Why I Teach

Why Teach? Alisha Anderson Grand Canyon University: EDU 576 March 6, 2013 Why teach? I believe that it was meant for me to become a teacher. I have a passion for learning, and I will make my classroom an adventure of learning. A teacher of the year also from Mississippi, Wynona Herchenhahn (2009) indicated that she was a product of good teachers, and I also think that I had many influences coming from great parents and teachers. I love teaching students, they bring out my best values.I like how teachers have the power to change students’ lives to guide them in the right educational path, and that is what I want to do. The person that has inspired me to become a teacher is my mother, Mrs. Jessie Mae Ayers. She has been teaching at the same private school since 1983. She has taught pre-k (3 year olds), 5th -8th graders, and now she has been a librarian since 2004. I would like to be a kindergarten teacher it is the foundation of a student education, and I will like to be the eff ective teacher that starts that journey.I have worked three years as a kindergarten assistant and five years as a pre-k (four year olds) assistant at a public school. I have a love and respect for students; that I can use to build a solid learning community. Christine Gleason and Cynthia Cole Rigsbee (2009), implies that the greatest award is knowing that they made a difference in their student’s life, and that is what I hope to accomplish. References The Council of Chief State School Officers 2009 Teachers of the Year. (2009). Retrieved from http://pearsonfoundation. org/ccsso-toy/2009/index. html

Hermeneutic Gaps in “Young Goodman Brown”

1) Explain the hermeneutic gaps to be found in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† and in â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death. † See A Study Guide for American Literature to 1900, page 99. As readers, we come across pieces of information that are deliberately withheld by the writer. These information or hermeneutic gaps can range from trivial details to crucial parts of the texts that become the main interest of the reading process. Gaps can both be temporary and resolved at some point of the story or permanent and remain unsolved even after the end.Permanent gaps exist both in the story and in the text, for the information is never given and readers must take a dynamic participation to â€Å"reconstruct† and make the text signify. Gaps enhance interest and curiosity, add suspense and contribute to achieve later maximum impact. Both Hawthorne as well as Poe, supreme masters of the narrative techniques handle hermeneutic gaps brilliantly. Within â€Å"Young Goodman Brownâ⠂¬ , Hawthorne deals with Good and Evil resorting to allegorical features and intermingling gaps, both temporary and permanent.The voyage this young man takes through a gloomy, spectral forest, his companion with the serpent-like staff and even Faith? s pink ribbons stand as temporary gaps that hold our interest in the story. The final question we are left with (Was it a dream? ), is a good example of a permanent gap that leads us to examine many elements that will, in another level , stand as symbols of a deeper degree of significance. Poe gives us a new approach to fiction highlighting the importance of Aesthetics and condemning didacticism. The â€Å"Art for Art? sake† concept is a big step towards the New Criticism theory in which the text should stand out for its own, without considering the circumstances that deal with its composition and/or the particularities of the authors’ biographies.In this new esthetic criterion, which foreshadows the later known Close An alysis, literary devices and techniques take a prominent protagonism. â€Å"The Masque of the Red Death† draws different interpretations in its multiple significance and shows that it is not only a mere tale of horror. Poe? â€Å"theory of unity or impression† proves perfectly demonstrated in it, for everything is carefully calculated to contribute to the story? s organic unity and strong impact. Its prevailing Gothic mood and mysterious atmosphere are enhanced by missing details that readers must â€Å"recreate† in order to find an explanation to the temporary and permanent hermeneutic gaps that appear. The seventh black room with its scarlet windowpanes and the ebony clock, both permanent gaps, takes us into a deeper significance of symbolism, too.The horrid disguised figure, that enters the castle and later reveals itself as the Red Death, stands as a temporary gap as well as the colours and design of the seven rooms, which Poe himself relates to the cycle of life. 2) Discuss the place and time settings of the excerpts you have read from the works of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe. See A Study Guide for American Literature to 1900, pages 130-33. In their writings, both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe dealt with slavery.Both showed testimony of the cruelties of the â€Å"institution† and exerted strong influence on the public opinion, as well as they proved effective in supporting the antislavery movement. Nowadays, some of the slave narratives are regarded as historical documents and others also as texts, for they are worthy of a prominent position in the canon of American Literature for its superb command of the rhetorical figures. Such the case of Frederick Douglass. As a politician, he embellished his writings and showed an outstanding mastery of the language.Douglass attained a political career and came to be one of the most important black political leaders in American History. His writings were li nked to his political concerns. In his â€Å" From the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass† he places his story in Maryland, the slave state in which he was born. As we know, settings are far from being incidental and play a significant role in texts, for they affect other narrative elements( theme,plot, characterization).Thus, his biography highlights the ignorance of his own birthday and his father? s identity as well as tells about the separation that babies experienced from their mothers predicting the sufferings slaves went through. Although places are not described in detail,his portrait of the Chesapeake Bay serves to contrast his submission against the freedom of the â€Å"mighty ocean†. Finally, New Bedford is the place where,now a free man, he engaged himself in â€Å"pleading† the cause of his brethen. Place setting stands for a certain kind of evolution or growth he is forced to go through in order to become a respectable man and make his dre ams of freedom true. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote from the position of a religious woman, raised in a family of preachers and social reformers. She displeased the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and subscribed to the romantic racialism of her time. She created a universally famous classic treating the theme of evil in its theological,moral,economic and political dimensions.Her novel is a combination of different sources,blending sentimentalism and realism. In â€Å"Uncle Tom? s Cabin† settings cover other dimensions such as the social context and historical milieu in which the plot is developed. Chapter XXX describes the slave wharehouse in New Orleans, the men? s sleeping room, the women? s sleeping room and the auction room. But she does not resort to lengthy expository description of setting. Instead, she gradually integrates them to the text giving them a cinematic treatment as if a camera were moving slowly across the scene.The mythological setting she describes at the beginni ng clearly emphasizes the slaves? feelings. The contrast between the neat exterior and what is happening inside highlights one of the themes: hypocrisy. Characters and locations are perfectly attuned and Uncle Tom? s mood strongly opposes the gay atmosphere of other slaves while mother and daughter grieve singing together and despairing. People function as part of the setting and day contrasts night,its darkness and shadows reflect the characters? feelings.

WorldCom Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

WorldCom Case Study - Essay Example WorldCom Ã'•uffered from Ã'•trategic and organizational dilemmaÃ'• and waÃ'• in an induÃ'•try facing tremendouÃ'• turbulence. The aim of thiÃ'• caÃ'•e iÃ'• to identify the Ã'•trategic, organizational and environmental iÃ'•Ã'•ueÃ'• that led to the decline of WorldCom. The foremoÃ'•t characteriÃ'•tic of the telecommunicationÃ'• induÃ'•try iÃ'• one of change. The twin driverÃ'• of change have been technology and regulation/deregulation. Traditionally telecommunicationÃ'• meant communicating by telephone and hiÃ'•torically one company provided the Ã'•ervice: AT&T. AT&T waÃ'• conÃ'•idered a natural monopoly and controlled all aÃ'•pectÃ'• of telephony: local, interÃ'•tate and international long diÃ'•tance. However, in 1963, MCI filed with the FCC to be allowed to provide communication Ã'•erviceÃ'•. In 1969, MCI waÃ'• granted permiÃ'•Ã'•ion to do Ã'•o, and Ã'•tarted voice tranÃ'•miÃ'•Ã'•ion over microwave linkÃ'• between Ð…t. LouiÃ'• and Chicago. Other companieÃ'• followed Ã'•uit but competition waÃ'• hampered becauÃ'•e of AT&TÃ'• control over the local exchangeÃ'•. In 1984, AT&T waÃ'• ordered to breakup. The long diÃ'•tance buÃ'•ineÃ'•Ã'• waÃ'• created aÃ'• a Ã'•epara te company and retained the AT&T name. Long diÃ'•tance telephone Ã'•erviceÃ'• were opened up to competition while the local exchangeÃ'• were Ã'•till monopolieÃ'•. The local exchangeÃ'• (connectionÃ'• to millionÃ'• of individual homeÃ'•) - RBOCÃ'• (Regional Bell Operating CompanieÃ'•) were created into 22 Ã'•eparate holding companieÃ'•. Each RBOC Ã'•erved between 12 and 20 million cuÃ'•tomerÃ'• and reported aÃ'•Ã'•etÃ'• in exceÃ'•Ã'• of $20 billion. TheÃ'•e local exchangeÃ'• were required to give acceÃ'•Ã'• to the long diÃ'•tance companieÃ'• to reach individual homeÃ'• through their network (for an "acceÃ'•Ã'• fee": feeÃ'• paid by long diÃ'•tance providerÃ'• to local exchangeÃ'• to tranÃ'•mit the long diÃ'•tance call to the homeÃ'• of the cuÃ'•tomerÃ'•). NumerouÃ'• companieÃ'• jumped in

US - EU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

US - EU - Essay Example Educational institutions--explicitly including universities--are not philanthropic islands of abstract debate. This maxim of the German President is borne out by this colloquium, for this is not merely an 'abstract debate'. And there can be no talk of an 'island', either, for this is a cross-border, joint meeting of SUERF and the CFS. Incidentally, the motive is the exchange of knowledge with the financial community including central banks, thus avoiding all suspicion of insular ivory-tower erudition. There can be no doubt that the financial community will likewise benefit from an exchange of knowledge.1 After all, the euro was and is an intellectual challenge for all those concerned with it. An interesting exchange of views is therefore to be expected, and a debate based on two fundamental perceptions may be fruitful:1) A consistent monetary policy, committed primarily to the target of stability, is the best contribution a central bank--no matter whether the Bundesbank or the Europe an Central Bank (ECB)--can make to the viability of the financial markets. Without stable money, the financial markets cannot function properly.2) Conversely, it must also be said that monetary policy needs an efficient, highly competitive and stable financial system. In the first place, a financial sector that is susceptible to disruption poses risks to the entire monetary system, and thus also to the safety of the currency. Second, in a stable environment, monetary policy impinges on economic activity more smoothly. That was and is true of the Bundesbank's monetary policy.2 It is bound to apply to the European System of Central Banks' (ESCB's) monetary policy as well. Clarity now obtains in some matters of significance to financial market players concerning the euro. The future framework for economic policy action is now emerging ever more clearly. Since its constitutive meeting in June 1998, the ECB Governing Council has taken a multitude of important decisions. There is broad clarity today about the arsenal of instruments with which the ESCB will operate. The primary buttress of refinancing will be repo transactions, which have been so successful at the national level. The interest rate for this main source of finance will lie within the corridor whose ceiling and floor are marked out by the interest rates for the marginal lending and deposit facilities. These principal elements of the range of instruments have been designed with the intention of the money market developing as steadily as possible, so that recourse to fine-tuning instruments can be relatively rare. The same purpose is served by minimum reserves, which are often criticized in banking circles. At a rate of 2 per cent, the cost burden is kept within very narrow bounds, especially considering that, owing to the envisaged payment of interest on minimum reserves, the banks' working balances, which will have to be held anyway, will yield interest. In the envisaged form (a reserve to be maintained as a monthly average) they will act as a buffer in the money market. They can therefore largely cushion unforeseen fluctuations in the demand for liquid funds without any major central bank intervention. A very important step on the way to a single monetary policy is the agreement on the main elements of the monetary policy strategy that was reached in the ECB Governing Council on 13 October 1998. These elements contain the quantitative definition of price stability as the primary objective of the single monetary policy: 'Price stability shall be defined as a year-on-year increase in the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices for the euro area of below 2%.' By this decision, the ECB Governing Council is following up to a large degree the Bundesbank's successful strategy, while at the same time taking due account of the specific conditions

I DONT HAVE ONE YET Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

I DONT HAVE ONE YET - Research Paper Example She had just been married for two years; and already was getting a lot of trouble in her marriage. She was really traumatized by the inevitably changing circumstances in her marriage following a strong and stable relationship she had had with her boyfriend. I remember when she was still in college and was really in love with her boyfriend Martin. Martin too loved her and this is the reason they got married immediately after finishing college. Liz was my best friend and this automatically qualified Martin as a good friend of mine. Consequently, we had many common friends because of this marriage and the friendship network. When Martin proposed divorce as a measure of solving their problems, we were all really devastated and Liz was too depressed to control the situation. I sympathized and empathized with her and at most times everything just went out of hand and I felt like I could no longer help in solving their situation. I too grew distressed of this. We no longer had good moments with Liz as we always deed since she spent most of her time in the bed weeping. Overtime she even grew cold and impossible to engage in a conversation. This reciprocated by withdrawing from our friendship and even withdrawing from her own self; she was no longer eating well nor caring fr her personal hygiene. There is a tremendous increase in divorce rates in the world today especially in the Northern America. In he United States of America, the current divorce rates lies at 50%. This typically means that 50% of America’s marriages end in dissolution (Cherlin Pgs 28-29). This is an alarming issue in the world today as divorce comes with many consequences that negatively involve even the innocent children that find themselves in the middle of such marriages. In Canada alone, statistics show that there are 2.11 divorces per every 500 families; there were 70,226 divorce cases in 2008 alone. This rate is a bit higher in America where there are 3.6 divorce cases per every 1,000 pe ople or 500 families (Cherlin Pg 29). The reasons for divorce varies from one region in the Northern America to another but the impacts are similar (Levinger & Oliver Pg 103). Divorce is a very bitter and heartbreaking monster to many families in the current generation. It mostly involves couples that at one point were very happy together, and they go through traumatizing moments to forget such days after divorce. It is so hard and it takes a long time and a lot of strength for such couples to overcome the confusion and trauma surrounding life, love and relationships. Martin had started withdrawing from Liz immediately they lost their first child at five months. Their child died of chronic pneumonia and Martin had always felt a sense of blame to Liz. He always accused her of negligence and lack of proper care to the child in terms proper and protective dressing of the child. Therefore, he withdrew from Liz after the child’s death and when Liz was devastated and tired of pursu ing Martin’s closeness, she too withdrew: not to me this time, bur to our other male friend Jack. Martin felt bad and in turn started being overprotective and jealous about Liz and Jack. At some point, he even engaged jack in a fight and the whole friendship network was falling apart. Liz instead withdrew further to a point that Martin proposed a divorce. This is when Liz again started to feel that she needed him more than

Organization of IT and information systems (Amazon company) Essay

Organization of IT and information systems (Amazon company) - Essay Example Computers, servers, and data management systems are some of the key components of an IT department. These components perform various complex functions related to management of information. IT department of a company plays a critical role in the success of the company in the 21st century. Today, there is hardly any company or organization, which does not make use of information technology for managing data and information in an organized way. Amazon is one of the leading global internet companies of the world. It is a platform for the sale of different kinds of products such as books, toys, furniture, and music CDs. Amazon holds the pride of being the largest retailer of America. Amazon Company was launched online by Jeff Bezos in 1995. Amazon S3 and Amazon EC2 are those products, which have contributed significantly to the success of the company. Farmer (2008) asserts, â€Å"Their core competency is their ability to develop and leverage their technology stack, including SimpleDB, EC2, and S3, towards making retail ultra-efficient†. Amazon Company has many competitors who are trying to snatch the market domination from Amazon but none of the competing companies has been successful in the purpose yet. Some of the major competitors of Amazon include Elastra, eMusic, and Alice.com. It is due to the implementation of an effective and efficient management information system that the company has achieved market dominati on in a very short span of time leaving behind all of its competitors. At present, Amazon is recognized as one of the largest online shopping companies of the world. In the later part of this report, we will discuss those factors that are driving use of the information system in the company. We will also analyze the impact of information system on the company in terms of benefits and limitations. Let us first get to know what management information system actually is in order to get a

Describe the experience that impacted you most this semester in your Essay

Describe the experience that impacted you most this semester in your college. What did you learn from this experience - Essay Example It has been a year now and having just completed my first year at college, I can say with a lot of confidence that my college experience has been awesome. Not only have I made several friends, but also have had a taste of what freedom is, besides learning the consequences of procrastinating. Though it was hard at first I have been able to adapt to the college food, burnt the midnight oil for several nights as well as spent numerous hours on heated, albeit meaningful debates. I have had several experiences during my short stay here, but there is one that really has not only changed me, but has also shaped and strengthened my character. One of the greatest things in college is the amount of freedom every individual has. There are no rules in college, no one to wake you up or tell you what you can or cannot do (provided you are not disturbing anyone’s peace or breaking the set rules).There is also no one to push you to attend your classes and it is up to you to go and register your courses by yourself, know where the lecture will be held as well as what time it is going to take place. This therefore means that an individual has the power of choosing what is right or even bad for them. An individual therefore can decide on what s/he can partake as far as their lives are concerned. This freedom however has come with its own attendant therapies and has caused the ruin of many a young people. During my short stay I managed to make a few friends as well as break away from bad influences. I observed how my classmates used to behave and just wondered whether they had come for a holiday camp or to study. One of my first experiences in college is the fact that it is so different from high school. I noticed that some commute from home to the campus and this really impressed me, I being a foreign student from China, studying in Boston, USA. However, there were lots of other freshmen who had left their homes far away and had come to college

System Development - Tools and Techniques Essay - 1

System Development - Tools and Techniques - Essay Example Information system failure can occur to any organization, since there are a myriad of causes to such failures. However, the underlying factor is the disruption of the organizational functions and the losses that comes with such system failures. Therefore, this discussion seeks to analyze the various causes of system failures within organizations, with a keen interest on the challenges faced by the system developers, while also seeking to unearth the different techniques that can be applied to address the issue of system failures within organizations. Key challenges facing system analysts and developers resulting to systems failure Information systems failure can occur at different points in the implementation of the information system project within an organization. The information system failures may occur during the pre-implementation, implementation and even in the post-implementation stages of the project. The causes of these failures include: Lack of adequate research During the pre-implementation stage, it is important that a comprehensive research is done, to discover the information needs of an organization, and thus determine the sought of the information system that such an organization requires [2]. ... A good case study of lack of adequate research and incorrect assumptions, is that of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, where a system was developed to test nuclear reactors, where an error was made through a miscalculation done in the earthquake testing system by the system developer due to inadequate research regarding the system requirements [2]. Five nuclear reactors were developed using the same system, and the error was discovered months after the nuclear reactors had started being used to produce energy. This posed a great health danger, as well as the disruptions of the services of the utility companies that were depending on these reactors, causing them to turn to alternative sources of energy production, such as petroleum and coal power, which were relatively expensive and inefficient [5]. Lack of adequate training or expertise Another major challenge, which falls in the pre-implementation stage of information system development, is lack of adequate formal training, or lack of expertise on the side of the system developers. The lack of training and expertise results to poor system development, where either some of the information system components are left out, or where the information system prepared does not meet every specification of the organizational needs [2]. The weakness of the system developers, owing to lack of adequate training or expertise can also be demonstrated in the testing stage of the information system, where the testing of the system may not be done, or the testing process may fail, or even pose a great danger, due to some system faults. A case example in point, is that of the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, where a computer system that was meant to store data for 220

Foundations of Biblical Principles Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Foundations of Biblical Principles - Assignment Example They should also give their beliefs primacy in their lives, and should endeavor to understand the nature of their beliefs. According to the author, knowledge may be gained through seeing or acquaintance, believing and having utter confidence and certainty in it. The latter is what people should strive towards. Moreland (2007) also states that Christian knowledge expands through deliberate efforts to improvements. People need to make yearly plans to stretch their faiths, read more books and share with others the works of faith in their lives.Principle #14 states that â€Å"Each person builds, starting even in the womb, an internal model of the world.† (Cox n.d. p 1) Everyone perceives their environment in a certain way regardless of age. Luke 1:44 states that baby John rejoiced in the womb when Mary, the mother of Jesus visited his mother. Therefore, educators must cultivate a sense of biblical truth in students regardless of their age (Ledbetter, 2003). I have found that Princ iple #33 is quite useful in expounding the centrality of a biblical worldview. It states that â€Å"People respond to the world by way of their internal mode of the world rather than via how the world really might be.† (Cox n.d. p 3)This principle focuses on how human beings reason. A person’s perception of reality mostly depends on their internal worldview. Christian educators ought to strive to learn Christ’s mind (Wilson, 1991). Extreme familiarity with it leads to a type of knowledge defined by Moreland as know—how.

Human Relations Movement Essay Example for Free

Human Relations Movement Essay Human Relations Movement refers to those researchers of organizational development who study the behavior of people in groups, in particular workplace groups. It originated in the 1930s Hawthorne studies, which examined the effects of social relations, motivation and employee satisfaction on factory productivity. The movement viewed workers in terms of their psychology and fit with companies, rather than as interchangeable parts. The hallmark of human-relation theories is the primacy given to organizations as human cooperative systems rather than mechanical contraptions. George Elton Mayo stressed the following: Natural groups, in which social aspects take precedence over functional organizational structures Upwards communication, by which communication is two way, from worker to chief executive, as well as vice versa. Cohesive and good leadership is needed to communicate goals and to ensure effective and coherent decision making (Wilson Rosenfeld, Managing Organizations, McGraw Hill Book Company, London, p. 9. ) It has become a concern of many companies to improve the job-oriented interpersonal skills of employees. The teaching of these skills to employees is referred to as soft skills training. Companies need their employees to be able to successfully communicate and convey information, to be able to interpret others emotions, to be open to others feelings, and to be able to solve conflicts and arrive at resolutions. By acquiring these skills, the employees, those in management positions, and the customer can maintain more compatible relationships. (DuBrin, A. J. (2007). Human Relations Interpersonal Job-Oriented Skills, Pearson Prentice Hall, 9th. ed. , New Jersey, p. 2. ) Institutes where human relations are studied include: The Tavistock Institute, co-publishers of the Human Relations journal; the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science; The Oasis School of Human Relations, Masters Degree in Globally Responsible Leadership (Oasis Press publishes human relations books and manuals); Trevecca Nazarene University, Bachelors Degree in Management and Human Relations for working adults; the University of Oklahoma offers a Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations, as well as a Master of Human Relations; Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) offers a Bachelor of Arts in Human Relations, as well as a Master of Human Systems Intervention.

Construction Developments in High Rise Buildings

Construction Developments in High Rise Buildings This paper has provided a broad overview of different historic developments for concrete high-rise buildings. The evolution of concrete skyscrapers from the first reinforced concrete high-rise, the Ingalls Building, which was 15 stories high to modern skyscrapers PETRONAS Towers is discussed. How new innovations in construction technology such as the advances, techniques that are used to improve quality have all contributed to the ease of working with concrete in high-rise construction is also briefly discussed in the paper. Supertall buildings are a relatively recent addition to the history of the cities around the world. Technology of the nineteenth century made their development possible. Steel, concrete and masonry materials have existed for a long time in the history of civilization but not in such a configuration. Masonry is the oldest material. Concrete in its present form is the youngest of these three basic structural materials of construction. Concrete, unlike any other structural building material, allows the architects and engineers to choose not only its mode of production, but its material properties as well. Much of the technological change in concrete construction was in the first half of the 20th century. Advances in formwork, mixing of concrete, techniques for pumping, and types of admixtures to improve quality have all contributed to the ease of working with concrete in high-rise construction. There were main four periods in the development of skyscraper which began around 1808 and ended in 1960s where structures were usually vertical and dominant. During 1970s the international modernism in construction started to rise and this introduced a renewed interest in silhouettes and symbolic potential. The most efficient construction coordination plan for a tall building is one that allows formwork to be reused multiple times. Traditionally, formwork was made of wood but as technology has advanced, the forms have become a combination of wood, steel, aluminum, fiberglass and plastic, to name only a few materials. Each set may be self-supporting with trusses attached to the exterior or may need additional shoring to support it in appropriate locations. New additions to the family of forms include flying-forms, slip forms, and jump forms. The PETRONAS towers are a good example of this latest period. The techniques improved continually till now when pumping of concrete is considered even for small jobs. In recent years, concrete pumping has reached new heights. The builders for the Jin Mao Building in Shanghai, China, boast of pumping high strength concrete as high as 1200 ft (366 m). For such great heights, a high-pressure unit is needed. Great thought must be given to the properties of concrete and how it will react when pressure is applied in a pipe. All these factors demanded innovations in concrete technology. Already a well-argued case between Architects and Engineers is to build a environment with minimal impact on natural environment and to integrate the built environment with ecological systems of the locality. This proposition of the skyscraper as an ecologically- responsive building might well appear to be a conundrum for some.Afterall; Skyscraper is the citys most intensive building-type of enormous size. The council on tall Buildings and Urban habitat in USA defines the skyscraper as a tall building whose built form that by virtue of its height requires its own special engineering systems. Designed by Argentine architects Cà ©sar Pelli and Djay Cerico under the consultancy of Julius Gold, the PETRONAS Towers were completed in 1998 after a seven year build and became the tallest buildings in the world on the date of completion. They were built on the site of Kuala Lumpurs race Because of the depth of the bedrock; the buildings were built on the worlds deepest foundations. The 120-meter foundations were built within 12 months by Bachy Soletanche and required massive amounts of concrete. Its engineering designs on structural framework were contributed by Haitian engineer Domo Obiasse and collegues Aris Battista and Princess D Battista. From this floor rose a 21-metre high retaining wall, with a perimeter length of over 1 kilometer. This concrete shell and the basement area it enclosed required two years of up to 40 workers on site all day and night. The final product is the basement car park offering a total of 5,400 parking bays on five levels beneath the podium wrapping the towers. As an added consideration, two different contractors were chosen for each tower to allow cross-monitoring of construction values and techniques with one coming to the aid of the other should problems arise. The construction of the superstructure commenced in April 1994, after rigorous tests and simulations of wind and structural loads on the design. Due to the nature of the project, being the first super tall structure of its kind in Malaysia and very limited experience with the use of high strength concrete, the contractors were required to demonstrate that the requirements of the project could be successfully achieved prior to actual construction of structural elements. The contractor Samsung-Kukdong-Jasatera joint ventures were to do it. The major engineering and structural design teams were a collection of eminent international companies and consultants including such notables as Cà ©sar Pelli Associates, Hazama Corporation, Adamson Associates Architects, Solà ©tanche Bachy, RSP Architects Planners Engineers, Samsung Engineering Construction, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Syarikat Jasatera Sdn Bhd., and several dozen other major international firms. Legions of support engineers and designers in an array of specific disciplines contributed over the course of the years. The site for PETRONAS Towers is the Golden Triangle. Around it radiates the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysias capital. The jewel of this 100-acre site are the towers. Working within mixed-used development plan by U.S firm of Klages, Carter, Vail and Partners. The design drawings show a complex of buildings growing from an intimate relationship with the site, generating from its core. The concert halls provide an important gathering space. The number of designers, engineers, and building contractor management personnel that took part in the design process is about the same as the number of workers that actually built the towers. About 7,000 construction workers took place in the actual building of the towers, as there was a great concern for the congestion that would occur in the busy Kuala Lumpur city center. 7,000 design workers talking constantly among themselves for five or six years designed the building. It was certainly an impressive conversation. Although much of this talk took place directly between individuals, this project probably would not have been possible before the development of the Internet or sophisticated project and communication management software. Every phase of the process, from the drawings and engineering research down to the daily work orders was accomplished with cutting edge software that was in many cases as technologically innovative as other parts of the project. The high quality of the PETRONAS Towers is the result of the quality of the design team. Although Cà ©sar Pelli was the titular designer and he served as the lead visionary, the design contributors included Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir, businessman T. Ananda Krishnan, senior managers of the PETRONAS company, the Kuala Lumpur City Center planning manager Arlida Ariff, and many high ranking national and local politicians.. The design process itself was as much a marvel as are the physical towers visible today. When construction began the design did not call for the tallest buildings in the world and the entire foundation was moved after excavations had already begun. The parking garage was located up inside the towers in Cà ©sar Pellis first drawings and the powerful Skybridge was absent from the original 1990 Klages Carter Vail Partners plans for the Kuala Lumpur City Center development that first called for two towers. These and many more features of the project changed as the design for the project evolved continuously over the life of the project and the final result is a testament to the efficiency of the whole multi-year design process. The towers feature askybridgebetween the two towers on 41st and 42nd floors, which is the highest 2-story bridge in the world.It is not directly bolted to the main structure, but is instead designed to slide in and out of the towers to prevent it from breaking during high winds.The bridge is 170m (558ft) above the ground and 58m (190ft) long, weighing 750 tons.The same floor is also known as the podium, since visitors desiring to go to higher levels have to change elevators here. The lifts contain a number of safety features. It is possible to evacuatepeople from a lift stuck between floors by manually driving one of the adjacent lifts next to it and opening a panel in the wall..During an evacuation of the buildings, only the shuttle lift is allowed to be used, as there are only doors at levels G/1 and levels 41/42; therefore should there be a fire in the lower half of the building, this enclosed shaft would remain unaffected. Firefighter lifts are also provided in case of emergency The PETRONAS Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004, as measured to the top of their structural components .Spires are considered integral parts of the architectural design of buildings, to which changes would substantially change the appearance and design of the building, whereas antennas may be added or removed without such consequences. The research and knowledge in concrete gained in the first half of the twentieth century benefit technologies today. This paper has provided a broad overview of different historic developments for concrete high-rise buildings. To summarize, the first users of concrete date before 1200 BC and include societies like the Phoenicians, Minoans, and Egyptians, to name only a few. The late 1700s and early 1800s found a renewed discovery of and interest in reinforced concrete as a building structure. Americans and Europeans used it in large warehouses, factory buildings, apartment buildings and homes. New delivery systems, changes in formwork, high-strength concrete and other admixtures were invented which improved concretes strength and workability. Structural systems which go beyond the traditional post-and-beam construction of the Ingalls Building and the introduction of high-strength concrete mixes have together allowed reinforced concrete skyscrapers to grow to heights of the PETRONAS. Little more than a century ago, reinforced concrete was invented. In that short period of time, reinforced concrete has gone from being a very limited material to one of the most versatile building materials available today. The first reinforced concrete buildings were heavy and massive. Valuable floor space was taken up by the massive concrete structural systems. Today, due to our increased knowledge and improved technology, reinforced concrete buildings can be tall, graceful and elegant. Due, in part, to the use of shear walls, innovative structural systems and ultimate strength design, very little usable floor space is occupied by the structure. HSC and lightweight structural concrete allow us to use smaller member sizes and less steel reinforcement. Because of the rapid developments of concrete construction and technology, with every passing year the use of concrete for tall buildings is becoming a constant reality. The mold ability of concrete is a major factor in creating exciting building forms with elegant aesthetic expression. Compared to steel, concrete tall buildings have larger masses and damping ratios that help in minimizing motion perception. A heavier concrete structure also provides better stability against overturning caused by lateral loads. New structural systems including the composite ones that are popular now have allowed concrete high-rises to reach new heights during the last four decades. Although steel will continue to be the structural material of choice for many tall buildings for its strength and ductility, we may expect to see more and more concrete and composite high-rise structures shaping the skylines of major cities of the world in the forthcoming years.

Comparison Certified Nursing Assistants versus Licensed Practical Nurse

Comparison Why would anyone be in the healthcare field? First, there are different types of positions available. Second, this is a very rewarding career for those who enjoy caring for others. Although, most people think there are a lot of differences between certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses, they share the same type of work, working conditions and job outlook. The nature of the work is very similar for the C.N.A. and L.P.N. A C.N.A. work includes performing routine tasks under the supervision of nursing staff. They answer call bells, deliver messages, serve meals, make beds, and help patients eat, dress, and bathe. Aides also provide skin care to patients, take pulse, temperature, respiration, and blood pressure and help patients get in and out of bed and walk. They also escort patients to operating rooms, exam rooms, keep patient rooms neat, set up equipment, or store and move supplies. Aides observe patient’s physical, mental, and emotional condition and report any change to the R.N. Likewise the L.P.N. provides basic bedside care. They take vital signs such as temperature, blood pressure, restorations, and pulse. They also treat bedsores, prepare and give injections and enemas, apply dressings, apply ice packs and insert catheters. L.P.N.’s observe patients and report adverse reactions to medications or treatments to the R .N. or the doctor. They help patients with bathing, dressing, and personal hygiene, and care for their emotional needs. ...

World of the Work Essay -- Literary Analysis, Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon tells the account of an African American male's hunt for his individuality through a discovery of his ancestor’s past. Morrison tells this legend through the character of Solomon, the great-grandfather of Milkman Dead. Through learning of the tale of Solomon and his capability to soar, Milkman discovers a strong sense of satisfaction in his heritage and realizes he must treasure his community and family. While most of the narrative occurs from 1931-1963, there are intermittent flashbacks from the late nineteenth century. Two distinct settings in Song of Solomon play a key but contrasting role in identifying and understanding the personality of its inhabitants and the importance of human interaction as a whole. While the town close to Lake Superior is never given a title, the reader imagines it is Detroit, Michigan. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator focuses on the Southside and the road the residents call â€Å"Not Doctor Street†, a primarily black area (Morrison 4). This street name gives â€Å"Southside residents a way to keep their memories a...

Technoscience and Artificial Life :: Technology

Technoscience and Artificial Life ABSTRACT: This paper uses the theory of technoscience to shed light on the current criticisms against the emerging science of Artificial Life. We see that the science of Artificial Life is criticized for the synthetic nature of its research and its over reliance on computer simulations which is seen to be contrary to the traditional goals and methods of science. However, if we break down the traditional distinctions between science and technology using the theory of technoscience, then we can begin to see that all science has a synthetic nature and reliance on technology. Artificial Life researchers are not heretical practitioners of some pseudoscience; they are just more open about their reliance on technology to help realize their theories and modeling. Understanding that science and technology are not as disparate as was once thought is an essential step in helping us create a more humane technoscience in the future. Introduction As soon as the new sciences of Complexity, Chaos Theory, and Artificial Life (hereafter referred to as AL), began to be noticed by the popular science press a kind of "honeymoon" period began. During this time these sciences were seen as the sexy new breakthrough theories that would eventually lead to our ability to solve all the problems of the world, from the cure for AIDS to the complete understanding and synthesis of living systems. (1) Recently a number of attacks have been leveled against the studies of Complexity and Chaos Theory in general and on the study of AL directly. The most damning of these attacks on AL has been launched by John Horgan in his article "From Complexity to Perplexity," printed in Scientific American (Horgan 6/95) and in his book The End of Science. In his article Horgan fiercely criticized the study of AL with the implication that the entire study is some kind of sham. Horgan states that: Artificial Life — and the entire field of complexity — seems to be based on a seductive syllogism: There are simple sets of mathematical rules that when followed by a computer give rise to extremely complicated patterns. The world also contains many extremely complicated patterns. Conclusion: Simple rules underlie many extremely complicated phenomena in the world. With the help of powerful computers, scientists can root those rules out (Horgan 6/96, Pg. 107). Horgan goes on to argue that this position held by AL researchers is untenable and that the kind of science practiced in AL is no where near the kind of science that is normally practiced in biology.

Virginia Woolf’s a Room of One’s Own

Though published seventy years ago, Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own holds no less appeal today than it did then. Modern women writers look to Woolf as a prophet of inspiration. In November of 1929, Woolf wrote to her friend G. Lowes Dickinson that she penned the book because she â€Å"wanted to encourage the young women–they seem to get frightfully depressed† (xiv). The irony here, of course, is that Woolf herself eventually grew so depressed and discouraged that she killed herself. The suicide seems symptomatic of Woolf's own feelings of oppression within a patriarchal world where only the words of men, it seemed, were taken seriously.Nevertheless, women writers still look to Woolf as a liberating force and, in particular, at A Room of One's Own as an inspiring and empowering work. Woolf biographer Quentin Bell notes that the text argues: the disabilities of women are social and economic; the woman writer can only survive despite great difficulties, and despite th e prejudice and the economic selfishness of men; and the key to emancipation is to be found in the door of a room which a woman may call her own and which she can inhabit with the same freedom and independence as her brothers. 144) Woolf empowers women writers by first exploring the nature of women and fiction, and then by incorporating notions of androgyny and individuality as it exists in a woman's experience as writer. Woolf's first assertion is that women are spatially hindered in creative life. â€Å"A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction,† Woolf writes, â€Å"and that as you will see, leaves the great problem of the true nature of women. . . and fiction unresolved† (4). What Woolf seems to say is that being female stifles creativity.Woolf does not assume, however, that a biological reason for this stifling exists. Instead, she implies that a woman's â€Å"life conflicts with something that is not life† (71). In other words , mothering, being a wife, and the general daily, culturally defined expectations of women infringe upon creativity, in particular the writing of fiction. The smothering reality of a woman's life – – housekeeping and child-rearing duties, for example – – distract a woman from writing. Sadly, Woolf notes, even if a woman in such circumstances manages to write anyway, â€Å"she will write in a rage where she should write calmly.She will write foolishly where she should write wisely. She will write of herself where she should write of her characters† (69-70). Woolf posits here that an angry woman, writing out of the repression of her everyday life, will be an ineffective writer. Finally, Woolf blames the patriarchal culture, as if the freedom of women writing is â€Å"some infringement of [man's] power to believe in himself† (35). She suggests that men resist women writers because fiction by women somehow diminishes their belief in their own wo rks.Woolf's message, it seems, is that women must rail against the resistance of the patriarchal culture and attain some degree of independence and androgyny. Woolf does not suggest that women write the same as men. In fact, Woolf asserts that â€Å"it would be a thousand pities if women wrote like men, or lived like men, or looked like men† (88). Woolf believes that a man's sentence is not a woman's sentence, that the two will be vastly different from each other, though not necessarily one better than the other.Her assertion is that men's sentences are awkward in the hands of women because â€Å"the nerves that feed the brain would seem to differ in men and women† (78). This difference of gray matter and neurons would necessarily result in a difference of perspective and sentence structure. Woolf suggests that for fiction to be artfully done, there must exist a measure of androgyny, â€Å"a plan of the soul so that in each of us two powers preside, one male, one fema le† (98).In essence, Woolf claims that this state of androgyny would allow women the same freedom to express themselves that men seem to have been inherently endowed with. â€Å"The androgynous mind is resonant and porous,† Woolf continues, â€Å"it transmits emotion without impediment; it is naturally creative, incandescent and undivided† (98). What Woolf overtly states here is that the ideal creative mind is a marriage, or balance, of the supposed female traits of emotionalism with the supposed male traits of productivity and style. What is implicit, however, is that the female mind can be resonant and porous only when undivided.In other words, a woman can write well only when her mind, like a man's, is not forced to choose between gender and identity, or between her art and society's expectations of her. A woman will write with fluidity and resonance only when she has the same freedom of expression as a man. An additional notion Woolf presents is that women mu st maintain individuality in their experiences as writers. This intimacy with one's identity nurtures the creation of fiction, but only when written out of one's own personality and not imitated through another's. â€Å"Why are Jane Austen's sentences not the right shape for you? Woolf asks Mary Carmichael (80). The idea Woolf reinforces here is that a woman should find and develop her own writing style, not simply mimic her predecessors. Notice, though, that Woolf does not suggest we glean no stylistic inspiration from women writers like the Brontes and Jane Austen, who paved the way for generations of women writers. â€Å"Books continue each other,† Woolf says, â€Å"in spite of our habit of judging them separately† (80). Continuing something, however, does not mean using the same blueprints or tools during the creative process.What Woolf implies is that every book a woman, sitting in that room of her own, produces will generate books from other women. A degree of m imicry, of course, is impossible to avoid. â€Å"A woman writing,† Woolf admits, â€Å"thinks back through her mothers† (97). The â€Å"mothers† here are not only biological mothers who give birth to our physical bodies, but also those women who meticulously scratched their way out of patriarchal constraints and into print; the women who acted as surrogates to birth generations of women writers.Subtle mimicry would seem a natural act under such circumstances, much as a child unconsciously develops personality traits of either parent. Finally, a woman reading Woolf's book has to wonder if that â€Å"room of one's own† is strictly a spatial, physical concept. It is possible that Woolf writes of a psychological construct as a room of one's own, a place one can emotionally go to and write from. Few of us have the luxury of a concrete room of our own, and if we are to be writers, emotional space of our own is the barest necessity.Women who want to write must f ind some quiet space in their psyches from which they can create. â€Å"So long as you write what you want to write, that is all that matters,† Woolf encourages, â€Å"and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say† (106). What Woolf seems to say is that what we create within that space of ourselves, within a single moment, is what matters so long as we do it with an eye toward our own individual, androgynous hearts.

Mercedes-Benz Advertising Brief & Strategy

Annual Report 2011. Key Figures Daimler Group 2011 Amounts in millions of euros Revenue Western Europe thereof Germany NAFTA thereof United States Asia thereof China Other markets Employees (December 31) Investment in property, plant and equipment Research and development expenditure thereof capitalized Free cash flow of the industrial business EBIT Value added Net profit/loss Earnings/loss per share (in â‚ ¬) Total dividend Dividend per share (in â‚ ¬) 106,540 39,387 19,753 26,026 22,222 22,643 11,093 18,484 271,370 4,158 5,634 1,460 989 8,755 3,726 6,029 5. 2 2,346 2. 20 97,761 38,478 19,281 23,582 20,216 19,659 9,094 16,042 260,100 3,653 4,849 1,373 5,432 7,274 2,773 4,674 4. 28 1,971 1. 85 78,924 36,458 18,788 19,380 16,569 12,435 4,349 10,651 256,407 2,423 4,181 1,285 2,706 -1,513 -4,644 -2,644 -2. 63 0 0. 00 2010 2009 11/10 % change +91 +2 +2 +10 +10 +15 +22 +15 +4 +14 +16 +6 -82 +20 +34 +29 +24 +19 +19 1 Adjusted for the effects of currency translation, increase in reven ue of 10%. Divisions 011 Amounts in millions of euros Mercedes-Benz Cars EBIT Revenue Return on sales Investment in property, plant and equipment Research and development expenditure thereof capitalized Unit sales Employees (December 31) Daimler Trucks EBIT Revenue Return on sales Investment in property, plant and equipment Research and development expenditure thereof capitalized Unit sales Employees (December 31) Mercedes-Benz Vans EBIT Revenue Return on sales Investment in property, plant and equipment Research and development expenditure thereof capitalized Unit sales Employees (December 31) Daimler Buses EBIT Revenue Return on sales Investment in property, plant and equipment Research and development expenditure thereof capitalized Unit sales Employees (December 31) Daimler Financial Services EBIT Revenue New business Contract volume Investment in property, plant and equipment Employees (December 31) 1,312 12,080 33,521 71,730 21 7,065 162 4,418 3. 7% 103 225 32 39,741 17,495 83 5 9,179 9. 1% 109 358 126 264,193 14,889 1,876 28,751 6. 5% 1,201 1,321 251 425,756 77,295 5,192 57,410 9. 0% 2,724 3,733 1,051 1,381,416 99,091 2010 2009 11/10 % change 4,656 53,426 8. % 2,457 3,130 940 1,276,827 96,281 -500 41,318 -1. 2% 1,618 2,696 913 1,093,905 93,572 +12 +7 . +11 +19 +12 +8 +3 1,332 24,024 5. 5% 1,003 1,282 373 355,263 71,706 -1,001 18,360 -5. 5% 597 1,116 368 259,328 70,699 +41 +20 . +20 +3 -33 +20 +8 451 7,812 5. 8% 91 267 29 224,224 14,557 26 6,215 0. 4% 113 193 0 165,576 15,226 +85 +17 . +20 +34 +334 +18 +2 215 4,558 4. 7% 95 223 31 39,118 17,134 183 4,238 4. 3% 78 212 5 32,482 17,188 -25 -3 . +8 +1 +3 +2 +2 831 12,788 29,267 63,725 12 6,742 9 11,996 25,066 58,350 14 6,800 +58 -6 +15 +13 +75 +5 Daimler Marken Mercedes-Benz Cars Daimler Trucks Mercedes-Benz Vans Daimler Buses Daimler Financial ServicesInnovation and Growth We invented the automobile – and now we are passionately shaping its future. As automotive pioneers, we see it as both motivation and a duty to continue our tradition with groundbreaking technologies and superior products. We do our very best for customers who expect the best, and we live and breathe a culture of operational excellence based on shared values. Our corporate history features numerous innovations and pioneering achievements; they are the foundation and ongoing inspiration for our claim to leadership in the auto ­ motive industry. At the same time, our thoughts and actions are guided by the principle of sustainable mobility.With tailored products, we intend to enter new markets and attract additional groups of customers. Our goal is to lead our industry in terms of unit sales, revenue and profitability – and to do so in all the businesses in which we are active. By means of profitable growth, we want to create lasting added value – for our shareholders, customers and employees, and for society in general. Dieter Zetsche Wolfgang Bernhard Christine Hohmann ­Dennhardt Wilfried Port h Andreas Renschler Bodo Uebber Thomas Weber Contents This Annual Report focuses on the innovative products and services with which we intend to utilize the growth opportunities offered worldwide while making a contribution to the mobility of the future.More details are provided inside, especially on pages 28-69. General information on Daimler and on the year 2011 can be found in the first section of the report. The Group’s financial position, liquidity and capital resources, and profitability are described and analyzed in the Management Report. Other sections provide information on our divisions, the topic of sustainability, corporate governance and the consolidated financial statements. 2 Annual Report 2011 | Contents 1 | To Our Shareholders (pages 4-27) 4 10 14 16 22 24 Important Events in 2011 Chairman’s Letter The Board of Management Report of the Supervisory Board The Supervisory Board Daimler Shares | Sustainability (pages 144-155) 146 148 152 154 Sustainability at Daimler Innovation, Safety and the Environment Human Resources Social Responsibility 6 | Corporate Governance (pages 156-175) 2 | Innovation and Growth (pages 28-69) 30 36 40 46 52 58 62 66 Innovation on a Grand Scale The New Compact Cars The Fascination of Electric Mobility What Will Move Us Tomorrow? Global Success Made by Daimler Customer Care Worldwide The Future Is Our Element The Avant-garde of Future Mobility 158 161 167 169 175 Report of the Audit Committee Remuneration Report Integrity and Compliance Corporate Governance Report Declaration of Compliance with the German Corporate Governance Code | Consolidated Financial Statements (pages 176-251) 178 179 Consolidated Statement of Income Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income/Loss Consolidated Statement of Financial Position Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements Responsibility Statement Independent Auditors’ Report 3 | Management Report (pages 70-127) 72 86 98 105 108 111 112 113 121 Business and General Conditions Profitability Liquidity and Capital Resources Financial Position Daimler AG (Condensed version according to HGB) Overall Assessment of the Economic Situation Events after the End of the 2011 Financial Year Risk Report Outlook 180 181 182 183 250 251 | Additional Information (pages 252-256) 252 254 255 256 Ten Year Summary Glossary Index International Representative Offices Internet | Information | Addresses Daimler Worldwide Financial Calendar 2012 4 | The Divisions (pages 128-143) 130 134 138 140 142 Mercedes-Benz Cars Daimler Trucks Mercedes-Benz Vans Daimler Buses Daimler Financial Services 3 1 | To Our Shareholders | Important Events in 2011 Important Events Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz invented the automobile in 1886. The year 2011 was therefore marked by the commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the auto mobile, which started on January 29 with the official celebrations at the Mercedes-Benz Museum. They were followed by various public events, including several organized during the Automobile Summer in Stuttgart.Our employees enthusiastically celebrated the anniversary at numerous parties in the production plants and sales-and-service centers. Following in the footsteps of Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, we will reinvent the automobile again and again, thus shaping the future of mobility. And in jubilee year 2011, we created the right conditions for sustainable and profitable growth with a burst of new models and some important strategic decisions. 2011 Q1. 11 25th anniversary of the automobile. On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz changed the world. He applied to the Berlin Patent Office to register his â€Å"vehicle with gas-engine propulsion† under patent number 37435.Daimler starts jubilee year 2011 with official celebrations under the heading â€Å"125! Years Inventor of the Automobile. † Daimler and Toray found a joint venture. Toray Indu stries, Inc. and Daimler plan to jointly produce and market automobile components made of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP). New C-Class coupe. The two-door has its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in early March 2011. It deliberately targets new customers as well as existing ones, and allows a particularly sporty entry into the coupe world of MercedesBenz. The new generation of the C-Class sedan and wagon and the new SLK roadster are also presented in Geneva. Presentation of the Concept A-CLASS in Shanghai.At Auto Shanghai in April, Mercedes-Benz presents the Concept A-CLASS to give an impression of the upcoming new compact class. The proportions of the Concept A-CLASS communicate concentrated dynamism. The car’s expressive lines and surfaces are a key feature of the new Mercedes-Benz design. Supervisory Board appoints Dr. Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt to the Board of Management. Dr. Hohmann-Dennhardt takes charge of the newly created Board of Management area of à ¢â‚¬Å"Integrity and Legal Affairs. † She is responsible for the Legal Department, the Compliance Organization and Corporate Data Protection. New truck brand for the Indian market. In India, Daimler Trucks presents BharatBenz, its fifth truck brand.BharatBenz is the basis for the launch of a new local truck generation, which is to be produced at the new plant in Chennai. Excellent first quarter of 2011. Daimler AG achieved earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of â‚ ¬2. 0 billion in the first quarter of the year (Q1 2010: â‚ ¬1. 2 billion). This very positive earnings development reflects the ongoing upward trend in nearly all divisions. 6 1 | To Our Shareholders | Important Events in 2011 Dividend of â‚ ¬1. 85 per share. At the Annual Meeting in Berlin, the Daimler shareholders vote to pay a dividend for the year 2010 of â‚ ¬1. 85 per share. The total dividend distribution thus amounts to approximately â‚ ¬2 billion. Daimler starts worldwide campaign:  "fairplay. Live values. Create value. This campaign directs the attention of employees and executives to the issues of integrity and compliance. The goal is to develop a shared understanding among all Daimler employees of which behavior is right and which is wrong, as well as to promote a corporate culture of trusting cooperation. F-CELL World Drive reaches Stuttgart. After traveling more than 30,000 kilometers around the globe, three MercedesBenz B-Class F-CELL cars with locally emission-free drive systems cross the finishing line in front of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart in due time. During the F-CELL World Drive, Mercedes-Benz impressively demonstrates the qualities of its fuel-cell vehicles with regard to performance and reliability.Presentation of new Actros. The heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz truck has been fundamentally redeveloped. The new Actros represents more than ten years of work, over 20 million test kilometers and more than â‚ ¬2 billion of investment in developm ent and production technology. Strategic framework agreement with Chinese partner. Daimler AG and Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) sign a strategic framework agreement. A total of approximately â‚ ¬2 billion is to be invested in the joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive Co. , Ltd. (BBAC). Record earnings in the second quarter. Daimler achieves one of its best ever quarterly results in the second quarter of 2011.Group EBIT amounts to â‚ ¬2. 6 billion. Q2. 11 7 Q3. 11 Joint venture between Daimler and Bosch. Daimler and Robert Bosch GmbH sign agreements on the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture for electric motors. The company will operate under the name of EM-motive GmbH and will develop and produce innovative electric motors for electric vehicles. Daimler Financial Services starts operations in India. The newly established subsidiary Daimler Financial Services India Pvt. Ltd. domiciled in Chennai offers customers and dealers a comprehensive range of financing and insurance products. Contract volume of more than US$500 million is targeted by the year 2016.Acquisition of Tognum successfully concluded. Daimler AG and Rolls-Royce Holdings plc secure approximately 99% of Tognum’s shares. The combination of the three companies’ strengths and market access will allow Tognum to become a first-class producer of engine systems. Numerous Mercedes-Benz world premieres at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The revolutionary F125! research car allows a glimpse of the emission-free luxury sedans of the not-too-distant future. There are also world premieres of the new B-Class, the Concept B-Class E-CELL PLUS and the SLS AMG roadster. In addition, Mercedes-Benz presents the new M-Class to the general public for the first time.Presentation of â€Å"Mercedes-Benz 2020† growth strategy. By the year 2020, we want to be the number one among the premium manufacturers – in terms of products, brand, profitability and unit sales. We will devel op the production capacities required for our growth so that they are close to our customers and our markets. First truck from Daimler and Kamaz. Daimler Trucks and Russian truck producer Kamaz present the prototype of a jointly developed truck with Daimler components. Daimler and Kamaz will intensify their collaboration in the future, especially on truck cabs. First new Citaro delivered. Trade experts see a great future for the completely revised best-selling Mercedes-Benz city bus.It sets benchmarks above all with its safety concept and its new design. Final approval for truck joint venture in China. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce grants final approval for Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co. , Ltd. (BFDA). Daimler will hold a 50% interest in the joint venture and can thus participate in the growth of the Chinese market for medium and heavy trucks. 8 1 | To Our Shareholders | Important Events in 2011 First Sprinter produced in China. In addition to the Vito and Viano models, whi ch have been successfully produced and sold in China since 2010, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is now also rolling off the assembly lines at Fujian Daimler Automotive Co. Ltd. The Sprinter is the first premium product in the Chinese market for large vans. Closer cooperation between Daimler and BAIC. Daimler and BAIC (Beijing Automotive Group Co. , Ltd. ) agree to extend their wide-ranging strategic partnership. The letter of intent states that both companies will assess further possibilities for technological collaboration and for vehicles with alternative drive systems. Daimler plans sale of EADS shares. Daimler and the German government have agreed in principle that the KfW Bank Group will acquire 7. 5% of the shares in EADS from Daimler. The transaction is to take place in 2012. 50,000 customers at car2go. ar2go, the world’s first fully flexible car-rental service to operate on a per-minute basis, passes the milestone of one million rentals. At the same time, the 50,000th car 2go customer worldwide is registered at the Hamburg car2go shop. New Actros is â€Å"Truck of the Year 2012. † Truck journalists from 24 European countries elect the new Actros, the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz fleet of commercial vehicles, as the best truck of the year. With a total of eight titles, Mercedes-Benz is now the most successful brand in the competition for honors for technological progress. Presentation of heavy-duty Fuso truck with hybrid drive. Fuso presents its first heavy-duty truck with hybrid drive at the Tokyo Motor Show: the Super Great HEV.The first test carried out under real-life conditions show that fuel consumption has been improved by up to 10% compared with conventional trucks with diesel engines. Q4. 11 9 25 years of the automobile and excellent financial results – 2011 stands for both at Daimler. And that pleases us all the more because we promised you a year ago that our jubilee year would be another successful year for your company. We kept our word with: – Group revenue of 106. 5 billion euros, – EBIT of 8. 8 billion euros, which is well above the prior year, – and net profit of 6. 0 billion euros. These aren’t just very respectable results; they are among the best in our history. Our return on net assets of 19. 9 percent was well above our target of eight percent. In short, we created value.And of course, our success will also benefit you: The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose an increase in the dividend to â‚ ¬2. 20 per share at the Annual Meeting. Now what were the key developments in our divisions? At Mercedes-Benz Cars, we set three records in 2011. Never before have we had better unit sales, revenue or EBIT. This was chiefly accomplished on the strength of our Mercedes-Benz brand and its ongoing invigoration through innovative products. Whether the M- or B-Class, the C coupe or the SLS AMG roadster, our new models are all very popular. At the same time , in 2011 we defined our long-term growth strategy: â€Å"Mercedes-Benz 2020. At its center is the extension of our ambition to lead: With the strongest brand and the best products, we aim to be number one in premium-segment unit sales as well – by the end of this decade at the latest. To that end, we need to achieve sustainable, profitable growth and expand our activities close to our growing customer base. 2011 was also a very good year for Daimler Trucks. Worldwide, we were able to increase unit sales and revenue by 20 percent, and EBIT by more than 40 percent. In June, we introduced the new Mercedes-Benz Actros, our most important heavy-duty truck of this decade. It was promptly voted â€Å"Truck of the Year. † In North America, we further strengthened our market leadership in the medium- and heavy-duty segment.And with Fuso in Asia, we increased our unit sales despite the natural disaster in Japan. 10 1 | To Our Shareholders | Chairman’s Letter â€Å" The jubilee year of the automobile was another successful year for Daimler. But we believe we can do even better. † 11 Mercedes-Benz Vans posted unit sales growth of about 18 percent – thanks primarily to the success of the new-generation Vito and Viano. Both models are now available in China, where we also started production of the Sprinter. At Daimler Buses, revenue and earnings decreased due to weaker market demand for complete buses. However, we clearly maintained the leading position in all our key markets.Exceptionally good news also comes from Daimler Financial Services, where three new records were set in 2011: for new business, contract volume and earnings. In addition, we expanded our range of services with the new â€Å"Mobility Services† business unit. Here we are offering innovative service packages with a focus on sustainable mobility. All of this contributed to an excellent performance in 2011. It is all the more remarkable given that general economic risks increased in the second half of the year due to the crisis in the euro zone. In 2012, we will continue to face headwinds in our European markets. However, from today’s perspective, we expect worldwide economic growth of around 2. 5 percent. And global automotive demand is likely to grow even faster in the years ahead.We intend to participate in this growth – and to an above-average extent. 2011 was a successful and important year. But we believe we can do significantly better in the medium and long term; that also applies to our share price. We strive to attain leadership in all our businesses. In doing so, we draw on the strengths of the Daimler Group: – as a full-line supplier of premium cars, trucks, vans, buses and services; – with Mercedes-Benz as our core brand in all divisions; – and as an innovation and technology leader. The combination of these Daimler strengths produces potential that we intend to fully utilize in the coming years . Specifically, we have efined four strategic growth areas: – strengthening our core business in traditional markets, – conquering new growth markets, – extending our leadership in environmentally friendly technologies and in the field of safety, – and developing and implementing new mobility concepts. 12 1 | To Our Shareholders | Chairman’s Letter In all of this, one thing remains clear: A company’s success stands or falls with the skills and commitment of its workforce. The employees of your company are doing a great job; for that they deserve the thanks of the Board of Management. We will continue to systematically promote excellence in the future. One specific target is the development of first-class female and international talent. Integrity is another issue that is gaining importance – and not just at Daimler. What does that mean in a corporate context?In brief, it means that â€Å"make a decent return† and â€Å"make re turns decent† are two sides of the same coin. Integrity is more than just formal compliance with laws and regulations. It is an ethical attitude, a sort of â€Å"internal compass† that keeps us on the right path even in complex business situations. Many events of the past twelve months have confirmed once again that one of the most important â€Å"currencies† is trust – whether it’s in business or politics, in public or private life. Ultimately, Daimler owes its sustained success to its trusted relationships with customers, business partners, employees and neighbors – and of course with you, our shareholders.We would like to sincerely thank you for your confidence in us. We will make every effort in 2012 to justify that confidence once again. Sincerely, Dieter Zetsche 13 The Board of Management Andreas Renschler | 53 Daimler Trucks Appointed until September 2013 Wolfgang Bernhard | 51 Manufacturing and Procurement Mercedes-Benz Cars & Mercede s-Benz Vans Appointed until February 2013 Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt | 61 Integrity and Legal Affairs Appointed until February 2014 Bodo Uebber | 52 Finance & Controlling, Daimler Financial Services Appointed until December 2014 Thomas Weber | 57 Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development Appointed until December 2013Wilfried Porth | 53 Human Resources & Labor Relations Director Appointed until April 2017 Dieter Zetsche | 58 Chairman of the Board of Management, Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Appointed until December 2013 14 15 Report of the Supervisory Board Dear Shareholders, the Supervisory Board dealt in detail with the operational and strategic development of the Daimler Group in seven meetings during the 2011 financial year. In the year 2011, the Supervisory Board performed its tasks as laid down by applicable law, the Articles of Incorporation and its rules of procedure, and continually advised and supervised the Board of Management with the management of the company.Followi ng careful reviews and consultations, the Supervisory Board passed resolutions on numerous business matters for which its consent was required, such as investment and personnel planning, capital changes at companies of the Group, investments and divestments, expansion of production capacities in existing cooperations, and the conclusion of contracts of particular importance for the Group. In addition, the Supervisory Board examined for example whether the risk report, the financial reporting and the annual financial statements were in conformance with requirements. The Board of Management also informed the Supervisory Board about a large number of transactions not requiring the Supervisory Board’s consent and the two boards discussed those matters together, for example, the further development of strategic programs in the various divisions and the status of various cooperation projects.The Supervisory Board discussed the information and evaluations that were material for its decisions and suggestions together with the Board of Management. The Supervisory Board meetings were regularly prepared in separate discussions of the members representing the employees and the members representing the shareholders with the members of the Board of Management. In each meeting of the Supervisory Board, there was a so-called executive session, in which the members of the Supervisory Board were able to discuss topics in the absence of the members of the Board of Management. No member of the Supervisory Board attended less than half of the meetings in the past financial year.The Chairman of the Supervisory Board was regularly informed by the Chairman of the Board of Management about all significant operating developments as well as personnel changes and appointments. Daimler’s business activities continued to develop very successfully during the year 2011. Unit sales and revenues increased in almost all the automotive divisions, in some cases substantially. Earnin gs from ongoing operations were significantly higher than in 2010. The Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans divisions achieved their targeted rates of return already in the first half of 2011. The good business development generally continued in the second half of the year, although earnings were adversely affected by model changes, higher material costs and exchange-rates movements.Daimler is currently making substantial investments, with support from the Supervisory Board, in new technologies, new markets and new products, in order to strengthen the Group’s competitive position for the future. A question of relevance for the work of the Supervisory Board throughout the year 2011 related to the possibility to plan further developments and their stability. The general economic outlook, and in particular the situation in the financial markets, was marked by significant risks and uncertainties. An additional factor in the first half of the year was the hardto-assess impact of the natural disaster in Japan. The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board also care-fully monitored the economic situation in China, one of the Group’s key markets.In the euro zone, the high levels of state and public-sector debt became increasingly important as factors causing uncertainty and restricting growth. In general, the Supervisory Board assessed the development during 2011 in absolute terms as positive, and in view of the risk described above, was in agreement with the risk-aware approach of the Board of Management. The Supervisory Board dealt in detail with the development of Daimler’s share price, and discussed at length with the Board of Management about its causes and proposals, as well as the expected impact on the share price of strategic projects. 16 1 | To Our Shareholders | Report of the Supervisory Board Dr. Manfred Bischoff, Chairman of the Supervisory Board.In addition to the usual key financial metrics, the Board of Management regularl y informed the Supervisory Board about important topics such as: – the Group’s profitability, especially in terms of return on equity, and its liquidity situation, – the internal control and risk management system including compliance, – the cost of risk in the financial services business, – the development of commodity prices, especially of raw materials, and – the general economic situation in the main sales markets, in particular in view of developments in the financial markets. The Supervisory Board also dealt with safeguarding the Group’s long-term profitability, fundamental questions of corporate planning including financial, investment, sales and human resources planning, developments in the companies of the Group, revenue developments and the situation of the Group, as well as the ongoing implementation of measures to secure pioneering and sustainable mobility for the future.The latter was dealt with also considering current a nd future requirements under the heading of â€Å"digital life,† with special reference to the Group’s products and services. The Supervisory Board was occupied with these topics going beyond the operating business in close communication with the Board of Management and especially intensively in a two-day strategy workshop, which this year focused in particular on conditions and development opportunities in China in order to properly reflect the special importance of the Chinese market. Cooperation between the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management. All the members of the Board of Management attended all the meetings of the Supervisory Board.In the meetings, there was an intensive and open exchange of opinions and information concerning the position of the Group, business and financial developments, fundamental issues of corporate policy and strategy, and development opportunities in important growth markets. Any deviations from the planning were explained in de tail to the Supervisory Board by the Board of Management. The members of the Supervisory Board regularly prepared for upcoming resolutions on transactions requiring Supervisory Board consent on the basis of documentation provided in advance by the Board of Management. They were supported by the relevant committees, and discussed the actions and transactions upon which decisions were to be taken with the Board of Management.Furthermore, the Board of Management informed the Supervisory Board with the use of monthly reports and quarterly risk reports about the most important performance figures and risks and submitted the interim reports to the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board was kept fully informed of specific matters also between its meetings. As required in individual cases, following consultation with the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, the members were requested to pass resolutions in writing. In addition, the Chairman of the Board of Management informed the Chairman o f the Supervisory Board in regular discussions about important developments and consulted with him on upcoming decisions. 17Topics discussed at the Supervisory Board meetings in the year 2011. In January 2011, the Supervisory Board dealt with equity-capital changes at subsidiaries of Daimler North America Corporation. In a meeting in February 2011, the Supervisory Board appointed Dr. Christine HohmannDennhardt, an ex-judge at Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court, as a member of the Board of Management for the position of Integrity and Legal Affairs, which had been newly created by a resolution of September 2010. As of December 16, 2011, Bodo Uebber was reappointed as a member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Finance & Controlling and Daimler Financial Services.In the presence of the external auditors, the preliminary key figures of the annual company and consolidated financial statements for 2010 and the dividend proposal to be made at the 2011 Annual Shar eholders’ Meeting were discussed in the same meeting. The preliminary key figures for the year 2010 were announced at the Annual Press Conference on February 16, 2011. In another meeting held in February 2011, the Supervisory Board dealt with the annual company financial statements, the annual consolidated financial statements and the combined management report for Daimler AG and the Daimler Group, each of which had been issued with an unqualified audit opinion by the external auditors, as well as the reports of the Audit Committee and the Supervisory Board, the corporate governance report and the remuneration report and the proposal on the distribution of distributable profit.In preparation, the members of the Supervisory Board were provided with comprehensive documentation, some of it in draft form, including the Annual Report with the consolidated financial statements according to IFRS, the combined management report for Daimler AG and the Daimler Group, the corporate gove rnance report and the remuneration report, the annual company financial statements of Daimler AG, the audit report of KPMG for the annual company financial statements of Daimler AG, for the consolidated financial statements and for the combined management report, the proposal of the Board of Management on the distribution of distributable profit, and the drafts of the reports of the Supervisory Board and of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee and the Supervisory Board dealt with those documents in detail and discussed them intensively in the presence of the external auditors, who reported on the results of their audit and were available to answer supplementary questions and to provide additional information.Following the final results of the review by the Audit Committee and its own review, the Supervisory Board declared its agreement with the results of the audit by the external auditors, determined that no objections were to be raised, and approved the financial statements an d the combined management report as presented by the Board of Management. The company financial statements of Daimler AG for the year 2010 were thereby adopted. The Supervisory Board also consented to the proposal made by the Board of Management on the distribution of distributable profit and approved the report of the Supervisory Board, the corporate governance report and the remuneration report in the current drafts.Furthermore, the Supervisory Board approved its proposed decisions on the items of the agenda for the 2011 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. In addition, the Supervisory Board received information on the status of antitrust investigations of European manufacturers of commercial vehicles by the EU Commission and approved an investment framework for the submission of a voluntary takeover bid for Tognum AG together with Rolls-Royce. Finally, the Supervisory Board dealt with topics of Board of Management remuneration and approved the external board positions and sidelin e business activities of the members of the Board of Management as presented in the meeting.Two Supervisory Board meetings were held in April. In the first of those two meetings, which was held straight after the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, the Supervisory Board elected Dr. Manfred Bischoff as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board – as previously announced in the election proposal made at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. Pursuant to the rules of procedure of the Supervisory Board, its Chairman also chairs the Mediation, Nomination and Presidential Committees. To replace the departing Dr. Manfred Schneider, Dr. Jurgen Hambrecht was elected to the Mediation Committee and to the Presidential Committee. In the place of Dr. Manfred Schneider and Lynton R.Wilson, Dr. Paul Achleitner and Sari Baldauf were elected to the Nomination Committee. In addition, due to the resolution by the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting amending the Articles of Incorporation with rega rd to Supervisory Board remuneration, the Supervisory Board decided to amend the wording of the declaration of compliance accordingly, subject to the amended Articles of Incorporation being entered in the Commercial Register. In the declaration of compliance, the explanation of the lack of a performancerelated component of remuneration includes an explanation of the remuneration paid to the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG. With the amendment o the Articles of Incorporation, the existing apportioning model was replaced with an additive model, in order to better reflect the generally increased requirements in particular with consideration of additional activities of Supervisory Board members in committees. In the second meeting in April 2011, the Supervisory Board dealt with the course of business and results of the first quarter, as well as with a status report on the situation in Japan, which had been updated since previously being dealt with in March 2011, in particular the situati on of the Japanese companies of the Group and the local employees after the earthquake, tsunami and reactor accident. In addition, the Supervisory Board granted its consent to the closure of Treasury units in Belgium and to a capital increase for the car joint venture in China, Beijing Benz Automotive Co. , Ltd.In May, the Supervisory Board was informed about the stage of the Tognum transaction and the increase in the price offered. 18 1 | To Our Shareholders | Report of the Supervisory Board In addition to discussing the business development and results of the second quarter, in its meeting in July, the Supervisory Board granted its consent for capital contributions to the German pension plan, for the execution of equity-capital changes at the subsidiary Daimler Trucks North America, and for the expansion of production capacity for the truck joint venture with Foton, a Chinese truck producer. In the same meeting, the Supervisory Board also dealt with the new pension plan and the to pics for the upcoming strategy workshop.Furthermore, it reappointed Wilfried Porth as a member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Human Resources and as Labor Relations Director effective as of May 1, 2012. During the two-day strategy workshop in September, as every year, the Supervisory Board first of all received information on the stage of implementation of the strategic goals set in previous years by the Board of Management for Daimler AG and the divisions. Against the backdrop of the current economic situation, the Supervisory Board discussed the stage of implementation of projects initiated by the individual divisions, the positioning of the Group and its divisions with regard to the competition, and the brand and product strategies.Other key areas of the strategy workshops were: – growth opportunities in the various markets with a focus on China, – analyses of competitors, – status reports on the various cooperations, – the latest t rends in customer behavior, also with regard to the future development of urban mobility and the use of modern media and social networks, – the overall technology and market strategy for safeguarding sustainable mobility, – the technological development of internal-combustion engines, – electric, hybrid and hydrogen drive systems, – specific requirements placed on such drive systems in important markets, in China for example, – management capacities and other human resources issues, especially in specific growth markets, and – other strategic topics. In December, the Supervisory Board dealt in detail on the basis of comprehensive documentation with the operational planning for the years 2012 and 2013. This included discussion of existing opportunities and risks and the Group’s risk management. The Supervisory Board also decided on the financing limits for the year 2012 and dealt with a progress report on EADS and the planned sale of 7 . 5% of the shares in EADS to the KfW banking group.Other matters discussed in the December meeting included corporate governance and Board of Management remuneration. Corporate governance. Although the German Corporate Governance Code was not amended in the period under review, the Supervisory Board was continually occupied with the standards of good corporate governance, including the green paper of the European Commission on that subject. An important precondition for effective cooperation in the Supervisory Board in the sense of good corporate governance, in addition to the members’ prioritized specialist expertise, is their diversity to adequately reflect the Group’s size and internationality in terms of nationality, gender, ethnic origin and experience.In connection with future proposals on candidates for election to the Supervisory Board, the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG pays attention to internationality and balance, especially with regard to gender, and see s this as a contribution to strengthening Daimler’s claim to leadership in the automotive industry. With the election of Petraea Heynike, the Supervisory Board has achieved a proportion of 20% female members representing the shareholders, which is at least to be maintained and if possible increased in the coming years. The members of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG are obliged to disclose potential conflicts of interest to the entire Supervisory Board and not to participate in discussing or voting on topics which could lead to a conflict of interest. There were no indications of any such potential conflicts of interest in 2011.In its meeting in April, the Supervisory Board decided on an amendment to its rules of procedure. The Code’s suggestion that the maximum possible appointment period of five years should not be the rule with first-time appointments to the Board of Management will be complied with in the future: First-time appointments – and only those à ¢â‚¬â€œ will generally be made for three years only. In its December meeting, the Supervisory Board updated and amended the wording of the rules of procedure of the Supervisory Board and its committees, and approved the declaration of compliance with the German Corporate Governance Code pursuant to Section 161 of the German Stock Corporation Act (AktG).With the two exceptions explained in the declaration, all the recommendations of the Code have been complied with and continue to be complied with. 19 The Supervisory Board last arranged for an externally moderated efficiency review to be carried out during the year 2010, thus fulfilling the requirement to carry out a regular review of its efficiency in accordance with its own rules of procedure and the German Corporate Governance Code. The results of the efficiency review indicate very good cooperation within the Supervisory Board and with the Board of Management. There was no indication of any need for fundamental action or changes. However, some suggestions were made, which will be put into practice.Corporate governance at Daimler is described in detail in the Corporate Governance Report on pages 169 ff and in the Remuneration Report on pages 161 ff of this Annual Report. Personnel changes in the Supervisory Board. After the end of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting held on April 13, 2011, a member representing the shareholders, Dr. Manfred Schneider, stepped down from the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG. As proposed by the Supervisory Board, Petraea Heynike was newly elected as a member of the Supervisory Board repre ­ senting the shareholders with effect as of the end of that Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. Dr. Manfred Bischoff and Lynton R. Wilson, whose periods of office also ended at the end of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, were reelected.The election proposal of the Supervisory Board to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting was based on a recommendation made by the Nomination Co mmittee and a corresponding resolution by the members of the Supervisory Board representing the shareholders. Personnel changes in the Board of Management. In a meeting in February 2011, as mentioned above, the Super ­ visory Board appointed Dr. Christine Hohmann ­Dennhardt, an ex ­judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, as a member of the Board of Management for the position of Integrity and Legal Affairs, which was newly created by resolution of September 2010, for a period of three years as of February 16, 2011. Bodo Uebber was reappointed as a member of the Board of Management responsible for Finance & Controlling and Daimler Financial Services for a further three years as of December 16, 2011.In the Supervisory Board meeting in July 2011, in line with the new regulation on periods of service for reappointments, Wilfried Porth was reappointed for another five years as a member of the Board of Management responsible for Human Resources and as Labor Relations Direc tor as of May 1, 2012. Audit of the 2011 financial statements. The financial state ­ ments of Daimler AG and the combined management report for the Company and the Group for 2011 were duly audited by KPMG AG, Wirtschaftsprufungsgesellschaft, Berlin, and were given an unqualified audit opinion. The same applies to the consolidated financial statements for 2011 prepared accord ­ ing to IFRS, which were supplemented with additional notes.In the presence of the auditors in a meeting in early February 2012, the Supervisory Board discussed the preliminary key figures of the annual company and consolidated financial statements for 2011 and the dividend proposal to be made at the 2012 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. The preliminary key figures for the year 2011 were announced at the Annual Press Conference on February 9, 2012. In another meeting in late February 2012, the Supervisory Board dealt with the annual company financial statements, the annual consolidated financial stateme nts and the combined management report for Daimler AG and the Daimler Group, each of which had been issued with an unqualified audit opinion by the external auditors, as well as the reports of the Audit Committee and the Supervisory Board, the corporate Report on the work of the committees The Presidential Committee convened four times in 2011.It dealt primarily with corporate governance topics and ques ­ tions of remuneration, as well as personnel matters of the Board of Management. As in previous years, compliance targets constituted part of the individual target agreements of the members of the Board of Management. The Audit Committee met seven times in 2011. Details of those meetings are provided in a separate report of this committee (see page 158 ff). The Nomination Committee convened twice in 2011. Among other matters, it prepared a recommendation for the Supervisory Board’s proposal on a candidate for election to the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG representing the share ­ holders.The proposal gave due consideration to stipulations regarding the structure, orientation and qualification profile of the members of the Supervisory Board representing the shareholders and to corporate governance requirements. As in previous years, the Mediation Committee, a body required by the provisions of the German Codetermination Act (MitbestG), had no occasion to take any action in 2011. The chairmen of the committees informed the members of the Supervisory Board about the activities of the committees and their decisions, in each case in the Supervisory Board meeting following such decisions. 20 1 | To Our Shareholders | Report of the Supervisory Board governance report and the remuneration report, and the proposal on the distribution of distributable profit.In preparation, the members of the Supervisory Board were provided with comprehensive documentation, some of it in draft form, including the Annual Report with the consolidated financial statements accor ding to IFRS, the combined management report for Daimler AG and the Daimler Group, the corporate governance report and the remuneration report, the annual company financial statements of Daimler AG, the audit report of KPMG for the annual company financial statements of Daimler AG, for the consolidated financial statements and for the combined management report, the proposal of the Board of Management on the distribution of distributable profit, and the drafts of the reports of the Supervisory Board and of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee and the Supervisory Board dealt with those documents in detail and discussed them intensively in the presence of the external auditors, who reported on the results of their audit and were available to answer supplementary questions and to provide additional information.Following the final results of the review by the Audit Committee and its own review, the Supervisory Board declared its agreement with the results of the audit by the externa l auditors, determined that no objections were to be raised, and approved the financial statements and the combined management report as presented by the Board of Management. The company financial statements of Daimler AG for the year 2011 were thereby adopted. The Supervisory Board also consented to the proposal made by the Board of Management on the distribution of distributable profit and approved the report of the Supervisory Board, the corporate governance report and the remuneration report in their current drafts.Furthermore, the Supervisory Board approved its proposed decisions on the items of the agenda for the 2012 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. Appreciation. The Supervisory Board thanks all of the employees and the management of the Daimler Group for their personal contributions to the successful year 2011. Special thanks are due to a longstanding member of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Manfred Schneider, who stepped down in April after many years of close involvement a nd exceptional personal commitment to the Group. Stuttgart, February 2012 The Supervisory Board Dr. Manfred Bischoff Chairman 21 The Supervisory Board Dr. Manfred Bischoff Munich Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Fraport AG Royal KPN N. V.SMS GmbH – Chairman UniCredit S. p. A. Voith GmbH – Chairman Erich Klemm* Sindelfingen Chairman of the General Works Council, Daimler Group and Daimler AG; Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG Dr. Paul Achleitner Munich Member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Bayer AG RWE AG Allianz Investment Management SE – Chairman Allianz Global Investors AG Sari Baldauf Helsinki Former Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Networks Business Group of Nokia Corporation Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Hewlett-Packard Company F-Secure Corporation Fortum OYj – Chair woman Dr.Clemens Borsig Frankfurt am Main Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bank AG Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Linde AG Bayer AG Emerson Electric Co. Prof. Dr. Heinrich Flegel* Stuttgart Director Research Materials, Lightweight Design and Manufacturing, Daimler AG; Chairman of the Management Representative Committee, Daimler Group Dr. Jurgen Hambrecht Ludwigshafen Former Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Deutsche Lufthansa AG Fuchs Petrolub AG – Chairman Trumpf GmbH + Co. KG Petraea Heynike Vevey Former Executive Vice President of the Executive Board of Nestle S. A. since April 13, 2011) Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Schulich School of Business Jorg Hofmann* Stuttgart German Metalworkers’ Union (IG Metall), District Manager, Baden-Wurttemberg Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Robert Bosch GmbH Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG Dr. Thomas Klebe* Frankfurt am Main General Counsel of the German Metalworkers’ Union (IG Metall) Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Daimler Luft- und Raumfahrt Holding AG ThyssenKrupp Materials International GmbH Gerard Kleisterlee Amsterdam Former President and CEO of Royal Philips Electronics N. V. Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Vodafone Group Plc. – Chairman De Nederlandsche Bank N. V. Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Dell Inc.Jurgen Langer* Frankfurt am Main Chairman of the Works Council of the Frankfurt/Offenbach Dealership, Daimler AG 22 1 | To Our Shareholders | The Supervisory Board Ansgar Osseforth* Sindelfingen Manager Mercedes-Benz Research and Development; Member of the Works Council, Sindelfingen Plant, Daimler AG until November 30, 2011 Valter Sanches* Sao Paulo Secretary of International Relations of Confederacao Nacional dos Metalurgicos/CUT Stefan Schwaab* Gaggenau Vice Chairman of the General Works Council, Daimler Group and Daimler AG; Vice Chairman of the Works Council, Gaggenau Plant, Daimler AG Jorg Spies* Stuttgart Chairman of the Works Council, Headquarters, Daimler AG Lloyd G.Trotter Plainville Former Vice Chairman General Electric; President & CEO of the General Electric Group’s Industrial Division; Managing Partner, Founder, GenNx360 Capital Partners Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: PepsiCo Inc. Textron Inc. syncreon Holdings Ltd. syncreon. US Holdings Inc. syncreon. US Inc. Dr. h. c. Bernhard Walter Frankfurt am Main Former Spokesman of the Board of Management of Dresdner Bank AG Other supervisory board memberships/directorships: Bilfinger Berger SE – Chairman Deutsche Telekom AG Henkel AG & Co. KGaA Uwe Werner* Bremen Chairman of the Works Council, Bremen Plant, Daimler AG Lynton R. Wilson Toronto Chairman of the Board of CAE Inc. ; Chancellor of McMaster University Retired from the Supervisory Board: Dr. Manfred Schneider Leverkusen Chairman of the Supervisor y Board of Bayer AG (retired on April 13, 2011)Committees of the Supervisory Board: Committee pursuant to Section 27 Subsection 3 of the German Codetermination Act (MitbestG) Dr. Manfred Bischoff – Chairman Erich Klemm* Dr. Jurgen Hambrecht Dr. Thomas Klebe* Presidential Committee Dr. Manfred Bischoff – Chairman Erich Klemm* Dr. Jurgen Hambrecht Dr. Thomas Klebe* Audit Committee Dr. h. c. Bernhard Walter – Chairman Erich Klemm* Dr. Clemens Borsig Stefan Schwaab* Nomination Committee Dr. Manfred Bischoff – Chairman Dr. Paul Achleitner Sari Baldauf * Representative of the employees 23 Daimler Shares The spread of the sovereign-debt crisis and growing uncertainty about ongoing economic developments caused high volatility in the capital markets. Daimler’s share price fell significantly during the year 2011.In view of a repeated increase in net profit, the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board propose a higher dividend of â‚ ¬2. 20 per share (prior year: â‚ ¬1. 85). 1. 01 Development of Daimler’s share price and major indices End of 2011 End of 2010 11/10 % change -33 -15 -17 +6 -17 -24 Daimler’s share price (in euros) DAX 30 Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 Dow Jones Industrial Average Nikkei Dow Jones STOXX Auto Index 33. 92 5,898 2,317 12,218 8,455 259 50. 73 6,914 2,793 11,578 10,229 341 Turbulent year on global stock markets. Stock markets continued their very volatile and disparate development in 2011. Against the backdrop of positive economic developments and encouraging company results, the upward trend of the previous year at first continued at the beginning of 2011.A number of negative factors such as the worsening debt crisis in the euro zone, the violent conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East, the natural disaster in Japan and growing fears of inflation then led to sharp falls in share prices in March. However, following good quarterly results of companies in Europe and the United States, stoc k markets recovered quickly and reached their peaks for the year in May. After moving sideways for several months, share prices generally declined at the beginning of August due to the weaker economic outlook. The exacerbating financial crisis in Europe and the downgrading of the United States’ creditworthiness raised market fears of a renewed recession during the autumn.As a result, the markets remained very volatile. The index of the most important stocks in the euro zone, the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50, fell significantly, especially in the second half of 2011, and lost 17% over the full year. Germany’s main index, the DAX, lost 15%. In the United States, the Dow Jones climbed by 6% over the year. The Nikkei index in Japan closed 2011 down 17% compared with a year earlier. Volatile development of Daimler’s share price in 2011. Automotive stocks made a positive start to the year 2011. Our share profited at the beginning of the year from good unit sales in Decembe r and the encouraging data from the US truck market.Daimler’s share price peaked for the year at â‚ ¬58. 46 on January 18. This was followed by a phase of consolidation. Growing uncertainty had a disproportionately strong impact on the price of cyclical stocks such as Daimler’s. Nonetheless, our share price remained at the level it had reached at the end of 2010 until the end of July, despite negative factors such as the debt crisis in Europe, the natural disaster in Japan and the conflicts in North Africa and the Middle East. Share prices then fell significantly in August. This phase saw strong selling but only a weak propensity to buy. In that trading environment, economically sensitive automotive stocks suffered sharp losses.Although good unit sales were reported during the summer break, investors – especially in the United States – remained very risk averse and reduced the proportion of what they regarded as risky 1. 02 In euros Net profit Key figu res per share 2011 2010 11/10 % change +24 +24 +19 +9 -33 +7 -4 5. 32 5. 31 2. 20 38. 77 33. 92 58. 46 29. 16 4. 28 4. 28 1. 85 35. 62 50. 73 54. 87 30. 35 Net profit (diluted) Dividend Equity (December 31) Xetra share price at year end 1 Highest 1 Lowest 1 1 Closing prices 24 1 | To Our Shareholders | Daimler Shares European stocks in their portfolios. But, benefiting from the positive development of the German stock market and the publication of good third-quarter results in line with market expectations, Daimler’s share price climbed again significantly in October within a very volatile environment.The repeated increase in uncertainty about a resolution of the euro crisis caused the stock markets and automotive stocks to fall again temporarily in November. During this phase, the price of Daimler’s shares reached its low for the year of â‚ ¬29. 16 on November 23. After a brief recovery, our share price remained flat in December and closed the year at a price of â ‚ ¬33. 92 on December 30. ? 1. 01 Our share thus fell by 33% over the full year, which is a weaker performance than the Dow Jones STOXX Auto Index (-24%) and the DAX (-15%). Daimler’s market capitalization at the end of 2011 was â‚ ¬36. 2 billion. In the first several weeks of the year 2012, Daimler’s share price climbed significantly. Dividend of â‚ ¬2. 20. ? 1. 2 The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting to be held on April 4, 2012 that in view of the good business development the dividend should be increased from â‚ ¬1. 85 to â‚ ¬2. 20 per share. The total dividend payout will thus amount to â‚ ¬2,346 million (prior year: â‚ ¬1,971 million). Broad shareholder structure. ? 1. 07 Daimler continues to have a broad shareholder base of approximately 1. 0 million shareholders. The number of shareholders remained stable compared with 2010, so there was no continuation of the trend of fallin g shareholder numbers that occurred in previous years. There was a steadily growing demand for our shares from private investors during the second half of 2011, mainly in Germany. Kuwait Investment Authority holds 6. 9% of Daimler’s shares and the Renault-Nissan Alliance holds 3. 1%.Aabar Investments PJS, Abu Dhabi (Aabar), notified us in October 2011 that its Daimler voting rights had fallen below the notification threshold of 5% and amounted to 4. 99998% at that time. This was caused by a slight increase in Daimler’s share capital due to the exercise of stock options. In February 2012, Aabar notified us that the number of Daimler shares it physically owned had decreased to approximately 32. 7 million, equivalent to a shareholding of 3. 07%. In connection with the respective shareholding notifications, Aabar also informed us that it has the right to redelivery of the difference between the approximately 32. 7 million shares it physically owns and the 96. 4 million sha res it originally acquired. In connection with its shareholding, Aabar entered into a series of financing transactions.As of 1 February 2012, the new rules pursuant to the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG) require separate incremental disclosures of certain elements of these transactions, which lead to double-counting with respect to parts of Aabar’s total shareholding. Together with shares lent to third parties in connection with financing transactions for which Aabar has a right of redelivery, Aabar still holds 9. 04%. BlackRock Inc. , New York, informed us in August 2011 that it had exceeded the 5% notification threshold as defined by Germany’s Securities Trading Act (WpHG) and that its Daimler voting rights amounted to 5. 7% as of August 11, 2011. Capital Research and Management Company of Los Angeles, which notified us in May 2010 that it held 3. 1% of our shares, is still above the 3% notification threshold stipulated by the WpHG.The treasury shares held by Da imler at the end of 2010 (approximately 0. 2 million shares worth about â‚ ¬7 million) were used during the year under review to satisfy the claims of former AEG shareholders from arbitration proceedings. In total, institutional investors hold 67% of our share capital and private investors hold 20%. Approximately 69% of our equity are in the hands of European investors and approximately 19% are held by US investors. ? 1. 08 1. 03 In euros 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 Daimler share price (high/low), 2011 1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11 1. 04 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 Share price index 2/31/10 2/28/11 4/29/11 6/30/11 8/31/11 10/31/11 12/31/11 Daimler AG Dow Jones STOXX Auto Index DAX 25 1. 05 Key figures End of 2011 End of 2010 11/10 % change Share capital (in millions of euros) Number of shares (in millions) thereof treasury shares Market capitalization (in billions) )of euros) Number of shareholders (in millions) Weighting in share index D AX 30 Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 Long-term credit ratings Standard & Poor’s Moody’s Fitch DBRS 3,060 1,066. 3 0 36. 2 1. 0 3,058 1,065. 6 0. 2 54. 0 1. 0 +0 +0 -100 -33 0 The weighting of Daimler shares in major indices decreased during 2011 due to the negative development of our share price.In the German DAX 30 index, our stock was ranked in seventh position with a weighting of 5. 93% at the end of the year (end of 2010: 7. 51%). ? 1. 05 In the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50, Daimler shares were represented with a weighting of 2. 26% (end of 2010: 2. 88%). Daimler shares are listed in Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Stock-exchange trading in Germany in the year 2011 amounted to 1,728 million shares (2010: 1,492 million). In addition, Daimler shares are increasingly traded on multilateral trading platforms and in the over-thecounter market. Substantially increased participation in employee share program. In March 2011, eligible members of the workforce were once again able to acquire e mployee shares.A price incentive that was granted for the first time and bonus shares helped to increase the number of participants to 32,200 employees, who acquired a total of 610,300 shares (2010: 19,400 employees acquired 350,700 shares). Annual Shareholders’ Meeting approves management’s proposals with large majorities. Our Annual Shareholders’ Meeting held on April 13, 2011 at the Berlin International Congress Center (ICC) was attended by approximately 5,100 shareholders (2010: 4,700). With 43. 3% of the share capital represented at the Annual Meeting, shareholder representation (attendance plus absentee votes) was higher than in the prior year (40. 3%). In the voting on the items of the agenda, the shareholders adopted the recommendations of the management with large majorities.The shareholders