read to assist you create some search terms, and to aid you choose your own position. The Basics of Health Education Essay Topics Argumentative essay topics are so important since they are debatableand it's critical to at all times be critically considering the world around us. The essay needs to have a clearly defined thesis statement dependent on the topic of your essay. An argumentative essay requires you to choose a topic and have a position on it. Writing an argumentative essay can occasionally be confusing since you don't necessarily understand how to compose a convincing argument. Definitions of Health Education Essay Topics The cost of an essay depends upon the quantity of effort the writer has to exert. For instance, in college, you might be requested to compose a paper from the opposing perspective. The reader ought to take the author's side by the close of the reading. You ought to make sure you keep on that 1 side during your whole essay. Health Education Essay Topics: the Ultimate Convenience! Nobody would like to read an essay that's laden with half truths, and the sole method to enhance credibility of your written work is by conducting extensive research on the subject. An argumentative paper is part of the persuasion. Our crew of professional writers with the required experience and writing skills is always prepared to fulfill your demands and exceed your expectations. It's necessary they provide some vivid real-life examples should they desire to convince their audience of their perspective. Ruthless Health Education Essay Topics Strategies Exploited Facts, in the long run, will always win out against how folks are feel ing at a specific moment. People ended up finding different sources to acquire their hands on alcohol. Everyone understands that great medical experts are valued extremely high in the usa. So, education cannot be acquired without the right frame of the mind and appropriate state of mind may not be possible without proper health and hygiene. The Meaning of Health Education Essay Topics The notion of each health topic is to give in depth explanation of its importance and your take on the entire issue. If you can select the problem by yourself, it's possible to produce the issue of interest! Then you must choose a topic and approach that you will use. The issue is that everybody's interpretation of what makes a great society differs. What Is So Fascinating About Health Education Essay Topics? Your essay should consist of recent statistics and data from reliable sources. To help you recognize which issues to discuss, we've listed the very best health care essay topics below. Besides that, it health research topics will need to illustrate just how a specific issue is important and your solution or advice on the specific problem. For this reason, it's possible to never underestimate the importance of doing research for an essay. Health Education Essay Topics Features Health education is a wide subject and might also incorporate topics like health issues of alcohol, medications, tobacco and environmental well-being. It is an essential tool of community health. It provides information about the factors that affect the health and hygiene of an individual or a community. Introduction Health Education intends to impart knowledge regarding measures to be taken through a person or community as a way to enhance their general wellbeing. Life, Death and Health Education Essay Topics The expense of healthcare is just one of the most essential difficulties. Three emerging public health issues in the field of educational and community-based programs are iden tified. Health education is a kind of education developed for individuals or the general public at large to get the knowledge, skills, value, and attitudes required to promote, maintain, improve, and restore their, or a different individual's, health. The history of organized modern wellness education goes back only two or three decades. With a substantial number of topics to cover, it's useful to comprehend which topics are definitely the most well-known ones and very good suggestions for research topics. Most issues can have essays on all the above mentioned questions. Choose from popular topics that folks are passionate about. There are two major means by which you can use the most typical IELTS essay topics to your benefit.

Oedipus The King A Great Deal Of Courage - 2332 Words

Courage is defined as the â€Å"ability to do something that frightens one† or, â€Å"strength in the face of pain or grief.† Three characters that show a great deal of courage in their story’s include, Oedipus from the play Oedipus the King, Antigone from the play Antigone, and Socrates from Plato’s plays The Apology and Crito. All three characters courageously pursued what they thought was right- Oedipus in finding out who his birth parents were and who murdered Laius, Antigone in burying her brother Polynices, even if it meant her punishment or death, and Socrates in leading the examined lifestyle-even when it meant his imprisonment and death by the city. All three characters did what they thought was right. But their courage cannot only be measured by their initial beliefs and choices, but also by their responses to the consequences of the choices they made. When reading Oedipus the King, most people would conclude that Oedipus is an overall courageous character that, he belongs at the top of the list as the most courageous character. He was portrayed as a man well loved by his people. The love and respect that the people of Thebes have for Oedipus, is evident in some of the first lines of the play, in which the priest praises Oedipus as being the city’s â€Å"greatest power† (pg. 160-line 60). The chorus and the priest then go on to praise Oedipus for the noble and courageous things that he has done for the city of Thebes in the past: You freed us from the Sphinx; you came to ThebesShow MoreRelatedThe Heros Journey1704 Words   |  7 PagesHe calls this common structure â€Å"the monomyth† (Hero’s Journey). The â€Å"hero’s journey† appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development. 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Antigone utilizes the character Antigone to show loyalty to her family through guilt in the play. In the play, Antigone is a strong woman who stands for what she believes in and is Creon’s Sons fiancà ©e , and uses guilt to have Creon, the king who ordered that no one can bury Polyneices, understand that it is wrong for anyone to be left un buried, especially Antigone’s brother. (Sophocles 783) â€Å"†¦ but if I had left my brother lying in death unburied, I should have suffered.† This passageRead MoreIn â€Å"Impossible Mourning: Sophocles Reversal† By Fanny Soderback,1276 Words   |  6 Pagesa â€Å"public without action is no public at all† (Soderback 167). Per contra, I disagree with this claim that primarily places Creon in the private realm because he uses his newly acquired position king as to make an unprecedented decree preventing Polynices’s proper burial, to assert his power as the king in the public realm. However, the arg ument is further emphasized when Antigone challenges Creon’s authority after burying Polynices, supposedly two times, and induces him to reverse the consequencesRead MoreAntigone And Ismene Essay1635 Words   |  7 Pagesconsistent is each, in her view? The play Antigone, written by Sophocles is the last book of his trilogy called The Oedipus Play of Sophocle. Antigone take places in the city of Thebes, the play open â€Å"some days later† there have been an edict by King Creon regarding the burials of Eteocles and Polyneices; Eteocles, will get a proper burial for defending the senate, Polyneices will not. The King Creon had declared Polyneice is a traitor and forbid anyone in the city to bury him. Here where we are being presented

Fossil Fuels The World s Primary Energy Source

Fossil fuels, including coal, oil and natural gas, are currently the world s primary energy source. Formed from organic material over the course of millions of years, fossil fuels have fueled U.S. and global economic development over the past century. Yet fossil fuels are finite resources and they can also irreparably harm the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the burning of fossil fuels was responsible for 79 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2010. These gases insulate the planet, and could lead to potentially catastrophic changes in the earth’s climate. Technologies such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) may help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by fossil fuels, but other, more sustainable energy sources are available. Alternative energy sources such as wind power, hydropower, nuclear generation, and biofuels have the capability to effectively replace fossil fuels within a reasonable amount of time. Supporters of fossil f uels as an energy source claim that shale oil and gas will provide a solution to the energy crisis and eliminate the notion that fossil fuel reserves will be exhausted in the imminent future. These vast resources of heavy crude oil and natural gas can only be accessed using a technique known as hydraulic fracturing. However, it has been proven that extracting hydrocarbons from shale and tar sands is not a sustainable method and can have devastating ecological consequences (Rumpler). Fracking uses aShow MoreRelatedFossil Fuels : The World s Primary Energy Source952 Words   |  4 PagesFossil fuels are currently the world s primary energy source. Fossil fuel includes coal, natural gas, and oil. In 2015, The United States consumed 97.7 billion btu of energy, 81% of that was from fossil fuels (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2016). Fossil fuel use will cause air and water pollution that will negatively affect all life on Earth. In 2012, it was estimated that air pollution caus ed 6.5 million deaths worldwide (WHO, 2016). These pollutants can worsen or cause respiratory andRead MoreThe Sources Of Fossil Fuels1429 Words   |  6 PagesThis paper will discuss the three main fossil fuels which are oil, coal, and natural gas. This research shows how the fossil fuels are formed, where they could be found, and explain how they were formed over millions of years. This paper will show the numerous advantages of fossil fuels compared to the disadvantages and how they are hurting the Earth. Fossils fuels are critical to the function of everyday life. The world would be a different if fossil fuels and their uses were not to of use. Read MoreNew Energy for the Future1358 Words   |  6 PagesNew Energy for the Future For years man has relied on energy in order to be successful in life. The industrial revolution relied on coal for the new inventions brought into the world. Life as has never been the same since then. 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Fossil fuels are critical to global energy infrastructure due to their inherent advantages and generate significant economic value as a result. However, the negative economic and environmental implications of fossil fuels demands a permanent transition towards alternative energy. The world will continue to investigate alternative energy sources and must commit to them to avoid long-term environmental degradation. Ultimately, fossil fuels are on the wayRead MoreBiomass As A Renewable Energy Resource907 Words   |  4 Pages3 Biomass as a renewable energy resource Biomass can be considered as a renewable energy resource, although burning biomass releases carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere similar to burning fossil fuel (Liu H. 2011). There is a significant difference in CO2 release between burning a fossil fuel and burning biomass. 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Royal Danish Bearings Marketing Key Terms Free Essays

Royal Danish Bearings – Marketing Key Terms Business and Management Keyword| Definition| Relation to RDB| Market Size| The number of individuals in a certain market who are potential buyers and/or sellers of a product or service. Companies are interested in knowing the market size before launching a new product or service in an area. | The ball bearings industry has a quite large market size given the development of the automobile industry. We will write a custom essay sample on Royal Danish Bearings Marketing Key Terms or any similar topic only for you Order Now | Market Share| A percentage of total sales volume in a market captured by a brand, product, or company. RDB’s market share in the business is quite large, justifying its great expansion and organic growth. | Consumer Needs| Problems that customers intend to solve with the purchase of a good or service. | Indirect consumers need automobiles, however; automobile factories require ball bearings, resulting in RDB’s business opportunity. | Unique Selling Point| Real or perceived benefit of a good or service that differentiates it from the competing brands and gives its buyer a logical reason to prefer it over other brands. USP is often a critical component of a promotional theme around which an advertising campaign is built. | RDB’s USP is its highly technologically advanced ball bearings, which are also environmentally friendly. | Competitive Advantage| A superiority gained by an organization when it can provide the same value as its competitors but at a lower price, or can charge higher prices by providing greater value through differentiation. Competitive advantage results from matching core competencies to the opportunities. RDB’s competitive advantage is that they are an already globally known company and they are about to invest in their Research and Development department. | Brand Loyalty| The extent of the faithfulness of consumers to a particular brand, expressed through their repeat purchases, irrespective of the marketing pressure generated by the competing brands. | Given logical assumptions, automobile factories and companies remain loyal to RDB’s ball bearings, given their high quality product. | Demand| Desire for certain good or service supported by the capacity to purchase it. The aggregate quantity of a product or service estimated to be bought at a particular price. | RDB’s ball bearing demand is decreasing in Europe, however increasing in Brazil, China and India. | Marketing| The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the 4Ps; Product, Price, Place and Promotion. | RDB plans to expand their marketing reach with the use of modern and technologically advanced media, in order to reach new customers and create brand awareness. Advertising| The activity or profession of producing information for promoting the sale of commercial products or services. | RDB is currently promoting their sales throughout their plans to expand into different countries with smaller environmentally friendly factories. | Promotion| The advancement of a product, idea, or point of view through publicity and/or advertising. | RDB plans to advertise in a greater scale. | ICT| Stands for â€Å"Information and Communicati on Technologies. ICT refers to technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications. It is similar to Information Technology (IT), but focuses primarily on communication technologies. This includes the Internet, wireless networks, cell phones, and other communication mediums. | This company is currently planning to establish a higher range of their information and communications technologies given that they require a higher advertising range. Brand Awareness| Extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers, and is correctly associated with a particular product. Expressed usually as a percentage of target market, brand awareness is the primary goal of advertising in the early months or years of a product’s introduction. | RDB has managed to create brand awareness, given that they have been in the market for quite a while. They are old occupants of the market niche and their brand awareness is high. | How to cite Royal Danish Bearings Marketing Key Terms, Essay examples

Tim Hortons Paper free essay sample

Evan McAuliffe Mrs. Andrew September 6th, 2012 Introduction to Management Tim Hortons Organizational Environment Analysis General Environment International- Tim Hortons is already an internationally acclaimed corporation. Although it was originally rooted in Canada, it has spread internationally to the United States and on some Canadian and American military bases. They have self-serve locations in Ireland and England and also have a location in Afghanistan. They hope to expand their business into Dubai in the near future.These expansions have made a positive effect on their revenue, which is up 4. 8 percent. Demographic- Tim Hortons sells products that are for all ages. Their products tend to be cheaper than the competition, which makes their product available to the average Joe. Tim Hortons is a crucial part of Canadian culture. Sociocultural- Because Tim Hortons takes part in such a global market, the culture change between countries is necessary in order to be successful. They need to make sure that they do not offend or confuse anyone and be sure to adapt to different types of cultures and societies. We will write a custom essay sample on Tim Hortons Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Technological- Technology is very important for any country wanting to be successful in the modern world. In order to be successful, Tim Hortons needs to be up to date technologically speaking. Tim Hortons has kept up with the times by having an application available for people to find their locations. Technology is not only important for the customer, but for the retailer as well; for example, their distribution and communication is done in an advanced technological way. They have assembly lines that exceed the average technology used in other corporations.Economic- The economic environment in the U. S and Canada are still erratic that are affecting the consumer demand and confidence. Political-legal- There is certain factors that affect Tim Hortons. Some of these are tax policies, political stability, employment laws, environmental regulations, trade and tariff restrictions. Task Environment Customers- Tim Hortons customers are typically very loyal to the brand, which is mainly where their revenue comes from. They are typically your average Joe who wants good quality prices for a low price.Competitors- Tim Hortons has certain has to compete against big name international corporations such as Starbucks and McDonalds. Even though they have these tough competitors, they are still a unique type of restaurant that attracts certain customers. Suppliers- They use a supply chain to deliver their goods from point A to point B. Their suppliers source anything from ingredients to the logistical side of their business. They work very close with their suppliers and try to boast the best supply chain possible. Distributors- They use land transportation as well as air transportation to distribute their products.

Royal Dutch Shell free essay sample

Shell plc (Shell) is one of global leading energy and petrochemical companies. Its foundation dated back to 19 Century but it fully formed after merger of Royal Dutch  and Shell Transport in 1907. Now, Shell, headquartered in The Hague, operates in more than 140 countries or areas and employs approximately 87,000 staffs. Shell businesses expand from upstream to downstream: it is engaged in exploration, production, refining, transportation and retailing of gas, oil, oil derivatives, electricity and chemicals; the company is also interested in global energy innovation such as renewable sources of energies. However, Royal Dutch Shell has been struggling to capture investor’s imagination after 2009 (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Although revenues and profits had recovered, Niger Delta and North Sea oil spilling almost destroyed Shell’s revival dream. The recent figures are still disappointing: Shell suffered more than 30 per cent drop in profits in recent successive quarters (2nd Quarter Unaudited Results 3rd Quarter Unaudited Results, 2013). We will write a custom essay sample on Royal Dutch Shell or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What are the factors to Shell’s loss? Is that caused by Financial Crisis or European Debt Crisis? Or caused by Oil Spill? Or caused by deep business environmental changes? Identifying Challenges Analysis should start at the general to focus down, called outside-in analytical framework (Angwin et al, 2011). The interaction of an organisation with external environment is decomposed into macro-environment influences, meso-environment influences and micro-environment influences. Macro-environment analysis assesses the stability and complexity in energy industry. Meso-environment analysis focuses on competitive arena; more specifically, it reveals interaction and power of Shell with other main market components. Micro-environment analysis shows competition position in energy industry: it identifies and compares performances of global energy giants. However, the largest degree of influence is from focal company itself; namely, internal environment where decisions are made about corporate strategy and resource policy. Employing outside-in approach contributes to avoid myopia which seeing the real business world on focal firm’s standpoint and thus increases the accuracy of strategic analysis. Macro-environment Macro-environmental analysis is the first and necessary part of systematic strategic analysis. In today varied and complex business world, PESTEL is a common conceptual tool used in macro-environmental analysis. This framework identifies current and potential changes in a large macro-territory (Fahey Narayanan, 1986) and assesses the impact of changes on firm’s industry and itself (Ginter Duncan, 1990). P stands for political factors that determine governmental influence on economy or a certain industry. Political aspects have significant influence in oil and gas industry. It is because most countries regard oil and gas, main products in energy industry, as strategic materials. The energy independence is a preferential aim for the countries who intend to avoid economic blackmail and political suppression from other countries and organisations like OPEC (Talevski Lima, 2009). Thus the authorities strictly control foreign investments into oil and gas drilling and production and allow limited rights to transport and retail oil, gas and other petrochemical products (EIA, 2008), which limit access to proven reserves and potential markets. Besides, the political stability has impacts, especially in North Africa and Middle East. Instability, including political or economic terrorism, civil unrest, acts of war, piracy on high sea and governmental sanctions can discourage investments and disrupt safe operations and products transports (Talevski Lima, 2009). E stands for economic factors that determine economy’s performance with resonating long-term effects. Demand for oil and gas is determined by economic prosperity because most industries and transportation run on fuels (Talevski Lima, 2009). Under current unclear â€Å"economic slowdown†, the demand-and-supply relationship of fuels seems unpredictable. It results in fluctuating price of crude oil, natural gas, and petrochemical products with material impacts on oil and gas industry (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Specifically, in a low fuels price environment, corporates gain less revenue from upstream business because of shrinking margins between raw materials and products; while in a high fuels price environment, corporates suffers less entitlement to proved reserves and lower product demands, which reduces profitability of downstream business. S stands for social factors that influence social-cultural environment of market. Suffering the fears of global warming, people show increasing concerns about natural environment. The considerations shape preference for green energies rather than fossil fuels, especially in developed countries. Population in developed countries, primary consumers of hydrocarbons, consciously diminish needs for oil and gas but boost needs for renewable energies (Trifu, 2012). It entails heavy investments in research development in new energies. Besides, public concerns about corporate social responsibility push energy giants to protect all stakeholders’ profits, such as employees and neighbours at increasing expenditure on optimising manufacturing process, building infrastructure and training employees. T stands for technological factors related to innovations that may affect the operation or markets. Technology is key element in upstream business and downstream business: innovations in exploration and production (upstream) contribute to discover new hydrocarbon reserves or enhance recovery of oil and gas; while in the downstream, optimising reefing process of varying quality and developing marketing campaigns based on technological advance (like communication in social media) help corporates reduce operational costs and enhance margins (BP Annual Report, 2008). Thus corporates should be charged a considerable sum on research development. Additionally, technological improvement in substitutes and complementary products alter the demands for different sources of energies. Generally speaking, the dominance of hydrocarbon should be replaced if the increasing number of complementary products driven by green energies emerges and the costs on exploiting and manufacturing substitutes decrease. E stands for environmental factors that influence or are determined by the surroundings. Most energy companies have been involved in environmental pollution. Increasingly strict environmental restrictions require energy companies spend share of their profits in technological innovation and waste disposal to environmental restoration and remediation (BP Annual Report, 2008). Besides, an uneven geographical distribution of hydrocarbon and separability of production fields and markets expose oil and gas companies to safety issues and environmental issues in transportation (Talevski Lima, 2009), such as BP oil spilling in Gulf of Mexico. Transportation process requires special care at large human, material and capital inputs. Thus environmental issues are threats to profitability. L stands for legal factors that laws affect the business environment. Legal regulations subjected to energy companies includes imposition of exploitation obligations, regulations on field development and decommissioning, proposed fuel specifications, the provision of health-safety-security-and-environment protection, emission controls, climate change programs, the provision of disposal or releases of chemicals or petroleum substances, the clauses of antitrust and competition, upfront concession fees , special royalties and taxes (Talevski Lima, 2009; Trifu, 2012). More stringent legal restrictions might induce damage to corporate images, larger fees required in business activities or even loss of licence to operate in a certain area (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Meso-environment Analysis about meso-environment examines competitive structure. Porter’s Five Forces should be advised: It identifies five basic competitive forces which influence focal participants’ income statements and balance sheets through prices, costs and investments (Porter, 2008). Meso-environmental analysis tries to understand underpinnings of competition and causes of profitability in oil and gas industry. The threat of new entrants is insignificant. There are large capital investments tied to all vertical activities like exploration of new fields, setting-up production facilities, scientific research and accessing to distribution channel. Enormous fixed up-front investment creates barriers to potential entrants (Talevski Lima, 2009). Economies of scale/scope are another barrier to new participants. Higher unit costs in exploration and production and lower volume of business result in a small profit margin, which adversely affect returns of money in the start-up (Dess et al., 2004). The threat of substitutes seems not significant today but increasingly influential in following years. Oil and gas are still dominant in many sectors, especially in transportation and industry; and it is estimated to stay the dominance until 2030 (IEA, 2008). However, with the technological advances in drilling and processing new energies and rising concerns on planet, green energies like renewable energies and nuclear energies are predicted to slowly but surely enlarge market share in the future. The bargaining power of buyers is complex. Generally, the power of buyers is low because the prices of oil and gas are globally given (Talevski Lima, 2009). However, the power of large consumers, like the US, the EU, China and Japan, are indeed strong because their enormous volumes of demands can alter global demands. Recently, theses primary consumers are trying to switch from heavy dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energies. Thus the strong bargaining power entails business revolution in oil and gas industry. The bargaining power of suppliers depends on which type of suppliers they are. The conventional suppliers that provide supporting products/services seem disadvantaged because oil and gas industry has a wide range of small unconsolidated sub-suppliers from various sectors. While the suppliers of oil or gas field exert power: no one corporates can operate in a certain country without permission. These countries can determine the supply of materials. Thus their policy and regulation on oil and gas are quite important to energy companies. The intensity of rivalry is high. The slow industry growth and product homogeneity create small profits margins through technological or managerial innovation. Besides, the needs to replace drying fields exacerbate competition due to the fact that new reserves are more difficult to access. All of them force major and strong oligopolistic players overcome competitive constrains through aggressive activities like mergers, acquisitions and alliances (Weston et al. , 2001). Micro-environment Micro-environment analysis attempts to identify Shell’s competitive position through comparing competitors’ superior performances. Fiercer competition on differentiating products is a characteristic of oil and gas industry. BP intended to gain first-mover advantages. BP has engaged in renewables energies, especially in wind, solar and biofuels (Datamonitor, 2010). Until the end of 2009, BP has more than 500 MW of installed capacity through wind power; the whole solar value chain has been built; and more than $1 billion planned investments was into biofuels business operation. The Total S. A. refused to be inferior: the investments into renewable energies are also considerable (Datamonitor, 2010). Slow differentiation process might erode Shell’s competitive position. Increasing competition from government-run companies such as China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec creates threats to publicly held oil and gas companies, especially in seeking access to the fields (Shell Annual Report, 2012). These government-run entities have partial access to significant reserves and desirable projects. They are also sometimes motivated by political or other factors in making business decision which is abnormal in markets or harm to competitors. These partial competitive advantages supported by national governments should be achieved at independent participants’ loss. Internal Environment Internal-environmental analysis focuses on firm-specific factors. The frequent oil spilling disasters have troubled Shell for a long time. Recently, these problems become even worse. The oil spilling in Nigeria mainly caused by lack of maintenance on pipeline resulted in up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil spilling 75 miles off the coasts of Niger Delta (Vidal, 2011); the following oil leaking in North Sea caused by immature deep-water drilling technology and operator error resulted in more than 1,300 barrels of crude oil spilling (BBC news, 2011). However, Shell’s responses to extreme events seem unacceptable. Criticisms referred to late disclosure of information about leaking events, sluggish efforts to stop leakage, false claims on responsibility and reluctance on compensation (Macalister, 2013; Watkins, 2013). It makes Shell face not only considerable economic losses from business interruption, rehabilitative measures and fines on environmental pollution which caused losing leading company position (Datamonitor, 2010; MarketLine, 2013), but also a credibility problem and even corporate images damage (ICMR, 2010). Another threat is from globalisation outsourcing. Shell’s operation is on more than 70 countries with differing degrees of political, legal and fiscal stability. A wide range of political developments might affect operations, especially in the upstream, referring to land tenure, re-writing of leases, entitlement to produced hydrocarbons, production rates, and royalties (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Cross-border transaction also exposed Shell to risks from fluctuating foreign exchange rate. Changing foreign exchange rate increases transaction risks (caused by time delay between signing and settling contracts) and translational risks (caused by operating in foreign currencies but showing on balance sheets in home currency), which increase unpredictability in estimating costs and revenues (Sorensen and Kyle, 2008). Furthermore, Shell face competition from powerful local rivals when entering overseas market. Wining in the competition require large investments particularly when the rivalry happens in home country of government-run firms. Key Challenges The greatest challenge is from the increasing environmental concerns, leading to stringent environmental regulation and growing demands to green energies in future market. Hart pointed (1995) corporate competitive advantages should be rooted in capabilities in promoting environmentally-friendly economic activities, namely the natural-resource-based view of the firm. However, most core businesses of Shell, especially in upstream activities, still cause huge damages to ecosystem. This trend creates a puzzle: how to modify current environment-damaged portfolio to satisfy growing requirements to environmentally-friendly business model. In other words, it determines Shell’s future business development direction: from traditional fossil fuel company to environment-oriented energy giants-to sustain competitive advantages by pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development (Hart, 1995). The second key challenge is from poor crisis management strategy. Current activities in value chain exposure Shell to safety disasters in drilling, production, refining, and transportation process. It seriously hurts social benefit, especially the safety of nearby residence. Growing concerns about corporate social responsibility set higher requirements to Shell to manage crisis. How to win customer’s trusts and recover the credibility depends on Shell’s improvements in social-responsible performance. It determines Shell’s future strategic direction: from high-level risk-facing but low-level risking-taking company to lower-risk and strong anti-risk company with organisational and policy synergies which extend beyond â€Å"principles† to the serious treatments by every staff to think about threats and adopt their behaviour to avoid potential crisis or to manage happened crisis (McConnell Drennan, 2006). The third key challenge is from globalisation business model in oil and gas industry. This model tightly ties demand to Shell’s products to global economic prosperity and depression. It obviously brings greater difficulty to determine outputs in a certain period in order to balance demands and supply. Besides, the regional instability in political development and economic situation especially in currency makes it tougher for Shell to audit revenuesto control operations. Furthermore, competition from powerful local rivals is big challenge for Shell entering overseas market. To gain competitive advantages in international context should combine firm-specific resource and capabilities with certain national environment (Grant, 2008). In other words, how to shorten political, economic and cultural distances in globalisation should be Shell’s future direction on optimising integration of global resources (Ghemawat, 2001). Strategic Plan How to deal with the three contextual key challenges should be a serious question in Shell’s development plan. The measures to manage challenges can be understood as to pursue or sustain competitive advantages. In current market, external stakeholders are trying to keep companies accountable for social issues and demonstrate potentially large financial risks for the companies with damages to society or environments. Fulfilling social responsibility has been becoming inescapable requirements to keep competitive advantages. In order to embed a social perspective into its core value proposition, Shell should change from the fragmented and defensive position to the integrated and proactive posture. In other words, the focus must move from the focuses on corporate image to an emphasis on humanity and substance (Porter Kramer, 2006). Shared values among society (people), economy (profits) and environment (planet) can be realised (Jamali, 2006). The primary task is the shift from an environmentally-damaged producer to an environmentally-friendly corporation, namely, to achieve environment benefits. The first step is pollution abatement. There are two suggested approaches. Pollution control is using pollution control equipment to trap, store, treat and dispose emission and effluents. Another approach is pollution prevention, refers to reduce, change and prevent emission and effluents by greater housekeeping, material substitution, recycling and process innovation (Cairncross, 1991, Frosch Gallopoulos, 1989; Willig, 1994). Pollution prevention seems more important than pollution control: it tries to prevent and contain pollution in continuous-improvement methods rather than the old model of â€Å"polluting then cleaning up† at expense of non-recoverable ecological damages and expensive end-of-pipe capital investments to control emissions (Rooney, 1993). A pollution-prevention strategy emphasis on establishing capabilities in production and operation: it can be achieved through extensive and initiative employee involvement (Cole, 1991; Lawler, 1986) and continues improvement in waste reduction. Thus it is necessary to invest into inventing or introducing environmentally-friendly or resource-conserving facilities and innovating technology used in value chain. For example, non-phenolic and resin-coating technology  increase hydraulic fracturing efficiency: It allows coated sand to be produced with less energy requirement and environmental damages compared to current phenolic resins in the manufacturing process (Drilling Contractor, 2013). Building awareness of environmental protection and forcing involvement of employees also should be suggested. The second step is to product stewardship. It refers to direct the selection of raw materials and manage product design with aims at minimising environmental harm of product system. Exiting environmentally hazardous business and developing potential products with lower life-cycle costs should be the requirements to reasonable product management (Hart, 1995). To Shell, creating new products with low life-cycle costs will be dominant product strategy. It requests Shell to minimise the use of non-renewable materials, to avoid use of toxic materials and maximise the use of renewable resources (Robert, 1995). Developing renewable energy is a good choice. Shell is advised to develop wind, solar, hydropower, tidal, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas electricity generation and anaerobic digestion. These green energies not only satisfy legal and public expectations on environmental protection but also solve the problem of fossil fuels crisis. The third step is sustainable development. To achieve sustainable development demands a great deal of inputs and long-term commitments to develop market (Hart, 1995). To Shell, that means to create market demand transition from fossil fuel to renewable source of energies, especially in the developing countries. For example, Shell can make documentaries about production in the fossil fuels field and the renewable energy filed. This comparison might switch audiences’ preference for energies. Shell also can persuade energy-intensive producers to adopt green source of energies. Although there is little evidence showing the relationship between these efforts and short-term profits, the engagement to sustainable development will improvement firms’ long-term performance, reflected by price earnings or market-to-book ratios (Hart, 1995). The second task is to manage crisis, specifically to avoid potential crisis and to minimise the damages. That can be understood a task in protecting social benefits, especially nearby residence around Shell economic activities. There are five phase to accomplish crisis management (Mitroff, 1988). The first phase is signal deletion. Long before the crisis happened, there are repeated and persistent trials of warning signals. It is necessary for Shell to build various appropriate warning systems to identify diverse explicit or implicit signals. For example, the growing equipment faulty rate may imply the increasing possibility of accident and needs for maintenance. The second phase is preparation or prevention, referring to establish appropriate prevention and preparation mechanism. Specifically, prevention and preparation mechanism works through identifying any sign of weakness and then responding appropriately whatever problems is discovered. In this phase, Shell is required to ensure everything stay fixed even it works well now. The third phase is containment or damage limitation. It is important for Shell to build damage-limitation mechanisms in place. Preventing all crises seems impossible in oil and gas industry. How to prevent the harm from engulfing other parts of the corporate should be discussed. After every disaster happens, Shell should release relevant information as soon as possible and also clearly claim corporate responsibility. Although it may cause higher expense of recovery, these measures protect credibility in public, which is important for long-term development. The fourth phase is recovery. If Shell is not anticipatory, the aftermath is requested. That means Shell should build short-term and long-term recovery plan. For instance, in Nigeria Delta, how to degrade toxic substance in soil, air and water, how to recover soil fertility and how to rebuild broken ecosystem, which is highly related to local people’s health need to be considered. The final phase is learning. Shell should reassess the crisis happened on the past to improve capabilities in predicting crisis and avoiding crisis. The third task is to manage the difficulties in globalisation. The challenges are mainly from political difference, cultural distance and economic instability. Thus it is a task to shrink various distances in globalisation to realise economic profits. Political difference and cultural distance create barriers to foreign companies. International alliance and joint venture with powerful local market participant should be a suitable entry mode for Shell in overseas markets (Grant, 2008). It not only free Shell from political restrictions directed against foreign companies but also access market knowledge and distribution capabilities. Another strategy to shrink political and cultural distance is decentralisation. That means giving overseas subsidiaries higher level of freedoms in decision-making. These holders of first-hand information can modify Shell’s activities and respond the diverse political and customers’ requirements quickly and accurately. That is the process of localisation. The effects of economic instability also can be minimised by economic tools. For example, financial forward contracts help Shell avoid financial risks, such as fluctuating foreign exchange rate to guarantee the best possible outcomes in a certain production cycle (Shapiro, ND.) Although it cannot balance demand and supply fundamentally, the tools or frameworks tries to decrease damages from external economic changes. Conclusion Royal Dutch Shell was a successful corporation but now is suffering poor performance. In this essay, the author analyses the macro-environment, meso-environment, micro-environment and internal environment in outside-in approach to identify three key challenges in the long-term survival. They are increasing concerns in environmental protection, poor crisis management strategy and various distances in globalisation. They also can be understood the threats from environment, society and economy. Thus corporate social responsibility is the synergy. Environmental profits can be achieved through ppollution abatement, product stewardship and sustainable development; sociall profits can be realised by crisis management, including signal deletion, preparation and prevention, damage limitation, recovery and learning; economic profits can be accomplished by shrinking political, cultural and economic distance through alliance joint venture, decentralised management and leverage by economic tools. Royal Dutch Shell free essay sample Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) is one of global leading energy and petrochemical companies. Its foundation dated back to 19 Century but it fully formed after merger of Royal Dutch  and Shell Transport in 1907. Now, Shell, headquartered in The Hague, operates in more than 140 countries or areas and employs approximately 87,000 staffs. Shell businesses expand from upstream to downstream: it is engaged in exploration, production, refining, transportation and retailing of gas, oil, oil derivatives, electricity and chemicals; the company is also interested in global energy innovation such as renewable sources of energies. However, Royal Dutch Shell has been struggling to capture investor’s imagination after 2009 (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Although revenues and profits had recovered, Niger Delta and North Sea oil spilling almost destroyed Shell’s revival dream. The recent figures are still disappointing: Shell suffered more than 30 per cent drop in profits in recent successive quarters (2nd Quarter Unaudited Results 3rd Quarter Unaudited Results, 2013). We will write a custom essay sample on Royal Dutch Shell or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What are the factors to Shell’s loss? Is that caused by Financial Crisis or European Debt Crisis? Or caused by Oil Spill? Or caused by deep business environmental changes? Identifying Challenges Analysis should start at the general to focus down, called outside-in analytical framework (Angwin et al, 2011). The interaction of an organisation with external environment is decomposed into macro-environment influences, meso-environment influences and micro-environment influences. Macro-environment analysis assesses the stability and complexity in energy industry. Meso-environment analysis focuses on competitive arena; more specifically, it reveals interaction and power of Shell with other main market components. Micro-environment analysis shows competition position in energy industry: it identifies and compares performances of global energy giants. However, the largest degree of influence is from focal company itself; namely, internal environment where decisions are made about corporate strategy and resource policy. Employing outside-in approach contributes to avoid myopia which seeing the real business world on focal firm’s standpoint and thus increases the accuracy of strategic analysis. Macro-environment Macro-environmental analysis is the first and necessary part of systematic strategic analysis. In today varied and complex business world, PESTEL is a common conceptual tool used in macro-environmental analysis. This framework identifies current and potential changes in a large macro-territory (Fahey Narayanan, 1986) and assesses the impact of changes on firm’s industry and itself (Ginter Duncan, 1990). P stands for political factors that determine governmental influence on economy or a certain industry. Political aspects have significant influence in oil and gas industry. It is because most countries regard oil and gas, main products in energy industry, as strategic materials. The energy independence is a preferential aim for the countries who intend to avoid economic blackmail and political suppression from other countries and organisations like OPEC (Talevski Lima, 2009). Thus the authorities strictly control foreign investments into oil and gas drilling and production and allow limited rights to transport and retail oil, gas and other petrochemical products (EIA, 2008), which limit access to proven reserves and potential markets. Besides, the political stability has impacts, especially in North Africa and Middle East. Instability, including political or economic terrorism, civil unrest, acts of war, piracy on high sea and governmental sanctions can discourage investments and disrupt safe operations and products transports (Talevski Lima, 2009). E stands for economic factors that determine economy’s performance with resonating long-term effects. Demand for oil and gas is determined by economic prosperity because most industries and transportation run on fuels (Talevski Lima, 2009). Under current unclear â€Å"economic slowdown†, the demand-and-supply relationship of fuels seems unpredictable. It results in fluctuating price of crude oil, natural gas, and petrochemical products with material impacts on oil and gas industry (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Specifically, in a low fuels price environment, corporates gain less revenue from upstream business because of shrinking margins between raw materials and products; while in a high fuels price environment, corporates suffers less entitlement to proved reserves and lower product demands, which reduces profitability of downstream business. S stands for social factors that influence social-cultural environment of market. Suffering the fears of global warming, people show increasing concerns about natural environment. The considerations shape preference for green energies rather than fossil fuels, especially in developed countries. Population in developed countries, primary consumers of hydrocarbons, consciously diminish needs for oil and gas but boost needs for renewable energies (Trifu, 2012). It entails heavy investments in research development in new energies. Besides, public concerns about corporate social responsibility push energy giants to protect all stakeholders’ profits, such as employees and neighbours at increasing expenditure on optimising manufacturing process, building infrastructure and training employees. T stands for technological factors related to innovations that may affect the operation or markets. Technology is key element in upstream business and downstream business: innovations in exploration and production (upstream) contribute to discover new hydrocarbon reserves or enhance recovery of oil and gas; while in the downstream, optimising reefing process of varying quality and developing marketing campaigns based on technological advance (like communication in social media) help corporates reduce operational costs and enhance margins (BP Annual Report, 2008). Thus corporates should be charged a considerable sum on research development. Additionally, technological improvement in substitutes and complementary products alter the demands for different sources of energies. Generally speaking, the dominance of hydrocarbon should be replaced if the increasing number of complementary products driven by green energies emerges and the costs on exploiting and manufacturing substitutes decrease. E stands for environmental factors that influence or are determined by the surroundings. Most energy companies have been involved in environmental pollution. Increasingly strict environmental restrictions require energy companies spend share of their profits in technological innovation and waste disposal to environmental restoration and remediation (BP Annual Report, 2008). Besides, an uneven geographical distribution of hydrocarbon and separability of production fields and markets expose oil and gas companies to safety issues and environmental issues in transportation (Talevski Lima, 2009), such as BP oil spilling in Gulf of Mexico. Transportation process requires special care at large human, material and capital inputs. Thus environmental issues are threats to profitability. L stands for legal factors that laws affect the business environment. Legal regulations subjected to energy companies includes imposition of exploitation obligations, regulations on field development and decommissioning, proposed fuel specifications, the provision of health-safety-security-and-environment protection, emission controls, climate change programs, the provision of disposal or releases of chemicals or petroleum substances, the clauses of antitrust and competition, upfront concession fees , special royalties and taxes (Talevski Lima, 2009; Trifu, 2012). More stringent legal restrictions might induce damage to corporate images, larger fees required in business activities or even loss of licence to operate in a certain area (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Meso-environment Analysis about meso-environment examines competitive structure. Porter’s Five Forces should be advised: It identifies five basic competitive forces which influence focal participants’ income statements and balance sheets through prices, costs and investments (Porter, 2008). Meso-environmental analysis tries to understand underpinnings of competition and causes of profitability in oil and gas industry. The threat of new entrants is insignificant. There are large capital investments tied to all vertical activities like exploration of new fields, setting-up production facilities, scientific research and accessing to distribution channel. Enormous fixed up-front investment creates barriers to potential entrants (Talevski Lima, 2009). Economies of scale/scope are another barrier to new participants. Higher unit costs in exploration and production and lower volume of business result in a small profit margin, which adversely affect returns of money in the start-up (Dess et al. The threat of substitutes seems not significant today but increasingly influential in following years. Oil and gas are still dominant in many sectors, especially in transportation and industry; and it is estimated to stay the dominance until 2030 (IEA, 2008). However, with the technological advances in drilling and processing new energies and rising concerns on planet, green energies like renewable energies and nuclear energies are predicted to slowly but surely enlarge market share in the future. The bargaining power of buyers is complex. Generally, the power of buyers is low because the prices of oil and gas are globally given (Talevski Lima, 2009). However, the power of large consumers, like the US, the EU, China and Japan, are indeed strong because their enormous volumes of demands can alter global demands. Recently, theses primary consumers are trying to switch from heavy dependence on fossil fuels to renewable energies. Thus the strong bargaining power entails business revolution in oil and gas industry. The bargaining power of suppliers depends on which type of suppliers they are. The conventional suppliers that provide supporting products/services seem disadvantaged because oil and gas industry has a wide range of small unconsolidated sub-suppliers from various sectors. While the suppliers of oil or gas field exert power: no one corporates can operate in a certain country without permission. These countries can determine the supply of materials. Thus their policy and regulation on oil and gas are quite important to energy companies. The intensity of rivalry is high. The slow industry growth and product homogeneity create small profits margins through technological or managerial innovation. Besides, the needs to replace drying fields exacerbate competition due to the fact that new reserves are more difficult to access. All of them force major and strong oligopolistic players overcome competitive constrains through aggressive activities like mergers, acquisitions and alliances (Weston et al. , 2001). Micro-environment Micro-environment analysis attempts to identify Shell’s competitive position through comparing competitors’ superior performances. Fiercer competition on differentiating products is a characteristic of oil and gas industry. BP intended to gain first-mover advantages. BP has engaged in renewables energies, especially in wind, solar and biofuels (Datamonitor, 2010). Until the end of 2009, BP has more than 500 MW of installed capacity through wind power; the whole solar value chain has been built; and more than $1 billion planned investments was into biofuels business operation. The Total S. A. refused to be inferior: the investments into renewable energies are also considerable (Datamonitor, 2010). Slow differentiation process might erode Shell’s competitive position. Increasing competition from government-run companies such as China National Petroleum Corporation and Sinopec creates threats to publicly held oil and gas companies, especially in seeking access to the fields (Shell Annual Report, 2012). These government-run entities have partial access to significant reserves and desirable projects. They are also sometimes motivated by political or other factors in making business decision which is abnormal in markets or harm to competitors. These partial competitive advantages supported by national governments should be achieved at independent participants’ loss. Internal Environment Internal-environmental analysis focuses on firm-specific factors. The frequent oil spilling disasters have troubled Shell for a long time. Recently, these problems become even worse. The oil spilling in Nigeria mainly caused by lack of maintenance on pipeline resulted in up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil spilling 75 miles off the coasts of Niger Delta (Vidal, 2011); the following oil leaking in North Sea caused by immature deep-water drilling technology and operator error resulted in more than 1,300 barrels of crude oil spilling (BBC news, 2011). However, Shell’s responses to extreme events seem unacceptable. Criticisms referred to late disclosure of information about leaking events, sluggish efforts to stop leakage, false claims on responsibility and reluctance on compensation (Macalister, 2013; Watkins, 2013). It makes Shell face not only considerable economic losses from business interruption, rehabilitative measures and fines on environmental pollution which caused losing leading company position (Datamonitor, 2010; MarketLine, 2013), but also a credibility problem and even corporate images damage (ICMR, 2010). Another threat is from globalisation outsourcing. Shell’s operation is on more than 70 countries with differing degrees of political, legal and fiscal stability. A wide range of political developments might affect operations, especially in the upstream, referring to land tenure, re-writing of leases, entitlement to produced hydrocarbons, production rates, and royalties (Shell Annual Report, 2012). Cross-border transaction also exposed Shell to risks from fluctuating foreign exchange rate. Changing foreign exchange rate increases transaction risks (caused by time delay between signing and settling contracts) and translational risks (caused by operating in foreign currencies but showing on balance sheets in home currency), which increase unpredictability in estimating costs and revenues (Sorensen and Kyle, 2008). Furthermore, Shell face competition from powerful local rivals when entering overseas market. Wining in the competition require large investments particularly when the rivalry happens in home country of government-run firms. Key Challenges The greatest challenge is from the increasing environmental concerns, leading to stringent environmental regulation and growing demands to green energies in future market. Hart pointed (1995) corporate competitive advantages should be rooted in capabilities in promoting environmentally-friendly economic activities, namely the natural-resource-based view of the firm. However, most core businesses of Shell, especially in upstream activities, still cause huge damages to ecosystem. This trend creates a puzzle: how to modify current environment-damaged portfolio to satisfy growing requirements to environmentally-friendly business model. In other words, it determines Shell’s future business development direction: from traditional fossil fuel company to environment-oriented energy giants-to sustain competitive advantages by pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development (Hart, 1995). The second key challenge is from poor crisis management strategy. Current activities in value chain exposure Shell to safety disasters in drilling, production, refining, and transportation process. It seriously hurts social benefit, especially the safety of nearby residence. Growing concerns about corporate social responsibility set higher requirements to Shell to manage crisis. How to win customer’s trusts and recover the credibility depends on Shell’s improvements in social-responsible performance. It determines Shell’s future strategic direction: from high-level risk-facing but low-level risking-taking company to lower-risk and strong anti-risk company with organisational and policy synergies which extend beyond â€Å"principles† to the serious treatments by every staff to think about threats and adopt their behaviour to avoid potential crisis or to manage happened crisis (McConnell Drennan, 2006). The third key challenge is from globalisation business model in oil and gas industry. This model tightly ties demand to Shell’s products to global economic prosperity and depression. It obviously brings greater difficulty to determine outputs in a certain period in order to balance demands and supply. Besides, the regional instability in political development and economic situation especially in currency makes it tougher for Shell to audit revenuesto control operations. Furthermore, competition from powerful local rivals is big challenge for Shell entering overseas market. To gain competitive advantages in international context should combine firm-specific resource and capabilities with certain national environment (Grant, 2008). In other words, how to shorten political, economic and cultural distances in globalisation should be Shell’s future direction on optimising integration of global resources (Ghemawat, 2001). Strategic Plan How to deal with the three contextual key challenges should be a serious question in Shell’s development plan. The measures to manage challenges can be understood as to pursue or sustain competitive advantages. In current market, external stakeholders are trying to keep companies accountable for social issues and demonstrate potentially large financial risks for the companies with damages to society or environments. Fulfilling social responsibility has been becoming inescapable requirements to keep competitive advantages. In order to embed a social perspective into its core value proposition, Shell should change from the fragmented and defensive position to the integrated and proactive posture. In other words, the focus must move from the focuses on corporate image to an emphasis on humanity and substance (Porter Kramer, 2006). Shared values among society (people), economy (profits) and environment (planet) can be realised (Jamali, 2006). The primary task is the shift from an environmentally-damaged producer to an environmentally-friendly corporation, namely, to achieve environment benefits. The first step is pollution abatement. There are two suggested approaches. Pollution control is using pollution control equipment to trap, store, treat and dispose emission and effluents. Another approach is pollution prevention, refers to reduce, change and prevent emission and effluents by greater housekeeping, material substitution, recycling and process innovation (Cairncross, 1991, Frosch Gallopoulos, 1989; Willig, 1994). Pollution prevention seems more important than pollution control: it tries to prevent and contain pollution in continuous-improvement methods rather than the old model of â€Å"polluting then cleaning up† at expense of non-recoverable ecological damages and expensive end-of-pipe capital investments to control emissions (Rooney, 1993). A pollution-prevention strategy emphasis on establishing capabilities in production and operation: it can be achieved through extensive and initiative employee involvement (Cole, 1991; Lawler, 1986) and continues improvement in waste reduction. Thus it is necessary to invest into inventing or introducing environmentally-friendly or resource-conserving facilities and innovating technology used in value chain. For example, non-phenolic and resin-coating technology  increase hydraulic fracturing efficiency: It allows coated sand to be produced with less energy requirement and environmental damages compared to current phenolic resins in the manufacturing process (Drilling Contractor, 2013). Building awareness of environmental protection and forcing involvement of employees also should be suggested. The second step is to product stewardship. It refers to direct the selection of raw materials and manage product design with aims at minimising environmental harm of product system. Exiting environmentally hazardous business and developing potential products with lower life-cycle costs should be the requirements to reasonable product management (Hart, 1995). To Shell, creating new products with low life-cycle costs will be dominant product strategy. It requests Shell to minimise the use of non-renewable materials, to avoid use of toxic materials and maximise the use of renewable resources (Robert, 1995). Developing renewable energy is a good choice. Shell is advised to develop wind, solar, hydropower, tidal, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas electricity generation and anaerobic digestion. These green energies not only satisfy legal and public expectations on environmental protection but also solve the problem of fossil fuels crisis. The third step is sustainable development. To achieve sustainable development demands a great deal of inputs and long-term commitments to develop market (Hart, 1995). To Shell, that means to create market demand transition from fossil fuel to renewable source of energies, especially in the developing countries. For example, Shell can make documentaries about production in the fossil fuels field and the renewable energy filed. This comparison might switch audiences’ preference for energies. Shell also can persuade energy-intensive producers to adopt green source of energies. Although there is little evidence showing the relationship between these efforts and short-term profits, the engagement to sustainable development will improvement firms’ long-term performance, reflected by price earnings or market-to-book ratios (Hart, 1995). The second task is to manage crisis, specifically to avoid potential crisis and to minimise the damages. That can be understood a task in protecting social benefits, especially nearby residence around Shell economic activities. There are five phase to accomplish crisis management (Mitroff, 1988). The first phase is signal deletion. Long before the crisis happened, there are repeated and persistent trials of warning signals. It is necessary for Shell to build various appropriate warning systems to identify diverse explicit or implicit signals. For example, the growing equipment faulty rate may imply the increasing possibility of accident and needs for maintenance. The second phase is preparation or prevention, referring to establish appropriate prevention and preparation mechanism. Specifically, prevention and preparation mechanism works through identifying any sign of weakness and then responding appropriately whatever problems is discovered. In this phase, Shell is required to ensure everything stay fixed even it works well now. The third phase is containment or damage limitation. It is important for Shell to build damage-limitation mechanisms in place. Preventing all crises seems impossible in oil and gas industry. How to prevent the harm from engulfing other parts of the corporate should be discussed. After every disaster happens, Shell should release relevant information as soon as possible and also clearly claim corporate responsibility. Although it may cause higher expense of recovery, these measures protect credibility in public, which is important for long-term development. The fourth phase is recovery. If Shell is not anticipatory, the aftermath is requested. That means Shell should build short-term and long-term recovery plan. For instance, in Nigeria Delta, how to degrade toxic substance in soil, air and water, how to recover soil fertility and how to rebuild broken ecosystem, which is highly related to local people’s health need to be considered. The final phase is learning. Shell should reassess the crisis happened on the past to improve capabilities in predicting crisis and avoiding crisis. The third task is to manage the difficulties in globalisation. The challenges are mainly from political difference, cultural distance and economic instability. Thus it is a task to shrink various distances in globalisation to realise economic profits. Political difference and cultural distance create barriers to foreign companies. International alliance and joint venture with powerful local market participant should be a suitable entry mode for Shell in overseas markets (Grant, 2008). It not only free Shell from political restrictions directed against foreign companies but also access market knowledge and distribution capabilities. Another strategy to shrink political and cultural distance is decentralisation. That means giving overseas subsidiaries higher level of freedoms in decision-making. These holders of first-hand information can modify Shell’s activities and respond the diverse political and customers’ requirements quickly and accurately. That is the process of localisation. The effects of economic instability also can be minimised by economic tools. For example, financial forward contracts help Shell avoid financial risks, such as fluctuating foreign exchange rate to guarantee the best possible outcomes in a certain production cycle (Shapiro, ND. Although it cannot balance demand and supply fundamentally, the tools or frameworks tries to decrease damages from external economic changes. Conclusion Royal Dutch Shell was a successful corporation but now is suffering poor performance. In this essay, the author analyses the macro-environment, meso-environment, micro-environment and internal environment in outside-in approach to identify three key challenges in the long-term survival. They are increasing concerns in environmental protection, poor crisis management strategy and various distances in globalisation. They also can be understood the threats from environment, society and economy. Thus corporate social responsibility is the synergy. Environmental profits can be achieved through ppollution abatement, product stewardship and sustainable development; sociall profits can be realised by crisis management, including signal deletion, preparation and prevention, damage limitation, recovery and learning; economic profits can be accomplished by shrinking political, cultural and economic distance through alliance joint venture, decentralised management and leverage by economic tools.