Acid Rain Causes, History, and Effects

Acid Rain Causes, History, and Effects Crystal Mullen Acid rain is a form of rain that consists of droplets of that are abnormally acidic due to the pollution in the air particularly the extreme amounts of nitrogen and sulfur released by cars and industrial factories (Briney, 2014). While it is usually in the form of water droplets, acid rain can also occur in form of fog, snow, or even increments of dry materials that may settle within the environment (National Geographic, 2014). Acidic deposition, or acid rain as it is more commonly known, manifests either wet or dry. Wet deposition is precipitation in any form that takes acids from the air and distributes them onto the Earth’s surface. Dry deposition, on the other hand, are polluting gases and particles that attaches to ground through smoke, dust and a lack of rain. Although the dry form is a dangerous form of deposition, wet deposition is actually more dangerous because the rain eventually washes pollutants into lakes, streams, and rivers (Briney, 2014). Furthermore, natural causes such as erupting volcanoes and rotting vegetation can release chemicals that can create acid rain. However, acid rain primarily falls due to human activities such as coal-burning power plants (National Geographic, 2014). The electric and coal burning based gases that form acid rain were first introduced in large amounts into the atmosphere during the Industrial Revolution, In 1852, Robert Angus Smith, a Scottish chemist was the first to discover the relationship between the atmospheric pollution in Manchester, England and the corresponding acid rain (Briney, 2014). Although acid deposition was discovered in the mid-1800s, this discovery did not begin to be common knowledge in the general public until the 1960s. In 1972, the term â€Å"acid rain† was coined. The general public’s attention toward acid deposition increased in the 1970s when reports published by the New York Times revealed problems occurring in New Hampshire’s Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (Briney, 2014). There are quite a few negative ecological effects to acid deposition. One of the more prominent effects is its impact on streams, lakes, wetlands, and other water-based environments. This is because acid deposition, acidifies the waters so that the water would absorb aluminum and then blend in with the soil found around streams and lakes. This toxic combination makes poison the aquatic animals such as clams, fish, and crayfish, clams (National Geographic, 2014). As this acid based liquid flows into streams, rivers and oceans, it does become diluted. However, over time, acids will accrue and then lowers the overall pH of the body. Furthermore, acid deposition causes clay-based soils to release magnesium and aluminum which, in some areas, further lowers the pH. The drop in pH can indeed be significant because if the lake’s pH drops below 4.8, the plants and animals surrounding that body of water could die. The estimated 50,000 lakes that are in the United States as well as Canada are at risk because they have a below normal pH (about 5.3 for water). Sadly, the pH found in several hundred of these lakes are too low to support any plant or animal water-based life (Briney, 2014). Although some species can withstand the effects of acid deposition, our interconnected ecosystem means that even non-aquatic animals, such as birds are affected by acid deposition (Briney, 2014). In addition to streams, rivers, and oceans, acid rain can substantially impact forest regions. As the acid rain falls on the trees, the trees are then prone to losing their leaves, suffering bark damage, and stymied growth. When these parts of the trees are damaged, it makes these trees prone to disease as well as vulnerable to insect infestation and extreme weather. Furthermore, when acid falls on a forest’s soil, it kills microorganisms in the soil, disrupts soil nutrients, and possibly even cause calcium deficiency. Finally, trees that are at high altitudes are vulnerable to damage caused by acid-based clouds because the acidic moisture in the clouds blankets these trees (Briney, 2014). Although acid rain damage to forests is seen all over the world, the cases of acid rain damaged trees that shows most damage are found in Eastern Europe. In Poland and Germany, about half of their forests are damaged. Switzerland also has at least 30% acid rain damage in their forests (Briney, 2014). Acid deposition has even impacted art and architecture because of the acid’s ability to corrode certain types of materials. As acid rain falls on buildings (particularly buildings constructed with limestone) the acid reacts with minerals found in the stones and sometimes causes the building to wash away and disintegrate. Furthermore, acid rain can corrode cars, modern buildings, airplanes, railroad tracks, steel bridges, and even pipes below and above the ground (Briney, 2014). Thankfully there are quite a few steps taken today by various government agencies to reduce nitrogen and sulfur emissions. Many governments now actually require energy producers to clean their smoke stacks by using scrubbers that can trap the pollutants before they are released in the air. Furthermore governments are also mandating catalytic converters to be installed in cars to lower their emissions. Finally, though certainly not exhaustively, alternative energy sources, such as solar plants and windmills are gaining more prominence so government funding is being administered for the restoration of ecosystems that have suffered acid rain damage worldwide (Briney, 2014). This is great news for our environment. I’m sure that more funding, as well as private sector support will continue to work to restore the ecosystem from the damage caused by acid rain. Conclusion As far as I know, I have never personally suffered adverse effects due to acid deposition. Unlike Kimberly from Diff’rent Strokes, I never had green hair from washing with rain water. However, I wouldn’t want to wait until my hair – or skin was green, before taking action to improve our environment’s air quality. Furthermore maintaining higher levels of air quality ensures I’m not vulnerable to the dry form of acid rain and have to battle asthma or other breathing issues. Finally, I’m thankful that we are now fighting acid deposition because protecting air quality, which in turn protects water quality, means my six-year-old nephew will have a greater chance of living a long and healthy life without asthma, indigestion due to tainted water or green hair. I hope the measures to reduce acid rain continue. References Briney, A. (2014). Acid Rain The Causes, History, and Effects of Acid Rain. Retrieved February 22, 2014, from Global Problems and Issues.About.com: http://geography.about.com/od/globalproblemsandissues/a/acidrain.htm IMBd. (1982, April 1). Diffrent Strokes: Season 4, Episode 20 Green Hair. Retrieved 22 February, 2014, from IMBd: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0559982/ National Geographic. (2014). Acid Rain Effects Felt Through the Food Chain. Retrieved February 22, 2014, from National Geographic -: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/acid-rain-overview/?rptregcta=reg_free_nprptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_n1p_us_ot_w#

Business Insight_LGT

Vim's Innovative Services & Solutions can help LEG-Telecoms get out of his poison and attain second position In the future or gain bigger market share. 2. Client Name: LEG Telecoms LEG Telecoms Co. Ltd. Provides mobile telecommunications products and services primarily in Korea. The company offers wireless Internet service, ex-l, which provides a range of content, email, character/melody downloads, games, stock trading/banking, entertainment, shopping/reservations, and traffic information/location-based service.Further, the company provides mobile telecommunication network technology, including network design, setup, optimization, and operation, as well as consulting for data services related to WAP-based wireless Internet service infrastructure setup, JAVA/JOINS-enabled handset solutions, and multimedia application technology. As of September 30, 2004, It had 6 million subscribers. LEG Telecoms was founded In 1996 and is headquartered in Seoul The smallest of Koreans three mobile ca rriers is the beneficiary of a government policy to support smaller operators.A unit of LEG Group, the country's second-largest conglomerate, LEG Telecoms increased its customers by 26% in 2004, when the overspent introduced number portability, which allows subscribers to keep their phone number when changing service providers. LEG, the weakest of the three local mobile players, is the only one upgraded to G networks on Just last year. To make up for the disadvantage, It's forging alliances with banks and brokerage houses to offer mobile financial services.LEG uses Its partnership with banks to expand Its retail presence: It sells phones and signs up new subscribers at 2,800 bank branches in addition to its 580 storefronts. It sold well 3. The Industry There are three mobile service companies in Korea market. SKY Telecoms is top reformer, gaining over 50% market share in this matured market. And the rev. Size is also outstanding. On the one hand, LEG Telecoms is 3rd position in busi ness volume and market share as well. Figure 1: Business Performance in 2006 But notable things are that Net-income of LEG Telecoms is far bigger than KIT and specially growth rate of rev. As best performer in last year. And also market share was slightly increased. So I expect very though competition for 2nd position between two companies will be sustained for a while. Figure 2: By mobile phone subscribers Source: Never Financial Reports Figure 3: Hot competition for industry players . Comparative Analysis Marketing Analysis: Market Segmentation Three telecoms companies have made Korea huge market for mobile services during several years with advanced services. The service providers have already enjoyed selling mobile services for the last several years.But they're faced with the limitation of growth in local market because almost people already are subscribers of mobile service now. So they compete with others for having the customers of competitors change their current service pr ovider. However, 36 mobile service which was introduced from a couple of years ago will be a big and important chance for their equines growth. Some people already are using 36 mobile service and more people will change our mobile service from current 26 to 36 in the near future. And at this point, many people will consider about changing their service provider according to price condition and service quality.Bigger mobile carriers SKY Telecoms and KIT embarked on 36 services midway through the year before last and expanded their and SKY Telecoms has drawn half a million over the past year but LEG Telecoms has jumped onto the bandwagon of 36 mobile services on June last year. So LEG telecoms has some risk for this business as late player. On the other hand, the biggest player, SKY Telecoms is focusing on oversea expansion of their business now and they already made good business results from china and several Asia countries. But the rest two players don't seem to have enough readine ss for oversea business.So LEG telecoms have to focus on attacking local 36 mobile market with value added service and competitive price. And that will be the most important factor for gaining 2nd position For this, they need to adopt advanced infra such as IP voicing and cost effective IT infra as well. Financial Analysis: Table 1: Key Profitability Ratios Source: Never Financial Reports (PEPS:won,) Figure 5 : ROAR Trend LEG Telecoms profitability factors, especially last two year's ROAR shows better performance than competitor KIT and sound growth rate but the gap to SST is still shown. So LEG Telecoms should make an effort for better ROAR.Better ROAR can help them in making continuous price competitiveness for G mobile service. For better For better ROAR, They should focus on cost reduction through current IT infra optimization and etc. And also cost-effective investment will be very important on NW infra improvement which is necessary for successful G mobile service business. 5. Sales Proposal: The IBM solutions To secure competitive service price through cost reduction and better service quality through NW infra improvement will be the most important factors for success of G solution for it. Network development and Management solution 1 .ONION/ANA C.V. -IBM Network infrastructure / Application Optimization Consulting – Strategy : Present efficient way for improvement and To-be model of current NW Infra through detail and accurate end to end analysis by IBM NW consultants. – Benefit : Customer can know the priority of investment for NW infra improvement and Through that, they will be able to purchase NW equipment and implementation revive with cost-effective. 2. Network Transformation service for IP network development – That can help to transform your network to a converged, IP-based network while supporting your unique business strategies.These solutions can help you enhance control over key components of your network operations, and help secure your network infrastructure and simplify customer, partner and supplier interactions for better G service quality Cost reduction solution 1. Information Lifestyle management for Infra Optimization – Strategy : Telecoms companies have huge data and data size will grow more rapidly with contents for G bile service in near the future. So one of the largest portion of IT infra budget would be storage related cost. So one of the most efficient way for cost reduction will be storage optimization through data rationalization. Benefit : IBM service has a plenty experience and well-defined methodology and various SW and HAW for ELM consulting and implementation. We can cover unstructured data like image, voice and data base as well. I'm sure Storage Infra TCO of LEG Telecoms will be reduced sharply through tiered storage based archiving or remove of old and unused data. Also optimization of DB size will help for better performance of application so LEG- Telecoms won't nee d to buy a lot of high-end servers like now. That is also cost reduction factor. 6.Prospects for the Client LEG Telecoms is still the smallest player among three major players in mobile service market. But they has shown good result with sound business growth and met their objective during last several years with their creative market strategy. But for gaining bigger market-share and 2nd position, they need to prepare more attractive service price and good quality service, especially, that will be more important under new G market. Effort for cost reduction and, aggressive but cost-effective invest for NW infra improvement will be able to make his position better. . Conclusion and Making Changes to the Sales Approach solution on the basis of IT market analysis and CIO interview. And also business plan and deal closing strategy has been focused on customer's IT strategy. But through this class, I could improve financial analysis skill and learn about approach based on analysis of cus tomer's overall business pain point. The theoretical methodology for company analysis through case-study will be very helpful for our business activities even if that's short lecture.

Starbucks Customer Satisfaction

There are numerous factors that paved the way for Starbucks’ success during the early nineties. I believe that one of their strengths was good knowledge of who their potential customers were and how to please them with their profile, assortment and services. One also has to take notice of their clear vision of becoming America’s third place, this tells me that they’ve had an aggressive vision from the start. And of course they’ve matched this with their strategy, from 1992-2002 the company opened about 3500 stores all across America.This gives the company a yearly growth rate of around 350 stores, an impressive number. They also licensed out another 1500 stores. This allowed them to become a household name for the regular American, and the strong brand name was created with all the advantages that comes along with it. They enjoyed plenty of first-mover advantages. All this was financed by boldly taking the company public, despite doubts from most analysts regarding the company concept. And who was the power behind this decision, if not Howard Schulz?Responsible for much of the success, Howard Schulz and his team have proven that their aggressive strategy’s have been key in the success of the company. In other words the management is a big contributor. I’d also like to bring up the human capital of the company, or as the employees are called, the company â€Å"partners†. Since the Starbucks concept of creating an experience for the customer goes hand in hand with partner satisfaction, management have been quite generous to their employees. They’ve for instance provided them with health insurance and stock options.For Starbucks it is key to create long lasting relationships with customers (these customers have proven to be very profitable for the company), demanding good relationships between baristas and customers. Keeping a low employee turnover rate both with baristas and managers has definitely contribut ed to the company’s success. The live coffee mantra meant, in short, that the company wants to create life surrounding the coffee drinking experience. To create a space outside of the office and the own home where people could drink coffee and enjoy themselves, was something very appealing to consumers, a refuge from the routine of their day.They created value around the consumption of coffee. The main brand image that was created was a premium coffee bean and coffee beverage brand but it’s not the total brand image. They also added attributes of the company to this image such as â€Å"customer intimacy†, â€Å"great ambience† and â€Å"highest quality coffee in the world†. These attributes are all derived from the three main components of the branding strategy: coffee, service and atmosphere. Together this was the brand image of Starbucks created during the period. 2.The reasons because the customer satisfaction scores are down could, in my view, be linked to the fact that the typical Starbucks customer has changed because the customer base has expanded. Their perceptions of the brand are different and because the company really doesn’t know who the typical customer is at the moment, they can’t cater to them as well as they could before. There are examples of this change for instance in the case of stores in southern California where they now have huge numbers of (sometimes lower educated) Hispanic customers instead of the affluent, well-educated white collar 24-44 aged white men and women (mostly women).In exhibit 10 we see that on the scale of what attributes the customers find most important in order to be satisfied, that places 3-7 all are based on one staff members performance that single time. What I mean by this is that the performance level of this will vary from customer to customer and because of that you need a bigger base for the survey than the â€Å"customer snapshot†. This means that itâ⠂¬â„¢s not sufficient in correctly measuring the true customer satisfaction.But seeing as this method, supposedly, has been kept constant all the time we can overlook that for a second and see that there has been a decline using the same system of measurement. I then contribute that change to the changing customer, as I wrote in the paragraph above. 3. Starbucks’ main difference between the periods is its size. With the change in size a lot of different attributes naturally follow, some of which are a bit contradictory to the goals Starbucks set out to achieve back in the day.The main concept of creating value for the coffee drinker still exists but they now struggle to keep up their customer intimacy. This is even more enhanced by the perception that Starbucks is simply a money hungry company only interested in revenues and further growth. The product sales also vary between the periods, the coffee connoisseur that bought a lot of coffee beans has been somewhat replaced by t he on-the-go customer who just wants the beverage. We also mentioned before that the customer has changed in North America, but even more important, Starbucks have grown internationally with over 1300 stores in total.Both nationally and internationally service innovations have taken place, examples of this are the SVC’s and the wireless internet service. 4. The frequent and loyal customer is the most profitable for Starbucks. Exhibit 8 shows us in quite a clear way that customers with a history of Starbucks purchases that go back 5 years or more, tend to shop 4 more cups of coffee than the average customer that visited Starbucks for the first time last year. In exhibit 9 we’re also shown the clear correlation between customer satisfaction, purchase size and customer life span.The satisfied customer has more visits/month, spends more money each time and stays as a customer of Starbucks for more years than the unsatisfied. So the highly satisfied customer is vital to the business and is always what management strive to acquire. I strongly think Starbucks have shown this strive in a number of ways to keep customers satisfied. First of all a regular customers likes to recognize the salesperson and if this person recognizes them and remembers their drink this is a quality sign for the company. Starbucks are clearly aware of this since they have a lot of â€Å"soft skills† training for new employees.They teach them how to interact and create a lasting bond with the customer. Something that’s of course also key in keeping up this relationship is a low employee turnover, something I mentioned before that they are excellent in doing. Secondly the customers come for the product, this is an area Starbucks still enjoy a great lead in comparison to competitors and they also add another product every season in order to keep the assortment wide and interesting for customers. And lastly the customers need to enjoy a great ambience while at the stor e and be served quickly.This is something that’s always measured and they try to maintain a great ambience and in regards to the quick service this is something we’re considering in the last question on how to improve. 5. The main goals would be to reduce service time and get closer to the customer by allowing each store to add 20 more hours of labor per week. It is also a way for the company to express their commitment to their customers (lose their image of greed) and show them that despite a loss of short term profit they are willing to sacrifice that in order to keep customer satisfaction high.Would this investment increase customer intimacy, is it even possible for a mega-brand to have customer intimacy? With more time it is obvious that the closeness would improve. A combination of more time for the barista and less waiting time for the customer would result in more time to practice soft skills and build up a rapport with the customer for the barista. The custome r would of course build a relationship with the particular barista and a bond would be created that would make the coming visits feel more intimate.To some extent it is possible, since the intimacy mainly is based on the staff and their rapport with customers as I previously stated. But then again it is a faceless organization, they can’t really see and talk to the leaders and internationally not many customer know of Howard Schulz for instance. It’s also quite easy for the customer to feel less important if they’re just one of 20 million served which is the case here. Would this investment yield long term profits for Starbucks? Would it be worth the $40 million? 0 million unique customers are served every day at Starbucks, 21% of those (4. 2 million) are customers with 8 or more visits every month. A staggering 42 % (8. 4 million) only visit 1-2 times per month. These numbers could be related to those shown in exhibit 9, 21 % of customer show the pattern of hig hly satisfied customers and 42 % show similarity’s to unsatisfied customers. Exhibit 10 tells us that fast service, friendly staff and being treated as a valuable customer are considered highly important factors for customers to be satisfied.All of these factors would most likely be directly affected by the investment in a positive way. If we only turned one unsatisfied customer into a highly satisfied customer this would result in an increased turnover of $247,494 ((7,2*4,42*8,3)-(3,9*3,88*1,1)). We would have to convert roughly 160. 000 customers using this calculation and over a course of 8,3 years the investment would pay off financially. But in regards to spillover effects such as brand reputation and new business generated by this I believe the number would be even smaller, so definitely I would suggest that they do this.

Biography of General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969) was a decorated war hero, having participated in two World Wars, holding many titles. After retiring from active duty, he entered politics and served as president of the United States from 1953–1961. Fast Facts: Dwight D. Eisenhower Known For: General of the Army in World War II, U.S. President from 1953–1961Born: October 14, 1890 in Denison, TexasParents: David Jacob and Ida Stover EisenhowerDied: March 28, 1969 in Gettysburg, PennsylvaniaEducation: Abilene High School, West Point Naval Academy (1911–1915), Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (1925–1926)Spouse: Marie Mamie Geneva Doud (m. July 1, 1916)Children: Doud Dwight (1917–1921) and John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (1922–2013) Early Life Dwight David Eisenhower was the third son of David Jacob and Ida Stover Eisenhower. Moving to Abilene, Kansas in 1892, Eisenhower spent his childhood in the town and later attended Abilene High School. Graduating in 1909, he worked locally for two years to aid in paying his older brothers college tuition. In 1911, Eisenhower took and passed the admission exam for the U.S. Naval Academy but was turned down due to being too old. Turning to West Point, he succeeded in gaining an appointment with the aid of Senator Joseph L. Bristow. Though his parents were pacifists, they supported his choice as it would give him a good education. West Point Though born David Dwight, Eisenhower had gone by his middle name for most of his life. Arriving at West Point in 1911, he officially changed his name to Dwight David. A member of a star-studded class that would ultimately produce 59 generals, including Omar Bradley, Eisenhower was a solid student and graduated 61st in a class of 164. While at the academy, he also proved a gifted athlete until having his career cut short by a knee injury. Completing his education, Eisenhower graduated in 1915 and was assigned to the infantry. Eisenhower married Marie Mamie Geneva Doud on July 1, 1916. They had two sons, Doud Dwight (1917–1921), who died of scarlet fever as a child, and the historian and ambassador John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower (1922–2013).   World War I Moving through postings in Texas and Georgia, Eisenhower showed skills as an administrator and trainer. With the American entry into World War I in April 1917, he was retained in the United States and assigned to the new tank corps. Posted to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Eisenhower spent the war training tank crews for service on the Western Front. Though he reached the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel, he reverted to the rank of captain following the wars end in 1918. Ordered to Fort Meade, Maryland, Eisenhower continued to work in armor and conversed on the topic with Captain George S. Patton. Interwar Years In 1922, with the rank of major, Eisenhower was assigned to the Panama Canal Zone to serve as executive officer to Brigadier General Fox Connor. Recognizing his XOs abilities, Connor took a personal interest in Eisenhowers military education and devised an advanced course of study. In 1925, he assisted Eisenhower in securing admission to the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Graduating first in his class a year later, Eisenhower was posted as a battalion commander at Fort Benning, Georgia. After a short assignment with the American Battle Monuments Commission, under General John J. Pershing, he returned to Washington, D.C. as executive officer to Assistant Secretary of War General George Mosely. Known as an excellent staff officer, Eisenhower was selected as an aide by U.S. Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur. When MacArthurs term ended in 1935, Eisenhower followed his superior to the Philippines to serve as a military advisor to the Filipino government. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1936, Eisenhower began to clash with MacArthur on military and philosophical topics. Opening a rift that would last the remainder of their lives, the arguments led Eisenhower to return to Washington in 1939 and take a series of staff positions. In June 1941, he became chief of staff to 3rd Army commander Lieutenant General Walter Krueger and was promoted to brigadier general that September. World War II Begins With the U.S. entry into World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Eisenhower was assigned to the General Staff in Washington where he devised war plans for defeating Germany and Japan. Becoming Chief of the War Plans Division, he was soon elevated to Assistant Chief of Staff overseeing the Operations Division under Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall. Though he had never led large formations in the field, Eisenhower soon impressed Marshall with his organizational and leadership skills. As a result, Marshall appointed him commander of the European Theater of Operations (ETOUSA) on June 24, 1942. This was soon followed by a promotion to lieutenant general. North Africa Based in London, Eisenhower soon was also made Supreme Allied Commander of the North African Theater of Operations (NATOUSA). In this role, he oversaw the Operation Torch landings in North Africa that November. As Allied troops drove Axis forces into Tunisia, Eisenhowers mandate was expanded east to include General Sir Bernard Montgomerys British 8th Army which had advanced west from Egypt. Promoted to general on February 11, 1943, he led the Tunisian Campaign to successful a conclusion that May. Remaining in the Mediterranean, Eisenhowers command was redesignated the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Crossing to Sicily, he directed the invasion of the island in July 1943 before planning for landings in Italy. Return to Britain After landing in Italy in September 1943, Eisenhower guided the initial stages of the advance up the peninsula. In December, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was unwilling to allow Marshall to leave Washington, directed that Eisenhower be made Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) which would place him in charge of the planned landings in France. Confirmed in this role in February 1944, Eisenhower oversaw operational control of Allied forces through SHAEF and administrative control of U.S. forces through ETOUSA. Headquartered in London, Eisenhowers post required extensive diplomatic and political skill as he endeavored to coordinate Allied efforts. Having gained experience in coping with challenging personalities while serving under MacArthur and commanding Patton and Montgomery in the Mediterranean, he was well-suited to dealing with difficult Allied leaders like Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle. Western Europe After extensive planning, Eisenhower moved forward with the invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord) on June 6, 1944. Successful, his forces broke out of the beachhead  in July and began driving across France. Though he clashed with Churchill over strategy, such as the British-opposed Operation Dragoon landings in Southern France, Eisenhower worked to balance Allied initiatives and approved Montgomerys Operation Market-Garden in September. Pushing east in December, Eisenhowers biggest crisis of the campaign came with the opening of the Battle of the Bulge on Dec. 16. With German forces breaking through the Allied lines, Eisenhower quickly worked to seal the breach and contain the enemy advance. Over the next month, Allied troops halted the enemy and drove them back to their original lines with heavy losses. During the fighting, Eisenhower was promoted to General of the Army. Leading the final drives into Germany, Eisenhower coordinated with his Soviet counterpart, Marshal Georgy Zhukov and, at times, directly with Premier Joseph Stalin. Aware that Berlin would fall in the Soviet occupation zone after the war, Eisenhower halted Allied troops at the Elbe River rather than suffer heavy losses taking an  objective that would be lost after the end of fighting. With the surrender of Germany on May 8, 1945, Eisenhower was named Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone. As governor, he worked to document Nazi atrocities, deal with food shortages, and aid refugees. Later Career Returning to the United States that fall, Eisenhower was greeted as a hero. Made Chief of Staff on Nov. 19, he replaced Marshall and remained in this post until Feb. 6, 1948. A key responsibility during his tenure was overseeing the rapid downsizing of the Army after the war. Departing in 1948, Eisenhower became president of Columbia University. While there, he worked to expand his political and economic knowledge, as well as wrote his memoir Crusade in Europe. In 1950, Eisenhower was recalled to be the Supreme Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Serving until May 31, 1952, he retired from active duty and returned to Columbia. Entering politics, Eisenhower ran for president that fall with Richard Nixon as his running mate. Winning in a landslide, he defeated Adlai Stevenson. A moderate Republican, Eisenhowers eight years in the White House were marked by the end of the Korean War, efforts to contain Communism, construction of the instate highway system, nuclear deterrence, founding of NASA, and economic prosperity. Leaving office in 1961, Eisenhower retired to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He lived in Gettysburg with his wife, Mamie (m. 1916) until his death from heart failure on March 28, 1969. Following funeral services in Washington, Eisenhower was buried in Abilene, Kansas at the Eisenhower Presidential Library.