Low Cost Leadership Strategy

Low Cost Leadership Strategy In the world of businesses today, every organization definitely needs information systems in their way of doing business. Laudon and Laudon define information system as a set of interrelated components that retrieve, process, store and distribute the information to support the decision making in an organization. In fact, those who acquire a decent information system would eliminate those who dont have to fight against it. The ever changing world of information technology brings new challenges for every organization to set up an information system that would provide numerous advantages. According to Laudon and Laudon (2009), there are six main reasons why business are investing millions of dollar in information system and technologies, among them are operational excellence; new products, services, and business models; customer and supplier intimacy; improved decision making; competitive advantage and last but not least, survival. Therefore, Aalsmeer Flower Auction (will be known as Aalsmeer throughout the research paper) who is encountering several problems would need the help of information system to overcome the problems. 2.0 Information strategy 2.1 Analysis of current situation Aalsmeer is facing threats from various sources and should utilize the information technology today in defending their business. Laudon and Laudon (2009) believe that the more successfully a firm can align the information technology with business goals, the more profitable it will be. Apart from that, business people who claim themselves do not understand information technology will pay a hefty price in poor performance (Laudon and Laudon, 2009). In the market today, electronic driven flower market is becoming more and more dominant than the traditional way of doing business. Besides, the competitive environments among the retailers encourage them to merge and forming a larger company with an increased in demanding power. Indeed, they are demanding fresher products, more varieties, smaller quantities and multiple deliveries and this inevitably exert pressures on Aalsmeer who needs to change their way of doing business in order to survive. It is advisable for Aalsmeer to adopt a new strategy for the organization to achieve their business objectives and ensure competitive advantage in the industry. The objectives of Aalsmeer at the moment are: Enable innovation for the business processing methods Redefine the value chain to reduce transaction costs Integrate smoothly with wholesalers and retailers Increase the market share to increase profit 2.2 Low-cost leadership strategy After examine the current situation of Aalsmeer, low-cost leadership strategy is undoubtedly the most suitable for the company now. Low-cost leadership strategy is centered on the capability of Aalsmeer to produce and deliver the products of high quality at low costs. A company having low-cost leadership when extends its value to customers expectation, can further strengthen its strategic position in the market place, (Alagse, n.d). In fact, information systems could be use to lower the operational costs and hence, lower prices for the customers. The typical example is Wal-Mart, which is a company continuously relies heavily on information system to reduce costs and this leads them to one of the largest profitable company. They replenish the products as soon as the customers make payments at the cashier. The computers collect information from the stores and send it to suppliers and therefore, Wal-Mart does not need to spend large amount of money on maintaining large inventories. Aalsmeer offer relatively standardized products with features that are acceptable to customers; in other words, with minimum differentiation at the lowest competitive price. In addition, Aalsmeer who are suggested to follow a low-cost leadership strategy need to maintain constant efforts aimed at lowering their costs, but yet creating values for the customers. Such efforts include investing in technologies, establishing tight control of production and overhead costs, minimizing the cost of sales and services. Specifically, investing technologies means to develop a new information system for Aalsmeer to achieve the objectives stated earlier which would be discuss later on this proposal. Implementing the strategy means Aalsmeer must consider its value chain of primary and secondary activities and effectively link them to be successful. The critical focus now is to increase the efficiency of how the business process. In detail, processes and procedures of selling flowers to customers must be simplified, achieving efficiency and effectiveness and last but not least, monitoring the cost of activities provided by others that interface with the companys inbound and outbound logistics. For instance, the delivery travel costs. Moreover, when Aalsmeer successfully implements the low-cost leadership strategy, it can still obtain a high return even when the Porters five competitive forces are strong. Porters five forces Explanation Traditional competitors When Aalsmeer is offering the lowest cost in the market, the competitors will undoubtedly consider competing in a price war, and even if it does, Aalsmeer will still continue to earn profit after the competitors compete away their profits. Customers If there is any customers tends to drive prices below the cost of the next most efficient company, that company might choose to exit the market and leaves the low-cost company with a monopoly position. Therefore, customers would lose bargaining powers when that happens since low-cost company would be in a position that has power to raise the prices. New market entrants Aalsmeer who successfully utilize the low-cost strategy generally will sell in large volume to earn high profit. This indirectly creates a barrier for the new entrants who need to enter the industry at large scale (large enough to achieve the same economies of scale with low-cost company). Suppliers Once Aalsmeer achieve the lowest cost in the market, it enables them to absorb a greater amount of cost increases from suppliers before it must raise prices charged to customers. Moreover, Aalsmeer who will be dominating the market may force the suppliers to hold down the level of price increases, reducing the power of suppliers. Substitute products and services Aalsmeer, as a low-cost leader will be in a more attractive position relative to the substitutes. They could reduce prices to maintain the price-value relationship to retain customers from going to the electronic driven market. 2.3 Enterprise Resource Planning The information system that is suggested for Aalsmeer would be the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which can be define as a set of integrated programs capable of managing a companys vital business operations for an entire multi-site, global organization. ERP attempts to integrate the key business processes of an entire firm into a single software system that allows information to flow seamlessly throughout the organization. For instance, the transactions with customers and flower growers. Indeed, the key to ERP is real time monitoring of business functions, which allows timely analysis of key issues such as quality, availability, customer satisfaction, performance and availability. It is a set of integrated software modules and a central database that enable data to be shared by many different business processes and functional units throughout the enterprise (Curtis Cobham, 2005). Sources: extolcorp ERP functional units Financial and accounting The Aalsmeer is facing challenges from the electronically driven flower markets and due to this reason, it is vital for them to have a complete accounting system. All the transaction ought to be recorded quickly with no error or minimal error in order to let the other departments to take the next actions immediately. It also includes cash management and forecasting, credit management and financial reporting. It would gives Aalsmeer an edge if they could forecast the cash flow and make important decisions when necessary such as, stop buying stock of flowers when they flower markets are down in particular period. Human Resource Since consumers are demanding fresher products, more varieties and smaller quantities, the human resource definitely needs an information system that can divide the jobs to each employees from each department of the organization. Therefore, the company could satisfy the demands from the consumers. Besides, human resource process also involves performance management and travel expense reporting. The new system could do a performance analysis of the current situation and make necessary changes to it. Apart from that, the travel expenses such as petrol fees can be monitored closely to avoid any extra expenses being used. Manufacturing and production Whereas the manufacturing and production processes includes mainly the procurement process, which is the action of obtaining flowers at the operational level. As the problems stated, the growers are becoming more professional and starting to utilize the electronic way of selling their flowers. The system could manage the inventory effectively by not wasting any extra capital to rent the inventory, or having insufficient place to keep the flowers. This is to ensure the flowers are in good quality control and further strengthen the links between wholesalers and retailers when they actually get what is ideal for themselves. Supply Chain Management It is composed of three sub processes: demand planning, supply planning and demand fulfillment. Demand planning is to understand the customers buying patterns and then develop aggregate long-term or short term forecast of demand on the flowers. Whereas the supply planning includes the strategic inventory with distribution planning and demand fulfillment is to provide a fast, accurate and reliable delivery for customer orders. It also helps to determine what type of supplies is required, what quantities are needed to meet the demand, and how the shipments of supplies and products to customers are to be scheduled, monitored and controlled. Customer Relationship Management A system that helps in all aspects of customer encounters, including marketing and advertising, customer service after the sale and programs that retain loyal customers. Aalsmeer ought to understand the needs of current and potential customers to increase customer retention and loyalty, which leads to a bigger market share. With the processing system capturing data of every customer with the company, Aalsmeer would then know the best way to sell the flowers based on the analysis such as customer preference, time of purchasing, ways of purchasing and many more. This could ensure an increase in efficiency of the selling force and then, increase the productivity by focusing on the most profitable customers. 2.4 Advantages of ERP Agile manufacturing underpins the success of Smart car, DailerChryslers city car brand. Smart has successfully responded quickly to customer demands ever since they have adopted the ERP system from Baan, the Dutch software vendor (Geoff Nairn, 2003, as cited in Curtis Cobham, 2005). The optimized production is due to shorter processes but yet still came out with reliable products. Advantages Explanation Improvement of Work Process It ensures good work processes based on best practices which lead to increased efficiency. In this case, the ERP could helps in reducing costs for the organization, such as human resourcing or transaction cost. Besides, it eliminates the problem of synchronizing changes between multiple systems and provides a top-down view of the enterprise at anytime. Increase in Access to Data for Operational Decision Making The data is integrated from all the departments in the organization to provide excellent support for operational decision making. In addition, it allows the company to provide greater customer service and support, strengthen customer and supplier relationship, and also generates new business opportunities. The system connects the necessary software for accurate forecasting and this allows inventory levels to be kept at maximum efficiency. 3.0 Methodology 3.1 System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Kay. R (2004) believes that System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a model created for an organization when adopting a new information system. In fact, SDLC is a sequential series of steps to build an information system and it is one of the most common development strategies. It is best to follow the SDLC which consists of five phases: system planning, system analysis, system design, system implementation, system operation and maintenance. The phases are interconnected by the inputs and outputs, and if the previous phase has poor outputs, the rest would be affected. 3.1.1 System Planning The first phase of SDLC is system planning, which happen when there is a request of a new system. Aalsmeer realizes that they need a new information strategy in order to remain strong player in the market. A preliminary investigation ought to be conducted to review the existing system and identify the problems. Indeed, a feasibility study could be carried out to identify whether the proposed new system is feasible to be implemented. If the new system is possible, practicable, reasonable and applicable in four main aspects, then the management should invest on it in order to get benefits in a long term. Aspects Why? Technical feasibility To determine whether a new IS can be developed with available technical resources. Does Aalsmeer Flower Auction have the hardware, software and equipments? Can it be developed with current technology? Economic feasibility To determine whether the new IS has a reasonable cost despite the changes it will brings Can Aalsmeer Flower Auction bear with the cost? Operational feasibility To determine if the new IS will be used effectively and efficiently after it is developed Are the changes to business operation minimal? Schedule feasibility To determine whether the new IS can be developed within an acceptable time frame? After conducting the feasibility test, Aalsmeer could then decide the actions to be taken based on the preliminary investigation report. 3.1.2 System Analysis Next, it is the system analysis phase, where the purpose is for Aalsmeer to learn how to improve the existing system, and then determine what the new system should do in order to achieve the goals. Therefore, the organization could find some facts about the current system, such as the strength and weakness of it and produce a report with what is required in the new system. Requirement Anticipation Requirement Specification Requirement Investigation In fact, Aalsmeer could gather the facts by study existing documentation, interview with employees, observation and questionnaire. Then, operational details and performance criteria need to be specified and examined, i.e. the speed of the ERP system after developed. After that, this phase carefully analyzes the information and then prepares a system requirement document which should include managements and users requirements, and recommended plan to develop the new ERP. 3.1.3 System Design This is the phase where after the management level has decided to develop a new system for the organization. A blueprint, which is a detailed plan that satisfied all requirements specified, needed to be develop at this phase. Aalsmeers management should discuss this with all the employees in order to develop a system that satisfies everyone. Programs related are written, tested and documented by the analyst. In addition, internal and external controls are to be designed to ensure the system would be reliable, accurate, maintainable at any time and secure. Lastly, this phase would end up with system design specification where the blueprint is presented to managements and the actual users for review and approval. 3.1.4 System Implementation At this phase, the developed ERP system will be installed in the organization. In addition, operational documentation and procedures of the new ERP system are prepared for the Aalsmeer employees. The employees would need to attend classes to be trained in order to utilize the system effectively. This is a phase of conversion from old system to new system. Indeed, the new system is a huge and complex one, so Aalsmeer could install the software step by step and therefore, it would not crash the whole system when some particular department has problem using it. Aalsmeer could create a legal contract that indicates the system is approved and will be signed by users and stakeholders (Stair Reynolds, 2008). A post-implementation system evaluation could be done to access the quality of the system. Apart from that, it is to examine whether the system operates ideally and are the costs and benefits within the earlier expectations. 3.1.5 System Maintenance This phase is an on-going process as the purpose is to support the operation of the system through proper maintenance, enhancement and protection. Under the maintenance process, any broken hardware is repaired or replaced to avoid any surprising break down. Besides that, the Aalsmeer needs to optimize the system to make the system run smoothly. For example, by compressing the data base, or delete the old and unused files. When there are any errors detected, modification should be done as soon as possible (Stair Reynolds, 2008). On the other hand, enhancement is needed at particular time interval to increase the system capability such as adding more hard disk space to store a large database of customer information. In addition, new functionalities and features could be added when there is a change in the ways of doing business. Lastly, the protection on the system to ensure it is not attacked by any virus or hackers. The firewall of the system is configured and monitored to minimize the chances of being attacked. Besides, backing up the database is definitely a good way to protect all the customer information which is private and confidential. King Stairs Software (n.d.) mentioned that a proper backup strategy is vital for business as well as personal users. 4.0 Impacts and effectiveness of ERP Systems changeover can be effected in some ways which not only has certain benefits, there will be drawbacks as well (Curtis Cobham, 2005). 4.1 Organization The purpose of this research is to identify a way for Aalsameer to strengthen itself in the market. It is believed that the company is able to reduce the operational cost, due to the effectiveness of the system to finish up the work in lesser time given. The new system would emphasize on the information technologies, where the large amount number of workers is no longer needed. Apart from that, the organization can offer lower cost compared to rivals. The ERP system enable the organization to fight with the electronically driven market and thus, accelerating the business growth. Besides, the budget saved can be use on the marketing campaign to promote the new system of organization to public, and thus, they would be well aware of the new operating business model. However, Aalsameer should consider whether the system supports the business objectives (OBrien Marakas, 2008). If the system does fully support the business objectives, it is worth to be invested even though they may face problems on capital, when hiring the system vendors to develop it. If the system does not support the objectives, Aalsmeer may need to re-consider the actions taken before. 4.2 Management Whereas for the management level, the reports statement such as invoice, can be generated through online now. It saves the time for everyone the processing time is cut down in a systematic way. To top it off, it reduces the workload easily and the burden of management level can be taken off. Therefore, it increases the efficiency of management level since they can rely on the ERP system more than before. By using a complete and efficient ERP system, it also reduces the error or mistake which could possibly occur when the work is done by human alone. The process of paper work simply becomes easier, simpler and faster for management and they could put more attention on other problems. For example, searching for more potential customers via new marketing communications. On the other hand, they can put more emphasis on matters that could possibly cut down the operational cost such as downsizing the number of workers in the organization. Since the organization is utilizing the ERP system now, it is possible to rely on the technology instead of human hand to do the work. However in reality, it may be difficult for the management to layoff the employees who may be had work for the company long time, but it is essential to make the decision as it benefits the organization, after all. 4.3 Employees Certainly, there would be several impacts on the employee of the organization, who is the direct users of the new ERP system. Firstly, it may create a chaos in them, where the new system would take over their position by terminating them. Besides, elderly employees who are not familiar with new technology, or not used to changes in working environment will definitely suffer in using ERP when the system is installed. Indeed, employees who are not good at adapting to the surrounding will face hardships this may create a negative environment in the organization. However, it is believed that after few months, they will eventually find themselves comfortable with the ERP. Moreover, the new system will ease the burden of the employees, and increase the time for them to focus on their work. For instance, they can provide a good and reliable quality of customer service which in long term, will bring up the reputation of Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Moreover, since the ordering and payment are all done online now, it simplifies the working process. Indeed, employee would be more ambitious in completing their tasks. 5.0 Conclusion All in all, Aalsmeer definitely needs a new information strategy as well as a new information system in order to achieve the business objectives. Ideas suggested to Aalsmeer are considered carefully and it is believed as the best way for the organization now. If Aalsmeer would to follow the proposal carefully, they would achieve the business objectives and make a success in the market today. References Books Curtis, G. Cobham, D., 2005. Business Information Systems. 5th ed. Edinburgh Gate: Pearson Education Limited Laudon, K.C. Laudon, J.P., 2007. Essentials of business Information Systems. 7th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Laudon, K.C. Laudon, J.P., 2009. Essentials of management Information System. 8th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. OBrien J.A. Marakas, G.M., 2008. Introduction to Information Systems. 14th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Stair, R.M. Reynolds, G.W., 2008. Principles of Information Systems: a managerial approach. 8th ed. Boston: Thomson Course Technology. Websites Alagse, n.d. Promoting through leadership . [Online] Available at: http://www.alagse.com/strategy/s10.php [Accessed 2 April 2010] Kay, R., 2002. QuickStudy: System Development Life Cycle. [Online] Available at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/71151/System_Development_Life_Cycle [Accessed 5 April 2010] King Stairs Software, n.d. The importance of backup. [Online] Available at: http://www.kingstairs.com/articles/doc0003.html [Accessed 24 April 2010] Extol, 2006. Secured Enterprise Application. [Online] Available at: http://www.extolcorp.com/solution/sea_ecerp.html [Accessed 25 April 2010]

Should Recycling Be Required by Law?

PRO MANDATORY RECYCLING * â€Å"Recycling is so beneficial for our planet that it should definitely be required. In an ideal world, everyone would voluntarily recycle, but let's face it: That's never going to happen. It makes me so angry when I watch students in my school throw their plastic water bottles in the trash can when there is a recycling can right next to it! * â€Å"Nearly 70 million tons of material are kept away from landfills each year thanks to recycling, according to the National Recycling Coalition. â€Å"If we have just 30 percent of the population recycling, we'd reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as if we removed 25 million cars from the road! Imagine how many greenhouse gas emissions we could get rid of if everyone recycled. * â€Å"It's so easy to recycle, and if more people do it, then it becomes more cost-effective. Some people against mandatory recycling say that it's costly, but recycling is a less expensive process if more people are involved.In fa ct, two years after New York City decided that mandatory recycling was a drain on the city — costing $40 million — they discovered that a redesigned, more efficient recycling system could actually save the city $20 million! New York City has now signed a 20-year recycling contract. * â€Å"We need to get more cities and states on board with mandatory recycling. In addition to helping the environment, recycling programs help stimulate the economy by creating more jobs. The benefits of mandatory recycling far outweigh the drawbacks, and it's up to you, CosmoGIRL! eaders, to get your cities on board! Write to your local official and let her or him know how you feel about mandatory recycling. Your actions can make all the difference! † —Laura Carusco, 18, New York City, NY ANTI MANDATORY RECYCLING * â€Å"Mandatory recycling is one of the newest fads in the ‘go green' movement. But what you may not realize is that it's also one of the most costly and w asteful activities to infiltrate America. * â€Å"Contrary to what most people think, recycling does not save irreplaceable sources. Take a look at the current prices for everyday items, like paper.According to the concept of supply and demand, since the price is so cheap, there must be a large supply that backs it up. For example, a pack of notebook paper ranges from just 20 cents to 50 cents. If we were at risk of running out of trees, the price would be much higher. * â€Å"Also, by using less of one resource, we are inevitably using more of others. Daniel K. Benjamin, senior associate of the Property and Environment Research Center, stated in a report that â€Å"on average, curbside recycling is 35 to 55 percent more costly nationwide than conventional disposal. Benjamin goes on to say that in Seattle, where the council decided to make recycling mandatory, they are wasting resources by charging too much for trash pickup and not charging enough for recycling pickup. Also, thin k about all of the extra pollution caused by the recycling pickup trucks! It's like having a garbage truck come through twice a week instead of just once. * â€Å"It's also a misconception that we're running out of room in our landfills. There is enough room just in America to last us for years, and we can always add landfills.Another misconception is that our trash is harmful, but according to the Environmental Protection Agency, a cancer-related death due to modern landfills only occurs about once every 50 years. Cancer causes over half a million deaths a year in the United States alone, so one cancer-related death every 50 years doesn't even compare. * â€Å"Although voluntary recycling has its benefits, it is completely unnecessary and wasteful to make it mandatory. † —Aliza Sajjad, 18, Concord, CA

The history of ligers dates Essay

The history of ligers dates to at least the early 19th century in India. In 1798, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772–1844) made a colour plate of the offspring of a lion and a tiger. In 1825, G. B. Whittaker made an engraving of liger cubs born in 1824.[3] The parents and their three liger offspring are also depicted with their trainer in a 19th-century painting in the naà ¯ve style. Two liger cubs born in 1837 were exhibited to King William IV and to his successor Queen Victoria. On 14 December 1900 and on 31 May 1901, Carl Hagenbeck wrote to zoologist James Cossar Ewart with details and photographs of ligers born at the Hagenbeck’s Tierpark in Hamburg in 1897. In Animal Life and the World of Nature (1902–1903), A.H. Bryden described Hagenbeck’s â€Å"lion-tiger† hybrids: It has remained for one of the most enterprising collectors and naturalists of our time, Mr. Carl Hagenbeck, not only to breed, but to bring successfully to a healthy maturity, specimens of this rare alliance between those two great and formidable felidae, the lion and tiger. The illustrations will indicate sufficiently how fortunate Mr. Hagenbeck has been in his efforts to produce these hybrids. The oldest and biggest of the animals shown is a hybrid born on the 11th May, 1897. This fine beast, now more than five years old, equals and even excels in his proportions a well-grown lion, measuring as he does from nose tip to tail 10 ft 2 inches in length, and standing only three inches less than 4 ft at the shoulder. A good big lion will weigh about 400 lb [†¦] the hybrid in question, weighing as it does no less than 467 lb, is certainly the superior of the most well-grown lions, whether wild-bred or born in a menagerie. This animal shows faint striping and mottling, and, in its characteristics, exhibits strong traces of both its parents. It has a somewhat lion-like head, and the tail is more like that of a lion than of a tiger. On the other hand, it has no trace of mane. It is a huge and very powerful beast.[4] In 1935, four ligers from two litters were reared in the Zoological Gardens of Bloemfontein, South Africa. Three of them, a male and two females, were still living in 1953. The male weighed 340 kg (750 lb) and stood a foot and a half (45 cm) taller than a full grown male lion at the shoulder. Although ligers are more commonly found than tigons today, in At Home In The Zoo (1961), Gerald Iles wrote â€Å"For the record I must say that I have never seen a liger, a hybrid obtained by crossing a lion with a tigress. They seem to be even rarer than tigons.† Size and growth The liger is often believed to represent the largest known cat in the world.[1] Males reach a total length of 3 to 3.5 m,[6][7] meaning they are the size of large Siberian tiger males.[8] Imprinted genes may be a factor contributing to huge liger size.[9] These are genes that may or may not be expressed on the parent they are inherited from, and that occasionally play a role in issues of hybrid growth. For example, in some dog breed crosses, genes that are expressed only when maternally-inherited cause the young to grow larger than is typical for either parent breed. This growth is not seen in the paternal breeds, as such genes are normally â€Å"counteracted† by genes inherited from the female of the appropriate breed.[10] Other big cat hybrids can reach similar sizes; the litigon, a rare hybrid of a male lion and a female tiglon, is roughly the same size as the liger, with a male named Cubanacan (at the Alipore Zoo in India) reaching 363 kg (800 lb).[11] The extreme rarity of these second-generation hybrids may make it difficult to ascertain whether they are larger or smaller, on average, than the liger. It is wrongly believed that ligers continue to grow throughout their lives due to hormonal issues.[citation needed] It may be that they simply grow far more during their growing years and take longer to reach their full adult size. Further growth in shoulder height and body length is not seen in ligers over 6 years old, same as both lions and tigers. Male ligers also have the same levels of testosterone on average as an adult male lion, yet areazoospermic in accordance with Haldane’s rule. In addition, female ligers may also attain great size, weighing approximately 320 kg (705 lb) and reaching 3.05 m (10 ft) long on average, and are often fertile. In contrast,pumapards (hybrids between pumas and leopards) tend to exhibit dwarfism. Hercules and Sinbad[ Jungle Island, an interactive animal theme park in Miami, is home to a liger named Hercules, the largest non-obese liger, who is recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest living cat on Earth, weighing over 410 kg (904 lb).[12] Hercules was featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, Anderson Cooper 360, Inside Edition and in a Maxim article in 2005, when he was only three years old and already weighed 408.25 kg (900 lb). Hercules is healthy and is expected to live a long life. The cat’s breeding is said to have been a complete accident. Sinbad, another liger, was shown on the National Geographic Channel. Sinbad was reportedly similar in weight to Hercules. Longevity[Shasta, a ligress (female liger) was born at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City on 14 May 1948 and died in 1972 at age 24.[citation needed] Valley of the Kings animal sanctuary in Wisconsin had a male liger named Nook who weighed around 550 kg (1,213 lb), and died in 2007, at 21 years old. Hobbs, a male liger at the Sierra Safari Zoo in Reno, Nevada, lived to almost 15 years of age before succumbing to liver failure and weighed in at 410 kilograms (900 lb). Fertility The fertility of hybrid big cat females is well documented across a number of different hybrids. This is in accordance with Haldane’s rule: in hybrids of animals whose sex is determined by sex chromosomes, if one sex is absent, rare or sterile, it is the heterogametic sex (the one with two different sex chromosomes e.g. X and Y). According to Wild Cats of the World (1975) by C. A. W. Guggisberg, ligers and tigons were long thought to be sterile: in 1943, a fifteen-year-old hybrid between a lion and an ‘Island’ tiger was successfully mated with a lion at the Munich Hellabrunn Zoo. The female cub, though of delicate health, was raised to adulthood.[13] In September 2012, the Russian Novosibirsk Zoo announced the birth of a â€Å"liliger†, which is the offspring of a liger mother and a lion father. The cub was named Kiara. Appearance Colour plate of the offspring of a lion and tiger, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Ligers have a tiger-like striped pattern that is very faint upon a lionesque tawny background. In addition they may inherit rosettes from the lion parent (lion cubs are rosetted and some adults retain faint markings). These markings may be black, dark brown or sandy. The background colour may be correspondingly tawny, sandy or golden. In common with tigers, their underparts are pale. The actual pattern and colour depends on which subspecies the parents were and on how the genes interact in the offspring. White tigers have been crossed with lions to produce â€Å"white† (actually pale golden) ligers. In theory, white tigers could be crossed with white lions to produce white, very pale or even stripeless ligers. There are no black ligers. Very few melanistic tigers have ever been recorded, most being due to excessive markings (pseudo-melanism or abundism) rather than true melanism; no reports of black lions have ever been substantiated. As blue or Maltese Tigers probably no longer exist, grey or blue ligers are exceedingly improbable. It is not impossible for a liger to be white, but it is very rare Ligers in the wild: It is unlikely a mating of this type would ever occur in the wild, for a number of reasons. Firstly, lion and tiger habitats do not meet, though you’ll often hear claims that they overlap in one area of the world, this being the Gir National Park and Lion Sanctuary in Bangladesh. The truth is tigers are not found within 100 miles of Gir Forest. Within the sanctuary itself is the only lion subspecies found outside of Africa. This is the very rare Asiatic lion (only a few hundred remain and they face extinction). The lion rules in Gir Forest and no tigers are found there. Tigers are not found in Africa, and are restricted to Asia. Though it is conceivable that a tiger may cross into lion territory, both species are so rare that it is highly unlikely the two would ever meet. On top of this, the Gir Forest is surrounded by farming and agriculture. The lions within the sanctuary are effectively captive in the wild and tigers do not like to cross large stretches of open ground. What would happen if the two species did meet? The very solitary tiger would be little inclined to join in with the more social pride of lions. Apart from periods of mating, tigers even go out of their way to avoid their own species. The Tigon is a hybrid cross between a male Tiger and a female Lion WHY ARE LIGERS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN TIGONS? The large size of the liger and small size of the tigon is due to â€Å"genomic imprinting† – the unequal expression of genes depending on parent of origin i.e. whether certain growth genes are inherited from the male or the female. This is linked to the species’ lifestyle and breeding strategy – whether the female mates with only one male while in heat (non-competitive) or whether she mates with many males (competitive). This results in â€Å"growth dysplasia†. The following explanation is greatly simplified as a number of other genes are contributed unequally by the male and female parents and also affect the general health and longevity of the offspring. Lions live in prides led by several adult males. The lionesses mate with each of those males. Each male wants his offspring to be the ones to survive, but the female’s genes want multiple offspring to survive. The father’s genes promote size of the offspring to ensure that his offspring out-compete any other offspring in the womb at the same time. Genes from the female inhibit growth to ensure that as many offspring as possible survive and that they all have an equal chance. By contrast, tigers are largely solitary and a female on heat normally only mates with one male. There is no competition for space in the womb so the male tiger’s genes do not need to promote larger offspring. There is therefore no need for the female to compensate, so the offspring’s growth goes uninhibited. When a male lion mates with a tigress, his genes promote large offspring because lions are adapted to a competitive breeding strategy. The tigress does not inhibit the growth because she is adapted to a non-competitive strategy. Therefore the offspring (liger) grows larger and stronger than either parent because the effects do not cancel each other out. Ligers take several years to reach full adult size, but it is a myth that ligers never stop growing. When a male tiger mates with a lioness, his genes are not promoting large growth of the offspring because he is adapted to a non-competitive breeding strategy. However, the lioness is adapted to a competitive strategy and her genes inhibit the growth of the offspring. This uneven match means that the offspring (tigons) are often smaller and less robust than either parent. Growth dysplasia has other effects: the size of the placenta may be affected (causing miscarriage), the embryo may be aborted at an early stage due to abnormal growth, the cub may be stillborn or may only survive a few days. In some rodents, mating Species A males with Species B females produces offspring half normal size, but mating Species B males with Species A females cause the offspring to be aborted as they try to grow to several times the normal size. Because of the impossibility of a gene being inherited from only females, there is a competing hypothesis. This hypothesis (allthough not tested) is that the Lion’s sperm is damaged somehow during fertilization and that a growth inhibiting gene is typically destroyed. It is impossible for a gene carried on a chromosomes to be passed along only from the mother. The reason for this is there are no chromosomes that only a female can have. Female Tigons and Female Ligers both possess a tiger X chromosme and a lion X chromosome, yet only the female Ligers will grow large, this means something must happen to either alter the genes or that the cause of the growth dysplasia lies at least partially outside of the genes. Another possible hypothesis is that the growth dysplasia results from the interaction between lion genes and tiger womb enviroment. The tiger produces a hormone that sets the fetal Liger on a pattern of growth that does not end throughout his life. The hormonal hypothesis is that the cause of the male Liger’s growth is his sterility – essentially, the male liger remains in the pre-pubertal growth phase. This is not upheld by behavioural evidence – despite being sterile, many male ligers become sexually mature and mate with females. In addition, female ligers also attain great size but are fertile.

Cold Blood The Trial Of The Century - 1891 Words

In Cold Blood verses the Trial of the Century In Cold Blood brought about many social concerns and it was the cold and brutal facts of such a gruesome murder which was brought to the small town and the innocent family. Capote provided a detailed account and documentation of how the police force and legal system work in America. While the actual murders take up a small percentage of the 400 page novel, its main focus is on the hunt of Smith and Hickock, the trial, and ultimately the execution of the two murderers. Capote explored the frustrations of the police force, the frustration, and the cold facts which surrounded the murder. There is an element of suspense which Capote brought to In Cold Blood as the reader waits for the final execution and in the process learn about mitigating circumstances which made them the way they were. Capote also explored the everyday people and how they are altered in a way such as Smith was. 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