Boyle Heights Los Angeles Community Needs Assessment

Boyle Heights Los Angeles Community Needs Assessment Boyle Heights is a neighborhood located on the east side of Los Angeles (Healthy City, 2010). An initial assessment of the community revealed issues of poverty and crime. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, Hollenbeck Division (2011), the majority of crimes committed in the Boyle Heights community are property crimes such as auto theft and burglary, however there are also violent crimes such as robbery and aggravated assaults (Los Angeles Police Department COMPSTAT, 2011). According to detective Antonio Macklin of the Hollenbeck police station in Boyle Heights, the majority of crimes are motivated by economic factors as Boyle Heights is a poor community (A. Macklin, personal communication, February 10, 2011). An initial drive and walk through the residential areas of the community of Boyle Heights revealed homes in various states of disrepair. The majority of houses are old. As one walks further along through the streets graffiti is visible. However, this is also a commu nity rich in cultural history. A further walk through the community reveals a historical museum, Mariachi Plaza, Murals depicting Mexican American Culture, Catholic Churches, and family-owned markets, restaurants and clothing stores. Despite crime in the area, children are observed playing in the streets, in the local parks and in their backyards. The community does have various parks and recreation centers as well as community centers. Community Characteristics Physical/Geographical Boyle Heights is located in East Los Angeles and its geographical boundaries are demarcated by the City of Vernon to the South, East Los Angeles to the east, Lincoln Heights and El Sereno to the north, Los Angeles River and Downtown Los Angeles to the West (City of Los Angeles, 2005). For the purpose of this needs assessment, the boundaries of Boyle Heights were narrowed to boundaries as defined by the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council website (2011) consisting of Marengo Street to the North, 25th stre et to the South, Indiana street to the East and the Los Angeles River to the West (Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council, n.d.). Boyle Heights is a mixture of residential areas, commercial areas, open space and public facilities (City of Los Angeles, 2005). According to data obtained from HealthyCity.org (2010), there are 12 Parks and Recreational Centers within a one mile radius of the Boyle Heights community. Additionally, Boyle Heights has a variety of small businesses punctuated by assets in the community such as White Memorial Medical Center, the extension of the Metro Gold Line and Los Angeles USC Medical Center, which according to the President of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce, Alicia Maldonado, these assets have â€Å"brought improvements to the community, jobs for the residents, customers to the retail establishments and better health care (Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce, 2011, p. 1)†. Former resident of Boyle Heights, Geneva Garcia, who resided in the area f rom the 1950’s until 2009, stated that â€Å"independent of the presence of gangs and crime in the area†, she has fond memories of her childhood and her life in Boyle Heights because of the many parks, recreational activities, sports and other community activities available to her (G. Garcia, personal communication, February 10, 2011). Ms. Garcia also confirmed that the majority of the community is Latino. This has further been confirmed through data obtained from the HealthyCity.org website and observation of the community.

Strategic Management Analysis Based on Case Study Essay

Strategic Management Analysis Based on Case Study - Essay Example This mechanism gets rid of greenhouse gas emission from the vehicle’s engine. For this purpose, Better Place strives to create a global market for electric cars. In order to fulfill its mission of making automobile industry independent of oil consumption, Better Place focuses on re-engineering its car’s model instead of re-engineering the battery. This is in contrast to PSA which is a European automobile firm. PSA’s focus, under the chairmanship of Jacques Calvet, was on using different batteries like cadmium-nickel batteries or lithium-ion batteries to improve the functioning of electric cars so as to capture the commercial market. Their attempts failed to yield positive results (Freyssenet, 2009, p.252). Better Place’s mission is to make electric cars convenient in every way, and also to make them affordable for commercial customers. Vision Shai Agassi opened his company Better Place with the vision to make the world a better place. For this, his goal wa s to reduce or eliminate a country’s dependence on oil consumption especially with regard to transportation. He was known as an environmental visionary, and although his dream seemed apparently not practical, he was however determined to make a world that will not be relying on oil (Better Place: Charging into the Future? 2010, p.1). The company’s vision is to become one of the most valuable automotive companies in the world. For this the need is to design and manufacture electric vehicles in economic and user friendly manner so as to attract the most loyal customers of the industry. Stakeholders Better Place strives to hold a valuable place for its suppliers and dealers by becoming their most profitable business partner. For employees, the company intends to provide a safe, sound and motivational workplace. For investors, the company strives to become a long term and sustainable profitable venture. Finally, the company’s loyalty lies with its loyal and enthusia stic customers who expect continuous growth and improvement in everything the company does including designing of the cars to durability to after service after sale. For this, Better Place promotes technologies that are most convenient for customers. According to Better Place smart grids which are reliable and safe technologies for charging and billing of EVs â€Å"reduce CO? by charging EVs intelligently and at the same time making it easy for EV owners to charge vehicles during off-peak hours† (European Strategy...., 2010, pp.2-3). Power/interest grid for stakeholders High Power Keep satisfied Shareholders Car manufacturer Government officials Banks Manage closely Customers Insurance company Employees Suppliers and dealers Low Power Monitor Public authorities Automotive supplier Infrastructure supplier Keep informed Road operator Service provider II. Industry and Scenario Analysis Bargaining power of buyers In order to understand the standing of Better Place in the automobi le industry, it is necessary to study the Porter’s five forces analysis. The electric cars are seen as solution to vehicle induced air pollution. However, there are many drawbacks attached to electric cars like limited mobility and speed, need of charging battery failure of which can cause power disruption, costlier than conventional cars etc (Cheron & Zins, 1996, p.1). The buyers have little advantage regarding electric cars, since they do not have the option to switch between multiple brands.

The World is Being Globalized Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

The World is Being Globalized - Essay Example d with liberalization of trade among different states as well as culture exchange given that various countries have immensely benefited from other cultures as a result of globalization. As such, I believe that the world is not being Americanized but it is being globalized given that different countries are presented with the opportunity to contribute towards the global development. Thus, according to Anthony Giddens, â€Å"The level of world trade today is much higher than it ever was before, and involves a much wider range of goods and services (16).† It can be seen that the Americans have come to realize the existence of different cultures in the world than the people from other countries passively adopting American cultural values. Therefore, Americanization is nothing but an overstated expression used by other people to show how America has influenced the political processes in other countries through revolutions which should not be confused with globalization. Some countries have not adopted America’s world views with regards to their political processes. However, the influence of American culture on the other nations as a result of globalization forces cannot be ignored. Richard Pells, in his article entitled â€Å"Does the world still care about American culture† posits to the effect that â€Å"the most striking about attitudes toward the United States in other countries is not the anti-Americanism they reflect or the disdain for former President George W. Bush, or the opposition to American foreign policies.† Of notable concern is the fact that globalization does not entail Americanization of the globe since the culture of this country is not readily adopted by different countries. People from different parts of the globe are increasingly indifferent to Americas culture given that they have not been directly influenced or manipulated by it. Whilst the power of America cannot be disputed, it however does not control the political processes of all the