Outline presentation+PP presentation slides Essay

Outline presentation+PP presentation slides - Essay Example In the past, electronic cigarette has been seen as a media ploy. However, with technological change, it is possible to develop unique products and services. The E-cigarette is a product of innovation and intelligent product. The amount of money spent on cigarette has been increasing over time due to increasing costs of production. However, with the production of the E-cigarettes have been effective in reducing the cost of cigarette consumption (Malaval and Benaroya 89). The research by the Howie Zee, the average consumption cost reduces over year, and the graph below illustrates the changes in costs after the uptake of the new product. The results are based on the personal consumption rate of one pack per day The graph above illustrates the performance of E-cigarette compared to the tobacco cigarette which has been in use for a long time. However, the establishment of the e – cigarette brand has been poor due to poor investments over the years. Media use has improved the performance of the cigarette for the last decade with the main beneficiary being the Blu brand of E-cigarette. The blue cigarette has been developed with several flavors making it diversified with exceedingly many options. The product comes with seven flavors namely cherry crush, classic tobacco, Java Jolt, Magnificent Menthol, and vivid vanilla. Other flavors are peach schnapps and Pinna Colada. The variety offered makes the products better in providing options in the cigarette industry. The products do not have smoke, ash or smell making them valuable especially when used in public areas. The products contain rechargeable packs and the flavors are presented using cartridges in order to facilitate easy change of flavors (Preston 23). The flavor cartridge has great vapor and come with a single design, and each cartridge is equivalent to one pack of cigarettes. In addition, the company obtains smoke juices, which are manufactured in Wisconsin and the flavors

How Hardy and Steinbeck treat the theme of outsiders in The Withered Arm and Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

How Hardy and Steinbeck treat the theme of outsiders in The Withered Arm and Of Mice and Men Essay Hardy and Steinbeck both use the theme of outsiders strongly in their stories. The term outsider means one who is not a member of a profession, party or circle or one not acquainted with or interested in something that is going on. A person can be an outsider for many different reasons for example loneliness, disability, gender, race, age, size and action. Steinbecks short story Of Mice and Men was set on a ranch in California during the American Depression in the late 1930s. The story is about two men Lennie and George. Lennie is mentally disabled so George looks after him. When Lennie and George first meet the bosss son Curley he immediately feels threatened by Lennies size. Lennie and George go and work on the ranch because they want to save up their money so they can buy a ranch of their own. As the story progresses 2 other characters, Candy and Crooks, become interested in their idea and ask if they can help out. Lennie is given a puppy by Slim (another worker on the ranch). One time Lennie is petting it and does not know his own strength and kills it. Curleys wife comes in and asks what is wrong he tells her what happened and that it only happened because he likes stroking things. She lets him stroke her hair because she thinks it is soft. Lennie gets carried away and wont let go. Curleys wife struggles so much that he breaks her neck. Lennie becomes so frightened that he runs away and just leaves the body. Curley sees his wife and says he is going to give Lennie a horrible death. George hears Curley and decides to kill Lennie himself quickly and painlessly. George finds Lennie and starts to talk about their dream ranch, he raises the gun and shoots Lennie in the back when he is not looking. Hardys novella The Withered Arm was set in England in the 1800s. It is about a woman named Rhoda who has a son with the owner of the dairy farm at which she works. But now the farmer does not want to know her and is married to a younger prettier woman. Rhoda wanted to know what the new wife looked like so she sent her son to go and see. The son came back and told Rhoda what she was like. Rhoda had a dream, she dreamt that Farmer Lodges new wife was sitting on her and she thrust her left arm with her wedding ring on into Rhodas face. Rhoda grabbed her arm and threw her to the floor. The next day the farmers new wife visited Rhoda and revealed to Rhoda some marks on her left arm. A few weeks later Gertrude (Farmer Lodges wife) came back to see Rhoda and showed her that the marks on her arm were getting worse. Months later Gertrude goes to see a conjuror who makes an egg mixture which shows Rhodas face and says that to cure her arm Gertrude must touch the neck of a man who has been hung before he goes cold. Rhoda and her son leave and were never seen leaving. Gertrude found out when the next hanging was taking place and she then travelled to the jail. After the hanging she was shown where the body was. As she touched the body somebody behind her screamed. Gertrude turned around and saw Rhoda and Farmer Lodge standing there. The dead boy was Rhodas son. A few days later Gertrude passed away with shock. There are four main outsiders in Of Mice and Men and also in The Withered Arm. The outsiders in Of Mice and Men are Crooks, Candy, Lennie and Curleys wife and in The Withered Arm they are Rhoda, Gertrude, Farmer Lodge and Rhodas son. Crooks is an outsider in Of Mice and Men because he is black and everybody else on the ranch is white so he is branded as different. A moment in the story where Crooks loneliness is shown is when Lennie comes into his room: You go on get outa my room. I aint wanted in the bunkhouse and you aint wanted in my room This shows that Crooks is not allowed to go in their rooms invading their private space so he does not want them coming in his room doing that, if he is not allowed to do it. An outsider in The Withered Arm Rhoda. She is and outsider because she has a son with Farmer Lodge and does not talk to any of the other workers at the dairy farm, so they think she is stuck-up: as the milkmaid spoke she turned her face so that she could glance past her cows tail to the other side of the barton, where a thin fading woman of thirty milked somewhat apart from the rest. This is a part in the story where Rhoda is at work at the dairy farm and all the other workers are talking about Farmer Lodges new wife. Rhoda does not join in the conversation for obvious reasons, but as they talk the workers look over at her. Candy is another outsider in Of Mice and Men. He is an outsider because he is older than any of the other workers. A part in the story where Candys loneliness is visible is when his dog is taken from him and shot by some of the other workers because they are sick of the smell of it: Candy did not answer. The silence fell on the room againCandy lay still staring at the ceiling Candy did not want his dog to be killed because it was his friend, but when it is killed he feels lonely as if he has got no one left. Farmer Lodge is also an outsider in The Withered Arm. He is an outsider because he is older than any of the other workers and he is rich, which everybody else is not. When he marries his new wife Gertrude they see him as being lonely because he has married a younger woman. Curleys wife is an outsider because in Of Mice and Men she has just married Curley and moved to the ranch, which his dad owns. All the other workers think she must be lonely because she is always seen wandering around the ranch, she is never seen with Curley. Similarly Gertrude is an outsider in The Withered Arm because she has just married Farmer Lodge and moved to his home. When she comes home with Farmer Lodge everybody is talking about her Who is she? and What does she look like? so this must make her fell as though people are talking at her behind her back. In Of Mice and Men Lennie is an outsider because he has a mental disability and is looked after by George. He is also does not know his own strength and hurts Curley, this incident makes him feel more vulnerable to the other workers: Lennie smiled with his bruised mouth. I didnt want no trouble, he said. He walked toward the door In the same way Rhodas son is an outsider in The Withered Arm because he is dominated by his mother and at the end when he is hung, he is wrongly accused of something because of injustice: a young fellow deserved to be let off, this on does; only just turned eighteen, and only present by chance when the rick was fired This is the part in the story when Gertrude goes to see if there is any hangings happening the next day and is told about one, which is Rhodas son. The man who is telling her says he is innocent. Dreams are featured a lot in both stories. Lennie, George and Candy have a dream in Of Mice and Men to own their own ranch: Well have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit-hutch and chickens. Lennie and George at first are going to buy the ranch by themselves but then Lennie accidentally tells Candy, so George lets him help them. Curleys wife also has a dream to become an actress and be respected. In The Withered Arm Rhoda has a dream about Gertrude sitting on her with the wedding ring on: the young wife, in the pale silk dress and white bonnetthe figure thrust forward its left hand mockingly, so as to make the wedding ring it wore glitter in Rhodas eyesswung out her right hand seized the confronting spectre by its obtrusive left arm, and whirled it backward to the floor However in this story the dream comes true because Gertrude visits Rhoda and shows her the marks on her arm. In Of Mice and Men the style is mainly conversational, we learn about events through dialogue. Through language we can tell that the boss is aloof to the workers. The language is like a childs when Lennie is moving; he is described like an animal. This story is known as a novella. It deals with poor and working class people. In The Withered Arm the style is also conversational, we learn about Rhoda at the beginning through conversation. It is third person narrative and in the past tense. This story is known as a short story. Through language we can also tell that the boss is aloof to the workers. This story also deals with poor and working class people. The settings are very similar, as they are both set on a farm in remote areas of the countries in which they are set. The Withered Arm is set on a dairy farm in England but Of Mice and Men is set on a ranch in California.

Purchase decision of apartments in metropolitan India

Purchase decision of apartments in metropolitan India Factors affecting the purchase decision of apartments in metropolitan India Abstract Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an insight into the motivation behind Indian buyers when looking to purchase an apartment. The factors driving demand preferences for apartments are not well established and are difficult to measure, and often builders may not have an insight into what buyers are looking for. Design/methodology/approach The research in this paper is based on telephonic interviews and internet based survey with recent purchasers, who bought a home in the past 1 year and prospective purchasers looking to buy an apartment in the coming one year. They belonged to number of locations across all metropolitan cities of India Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai. The data were analysed using factor analysis to identify the criteria in an apartment that buyers value the most. This research was done across all ages and irrespective of their intention of why they bought or if this was their first purchase. Further, Cluster analyses was used to determine clusters and one way Anova was used to determine the factors that hold different value to different clusters of people. Discriminant Analysis was used to determine any difference in behaviour of first time purchasers with others. Findings The findings in this paper revealed that issues signifying â€Å"affluence† accounted for approximately 27 percent of the choice of housing by Indian buyers to purchase apartments in metropolitan India. Also, Cluster Analysis revealed that demographically different set of buyers differ significantly in their attitude towards â€Å"Financial† factors. Discriminant analysis revealed that first time buyers give significantly more importance to â€Å"Financial† factors like â€Å"House price†, â€Å"Income† where they give much lesser importance to â€Å"Builder reputation† and â€Å"Status of neighbourhood†. Research limitations/implications The research in this paper is aimed specifically at Indians living in metropolitan cities only which may be very different from the rest of India. The majority of the respondents belong to Delhi, which may also bias the results. The majority of the data has been collected from an online survey which may reduce the validity of the findings. Practical implications If due consideration is given to the factors that buyers are most concerned about, builders of new apartment housing would be better equipped to meet this demand and maximise their profits. Builders will also be able to target buyers better by knowing the difference in preference of first time buyers to others. Originality/value This paper provides an invaluable insight into Indians concept of a suitable apartment in metropolitans. While important decision factors were determined for the entire population, further analysis was done to determine difference in issues felt important to first time buyers. Also, the most important factors were determined for different demographic clusters. Thus in this way, the transaction of purchasing an apartment was analyzed from several points of view. Keywords Consumer behaviour, Purchase, Apartment, India Paper type Research paper INTRODUCTION The Real Estate sector is important to the Indian economy. In terms of employment generation, it is second only to the agricultural sector. The housing sector contributes nearly 5% to Indias GDP. It is expected to rise to 6 per cent in the next five years. Property markets in India are recovering faster than those in the US and the UK. The sector is expected to attract around US$ 12.11 billion of investments in the next five years. Residential space comprises almost 80% of the real estate developed in the country. There is a shortage of 22.4 million dwelling units according to the Tenth Five Year Plan. 80 to 90 million housing units will have to be constructed over the next 10 to 15 years to rectify this, with the majority of them for the middle- and lower-income groups. It is for this reason that residential properties in India, particularly in Mumbai and Delhi, are viewed as very good investments as per a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Urban Land Institute, a global non-profit education and research institute. In the 2009-10 budget, a tax holiday on profits was granted to developers of affordable housing (units of 1,000-1,500 sq ft). This exemption was instituted for projects that started from 2007-08 onwards with a deadline of completion of March 1, 2012. US$ 207 million was also allocated to grant a 1% interest subsidy on home loans up to US$ 20,691 with the caveat that the cost of the home should not be more than US$ 41,382. This was expected to further help the housing sector. An apartment is a residential unit that forms a division of a building. It can be either owned or rented. Some people own their apartments together where each owns a part of the corporation which owns the flat. In condominiums, dwellers own the individual apartments and share the public environment. Living in apartments is gaining popularity in India. 217 townships across India are in the building plans for the Sahara Group. Their allure lies in the convenience that they offer in terms of safety and security and maintenance of utilities like electricity and water. A central maintenance system obviates the need for hiring outside help for minor problems like leaking taps or electric short circuits. Stand-alone homes also require incurring additional costs like buying/leasing land, licensing, duties, etc. Apartments enable maximization of space utilization and reduce demand on public resources. People are also able to avail of additional amenities like gymnasiums, swimming pools, etc. at affordable prices. There is a gap in the literature, however, with regard to the value drivers that dictate purchase decisions of residential property in the country. Similar studies exist for other countries but were found wanting in the Indian context, especially when it comes to apartments. Through this paper, we aim to do the very same, i.e. establish which factors dictate purchase decision and to what extent. We will also correlate these preferences with the demographic profiles and characteristics of our respondents and hence arrive at a greater and much deeper understanding of these issues. We see immense utility for our paper, especially for builders and property dealers who can use our findings in structuring their own business activities. RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Even though consumer behaviour is generally assumed to be an important part of real estate valuation, buyer preferences are generally not considered during the valuation process. It is basically reduced to the confirmation of a bid price which may or may not be met by the buyer. Efforts are being made to address this fault and many papers have been written on the analysis of motivations of residential property purchasers, attempting to explain them using models such as bounded rationality and hedonic pricing. Hedonic Pricing, or Hedonic Demand Theory as it is also known, decomposes the item of interest into constituents and evaluates the importance of each of them and their contribution to the overall valuation. These factors can be both internal characteristics of the good or service and external factors. In the case of real estate valuation, internal characteristics include layout, structure, etc of the property while status of neighbourhood, proximity to schools, etc are the exter nal factors. Factor Analysis enables us to do just that. It is a statistical method that reduces the number of variables by grouping two or more of them into unknown or hidden variables known as factors. Further analysis is then conducted by looking at the variation among these factors and evaluating their relative performance. These factors are taken to be linear combinations of the original variables plus error terms (Richard L. Gorsuch, 1983). â€Å"Factor analysis seeks to do precisely what humans have been engaged in doing throughout history that is to make order of the apparent chaos of the environment† (Child, 1990). It has great use in evaluating consumer behaviour. Charles Spearman is credited with its invention. He used it in the formulation of the ‘g Theory as part of his research on human intelligence (Williams, Zimmerman, Zumbo Ross, 2003). Over the years it has found uses in fields as diverse as psychometrics, marketing, physical sciences and economics. It can be used to segment consumers on the basis of what benefits they want from the product/service (Minhas Jacobs, 1996). It has evolved as a technique over the years, with many researchers working on fine-tuning and improving the analytical process. Bai Ng (2002) developed an econometric theory for factor models of large dimensions. It focused on the determination of the number of factors that should be included in the model. The basic premise of the authors was that a large number of variables can be modeled by a small number of reference variables. Marketing strategies based on customer preferences and behaviour often make use of this technique during the market research phase (Ali, Kapoor Moorthy, 2010) and while devising and changing the marketing mix (Ivy, 2008). Factor Analysis has also been used in ground water management to relate spatial distribution of various chemical parameters to different sources (Love, Hallbauer, Amos Hranova, 2004). The facility of segmentation that factor analysis offers has been extended to the real estate sector and all studies thereof. Regression analyses are subject to aggregation biases and segmented market models yield better results. This segmentation is done using factor analysis Watkins, 1999). Property researchers have also dedicated a lot of attention to researching the preferences of property buyers and identifying the drivers of property value. A study in Melbourne, Australia (Reid Mills, 2004) analyzed the purchase decisions of first time buyers and tried to determine the most influential attributes that affect the purchase decision using factor analysis. The research findings of the paper indicated that financial issues explain about 30% of the variance in the purchase decisions of first time house-owners. This related to timing, the choice of housing, and the decision to buy new housing. Apart from that the choice of housing is dependent on Site Specific factors (Location) and the decision to buy new housing is dependent on Lifecycle factors, such as family formation, marital status or the size of the existing house. Another study determined that brand, beauty and utility play a defining role in property value (Roulac, 2007). The findings of the paper explain why certain properties command premium prices, relative to other properties. It came to the conclusion that for value determination of high priced properties the overall perception of the brand is the most important factor followed by utility and beauty. Brand names are also very important especially in metropolitan markets as they add to the appeal, distinctiveness of the property. Another way to attract buyers attention is through the mix of neighborhood amenities offered (Benefield, 2009). Neighborhood amenities like tennis courts, clubhouses, golf courses, swimming pool, play park and boating facilities significantly impact property values. Xu (2008) used a hedonic pricing model to study the hous ing market of Shenzhen, China. He operated under the assumption that buyers consider property specifics and location attributes separately when they buy a home. The findings suggest that the marginal prices of attributes are not constant. Instead, they vary with the household profile and location. Cluster analysis involves the grouping of similar objects into distinct, mutually exclusive subsets known as clusters. The objective is to group either the data units or the variables into clusters such that the elements within a cluster have a high degree of natural association among themselves while the clusters remain relatively distinct from one another. Mulvey and Crowder (1979) presented and tested an effective optimization algorithm for clustering homogenous data. Punj and Stewart (1983) reviewed the applications of cluster analysis to marketing problems. They presented alternative methods of cluster analysis to evaluate their performance characteristics. They also discussed the issues and problems related to use and validation of cluster analysis methods. Ketchen and Shook (1996) chronicled the application of cluster analysis in strategic management research. They analyzed 45 published strategy studies and offered suggestions for improving the application of cluster analysis in future inquiries. They believed that cluster analysis is a useful tool but the technique must be applied prudently in order to ensure the validity of the insights it provides. Since Marketing researchers were introduced to discriminant analysis half a century ago, it has become a widely used analytical tool since they are frequently concerned with the nature and strength of the relationship between group memberships. It is especially useful in profiling characteristics of groups that are the most dominant in terms of discrimination. Morrison (1969) explained how discriminant analysis should be conducted using canned applications and how the effect of independent variables should be determined. However, care must be taken when applying discriminant analysis. The potential for bias in discriminant analysis has long been realized in marketing literature. Frank, Massy and Morrison (1965) showed that sample estimates of predictive power in n-way discriminant analysis are likely to be subject to an upward bias. This bias happens because the discriminant analysis technique tends to fit the sample data in ways that are systematically better than would be expected by chance. Crask and Perreault (1977) looked at the validation problems in small-sample discriminant analysis. Various research papers have studied the features that are evaluated while purchasing a home, how these features factor in terms of pricing the residences and how the home owners rate the various scales on importance. Such studies, however, were found lacking in the Indian context. This paper aims to understand the value drivers of apartments in Indian metros using factor analysis. The initial variables that we have considered are as follows Ø House Price This refers to the price/rent that is being charged for the apartment. The real estate market is often segmented using this variable. Ø Availability of Gymnasium, Swimming Pool and other sports facilities Many apartment complexes and housing societies offer recreational facilities to the residents to service their lifestyle needs. Ø Traffic This variable refers to the density of vehicular movement in the location in which the apartment is located. Ø Size of Individual Rooms The size of the rooms within the apartment is also an important factor. Some buyers prefer big, airy rooms while others might want smaller rooms. Ø Proximity to City This refers to the location of the apartment relative to the city boundaries, i.e. whether it is within the city proper or on the outskirts. Ø Ability to obtain Loans This variable stands for the ease with which the buyers can get loans, either through the builder or on their own. Ø Parking Space The availability of parking space is considered important by some consumers. Ø Exterior Look of the Apartment This refers to the faà §ade of the apartment, i.e. whether its attractiveness is a strong enough motivation. Ø Household Income The total income of the household often dictates the purchase decision of families. Ø Perceived Safety of Locality This is a big concern for some customers, especially single women and old people and may significantly influence the purchase decision. Ø Branded Building Components Some consumers may value an apartment more if it has branded fittings, furnishings, etc. Ø View from the apartment This can be an important variable for some customers. Ø Preference for Ground Floor This variable refers to the customers preference for the ground floor relative to other floors. Ø Water Supply This variable means to measure how important it is for the consumers that there is continuous, guaranteed and good quality water supply. Ø Structure This refers to the layout of the apartment whether it is a 2BHK or 3BHK, etc. Ø Status of Neighbourhood For some consumers, the reputation and social standing of the locality that they live is very important. Ø Proximity to Shops and Parks This seeks to measure whether proximity to these places is an important criterion for buyers or not. Ø Interior Design This refers to interior features of the apartment like flooring, lighting, balcony, etc. Ø Availability of Domestic Help This can be important consideration, especially for working couples. Ø Proximity to Schools and Offices This seeks to ask how important such proximity is to the buyer. Ø Builder Reputation Many buyers are heavily influenced by the brand name and reputation of the builder. Ø Monthly Living Costs Certain average monthly expenditure is incurred as living expenses. We seek to gauge the relative value of this variable. Ø Proximity to Public Transport, Major Roads, etc This refers to the accessibility of the apartment with regard to public transport and roads. Ø Power Backup Full power backup in case of power outages is frequently advertised by builders. Whether this actually influences buying behavior needs to be examined. Ø Proximity to friends/relatives homes This can be a big variable that dictates consumers in their decision-making process. Methods Sample The questionnaire was sent to people residing in Indian metropolitan cities. Out of the 172 responses received, 13 were rejected since the respondents had not purchased a property in a metropolitan city. Another 13 were rejected because either the respondents had not purchased the apartment in the last one year or were undecided as to when to purchase the property. Finally out of all the respondents 146 (84.9%) were identified. Measures The 25 variables were measured by a Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 (Very Low Importance) to 5 (Very High Importance). Analysis This study uses four tests to analyze the factors involved in purchase of an apartment. The first test conducted is the factor analysis which is used to club the variables in order to determine the purchase criteria of apartments. Thus, in this analysis the broad set of variables will be constricted to determine the smaller set of factors that can explain what home owners look for when purchasing an apartment. After this, a cluster analysis was conducted to determine the various clusters (groups) that exist within the demographic population. On the above said factor analysis and cluster analysis, a one way ANOVA was conducted in order to determine the order of preferences of each factors amongst such clusters. Finally, a discriminant analysis was conducted to identify factors that best differentiate the first time purchasers with others. Results The first test conducted was the factor analysis. Under this test, we followed the Principal Component Analysis method on the 25 variables to combine the correlated variables into factors. The KMO value calculated is 0.799 is above the suggested value of 0.5 which indicates that it is good idea to proceed with Factor Analysis. On the basis of the computations as represented in the Rotated Component Matrix (Table 1), the following factors were received: Affluence, Financial, location, lifestyle, Site-Specific. The variables were classified into a factor if their loading for the respective factor was greater than 0.4. Also, two other unnamed factors were received which remained so due to the fact that no factor can be formed between two variables. We have followed the Kaiser criterion (1960) of retaining only those factors that are greater than one. The initial research on 25 variables was reduced as the variables on domestic help, floor and proximity to friends/relatives was removed a fter the factor analysis was done. Domestic help was removed because it loaded on three factors (Financial, Location and Lifestyle) equally. Preference of Ground Floor was removed from the analysis as it showed a positive loading and negative loading on each of two factors which means that while some considered ground floor to be in consideration other considered the penthouse to be better. Proximity to friends/relatives was removed as it was the only variable in factor 6 (unnamed) and thus no factor can be made by one variable. The results of the Factor Analysis are as under: Rotated Component Matrix Variable Name Affluence Financial Location Lifestyle Site-Specific Unnamed Unnamed Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Factor 5 Factor 6 Factor 7 Traffic 0.768 Gym/Pool/Sports Facility 0.755 View from Apartment 0.721 Builder Reputation 0.644 Parking Space 0.568 Status 0.513 Monthly Cost of Living 0.764 Household Income 0.735 Availability of Loan 0.691 Availability of Domestic Help 0.498 0.414 0.435 Proximity to Schools/Office 0.778 Proximity to Transport 0.607 Proximity to City 0.575 0.424 -0.401 Proximity to Shops/Parks 0.546 Interior Design 0.768 Branded Components 0.712 Power Backup 0.594 Structure 0.741 Size 0.580 0.598 Safety 0.549 Preference of Ground Floor -0.415 0.423 Proximity to Friends/Relatives 0.845 Water Supply 0.410 0.652 House Price 0.405 0.508 Exterior Look 0.426 0.405 -0.464 Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. Rotation converged in 21 iterations. Table 1 Factor Loadings- Purchase of an Apartment Table 2 Factor Analysis Factor No. Factor Name Eigen Values Total Variance (%) Cumulative Variance (%) 1 Affluence 6.826 27.306 27.306 2 Financial 2.9 11.600 38.906 3 Location 1.835 7.342 46.248 4 Lifestyle 1.504 6.016 52.264 5 Site-Specific 1.447 5.788 58.052 6 1.129 4.516 62.568 7 1.059 4.236 66.804 The second test that was conducted was the Cluster analysis and has done to segment the respondents on demographic variables of Age, Gender, City and Number of members in the family. Squared Euclidean distance and average linkage hierarchical clustering method was used. At fusion coefficient value of 1.0, two distinct clusters were evident. On conducting a One way ANOVA to compare means with the demographic variables we observe that the two clusters are differ on the mean age with a significance of 0%. The first cluster consists of a younger population with an average age of 37 approximately and the s

All Quiet on the Western Front :: All Quiet on the Western Front Essays

  Whenever one reads or hears about World War I or World War II, you hear of the struggles and triumphs of the British, Americans or any of the other Allies. And they always speak of the evil and menacing German army. However, All Quiet on the Western Front gives the reader some insight and a look at a group of young German friends who are fighting in World War I. â€Å"This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war.....† The soldiers of this war felt they were neither heroes nor   did they know what they were fighting for. These soldiers were pulled from the innocence of their childhood, and thrown into a world of rage. Yet somehow they still managed to have heart and faith in man kind and could not look the opponent in the eye and kill him . For he was man too, he too had a wife and children at home, he too was pulled out of his home to fight for a cause he didn't understand.   The comrades were taught to fight. They were taught to kill the British and their allies. The comrades had no personal reason to fight with the other, except that it was an order and must be done. They were not fighting because they held a strong passion for their country, or felt deeply for the cause of the war. Albert simply states,   â€Å"...almost all of us are simple folk. And in France, too, the majority of men are laborers, workmen, or poor clerks. Now just why would a French blacksmith or a French shoemaker want to attack us? No, its merely the rulers. I had never seen a Frenchman before I came here, and it will be just the same with the majority of Frenchmen as regards us. They weren't asked about it any more then we were.†   These soldiers lacked passion for the war. They didn't feel heroic because they did not hate the French nor the British. Therefore they lacked zeal to fight the war and did not fit the title of hero, they clung on to their life at all times.

Mobile Phones for University Students Essay

Nowadays modern technology is developing so rapidly that people can hardly catch up with its pace. There is no doubt that mobile phones, as a new industry of modern technology, have got into people’s life. As sensitive reflectors of information and fashion, more and more mobile phone users have appeared in the campus everywhere. While some students are enjoying whatever mobile phones have brought to us, there are others who stand against it. This essay will explain the possible effects of mobile phone use on university students, focusing on the benefits and drawbacks. The main benefits of mobile phones in university are as follows. Firstly, there is no denying the fact that mobile phones have made campus life more convenient. A recent survey found that mobile phones are becoming part of university life and 99. 7% of students use their own mobile phones to communicate with others (Ransford, 2009). As it can be seen, mobile phones provide students with a fast and convenient way of communication, such as getting in touch with schoolmates and hunting for jobs, which was previously unimaginable. Secondly, instead of going to the PC lab and finding computers to look for news on current events, students can use mobile-network to search the Internet. It is by this means that university students can broaden their horizon and enrich their minds. Lastly, with the help of mobile phones, students can do work more efficiently. Many students in university treat mobile phones as electronic dictionary and chart with teachers for academic purpose. They share useful information related to their lessons and solve academic problems sometimes. In this way, mobile phones not only can save our time and energy but also help with our study. However, the negative effects are also obvious. Above all, more and more university students are indulged in Java QQ and online games, which make them weak in study. Moreover, some even use mobile phones to cheat in the examinations. It has been reported that almost 80% university students use Java QQ constantly and more than half of them are in favor of it. Only less than 1/3 of them comment that it is bad to our health and study if students spend too much time on Java QQ and online games. Some students even spend a whole day playing with their mobile phones and send thousands of short messages every day. If they do not use Java QQ a day, they will feel anxious (Yang, 2009). In other words, some university students have regarded playing with mobile phones as a kind of habit and fashion. In the second place, some students often make comparison of others’ mobile phones. They always want to own an attractive and high-grade one. Consequently, it costs them too much money and energy to buy a new style in order to gratify their vanity. Finally, mobile phones in university also bring some health risks, both physical and mental, if not properly used. It has been highlighted the fact that some pornographic video and photos of two U.  S. high school girls was spread so rapidly that even police were hard to stop them. In addition, District Attorney James B. Martin said that at least 40 Parkland High School students believed to have received the pornographic images (Rubinkam, 2008). It is really harmful to university students’ future development, especially those are immature. In conclusion, everything has its advantages and disadvantages, and mobile phone is no exception. On the one hand, using mobile phones in university can help students communicate with each other more convenient, have rich knowledge and study more efficiently. On the other hand, mobile phones can also have bad influence on learning; encourage students’ vanities as well as mental injury. In my point of view, therefore, there are three solutions which can solve this problem. Firstly the university authority should intensify publicity and education. Secondly coercive measures can be put into effect, such as shielding the mobile phones in classrooms and libraries. Lastly university students should promote themselves and fight temptation. A brighter future is awaiting us if we make good use of mobile phones.

Commercial Fixture Essay

Suggested questions for the Commercial Fixtures Inc. case are given below. 1. What would you as an outside third party bid under the same conditions (with the same information) for the entire company (both halves)? Why? 2. What do you expect Albert Evans to bid for Gordon’s half interest? Why? 3. What should Gordon Whitlock bid for Albert’s half interest? Why? 4. How would you structure the purchase of the business? Question #1 is a business valuation question. There are a number of ways to estimate the value of a business. You have probably covered one or more of these ways in a previous class. The next two pages review a few of the various ways to go about it. For a discounted CF approach of valuing Commercial Fixtures Inc., I will use the following template: VALUATION APPROACHES – OVERVIEW/REVIEW 1. Comparable Trades Analysis — Using valuation ratios, or â€Å"multiples† of comparable firms Use one or more valuation ratios, which include (a) Price-Earnings (b) Market-Book (c) Price-CF (d) Price-Revenues (e) Enterprise Value to EBITDA, and (f) Other ratios. The prospective value (price) of the subject firm is quantified into—and compared with—one or more of the valuation ratios of its peers. The better the performance of the subject firm relative to comparable firms in the relevant performance measures (as measured by operating ratios), the higher the appropriate valuation ratio for the firm (and vice-versa). 2. Liquidation Value, aka Book Value approach Place liquidation values on the net working capital and fixed assets of the firm. Include tax write-off benefits, if any. This approach is rarely useful, and will typically serve as a minimum value (unless the firm is in severe distress). 3. (i.) Discounted Present Value of the Firm’s Free Cash Flows   Ã¢â‚¬â€ commonly referred to as DCF Valuation, or WACC valuation Value of the Firm = PV of future free cash flows + PV of terminal value a.Estimate the first 3 to 10 years’ free cash flows and calculate the PVs. (A five year horizon is common, but this can vary.) Typically you will use the WACC as your discount rate. Depending on the circumstances, the estimated cash flows may be available for fewer than five years, or more than five years. b.Estimate the PV of the terminal value. One estimate for the terminal value involves assuming perpetual cash flows after the initial time horizon, e.g.: i.If the cash flow after 5 years is expected to grow at a rate g for the foreseeable future: Terminal Value5 (TV5) = FCF6 /(k – g) = FCF5 (1+ g) / (k – g)., where k is the required rate of return. You must discount the TV to time 0, and then add this to the PV of the FCFs during the projection horizon. ii.If the cash flow at the end of 5 years is not expected to grow, i.e., g=0, then the general formula collapses to the PV of a no-growth perpetuity: Terminal Value5 = FCF6 / (k-g) = FCF5 (1+ g)/(k – g) = FCF5 / k c.Use the Value of the Firm equation above, i.e. sum PV of free cash flows + PV of terminal value . The Value of the firm’s Equity = Value of the Firm – Debt Currently Outstanding. 3. (ii.) Adjusted Present Value approach — we will only briefly discuss this approach; a topic for a future finance course. 4. Comments on Valuing the Firm using DCF (or WACC) and APV valuation approaches a.Watch the free cash flows (not reported earnings)! In particular, as in the capital budgeting decision process: –Depreciation charges are not cash outflows. –Investment in new property or equipment is a cash outflow. –Increases in net working capital are cash outflows. –Taxes are cash outflows b.Do not subtract interest expense from FCFs. We want to estimate a value for the whole business. The return to creditors is reflected in the discount rate used. c.Consider other factors, such as a control premium or a lack of marketability discount. These are mentioned in your textbook, and we will discuss these in class. d.Notice the sensitivity of your estimated firm value to changes in assumptions, particularly the perpetual terminal growth rate, and the discount rate. Typically a range of firm values is calculated from various ranges of these two rates (as suggested in the template on p. 1), particularly when uncertainty is high.

Definition and Examples of Antithesis in Rhetoric

Definition and Examples of Antithesis in Rhetoric Antithesis is a  rhetorical term for the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas in balanced phrases or clauses. Plural: antitheses. Adjective: antithetical. In grammatical terms, antithetical statements are parallel structures.   A perfectly formed antithesis, says Jeanne Fahnestock, combines isocolon, parison, and perhaps, in an inflected language, even homoeoteleuton; it is an overdetermined figure. The aural patterning of the antithesis, its tightness and predictability, are critical to appreciating how the syntax of the figure can be used to force semantic opposites (Rhetorical Figures in Science, 1999). Etymology From the Greek, opposition Examples and Observations Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing.(Goethe)Everybody doesnt like something, but nobody doesnt like Sara Lee.(advertising slogan)There are so many things that we wish we had done yesterday, so few that we feel like doing today.(Mignon McLaughlin, The Complete Neurotics Notebook. Castle Books, 1981)We notice things that dont work. We dont notice things that do. We notice computers, we dont notice pennies. We notice e-book readers, we dont notice books.(Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time. Macmillan, 2002)Hillary has soldiered on, damned if she does, damned if she doesnt, like most powerful women, expected to be tough as nails and warm as toast at the same time.(Anna Quindlen, Say Goodbye to the Virago. Newsweek, June 16, 2003)It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.(Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859) Tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours.(President Barack Obama, election night victory speech, November 7, 2012)Youre easy on the eyesHard on the heart.(Terri Clark)We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.(Martin Luther King, Jr., speech at St. Louis, 1964)The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.(Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, 1863)All the joy the world containsHas come through wishing happiness for others.All the misery the world containsHas come through wanting pleasure for oneself.(Shantideva)The more acute the experience, the less articulate its expression.(Harold Pinter, Writing for the Theatre, 1962)And let my liver rather heat with wineThan my heart cool with mortifying groans.(Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare)Jack Londons CredoI would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my s park should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.(Jack London, quoted by his literary executor, Irving Shepard, in an introduction to a 1956 collection of Londons stories) Antithesis and AntithetonAntithesis is the grammatical form of antitheton. Antitheton deals with contrasting thoughts or proofs in an argument; Antithesis deals with contrasting words or ideas within a phrase, sentence, or paragraph.(Gregory T. Howard, Dictionary of Rhetorical Terms. Xlibris, 2010)Antithesis and AntonymsAntithesis as a figure of speech exploits the existence of many natural opposites in the vocabularies of all languages. Small children filling in workbooks and adolescents studying for the antonyms section of the SAT learn to match words to their opposites and so absorb much vocabulary as pairs of opposed terms, connecting up to down and bitter to sweet, pusillanimous to courageous and ephemeral to everlasting. Calling these antonyms natural simply means that pairs of words can have wide currency as opposites among users of a language outside any particular context of use. Word association tests give ample evidence of the consistent linking of opposites in verbal memo ry when subjects given one of a pair of antonyms most often respond with the other, hot triggering cold or long retrieving short (Miller 1991, 196). An antithesis as a figure of speech at the sentence level builds on these powerful natural pairs, the use of one in the first half of the figure creating the expectation of its verbal partner in the second half.(Jeanne Fahnestock, Rhetorical Figures in Science. Oxford University Press, 1999) Antithesis in Films- Since . . . the quality of a scene or image is more vividly shown when set beside its opposite, it is not surprising to find antithesis in film . . .. There is a cut in Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick) from the yellow flickers of a flaming house to a still gray courtyard, lined with soldiers, and another from the yellow candles and warm browns of a gambling room to the cool grays of a terrace by moonlight and the Countess of Lyndon in white.(N. Roy Clifton, The Figure in Film. Associated University Presses, 1983)It is clear that in every simile there is present both differences and likenesses, and both are a part of its effect. By ignoring differences, we find a simile and may perhaps find an antithesis in the same event, by ignoring likeness. . . .- In The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges), a passenger boards a liner by tender. This was conveyed by the two vessels whistling. We see a convulsive spurt of water and hear a desperate, soundless puff before the siren of the t ender found its voice. There was a stuttering amazement, a drunken incoordination to these elaborate preliminaries, foiled by the liners lofty unruffled burst of sounding steam. Here things that are like, in place, in sound, and in function, are unexpectedly contrasted. The commentary lies in the differences and gains force from the likeness.(N. Roy Clifton, The Figure in Film. Associated University Presses, 1983) Antithetical Observations of Oscar Wilde- â€Å"When we are happy, we are always good, but when we are good, we are not always happy.†(The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891)- â€Å"We teach people how to remember, we never teach them how to grow.†(The Critic as Artist, 1991)- â€Å"Wherever there is a man who exercises authority, there is a man who resists authority.†(The Soul of Man Under Socialism, 1891)- â€Å"Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer.†(The Critic as Artist, 1991) Pronunciation: an-TITH-uh-sis

Kafka on the Shore Essays

Kafka on the Shore Essays Kafka on the Shore Essay Kafka on the Shore Essay The final interaction between the main characters of the book and Japanese myth and legend occurs when Kafka discovers his father is dead and the police are looking for him. He flees to Oshima’s family cabin in the woods for a second time. It is there he finds a door to the Japanese underworld. It is here that he discovers what happened to his Japanese Dreams mother and sister. He also encounters Miss Saeki’s ghost, and in the process of wandering the underworld discovers himself in the process. This ties into the Japanese myth of Izanagi and Izanami (Izanagi, and Izanami: Mukashbanashi Library website: mukashibanashi. org) They are comparable to Zeus and Hera in Greek mythology. At one point in this myth Izanami gives birth to their son Ho-Musabi, or fire. In the process of birthing fire Izanami is burned to death. Izanagi travels to Yomi or the underworld to find her. This is very similar to Kafka’s journey of self discovery in the forest near the cabin in the mountains. Conclusion Japanese mythology has played a very important part in both Japanese literature and film in the fifty years since World War II. It is through the eyes of writers like Haruki Murakami, and the artistic vision of directors like Hayao Miyazaki that Western cultures can come to understand and love the myths and legends of Japan. I feel that the story Murakami tells in Kafka on the Shore (Vintage Paperbacks, 2005) is universal. Everyone goes through a journey of self- discovery as they enter adolescence. Not all adolescents go on this journey in quite as spectacular a fashion as Kafka Tamura but, it is a journey we all must make. I have discovered several things from reading this book. First, myth and legend can always play a role in everyday life. Second, it is never a bad thing to dream since this is how we discover who we are both as individuals and entire cultures. Finally, life is a journey and like Nakata we must travel whatever road we choose of follow and never look back. Japanese Dreams References Murakami, Haruki: Kafka on the Shore: Vintage Paperbacks 2005 Murakami, Haruki: The Wind Up Bird Chronicles: Vintage Paperbacks, 1997

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Marketing - Essay Example This eventually resulted to creating a need for a good financial market for banking and finance in which the bottom line would be to stimulate needs for certain product or service offerings. This area has become so competitive in which the resulting activity leads to the creation of competitive rivalry. In short, it is important to consider that the presence of new market entrants, power of supplier and buyer and advancement in technology has significantly created an essential force leading to competitive rivalry (Ireland et al., 2007; Hitt et al., 2009). Porter therefore is right on specifying some factors that may essentially lead to the creation of competitive rivalry. Thus, he emphasised that there is a need to go for competitive strategies. This is what the financial market has essentially applied to the extent that there is a point to include economic policy measures just to minimise the presence of competition in the market (Lindbeck, 1973; Lancaster and Reynolds, 2005). The b uilding societies and banks The Building Societies Association (2011) presents some major differences between building societies and banks which include building societies as mutual institutions, are not companies run by their shareholders, and the issue on the limit of proportion of funds. These differences bring forward to some major advantages and even shown in some studies revealing that building societies have outperformed banks implying that mutual organisations may outweigh those stock organisations (Valnek, 1999). There are underlying reasons for this and one of the most significant is the inclusion of rights and privileges for members to receive the right information they deserve to have. The next most important thing about building societies is that they are not considered companies which are highly controlled by shareholders who are influential to maximise profits for increase amount of dividends. The point of this is that there will be low operating cost and other signif icant privileges that will ensure advantage on opportunity cost. In fact, it was found that building societies remain to have constant rates in deposit and mortgage (Heffeman, 2005). This emphasises that building societies are indeed not under pressure of its stakeholders which means further that the needs of consumers are greatly catered to the fullest. The limit of proportion of funds on the other hand would mean further that compared to banks, building societies are highly secured for investment and this is an opportunity for consumers or investors to go. Harpenden Building Society Harpenden’s company website revealed some of important information about its operation which leads to having a better view at its current trends in the market (Harpenden Building Society, 2010). Harpenden is known for its place in the UK building societies. It significantly belongs to the rank of 52 renowned UK building societies because of its 20,000 members having more than 25,000 accounts. As ide from this, Harpenden has no debt because it eliminates its chance for borrowings on the money market. Another good thing about the financial performance of Harpenden is the upward spiralling growth of its deposits and mortgages. Harpenden is also recognised by

Starting a Business in Aqua-Pure Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Starting a Business in Aqua-Pure Company - Essay Example Another source of financing I may utilize is borrowings from my relatives or friends who would be willing to lend me some money, which I could repay once the business is making a profit. Moreover, I may seek potential business partners who have the financial capability to answer the capital needs of the small company. As such, they may become co-owners, thus, be entitled to receive a portion of the earnings of the business. Aside from these, I may also utilize external financing sources to address my capital requirements. In this regard, I can resort to borrowing funds from banks and other financial institutions2 that specialize in dealing with business entities and implement special lending schemes for start-up enterprises. In addition, I can borrow from specific government development agencies that support small-scale industries or apply in organizations that give out business grants for creative entrepreneurs3. It should be noted that borrowing, deemed as a long-term loan, from external sources entails risk exposure, therefore, this option is usually a major decision for small businesses. Given this, I should ensure that the company has the ability to service this loan including interest and that the loan terms are not burdensome to meet for small business owners like me. It would also be used for the construction of a small water treatment facility and purchasing or leasing the land where this would be located. Moreover, the capital would be allocated for the company's pre-operating expenses like promotions and launching as well as initial operating expenditures including salary, power, water expenses and other fees. 4. Government agencies and regulations to be dealt with by business owner As a small business engaged in the man the manufacturing and selling of bottled mineral water, I, as the business owner, would have to initially deal with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), particularly the Compliance Department. This is because this agency would first have to ensure that I am complying with their regulations. For instance, the FDA would inspect my equipment and products to find out the bottled water to be sold meets the standard set in the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Â  

Rhetorical essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Rhetorical - Essay Example However, the forthcoming world cup in Brazil has raised numerous concerns among global stakeholders. The infrastructure in Brazil has continuously been an issue of discussion within the global media. The organizers have been placated by the high level of ticket sales that have been observed. The anticipated numbers of visitors to the country during the world cup is expected to exceed the previous tournaments. Straggling stadiums and poor construction practices have threatened the hosting of this global sporting tournament (Vickery). The FIFA world cup remains to be the most watched global event; hence, the increased concerns regarding the capability of Brazil in hosting the event. Within the global media, the fundamental question has been, â€Å"do the Brazilian airports have the capacity to cope with the influx of arrivals?† Despite the optimism of the Brazilian government in the stadiums being ready for the world cup, concerns have been raised regarding the delays (Krasnov). While the stadiums were expected to be ready before January 2014, half of them are still under construction, less than 100 days to the tournament. Continued construction delays and accidents also raise a safety question, as the country has previously had stadiums collapsing. Some of the construction processes have been delayed by collapses and equipment failure. This raises a safety concern for the people who will be watching the event from inside the stadiums. Discontent in the organization has also been present within the host nation’s population. The number of persons watching the world cup is extremely high, and the stakes are similarly high for Brazil not to disappoint the fans. With many stakeholders discontented with the preparation, the national team could make-up by winning the world cup for a record, sixth time. The immense focus on the countrys infrastructure comes from the contrast in the team’s performance. Based on the performance of the

Lorex Pharmaceuticals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lorex Pharmaceuticals - Essay Example This essay discusses that Lorex Pharmaceuticals has developed and holds all patent rights to Linatol, a new high blood pressure medicine. Since the pharmaceutical industry operates in a monopolistically competitive atmosphere (where no specific pharmaceutical company dominates the market), the patent-holder of a new product can have considerable market advantage over other companies. Lorex pharmaceutical is therefore seeking solutions to optimize this competitive advantage by balancing cost, productivity, and quality with regards to the production of Linatol. To reach this end, the managers of Lorex Pharmaceuticals must determine and select a target amount to which each of the 10-ounce bottles of the product would be filled. This task takes into consideration two issues: 1) Specifying higher fill targets will lead to higher material cost but fewer seconds, and 2) use of the one-standard-deviation rule can cause production delays. Using tests to determine the optimal fill-line, it has been established that 10.17-ounce mark would result in optimal production and maximum returns. Since probability analysis is only suggestive and the accuracy increases with samples size, it is recommended that more tests be conducted to reach more accurate results. Quality assurance managers of Lorex Pharmaceuticals must determine and select a target amount to which each of the 10 ounce bottles of Linatol, a new high blood pressure medicine, would be filled. ... The pharmaceutical industry is ever changing, as can be seen from the many changes in the structure of markets and organizations that occur over the years. Competition in the industry is intense, which means that mergers, acquisitions, etc. are not uncommon. In the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S., there is an extreme contrast between a specific products market during patent enforcement (where a patent holder may control over 80 percent of the product's market and can charge premium prices) and after the patent expires (where market control is reduced to about 30 percent because of the many sellers and buyers that soon emerge after patent expiration). Lorex Pharmaceuticals has developed Linatol, a new high blood pressure medicine, and the company holds all patents right to it. A company that develops a new drug has the potential to realize very large profits. Decisions in manufacturing budgets and product specifications influence the capacity of a particular product line. These, in turn influence the productivity and actual profit of the company. Thus, manufacturers must take into consideration the cost and quality factors that go into production. It is not unusual for companies to pursue trade-offs in cost, productivity, and efficiency in order to pursue specific markets. This however, can result in poor product quality. This case analysis aims to present some solutions that would help Lorex Pharmaceuticals strike a balance between cost, productivity, and quality. Possible Decision Alternatives Quality assurance managers of Lorex Pharmaceuticals must determine and select a target amount to which each of the 10 ounce

Fiscal and monetary policy theories and application Essay

Fiscal and monetary policy theories and application - Essay Example Fiscal policy entails the processes through which the government achieves major economic goals through taxes and government spending. The government collects tax and spends it to achieve economic development. Taxation is one of the key avenues though which governments collect revenues from local and foreign residents. Three main aspects that make up fiscal policy include consumption, investment and government spending. In this sense, the government relies on the three aspects of demand to achieve desired economic goals. The desired economic goals include full employment, price stability, economic growth, and maintenance of a favorable balance of payment, The three aspects add up to determine the equilibrium level of the gross domestic product. On the other hand, monetary policies refer to the manipulations of interest rates and money supply to achieve various economic ends. The economic ends are similar in the sense that they entail full employment, economic growth, price stability, and a favorable balance of payment. This suggests that the fiscal policies and the monetary policies possess the same goals. In the regulation of the money in circulation, central bank adjusts the interest rate that entails the price of borrowing money. In the history of economics, different schools of thought vouch for different policies. The fiscalists rely on the Keynesian school of thought in stabilizing the economy. This school of thought believes that fiscal policies are the only effective measure of instigating economic growth during a period of recession in a country. In turn, monetary policies are ineffective in stirring economic growth during a recession in a country.

AIG Accounting Scandal Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

AIG Accounting Scandal - Case Study Example Established in 1921 it had its headquarters in Connecticut. Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway owned the company. The company was ranoriginally RonaldFerguson until his retirement in 2002. In 2007, the premium written was over six billion U.S dollars(Schonfeld 2006). One of the participants involved In the AIG demise was Hank Greenburg. He was born in 1925, admitted to the New York bar in 1953, joinedAIG in 1962and named CEO in 1968(Young, 2009). He ranAIG for 38 years before stepping down in March 21 2005(Young, 2009). Another participant was Ron Ferguson. He was the CEO of Gen Re He was bornin 1942(Young, 2009). He was a fellow of CAS ad co-developed the B-F method. He joined Gen Re in 1966 and was CEO in 1987. Later, in 1998, Berkshire HathawayassimilatedGen Re. Helater retired in 2002(Young, 2009). Others include Christopher Garad, FCAS. He was Gen Re’s Senior Vice president and Chief Underwriter of finite reinsurance in the U.S from 1994 to 2005. Elizabeth Monrad, CPA. She was the CFO of Gen Re as from 2000 to 2003. Robert graham, JD. He was SVP and assistant general counsel at Gen Re until 2005 (Young, 2009). Christian Milton. He was the VP of AIGs reinsurance until 2005. RichardNapier was the SVP accountable for Gen Re affiliation with AIG. John Houldswoth was the CEO of Cologne Re Dublin CRD. Eliot Spitzer, JD was born in 1959. He was a former attorney general of New York. During his time as an attorney general, he had some outstandingprosecutions including the mutual fund scandals that was in 2003, the insurer bid rigging, in 2004; and AIG accounting scandal, in 2005. He elected governor of New York in 2006(Young, 2009). In 2001, the S.E.C learned that AIG has aided a customer company in strengthening its balance sheet through a bogus insurance transaction.

Lorex Pharmaceuticals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lorex Pharmaceuticals - Essay Example This essay discusses that Lorex Pharmaceuticals has developed and holds all patent rights to Linatol, a new high blood pressure medicine. Since the pharmaceutical industry operates in a monopolistically competitive atmosphere (where no specific pharmaceutical company dominates the market), the patent-holder of a new product can have considerable market advantage over other companies. Lorex pharmaceutical is therefore seeking solutions to optimize this competitive advantage by balancing cost, productivity, and quality with regards to the production of Linatol. To reach this end, the managers of Lorex Pharmaceuticals must determine and select a target amount to which each of the 10-ounce bottles of the product would be filled. This task takes into consideration two issues: 1) Specifying higher fill targets will lead to higher material cost but fewer seconds, and 2) use of the one-standard-deviation rule can cause production delays. Using tests to determine the optimal fill-line, it has been established that 10.17-ounce mark would result in optimal production and maximum returns. Since probability analysis is only suggestive and the accuracy increases with samples size, it is recommended that more tests be conducted to reach more accurate results. Quality assurance managers of Lorex Pharmaceuticals must determine and select a target amount to which each of the 10 ounce bottles of Linatol, a new high blood pressure medicine, would be filled. ... The pharmaceutical industry is ever changing, as can be seen from the many changes in the structure of markets and organizations that occur over the years. Competition in the industry is intense, which means that mergers, acquisitions, etc. are not uncommon. In the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S., there is an extreme contrast between a specific products market during patent enforcement (where a patent holder may control over 80 percent of the product's market and can charge premium prices) and after the patent expires (where market control is reduced to about 30 percent because of the many sellers and buyers that soon emerge after patent expiration). Lorex Pharmaceuticals has developed Linatol, a new high blood pressure medicine, and the company holds all patents right to it. A company that develops a new drug has the potential to realize very large profits. Decisions in manufacturing budgets and product specifications influence the capacity of a particular product line. These, in turn influence the productivity and actual profit of the company. Thus, manufacturers must take into consideration the cost and quality factors that go into production. It is not unusual for companies to pursue trade-offs in cost, productivity, and efficiency in order to pursue specific markets. This however, can result in poor product quality. This case analysis aims to present some solutions that would help Lorex Pharmaceuticals strike a balance between cost, productivity, and quality. Possible Decision Alternatives Quality assurance managers of Lorex Pharmaceuticals must determine and select a target amount to which each of the 10 ounce

AIG Accounting Scandal Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

AIG Accounting Scandal - Case Study Example Established in 1921 it had its headquarters in Connecticut. Warren Buffets Berkshire Hathaway owned the company. The company was ranoriginally RonaldFerguson until his retirement in 2002. In 2007, the premium written was over six billion U.S dollars(Schonfeld 2006). One of the participants involved In the AIG demise was Hank Greenburg. He was born in 1925, admitted to the New York bar in 1953, joinedAIG in 1962and named CEO in 1968(Young, 2009). He ranAIG for 38 years before stepping down in March 21 2005(Young, 2009). Another participant was Ron Ferguson. He was the CEO of Gen Re He was bornin 1942(Young, 2009). He was a fellow of CAS ad co-developed the B-F method. He joined Gen Re in 1966 and was CEO in 1987. Later, in 1998, Berkshire HathawayassimilatedGen Re. Helater retired in 2002(Young, 2009). Others include Christopher Garad, FCAS. He was Gen Re’s Senior Vice president and Chief Underwriter of finite reinsurance in the U.S from 1994 to 2005. Elizabeth Monrad, CPA. She was the CFO of Gen Re as from 2000 to 2003. Robert graham, JD. He was SVP and assistant general counsel at Gen Re until 2005 (Young, 2009). Christian Milton. He was the VP of AIGs reinsurance until 2005. RichardNapier was the SVP accountable for Gen Re affiliation with AIG. John Houldswoth was the CEO of Cologne Re Dublin CRD. Eliot Spitzer, JD was born in 1959. He was a former attorney general of New York. During his time as an attorney general, he had some outstandingprosecutions including the mutual fund scandals that was in 2003, the insurer bid rigging, in 2004; and AIG accounting scandal, in 2005. He elected governor of New York in 2006(Young, 2009). In 2001, the S.E.C learned that AIG has aided a customer company in strengthening its balance sheet through a bogus insurance transaction.

Child minders Essay Example for Free

Child minders Essay My competitors are likely to be; Child minders offering full day service provide the main source of competition, with over 70,000 registered in the UK today. Many parents are attracted by the individual care a child minder is often able to give their child and the service is regarded as cheaper and more flexible than the day nursery. Family members remain the most popular choice for childcare, with well over half working parents opting for this informal option, largely because they cannot afford other care, or they cannot find a suitable service. Playgroups and cri ches offering occasional or seasonal care are both popular choices for slightly older children. However, parents working full time are still more likely to opt for the day nursery. On the yellow pages Web site there are 33 competitors listed, but most of them are in the same position as you, trying to start up. This is shown as in last years yellow pages there is only one competitor listed. A company called leapfrog though is a national chain; there are 14 of their nurseries spread across the midlands. There are roughly 39 in England. Training There are various childcare courses available and you should have gained a relevant qualification before you start running a nursery, so sally wont be able to start straight away. Training can be very flexible to suit you, based on full or part time courses at different levels. Local further education colleges will have lists of courses that will be appropriate for you which include N. V. Q. s, G. N. V. Q. s, H. N. D. s and H. N. C. s amongst other options. Qualifications for those working in early years education, childcare and play work fall within the occupational and vocationally related categories. You could get a NVQ in Early years care and education. Location In East Anglia there has been a 44% decrease in failing business. However this information is not all that reliable as it may say that in 2002 there has been 24 business failures, it does not say how many businesses started. If 25 businesses started and 24 failed, the figure is not at all impressive and it shows that lots of businesses failed. However if their were 100 businesses that started and 24 failed, than the figure shows that under a 1/4 of businesses failed, which is impressive. Peterborough is located 80 miles (128 kilometers) north of London and 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Cambridge. The city benefits from frequent high-speed train services on the main East Coast rail line. Adjacent roads such as the A1 (M), A14 and A47 provide swift access to the national road network. There are rapid connections with major airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, East Midlands and Birmingham. Peterborough is within easy reach of major East Coast seaports such as Felixstowe, Harwich and Hull so exports and imports will be easily done. Peterboroughs GDP (gross domestic product) per head of population (the total rate of output divided by the resident population) is the highest in the East of England with a figure of i 13,673. The figure i received from research for the total of Englands GDP per working person is 572. 68 to 2 decimal places. However this seems unrealistic considering Peterboroughs is over 13,000. After a little more desk research i found the average weekly wage to be  444. 3, thus making the average yearly wage roughly 23,103. 6. Knowing that GDP is different to wages i will now try and find out the average yearly wage for peterborough so i have some results to compare, by doing this i will find if their is a lot of money being earned in the peterborough area compare to England. Still i cannot find the answers so i have nothing to compare. The theft rate in Peterborough is very high compared to Huntingdon. 28. 6% of 1000 vehicles are broken into in Peterborough; in Huntingdon it is only 9%. The population and households are very similar. Finance There are many different sources of finance that sally could use to finance her business. One of these is a bank loan. The advantage to this is you get a large amount of money and you dont have to wait for it. The disadvantage is that you have to pay more back than you borrowed. Investment is another source of finance, this is when you have people give you money to put into your business, but they get a percentage of the profit. The advantage of this is that you receive a large amount of money

Exploring Premenstrual Syndrome in Criminal Law

Exploring Premenstrual Syndrome in Criminal Law Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) has played a part in the malady of a womens life for many years. The development of Biological Theories has made law enforcement, attorneys, and even society study the connection biology has with individuals, particularly women for this manuscript, who commit crime. With the research gathered and studies performed, the court system has yet to adopt PMS as a suitable reason for defense. Until further evaluations of PMS can be studied, the validity of the previous test results will more than likely be questioned when introduced in court and it will be less likely to be generally accepted. Biological Theory Analysis: Exploring Premenstrual Syndrome in Criminal Law Crime in America happens any and everywhere, all the time and there will always be a lawyer out there trying to get criminals a lesser punishment or no jail time for their crime. An individuals biology comes into question when attorneys are trying to build a defense against any type of criminal activity. Schmalleger (2007) states that Biology Theory is a theory that maintains the basic determinants of human behavior, including criminality, are constitutionally or physiologically based and often inherited. There are several aspects that biological theories cover; however, the focus of this manuscript will be on body chemistry. Body Chemistry is the category that Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) would be classified under. The definition of PMS will be examined, in depth and how it is connected to a womens life. Next, there will be a discussion on the symptoms that can occur in a womens body and further investigations on PMS cases that have been tried successfully. Furthermore, there will be a section addressing the opposing views of using PMS as a defense. Literature Review In order to discuss PMS, a definitive definition of this syndrome was needed. The definition was acquired from a known and highly recommended site called WebMD (20010) and this website has been providing informative information for many years. Along with the PMS definition, there was also a list of common symptoms that were provided that occurs when women are on their menstrual cycle. Cullen and Agnew (2006) essential readings have an article that was delivered by David Rowe and it discusses the biological theories of nature and the exposure to individuals physical counter parts. Schmalleger (2007) speaks about the many aspects of biological theories of crime causation and its many assumptions; along with the body type of criminals and its beginning stages of phrenology. Phrenology was first introduced in the 19th century and had the western world thinking more about the minds of criminals and punishment (Rafter, 2008). There has been some debate among professionals when addressing the disorder of PMS. Gallant, Popeil, Hoffman, Chakraborty, Hamilton (1992) have performed a study that showed no significant difference between women under the influence of PMS to women who were not. Despite this, there have been studies performed on the effects of other syndromes that have been connected to PMS. Gehlert, Song, Chang, Hartlage (2009) studied the prevalence of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and the effects it has on women and Gallant, Popeil, Hoffman, Chakraborty, Hamilton (1992) have participated in daily studies to confirm Late Luteal Phase Dysphoric Disorder (LLPDD). Other research has been reviewed and compared to Dr. Katherina Dalton, an expert on PMS analysis and the effects that woman have while experiencing Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) symptoms. Downs (2002) researched the Culpability of the PMS defense and its evolvement into psychosis if not treated. Ostovich, and Sabini (2005) performed a study that compared men and women and the effects gender has when going through or reaching puberty in its final stages. Easteal (1991) discusses PMS in the courtroom and how the effects of PMS may cause automatism in certain women. There are sections that cover the controversy the disorder brings to women in society and its credibility issues men have about women and crime. Davidson (2000) explores several cases that have been tried in different judicial system and have had successful outcomes while trying to introduce a hormonal defense that connects PMS and postpartum psychosis. Discussion Biological Theory Biological Theories make several assumptions which include (1) the brain being an organ of the mind and the locus of personality, (2) the basic determinants of human behavior, include criminal tendencies, constitutionally or genetically based (3) observed gender features may be partially the result of biological differences between the sexes and racial groups, (4) much of human conduct is fundamentally rooted in instinctive behavior, (5) basic determinants of human behavior, include criminality, from generation to generation (inherited), (6) biological roots have become increasingly disguised, (7) some human is the result of biological propensities from developmental stages, and (8) interplay among heredity, biology, and the social environment provides the nexus for any realistic of crime causation (Schmalleger, 2006). With that being said, biological theories began being dissected into stages to focus on the brain. Franz Joseph Gall was one of the first criminal anthropologists that studied the human skull and that study was called Phrenology. Many followed after his discovery and Rafter (2008) developed a book that described a diagnosis of criminality and other abnormalities by studying the contours of the skull. Although the skull had a number of interesting assumptions, phrenology eventually phased itself out as one of the crucial theories in identifying biological connections in crime. In time, analyst such as David Rowe gathered data on certain aspects of research that focused on the chemical messages, or neurotransmitters that transmit signals between neurons in the brain, e.g., serotonin, and the hormones that help regulate such things as responding to stressors (Cullen, Agnew, 2006). PMS means what? PMS stands for Premenstrual Syndrome and the debate over using this ailment as an acceptable defense has been the topic of many argumentative discussions between professionals. WebMD (2010) defines PMS as the physical and psychological symptoms that occur in the week before a womens menstrual period. There are over 150 common symptoms of PMS that most women experience and they categorized into three parts: Physical, Emotional, and Behavioral. Some of PMS symptoms include leg and stomach cramping, abdominal bloating, pack pain, Acne, breast swelling, anxiety, dizzy spells, anger, crying, Libido changes, accident prone, social isolation, hysteria, headaches, depression, mood swings, fatigue, insomnia, and many others (Easteal, 1991). For most women these symptoms appear for a short period of time, usually a week before the menstrual period and they disappear during or right before the cycle begins. Late Luteal Phase Dysphoric Disorder The American Psychiatric Association (APA) began indentifying mental disorders of individuals and recording the data to one day create a manual that would assist medical professionals on how to classify certain syndromes by their symptoms. Late Luteal Phase Dysphoric Disorder (LLPDD) was developed to the DSM III-R to provide a systematic set of criteria for establishing a premenstrual mood disorder (Gallant, et. al., 1992). Some of the symptoms that women have to have include being sad, tearful, angry, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, change in appetite, difficult concentrating as well as many other physical maladies. LLPDD was created so that professionals would be able to distinguish it from Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and diagnose criteria that included psychological disturbances that seriously interfered with work, ordinary social activities, relationships, and arise during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, ending within a few days of the onset of menstruation (Downs, 2002). Pr emenstrual Dsyphoric Disorder (PMDD) became the new name for LLPDD and the new studies aimed to determine the prevalence of PMDD using all four DSM-IV research diagnostic criteria (Gehlert, et., al., 2009). For the full diagnostic criteria of LLPDD, see Appendix A. PMS Based Defenses There have been cases as early as the late 1800s where a case of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) have been used in court. The cases used PMS as a opener for the suspect to eventually plead temporary insanity. Insanity has many variations of its clinical interpretation, however, this manuscript will utilize the WebMD (2010) definition, which states insanity as the lack of understanding or having the mental capacity to enter into a rational state of normal responsibility. In the United States (US) two fundamental requirements are common to test for when determining insanity. The two fundamental elements are: (1) the defendant must suffer from a mental disease or defect, and (2) a casual relationship must exist between the disease or defect and the criminal offense (Downs, 2002). There is a defense that the US has recognized that is somewhat similar to an insanity plea and it is called automatism. Those who have studied insanity have connected the definition of automatism to insanity which states that individuals have an unconscious state of mind when committing a crime. Some researchers, such as Ostovich, Sabini (2005) have tried to link the beginning stages of puberty to account for some of the outburst of crime latter scene in women and men. The study explored the young adults first encounters with adult social and sexual behavior, attitudes, and work environment but the examination did not have enough evidence to support its claim. Another defense strategy is the diminished capacity (DC) diagnosis. Unlike automatism, a DC diagnosis is to focus on trying for a lesser sentence for the criminal act and not the conduct. If the defense handles the case with care and understanding, charges for heinous crimes will be reduced, which has been proven in several cases in England (Downs. 2002). Use in the Courtroom The studies that have been performed on women and their experiences with Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) have evolved into PMS being used as a defense in criminal cases. Davidson (2000) devised a section in his research that takes a deeper look into PMS in the courtroom. The majority of these cases took place overseas and has people across the globe interested in how the system had derived at some of their conclusions. One of the most notorious cases involved a woman named Craddock. Craddock was a barmaid in 1980 and she had murdered one of her co-workers. Craddock had many other crimes under her belt and she possessed a diary that kept a record of her violent behavior. An expert on PMS, Dr. Katherina Dalton was asked to review Craddocks case and determine if PMS had played a part in her crime. Cradock was found guilty of manslaughter (based on a plea of diminished capacity) and not murder due to the experts testimony that PMS turned Craddock into a ranging lunatic. Later, a judge had further reduced her sentence by allowing Cradock to not receive any jail time but to be placed on probation and medical treatment of progesterone. Progesterone is one of the medications that has been given to women to alleviate some of their symptoms bring them back to some form of normalcy. In the following year, 1981, Craddock had changed her name to Smith and managed to stay out of trouble until her dosage of progesterone was reduced. Smith had threatened to kill herself and a police officer on two separate occasions. Smith was once again convicted of all charges and still not awarded prison time. In the case of Regina v. Smith, Smith received probation relying on Smiths PMS in mitigation. The first American case that used Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) as a defense occurred in People v. Santos in 1982. Santos was being charged of child battering. The case was resolved through a plea bargain because Santos admitted to beating her child at the pre-trial. However, Santos claims that she suffered a black out due to PMS. This information was presented by the defense to the judge who still decided to plea in favor of the defendant and the case ended with Santos getting probation. Controversy PMS being applied to criminal law has bought about some resistance from a variety of people. The groups with the most to say about this topic are feminist groups. Feminist groups have their beliefs on this matter and do not want to give off the wrong impression of being un sympathetic. PMS is a disorder that should be considered under the proper conditions, as long as it does not stereotype all women and is not used frivolously for the defendants or the attorneys amusement in criminal proceedings (Easteal, 1991). There is also the concern that men who are being charged with domestic abuse will start to take advantage of PMS and use it to their advantage. In other words, men can claim that their wife become so annoying that he had to do something to make her stop. The fear of society not understanding Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) and not realizing that all women falter to the same symptoms is what makes this syndrome so controversial. Conclusion Premenstrual Syndrome is a disorder that affects many women physically and in some cases, mentally. Several cases have applied PMS to a criminal defense and have been successful but the success came attached with mitigation to some form of insanity and as we all know, insanity is difficult to prove, not a frequently used defense and almost always raises some kind of controversy (Davidson, 2000). If more research and funding can be applied to the study of biological theories and the connection it has to women and PMS, maybe the acceptance of PMS as a criminal defense will be taken more seriously.

Rethinking Leadership in the Learning Organization Essay -- essays pap

Rethinking Leadership in the Learning Organization A proclamation by a CEO that â€Å"we are going to become a learning organization† will likely be met with collective eye rolling and wonderings of, â€Å"What workshop did he attend last week?† Indeed, many employees are so accustomed to these management â€Å"initiatives-of-the-month† that seeing any results from such a managerial decree is extremely unlikely. Another of the main barriers to creating a learning organization, Senge says, is the difference between compliance and commitment. The employees are loath to accept change that starts at the top of the managerial hierarchy. A value is a value only if voluntarily chosen. We cannot force others to learn. Since it is really the individuals that comprise a learning organization, there is no substitute for a personal desire to learn. Decisions made by managers can also have the effect of paradoxically moving an organization backwards. Downsizing can lead to increased competitiveness, which is a hindrance to productivity. Competitiveness can also undermine collaborative efforts and thereby affect a company’s economic prosperity. Senge defines three leadership types that he says are essential to building a learning organization: 1. Local line leaders. These are leaders who undertake meaningful experiments to test whether new learning capabilities actually lead to improved business results. 2. Executive leaders. They provide support for line leaders,...

Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun Essay -- essays research pap

The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together. Ruth was being prevented from having a baby because of money problems, Walter was bringing him self down by trying to make the liquor store idea work. Once Mama decided to buy the house with the money she had received, Walter figured that he should further go on with the liquor store idea. Then, when Walter lost the money, he lost his dignity and tried to get some money from the â€Å"welcome party† of Cylborne Park. Mama forced him to realize how far he went by making him show himself to his son how low he would go. But he showed that he wasn’t susceptible to the ways the racism created. Raisin In the Sun Dreams can be seen in many ways. A dream could be something you had in the night that seems so real, or a dream could be your fantasy, where everything is going your way. The last type of dream is something that has more of a deep sense and plays an important role in your life. The type the dream the Younger family had. Each individual had their own hopes and anticipated something. Walter and his chance to be big and important with his liquor store, Beneatha and becomin...

Management Control Systems 4-6

Management Control group 1| Main Case Study 4-6| Mini case study 5-2| Tom Breteler – 930228 | Max Leigh Norman – 910904 Hanway Tran – 831226 16/11/2012| | | Main Case Study 4-6: Grand Jean Company Introduction This case study covers case 4-6 of ‘Management Control Systems’, written by Robert N. Anthony and Vijay Govindarajan (2007, 12th edition). The case discusses Grand Jean Company, a jeans manufacturing company, and describes several processes and issues in their organisation and management.In this report, we will we review and discuss the main problems that Grand Jean Company faces, analyse and propose solutions to these problems. During the course of this report, we will often refer to theory from the aforementioned literature, as well as external sources where needed. Explanations of concepts, theories and jargon will be given where necessary, but references will be provided in the end of the report easy reference. Lastly, we realise our soluti ons have their limitations and are unlikely to be implemented easily, or immediately effective.But we believe that our proposed changes will allow the company to reap the benefits from knowledge sharing and increased efficiency, as both plant managers and contractors can cooperate to find the best practice to accomplish their tasks at hand. Background Grand Jean is a clothing company with a long history, having been founded in the mid 18th century it has survived several great economic crises such as two world wars, the great depression in the late 1920s and the 1970s oil crisis.Having survived so many economic shocks and still be working as a profitable company, it is possible that this has caused top management in Grand Jean to believe that the business model they are employing is a sturdy model that always works. The scientific management model that was developed in the 1910s where cost efficiency and cost analysis was prevalent then; is something that we perceive is still preval ent now in Grand Jean (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2007). Their usage of key metrics is very old fashioned: * Focus on production quota for the factories. Budget estimating a plant’s future production by looking at historic production and add a little more for the following year * Using historic supervisor:employee ratio There seems to be a lot of territorial mentality between the different departments in that each department focus on their own performance, and are willing to intervene in another department to satisfy their own goal. The company also seemed to treat the management and employees at the headquarters more favourably than management and employees at production plants.Problems In this section, we shall further discuss the processes and circumstances at Grand Jean Company and lay out the problems, and more importantly we will explain why they are problems. Firstly, we feel that the company in overall is overly traditional and outdated, resulting in a general lack of fl exibility. The company’s processes and regulations are often strict and overly simplified, which has a negative effect on the realistic day-to-day operations. One of these regulations is the relationships Grand Jean Company has with its ndependent contractors. Grand Jean has 25 company-owned manufacturing plants, which are responsible for about two thirds of the total production; the rest is done by roughly 20 independent manufacturers. Some of these contractors have long-standing relationships with Grand Jean, whereas some are very new and short-term. Contract agreements are made by the production operations’ vice president, Tom Wicks, and a ceiling price is set for each individual type of pants.If a contractor complies with Grand Jean’s quality and reliability standards, they get paid the full ceiling price, but if Grand Jean is unsure, a lower price is paid until the contractor has proven himself. This leads to a high turnover rate for contractors, considerin g the intense domestic and foreign competition in the garment industry. Strict demands combined with lower financial (as well as non-financial) support can be incredibly taxing for new contractors, resulting in them not reaching the desired quotas.Grand Jean then immediately terminates the relationship, and does not try to aid its contractors in any way that we have noticed. This is a waste of invested time and resources in the relationship, which could be easily avoided by closer collaboration and communication, combined with more a more flexible framework. The existing facilities are not used for a period of time; which is an additional  waste of resources. The key metrics that Grand Jean use to evaluate the company’s performance are very outdated.The main focus throughout the company is to focus on production output and metrics that affect or can be derived from focusing on production quantity e. g. production/year, standard hours/pair. However, there seems to be no cons ideration of metrics that affect the overall performance of the company. As mentioned before, the contractor’s that failed to meet expectations were usually just replaced by a new contractor in the same existing facility, this is an activity that impacts the company’s overall performance, as time and money has to again be spent re-negotiating terms of agreement, setting up and starting production lines.Overall the key metrics do not focus on activities that can have a more profound impact on the company’s performance. The heavy focus on production quota causes the company to miss other aspects that could generate improvements e. g. in plant efficiency, gross profit margin, overhead- and back office costs. The heavy focus on production also caused some plant managers to hoard goods to be able to meet production quota. Grand Jean makes use of 5 separate marketing departments, this is motivated with the fact that they sell to different customers.We consider the dep artment structure of marketing in the current state to be obsolete, because it doesn’t make efficient use of the knowledge that can be obtained by having cross-departmental communication or by unifying the marketing department into one big unit. Having such similar functions in 5 departments creates a lot of overhead when it comes to research and demand forecasting. The 25 company-owned plants are treated as expense centres, implying their only goal is to reach a quota at a price as low as possible. If the focus is purely on getting the lowest cost per product possible, quality is likely to fall behind.Additionally, the plants are run on a tight regulatory system based on time-and-motion systems resembling Taylor’s scientific method; making it obviously outdated, made worse by the odd use of fixed learning curves: implying learning curves are a system to be applied instead of an ongoing process. Entire budgets are made extrapolating the production time for a single pai r of jeans, and mass scale benefits are religiously pursued; resulting in an extreme lack of flexibility which severely harms the collaboration and communication with the marketing department.A major problem as well is the restrictiveness of the production quotas. Like the budgets, the quotas too are extrapolated from individual production time per pair of jeans, and administered relentlessly: the budgets are pre-made monthly one year ahead of time, and there is no indication of any adaptation being made during that year. This obviously leads to an inability to react to changes, and is overly simplistic to say the least. Additionally, the bar of budgets and quotas is raised monthly (! , because â€Å"we expect people to improve around here† (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2007). Shockingly, these decisions are made arbitrarily without regard to external circumstances. If a plant reaches the quota, it is decided to have performed well, regardless of delivered quality, and if not, the plant is considered to have been working at a sub-reasonable level of speed and efficiency. Grand Jean acknowledges worker turnover and absenteeism are big problems in the plants, yet they do not show any awareness of any link from those problems to the strict quotas.Feedback is given monthly via phone, instead of in person, to see if the plants met the allowed standard labour hours compared to the actual labour hours, which is an accounting related principle that is often unsuited for practical issues such as production. This has negative consequences, the most disturbing being the plant managers retaining a safety stock when they exceed the quota, in order to make sure they can reach the quota again next year. This is done because production over the quota is not rewarded, and production is expected to increase from the year before, no matter how high the figures are.Considering Grand Jean has to turn down orders every end of the year, this is a shame when it comes to the usage o f resources, production and profit potential. Still, Grand Jean claims to look for other things but the quota as well when evaluating plants, such as the quality of the community relations and employee satisfaction. There are no concrete standards shown in the case for these measurements however, making the rating and bonus allocation system very arbitrary and subjective.This resulted in the finance and marketing departments being rewarded higher ratings than the production plants; which is particularly questionable considering most top-managers are from finance and marketing backgrounds. To us, this smells of favouritism, which is never a basis for a proper rating system, which should of course be objective and fair i. e. have procedural justice. Also, it was issued in the case that offices are often understaffed because Mr. Wicks consistently adheres to the traditional supervisor/worker ratio of 11:1, although the fact simply is that that ratio is insufficient and outdated.Plant m anagers feared to deviate from that ratio due to the fact that Mr. Wicks managed a plant with that ratio. This causes the plants to run with a supervisor/work ratio that doesn’t adapt to the changing external environment (Anthony & Govindarajan, 2007). Lastly, the company does not properly acknowledge the differences in technology and equipment and age of the plants, instead Grand Jean demands equal performance from them all. This is obviously not prudent, and results in the older plants having more difficulties in reaching the quota.Proposed solutions The company needs to improve the communication channels between the marketing and production departments. It seems as though these departments are working completely independently from each other which is concerning as their relationship is one of the most important within the organisation. Production relies on quantity targets set by the marketers, by having much more regular meetings, face to face rather than on the phone, th ere should be a reduced risk of drastic changes in quantity needed.It is more likely that a closer relationship between these departments will cause incremental changes in production which is much easier and cheaper to manage. Consequently there will be much less wastage or excess goods being produced. Continuing with the theme of collaboration, the 5 marketing departments need to work as parts of the same unit, rather than individual units with the same name. The text refers to some departments going about their own business in order to meet aims and objectives, even if these actions have negative consequences for other departments.All departments in the organisation are trying to add value to the end product but this should not be done by trampling on others who are trying to achieve the same goal. The managers or each marketing department need to meet and ensure that no actions taken by their individual units have a negative impact for another. This is not to say there shouldnâ⠂¬â„¢t be a competitive nature within the firm but it should be regulated so as not to cause harmful repercussions. At present, the rating system and bonus allocation system seems quite subjective and inexact.Firstly, the bias that occurs in favour of the financial departments needs to be eradicated. This could be done by outsourcing the task of rating the departments. As long as the external firm knew the industry and had a set of strict guidelines as to how to rate the performance of each department, there would be no bias and ratings between departments should be more evenly spread out. Currently, there is no incentive for plants to produce at maximum efficiency because if they happen to go over quota, they do not get rewarded for doing so.This ties in nicely with the second aspect of the ratings system. The case provided no exact guidelines to which each department was being assessed. Mr Wicks would call the departments and have a conversation about whether or not they met their production quota and generally ‘how things are’. The managers need to have face to face meetings and joint plant inspections in order to really gauge how production is performing; this will give a much more accurate picture and enable bonuses to be allocated more precisely.Contractors produce around a third of Grand Jean Company’s stock and as such, are an integral part of the production process. Instead of initially offering a lower price, Grand Jean could reduce uncertainty by allowing their contractors time to move up the learning curve by allowing them a lower quantity to be produced, which would be gradually increased once product quality and production reliability is delivered. Thus building Grand Jean’s relationship with their contractors, and avoiding resource destruction, despite the existing facilities being re-used.The reduced contractor turnover would increase the utilisation of the plants which will lend itself to increased production in the long term. As has been mentioned previously, some of the plants are up to 30 years old whereas some are as new as only 5 years old, however, there seems to be no allowance for this is the targets set by the company. It stands to reason that 30 years old technology is much more likely to; breakdown, be more costly to maintain, and be less efficient than 5 year old technology.Therefore, the quotas and maximum output of each plant should be heavily related to how new the plant and the technology is, presuming the staff are of equally skilled between the plants. Therefore, plant managers need to work more closely with market departments because they will be able to work out what targets are suitable for each plant rather than a ‘one size fits all’ quota system which at present, isn’t working particularly effectively. These new targets could be achieved through an initial meeting and assessment of the factory and review meetings every month to make sure the targets ar e being met.The current budgeting system is extremely primitive. The departmental managers review figures from the previous year and ‘add on a few’ because they assume the efficiency has increased and the staff ‘should’ have gotten better at their jobs. Whether these sweeping statements have some truth or not, it is obvious Grand Jean need to have a more specific budgeting and planning strategy. Using a more realistic budgeting system with more stretch would create actual learning curves instead of artificial, fixed ones.Due to more flexible targets and specific information from each individual plant capacities being used, coupled with the prospect of being rewarded for going over quota production, there should no longer be any need to hoard safety stock in order to meet targets later on in the year. Conclusion To conclude, it can be said that current affairs at Grand Jean Company are rigid and outdated, specifically in the areas of contracting relationship s, internal communication, budgeting, and reward systems. Our paper has described and explained the main issues at hand, and provided possible solutions to these problems as well.With these fixes in place, we as a team feel that Grand Jean could greatly improve its way of doing business. Mini Case Study 5-2: North Country Auto, Inc. It is prevalent that in North Country Auto, Inc. (NCA) the separate business units operated more as independent companies than subdivisions within a company. The business units’ managers themselves were aware of the problematic dilemma that the focus on their own profitability caused to the overall result of the company; even being fully aware that there were recurring situations that would have benefited the company had one department accepted a lower profit.The company lacks goal congruence between its business units, and Mr. Liddy’s endorsement of the current company structure doesn’t do anything to remedy the current friction. In stead of focusing on activities that create true value towards its customers, the company is engaging in accounting activities that do nothing to remedy the lack of goal congruence. We think Mr. Liddy should abandon the current structure for the new car-, used car- and service department, and instead structure it up with main business units, new and used car sales as one and body shop as the second one, with the service- and parts department operating as support.The new and used car sales and body shop would operate as profit centres with the service- and parts unit operating as an expense centre. To create goal congruence within the company, the department performance dependant bonuses should be removed. Instead NCA should implement a two tiered bonus program, the company’s performance should account for the larger part of the bonus program, to make sure that the department managers aren’t only thinking of their own performance.A suggestion would be to have a 20% depa rtment dependant and 80% company dependant bonus system. This would still allow a department with excellent performance to get a good reward for their above standard performance. This would increase the probability that the now different departments strive to work together to keep overall profits up and overall expenses down. Such a reward system would shift the personnels’ focus on the company’s total performance.The company should implement on one unified IT-system to make it easier to share information and hence promote inter departmental communications, thereby increasing the possibility of achieving synergy effects from the collective knowledge within the organisation. Restructuring the workflow, IT-systems and organisational structure itself won't achieve any positive effects, if the employees and managers themselves don’t embrace the new organisational structure, the whole reform will just end up being a new organization on paper.Hence why Mr. Liddy will have to be prepared to put in considerable effort to show that top management is supporting the new organisation that we propose. While it is possible to estimate a time frame for implementing a new workflow and information system, it is more difficult to estimate a time frame for when peoples’ behaviour will actually change. Without a change in behaviour, there is very a low possibility to gain any synergy effects from the new organisational structure.To implement this new organisation we propose a parallel multistage process; this requires top management to work on designing a new workflow, information system, organisational structure. And educate and involve department managers and employees to gain support for the new organisation to secure a working implementation. Bibliography Anthony, R. N. ; Govindarajan, V. (2007). MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEMS. 12th Edition. Net MBA website. [Online] Consulted on the 12-11-2012. URL: http://www. netmba. com/mgmt/scientific/ Appendix Pr oposal for new organisational structure for NCA.