Starbucks Management Essay Example for Free

Starbucks Management Essay Management clearly plays one of the biggest roles in how successful a company can and will\be. Starbucks profoundly shows exquisite and powerful connections with their employees and coffee suppliers. Their management skills shadow Mitz Berg’s liaison roles and Katz’s human and conceptual theories by taking it into their own hands to connect and support each supplier. Not only does Starbucks show these great managerial aspects, they portray the beauty of an open system and use of the modern behaviors in their roles. Starbucks is a great example of a beautifully functioning business, integrated with the interpersonal skills needed to thrive. Management is defined as the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. Dub Hay, the Starbucks Senior VP of coffee, demonstrates some of the best managerial skills needed to be successful in a company. Hay shows that he can properly control the flow of product into a company by also controlling the relationship he has with the product growers. Jerry Miccolis and Marina Goodman state â€Å"†¦ the relationship between any two assets changes with how the assets themselves are performing (47). They put it quite perfectly, relating back to how Starbucks would not be able to operate so perfectly without the proper relationship with their assets, the growers and suppliers. Starbucks, according to Hay, specifically pays more for their coffee from their suppliers so that their suppliers may have a steady income as well. This builds an excellent relationship as well as product security quality and flow into the company. According to an online video, this process is obviously working for Starbucks for they have more than 6,000 outlets in 30 countries with annual revenue of 3. 3 million dollars (http://lc. gcumedia. com/zwebassets/courseMaterialPages/mgt240_starbucks-video-v1. 1. php). This revenue and success are not only measured upon sales, but upon managerial roles as well. Mitz berg has many managerial roles but the one that Hay portrays the best is the liaison role. The liaison establishes and maintains contacts inside and outside of an organization. Hay specifically demonstrates this by ensuring that each supplier of coffee has the best income possible and is producing the best coffee possible. Starbucks chooses its suppliers carefully and makes certain they know the exact practice of producing the best coffee beans. This relationship is what

Who is the Green Knight? Essay -- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essa

Who is the Green Knight? The Green Knight is described as an unusual and supernatural figure in the fourteenth century story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Throughout the story he is portrayed as a very confident individual who intends to play a game with one of the knights of the Round Table. In doing this, the Green Knight hopes to show that the knights of the Round Table indeed have flaws and weaknesses; this is the Green Knight's overall goal. However, the Green Knight himself can be viewed as a being prone to flaws and experiencing weaknesses. As the deceitful master plan he creates develops throughout the story, so does the truth behind his intentions for such a plan. Thus, the role and purpose of the Green Knight is to be known. The Green Knight's physical features are well depicted in the story. He is noted for his green skin pigmentation and giant size: "One of the greatest on ground in growth of his frame: From broad neck to buttocks so bulky and thick" (161). The Green Knight is looked upon as "half a giant on earth" and highly regarded because of this. Arthur's court becomes amazed to see such a creature of such enormous size. The Green Knight's language is charming and abrupt when he asks firmly: "Where is the captain of this crowd? Keenly I wish to see that sire with sight, and to himself say my say" (163). To a king this may seem a bit rude to addressed in such a way. The Green Knight's plan is to test the court. He wants to test one of Arthur's knights. Because of their fame and how well they are known for their chivalry and courage, the Green Knight seizes this as an opportunity to place before them a challenge. Sir Gawain takes on the challenge. The Green Knight offers his head to be cut off in ex... ...k to it saying: "Sir courteous knight, If contest bare you crave, You shall not fail to fight" (164). He did not know what he was being asked to do or offer. The Green Knight had not yet made it clear to him. Arthur was not going to back down from such a challenge for it was not a knightly thing to do, especially not after hearing what great things the Green Knight says about Arthur and his men. The Green Knight's honesty and confidence places quite an impression on Arthur and his men. Sources Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th Edition, Vol. 1 Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000. pp. 156-210. http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projf20003a/charactr.htm, by Yevgeniy Gelfand http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs4a/gawain.htm http://www.greenknight.com/ http://www.ancalagon.de/tolkien/howe/gawain.jpg

Edmunds Case Study Essay

1. What would the SWOT analysis look like for this company? Strengths: 100 local employees, steady market share Weaknesses: Slight loss in market share, aging work force, lack of marketing with technology, no new products Opportunities: increase market share, serving industries other than the box market, mergers and/or acquisitions Threats: Manufacturers using better machines, Consolidation in the paper industry, higher raw material costs 2. What role do you expect the internet to play in the corrugated box industry? What are some ways that Edmunds could better use the Internet to foster growth? I would expect that the internet would be a great resource for researching other corrugated box companies. It would be good for advertising as well. Edmunds could make their website better and offer some of their services on their website. They could also purchase ad space on other websites that target the corrugated box industry. They could also post employment opportunities on their website and various other internet job sites. 3. Which of Porter’s competitive strategies would you recommend that Edmunds follow? Why? Which of the strategies do you think would least likely succeed? I would recommend the Differentiation Strategy because they need to develop new products or different ways of using the existing products to distinguish themselves in the market for the companies who still use corrugated boxes. I think that the cost leadership strategy would work as well. If they can find a way to offer their products at a lower cost than other companies by practicing cost reduction/lean in-house they could pull in more customers. I think that the Focus strategy would be the least likely to succeed because they seem to already be focused on a specific regional market or buyer group and that is causing their business to slow down.

Regulating Violence Portrayed in the Media

Two themes have emerged as dominant in recent media broadcasts: sex and violence. These two themes have proven to garner high ratings from viewers and they further ensure the success of television programs and cinema movies. Viewers themselves rank programs which feature either or both of these themes as favorites. Of greater impact it seems is the evolution of violence as depicted in the media.With the aid of modern technology, especially as employed in animation and special effects, the depiction of violence has been further facilitated and enhanced. Furthermore, the proliferation of violent programs provides easy access to the same by viewers of all backgrounds, young and old as well as impressionable and guarded alike.This reflects that regulatory boards and associations are no longer able to keep up with the numerous programs deployed containing violent content. On the other hand, the ease with which violent content may be accessed might be attributed to a slackening in standard s. This is reflected in the programs which depict violent and gory images aired for children. Sometimes, as is the case with a lot of Japanese animation, the violence portrayed for the youth surpasses even that depicted for mature viewing.Scope and Nature of the ResearchThis research intends to study the role of violence as portrayed on the screen on aggressive behavior of viewers. It is the goal of this paper to assess whether or not there is a need to regulate the extent of depicted violence on screen. Should it be shown that such a need exists, then the reasonableness of the regulation to be made will be broached.No distinction will be made between programs aired on television and those shown in movie theaters. Neither will distinction be made between programs with purely violent content and programs which only dedicate a portion of the airtime to violence. Included in the programs and movies to be analyzed will be news programs, fictional stories, and even animation. It will be borne in mind that what is of importance in this study is not so much the manner in which the violence is depicted but more on the effect that portrayals of violence has on the viewing public.What will be taken into account will be the effect that violence has on the individual behavior as well as on the society at large bearing witness to it. Given the response of persons, whether implicit or explicit, to portrayals of violence, a close look will be taken as to the effect of regulating the violent content of movies and programs in the cinema and on television.A brief analysis will be made regarding the effect such a regulation might have on viewer ratings and on the process of regulation itself. It is only as regards this aspect of regulation that an analysis of acceptable levels of violence will be made. Therefore, it is only in outlining a rational process of regulation wherein the manner of depicting violence will be assessed. These are the research goals and delimitations withi n which this paper will be made.Research IssuesSuch goals have been borne out of an observation that the increase in violent programs shown on screen have resulted in a related increase in crime and violence in the community. Several empirical research data have been obtained which support this observation. Although there has been contradictory evidence obtained which also tend to refute supporting evidence, the fact remains that in some populations and studies, a positive correlation has been drawn between television violence and violence in the individual and in the community.Furthermore, actual cases have been observed wherein felonies have been committed mimicking behavior aired on television or shown in a movie. This reflects the danger of giving free license to creativity in violent films. This is particularly so in programs wherein the characters are permitted to accomplish their criminal objectives without resulting in action by legal or police authorities.Not only as regard s criminal behavior, but even in programs reflecting suicide behavior, there has been shown a duplication effect in the acts of viewers. Thus it is shown that concepts shown by the media give ideas to the audience regarding behavior that they themselves might engage in. Taking into consideration the extent of violent acts that can possibly be depicted in films today and the variety of programs accessible to different viewers, we are faced with the problem of having to control for an infinite number of different atrocities in any given community.Given these facts, the emerging issue is undeniably whether or not regulation may effect a means of control for aggressive and violent behavior in societies exposed to violence in films. Given that violent programs have already been introduced into the regular broadcast of media, would its belated regulation result in a discernable change? Furthermore, up to what extent should regulation be made in order that an observable decline is found in violent behavior of the public?Theoretical FrameworkThe focus and issues of this paper is based on several theoretical foundations. These theories serve to ground the rationalizations and argumentations made regarding the relationship of media portrayed violence and actual violent behavior. An understanding of the theoretical framework of such a relationship will support the importance of regulation and provide a background for determining the level of regulation required.The first underlying theory bases the relationship on cognitive priming. Cognitive priming focuses on the ability of a stimulus to activate similar stimuli causing a chain of reactions as a result of the initial stimulus presented. This type of inference from one stimulus to another is largely dependent on built-in associations established in the memory pathways of the individual.Applying this approach to violence, it is theorized that the violence in films stimulates previously held aggressive thoughts or tendenc ies in an individual. In fact, the individual need not necessarily have entertained such aggressiveness nor is there a need that the individual be attracted to violence. The only aspect required on the part of the individual when considering the cognitive priming approach is that there is a natural link made between the violent scene or act viewed with other violent behaviors – both those personally experienced and those simply associated on basis of logic.Emotional arousal is different from cognitive priming in this sense because in emotional arousal, the natural tendency is key in bringing forth aggressive behavior as a result of witnessing a violent program. It should be noted that arousal merely energizes dominant behavior in a particular situation. Therefore, arousal produced by watching violent programs merely facilitates or intensifies a predisposition for violence. However, if there is no prior propensity for aggression, then there is no object to be energized by the arousal resulting from violent films.Another reason why individuals are encouraged to act on their aggression after viewing violent behavior is a probable sponsor effect which operates on the mind of the viewer. This effect results from a perspective regarding the person of the sponsor endorsing the violent program.This effect is said to have relevance when certain socialization norms dominate the understanding of the viewer causing him or her to gain respect for certain authority figures – such as the ones who have permitted the airing of the violent program. Given that the acts in the program were encouraged and not prohibited, then certainly the imitation of the same in actual life should warrant the same encouragement or at least a degree of tolerance.It can thus be seen from the above theories that repeated exposure to violence on films causes an increase in permissiveness for deviant behavior. Furthermore, the lack of portrayal of punishment of violence causes viewers t o rationalize that they themselves are capable of escaping reprimand should they perform the same acts.As regards sensationalized victims of violence, individuals may even bring home the message that should they themselves receive the violence witnessed, they too should receive attention and momentary fame. All these signals represent misinformed ideologies about the role and effect of violence in society thus resulting in socially maladaptive and harmful behavior.The Research ProcessConsidering the nature of the study to be made, several resources should be tapped in order to gain a holistic view as to the present standing of matters. Adequate research would also reflect the rational future steps to be made in terms of regulation. First, relevant material pertaining to present regulatory guidelines pertaining to violence should be obtained. Given, the guidelines, an assessment should be made whether or not the same are applied.Next, an actual study should be made gathering data fro m a chosen population regarding the effect on aggression in viewers of the permitted level of violence in films. Should it be found that there is a significant relationship, then research must be made as to what level of viewed violence would not result in such violent viewer behavior.The results should then display the effect such a regulation would have on viewer behavior by reviewing the data collected from the population organized. Furthermore, television viewer ratings of violent programs should be noted in order that a determination may be made as to the effect regulation will have on the ratings of networks and movie houses. From the above it can thus be seen that legislative acts, experimental data, and media network data sheets will be utilized in order to solidify a firm resource base for the results of the study.In obtaining such resources, several research methods will need to be used, first of such will be the interview method. Members of movie regulatory bodies will ha ve to be interviewed regarding the process of review and the standard of violence permitted in movies. Also, officers of media networks or their representatives should be interviewed in order to gain an accurate estimation of the quantifiable effect of violence in shows on viewer ratings.Apart from interviews however, a field study should be conducted regarding the effect of particular levels of violence on viewers. In order to facilitate data collection, certain levels of violence will already be categorized and the viewers of such kinds of violence disseminated among the groups. Data will then be collected through a series of questionnaires and self-report tests.It is hypothesized that the study will reveal that there is a lack if media regulation of violence on television programs and movie shows resulting in heightened levels of violence in the community. Increased regulation of media portrayals of violence will however serve to dampen the awareness of the public regarding the v ariety of violent acts. Regulation will also serve to maintain the authority of legal and police figures in controlling violent behavior. Thus, there should be an increase in regulation of violence in the media.Works CitedFelson, Richard. â€Å"Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior.† Annual Review of Sociology 22 (1996): 103-128.The author effectively synthesizes the large body of work related to the effects of mass media on resulting aggressive behavior in the viewer. The paper is objective and presents data supporting and defeating the relationship of depictions of violence with actual violent behaviors. The presentation sticks to the relevant data in the mass of previous studies conducted regarding the topic. Yet the detail embedded in the paper serves to enhance the reader’s knowledge of past studies. The paper is holistic as it takes into account concepts and theories as well as empirical data gathered.Pirkis, Jane, Burgess, Philip, Blood, R. Warwick, and Francis , Catherine. â€Å"The Newsworthiness of Suicide.† Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 37(3) (2007): 278-283.The authors herein take on a very limited perspective on the role of media on suicidal behavior. The theory implemented herein is that of modeling and emulation only. A further limitation of the paper is that it only considers those suicide attempts which were real and covered by news programs.The authors focus on the danger that viewers may imitate the behavior of sensationalized and detailed suicidal acts. Several examples are given as to actual cases wherein media-covered suicides were copied by viewers of the news program. The authors themselves also suggest stricter regulation of suicides which are to be deemed as newsworthy and as to what aspects regarding the suicide should be revealed to the public.

How to become a legal secretary

How to become a legal secretary Some fields come with perennial job openings, because basic human needs don’t change very much- healthcare and education come to mind. The legal world is like this as well. It’s an industry that will always be necessary. And if you don’t have or want a law degree, don’t worry! That’s not a barrier to breaking into the field (unless your goal is to be a practicing attorney). If you have stellar organizational skills and an interest in the law, you can break into the industry as a legal secretary. Let’s look at the basic building blocks of this career path.What’s the difference between paralegals and legal secretaries?In the legal world, there are a number of non-attorney legal professionals in supporting roles who work for law firms, legal clinics, and government agencies as part of the legal team. These roles are typically broken out into two types:Legal secretary/assistants: Legal secretaries may organize and file legal documents or c ase research, but their primary role is to support the lawyers administratively. This can include managing calendars, scheduling appointments, performing many of the same tasks as an administrative professional in virtually every other industry. There’s no specific degree typically required to become a legal secretary, but associate’s degrees are fairly common.Paralegals: Paralegals focus more on the legal aspects of the supporting role. The paralegal is more likely to work directly with clients, taking and giving information, managing depositions or other legal meetings, and conducting research. Paralegals typically hold a four-year degree in paralegal studies.What does a legal secretary do?Legal secretaries are responsible for managing an attorney’s day-to-day office life. That may include the following responsibilities:Maintaining attorney schedules, scheduling appointmentsDrafting correspondence and legal documents (such as briefs, subpoenas, or motions)Mana ging and ordering office suppliesAnswering phones and emailGreeting clientsFiling legal and administrative documentsCopying, scanning, and faxing legal documentsAssisting with research and reading legal journals or materialsReviewing and proofreading legal documentsLegal secretaries typically work full-time in an office setting, though the number of hours can vary depending on the needs of the firm or legal office.What skills do legal secretaries have?Legal secretaries need to have a very strong administrative skill set to succeed at their jobs. Legal skills and context can be learned, but without that basis of organization and management, a legal secretary would find him- or herself feeling very challenged by the day-to-day work.Organizational Skills:  Legal secretaries are largely responsible for keeping attorneys (and their work) organized. Being detail-oriented is a must, because even small slips or carelessness could have serious legal consequences.Discretion:  Legal inform ation is often privileged information, so the legal secretary needs to be someone who can be trusted with confidential info. Again, breaches of this trust can lead to legal consequences, so being able to keep work at work and being discreet about information learned in the course of the job are essential to the legal secretary’s job.Time Management:  Attorneys often have hectic schedules full of client appointments, court dates, and other important meetings. The legal world is also based very heavily on deadlines. If the legal secretary doesn’t have tight control over making sure things are happening on time, that can put projects or cases at risk.People Skills:  The legal secretary is often the initial go-between for attorneys, legal staff and their clients, making appointments and greeting clients who come in. A friendly, professional demeanor when dealing with guests or colleagues is essential. Legal issues can also be stressful for clients and legal staff alike , so a calm â€Å"bedside manner† can be a very helpful asset in this role.Technology Skills:  Being up-to-date on standard administrative tools like word processing, email clients, presentation software/apps, productivity apps, and digital filing systems is a must for legal secretaries. There will likely be paper-based filing for certain things (especially confidential information), but as the world becomes more digital in general, legal secretaries should be well-versed and adaptable when it comes to using technology in their everyday work.Communication Skills:  Clear, solid written and verbal communication skills are a cornerstone for legal assistants- especially for legal correspondence and documents. Details are important always, but in legal matters they can mean everything. Legal secretaries may also work on proofreading or editing legal documents for attorneys, so having a critical, knowledgeable eye for language and grammar is important.Teamwork:  Everyone who works on a case is part of the team- from the attorney to the secretary to the paralegals and research assistants. Everyone has a common goal of providing the best possible legal work and representation, so there’s little room for diva behavior. Legal secretaries should be adept at working with different kinds of people to make sure projects and cases are being worked on with maximum efficiency and minimum drama.What do you need to become a legal secretary?For many legal secretary jobs, there is no formal degree requirement, though many employers may prefer at least an associate’s degree in a legal studies field. There are also no specific licensing or certification requirements for the job, but there are a number of professional certification options for legal secretaries who want to take the extra step; the National Association for Legal Secretaries (NALS) and Legal Secretaries International both offer certificate programs.How much do legal secretaries get paid?Accor ding to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, legal secretaries make a median annual salary of $44,180, which is higher than the median annual salary for other types of secretaries and administrative assistants ($37,320).What’s the outlook for legal secretaries?For legal secretaries/assistants and paralegals, the number of job openings is expected to grow by 16% by 2026, which is not only much faster than average for all jobs, but also significantly faster than non-legal secretary jobs (which are expected to dip by about 5% over the same period).If you’re thinking about this exciting career path and have a passion for details, it could be your ideal path into the legal industry. Once you’ve gained experience as a legal secretary, you can use that as a stepping stone to becoming a paralegal, or maybe even decide to become an attorney yourself! Whatever your goals, it’s a solid administrative role that can bring satisfaction and job security.

Beginning a Sentence with And or But

Beginning a Sentence with And or But Beginning a Sentence with And or But Beginning a Sentence with And or But By Maeve Maddox Several opinions about what is permissible in writing have acquired an almost religious authority with some English speakers. One of these opinions is that beginning a sentence with the coordinating conjunctions and and but is an unpardonable breach of usage. Here are some typical reader attitudes: I almost fainted when I read [a post] about the acceptability of beginning sentences with â€Å"and† or â€Å"but†. [How can anyone] justify the use of conjunctions to begin a sentence? It simply drives me crazy! Writers of English have been beginning sentences with and as long as English has been written. The Venerable Bede (672-735) did it. King Alfred (849-899) did it. You’ll also find examples in Swift (1667-1745), Johnson (1709-1784), Austen (1775-1817), Dickens (1812-1870), Orwell (1903-1950), and Roth (1933-). According to The Chicago Manual of Style, the belief that beginning a sentence with and, but, or so is an error â€Å"has no historical or grammatical foundation.† Not only that, but â€Å"a substantial percentage (often as many as 10 percent) of the sentences in first-rate writing begin with conjunctions. It has been so for centuries, and even the most conservative grammarians have followed this practice† (CMOS 5.206). Authors capable of â€Å"first-rate writing† are one matter. Teachers, on the other hand (and editors working with grammatically challenged adults) are wise to advise against it. Writing is a craft. Every craft demands that beginners learn in stages. A rule against beginning a sentence with a conjunction has pedagogical usefulness. Beginning writers benefit from being guided. They don’t need to have all the rules and exceptions dumped on them at the outset. My London headmistress forbade the use of semicolons. She said that semicolons could wait until students mastered the use of commas and periods. Her rule was intended to be transitional. Beginning writers overuse the conjunction and. Giving inexperienced writers permission to begin sentences with and is asking for trouble. Here, for example, is an excerpt from the writing of nine-year-old Daisy Ashford: Mr Salteena had dark short hair and mustache and whiskers which were very black and twisty. He was middle sized and he had very pale blue eyes With this style of writing, a rule against beginning a sentence with and can only be a blessing. In my teaching days, I forbade students to begin a sentence with because, not because I didn’t know about complex sentences, but because inexperienced writers tend to begin sentences with because and never get to a main clause. A practice that exacerbates this tendency in high school students is accepting sentence fragments as answers to essay questions on tests. For example: Question: Why did Silas put Eppie in the coal hole? Answer: Because she kept wandering away. Teachers of every subject could contribute to a higher standard of student writing by requiring students to rephrase the question in the answer: Question: Why did Silas put Eppie in the coal hole? Answer: Silas put Eppie in the coal hole because she kept wandering away. When students have learned to distinguish between a main clause and a dependent clause, they can progress to the use of because to introduce a subordinate clause. When they have learned to control their use of coordinating conjunctions, they can use them at the beginning of a sentence from time to time. Here are two examples from the work of writers known for â€Å"first-rate writing†: Besides, another purpose of the enlarged armywas to minimize the ever-present possibility of sedition. And with this purpose once again in mind, [Septimus Severus] took a number of steps to make the officers of the legions a privileged class and tie them firmly to his own person. –Michael Grant, History of Rome. If he charged, I could shoot; if he took no notice of me, it would be safe to leave him until the mahout came back. But also I knew that I was going to do no such thing. –George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant Like any stylistic device, beginning a sentence with and or but may be overused or used incorrectly. A common fault with but is to use it where and is required. But is an â€Å"adversative conjunction.† It introduces a contrast. Some writers tend to begin a sentence with but when and is the appropriate choice. Here’s a revision suggestion from The Chicago Manual of Style: Evaluate the contrasting force of the but in question, and see whether the needed word is really and; if and can be substituted, then but is almost certainly the wrong word. Bottom line: Beginning a sentence with and or but is a common stylistic device used in English by the best writers of every century. Writers who dislike the device are free to avoid it. Forbidding it to inexperienced writers has pedagogical value, but condemning it out of hand is to set a fetish above English idiom. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Is Irony? (With Examples)Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous15 Idioms for Periods of Time

Macro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Macro - Essay Example The one who has the highest bid will get the product. In order to participate in the eBay online market, one must register on the site. Upon finishing the registration, one is now allowed to bid or buy the product right away. For buying the product, the user only has to click the Buy it Now button or the eBay Express. eBay makes sure that every item transacted is fully insured for the protection of the consumers’ rights. Another feature for ensuring a good deal in eBay is the Meet the Seller link where people can view the feedbacks from other members whom the seller had transacted with and also gives the opportunity for buyers to inquire about the product they are interested to. For people who want to earn additional income on items that are no longer in use. eBay is a perfect place for putting those items in auction. eBay allows people to sell all kinds of items in the internet making transactions easier and fun. eBay is another opportunity for earning additional income through buy and sell. An online market system like eBay reduces the costs of finding the right buyers for a certain product which is more efficient. Since the registration is free, sellers have the chance to put all their items that they wish to sell. For buyer and sellers, they can get cheaper items and sell them in higher prices for profits. eBay also has a taxing system wherein sales taxes are charge as required by the state. Additional tax revenues are also beneficial for the state economically. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization that deals with the rules of trade between nations in the global arena. It was formed in January 1, 1995 succeeding the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Its current budget for 2008 is 128 million Swiss francs. Director-General Pascal Lamy currently heads the organization. The WTO has 153 members which account to