Barnes & Noble Survival Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Barnes & Noble Survival - Research Paper Example A company’s long term success depends on how good it is managing its affairs at present and how well it is prepared for the future. If adequate planning is not carried out, a decline will inevitably set in. Therefore planning and making changes for the future before the decline sets in is the key to an organization’s long term success. The way in which company’s decides to make these changes for the future are all defined in the company’s strategic planning. This process often involves making changes with respect to the organization’s environment and the overall quality management plays an essential role in promoting these changes within the organization. Furthermore the allocation and utilization of human and financial resources to their best possible areas is also very important. The leadership of the organization plays a very important role in driving the organizational values and motivating its individuals to superior performance. Once individua ls in an organization are propelled to do their job with full commitment, the organization is moving towards its success. This can be observed in the real life cases where organizations mature, move towards success, and sometimes if effective management is not taken care of the decline sets in and the organization loses its market share, shareholders’ trust and consequently losses may result. ... Recent studies have shown that the employers who believe they have excellent managers are five times more likely to be highly engaged in organizational activities and its overall success than those employees who rate their managers and supervisors as poor. The following graph clearly depicts this relation (The Advisory Board Company, 2011). Therefore it is often said that the managers can either make or break an organization. Therefore it is also very critical to evaluate the management performance timely and regularly and reward the best managers who perform their roles in an effective and efficient manner. The importance of leadership in the success of an organization Often an incapable captain or the ruler of a country is responsible for its downfall. Even though it may be argued that since almost every one of us takes a few if not all the decisions on our own, it makes us a natural leader. While many regard a leader to be the engine of a train and the others are mere followers, u nderstanding who a great is and what makes him stand out from the rest is of great importance. Is a leader only responsible to make the right calls or the horizon that he/she entails is much beyond that? Be it from the political standpoint of a flourishing economy or from the leaders of the big fortune 500 global companies, a strong leadership has played a critical role in driving its success (Davis, 2010). Many argue that having leadership traits is more of an inborn trait rather than instilled into someone’s personality, the point of discussion then shifts to the set of attributes that must be present in an individual to transform into a great leader. Analysis of Barnes & Noble Company Barnes & Nobles is a books retailer selling all types of books through its chain of

Discuss the regulation of gene expression in HIV and the life cycle, Essay

Discuss the regulation of gene expression in HIV and the life cycle, and comment on the importance of these in the success - Essay Example Memory helper cells are differentially infected by the virus. The virus binds to the target cell using interactions between viral surface proteins (gp120) and cell surface proteins. The CD4 antigen, and the CXCR4 and CCR5 co-receptors on the host cell membrane are crucial in mediating viral entry into the cell. The interaction allows the viral and cellular membranes to fuse, so that the viral contents, including RNA and viral enzymes, enter the host cell. The viral capsid then uncoats and disassembles to release the 2 viral RNA strands, which are used to make complementary DNA by the viral enzyme reverse transcriptase. The virus cDNA is transported to the nucleus, where the viral integrase enzyme incorporates viral DNA into the host DNA, forming the provirus. The viral DNA genome remains latent in the cell for many years, as long as the T cell is quescent. The duration of latency is indefinite and varies based on the genetic makeup of the individual. When the T cell becomes activated by cytokines to carry out the immune response, the HIV provirus also becomes activated and starts transcription, leading to the formation of new viral particles (Moore and Stevenson, 2000). Regulation of gene expression of HIV The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) targets immune cells, specifically T helper cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. Upon entering the host immune cell, the virus RNA undergoes reverse transcription to form complementary DNA, which is then incorporated into the host genome. The viral DNA genome remains latent in the cell for many years. When the T cell is activated by cytokines to carry out the immune response, the HIV provirus also becomes activated and starts transcription, leading to the formation of new viral particles. Specifically, cytokines and antigens induce activation of NF-kB, which is a transcription factor that goes to the T cell nucleus and up-regulates the synthesis of pro-inflammatory proteins. The incorporated HIV genome also contains a site that can receive NF-kB and in response activate the gene promoter. Thus, the regulation of expression of HIV genes depends at least in part, on the activity state of the infected T cell, and transcription of HIV genes is regulated by cellular transcription factors (Robbin and Cotran, 2009). The genome of HIV contains codes for at least nine viral proteins. The structural proteins include Gag, Pol, and Env. The accessory proteins are Vpu, Vpr, Vif, and Nef. The regulatory proteinsare Tat and Rev, and they control the replication of the virus (Hope and Trono, 2000).The early genes are Tat, Rev, and Nef, and the rest are expressed late. The Tat protein is a transcriptional activator necessary for HIV replication. It promotes the elongation phase of HIV’s transcription, so that full-length, functional transcripts of the genome are produced. Rev is an RNA binding protein that acts post-transcriptionally to induce the transition from the early to the late, cytopathic phase of HIV gene expression (Cullen, 1991). It facilitates the export of unspliced and incompletely spliced viral RNAs from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, which permits the production of viral late genes so that all the proteins for the full virion can be transcribed. How gene expression regulation and life cycle contribute to the success of HIV as a pathogen HIV-1 as a pathogen is found all over the world today, while HIV-2 is restricted to