Saturday, December 28, 2019

Venus in Furs Book Review

Not many writers have the distinction or the notoriety of having a psycho-sexual term named after them. The astonishing and ingenious sexual cruelties in the Marquis de Sades works, particularly in The 120 Days of Sodom, have made his name a byword, and in 1890 the German psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing introduced the word sadism into medical terminology (even though the sole manuscript of The 120 Days of Sodom had yet to be discovered and published, the full fury of which would wildly intensify the meaning of the term). Historian and Progressive Thinker Fittingly in the shadow of the overpowering de Sade, the Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch inspired the term for sadism’s flip-side, masochism, which was also introduced by Krafft-Ebing. Von Sacher-Masoch was a historian, folklorist, collector of stories, and progressive thinker, but even though he produced dozens of books in any number of genres, he’s almost solely known for his infamous novella Venus in Furs (its the only work translated into English). Initially meant to be part of an epic novel-sequence called (Sacher-Masoch abandoned that plan after a few volumes), Venus in Furs was published as the fourth part of the first book, which was entitled, Love. Each book was named after one of the â€Å"evils† that Cain introduced into the world, and with this underlying premise—that love is an evil—von Sacher-Masoch reveals a seriously uneasy view of human relations. Venus in Furs - Beginnings The book starts with an epigraph from the Bibles book of Judith, which narrates the story of a clever and powerful woman beheading Holofernes, an Assyrian general. An unnamed narrator, then, opens the book with a strange dream of an icy Venus, who wears furs and who leads a philosophical discussion about how women’s cruel nature increases mans desire. When the narrator awakens, he goes to meet with his friend Severin, to whom he relates his dream. ​ Introducing Severin Severin is a strange and sober man who at times, the narrator relates, had violent attacks of sudden passion and gave the impression of being about to ram his head right through a wall.† Noticing a painting in Severins room depicting a northern Venus who wears furs and holds a lash that she uses to subjugate a man who is clearly a younger Severin himself, the narrator wonders aloud if the painting perhaps inspired his dream. After a short discussion, a young woman enters to bring tea and food for the pair, and to the narrator’s astonishment, a very slight offense on the woman’s part causes Severin to berate, whip, and chase her from the room. Explaining that you have to â€Å"break† a woman rather than let her break you, Severin produces a manuscript from his desk that tells how he was ostensibly â€Å"cured† of his obsession with being dominated by women. Confessions of a Suprasensual Man Entitled â€Å"Confessions of a Suprasensual Man,† this manuscript comprises all but the last few pages of the rest of the novel. Entering into this frame, the narrator (and the reader) finds Severin at a Carpathian health resort where he meets and falls in love with a woman named Wanda, with whom he draws up and signs a contract that makes him her legal slave and gives her full power over him. At first, because she seems to like him and enjoys his company, Wanda shies away from the degradations that Severin asks her to subject him to, but as she slowly allows herself to take up her dominant role, she takes greater pleasure in torturing him and increasingly grows to despise him for how he allows her to treat him. Leaving the Carpathian mountains for Florence, Wanda makes Severin dress and act like a common servant, forcing him to sleep in disgusting quarters and keeping him isolated from her company unless needed to serve some whim or another. These changes make Severin feel the palpable reality of his desires—a reality that he was in no way prepared for—but although he loathes his detestable new position, he finds himself unable to resist (and to keep from requesting) new humiliations. At times Wanda offers to put an end to their game  because she still has feelings of affection toward him, but those feelings fade as her mantle of power gives her free rein to use Severin for her increasingly twisted devices. The breaking point comes when Wanda finds a nearly superhuman lover in Florence and decides to make Severin subject to him as well. Unable to bear subjugation to another man, Severin ultimately finds himself â€Å"cured† of his need to be dominated by women. Telescoping back to the novel’s outer frame, the narrator, who’s seen Severin’s current cruelty toward women, asks him for â€Å"the moral† to all of this, and Severin answers that a woman can only be a man’s slave or despot, adding the caveat that this imbalance can only be remedied â€Å"when she has the same rights as he and is his equal in education and work.† This egalitarian last touch squares with von Sacher-Masoch’s socialist leanings, but clearly the events and stresses of the novel—which were mirrored closely in von Sacher-Masoch’s personal life, both before and after writing it—prefer wallowing in inequity much more that eradicating it. And this has been the novel’s main appeal for readers ever since. Unlike the works of the great de Sade, which soar as striking feats of both writing and imagination, Venus in Furs is much more of a literary curio than an artistic piece of literature. Its symbolic orders are muddled; its philosophical excursions are both ponderous and corny; and although its characters are vivid and memorable, they too often fall into â€Å"types† rather than exist as fully explored individuals. Still, it’s a curious and often enjoyable read, and whether you take it as literature or as psychology—or as erotica—there’s no question that this bookâ₠¬â„¢s whip will leave a distinct mark on your imagination.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Initial Corporate Document - 1666 Words

Initial Corporate Document ------------------------------------------------- Scents for Cents Firm Number: ADV51 Prepared For: Michael Manjuris GMS 850 - Global Management Strategy February 10, 2012 Strategy: Low Cost Production Strategy Form of Company: Classical Firm Vision Statement: (1)We wish to achieve an NPV ranking with the top ten advanced firms by Quarter 4, 2014. (2) We also want to attain a debt/equity ratio of 1.2 and maintain it until Quarter 4, 2014. (3) Continually, we want to maintain a Quality Ratio Rate of Return of 3% or lower by Quarter 4, 2013. (4) UPDATED: Lastly, we wish to attain a total Market Share of 20% for perfume in the NAFTA and EU trade areas as well as 25% for aftershave in†¦show more content†¦An important aspect for my role involves purchasing adequate raw materials, in order to meet our forecasted demand for products while meeting the needs of the market. As COO, I have to follow and adjust purchases according to seasonal buying patterns since demand fluctuates. In addition, I study Industry trends found in, â€Å"Dollars and Scents Quarterly,† which provides me with information on the market place and economy. This helps me determine the amount of raw materials to order for the following quarter. I must be aware of new market opportunities and threats to ensure the success of my company. Other responsibilities include working closely with the Chief Legal Officer to ensure the balance of goods manufactured and bought through contracts. Purchasing and material management is an important aspect of my role because I need to ensure that we are purchasing adequate raw materials so we don’t encounter backorders, which are costly to our business. It is also important that we do not over purchase materials and face carrying costs for access inventory or raw materials. As COO, I am also responsible for allocating the appropriate amount of hours, in order to efficiently produce products according to demand so that we do not ensure overtime or subcontracting fees. Lastly, I will be responsible for shipping decisions, which correspond to our demand and production forecasts. Cherie Thi -Show MoreRelatedCase Study720 Words   |  3 Pagesexecutive in charge (of the project). Often such an initial top-level general project description (a business case basically) is required for the project to be justified, approved, and funded at a corporate level, prior to the commencement of detailed project planning. The project manager, typically appointed by the project sponsor or the executive in charge, may be involved to varying degrees in the drafting of the initial corporate project description or business case. It is not unusualRead MoreScope Statement1341 Words   |  6 Pages------------------------------------------------- Product Characteristics and Requirements: 1. ------------------------------------------------- Templates and tools: The intranet site will allow authorized users to download files they can use to create project management documents and to help them use project management tools. These files will be in Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Project, or in HTML or PDF format, as appropriate. 2. ------------------------------------------------- User submissions: Users will be encouragedRead MoreTransparency And Ethical And Unethical Companies1364 Words   |  6 Pagesanyone interested in them. These documents include quarterly and annual reports of risk factors to the business, results of operations, ongoing business, market and competition, biographical and salary information of management, and financial statements. {2}. The publication of these documents are an example of information disclosure, albeit on a macro-level. If individuals are concerned with the operations of a company, they are fully capable of viewing these documents. However, numerous companies employeeRead MoreThe Development Of The Recovery Team1297 Words   |  6 Pagesincident occurs, these procedures will guide an individual’s response (if the individual is the first to discover the incident); and the initial steps taken by EPCOR personnel, the site’s Command Post, Emergency Personnel and the Site EOC or Departmental EMT. All steps required to procure and manage resources needed to enact recovery procedures are completed in the initial response phase. These include steps required for protection of life and property, damage assessment, communication and staff mobilizationRead MoreManagement Structure, Brand Value And Performance Of Axis Bank1339 Words   |  6 Pagesinternal environment, such as vision and mission, value system, management structure, brand value and performance of Axis Bank. Axis Bank, the third largest player in the private sector banking industry, caters to a wide clientele of large, mid-sized corporates, rural farmers, and consumers in retail banking. Axis Bank is also actively involved in some CSR activities, such as Axis Bank Foundation (a trust for philanthropic activities), and funding of other NGOs etc. Apart from operations in internationalRead MoreManagement Planning Paper on Arthur Andersen1221 Words   |  5 Pagesauditing, Arthur Andersen involved into a legal issue due to the case of Enron Corporation in 2001. It shared all the documents related with Enron s auditing and the lawyers of Enron sued the firm for violating its legal responsibility. This resulted into the loss of firm s reputation and the firm collapsed. The firm was violated in the case of Enron Corporation because of the initial retention policy of auditing papers. In this manner, the company failed to follow its planning function of managementRead MoreRiordan Manufacturing: Information System Proposal1140 Words   |  5 Pagesinformation system, the initial step is to define Riordans business needs and its current technical resources. Riordans ERP system was installed in 1992 and independent from its branch offices. This system is an integral part of the finance and accounting application. Riordan employs over 550 people and has offices located in California, Michigan, Georgia, and China. Each branch office has an independent finance and accounting system that is consolidated at the corporate headquarters in San JoseRead MoreA Corporation, Which Is Sometimes Called C Corporation,832 Words   |  4 Pagesseparate and unique existence from its owner. Lau Johnson (2011, p. 195) It is more elaborate than the other business forms due to the fact that it is costly to set up, involve corporate tax and legal requirement. They offer the capacity to sell ownership shares in the company through stock and to the public through initial public offering (IPO), which is the main selling point in pulling investment capital and high quality employees. Furthermore, as mentioned above, corporation is established underRead MoreAn Ipo Of A Company Going Public899 Words   |  4 Pagesbut also the stressful drawn-out process of documents and regulations to follow. Going public is process private firms make when they issue shares of stock to the public for the first time. If a company wants to share stock to the public, it has to conduct an initial public offering (IPO). An IPO is a process that takes weeks or months for preparation. The process starts with retaining a law firm to engage in the tedious detailed disclosure documents needed for the IPO prospectus that is includedRead MoreEssay about Dropbox1078 Words   |  5 Pagesbuilt the company as a solution to a common problem that he had; how could he access his files remotely without needing to remember a USB stick or dealing with email attachments. The company started as a minimally structured entity, and after some initial failure and re-focus on a set of concise but broadly reaching rules, the company has expanded its consumer base and is looking to create a product for the SMB customers. As long as the company does not stray from its simple rules (appendix1), designing

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Analysis of Ipo Prospectus of Utfsl and Ecobank Ltd free essay sample

Investing in the stock market should not be a heart and gut affair based on hunches, guesswork, hot tips, rumours or speculation. This is true for investments in securities of companies already listed on the stock exchange; it is also true for investments in securities of companies seeking listing for the first time. Seeking listing on a stock exchange is also called going public or flotation. The purpose of seeking listing is generally to raise funds for the companys business expansion or growth. The company seeking listing will therefore offer part of its securities to be subscribed by the public, as part of the listing exercise. This offer is called an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Currently, any company wishing to undertake an IPO would have to get the approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission before the IPO can be carried out. The Securities and Exchange Commission, in considering an IPO proposal, would take into account the overall suitability of the company undertaking the IPO. Once approved, the company is required to issue a prospectus that tells about the company, what it does, how it has fared and how it expects to perform in the future. The purchase of securities offered by the IPO Company constitutes, in effect, a contract between the company the investor. As with any contract, it is important that one fully understand his rights and the terms and conditions as set out in the prospectus. A prospectus must contain all relevant information about the company making the IPO, and must be filed with the relevant authorities. Therefore the information that is disclosed in the prospectus relates to the terms on which the invitation or offer is made. It is important for an investor to read and understand these terms in the prospectus in order to be able to assess for himself/ herself the risks or merits in investing in a specific the company. ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED (ETI) Reasons for the Offer The Company’s code 1963 (Act 179) makes it mandatory for any company which decides to offer shares for subscription to outline what it intends to use the funds to be raised for. ETI’s deport on the use of proceeds from the offer was fairly good. Emphasis was laid on good past records which served as a panacea for future achievement. Most prospective investors would be very much interested in knowing what exactly the funds being ranged would be used for as well as its past financial and perhaps only read this portion of the prospectus. It is however a step in the right direction that the band gave some highlights of its achievements. The four major purposes for the offer highlighted were very crucial for any band that aimed at expanding: Firstly ETI typically requires it’s subsidiaries to among the top three in the markets in which they operate. This aim cannot be met if priority is not given to the capitalization of its existing subsidiaries. It’s thus very good that 56% of the proceeds from the offer would be used to strengthening the capital base of its subsidiaries. Secondly, the company plans to invest substantially in acquisitions and expand into new markets. About 36% of the proceeds from the offer would be used for this purpose. Mention was also made of some markets in African countries that ETI is planning to venture into. This move would in a small way help in the rapid growth of the company. Technology plays an important role in the Banking sector. In recent times, there is a rapid growth in the advancement in technology. One can make mention of the automated Teller machines, Ezwich and the inter bank networking systems that are fast growing in the banking industry. It is therefore welcoming and appropriate that 3. 04% of the proceeds from the offer would go into Technology and process upgrade. This would help that company with other competing banks as well as improve upon its customer’s satisfaction. Despite the fact that the above points were well made, it would have been appreciated if the reasons for the offer were detailed which would have in turn helped in making a good assessment. Firstly, the approximate amount allocated for each purpose was not detailed enough. It would have been better understood if the sub items under each purpose with their respective approximate costs were made known. Secondly, a more detailed highlight of the various purposes would have been appreciated. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS EcoBank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) is Africa’s leading independent pan African banking group. ETI operates a cross 4 Regional Blocs in Africa, with it dominance in Ecowas. The Ecowas subsidiaries account for 94% of the Group PAT in 2007 and Ghana and Nigeria Contributing 61%. COUNTRY OVERVIEW Politically, most of the countries were ETI’s subsidiaries operate were stable and democracy and good governance being deepened. The highlights on the macroeconomic variables such real GDP and inflation is crucial for the assessment of the subsidiaries performance. In Ghana the real GDP show a positive growth of 5% to 6% from 2003 to 2006 than dip to 5. 5% in 2007. Inflation was high between 10. 5% and 12. 7% from 2006 to 2007, but PAT rose by 36. 6% making Ghana the second highest contributed to PAT. STRUCTURE The Bank’s structure has been clearly provided with †¢ ETI, the parent company with †¢ 32 subsidiaries and affiliates operating in 25 countries in West Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. This geographic spread helps diversities and protects the Group earnings stream against specific adverse events. The core operation i. e. providing banking and financial services has been specified. The structure of operation is a centralized one with ETI providing the: †¢ Management †¢ Training and development of new business to all subsidiaries. †¢ Technical and operational support in technology. This controlling interest in each subsidiary enhances the Group’s ability to operate as â€Å"one Bank†, manage costs and implement stronger corporate governance and financial controls. ETI Subsidiaries have a commanding market share in the industry’s total assets; normally ranging among the best four top banks in the operating countries. In Benin EcoBank Benin is the second largest bank and accounts for 20. 42% of the industry’s total assets of the 11 operating banks. The number of branches and the work force of each subsidiary across the bloc have been given. This highlights countries with more branches. For instance Ghana and Nigeria have 36 and 215 branches spread across these countries. This amounts to 50. 2% of the distribution. Similarly, Ghana and Nigeria have 544 and 2,548 of the workforce respectively. The historical financial performance has been well summarized for easy understanding. All the listed items showed upward trend which is an evidence of strong performance. The date of commencement of operations of each subsidiary was presented. This is significant in comparing Group PAT contribution, as most of the new subsidiaries had a zero or negative contribution to Group PAT However in the industry analysis, the following would have been considered. Under the caption Ecobank subsidiaries, the 100% equity held by ETI in Guinea Bissan, Gambia and Sierra Leone appeared to be owned out right by the parent company but this contradict the heading. Also in countries with equity less than 100%, it was not clear as to whether the remaining equities belong to the parent company or associate companies. Thus the right classification would have been spelt out. In each economy, the industry’s total workforce would have been given in relation to ETI subsidiaries. The essence is to provide the proportion of the ETI’s subsidiaries workforce in the industry for each country. The country to country population size was given but the subsidiaries customer base was not given and the proportion of people who have access to the traditional banking services in each country. This statistics could have been provided. In the abridged prospect the number of countr ies for ETI subsidiaries was given as either 25 of 27 which is inconsistent. The ETI’s vision, mission statement and core values could have been given separately from the objectives. However, no vision, mission statement and core values were stated. CRITIQUE OF THE ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING FORECAST AND PROJECTIONS The prospectus published by ETI does not contain any financial forecast and projections. All what is there concern their past performance. The listing regulations as well as the elements of a prospectus publish by GSE and SEC (in the Security and Exchange Commission act) stipulate that every prospectus should contain information about the financial status of the issuer as well as the financial projections about their future cash flows. Discussion of the Risk Factors We believe that it was possible to list the risk factors in terms of degree of impact. This is because each company is unique and some risk factors are more crucial for ETI than others. It would have been good for ETI to have told prospective investors, what from its perspective the critical risk factors were. Sovereign Risks They failed to admit that most of the countries in which they operate have a far from stable political condition which could change. A further discussion of how more stable countries could neutralize the effect of any unexpected political occurrences would have been helpful to prospective investors. Market Risks The assessment by ETI of the possible market risk states general possible market risks, instead of the ones that may be most important for their unique operation. There is mention of liquidity risk, exchange rate fluctuations, interest rate and commodity price volatilities, without an indication of which is more likely to cause an adverse effect on operations. Credit Risks Here the company fails to discuss why there may be exposed to credit risk, as credit risk is an internal risk that the bank has control over. Operational Risk The discussion of operational risk in our views gives adequate information to prospective investors. There is specific reference on where they for see their exposure to operational risk and steps take to mitigate the risk. Compliance Risk ETI talks of highly fragmented, poorly capitalized and weak banking regulations of the banking sectors of most countries in which it operates. It is difficult to see how this translates to compliance risk for the operations. Disclosure Risk We believe that ETI could not be exposed to disclosure risk as it up to ETI to release any information concerning its operations, if it regards to requirements for financial reporting, then, we think it will more appropriately fall under compliance risk. In conclusion, we think that it would have been more helpful to prospective investors in the degree of impact of these risk factors were discussed. Projected income statement The mini as well as the full prospectus of ETI, contrary to the regulations contained in the listing regulations published by GSE, was not provided with the financial forecast. Only data for their past operation was given and none concerning their future in terms of cash flows and assets and liabilities. UT Financial Services Limited. (UTFSL) Reasons for the Offer The Company’s code 1963 (Act 179) makes it mandatory for any company which decides to offer shares for subscription to outline what it intends to use the funds to be raised for. The two major purpose of the offer by UTFSL is captured in the introductory paragraph of the purpose of the offer section of the prospectus. The offer, was mainly to enable the general public own part of the company and share in its fortunes. Secondly, the offer granted the two existing share holders the opportunity to sell part of the shares to the public. It was also noted that the proceeds amounting to GH? 3,000,000 was going to be used for the following; †¢ Branch Expansion †¢ Motor Vehicles purchases †¢ The purchase of office equipment †¢ The purchase of furniture fittings. About 80% of the proceeds realized from the offer were allocated for branch expansion. This is a step in the right direction since this would help in increasing the capitalization of the company. Though the above purposes were well noted, the reasons for the offer were not detailed enough for the prospective investor to give a good assessment of the purpose of the offer. Secondly, the presentation of the breakdown of the proposed utilization of the proceeds from the offer would have been more appreciated if the percentages on the various items of expenditure breakdown were calculated to make it easier for the prospective investor to know which expenditure item was being accorded the greatest priority and which one was being accorded the least. An expenditure item which was conspicuously missing from the breakdown of the proposed utilization of the recapitalisation amount was the amount allocation to offer expenses. It would have been appropriate if this cost was charged to the proceeds from the offer. Again, it would have been worth it, if part of the proceeds was invested in technology and process upgrade. This is as a result of the rapid growth in technology and advancement in the financial services industry. This would have in turn helped in the growth of the company. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS UT The unique Trust Financial Service (UTFSL) has been identified as non-deposit taking group. The company was incorporated to perform the following: †¢ General financing services, †¢ Forfeiting and factor financing, †¢ Export financing and †¢ Borrowing from the market. The date of commencement of business and the names of the founders were stated. UTFSL corporate vision, mission, objectives and core values were highlighted. UTFSL’s operating activities has been stated as follow: †¢ Emergency loan †¢ Special purpose loan †¢ Working capital financial loan †¢ A stop gap loan †¢ E-plan †¢ Unique car loan †¢ Future leaders education The financial performance in terms of interest income and Net profit from 2003 to 2007 has been captured showing impressive performance. The regional break down of the branches was also emphasized, with the concentration in the southern part of Ghana. From 2003 to 2008 UTFSL achievement was outlined. As well as the future plan. The following should have been noted: The historical financial performance of each of the regional branch should have been stated for comparative analysis to identify the best and least performing branches. The macroeconomic variables which are key as they imp act positive or negatively on the financial institution was not given. The total number of UTFSL’s workforce and the regional breakdown of the workforce were not also highlighted. CRITIQUE OF THE ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING FORECAST AND PROJECTIONS The listing regulations as well as the elements of a prospectus publish by GSE and SEC (in the Security and Exchange Commission act) stipulate that every prospectus should contain information about the financial status of the issuer as well as the financial projections about their future cash flows. In the prospectus issue by UTFSL some points can be noticed: They assume the real GDP growth to increase at almost 0. 1% every year. Despite the fact we think it is realistic enough, a look at the past evolution of the real GDP growth doesn’t follow that trend. Again, they didn’t do mention of the other indicators UTFSL assume the loans and advances yield a stable increase of 25%. Knowing that this issue was done just before an election and that inflation usually rises after every election, we think 25 %( this is GH? 78,939,000) is not enough. Customers will need more money to face the general price increase on the market. Again the past performance for the company for the previous 5 years have never been neither stable nor at 25%. 90% of loans and advances for borrowings is realistic enough, the company is keeping a percentage (10%) for unforeseen events. The company anticipates operating expenses ranging at almost 29% of interest income this a bit less than the las t year before the issue and it may be good for investors to see that of the income is spent for operating the firm. The firm didn’t state any increase in the portfolio in the purpose of the offer as well as they didn’t mention any introduction of new services, however, they are using this reason to explain an increase in fee and commission income. The expected provision for bad debts is less than the one of 2007. t’s a good signal that the company will work harder to decrease the default rate.. No precisions were given as for the basis of the calculation of the various depreciation rates. Discussion of the Risk Factors Credit Risk The statement of credit risk is rather brief and does not give adequate information for investors. For instance, on what basis does the company able to recover its owed debt? This information will give a good indication on the mitigation of the risk Interest Rate Risk The discussion of the interest rate risk seems to suggest that there is no risk at all. Since the company has a policy to ensure that it matches the rate of borrowing and the rate of lending. Political Risk According to UT the current political stability in Ghana will continue. We are of the opinion that a discussion of political risk should take into account the possibility of a sudden change in the political condition especially as pertains to government rules and regulations. Economic Risk In our view the discussion of economic risk dwelt on the past, no mention was made on the anticipated future economic risk outcome. projected income statement PROJECTION Critical look at the projected profit and loss clearly show many mistakes in the account. For instance the transfer from profit and loss account for 2008 was supposed to be 5795 instead of 5964. Again operating income for 2009 was also 30903 instead of 3903 which has been recorded in the account. Such common mistake in a public document like this is not acceptable. The balance sheet also has it own problem. The balance sheet figures were manipulated. This is because there was no way the balance sheet would have balanced using the figure in the statement. All the total figures at the liabilities were wrong. In conclusion, the management of UT should be more diligent in their duties whenever they are coming out with a public document like this. The auditors should also be responsible for these mistakes. Again the company promised in the prospectus (P5) to pay a minimum dividend of 20% each year out of the distributable earnings. However, an analysis of the financial projections procured reveal that the dividend paid out hardly reached 10%. In fact it is planned to be 9. 56% for the first year, 7. 69% for 2009 and will keep on decreasing till 5. 58% in 2012 Corrected income projection |PROJECTED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT | |   |2008 |2009 |2010 |2011 |2012 |

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Prohibition in the 1920s-1930s free essay sample

Prohibition failed in Canada because of the citizen’s disregard for the new law, bootlegging and for the difficulties in keeping this law. First, prohibition failed in Canada because of the complete disregard for the law shown by Canadian citizens. Before prohibition was introduced drinking was a common thing especially for men. But after law of prohibition was made official many avid drinkers ignored the law and were coming up with creative ways to still consume alcohol. One of these ways was through illegal drinking establishments known as speakeasies. Another thing that showed Canadians’ disregard for the law of prohibition was that people were getting so desperate for alcohol that they would begin to lie about becoming ill so that they could buy alcohol with the prescription of a doctor. This was widely abused during times like the Christmas Holidays. Lastly, Canadian citizens would smuggle alcohol from distillers over to the United States in exchange for money. We will write a custom essay sample on Prohibition in the 1920s-1930s or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Smugglers and bootleggers made a fortune. The law of Prohibition also failed in Canada because of the massive amounts of bootlegging after Prohibition was put into affect. Prohibition was supposed to lower crime and corruption, reduce social problems, lower taxes to support prisons and poorhouses, and improve health and hygiene. Instead, alcohol became more dangerous to consume; organized crime blossomed; courts and prison systems overloaded; and endemic corruption of police and public officials occurred. After the illegal act of bootlegging was introduced the business of booze exploded. Liquor bought from distillers in Canada was smuggled across the border and into the United States. Once bootlegging began, it quickly spiraled out of control. Alcohol was being bought and sold illegally everywhere and by the mid 1920’s vessels in Nova Scotia were specifically built for rum running and were now making regular trips from St. Pierre to various rendez-vous points off the U. S coast. Finally, prohibition failed in Canada during the 1920’s-1930’s because it was simply a very hard law to keep. One of the biggest reasons why it was so hard to keep under control was because of the dangerous alternatives that people were turning to due to the now illegal alcohol of alcohol. Prohibition led many drinkers to switch to opium, marijuana, patent medicines, cocaine and other dangerous substances that they would have been unlikely to encounter in the absence of prohibition. Prohibition was also a hard law to maintain because organized crime was first introduced during the Prohibition era. It started when six masked robbers stole 100,000 dollars worth of various beers, wines and gins from a boxcar. After this even occurred, the gangsters realized that alcohol had become a profitable commodity. In addition, prohibition was a hard law to keep because of the falling tax revenues causing the government to spend more. Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending. In conclusion, Prohibition failed in Canada during the 1920’s-1930’s because Canadian citizens disregard for the law which resulted in the opening of speakeasies, the massive amounts of bootlegging that were taking place and the fact that it was simply just too hard of a law to maintain.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Telegraph and Mass Media Essay Sample free essay sample

Telegraphy is noted to hold evolved to manage communicating demands between military groups during war. Through wired webs. an ground forces from another station could pass on with the other ground forcess and the central offices to be able to come up with a more effectual program to take down the other party of the war. ( Dominick. 2006. 18 ) The pertinence of the said system of communicating subsequently on developed to go one of the earliest ways of linking other lands from others through wired webs. As the development of the said system pushes through towards directing out information to the different parts of the universe in ulterior times. the thought of doing a mass system of communicating developed. As the system evolved. the wireless systems had been developed. Probably. the thought of sharing information to legion people all over the universe at the same time becomes a much accepted demand within the society. We will write a custom essay sample on Telegraph and Mass Media Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Since so. the demand for directing of import information to the mass population of worlds all over the universe becomes a heightened procedure of heightening human apprehension and comprehension of the major issues that they are supposed to acquire involved with. ( Dominick. 2006. 71 ) Today. a more modern attack in directing out information to the people continues to develop. The telecasting and subsequently on the cyberspace influence have become the society’s modern phenomena in information sharing proceedings. ( Dominick. 2006. 78 ) Obviously. without the primary debut of telegraphy within the society. the other developments of communicating may non hold even evolved. The beginning of information sharing back so paved manner to a better expressway of ideas and communicating between the immense populations of worlds booming around the universe that is in demand of being informed of the ideas that they are due. ( Dominick. 2006. 99 ) Obviously. doing considerable alterations within the traditional manner of communicating back so developed the systems of communicating that exists in the human society today and subsequently on towards the hereafter as good. Mention: Joseph R Dominick. ( 2006 ) . Dynamicss of Mass Communications: Media in the Digital Age with Media World DVD and PowerWeb. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages ; 9 edition.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

2016 Republican Presidential Power Rankings

2016 Republican Presidential Power Rankings (Rankings Updated 1/25/2016) These rankings are not based exclusively - or even heavily - on polling data, but instead on a combination of factors including debate performances, favorability ratings, evidence of momentum, and general campaign activity. Who will move up, down, or out of this these rankings moving forward? OFF: Paul, Huckabee, Pataki, Santorum, Carly Fiorina 7. Ben Carson (Previous: 5) - Carson is just in a free-fall right now and he appears to be putting all of his eggs in Iowa. Though he had strong poll numbers, his support levels were always soft in regards to those who were definitely voting for him. They seem to have gravitated towards Cruz for the time being. Carson is still popular enough to do some damage in Iowa, but his dreams of being a legitimate contender seem over. 6. Jeb Bush (Previous: 6) - Just about everybody has written off the 100-Million-Dollar-Man, and he has outspent opponents big time with nothing to show for it. Has Jeb had a single good moment in 6 months?   His message gets lost in constant word stumbles and poor phrasing. On a stage of smooth-talkers, his ineloquence is becoming a liability. This was supposed to be the shock-and-awe campaign that scared everyone away. The opposite happened. What the polling data shows is that Jeb better find a way to start getting Republicans to really like him. Much of Trumps appeal seems to be that everyone is afraid Jeb will get the nomination. But thats starting to seem far less likely. 5. Chris Christie (Previous: 4) - Before the debate, I said this: He still has some Northeastern appeal, but he would need Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and John Kasich to have serious meltdowns. Jeb Bush his flailing, and Christie probably had the 3rd best showing at the 3rd debate. Christie is a great talker, and he is reminding us of when he was a favorite a few short years ago. But there are probably still too many negatives to imagine him pulling this off. But he could spoil some things for Rubio in New Hampshire. 4. John Kasich (Previous: 8) - Kasich feels like he was plucked out of central casting as a 1990s-era Presidential candidate. Hes definitely the kind of moderate, boring candidate that the GOP is known for nominating. He has gone all-in in New Hampshire, a geographically-friendly state. He could end up second there and be the establishment pick. 3. Marco Rubio (Previous: 1) - Rubio loses the top spot and we no longer think he has the best odds at winning the nomination. His plan to surge with the help of high-powered endorsements has not materialized a week out from Iowa, and he remains in a distant third place in Iowa and in a jumble for distant second in New Hampshire. I received the endorsement of the Des Moines Register, but his lack of a lane - hes neither establishment nor anti-establishment - seems to have left him in neutral with no core base. 2. Ted Cruz (Previous: 2) - Cruz was finally forced to go after Trump after a long political bromance, but it may be too little to late, as he is a very distant second everywhere (except Texas). If anything, his actions gave Trump more power than he would otherwise have and talk radio and conservative media never had to choose between the duo. Cruz strategy of not attacking Trump was almost exclusively reliant on having the establishment do it for him, and frankly they have refused to do so. When Cruz did pivot, he simply did not get enough anti-establishment leaders to move to him from Trump. 1. Donald Trump (Previous: 2) - Trump remains an incoherent mess and, magically, 10 points ahead or more just about everywhere. The mainstream and conservative media are fueling his campaign, and he picked up an endorsement from Sarah Palin. Nobody dealt with him seriously from the start, and now he may be unstoppable. In the first debate, he praised socialized medicine and bragged about his role in buying off politicians for business favors. He threatened to run as a 3rd party candidate for leverage, and then doubled-down on his theory that the Mexican government was intentionally sending criminals across the border. In the second debate, Carly Fiorina got the better of him time and time again, and Trump continued to show absolutely no interest in developing policy positions. Does he have any campaign infrastructure? Does he really think people believe he is going to self-fund a billion dollar campaign? I long assumed that those pushing Trump would eventually pivot away to Cruz, and now that we are 1 weeks away that has not happened. (But we think this has more to do with Cruz not seizing the opportunity.) Until someone actually does damage to Trump, or unless Talk Radio backs away, hes the one to beat.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Nurses' Responsibility During an Emergency Situation Essay

Nurses' Responsibility During an Emergency Situation - Essay Example Their work outside the hospital includes providing water, food and sanitation services as well and communicating the health implications and needs to the people affected (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). This paper looks at what the public nurse work involves when a disaster such as a typhoon hits a populated area. Hospitals When a typhoon hits an area and causes physical injuries and death, hospitals normally find themselves overwhelmed by the number of patients that have to be attended to. Most disasters that involve water, like typhoons are significant due to the levels of damage and mortality involved (Adelman and Legg, 2009). Typhoons may cause people to get injured due to the structural damage that it causes. Those injured may have inside buildings that came down when the typhoon struck. Others might have been driving and their vehicles crushed as a result of the disaster. Others may have been injured trying to escape from the ensuing floods and destruction. Typhoons may also cau se environmental imbalances which may in turn increase the risk of environmental hazards and communicable diseases. The likelihood of diseases such as typhoid and cholera is very high when a disaster such as this occurs (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). Hospitals must always be ready to handle such emergency situations that arise from natural or man made disasters. ... It is the duty of nurses to ensure that the loss of life due to injuries is kept at a minimal level (Carmona, 2010). The nurses should coordinate with other hospital staff to ensure that doctors attend to those who are seriously injured as fast as possible. The nurses should also work with doctors in the Intensive Care Unit and emergency centers to ensure that there is enough equipment and medical material to take care of patients (Gebbie and Qureshi, 2002). If there is need to get outside help, the nurses have the responsibility of ensuring that there is proper coordination of activities so that patients can be given the attention they need. The nurses working in hospitals during emergency situations should ensure that all facilities available are well utilized to help save lives (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). Water When a typhoon occurs, there is normally water everywhere, making it hard for people to get clean water. In the nursing context, it is the duty of the public health nur se to ensure that people affected by a typhoon or any other disaster for that matter get clean water, especially for drinking and cooking. Nurses should work hand in hand with other emergency agencies and organizations to ensure that everyone has access to clean water, especially for drinking (Adelman and Legg, 2009). By providing clean drinking water to the community affected by a typhoon, or any other disaster for that matter, he nurses would be fulfilling theory part of their role of providing basic care and life requirements. Water should be made available to everyone who has been affected by a disaster. In the case of a typhoon, it is very difficult to

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Civil Right Act of 1964 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Civil Right Act of 1964 - Research Paper Example 1. The first reason is the employer changing the terms of employment contract like the cases of deliberate cuts in payment, status or working hours 2. The second ground of a constructive discharge claim requires the breaching of contract by the employer in the form of bullying or ignoring complaints. 3. The third ground is the breaching of such rules which results to inequitable industrial practice. According to the constructive discharge act an individual is a prospective claimant of constructive discharge if the individual gives notice to the employer due to the reason of insufferable stressful and unpleasant work situation or due to the inequitable treatment met to the individual by the superiors or a co worker. When an employee resigns under such circumstances it is not considered by the law as a free will resignation but it is considered that the employer forcibly coerced the employee into resigning from the job. Here the employee files a case for constructive discharge because there is disagreement and clash of opinions. The conclusion that is reached by the erstwhile employee and complainant is that he/she has been forced to work on religious holy days, ans the working days have changed from former 5 day week to seven day week that working under this kind of environment is a type of harassment meted out by the company’s owners. According to the UK Equal Pay act of 1970 the law states that it is unlawful if discrimination in an organization occurs on the basis of remuneration or benefits that are provided to men and women employees. The act of Equal Pay of 1970 comes under the Act of Equal Opportunities Mr CEO Sir, in this case scenario it is seen that during third week as the elementary division manager, the company attorney notifies that a former employee has filed a case against the company under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, constructive discharge, after changes have been instituted in the work schedule. The employee, who quit afte r the policy change took effect, is alleging that the enforcement of the company’s new policy on shift work is discriminatory because the policy requires employees to work on a religious holy day. In the past, production employees worked Monday through Friday. As a result of company growth, the production schedule was changed at the beginning of the New Year, requiring employees to work 12-hour shifts with four days at work and then after working four days is given our days off. Now, the four work days can occur any day of the week, Mondays through Sundays. The entire production staff is required to work this rotating shift. However, office staff members, work between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. This changed work schedule does not meet the approval of the said complainant as now he/she would even have to work on Sundays if part of 4 day working schedule. She claims this new policy as discriminatory and intending to place curbs or restrictions on employee holiday on a Sunday. . â€Å"

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Social Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Social Media - Essay Example The company had not even finalized the process of informing the family since it was only thirty minutes from the accident. Her weighty question was, ‘Has facebook introduced dying in real time’. During my use of social media, I have always found status updates from friends on facebook that are either announcing the passing on of the friends’ parents, children, siblings, friends or relatives. I almost always wonder the motivation behind sharing such personal information was. The question that always lingers on the mind is what will one feel when they learn of the demise of their loved ones through facebook or twitter? Are social networks making us so inhuman as not to consider the feelings of others? Are we in a race to establish who breaks news of an event without considering the humane and ethics side of our actions? For the research, I choose to look for respondents who had either reported a death on social media or one who had learnt of the demise of a loved on e from the media. I requested my friends to try to remember if anybody in their connections had ever posted anything close to that. From my friends, I got a list of eleven possible candidates. I then visited these candidates’ profiles to try and pull up these updates and found that three of them had already deleted the posts or ‘unfollowed’ them. The first consideration I made was the time elapsed since the post was made. This was necessary since I did not want my interviewees to be people who were recently bereaved on such a sensitive subject. Next I narrowed down by geographical location since I preferred to do a face to face interview. At the end, I settled on two candidates, one a college student and the other a married man who only gave his age as ‘in the mid thirties’ For the purposes of this write up, I will only use alliances of Joe and Mary for the man and the college lady respectively. Both candidates had been using facebook for upwards of four years and as thus were well versed in uses and limitations. The college student was on a camping trip when one of her friends drowned. Immediately most of her friends went online to announce the incident with some mentioning the name of the victim in their posts or through the auto name link function of facebook. Mary insisted that she was not among the first to post this but on reflection she felt that the only reason might have been because she had been too much shocked and had to be taken to the hospital. Asked how it would have been had she been the relative and learnt of the occasion on facebook, she said she would be extremely troubled and actually termed it ‘disgusting’. Joe lost his young son after a short illness. Being a Muslim, the young boy’s body had to be interred the same day. His wife was in shock and all planning was left to Joe. With family to be notified and logistics to be handled, it was all too much for him. Then an idea hit him, why no t just it on facebook? He did exactly that, and he says he has no regrets. The post acts as his condolence book and most of his friends and family even those who live in faraway places were able to condole with him. Ilana Gershon uses the term Idioms of practice to describe the situation where people decide communally how to use various media and their appropriateness in certain situations (2010, p.6). This implies that a majority of the users of social

Friday, November 15, 2019

Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for Education and Poverty

Millennium Development Goals (MDG) for Education and Poverty Wesley[LL1] Burkhart Education Development Education is essential in helping the lower developed countries strive [LL2]to catch up with the Western World. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of goals aimed at helping the world’s poorest, consists of eight goals that can be accomplished with the use of education. These goals were developed in 2000 and established after the Millennium Summit of the United Nations as a target for 2015. Not all of the goals were accomplished by 2015, but there has been a great amount of progress achieved. Education has had an extreme impact on some of these goals, and if it is used correctly will help to solve the problems of the world’s poorest places. My goal is to explain these issues and how they can be resolved with the use of education. The first goal is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. This consists of a few sub-groups as well, but I will be more general with my explanation. Education promotes and inspires entrepreneurship, which helps to generate positive externalities like work, loans, businesses, ect. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report that each additional year of schooling can increase an individual’s wages by 10% per year. This suggests after ten years an individual could be making one hundred times the amount they were a decade ago[LL3]! The use of education to teach the skills necessary to create complex markets has and will continue to help the less developed countries. The second goal, achieve universal primary education, obviously relates directly to education. This goal means children should go to school young and complete an appropriate amount of education, similar to what we do in the U.S. The UESCO reports, â€Å"Education provides knowledge and skills, encourages new behavior and increases individual and collective empowerment, education is at the center of social and economic development.† There are still over 50 million children out of school, but significant progress has been accomplished since 2000 when the number was much higher. Another important factor is reaching equity in education because over half of the 50 plus million children out of school are girls. Educating the children can help these future generations from making poor choices later in life, and it can serve as a gateway to better decision-making. Several factors, however, hinder the world from achieving this goal. Cultural differences inhibit many women from continui ng education because of lower marriage ages. Natural disasters also play a large part in preventing many places from providing education. It is critically important to solve this goal and help the poor â€Å"get on their feet.† The third goal is to promote gender equality and empower women. Equal schooling for boys and girls is probably the most effective policy for achieving all of the MDGs. The UNESCO reports, â€Å"Evidence shows a strong correlation between educating women and girls and an increase in women’searnings, improved child and family health and nutrition, an increase in school enrolment, protection against HIV infection, higher maternal and child life expectancy, reduced fertility rates and delayed marriage.† Increasing women’s earning can help to eliminate poverty. Improved health will help to prevent diseases, which is another MDG. Basically all the results from equal education of girls and boys directly impacts at least one aspect of every MDG. Goal four of the MDGs is to reduce child mortality. Research shows in numerous studies that education, specifically of women, significantly improves family health, nutrition, and reduces the number of children who die before the age of five. One study in the Philippines reveals that a mother with primary education lowers the child mortality rate by nearly fifty percent! Development is considered by many to be the key to solving all the problems. It is also said that reducing child fertility, by lowering child mortality, is the key to development, so one could say education is a key player in linking all of these factors together. Goal five focuses on improving maternal health. As mentioned previously, education is linked to improving maternal health. Educating the women is one of the best ways to prevent them from dying. The UNESCO reports, â€Å"The world’s most dangerous place to give birth is Niger, where women face a 1 in 7 chance in fatality.† Over half of a million women die each year in childbirth. Prenatal education can tremendously combat the chances of women dying in childbirth. This also improves the lives of the children and future generations. Goal six is to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. Diseases like HIV/AIDS are responsible for multiple millions of deaths per year in lower developed countries. Educating the population about the diseases can help to prevent the chances of getting a disease or at least spreading the disease once contaminated. The example of the mosquito nets to protect inhabitants of malaria-infested locations is a prime example of how education can prevent the spread of diseases. In America public schools teaching sex education to the children has also been proven to lower the spread of diseases. Clearly education is essential in completing the spread of disease. The seventh goal is to ensure environmental sustainability. This is often thought of as ensuring that the future generations have at least the same or better quality of life as we currently do. This goal has made significant progress over the recent years with the help of education. The United Nations website states, â€Å"Between 1990 and 2012, 2.3 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources.† Educating countries on proper allocation of resources, environmental problems, positive regulations, and much more will contribute to accomplishing this goal. [LL4] Goal eight was implemented to develop global partnerships for development. The UNESCO reports, â€Å"Aid for basic education in the world’s poorest countries came to only US$2.7 billion in 2007, a far cry from the $US16 billion needed annually to reach education-related development goals. Developing countries can also do more – by making education a priority. If low-income countries spent 0.7% of their GDP on education, it could make about US$7 billion available per year for basic education.† The United Nations countries do contribute aid to the developing countries, but only a few make their actual quota or above. Perhaps if all the nations would contribute the correct amount to education and the lower developed countries would correctly allocate their funds, the world would be on a faster pace of development[LL5]. Education will be a main driver in the forward progression of our planet, and it is imperative to the advancements of lower developed countries. The educated and more developed countries have a moral obligation to share the information with those who are less fortunate. If the worlds countries can communicate globally and effectively, the education necessary to develop, the planet will become a more advanced, safe, productive place to live. Works Cited http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-all/education-and-the-mdgs/goal-8/ http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/global.shtml [LL1]Analysis is a bit short†¦ Had more room for critical/economic analysis of these solutions. A few minor grammatical issues. Organization is good. Missing discussion of alternative perspectives and costs†¦ Esp. worth discussing whether education along will be sufficient to propel developing nation’s economic growth upwards and whether this seems like a likely/practical solution to you (or other researchers). Another issue is that this appears to stem essentially from a single article and after reviewing that article this feels very much like a book report style of paper†¦ largely taking their ideas and reforming them†¦ without as much of your own critical analysis and/or competing ideas brought to bear. Grade: 78 [LL2]Help countries strive, or help countries increase economic growth? [LL3]Not sure about your math here†¦ maybe it’s just the way you worded it. Gains after 10 years of schooling? Would be more like 100% (or 2-times as much) if the data is accurate. [LL4]How to do this (how to education countries)? And what do you mean by these terms (e..g what is proper allocation of resrouces?)? [LL5]Good point/nice wording. But is this likely? Is there hope from any other avenue? Any other evidence that might suggest that growth will increase without this level of aid?

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Algebra Tiles and the FOIL Method Essay examples -- Mathematics Educat

Algebra Tiles and the FOIL Method Algebra is one of the most critical classes a mathematics student takes. In this crucial course, the student must make the jump from concrete numbers and operations to variables and uncertainty. Unfortunately, this area of mathematics is where most students lose interest in mathematics because the concepts become too abstract. The abstractness frightens students and this fear is where the typical â€Å"I hate math† attitude comes from. Educators need to be aware of this problem and accept that the traditional methods of teaching mathematics, specifically algebra, are too focused on intangible concepts. These concepts need to be introduced to students in a more approachable manner, such as concrete representations. One such concrete representation, algebra tiles, is an excellent way to introduce the concept of multiplying monomials and binomials. The multiplication of monomials and binomials is an essential ability for students to master in order to continue mathematics. Many s tudents are intimidated by the concept of multiplying these vague terms with variables. In essence, the traditional method of teaching the multiplication of monomials and binomials, the FOIL method, is too theoretical for students to comprehend. A new approach must be used, and algebra tiles are one of the best new ways to approach this topic. To start, the traditional FOIL method needs to be studied. The Math Help tutoring website explains the FOIL method as the process of â€Å"multiplying the terms in parentheses to get the quadratic form.† FOIL is an abbreviation for the order a student follows when multiplying. â€Å"FOIL, of course, means: First, Outside, Inside, Last – the order of multiplication to expand the dou... ...iplying monomials and binomials. However, if one method must be selected, algebra tiles are the best way to address the needs of today’s mathematics students. Works Cited Leitze, Annette Ricks, and Nancy A. Kitt. â€Å"Using Homemade Algebra Tiles to Develop Algebra and Prealgebra Concepts.† Mathematics Teacher. 93.6 (2000) : 462-466. Otken, Phil. â€Å"The Foil Method.† Technical Tutoring, 2004. 24 November 2004. http://www.hyperad.com/tutoring/math/algebra/The%20FOIL%20method.html. Stein, Mary Kay, Margaret Schwan Smith, Marjorie A. Henningsen, and Edward A. Silver. Implementing Standards-Based Mathematics Instruction. Columbia University: Teachers College Press, 2000. Wilcox, Ted. â€Å"Using the Foil Method.† Free Math Help, 2004. 24 November 2004. http://www.freemathhelp.com/using-foil.html.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Water Source & Sustainability

There is more than 1. 4 billion cubic kilometres of water on the earth. If divided evenly enough to give every man, woman & child 230 million cubic meters. However 98% of that is saltwater and nearly 1% of it is locked as polar icecaps. Less than 1 percent of the Earth's freshwater is accessible in lakes, rivers, and groundwater aquifers. This vital 1 percent of available freshwater is con- stantly in motion, either flowing in rivers, evaporating and moving around the globe as water vapour, falling from the sky as rain or snow, or filtering slowly through the earth to emerge somewhere else. It is a renewable resource on which we all completely depend upon. It is the genesis and continuing source of all life on earth. The most accessible water is that which flows in river channels or is stored in freshwater lakes and reservoirs. The major portion of the water diverted for human needs is taken from this renewable, readily accessible part of the world's freshwater resources. Although the total volume of water conveyed annually by the world's rivers is about 43,000 km3, most of this occurs as floods. The low river flows (base flows) make up only about 19,000 km3. Of this, about 12,500 km3 can be accessed, and present levels of withdrawal accounts for 4000km3. This withdrawal is expected to reach 5000 Km3 per year by the 2025. The demand for freshwater increased six-fold between 1900 and 1995 nearly twice the rate of population growth. One third of the world's population today already live in countries experiencing medium to high water stress. Water Stress Water stress for a river basin is defined as the water resources available in that basin. The water stress for a country is the summation of water stress for all its river basins. Water stress begins when the withdrawals of water of freshwater rises above 10 percent of renewable resources. Medium to high stress translates as water use that exceeds 20 percent of available water supply. Countries experience high water stress when the ratio of water use to supply exceeds 40 percent. At such levels, their patterns of use may not be sustainable, and water scarcity is likely to become the limiting factor to economic growth. High water stress and unsustainable rates of withdrawal are already being experienced in Central and South Asia, where annual water ithdrawals compared with available water resources are 50 percent or more. In the dry season, water scarcity occurs throughout Asia and the Pacific, and increased rainfall variability as a result of global climate change will worsen this problem. Water scarcity will affect food security throughout Asia and the Pacific. The global population will expand from today's 6 billion people to almost 8 billion in 2025. By then, more than 80 percent of the world's population will be living in developing countries. The World Meteorological Organization estimates, assuming the renewable water resources will remain unchanged, that the number of countries facing water stress will increase from 29 today to 34 in 2025. How these countries manage their water resources, and whether they can produce sufficient food for their growing populations while catering to their water needs and preserving natural environments, have important implications. Nearly 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals are directed toward agriculture, mainly for irrigation. By some estimates (UN 1997), annual irrigation water use will have to increase about 30 percent above present use for annual crop production to double and meet global food requirements by 2025. The industry sector, which accounts for about 22 percent of current freshwater withdrawals globally, is likely to require an increasing share in all regions of the world. In developing countries, where 56 percent of the population will be living in urban areas by 2025, the share of water going toward domestic uses will also need to grow substantially. Asia and Water Asia has the lowest per capita availability of freshwater resources among the world's continents. The contrasts within the region are stark. Annual freshwater resources (in m3 per capita) reach as high as 200,000 in Papua New Guinea and as low as 2,000 in parts of South Asia and the PRC, and are generally below 20,000 in Southeast Asia. The region's weather is largely governed by a monsoon climate, which creates large seasonal variations in addition to spatial variation. The two most populous nations in the world, the PRC and India, will have 1. 5 billion and 1. billion people, respectively, by 2025, by which time the availability of freshwater will have dropped to 1,500 m3 per capita in India and 1,800 m3 in the PRC. Many of countries depend heavily on groundwater exploitation to supplement scarce surface water resources. In Bangladesh, groundwater abstraction already represents 35 percent of total annual water withdrawals; in India, 32 percent; in Pakistan, 30 percent; and in PRC, 11 percent. Groundwater overuse and aquifer depletion are becoming serious problems in the intensively farmed areas of northern PRC, India, and Pakistan. In heavily populated cities land is subsiding as groundwater is withdrawn to serve the needs of their growing urban populations, and saltwater intrusion is rendering much of the groundwater unusable. War for Water International conflicts over water are becoming more frequent as competition for available freshwater resources increases. There are 215 international rivers as well as about 300 groundwater basins and aquifers that are shared by several countries. The 1996 treaty signed by Bangladesh and India for managing flows in the Ganges-Brahmaputra system represents a major breakthrough for rational approaches to shared water resources. However, more than 70 water-related flash points have been identified, mainly in Africa, Middle East, and Latin America. Eight countries in Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam) rely on international rivers to supply more than 30 percent of their annual water resources. Four of these (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam) rely on water from external sources for more than 65 percent of their annual water resources. Making better use of Asia's shared rivers is an unfinished agenda with potentially large benefits to millions of poor people in the region. However, formulating agreements between sub-regions to enable equitable sharing of resources and better control of trans-boundary pollution has proven to be highly controversial and, in some cases, strongly divisive The reliability of water supplies in the face of such dependence is a key issue when seasonal variations, particularly droughts etc enter the equation. Unsustainable rates of groundwater extraction can only make matters worse. The impact of global climate change, which cannot be determined at this time, will be to increase the overall uncertainty within which water planners operate. Floods and droughts Floods and droughts have always been features of life on earth and have produced some of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. Due to inappropriate land use and land management practices, uncoordinated and rapid growth of urban areas, and loss of natural flood storage wetlands, floods are becoming more frequent. Flooding is the hazard that affects more people than any other associated damage to property and is escalating. Destruction of forest cover has altered the hydrologic cycle and reduced water retention in forest soils. Accompanying soil erosion has permanently stripped fertile topsoil from vast areas, leading to further degradation of river basins and threatening the basis for sustainable natural resource management. Global climate change will have unpredictable but potentially devastating consequences for the hydrologic cycle by changing the total amount of precipitation, its annual and seasonal distribution, the onset of snowmelt, the frequency and severity of floods and droughts, and the reliability of existing water supply reservoirs. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the frequency of droughts could rise by 50 percent in certain parts of the world by 2050. Water Pollution Emerging Asia, published by ADB in 1997, identified water pollution as the most serious environmental problem facing the region. Water pollution exacerbates the problem of water scarcity at local and regional levels by reducing the amount of water available for productive purposes. Water pollution comes from many sources, including untreated sewage, chemical discharges, spillage of toxic materials, harmful products leached from land disposal sites, agricultural chemicals, salt from irrigation schemes, and atmospheric pollutants dissolved in rainwater. The direct disposal of domestic and industrial wastewater into watercourses is the major source of pollutants in developing countries. In Asia and the Pacific, faecal pollution is one of the most serious problems, affecting both surface water and groundwater bodies and leading to a tenacious persistence of such waterborne diseases as cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis. Estimates of the increase in water pollution loads in high growth areas of Asia over the next decades are as high as 16 times for suspended solids, 17 times for total dissolved solids, and 18 times for biological pollution loading. The combined volume of water used and water needed to dilute and flush pollutants is almost equal to the volume of accessible freshwater in the world's river systems. The development of freshwater resources for human uses has compromised natural ecosystems that depend on these resources for their continued integrity. Freshwater ecosystems, comprising lakes, rivers, and wetlands, have already lost a greater proportion of species and habitat than land or ocean ecosystems. Unrestricted development of surface water and groundwater has altered the hydrologic cycle and threatens the natural functions of deltas and wetlands. Wetlands have been converted to cropland, and rivers that channelled water to estuaries and deltas have dried up. Diminished productive potential, loss of vegetation, increased health risks, and irreversible desecration of aquatic biota are the sad legacy. Water Management Traditionally seen as limitless bounty, water has only recently been recognized as a scarce resource, and only since the 1950s have policymakers begun to espouse the economic and environmental values of water. A consensus is growing among scientists, water planners, governments, and civil society that new policies and approaches will have to be adopted within the next two decades to avoid calamity, and that supply, use, and management of water resources will have to be integrated across sectors and between regions sharing the same source. New projects for dams, water storage, irrigation, drainage, flood protection, and water supply will continue to be needed in many countries where the basic water requirements for people have not yet been met. Lack of effective water policies and institutional arrangements is a pressing issue. Sustainability criteria will predominate in decision making and particular emphasis will be given to environmental and social values.

Friday, November 8, 2019

9 causas para perder la ciudadanía de Estados Unidos

9 causas para perder la ciudadanà ­a de Estados Unidos Los ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos pueden perder su condicià ³n de estadounidenses si realizan determinadas acciones que llevan aparejada como consecuencia la pà ©rdida de la nacionalidad. Esto aplica tanto a los ciudadanos que adquirieron su condicià ³n en el momento del nacimiento como a los que la obtuvieron posteriormente, incluido el trmite que se conoce como naturalizacià ³n, por el que los residentes permanentes legales se convierten en ciudadanos. Puntos clave: pà ©rdida de la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense Son raros los casos de retirada de la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense. La ley tiene previstos nueve casos en los que puede darse pero todos ellos requieren que se trate de un acto voluntario y consciente.Una situacià ³n diferente son los casos de desnaturalizacià ³n por fraude, que se han incrementado en los à ºltimos aà ±os. Se est quitando la ciudadanà ­a a personas que mintieron en las aplicaciones de naturalizacià ³n, obtencià ³n de la tarjeta de residencia o las que cometieron un delito antes de naturalizarse y no revelaron este problema en la aplicacià ³n. 9 acciones que, en teorà ­a, podrà ­an provocar la pà ©rdida de la ciudadanà ­a de los Estados Unidos Segà ºn la Seccià ³n 359 de la Ley de Inmigracià ³n y Nacionalidad (INA, por sus siglas en inglà ©s), en la actualidad un estadounidense solamente podrà ­a verse privado de su ciudadanà ­a cuando se dan una de las circunstancias siguientes: Prestar juramento o declaracià ³n formal  de lealtad a otro paà ­s despuà ©s de cumplir los 18 aà ±os.Obtener la nacionalidad de otro paà ­s de forma voluntaria y por peticià ³n propia despuà ©s de haber cumplido los 18 aà ±os de edad.  Servir en cualquier categorà ­a en un Ejà ©rcito extranjero hostil hacia Estados UnidosServir como oficial comisionado o no comisionado en el Ejà ©rcito de otro paà ­sServir como soldado en un Ejà ©rcito no hostil hacia Estados UnidosTrabajar para un gobierno extranjero despuà ©s de cumplir los 18 aà ±os Renunciar voluntaria y formalmente a la ciudadanà ­a como hicieron estos 10 famosos. Sentencia firme condenatoria por traicià ³n a los Estados UnidosCondena firme por intentar derrocar el gobierno de los Estados Unidos En el caso de trabajar para gobierno extranjero es necesario que adems, se dà © una de las siguientes circunstancias: poseer tambià ©n la nacionalidad del paà ­s de dicho gobierno , es decir, debe darse un caso de doble nacionalidad prestar algà ºn tipo de juramento o promesa como condicià ³n para acceder a ese puesto de trabajo. Por otro lado, en el caso de renuncia voluntaria a la nacionalidad estadounidense, si se est fuera de los Estados Unidos la declaracià ³n debe hacerse en una embajada o consulado de USA. Por el contrario, si la persona que desea renunciar se encuentra dentro del paà ­s deber contactar con el Departamento de Seguridad Interna. Sin embargo, no siempre que se produzca uno de estos hechos se pierde la nacionalidad. Ya que por ley es necesario que concurran obligatoriamente dos requisitos siguientes: que el acto sea voluntarioque el acto se realice con la intencià ³n de abandonar la condicià ³n de ciudadano. Y es que en  Afroyim v. Rusk, una sentencia de  1967 la Corte Suprema reconoce que un ciudadano americano tiene un derecho constitucional a permanecer siendo ciudadano, a menos que voluntariamente renuncie a la nacionalidad. Y en 1980 con la sentencia  Vance v. Terrace,  la Corte establecià ³ que tal renuncia se puede hacer mediante una declaracià ³n o mediante accià ³n. Es fcil determinar que el acto es voluntario. Lo que no es tan claro es determinar cundo existe la intencià ³n de realmente dejar de ser estadounidense. Para esto aplica la norma de las presunciones y a continuacià ³n se explica cà ³mo se debe entender. Cundo el gobierno de EE.UU. entiende que hay intencià ³n de renunciar a la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense Adems, de obviamente, cuando se renuncia formalmente a la ciudadanà ­a, se pierde, las autoridades consideran que hay intencià ³n de dejar de ser estadounidense cuando: Se sirve en cualquier posicià ³n en un Ejà ©rcito en hostilidades contra los Estados UnidosCuando hay una condena por traicià ³n o por intentar derrocar al gobiernoCuando se sirve a un gobierno extranjero en una posicià ³n polà ­tica En estos tres casos, los oficiales consulares investigarn  si efectivamente se da la intencià ³n de abandonar la ciudadanà ­a, como en principio se presume. Y en base a dicha investigacià ³n, resolvern. Cundo el gobierno entiende que NO hay intencià ³n de renunciar Existe una premisa administrativa que considera que se tiene la intencià ³n de seguir siendo estadounidense en todos los dems casos no previstos en el caso anterior. Es decir, cuando se presta alianza a otro paà ­s, se adquiere su nacionalidad, se presta servicio en un Ejà ©rcito extranjero no hostil o se acepta un trabajo para otro gobierno a nivel no polà ­tico.   La persona que realiza cualquiera de las cuatro actividades arriba mencionadas no necesita pedir permiso antes de hacerlas ni tampoco notificar a ninguna autoridad americana su intencià ³n de seguir siendo estadounidense, ya que eso es lo que se presume. Pero es posible que cuando pida la renovacià ³n del pasaporte americano o solicite registrarse para votar o cualquier otra actividad reservada a ciudadanos un oficial consular le pregunte si al realizar una de las cuatro acciones antes seà ±aladas deseaba renunciar a la nacionalidad estadounidense. Bastar con contestar â€Å"no† para seguir siendo americano. Sin embargo, en el pasado no era asà ­ y muchos ciudadanos perdieron su nacionalidad. En estos casos podrà ­a ser posible recuperarla. Casos de desnaturalizacià ³n por fraude Entre 1990 y 2017 hubo un total de 305 desnaturalizaciones, es decir, 11 casos por aà ±o en los que se le quità ³ la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense a personas que la habà ­an adquirido por medio de la naturalizacià ³n. Pero desde ese aà ±o las desnaturalizaciones han incrementado y el gobierno reconoce que en la actualidad hay aproximadamente unos 2.500 casos siendo investigados. Adems, en el presupuesto del aà ±o fiscal 2019 hay destinados a ICE 207 millones para investigar posibles casos de desnaturalizacià ³n y que le permiten contratar a abogados e investigadores para intentar encontrar casos en los que el ciudadano naturalizado cometià ³ fraude, es decir, mintià ³, en el proceso de naturalizacià ³n u obtencià ³n de la green card. Adems, se buscan particularmente casos en los que el ahora ciudadano cometià ³ alguna felonà ­a antes de adquirir la ciudadanà ­a y no lo reportà ³. Especialmente, los investigadores estn interesados en los casos de personas que recibieron una orden de deportacià ³n pero se quedaron en el paà ­s y, posteriormente, adquirieron la ciudadanà ­a bajo otro nombre. Esto es posible porque se estn investigando huellas digitales de los aà ±os 90 y anteriores que no estaban digitalizadas y se estn comparando con los expedientes de naturalizacià ³n. Consecuencias de la pà ©rdida de la ciudadanà ­a  de EE.UU. Se dejan de tener todos los privilegios, derechos y libertades propios de ser estadounidense Adems, a partir de ese momento se deber solicitar una visa para entrar a Estados Unidos, a menos que la persona sea titular de un pasaporte que le permita entrar como turista bajo el Programa de Exencià ³n de Visas. Si careciese de otro pasaporte, la persona que voluntariamente deja de ser estadounidense se considera que es aptrida y carece de la proteccià ³n de ningà ºn estado. En todo caso, la renuncia no evitar que esa persona sea sometida a juicio por posibles delitos que haya cometido en EE.UU.. Asimismo, continà ºa estando obligada a hacer frente a las obligaciones financieras que haya contraà ­do en EE.UU. y a las militares, si las tuviera. Por à ºltimo, dejar de ser americano no supone el fin automtico de la relacià ³n con los impuestos americanos, ya que habr que seguir cumpliendo esta obligacià ³n por 10 aà ±os. Se aconseja consultar con el IRS para asegurarse de cules son las obligaciones pendientes en materia de tasas. La renuncia a la nacionalidad americana es definitiva. Es decir, una vez realizada no hay vuelta atrs. La à ºnica excepcià ³n es plantear una demanda administrativa o judicial y ganarla. Y en el caso de las personas que dejaron de ser americanas motu proprio cuando eran menores de edad, debern notificar al Departamento de Estado que desean volver a ser estadounidenses dentro de los seis meses siguientes a haber cumplido los 18 aà ±os. Como es un acto de grandes consecuencias, antes de llevarlo a cabo es recomendable consular sobre el proceso para entender todos sus aspectos. Las dudas se atienden en la Oficina de Asuntos Consulares del DoS en Washington, llamando al 1-202-736-9110 o enviando un correo electrà ³nico a ASKPRIstate.gov Derechos y obligaciones de los estadounidenses en el exterior Los ciudadanos tienen obligacià ³n de pagar impuestos, aunque residan habitualmente en otro paà ­s. Pero tambià ©n tienen derechos, como en determinados casos transmitir la ciudadanà ­a a sus hijos, recibir el pago del cheque del seguro social o votar en las elecciones para Presidente registrndose en el à ºltimo estado en el que se residià ³. Si han formado una familia y desean regresar a Estados Unidos, podrn solicitar los papeles por matrimonio para su cà ³nyuge, si bien pueden existir obstculos que deben ser tenidos en cuenta. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Forefathers of America essays

Forefathers of America essays When our forefathers established the American Constitution, they held the beliefs that all citizens of the U.S. should have the basic freedoms and rights, equality and security. These basic beliefs laid the foundation for our country. These ideas are still used today. If Americans did not have basic freedoms and rights, then our government would not be a democracy. Some of these freedoms include freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of the press. The stated ideas are some of the core values that run our country today. If we as Americans do not exercise these rights our country will not succeed or grow. For example, if a person is given the right to vote and they do not vote during the election period, then they are not exercising their right to vote and therefore not helping in the furthering of our country. If this would happen on a large scale, then laws and other bills would be passed on the decision of a small amount of people. Furthermore, as Americans, we have been introduced and accepted a melting pot of cultures in this country. Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics and so forth make up a portion of our population. We coexist with each other, respecting each others religion, traditions and ways of life. Here in the U.S., equality is a core value that must be respected to further our country. Not only is equality found in racial differences, but also in physical and gender differences. If we ignore the idea of equality, we would be constantly at war with each other because of our differences and we could not further ourselves in todays upcoming global market. It is the peoples duty to respect equality and to embrace it. As our global economy flourishes, newer and faster technology is always on the brink of invention. So, to learn how to operate these new technologies, education is a must. Education teaches us not only how to add, subtract, write papers and finish science labs, but al ...

Sunday, November 3, 2019

2) Critically analysis the relationship between new forms of workspace Essay

2) Critically analysis the relationship between new forms of workspace architecture and focus on the style visibility in the new economy - Essay Example It also involves the ability to view things that are beyond the four walls. The main focus of this paper is to analyse the relationship between work space architecture and work space visibility. The relationship that exists between workspace architect and workspace visibility is that workspace architect mainly involve the relationship that exists between humans and space, it is exhibited inform of houses offices and other forms of structure to which humans work in. On the other hand visibility is the composition of what exists within the four walls of the work space architecture. This involves both the things that can be observed within the walls and those beyond the walls. Both workspace architect and workspace visibility are based upon the principle of â€Å"Build to Last†. This is because most architectural workspaces are not only built to make money but they are also built to create a lifetime impression. It is also to act as a legacy to remember someone when they die (Costea, 2014). Workspace architecture not only aims at creating working, living and moving environments but it also creates environments that are suitable for our own personalities, correspond to our sense, stimulates our minds and gives us the inspiration and motivation to work. This aims at not only good working conditions but also causes an improvement in the general outcome. But for a workspace architecture to fully satisfy the intended needs, it should be used hand in hand with workspace visibility, if the workspace visibility is easy to manage and solves the specific problems it was intended to solve then the workspace architecture will have a good visibility hence it would be effective in the new economy(Kumar, 2007). The workspace architecture should be cost effective and economical; it should have the ability to integrate easily into the business

Friday, November 1, 2019

The reference list for my dissertation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The reference list for my dissertation - Essay Example [Online] Available at: HYPERLINK "http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/investor-relations/basf-in-brief/verbund/index" http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/investor-relations/basf-in-brief/verbund/index [Accessed 25 July 2011]. Bloomberg, 2011. Galleon, Barclays, Primary Global, SAP-Oracle in Court News. [Online] Available at: HYPERLINK "http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-14/galleon-barclays-primary-global-sap-oracle-in-court-news.html" http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-14/galleon-barclays-primary-global-sap-oracle-in-court-news.html [Accessed 3 August 2011]. BLS, 2011. Employment situation summary: Table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted. [Online] Available at: HYPERLINK "http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.a.htm" http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.a.htm [Accessed 24 November 2011]. Bornhorst, F., 2010. IMF Working Paper: A status update on fiscal exit strategies. [Online] IMF Available at: HYPERLINK "http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2010/wp10272.pdf" http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2010/wp10272.pdf [Accessed 9 October 2011]. Cronje, C., 2011. Rising Demand for Polymer and Plastics to Boost South African Chemicals Industry, Reveals Frost & Sullivan, Frost & Sullivan. [Online] Available at: HYPERLINK "http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/press-release.pag?Src=RSS&docid=223480314" http://www.frost.com/prod/servlet/press-release.pag?Src=RSS&docid=223480314 [Accessed 15 July 2011]. Datamonitor, 2011 a. Global Chemical Manufacturing, Industry profile. [Online] Available at: HYPERLINK "http://360.datamonitor.com/Product?pid=7292829E-580A-451B-A14C-C1F665004379" http://360.datamonitor.com/Product?pid=7292829E-580A-451B-A14C-C1F665004379 [Accessed 15 August 2011]. Datamonitor, 2011 b. Chemical Manufacturing in Asia-Pacific, Industry profile. [Online] Available at: HYPERLINK "http://360.datamonitor.com/Product?pid=FC328F7C-A445-40F0-AEA9-34E93E87BD77"

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The Credit Crunch Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Credit Crunch - Literature review Example Due to its major significance, the term was included in the latest edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, meaning "an economic condition in which it suddenly becomes difficult and expensive to borrow money" (Oxford University Press,n.d.). A credit crunch is characterized by a shortage of funds in the credit market, resulting in decreased possibilities for credit agreements and increased levels of official interest rates. Economist John Hull (2009) argues that the origins of the credit crunch (which started in the US) can be found in the housing market. "The U.S government was keen to encourage home ownership. Interest rates were low. Mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders found it attractive to do more business by relaxing their lending standards () Banks thought the "good times" would continue and () chose to ignore the housing bubble..." Simply put, people were spending more money than they actually had - an inconsistency that grows into what economists call a "bubble" - the inflation of global property prices. A vicious circle is formed - prices rise, causing the number of credits to rise as well, which in turn makes prices rise even more. At some point, a large number of credits started to default. Property prices began to drop and so the "bubble" burst. On a related note, Mizen (2008, p. 564) points out that the most recent credit crunch was preceded by a prosperous period, which generated a certain degree of carelessness throughout the economy. "Financial innovation had () introduced greater complexity, higher leverage, and weaker underlying assets based on subprime mortgages." Mizen defines a subprime mortgage as a riskier bank product - a loan given to a person with non-standard income or credit profile, which was often mispriced. They provide good returns, compared to other asset classes, and therefore receive high ratings. However, they are not as safe as they seemed because they are tied to house prices. When prices drop, foreclosures becom e more frequent. Losses escalated and banks took measures by lowering credit availability. White (2008, p. 2-3) states that "Borrowers with inadequate income relative to their debts, many of whom had either counted on being able to borrow against a higher house value in the future in order to help them meet their monthly mortgage payments, or on being able to "flip" the property at a price that would more than repay their mortgage, began to default. Default rates on nonprime mortgages rose to unexpected highs. The high risk on the mortgages came back to bite mortgage holders, the financial institutions to whom the monthly payments were owed. Financial institutions that had stocked up on junk mortgages and junk-mortgage-backed securities found their stock prices dropping. The worst cases, like Countrywide Financial, the investment banks Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, and the government-sponsored mortgage purchasers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, went broke or had to find a last-minu te purchaser to avoid bankruptcy."

Monday, October 28, 2019

Understanding Customer Relationships Essay Example for Free

Understanding Customer Relationships Essay I further confirm that I have not shared my work with other candidates. Table of Contents Cover page1 Table of Contents2 Task 1: Keeping stakeholders informed 3 6 Task 2: Collecting stakeholder information 7 9 Task 3: CSR – Gaining an Internal Perspective 10 12 Task 4 REPORT To:Marketing Manager From:Marketing Assistant Date:25th November, 2011 Subject:Keeping stakeholders informed INTRODUCTION: Communication is defined as the process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior (www. erriamwebster. com/dictionary). It is a two-way process and plays a central role for effective relationships within an organization (CIM Introductory Certificate in Marketing Study Workbook, pg 135). For communication to be effective, the receiver must understand the message in the manner the sender intended for it to be received. As with majority of organizations, stakeholders are an integral part of any organization and must be well informed of necessary decisions and activities of the said organization. With reference to the recent oil spillage crisis, it is important that BP communicates to the following stakeholder groups – a. FOUR STAKEHOLDER GROUPS THAT BP NEEDED TO COMMUNICATE WITH AND THEIR SCOPE OF INTEREST ARE: Governments and regulators: Government alongside the regulatory agencies established by the government to dominate the industry, are responsible for formulating policies which govern offshore drilling processes and also ensure that the interest of the public is protected from the activities of the oil companies. Both bodies need to be informed of the spillage to allow for monitoring of the situation and deployment of resources and assessment teams to establish shoreline protection and clean up priorities. (http://www. env. gov. bc. ca/eemp/resources/strategies/oilstrat. htm) The information would further assist the government investigate the cause of the spillage in order to take necessary legal actions and also help with legislation of regulatory laws which governs oil exploration by the oil companies. . Stakeholders and analysts: The stakeholders include shareholders and investors who have financial interests and commitments in BP. They should be informed of the spill and every progress made by BP, so that they are kept abreast of the financial implications and expenditure that would arise from the spillage, cleanup process and compensation cost which might result in a loss in revenue for BP and ultimately their financial interests. c. Local communities: Local communities are usually members of the community within which an oil project is situated and in this case, the community where the oil spill has occurred. They would also include the local media, medical organizations, nongovernmental organizations active within the area, local security forces etc. Organizations must establish themselves as reputable members of a community. (www. ou. edu/deptcomm/literature review. htm) By establishing a reservoir of goodwill in the community it is often easier to gain community support during a crisis (Sellnow, 1993). As such, affected residents of the local community around where the spillage occurred should be communicated to and assessed for physical and behavioral health effects the spillage might cause especially if the residents depend on oil, fishing or other affected industries in the locality of the spill. BP should also inform the local communities on steps it has taken or would take to combat the effect of the spillage on the environment and possible compensations to the communities. d. Customers: These vary from domestic fuel users to agricultural and aviation users of bulk LPG. All BP customers should be contacted and informed of the spillage as this might affect the supply of various products as supplied by BP. The multiplier effect of shortage of products by BP would not only mean a loss in revenue for the customer whose livelihood depend s on sale of products but also on the end user as might be in the case of retail fuel consumer and inadvertently more loss to BP. 2. ADAPTATION OF MESSAGES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF EACH OF THE STAKEHOLDER GROUP For a communication to be effective, the message passed must be well understood by the party for whom the message is intended (decoder) for and must be able to communicate back to the sender. BP must ensure that it communicates information about the spillage to the above mentioned stakeholders in respect to their functions and adaptabilities. o For the government, a series of meetings should be arranged where discussions regarding assessments, clean up exercises and monitoring policies are discussed and reported back to the government the progress of the situation. Stakeholders are to be informed via mails or financial reports the cost analysis of the clean up exercise as well as financial implications of the spill incurred by the company. o BP should seek to invite non-governmental organizations who focus on environmental policies and issues to assist with implementation of programs designed to help residents within affected communities. o Customers can be reached more effectively a nd interpersonally through in depth interviews, viral online communications, web based interactive programs and feedback channels on BP’s website. . TWO COMMUNICATION TOOLS THAT COULD BE USED TO ENHANCED THE MESSAGE The purpose of communication is to get a message across clearly using methods or tools that would effectively target the intended receiver. These tools could either be verbal or non-verbal tools of communication. To communicate its intent, BP must use the following communication tools to enhance the credibility of its message:- ? PR: Public Relations is defined as a planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics (IPR). In enhancing the credibility of its message, BP would use PR to not only ensure that its intended target receives its message, but would also help reshape and boost the consumer perception of the BP image in light of the spill crisis thereby, warding off unfavorable rumors. ? Direct Marketing: This is the most targeted method of communication as it seeks to target individual customers with personalized messages and build relationships with them as they respond to direct communications (UCR online syllabus; session 7, pg 8). Direct marketing is defined as the planned recording, analysis and tracking of customer behavior to develop relational marketing strategies (Institute of Direct Marketing, UK) Using direct marketing, a well thought out and planned message is made available by BP to target each stakeholder group and solicit positive responses from each group to help manage the spill crisis. 4. EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNICATION TOOLS OUTLINED ABOVE †¢ Direct Marketing: One of the benefits of direct marketing is that it allows for direct interaction with the consumers and hence immediate responses are obtained from the consumers. This in turns also ensures that BP’s personalized messages are well targeted and monitored such that the aim of public relations in helping to enhance consumer perception of BP’s image is also attained. BRIEFING PAPER From:Marketing Assistant To:Marketing Manager Date:17. 12. 2011 Subject:Collecting Stakeholder information Information is defined as the data formatted or structured to support decision making or define the relationship between two facts (Zikmund/Babin: Essentials of marketing research; 3rd edition). It is a marketing asset which impacts on performance of an organization (CIM Study Workbook, pg 108) 2. INFORMATION TO BE COLLECTED BY BP IN RELATION TO ITS STAKEHOLDERS o Local Communities: BP would seek to collect information about the local communities which would include population count, availability of amenities such as hospitals, roads, schools, water, electricity, income levels, gender, age etc. It would also seek to identify the general occupation of residents in the community (e. g if farming or fishing is the main stay of the residents and the effects of the spill) and income/lifestyle of residents. It would also seek to understand the culture and ethnicity of the people so as not to strain relationship with its communities. BP should also seek to collect information about its communities to help assess the social and environmental impacts of its project within such communities. o Government and regulators: As these two bodies promulgate policies which govern the exploration of oil wells, CSR and offshore activities, it is important that BP is up to date with its information on all offshore and environmental laws so as to protect itself from abjurations. It would also collect information to understand its tax liabilities and entrepreneurial activities in collaboration with both bodies. . 2USEFULNESS OF INFORMATION COLLECTED TO BP †¢ For Budgetary control:- Greater control and more informed decision making are possible when all costs of all operations are available †¢ For Planning: Information helps BP make adequate plans for its operations within its communities, or act in accordance to governing policies and also inform actions to address/prevent health effects in affected communities during a spill crisis †¢ For decision making: Adequate data collected would be used for making strategic decisions for its sector and management plans. . 3USEFUL INFORMATION TO BE COLLECTED BY SCREENPLAY MARKETING MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS LTD. To ensure our relevance and maintain our market share over the next six months, we must seek to collect the following information about our varying clients in order to effectively meet their needs and surpass their expectations: ? Clients’ activities: we must seek to collect information about each client’s various activities within the next 6 months and plan media campaigns around those activities to meet intended consumers. Customer attitudes: We would need to interview and collect information on target segments of consumers to assess how well they match our ideas and fit into clients’ marketing plan ? Competitors’ activities: Over the next 6 months, we would need to identify who our competitors are through secondar y research and collect information about their activities in order to help us plan our strategies ? Markets: it is important that we carve our niche market and gather necessary information on them. We would need information as to who are clients are, their products, existing/potential market for the product all necessary for us to have an idea on how best to position our client’s product for an increase in market share. 2. 4ONE METHOD OF COLLECTING INFORMATION In order to collect the necessary information, I would recommend the Secondary method of data collection. Secondary data is data that has not been specifically created for the purpose at hand but can be used and analysed to provide marketing information where primary data is not yet available or not sufficient(CIM Study Workbook, pg 110). This is a preferred choice of data collection because it – o Helps to make primary data collection more specific since with the help of secondary data, we are able to make out what are the gaps and deficiencies and what additional information needs to be collected. o Is less expensive and economical to conduct seeing that the information is readily available and does not require the process of collecting new data o Saves time o It provides a basis for comparison for the data that is collected by the researcher (www. managementguide. com) DISCUSSION PAPER Prepared for: Marketing Manager Prepared by: Marketing Assistant Subject:CSR – An Internal perspective Date: 17. 12. 2011 INTRODUCTION: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is about how businesses align their values and behaviour with the expectations and needs of stakeholders not just customers and investors, but also employees, suppliers, communities, regulators, special interest groups and society as a whole. CSR describes a companys commitment to be accountable to its stakeholders. CSR demands that businesses manage the economic, social and environmental impacts of their operations to maximise the benefits and minimise the downsides (www. srnetwork. com) 3. 1 PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT The purpose of this project is to seek to form a committee to propose and identify a CSR activity for ScreenPlay Marketing and Media Communications Ltd to embark on as its efforts in giving back to the society in which its business operates and increase our awareness of environmental consciousness. 3. 2BENEFITS OF CSR TO THE ORGANISATION Consumers increasin gly do not accept unethical business practices or organizations who act irresponsibly (www. simplycsr. co. uk). The benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility cannot be overemphasized and a carefully planned CSR would help our organization to †¢ Develop and enhance relationships with customers and society thereby retaining customers whilst attracting new ones †¢ Enhance brand image so customers’ perception about the brand is positive †¢ Attract, retain and motivate employees A key potential benefit from  CSR  initiatives involves establishing the conditions that can contribute to increasing the commitment and motivation of employees to become more innovative and productive. www. ic. gc. ca/site/csr-rse. nsf/eng/h_rs00100html) †¢ Sharpen decision making and help reduce risk 3. 3. IMPORTANCE OF INTERNAL COOPERATION AND PARTICIPATION It is important that a good working relationship exists between all departments of our organization on this project so as to ensure completion of tasks and fulfillment of our set objectives. It is envisaged that with team work and co ntribution of ideas from all each department involved in this project would yield productivity and also ensure the success of our CSR project. 3. IDEA ON IMPROVING OUR ORGANISTION’S ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY One idea I would like to suggest to increasing our environmental responsibility is the adoption of a child from the eye department of the children’s ward at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. There are at present about 300 cases of children with cancer of the eye been treated at the hospital. It is my proposition that we render our CSR to the kids in this ward by sponsoring a child every quarter to the Suraksha Children’s Hospital India – a top hospital in India noted for treatment of eye tumors in children. The relative low costs of surgery and living expenditure has influenced the choice of Suraksha Children’s Hospital and the intervals at which each child would undergo a treatment would not be cumbersome for the organization to bear. We would work in conjunction with a team of doctors at the Lagos State Teaching Hospital to assist in compiling names of beneficiaries of the treatment through a series of preliminary requirements for each beneficiary. This would include age, severity of case, and income level of parents – as this would be aimed at children whose parents cannot afford the treatment cost in the state. This project would be tagged ‘The ScreenPlay Media Communications â€Å"Light a world† project. 3. 5COST IMPLICATION FOR PROPOSED CSR PROJECT The cost for this project is outlined below: †¢ Hospital fees: This would cover cost for accommodation in the hospital for the number of days from the date of admittance to the discharge date and would also cover administrative and drug fees. †¢ Surgery fees: includes surgery fees, anesthetic fees, blood transfusion (if necessary) and surgeon’s fee. Accommodation fees: this take care of accommodation and feeding costs for the accompanying ward/parent of the child †¢ Travel/logistics fees: covers flight fares for child and accompanying ward along with visa application fees. It would also cover for transportation for the beneficiaries upon arrival in India. This cost is estimated at a total of N750, 000 (? 3,000) per quarter and totaling N2, 250,000 (? 9,000) per annum for 3 kids. RESEARCH Prepared for:Mark eting Manager Prepared by:Marketing Assistant Subject:Maintaining the work/life balance Date:30. 11. 2011 EMAIL To:[emailprotected] com (marketing manager) Cc: [emailprotected] com, [emailprotected] com, [emailprotected] com Subject: Committee set up on Proposed CSR Project Dear Elliot, Trust you are fine. As per your memo dated 16th November 2011on setting up a committee for the proposed CSR activity, kindly see below the list of intended participants from the various departments:- a. Ore Odusanya (HR department): Having worked with Ore in the past few years, his analytical and interpersonal skills in relating with people would be very useful in this project . Trish Banner: (Accounts department): Trish’s skill in handling financial transactions as well as contacts within the travel agency would suffice in this project and assisting with obtaining relatively low fare prices for each beneficiary. c. Gladys Knight (Creative department): her artistic talents would help create the right messages for advertisement purposes which would position the brand as foremost in connecting with its s ociety. Her wits and acute sense of judgment would also aid in ensuring that the right candidates are chosen for the project. . Ken Rice (logistics department): an ardent and hardworking colleague, though in the HR department but with an ability to drive and ensure prompt delivery of projects would ensure that logistics such as visas, hotel booking and transportation of each beneficiary is handled promptly at designated timelines. I would also like to suggest that the committee is convened soon so as to enable us conclude the plans within the shortest time frame possible and liaise with the team of doctors in Nigeria and India for the commencement of the project. It would also afford us time to put together a media campaign to boost publicity. Best regards Lolah Adebambo Project Leader REFERENCES Book Sources Vincent. K CIM Introductory Certificate in Marketing Study Workbook, 2009/2011 (BPP Learning Media, London) Internet sources www. ic. gc. ca/site/csr-rse. nsf/eng/h_rs00100html (accessed in December 2011) (www. merriamwebster. com/dictionary). (accessed in November 2011) (www. csrnetwork. com) (accessed in December 2011) [pic]