Advantages of Starting Up a Business

Advantages of Starting up a Business * Being your own Boss  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you can make your own decisions, keep your own time and not have to answer to â€Å"The Boss† * Hard Work & Know How  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ If you are a hard worker and / or have immense industry know how, you may want to benefit from the long hours you do or the knowledge that you have acquired over time. * Financial Independence  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ One day, you may realise your dream of financial independence * Creative Freedom  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ no more restrictions, you can do what you like and have the freedom to work, design, create, build what you think is best – your way! Goodwill  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you don't have to pay for it (as if your would if you were buying a business) – you get to build it * Location, Premises, Building Fitout  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you get to choose it all * Staff  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ your not lumped with staff you don't want. You hire and train from scratch – your way * No Bad Name  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a fresh bu siness, a fresh start. Your name has no bad history with suppliers or customers. If you buy a business, you may find some people just won't deal with the business because of past dealings * Business Image  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you create the business image you want. Your way. Disadvantages of starting your own small or medium business can include: * Cash Flow  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ your business may not have a positive cash flow for two years – how are you going to cover that? * Competitors  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ you may invest all this time, money and effort into your business and a large competitor targets your customers and offers them a similar product / service at below your cost – until your business has failed. While this may be anti – competitive and contravene sections of  The Trade Practices Act 1974, it may be too late for your business * Homework  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ have you done it? You may do it all and then find when you are all set up, that something from left field becomes apparent and significantly alters the outlook of your business * History  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ If you buy a business, you are buying something. You are buying history of the business trading, you have staff in place, equipment and premises in place, customers ringing in with orders on your first Monday morning. If you start a business, you have no history. Everything must be generated from scratch. * Married to the Business  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ this is a common hrase from small business owners. It basically means, your hours of work and level of commitment is such that you cannot take a holiday, your business is always with you (day, nights ; weekends) and basically your neck is on the line. You can't just throw the keys back and give it all away if it gets too hard! * Suppliers  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Suppliers may not extend you credit as your business has no history, so you may have to pay upfront for your goods, and you may not collect money from your customers for those goods for 90 – 120 days. This is very detrimental to cash flow. Can you sustain this? Have you factored it into your budget? * Family  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is your family situation such that you can undertake this huge venture of starting a small business from scratch? Think carefully about starting a business from scratch. It often means a huge sacrifice with no guarantee of reward. Your current employed situation may actually be a better position than starting a small business. Good luck, in whatever you may decide. Please think about the advantages and disadvantages of starting a small business. Our list above is only a starting point, each situation will be different. If you are seriously considering starting a small business, Rogerson Kenny Business Accountants offer a free initial consultation, so you can discuss with us your ideas! Advantages and disadvantages of buying an existing business Advantages * Some of the groundwork to get the business up and running will have been done. * It may be easier to obtain finance as the business will have a proven track record. * A market for the product or service will have already been demonstrated. There may be established customers, a reliable income, a reputation to capitalise and build on and a useful network of contacts. * A business plan and marketing method should already be in place. * Existing employees should have experience you can draw on. * Many of the problems will have been discovered and solved already. Disadvantages * You often need to invest a large amount up front, and will also have to budget for professional fe es for solicitors, surveyors, accountants etc. * You will probably also need several months' worth of working capital to ssist with cashflow. * If the business has been neglected you may need to invest quite a bit more on top of the purchase price to give it the best chance of success. * You may need to honour or renegotiate any outstanding contracts the previous owner leaves in place. * You also need to consider why the current owner is selling up and how this might impact the business and your taking it over. * It's possible current staff may not be happy with a new boss, or the business might have been run badly and staff morale may be low. Advantages and disadvantages of franchising Advantages * Your business is based on a  proven idea. You can check how successful other franchises are before committing yourself. * You can use a recognised  brand name  and  trade marks. You benefit from any advertising or promotion by the owner of the franchise – the ‘franchisor'. * The franchisor gives you  support  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ usually including training, help setting up the business, a manual telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice. * You usually have  exclusive rights  in your territory. The franchisor won't sell any other franchises in the same territory. Financing  the business may be easier. Banks are sometimes more likely to lend money to buy a franchise with a good reputation. * You can benefit from communicating and sharing ideas with, and receiving support from, other franchisees in the network. * Relationships with  suppliers  have already been established. Disadvantages * Costs  may be higher than you expect. As well a s the initial costs of buying the franchise, you pay continuing management service fees and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor. The franchise agreement usually includes  restrictionson how you can run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market. * The franchisor might go  out of business. * Other franchisees could give the brand a  bad reputation, so the recruitment process needs to be thorough * You may find it difficult to  sell  your franchise – you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor. * All profits (a percentage of sales) are usually shared with the franchisor.

Professional and Managerial Ethics Caselet Essay

Limaha Inc. is a world-renowned toilet manufacturer founded in 1967. Limaha led the innovation of advanced bathroom utilities and mainly caters to First Class airports and 5-star hotels. The recent Asian economy boom has led to increased demands of Limaha toilet bowls for the business expansion of their loyal clients. In response, the company has decided call for this unprecedented increase in production that must be met as soon as possible.Jenny Panaguiton, the purchasing manager of Limaha’s main office, was tasked to choose a supplier of premium porcelain to be used in the production of their patented No Pressure toilet bowls. This production will include a big production contract with a new posh hotel in the country’s capital whose construction is about to end with the installation of their bathroom fixtures. After careful analysis from 20 suppliers by the purchasing department, Jenny was presented and left to decide between two suppliers: O Mang China and Teddy B. Solutions. O Mang China offered superior porcelain at a high price. This price along with other costs necessary to deliver the porcelain to the production plants was estimated to exceed the company’s budget. Although Limaha can choose to go ahead and allocate more capital for this transaction, it could result to lower company profits if the previously agreed sales price of No Pressure toilet bowls is not increased. If Limaha decides to charge a higher price on their new product, there is a high possibility that the hotel client would back out from the contract and change to another toilet manufacturer for confirmed business ventures next year. Teddy B. Solutions, on the other hand, offered a lower price for the porcelain materials which is well within the company’s budget. Christopher Barrido, the company’s Vice President for Production even greatly encouraged Jenny on choosing Teddy B, as the really low price of the porcelain would bring significant favorable variances in their division’s costs. Not only would their division have a pretty image in front of the Board, there would even be a possible salary increase. He even promised Jenny of a bright future in the company if she makes the right decision. Jenny, however, doubts their VP’s motives, as Christopher would not normally recommend any supplier and would just leave the Purchasing Department on their decisions. She thinks Christopher’s actions have something to do with the generous gifts Christopher has been receiving recently from his long-time friend and classmate, Teddy B. Teddy B’s proposal is highly attractive when just considering the company’s profits. However, the production team who reviewed the samples from Teddy B showed results that were a far cry from O Mang’s porcelain. Materials from Teddy B produced inferior quality toilet bowls. The production team voiced out their concerns through Pie Bread, the production manager. Pie greatly discouraged the use of Teddy B materials to Christopher Barrido, arguing that the use of such materials would greatly affect their quality, and the name of Limaha Inc. could be tarnished through this. They were also very concerned that the hotel might withdraw previous arrangements with Limaha because of the fact that these inferior toilet bowls were simply not appropriate for the posh hotel. Christopher just won’t have any of Pie’s arguments. He argued that the employees under her department were only exaggerating about the quality of the samples. Teddy B has long been in the business of supplying porcelain, so he argued that the problem is not on the materials, but on the workers handling the production who are not being efficient enough to produce at the expected quality. Pie and Christopher’s debate had been long, and word travelled that Pie was even threatened of demotion if results with the Teddy B samples still would not improve. Needless to say, people from production are now pointing daggers to the purchasing department, as their decisions could cause them their jobs. And so Jenny tried to negotiate the price offer of O Mang China and asked for any other possible alternatives their company could have. Its owner, Osmong, however presented her a very outrageous offer. Osmong is her former lover from a very bad and traumatic relationship.  Osmong, feeling bitter, is still deeply in love with Jenny even after she broke up with him six months ago for a number of undisclosed reasons. Since the breakup, Jenny has vowed to never reconcile with this man again. In a desperate attempt to get Jenny back, Osmong offered to significantly reduce their price to go lower than that of Teddy B, if and only if, she agrees to go back together with him again. This new price would mean that there would be no need for a price increase on the No Pressure toilet bowl, and they could even attract more potential long-term customers because of their high-quality products at a really low price.  To add to the list of her worries, Jenny received a note to come to a private meeting in a nearby cafà © with Bea Wing, Limaha’s Internal Auditor. The meeting had been really stressful, as the topic was Teddy B’s alleged recent romantic interest with Jenny. Teddy has been sending Jenny many gifts and invitations to dinners since the start of the year, and they had gone to a few dates. Jenny, however, just treated their relationship as platonic, and concluded that nothing can come out of their business meetings. Bea however would not believe any of it. Bea had been married to Teddy B for three years. Sadly, a gap in their relationship has formed due to their busy schedules. She noticed her husband’s special attention to Jenny, and thought that a possible divorce could be coming to her soon if Jenny continues to â€Å"lead him on† with her business partnerships. Bea thinks that this new materials supplying contract could be the last straw. She later vowed, that if Jenny makes one wrong move on choosing her husband and destroy her marriage, she would definitely destroy her life. Jenny was visibly shaken, given that Bea really has the power to do so, with a few alterations on her department’s financial statement, and some words with Board of Directors regarding her process of choosing the material suppliers. Jenny really has a lot riding in this decision. The company profits, the production employees, her personal relationships, her co-workers, and her own job are at stake in this one important decision of choosing the supplier of porcelain for the No Pressure toilet bowl model. She could not afford to lose her job now, given that it is the only way for her to pay for the medical bills of her five dogs in the hospital. This one decision could make  or break her life. Even more so, she’s not even sure if it is right. What do you think would be the best action to take?

Fieldwork essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fieldwork - Essay Example Humans exhibit certain notable signs while communicating and these signs are known to come out of subconscious straightforwardly. The emblems are set of gestures that are universally understood and comprehended throughout the globe and meanings associated with these actions vary culture to culture as well. The most important of these are called illustrators and they are unconsciously used in order to backup one’s words. The negative expressions are strongly related with nods, parallel moment of Index figures. The positive thoughts are attached with subtle physical clues while, the information of danger is communicated with the help of showing one’s palms to others and the voice ingredient intensifies itself when we talk with energy and enthusiasm and similar developments can occur with redness of face when somebody is angry or sorrowful. Adaptors are set of gestures that indicate that a person is comfortable with the current conversation. People are famous for leaning back and relaxing themselves when they are communicating with close friends and family. They unknowingly invade personal spaces of each other as well. Additionally, human body moves towards the individuals for whom we have certain feelings of closeness and affection. However, generally we move away from those who appear undesirable for us and these gestures are referred to as Regulators. Final version of expressions is duly motivated with the presence of emotions. The Affect Displays give the clues about the emotional state of the person. The chins are likely to drop when oneself is going through emotional pain whereas, anger can make humans breath heavily and increasing intensity of voice is almost bound to accompany the feeling of rage. The collective of abovementioned symptoms can be used in order to decipher one’s emotional state. The practi tioners of Emotional Intelligence have the ability

Important phenomenon of interpersonal communication Essay

Important phenomenon of interpersonal communication - Essay Example This paper will focus on the interpersonal relationships found in business, such as between customers and companies, among co-workers, and between managers/supervisors and their subordinates. This paper provides an empirical description of the Social Exchange Theory, a theoretical explanation of the phenomenon, and a critical evaluation of the validity and utility of the theoretical explanation. There is an empirical description of the Social Exchange Theory, which begins with the concept of knowledge sharing. Knowledge sharing is an important goal of interpersonal communication at organizations, because it can yield competitive advantages (Wu et al. 84). Nonetheless, organizations do not always exert adequate effort to develop mechanisms that successfully persuade employees to share knowledge (Wu et al. 84). Knowledge is precious and knowledge-sharing behavior is an example of social exchange in the workplace (Wu et al. 84). People who have the knowledge do not always feel free to s hare them, unless there are perceived benefits in doing so, which is a fundamental argument of the Social Exchange Theory. ... ndividual altruism† and â€Å"a social interaction environment.† The sampling came from Taiwanese high-tech industries, particularly research and development (R&D) teams. Finding showed that employees’ â€Å"perceived interpersonal trust,† from colleagues or supervisor, was found to be positively associated with their propensity to share knowledge (91). Employees’ altruism is also a trait that affected the tendency to share knowledge in the workplace and altruism also lessened the association between trust of colleagues and knowledge sharing (91). Furthermore, an â€Å"organizational social interaction environment† improves the positive association between trust of colleagues and knowledge sharing (91). Hence, trust is critical to knowledge sharing or the formation of some of the basic interpersonal relations that organizations require to become competitive. Whitener et al. explored the kinds of behavior managers may perform to build trust. Th ey used the agency and social exchange theories and proposed an exchange relationship framework that recognizes organizational, relational, and individual factors that support or restrain managerial trustworthy behavior. Their model argued for the importance of trust in creating strong and knowledge-sharing relationships. The empirical research showed that the social exchange theory is grounded on trust and from trust and expectations of benefits, positive social exchange can occur. A theoretical explanation of the phenomenon will further help understand the social exchange theory. The social exchange theory, as developed by Blau in 1964, states that an individual may seek to create an exchange relationship with others by willingly giving benefits to others first and then expecting some level of return in the future (Wu et al.

The Importance of the Price Elasticity of Demand Research Paper

The Importance of the Price Elasticity of Demand - Research Paper Example On the other hand, Fair Trade is a controlled certification method where there are conditions set on agricultural commodities production. The goods of Fair Trade that are produced according to the criteria followed in the trade are warranted a small price above the price of the world market. The main important part of this Trade is the products’ market in the countries that are developed. The main purpose of this study is to look into factors that mainly affect Fair Trade coffee demand and work out the coffees’ price elasticity of demand. This research is mainly aiming in giving answers why many purchasers may buy products of Fair Trade at higher prices than the substitutes of Fair trade goods. In addition, there is price elasticity of demands impacts on retail revenues mentioned in this paper. The findings obtained from this study showed that Fair Trade demands of coffee depend on various functional features like brand, price, taste and locations of sales. According to the theoretical models that are founded on the complementary utility, conclusions that arise are that price elasticity of demand mainly depends on the Fair Trade and regular coffee price differences and the demands of Fair trade coffee shares in comparison to the consumption of the whole coffee (Giovannucci, 105). Price elasticity of demand measures products quantity responsiveness to changes of the products price. It is referred to as the own price demand elasticity for a product sometimes. Many theories provided have concepts of consumers aiming to make best use of their personal utility. It would be unreasonable if a customer is likely prepared to spend more on the Fair Trade goods than for the Fair Trade good substitute if they have the same quality (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, 1). Many people using this product have interests on the conditions used in producing the Fair Trade goods even though there may be no effect on the standard product quality. Fair Trade coffee is described a product that has innovations, whereby making the process of production to be good increases the product quality in a slight way. Many consumers, who are aware of the product and like it, are willing to spend more on the product quality that has been improved. In addition, consumers may be gr ouped separately. Some consumers will take a product due to their characteristics and others due to the price of the product. Prices of these products are supposed to vary in different point of sales except there are features that permit the sellers to price the products differently. The location effects depend with the mobility of the consumers and if they buy all their products in one locality. There are various reasons that may lead to the Fair Trade coffee demand (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, 1). The reasons may be the flavor, the brand, quality, price and convenience of the coffee may affect the decisions used while purchasing the product. Another factor that may affect the decision of purchasing is the origin of the coffee. There are negative values in the price elasticity of demand for products, this is there would be demand in a certain commodity if the price is low. In Fair Trade coffee, the price elasticity of demand is important in various ways (Riley, 1). Retailers may discriminate prices among customers if there is a low price elasticity of demand. In a case where the demand is not elastic, there will be a less demand decrease to be suffered by the producers, even if the coffee prices are high. According to Giovannucci (161), this theory concludes that if there is a small Fair Trade Coffee price elasticity of demand, there will be great revenue obtained from the product sales even if there is an increase in the

Leadership Paper Business Internship class Term

Leadership Business Internship class - Term Paper Example The apparent vacuum in leadership manifests in the employees poor performance and low productivity. The management seemed to have credibility issue as employees are resistant from any initiative that comes from the Management. Tardiness is also high and so is absenteeism while employee attrition rate is alarming and is costing the management time and resources in training new employees. There is also an apparent discord within the organization as petty quarrels are prevalent among the employee which prevents them to work as a cohesive team. Morale is also low. From what I can deduce from how I was oriented and my initial observation with few casual interviews from employees, there seemed to be a credibility issue with the leadership in the organization. This was validated when I did my initial background research on the issue on how the previous manager fared. I found out that the previous manager was fired due to professional ineptness and questionable professional ethical behaviour in the organization. I surmise that the current leadership credibility issue and low morale in the organization was the result of the previous manager’s professional deportment and leadership. ... Take into consideration the role of the leader; leadership skills and strategies the leader will employ; relationship to others involved in the plan; resources needed to implement the plan; specific activities, etc. Leadership is important in an organization not only to get things done but also to set the direction of the organization. And because of this imperative, leadership has to be present in all aspects of organization as Quinn (1996) argues that leadership is a state of being that people can enter into irrespective of their formal role or position within an organization. . . it as a shared property of the group such that all members of the group, regardless of their formal role or position, participate in the leadership process (Carson, Tesluk, & Marrone, 2007; Morgeson, DeRue, & Karam, 2010; Pearce & Conger, 2003). My immediate plan when I assume office is to repair the broken relationship among the employees and its discord with the management. I also intend to open the com munication line to address the seemingly low morale of the employees as attrition rate is alarmingly high. From what I surmised, the employees seem not to believe in what the management is telling them as it has a credibility issue. Such that I am in a precarious situation to implement remedial measure. Relationship is tough to mend for â€Å" understanding and cooperation of superiors, peers, and subordinates, it takes time to build these relationships† (Kayser, 1973). My initial strategy as a manager is to come to the organization unobtrusively. As I assume office, I will first establish rapport with my employees. There will be initially nothing serious to be taken but just present myself to them as a human being who also feels just

Then And Now How Is America Changing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Then And Now How Is America Changing - Essay Example The paper shows that racism in America has always appeared as a system. It is a system that has been supported by economic and materialistic conditions in places of work whether in blue collar jobs or in other forms of employment. The joblessness has also been reinforced by increased social isolation due to lack of proper education and other social supports. This, in the long run, condemns the unemployed segment into a vicious cycle that is not easy to break, which gives the impression that particular race is not fairly considered. America is one country that is very dynamic politically, socially and economically. Our main focus is economic changes that have happened in America for the last forty years and how these changes have influenced racial, sexism and classism. Many factories in America have opted for cheap labor abroad, which in turn produces cheap products that have ready market both in America and the world. The trend in racial harmony has been a function of the elements of tolerance and understanding that has been cultivated into the American people since the days of Martin Luther King Jr. In as much as the racial and gender divide has been bridged, America is today faced with a much bigger problem of economic disparity with 99% struggling as the 1% wallow in wealth. The economic divide so created is severe to the extent that poor Americans have opted to mounting regular demonstrations like the ongoing â€Å"occupy the wall street demonstration† and with these happenings a possible class revolution may be seen in the future.

Nationalism in Jesus Franco's films Research Paper

Nationalism in Jesus Franco's films - Research Paper Example Jess Franco is a director who has produced over 180 films in a span of 45 years. This essay will examine the symbolic interpretation of Jesus Franco's films in regards to Spanish Nationalism. It also focuses on the reoccurring visuals and themes in Franco's films including choking, bondage, mirrors, colors and repression. Spanish Nationalism insists that all Spaniards are one family and should be united as one in terms of culture and language. Spanish nationalism has been expressed in various forms including films. Spaniards view themselves as a unique country considering that they were the first country in Europe to achieve political, social and economic unity. The Spaniards, who are believed to be traditionally xenophobic, resented ‘other’ nationalities in the 19th century. When discussing Spanish nationalism, it is important to realize the meaning of the term in the Spanish context. In nationalism, the emphasis is put on national unity. Nationalism is associated with a struggle to unify people and an uprising against oppression. Nationalism is normally forward looking and aims to achieve better living standards and unification of a people. Jesus Franco used his films to express his individuality and to fight for the freedom of filmmakers. Franco, together with another renowned Spanish film maker known as Carillo played an important role in Spanish Nationalism. Franco, who has specialized in low cost horror, thrillers, pornography and films based on science fiction (Corliss, n. p.). This is perhaps the reason why despite having produced hundreds of films, Franco still remains largely unrecognized in the Spanish film industry. Most of the films by Jess Franco had melodramatic endings, justifying his choice of characters and use of imagery. It is important to note that the 20th century was quite aesthetic and as such memory and remoteness were coincidental. In order to understand the contributions made by Jesus Franco in the Spanish Nationalism, yo u may need to trace the history of filmmaking in Spain. In the 1960s, it was not easy to make films. Most of the films simply had themes filled with melodrama (Graham, n. p.). The fascist government in Spain at the time imposed stringent Censorship rules which made the types of films produced by Jesus rare. Franco, however, did not wish to obey these rules and instead produced films that expressed his anger towards the censors. In the 20th century, cinema in the Spain has helped in defining and constructing an identity for the nation. This was especially important considering that in the 20th century; there was a general climate of globalism, social liberation, repression and democratization. Being During this time, Spain was referred to as the Francoist Spain owing to the fact that the country was being run by Francisco Franco, a dictator. Franco attempted to promote nationalism by suppressing the cultural diversity which existed at the time. Franco contributed to Spanish Nationali sm by producing films based on the ills that were happening in society, many of which the mainstream cinema were not willing to highlight. In the 1950s when Franco began his career, the Fancoist government was sponsoring the inculcation of traditional and religious beliefs in Spain. Due to the nature of films that Jesus Franco produced, he did not fit into any of the existing categories of film producers. Franco, through the

Asthma Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Asthma - Research Paper Example In the US childhood incidence had increases fro 3% to 9% since 1980. Among different ethnic groups in the US, Puerto Ricans have the highest incidence of asthma. African Americans also have a high incidence of this disease. Irish Americans and Hawaiians also have a high incidence of asthma. The lowest incidence is found in the Mexican population. Although the incidence of pediatric asthma is higher in males than in females, the occurrence of this disease is much higher in adult females, who are twice as likely to die of this disease as males. Moreover, the incidence of asthma is higher in lower socioeconomic groups who reside in urban centers. There are two primary forms of this disease: acute and chronic. The acute form of the disease is characterized by the occurrence of in worsening symptoms and unstable bronchial function. The chronic form of the disease is a stable, non-progressing condition (Adam 10). Many patients with asthma vary over time between the two disease states. Asthma can be distinguished from several other major forms of lung disease by means of differential diagnosis. Unlike emphysema which affects the structure and function of the alveoli, the primary site of gaseous exchange in the lung, asthma affects the airways or conductance passage that transport air between the lung tissue and the external opening of the body. Likewise, COPD is an irreversible deterioration of the primary lung tissue; in contrast at the inflammatory manifestations of asthma are reversible (Adam 20-23). Asthma is a chronic pulmonary disorder characterized by inflammation of the major airways of the lungs and has a complex etiology. The recurring inflammatory episodes result in hyper-responsiveness of airway vessels that causes tissue swelling with many physiological consequences (Adam 44). These episodes cause symptoms of wheezing, tightness of the chest, coughing and restricted airflow that result in

Business ethics Essay Example for Free

Business ethics Essay In the past there have been several cases in the business environment related to the practices of accountants and auditors who have violated the trust and confidence of public. A number of researches have been conducted to find the potential factors resulting in unethical, biased or inappropriate decision making and judgments by the professionals. The aim of this paper is to review two academic articles and conclude on the reliability of the claims and assertions made by the authors. The research paper of Pflugrath, Martinov-Bennie ump; Chen (2007) aims to analyze the impact of organizational codes of ethics on the accountants’ and auditors’ judgments and professional decisions making skills. The research is conducted on a sample of 112 professional accountants and auditing students and resulted in indicating that the codes of ethics positively influence the judgments of professional accountants but does not affect the students’ judgments. On the other hand, the paper by Shafer, Morrid ump; Ketchand (2001) is based on the research of the professional auditors and the impact of their personal values on their ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. The study concluded that personal values do not affect the ethical considerations and judgments of professional auditors. However, the knowledge and the understanding of moral intensity have an impact on the judgments abilities of the professional accountants. Pfflugrath, Martinov-Bennie ump; Chen (2007) conducted the study basing their discussion on the new International Standard on Quality Controls 1’s (ISQC1) requirements for all organizations and accounting firms to implement policies and regulations which support the ethical and technical independence of the professional accountants. â€Å"The presence of a code of ethics appears to have a significant influence on the quality audit judgments of professional accountants’’ (Pfflugrath, Martinov-Bennie ump; Chen, 2007). In terms of aggressive client preferences, the code of ethics may help in better judgment by the professional auditors and accountants. In contrast Shafer, Morrid ump; Ketchand (2001) suggest that in case of client’s pressure on aggressive financial reporting, â€Å"auditors’ ethical behavior influenced by economic or utilitarian considerations†. Shafer et. al. , (2001) suggest that strong organizational norms should result in the standardization of behaviors. In this regard, the results of Pflugrath et. al. (2007) may be judged as fairly consistent that organizational codes of ethics may help in ethical decision making of employees and professionals in auditing and accounting fields. Unitary codes of ethics may help in standardization for the accounting and auditing professionals and may result in similar findings for the similar scenarios or situations that prevail in different companies or businesses. Pflugrath et. al. (2007) gives arguments which are more persuasive and compatible with the existing literature. The research methodology of both the papers provides reasonable assurance of the validity of their judgments, however, Shafer et. al. , (2001) has weakness of the homogeneity of the values of the sample which is the major portion of the participants used for the research. The results, hence, may not reliable for the diversified population of today’s business environment where people with different personal values and social norms are working together. For such a diversified population in the business environment we may rely on the results of Pflugrath et. al’ study which indicates the code of ethics may end up affecting the professional judgment positively. Moreover, the respondents in Shafer et. al’s study had not graduated. Also, most of the respondents have almost 20 years experience in public accounting. People with similar personal values, as stated by the Shafer’s study may choose similar fields. Hence, the results produced are biased and rely upon the majority of people with similar values. Both journals provide a wide number of studies to support their arguments. The supporting details of every argument belong to reliable sources and articles. The arguments in Shafer et. al’s survey, however, provide the insight of impacts of personal values in different fields. The conclusion is not as straightforward as in the research of Pflugrath et. al. The study of Shafer et. al. (2001) leaves enough space for the reader to judge if the personal values or organizational norm affect ethical judgments and decision makings of accountants and auditors. Whereas, Pflugrath et. al.provide much evident information on the agreement and in support of auditors and accountants. Moreover, unlike Shafer et. al. ’s study, Pflugrath et. al included much research and literature in support of their conclusion rather than providing the contrary information. Concisely, the journals under review provide a depth analysis of the two factors that may affect ethical judgment and decision making of accountant and auditors. The first factor is the presence or absence of codes of ethics and the second is the impact of personal values and norms in ethical decisions makings of professionals. The dilemma of lack of ethical decision making which has abandoned the public confidence and trust is dependent on the codes of ethics which are being set and exercised within the business environment and the perceptions of moral intensity which affect the judgments of the auditors. There are other determinants, as discussed by the articles, like clients pressure and personal interest which may affect the quality of judgments and decision making in the fields of accounting and auditing but it is not right to ignore the 2 factors being discussed. Ethical judgment, hence, depends on the exercise of codes of ethics which provide autonomy to the auditors and accountants to work in the best interest of the business and not at the discretion of the client’s orders. Moreover, such codes of ethics, if exercised appropriate may affect the values of auditors and accountants leading to the better and more independent of the financial data of the business under review.

Planeación estratégica

Planeacià ³n estratà ©gica REPASO DE CONCEPTOS Bà SICOS Planeacià ³n: Proceso de establecer objetivos y escoger el medio mà ¡s apropiado para el logro de los mismos. Planeacià ³n estratà ©gica: Proceso por el cual los miembros guà ­a de una organizacià ³n prevà ©n su futuro y desarrolla los procedimientos y operaciones necesarias para alcanzarlo. La planeacià ³n estratà ©gica debe de responder a 3 preguntas:  ¿Hacia dà ³nde va?  ¿Cuà ¡l es el entorno?  ¿Cà ³mo lograrlo? La estrategia se involucra en 6 factores crà ­ticos Desarrollo consistente, explicito y proactivo Medio para establecer el propà ³sito en la organizacià ³n basado en los objetivos de largo plazo, planes de accià ³n y asignacià ³n de recursos En quà © tipo de negocio se està ¡ La estrategia representa una respuesta al FODA para la ventaja competitiva La estrategia ayuda a diferenciar las tareas ejecutivas y administrativas y los roles a nivel corporativo de negocio y funcionales. Constituye una forma de definir la contribucià ³n econà ³mica y no econà ³mica que la organizacià ³n harà ¡ a sus grupos de interà ©s, su razà ³n de ser. Administracià ³n estratà ©gica: Es la ejecucià ³n de la planeacià ³n estratà ©gica. Planeacià ³n tà ¡ctica y operativa: Se relacionan a cà ³mo hacer el trabajo, mientras que la planeacià ³n estratà ©gica se dedica a decir quà © se debe hacer. DIRECCIONAMIENTO ESTRATÉGICO: Es una disciplina que a travà ©s de un proceso denominado planeacià ³n estratà ©gica compila la estrategia de mercado que define la orientacià ³n de los productos y servicios hacia el mercado.  ¿Por quà © es importante desarrollar un plan estratà ©gico? La necesidad de contar con una visià ³n comà ºn y un sentido de trabajo en equipo El deseo de controlar el destino de la empresa El afà ¡n de obtener mà ¡s recursos para la operacià ³n. La percepcià ³n de que los à ©xitos operativos actuales de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a no eran garantà ­a para el futuro La necesidad de salir de los problemas La oportunidad de explotar un nueva coyuntura o abordar una nueva amenaza. La necesidad de pasarse la antorcha y cargarla cuando hay relevos en la direccià ³n. La planeacià ³n puede tener 4 enfoques: Reactiva o planeacià ³n a travà ©s del espejo retrovisor Inactiva o que va con la corriente Preactiva o que se prepara para el futuro Proactiva o que diseà ±a el futuro y hace que à ©ste suceda. ESTRATEGIAS Para el diseà ±o de la estrategia del negocio se debe conocer el perfil estratà ©gico de la empresa, el cual incluye: Su enfoque de innovacià ³n Su orientacià ³n hacia la toma de riesgos Su capacidad de crear el futuro en forma proactiva Su posicià ³n competitiva Elementos del diseà ±o de la estrategia del negocio: Identificar las principales là ­neas de negocios o actividades estratà ©gicas que la empresa desarrollara para cumplir su misià ³n. Establecer los indicadores crà ­ticos de à ©xito que permitirà ¡n a la organizacià ³n al progreso en cada là ­nea de negocio. Identificar las acciones estratà ©gicas mediante las cuales la empresa lograrà ¡ su visià ³n de la condicià ³n futura ideal. Determinar la cultura necesaria para apoyar el logro de las là ­neas de negocio, los indicadores crà ­ticos de à ©xito y las acciones estratà ©gicas. Grandes estrategias: Una gran estrategia consiste en un enfoque amplio y general que guà ­a las acciones de una là ­nea de negocio. Las grandes estrategias indican la manera como se pretenden lograr los planes estratà ©gicos de cada là ­nea de negocio. Pierce y Robinson identifican 12 grandes estrategias: Crecimiento concentrado o concentrarse en un solo producto que haya sido el soporte rentable de la organizacià ³n. Desarrollo del mercado, es decir, agregar nuevos consumidores a los mercados relacionados. Desarrollo de productos, es decir, crear productos nuevos y relacionados que se puedan vender en los mercados existentes. Innovacià ³n, o generacià ³n de productos tan novedosos y superiores que los existentes se vuelvan obsoletos. Integracià ³n horizontal, es decir, adquirir o fusionarse con una organizacià ³n similar, para reducir la competencia. Integracià ³n vertical: desarrollar una red interna de suministros o desarrollar un sistema de distribucià ³n interna que acerque mà ¡s la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a a sus usuarios finales. Joint-venture o hacer equipo con otra organizacià ³n para desarrollar un nuevo producto o mercado. Diversificacià ³n concà ©ntrica: adquirir o fusionarse con otras empresas que sean compatibles con la tecnologà ­a, mercados o productos de la empresa. Diversificacià ³n: adquirir o fusionarse con una compaà ±Ãƒ ­a que equilibre sus fortalezas y debilidades. Atrincheramiento o reversar las tendencias negativas en las utilidades mediante una variedad de mà ©todos de reduccià ³n de costos. Desistimiento: vender por completo o cerrar definitivamente un segmento de la organizacià ³n. Liquidacià ³n o venta total de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a de acuerdo con sus activos tangibles y cierre definitivo. MODELO DE PLANEACIÓN ESTRATÉGICA (PE) Para la realizacià ³n de un plan estratà ©gico es necesario seguir los siguientes pasos: 1. Planeacià ³n para planear: Obtener respuestas antes de la inicializacià ³n de cualquier proceso de planeacià ³n. (Quien, cuando, donde, como.) 2. Monitoreo del entorno: Se debe monitorear 4 entornos principales: Macroentorno Industrial Competitivo Interno de la organizacià ³n 3. Bà ºsqueda de valores: Consiste en un examen de los valores actuales, la filosofà ­a de trabajo, los supuestos en las operaciones, la cultura organizacional, los valores de los grupos de interà ©s en su futuro. Valor segà ºn Rokeach: una conviccià ³n permanente de que una forma especà ­fica de conducta o estado final de existencia se prefiere de manera personal o social ante una forma opuesta de conducta o condicià ³n final de existencia. 4. Formulacià ³n de la misià ³n: Desarrollar un enunciado claro del tipo de negocio en que se halla la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a. (Que, para quien, cà ³mo y por quà ©.) 5. Diseà ±o de la estrategia de negocio: Implica el intento inicial de la organizacià ³n para descubrir en detalle los pasos a travà ©s de los cuales se logra la misià ³n de la organizacià ³n. Acciones del proceso de diseà ±o: Identificar: LDN: productos o servicios que ofrecerà ¡ la organizacià ³n en el futuro. Establecer: ICE: indicadores crà ­ticos de à ©xito. Identificar acciones estratà ©gicas mediante las cuales la empresa lograrà ¡ su visià ³n de la condicià ³n futura ideal. Determinar la cultura necesaria para apoyar a las 3 anteriores. 6. Auditoria del desempeà ±o: Desarrollar una comprensià ³n clara de del desempeà ±o actual. FODA, el propà ³sito es poder proporcionar datos para el anà ¡lisis de brechas. 7. Anà ¡lisis de Brechas: Identificar las brechas entre el desempeà ±o actual y el desempeà ±o que se requiere para la exitosa realizacià ³n del modelo de estrategia del negocio. Evaluacià ³n de la realidad vs auditoria del desempeà ±o. El fin es cerrar las brechas entre lo actual y lo deseado en la estrategia de negocios, para ello està ¡n: Ampliar el tiempo para lograr el objetivo, Reducir el alcance del objetivo, Reasignar los recursos y obtener nuevos recursos. 8. Integracià ³n de los planes de accià ³n: Cada LDN debe desarrollar estrategias o planes maestros de negocios. Diversas unidades deben desarrollar planes operativos con base al plan. Pierce y Robinson hablan de 12 estrategias diferentes que se pueden implementar: Crecimiento Concentrado (en un solo producto) Desarrollo de Mercado Desarrollo del producto (crear nuevos bienes) Innovacià ³n Integracià ³n Horizontal Integracià ³n vertical Joint Venture ( Unirse solo para formar un nuevo producto) Diversificacià ³n concà ©ntrica ( adquirir o fusionarse con compaà ±Ãƒ ­as compatibles) Diversificacià ³n Atrincheramiento ( reduccià ³n de costos ) Desposeimiento Liquidacià ³n 9. Planeacià ³n de Contingencias: La planeacià ³n de contingencias implica: Identificar las amenazas y las oportunidades internas y externas Desarrollar puntos de partida a fin de iniciar acciones para cada contingencia Acordar los pasos respectivos para cada punto de partida 10. Implementacià ³n: Implica la iniciacià ³n concurrente de de varios planes tà ¡cticos y operativos diseà ±ados en el nivel funcional mas el monitoreo y la integracià ³n de los planes a nivel organizacional. DEFINICIÓN DE LOS VALORES DE LA ORGANIZACIÓN: La bà ºsqueda de valores en la planeacià ³n estratà ©gica aplicada involucra un anà ¡lisis profundo de los siguientes 5 elementos: Los valores personales del equipo de planeacià ³n Los valores de la organizacià ³n como un todo La filosofà ­a de la organizacià ³n La cultura de la organizacià ³n Los grupos de interà ©s de la organizacià ³n Como manejar las diferencias de valores personales: No pasar por alto un escozor Trabajar en la diferencia antes que se convierta en un problema. Las personas que tienen diferencias deben dialogar y tratar de resolverlas por sus propias cuentas Es bueno solicitar sugerencias al consultor sobre como acercarse a la otra persona o como definir el asunto de la mejor manera. Si alguien se acerca a usted con una diferencia de valores debe estar dispuesto a trabajar con ella sobre ese problema. Si despuà ©s de haber intentado solucionar el problema por su propia cuenta, no hay ningà ºn cambio, debe buscar la ayuda de un consultor. Si un individuo se queja ante usted de los valores de otra persona, motà ­velo a analizar el asunto con dicha persona. ANà LISIS Y MONITOREO DEL ENTORNO: Dos aspectos del proceso y alcance del monitoreo del entorno: a. Tipos de informacià ³n obtenida y la forma como se debe utilizar esta b. Efectividad del sistema de compilacià ³n, almacenamiento, procesamiento, integracià ³n y difusià ³n de la informacià ³n. La informacià ³n debe identificar oportunidades y amenazas emergentes en el entorno externo. Luego debe identificar sus fortalezas y debilidades para responder a estas oportunidades y amenazas. Se deben examinar con regularidad 4 entornos: Macroentorno Entorno industrial Entorno competitivo Entorno interno organizacional Aspectos econà ³micos: Tasas de interà ©s, Ciclo del negocio (afecta a la contraccià ³n expansià ³n) 5 pasos para el sistema de bà ºsqueda de informacià ³n estratà ©gica: Identificar las necesidades de informacià ³n de la empresa en especial para la siguiente fase de la planeacià ³n estratà ©gica. Generar una lista de fuentes de informacià ³n que proporcionen datos esenciales. Identificar a quienes participaran en el proceso de monitoreo del entorno (no miembros del equipo de planeacià ³n). Asignar tareas de monitoreo a varios miembros de la organizacià ³n Almacenar y difundir la informacià ³n AUDITORIA DEL DESEMPEÑO: El equipo de planeacià ³n debe evaluar donde se encuentra la organizacià ³n actualmente con respeto a: Perfil estratà ©gico  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   LDN  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Estrategias  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cultura 1. Anà ¡lisis FODA: Fortalezas y debilidades internas: Identificar las debilidades que es necesario manejar o evitar cuando se formule el plan y asà ­ mismo las fortalezas que se pueden aprovechar para lograr el futuro deseado. Oportunidades y amenazas externas: El equipo de planeacià ³n debe estudiar competidores, proveedores, mercados y clientes, tendencias econà ³micas, condiciones del mercado laboral y reglamentos gubernamentales en todos los niveles que puedan influir en la empresa, en forma negativa o positiva. La auditoria del desempeà ±o interno debe cumplir con 5 à ¡reas clave: El estado de cada uno de las là ­neas de negocio actuales de la organizacià ³n y sus recursos no aprovechados con relacià ³n a cualquier là ­nea de negocio que se pueda agregar. El estado de sus sistemas de seguimiento, es decir, la disponibilidad de los indicadores crà ­ticos de à ©xito identificados en el diseà ±o de la estrategia del negocio. El perfil estratà ©gico de la organizacià ³n, en especial, sus niveles de creatividad, sus niveles usuales de toma de riesgos y su enfoque de la competencia. Los recursos del sistema para ejecutar las diversas estrategias que la empresa ha escogido a fin de lograr su misià ³n, incluidas su estructura y talento administrativo. Un anà ¡lisis de la cultura organizacional actual, incluida su actual forma de realizar los negocios. 2. Là ­neas de negocio: El primer paso en la auditoria del desempeà ±o interno consiste en analizar cada là ­nea de negocio existente. Se debe tratar de utilizar los indicadores crà ­ticos de à ©xito establecidos durante el diseà ±o de la estrategia de negocio. Esto permitirà ¡ determinar si hay un sistema de seguimiento adecuado o planear uno en caso de que sea necesario. 3. Sistemas de seguimiento: La auditoria del desempeà ±o interno, que requiere la compilacià ³n y estudio de una variedad de indicadores del desempeà ±o, representa un examen general del desempeà ±o recuente de la organizacià ³n en tà ©rminos de los à ­ndices bà ¡scios de desempeà ±o que se hayan identificado como decisivos en el perfil estratà ©gico. Algunos ejemplos son: Flujo de caja, crecimiento, contratacià ³n, tecnologà ­a, operaciones, TIR. 4. Perfil estratà ©gico Es necesario incluir los siguientes 4 factores en el perfil estratà ©gico de la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a: El nivel de creatividad Utilizacià ³n previa en la construccià ³n del futuro en forma proactiva Su orientacià ³n hacia la toma de riesgos Su posicià ³n competitiva tà ­pica Cuando la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a se fundamenta en estos factores su perfil estratà ©gico proporciona un contexto para comprender como empezara a ejecutar cualquier plan estratà ©gico. 5. Anà ¡lisis de los recursos: Para hacer este anà ¡lisis se debe hacer la siguiente pregunta:  ¿Cuà ¡les son los recursos actuales del sistema? Debe incluir competencias de personas, vacà ­os a llenar y cà ³mo hacerlo, recursos financieros para el crecimiento y como podrà ­an enfrentarse, etc. 6. Cultura Organizacional:  ¿De quà © manera ayuda o interfiere con la consecucià ³n de su misià ³n? Un mà ©todo para organizar las diversas impresiones de la cultura de la empresa consiste en utilizar el modelo de Harrison y Stokes hay 4 diferentes tipos de cultura organizacional: Cultura del poder Cultura del rol Cultura del logro Cultura del apoyo 7. Herramientas analà ­ticas adicionales: Ciclo de vida Los productos o servicios determinados progresan a travà ©s de una serie de etapas identificadas como un ciclo de vida. Las etapas son surgimiento, crecimiento, madurez y decadencia. Se debe identificar en que etapa del ciclo se encuentra cada LDN y en cual se hallan los productos o servicios clave. Anà ¡lisis de portafolio BCG: Los productos o servicios se catalogan en perro, vaca lechera, signo de interrogacià ³n o nià ±o problema, de acuerdo a las utilidades y volumen de ventas. 9. Oportunidades y amenazas externas: Se deben incluir los siguientes entornos: Entorno industrial: Cliente, disponibilidad MP, mezcla actual de marketing, ciclo de vida de la industria Competitivo: Intensidad de la rivalidad, amenaza de nuevos competidores, poder negociacià ³n de compradores, poder de negociacià ³n de los proveedores, la presià ³n de sustitutos. General: Econà ³mico, social, polà ­tico Especà ­fico: Aspectos no competitivos del entorno industrial, clientes, disponibilidad de materia prima, mezcla de marketing, ciclo de vida de la industria. ANà LISIS FODA: Despuà ©s de desarrollar el plan estratà ©gico, el equipo de planeacià ³n debe avaluar en donde se encuentra la organizacià ³n actualmente con respecto a cada uno de los aspectos. Es decir, se debe hacer una auditoria del desempeà ±o. Esto constituye un esfuerzo para identificar que es y donde se encuentra la organizacià ³n en la actualidad. Implica un estudio profundo y simultà ¡neo, tanto de sus debilidades y fortalezas internas, como de aquellos factores externos, es decir, oportunidades y amenazas que afronta la empresa. Una forma de hacer esta evaluacià ³n es utilizando la herramienta FODA: Fortalezas y debilidades internas: Identificar las debilidades que es necesario manejar o evitar cuando se formule el plan y asà ­ mismo las fortalezas que se pueden aprovechar para lograr el futuro deseado. Oportunidades y amenazas externas: El equipo de planeacià ³n debe estudiar competidores, proveedores, mercados y clientes, tendencias econà ³micas, condiciones del mercado laboral y reglamentos gubernamentales en todos los niveles que puedan influir en la empresa, en forma negativa o positiva. La auditoria del desempeà ±o interno debe cumplir con 5 à ¡reas clave: El estado de cada uno de las là ­neas de negocio actuales de la organizacià ³n y sus recursos no aprovechados con relacià ³n a cualquier là ­nea de negocio que se pueda agregar. El estado de sus sistemas de seguimiento, es decir, la disponibilidad de los indicadores crà ­ticos de à ©xito identificados en el diseà ±o de la estrategia del negocio. El perfil estratà ©gico de la organizacià ³n, en especial, sus niveles de creatividad, sus niveles usuales de toma de riesgos y su enfoque de la competencia. Los recursos del sistema para ejecutar las diversas estrategias que la empresa ha escogido a fin de lograr su misià ³n, incluidas su estructura y talento administrativo. Un anà ¡lisis de la cultura organizacional actual, incluida su actual forma de realizar los negocios. FORMULACIÓN DE LA VISIÓN Y LA MISIÓN: Este paso le sigue a la definicià ³n de los valores de la empresa, ya que tanto la misià ³n como la visià ³n deben ser congruentes con los valores establecidos. Una declaracià ³n de la misià ³n dirige la razà ³n de ser fundamental de la empresa y especifica el rol principal que esta va a desempeà ±ar en su entorno. Al formular la declaracià ³n de la misià ³n, una organizacià ³n debe responder 4 preguntas fundamentales:  ¿Quà © funciones desempeà ±a la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a?  ¿Para quià ©n desempeà ±a esta funcià ³n la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a?  ¿Cà ³mo va la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a en el cumplimiento de su funcià ³n?  ¿Por quà © existe la compaà ±Ãƒ ­a? Fuerzas conductoras Otro factor importante que se debe considerar es identificar y dar prioridad a las fuerzas conductoras de la empresa. Hay 8 categorà ­as bà ¡sicas: Productos ofrecidos Mercado atendido Tecnologà ­a Capacidad de produccià ³n a bajo costo Capacidad de operaciones Mà ©todo de distribucià ³n / venta Recursos naturales Utilidad / retorno

Gun Control :: Second Amendment The Right To Bear Arms

Many guns are used all around the world. All guns have the potential to become very dangerous weapons. The automatic assault weapon is one of these potentially dangerous weapons, which is used for many different tasks. Although some automatic assault weapons can be beneficially used, the sale of all automatic assault weapons should be banned because they allow many unnecessary accidents to happen, people who tend not to be dangerous have the possibility to become dangerous, and they allow the public the opportunity to become as powerful as the police and the military. Granted, guns can be used beneficially in many different ways. Hunting is one of these ways. However, is hunting still a sport when you can shoot off ten rounds in a second at an animal? Retaliation cannot even occur from these defenseless animals. So guns can be used beneficially, but not automatic assault weapons. The many numbers of accidental deaths by weapons is growing. This is due to the many different weapons out and the lack of knowledge about these weapons. If we are not going to ban automatic assault weapons we should make courses on each weapon mandatory. This will cut down on the many accidents due to automatic assault weapons. Also, people who own automatic assault weapons tend to become dangerous. With the weapon they now have the option of using or not using the weapon. This allows a small fraction of thought and if the person chooses the automatic assault weapon things could get out of hand and the person could become dangerous. More so, people will be allowed to become as powerful as the police and the military. The police and the military have trouble enough handling people without weapons. Also, with the weapons people become the same strength as the police because many of the automatic weapons that the police use are sold to the public.

Revolutionary War: The Battles of Lexington and Concord :: American America History

Revolutionary War: The Battles of Lexington and Concord The battles of Lexington and Concord were neccessary battles to the American Revolutionary War because they started the very thing that made our country free. Many people have always wondered how the historic American Revolutionary War got started. Sure, they have heard the stories of Paul Revere and the Midnight Ride: There was even a poem written about his ride, but Paul Revere didn’t start the war. It was a much bigger deal than just that. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the very first battles of the Revolutionary War. The battle of Lexington was a brief fight that marked the first war-like conflict. It took place on the morning of April 19, 1775, when about 70 colonial minutemen, commanded by Captain John Parker, collided with about 800 British soldiers marching their way to Concord, Massachusetts, to steal some equipment from the colonial militia. The British soldiers were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith (Lexington, Battle of). The first shot fired at this battle was the famous "Shot heard around the world." It was called that because it affected the history of the world greatly. Although when this battle happened, it wasn’t an official battle. It was mainly just like David and Goliath. It wasn’t fair: 800 seasoned soldiers against 70 colonial men. The men who were involved were called "embattled farmers" by the well-known New England poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson. These "embattled farmers" faced many long years of war. When the war ended, however, the 13 colonies would stand as a free country (Davidson). The Battle of Concord was the first serious conflict of the Revolutionary War. It again was fought on the same day as the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775. The colonists had failed to stop the British, but they got reinforcements. when the British got to Concord, there was no equipment to be taken. It was a decoy and the British had been tricked. When they turned around to head back, they were faced with the Colonial army to fight. The colonial army won and the American Revolutionary War had begun. At the battle of Concord, Captain John Parker said, "Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." Many famous people were involved in these battles. Paul Revere was a patriot who is well-known for his famous midnight ride.

The Problems of Over Population Essay -- Natural Resources Economy Ess

The Problems of Over Population There are several problems that affect the world today: war, crime, pollution, and several others. Overpopulation is a serious dilemma that is growing every year, every minute, and every second. It is the root of most, if not all, of the world’s problems1. It is the greatest global crisis facing humanity in the twenty-first century. Overpopulation is the major global problem because of several reasons. Most of the problems we have today, such as ocean depletion, food shortages, water shortages, air pollution, water pollution, and global warming are the effects of overpopulation2. The more people there are, the more resources consumed and the more waste created. A child born today in the United States for instance will produce fifty-two tons of garbage and consume 11 million gallons of water by the age of seventy-five3. Freshwater, drinkable water, is the most critical natural resource to humans. As time goes by, the world’s population expands more rapidly, but there is no more freshwater on the Earth than there was two thousand years ago, when the population was three percent of its current size4. Overpopulation has also increased industrial development, which contributes to massive urbanization and rising of living standards5. The increase in industry shrinks the amount of freshwater available because they are constantly being polluted. The rising in living standards causes people to consume more which creates more waste and raises life ex...

Hop-in Food Stores Inc Essay

Hop-In Foods Stores has historically been able to rely on internal financing and long term debt in order to continue its growth. The continued growth is attributed to acquisitions of already established stores. Hop-In management has predominantly stayed away from starting up new stores from scratch due to high start up costs. They had found out that it was easier and more cost effective to buy up smaller stores in good locations. As of 1976 all of Hop-In’s expansion was financed by long term debt or equity shed out by upper management. Prior to 1976, Hop-In had had common shares outstanding, but was primarily traded only in Virginia. In order to continue the growth and expansion that management wanted they had to come up with additional funds. Equity financing was the answer to the Hop-In Food Stores need for the additional monies needed to cover growth costs. One of the main risks of IPO offerings is the risk of underpricing. This can be costly to both Hop-In and the investment bank. If the market decides that Hop-In’s value is worth more than initially offered stock prices with rise, leaving additional money that could have been raised by the company. This money â€Å"left on the table† could have been used to finance other investments or pay down any outstanding debts. The investment bank takes on the risk from the standpoint that they did not properly value the stock price. The underpricing of stock means that they did not maximize the money Hop-In could have raised. The reputation of not properly valuing IPO prices can lead to lost future business. In order to determine Hop-In’s new issue price, Mr. Merriman must first forecast the next five years of free cash flows. He should first create pro forma balance sheets and income statements. Once the financial have been forecasted the next step is to figure out what free cash flows are. This can be by multiplying EBIT*(1-tax), adding back depreciation, subtracting the change in capital expenditures, and also subtracting the change in net working capital. This will give you free cash flows for the year. These numbers need to be determined on a yearly basis of at least 5 years into the future. The next step is then to find out the WACC, aka r, of the company. This can be found by the equation, rd(1-tax)(D/V)+re(E/V). Once WACC is found all of the free cash flows need to be discounted back to present values. Another factor that must be found is growth. This can be discovered by doing a industry analysis to determine what the growth rate is expected to be. The growth rate is used to find the terminal value of Hop-In at its horizon date (5 years out). This terminal value is then discounted back to present value. The summation of all PV cash flows plus PV of the terminal value give you the value of the firm. The last step is to subtract the debt of the firm to land at the current equity value of the company. This equity value can then be divided by the number of shares outstanding or planning on being offered to come up with the IPO share price. Mr. Merriman has a difficult decision deciding what the final offering price will be. He has guaranteed a low value of $10 per share. He obviously wants it to close at a price higher than this because his firm will take a substantial loss since they will purchase all the shares from Hop-In Foods. Investment banks usually give a range of possible prices instead of a single definite stock price. This range will consist of the low value of $10, plus 6% in fees, giving a final low value of $10. 60. The high value is calculated by redoing the firm value analysis; taking away all debt and making it an entirely equity financing company. Doing the same before mentioned process will give you a high value. In the end Mr. Merriman should pick a final offering price right in the middle of the low and high value.

A criminologist Essay

A criminologist blames economic recession and complex financial system as major reasons for the rising white collar crimes in the U. S. â€Å"In huge numbers of cases, people are not aware that they have been victims of white collar crime, for example, subjected to illegally spewed out pollution, or that they have purchased products that are unsafe, or that they have been subjected to corporate price fixing, or to the consequences of commodity speculation, which is believed to be one significant factor in driving up the cost of gasoline at the pump.â€Å"Witnesses† of white collar crime who often do not realize that a crime has occurred , may be confused about what to do in response to it. And our traditional frontline enforcement agencies ha not been organized to monitor and respond to white collar crime. In this case principal gents who handle such cases play an important role in white collar crime. Informers & Whistle Blowers: Ethics Text #6. How can corporations ensure th at their employees behave ethically? An ethical culture should be a top priority of every business, large or small. The challenge for many organizations is trying to understand what it takes to build one. From an enforceable code of conduct, to ongoing training and communications, to an anonymous reporting hotline, companies can quickly implement ethics and compliance programs and solutions that foster an ethical culture across the enterprise. In many companies today, management is dealing with a hodge-podge of different personalities, belief systems, backgrounds, ethnicities and politic affiliations. These are just a few things that may impede creating a single unified system of ethics. While many may say that right and wrong is what should ultimately determine the culture, others will argue that what is right for the majority may not be right for the minority. Having an ethical culture is an important component to running an effective business today. In fact, with the current state of legal and industry regulations, from Sarbanes-Oxley to HIPAA, not only is having an ethical culture a good idea, it is now practically a requirement. Developing an ethical culture will take more than creating a list of company dos and don’ts; although that list will help. It will take more than issuing a code of conduct via email to a new hire; although that too will help. What it will take is a combination of things. On this page, we focus on the top six steps that have the most effective and direct impact on establishing an ethical culture. The six steps are as follows: 1. Establish an enforceable code of conduct 2. Initial and ongoing training 3. Regular communications 4. Anonymous reporting hotline 5. Enforcement/Action 6. Rewarding employees that live the culture 1. Establish an Enforceable Code of Conduct A code of conduct, often referred to as a code of ethics, is the foundation of any ethics program. The code of conduct should not be designed as a reaction to past missteps. An ethical culture is built upon the proactive efforts of the organization. The development of the code of conduct should be led by those at the top of the company, and should also include employees in the process. 2. Initial and Ongoing Training There is a phrase that has been used many times when it comes to training: â€Å"The day we stop learning is the day we die. † One of the most important aspects of developing an ethical culture is the ongoing training that companies can provide to executives and employees. The purpose of training is to help employees know what is expected of them and to help them understand that a strong ethical culture can protect the company’s reputation and actually enhance profits. Employees need to know that their ethical or unethical choices will have a direct impact on the success or failure of the company. In addition, training should also be tailored to specific positions in the company and employees roles. Management may need additional training to help deal with employee issues, while someone in purchasing may need more training on gifting policies and someone in finance needs to understand the company’s position on fraud. 3. Regular Communications Once the policy has been executed and training has started, communicating aspects about the code of conduct can have a significant impact on the ethical culture. Many of these communications come through the human resources department, but the voice of the executive management team is critical in these communications. The goal of communications is to make ethics a live, ongoing conversation. If ethics is something that is constantly addressed, referenced frequently in company meetings, and in personal conversations among managers and employees, then people are more aware and more willing to defend the company’s policies when they see or hear of problems. Employees will hold other employees responsible and accountable for living the company’s values. 4. Anonymous Reporting Hotline The fact that an ethics hotline exists within many companies may be a surprise to their employees. The hotline number or Web site URL is often hidden in the back of an employee handbook or within the dusty binder labeled Corporate Governance. An anonymous hotline provides employees with a confidential way of reporting unethical or inappropriate behavior. Many people are not comfortable with reporting bad behavior for fear of being considered a â€Å"snitch,† possible repercussions if the guilty party learned of who reported him or her, or perhaps impacts on their job. â€Å"Unfortunately, more than two of five employees (42 percent) who witnessed misconduct did not report it through any company channels.Others may want to report their concerns, but are not comfortable going directly to a manager or fellow employee. This is why the anonymous reporting hotline is so important. In its 2006 Report to the Nation on Fraud and Abuse, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners concluded that â€Å"Occupational frauds are more likely to be detected by a tip (34%) than by other m eans such as internal audits, external audits or internal controls. 5. Enforcement/Action A code of conduct has to be enforceable, and a company needs to take action when problems arise. Employees should be part of the enforcement and know if and when it has been violated. While 42 percent of employees are reluctant to report unethical behavior, the good news is that the ERC study also found that â€Å"the rate of misconduct is cut by three-fourths at companies with strong ethical cultures, and reporting is doubled at companies with comprehensive ethics programs. † Unethical behavior can have a damaging effect on a variety of aspects of a business, from brand reputation to bottom-line revenues. WorldCom’s and Enron’s names will forever be connected to accounting scandals that led to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Lockheed Martin was forced to pay $2. 5 million for knowingly looking the other way on alleged racial discrimination. Without enforcement, ethical guidelines listed in a corporate code of conduct are simply nice suggestions. 6. Rewarding Employees That Live the Culture The final step in developing an ethical culture is rewarding employees that behave ethically and live the culture that the organization is trying to instill companywide. With an ethics policy in place, ongoing training and communications, the ability to report unethical behavior and strict enforcement, an organization will have the structure in place that will leave little doubt the importance of ethical behavior. Like a manufacturing company that brags about its safety record with signs indicating how many days without an accident, companies should publicly congratulate their employees for adhering to the code of conduct. That performance could be rewarded in terms of a bonus based on how much money the company saved by not having internal issues or having to fight legal battles over unethical business or accounting practices. If an employee completes ethics training, is responsible for blowing the whistle on questionable activities, or provides unique ways for protecting the company’s confidential information, he or she should be recognized publicly by management. Employees need to know that creating an ethical culture is important to everyone from their direct managers to c-level executives.

Ben Hamper

For Ben Hamper it was inevitable that he would end up working in the General Motors factory in Flint, Michigan. He was a third generation â€Å"shop-rat† following in the footsteps of his family and extended family. Working on the Rivet Line for General Motors was far from what Hamper wanted to do with his life. Unfortunately for Hamper this was the only job where he was receiving good pay and was able to drink throughout his day. Hamper faced many ups and downs being an American autoworker; the working conditions, labor-management relations and psychological problems to name a few.It would eventually be the psychological issues that would lead Hamper away from General Motors and the auto industry. Hamper did not start out with a plan to work the Rivet Line as his career. He wanted to be an ambulance driver, but that later went away as he grew older. Hamper was a smart kid who would sometimes make the honor roll; though he complains that he had nothing better to do but homewor k. His father, Ben Hamper II was nothing but ordinary. Hamper II was married but rarely worked, and when he was not working he was at the closest bar he could find.Hamper’s father was also a Rivet Line worker, just like his father before him and so on. It was a family affair to work in the auto industry. Hamper describes â€Å"Flint, Michigan. The Vehicle City. Greaseball Mecca. The birthplace of thud-rockers Grand Funk Railroad, game show geek Bob Eubanks and a hobby shop called General motors† (15), most likely having to do with the fact that within the surrounding areas of Flint were ten other auto industry shops. It was as if Hamper was born into the Rivet line. Prior to Hamper working at General Motors, he painted houses.Right after graduating high school Hamper found out his girlfriend, Joanie, was pregnant and he married her. He soon got a job painting houses, but that was not making enough profit for his family. Joanie then got a job while Hamper stayed home an d drank and used drugs with his neighbors, which is when his family began falling apart. Soon Hamper would find that getting a job was going to be difficult, because in the mid-1970s Flint, Michigan went into a recession. Hamper came to the conclusion that he would have no choice but to get a job at General Motors. This was much more difficult than Hamper ould have thought. Due to the recession, Hampers attempt at applying at GM was a long shot. They were not hiring and not handing out any applications. Fortunately for Hamper his friend got hired and was able to get him a job. Out of all the stations that Hamper would have wanted to end up working, his least favorite was the Cab Shop, where General Motors management stationed him. The job came easy for Hamper, perhaps because of its repetition it required. Hamper states that â€Å"Every minute, every hour, every truck and every movement was a plodding replica of one that had gone before† (41).It was a job of repetition and mo notony, which was eventually going to drive him crazy. The psychological costs that Hamper received due to working in the auto factories were foreseeable. The countless repetition, and the boring days were going to drive him crazy. Drinking was one way to cope with the tedious work day. Hamper relies on his coworkers for practical jokes and banter. Though some workers were unable to take the constant repetition, was Roy. Roy was a Rivet line worker just like Hamper, but he was using drugs. Perhaps it was the drugs that caused him to capture a mouse and send it through the rivet line.Hamper knew that it was the working conditions that sent many men over the edge. They would make up games like â€Å"Rivet hockey† or played cards to pass the time. But Hamper found other ways to pass his free time at the factory, he wrote. He wrote poems, articles and manuscripts, even the book called â€Å"Rivethead† while at General Motors. The effects the economy had on these workers wa s rough at first, but then Hamper speaks about the factory coming back onto its feet, â€Å"summer and fall of 1977, the truck plant was hummin’ six days a week, nine hours per shift† (44).People were spending money again and buying automobiles. Hamper and his work partner developed a scheme they called â€Å"doubling up†. This was a way for Hamper and his partner to take longer breaks and do less work throughout the day. Things were looking up for the factory and its workers, until management claimed there was going to be a change in the way things were done. Hamper would have to put in more work, which then lead to another recession hitting, and to people getting laid off. This set the General Motor factory back into a downward spiral. There was an nnouncement, given by Roger Smith, stating that many of the General Motors factories would be closing down. Hamper describes it as â€Å"My beleaguered hometown was like some banged-up middleweight resting its rump on the ropes, covering up its soft belly, hoping to only last out the round† (68). The town of Flint was facing yet another recession, and in the process of becoming the poorest town in Michigan. For Hamper, it was either stay in Flint where there were no jobs, or relocate to Pontiac, Michigan and commute for work. Prior to transferring to Pontiac, he would be laid off for about nine months.Hamper collected unemployment and quickly found that he was getting more money by collecting rather than working. Finally the time came for him to commute to Pontiac. Hamper finishes working in Pontiac and moves back to working for General Motors in Flint. Where more layoff were occurring and at times he was unemployed for a year. While living in Flint, Hamper writes to Michael Moore, who is a man responsible for the liberal rag called the Flint Voice. Moore was pleased with Hampers writings and called him, set up a meeting and offered Hamper an unpaid job of writing feature articles.He ac cepted and this was the start of Hamper and Moore’s friendship. Soon their relationship would turn into much bigger things for Hamper. His column was being read and becoming popular, even by the wall Street Journal. This seemed to be a turning point for Hamper, but his panic attacks started happening once he transferred to Pontiac. During the spring of 1988, Hampers panic attacks would get the best of him and it was the last time he would leave the auto factory. Ben Hamper was a third generation General Motors factory worker.It was far from what he wanted to do with his life growing up. Working in the auto factories for Hamper was like it was in his blood. He picked up the job quickly and soon found ways around it. For the working class man like Hamper and his many coworkers at the General Motors plant, was hard. Many workers had jobs, and then would get laid off and so on. They faced low pay for the amount of work they needed to put in, while at times other had to commute tw o hours for work. The psychological problems that occurred to the workers were mostly mental and alcoholism.Hamper being falling victim to both, knew that it was time for him to get out of the industry and move onto something he loved. He was a writer, and became notably famous for it. Perhaps it was Michael Moore who first gave Hamper his debut into the writing world, but it worked for Hamper. Hamper is a very well accomplished man for being raised by a mother who worked two jobs and a father who was almost always absent. Hamper knew that he would be more than a â€Å"shop-rat† like his father and grandfather. He has made a name for himself, and that is what he should be proud of.

Public Education in the Philippines Essay

Literacy rate in the Philippines has improved a lot over the last few years- from 72 percent in 1960 to 94 percent in 1990. This is attributed to the increase in both the number of schools built and the level of enrollment in these schools. The number of schools grew rapidly in all three levels – elementary, secondary, and tertiary. From the mid-1960s up to the early 1990, there was an increase of 58 percent in the elementary schools and 362 percent in the tertiary schools. For the same period, enrollment in all three levels also rose by 120 percent. More than 90 percent of the elementary schools and 60 percent of the secondary schools are publicly owned. However, only 28 percent of the tertiary schools are publicly owned. A big percentage of tertiary-level students enroll in and finish commerce and business management courses. Table 1 shows the distribution of courses taken, based on School Year 1990-1991. Note that the difference between the number of enrollees in the commerce and business courses and in the engineering and technology courses may be small – 29.2 percent for commerce and business and 20.3 percent for engineering and technology. However, the gap widens in terms of the number of graduates for the said courses. On gender distribution, female students have very high representation in all three levels. At the elementary level, male and female students are almost equally represented. But female enrollment exceeds that of the male at the secondary and tertiary levels . Also, boys have higher rates of failures, dropouts, and repetition in both elementary and secondary levels. Aside from the numbers presented above, which are impressive, there is also a need to look closely and resolve the following important issues: 1) quality of education 2) affordability of education 3) goverment budget for education; and 4) education mismatch. Quality – There was a decline in the quality of the Philippine education, especially at the elementary and secondary levels. For example, the results of standard tests conducted among elementary and high school students, as well as in the National College of Entrance Examination for college students, were way below the target mean score. Affordability – There is also a big disparity in educational achievements across social groups. For example, the socioeconomically disadvantaged students have higher dropout rates, especially in the elementary level. And most of the freshmen students at the tertiary level come from relatively well-off families. Budget – The Philippine Constitution has mandated the goverment to allocate the highest proportion of its budget to education. However, the Philippines still has one of the lowest budget allocations to education among the Asean  countries. Mismatch – There is a large proportion of â€Å"mismatch† between training and actual jobs. This is the major problem at the tertiary level and it is also the cause of the existence of a large group of educated unemployed or underemployed. The following are some of the reforms proposed: Upgrade the teachers’ salary scale. Teachers have been underpaid; thus there is very little incentive for most of them to take up advanced trainings. Amend the current system of budgeting for education across regions, which is based on participation rates and units costs. This clearly favors the more developed regions. There is a need to provide more allocation to lagging regions to narrow the disparity across regions. Stop the current practice of subsidizing state universities and colleges to enhance access. This may not be the best way to promote equity. An expanded scholarship program, giving more focus and priority to the poor, maybe more equitable. Get all the leaders in business and industry to become actively involved in higher education; this is aimed at addressing the mismatch problem. In addition, carry out a selective admission policy, i. e. , installing mechanisms to reduce enrollment in oversubscribed courses and promoting enrollment in undersubscribed ones. Develop a rationalized apprenticeship program with heavy inputs from the private sector. Furthermore, transfer the control of technical training to industry groups which are more attuned to the needs of business and industry.

Proposal for the Creation of Best Town Police Department Research Paper - 1

Proposal for the Creation of Best Town Police Department - Research Paper Example The overall conclusion tries to draw a relationship between all the existing factors that are involved in designing an able and efficient police department, in light of Best Town. The general aim of this proposal is to provide recommendations for a police department for Best Town community based on reports that the community is not satisfied by the services provided by the county police department. The town therefore feels the need to have their own police department, and this proposal aims to provide recommendations and ideas on how to implement such a department. The department would take up all the crimes committed in the town, as its sole mandate would be to ensure proper law enforcement for Best Town. There are various elements that define life in any society. These include the social, political, environmental, technological, economic, and even cultural factors that all have a bearing on how a society is going to structured. Each of these factors has its own distinctive characteristics that make it efficient in the part that it plays in the society. In addition, all of them relate, and have some form of interdependence such that for the maximization of any of the factors, the others also have to be enjoying some level of stability. This means that for the economic factors to be at their best, the political and even social elements have to be just as successful and in a stable state. The converse is also true. This type of relationship reduces any instance of impasse that would arise should one factor fall greatly behind. Through all this, security is of key significance. Security is like the bond that links all the aforementioned factors. While some of them may be relatively effi cient in the absence of the others, like environmental factors being favorable at the expense of technological advancement, none can have a substantial amount of success at the expense of security. This highlights the

Definition of Marketing and Nutritional Supplements Assignment

Definition of Marketing and Nutritional Supplements - Assignment Example As a management process, it believe that it must incorporate the 4ps where the organization initiate a new product, sets the price, ensure that it is in the right place to a certain channel of distribution, and familiarization is enhanced through the right promotional techniques. Therefore, I can generalize and argue from a philosophical perspective that the entire process of marketing is social process in nature for it involves taking action to meet clients’ needs and realize organizational goals of increased sales through an exchange of products and customer’s value. To discuss marketing from my point of view, I will consider GNLD, a nutritional supplement company in the U.S. Nutritional supplements have increased tremendously due to the increased importance of essential vitamins and minerals that lack in people’s body. These important are not available in the normal diets. However, the increase in the Nutritional Supplements selling companies has increased havoc since medical practitioners have noted with concern that some of these companies are money making since their productions are not regulated increasing controversy surrounding the products. However, GNLD is an example of such a company, which for over 50 years has ensured good health to millions of people. Its purpose is ideally to empower individuals with essential knowledge and through their scientifically proven products realize long life health. The history of this company is unique. The founder, Jerry Brassfield, introduced this company at a very young age when he realized that quality supplements played a profound impact in restoration of people health. This was after his life was sa ved by his mother who healed his long allergy and asthma through addition of nutritional products in his food. Since the introduction of the company, it has achieved national and international success hence through the founder; the company

Essay3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Essay3 - Essay Example In the LEGO: a love story by Jonathan Bender, Bender himself has reconciled his image as an AFOL himself. This, he does as he forges a strong relationship with his wife. He does this as he builds the sets of LEGO, the period during which he also tries to conceive a child and begin a family with the wife. Bender, as an AFOL, hence uses the love for the subculture which he had earnestly studied and experienced, however for a short duration, to register his love for the wife and then proceed to begin the family. The need for the family hence drives Bender, an AFOL, to be interested and even become obsessed with the hobby and the subculture. Also, on his 30th birthday, Bender comes out and begins his interest and the love for the LEGO subculture. This was occasioned by the love for the Lego present that he received on the birth day. So, because of this aroused interest. Bender travelled far and wide many conventions. In these conventions, he gets to several collections of sets of LEGO gathered by other Adult Fans of LEGO and the sellers of Brick link. This, by far inspired the LEGO fan and within two years of experience with the culture in the LEGO community, he was able to write a comprehensive book about the culture. This shows the level of research and experience he had gained within the short period of two years. â€Å"The background of an individual would also have a bearing on the interest and obsession with a hobby†. (Bender, p.56). Those who are not well grounded and experienced with the hobby beyond the childhood games of playing with toys can only be baffled by the diversity o the hobby for the adults. This has the effect of stimulating the need by the AFOLs to obtain a set or two of the LEGO. Just like in the case of Bender, enthusiasm play important part in creation of interest and at times obsession. Because of being enthusiastic about the bronies, majority of these AFOLs find themselves crowding the websites

Master of Business Administration in Marketing Essay - 1

Master of Business Administration in Marketing - Essay Example The business plan for the Post-Rock band, WhyOceans, is the result of extensive research via the internet, library and personal communication with a variety of individuals. With thorough research of the music industry, specifically the Post-Rock genre, Mr. Tommy Chu was able to develop a business plan supporting the promotion of WhyOceans. This business plan focuses on a plan for each of the areas supporting this promotion including marketing, management, technical and financial, to draw some booking agencies or record company managers. These people are able to book the band’s performances and create album sales throughout Macau and begin to spread the music to mainland China. This business plan will show that the band will become successful. Each year, its sales and revenue are planned increases that are an indication of the band’s success. WhyOceans consists of 6 members based in Macau. Their music combines rock and psychedelic elements and falls into the â€Å"Post-Rock† genre, with roots stretching back to the early days of the Pink Floyd. Post-Rock music is currently an expanding genre. WhyOceans will create a unique stylized image for itself that will help with promotion. WhyOceans’ songs are catchy, melodic and unique. That is the first selling point for the band. None of WhyOceans’ songs sound the same, and while they are stylistically similar there are noticeable differences. WhyOceans will employ an integrated mix of low-cost, highly effective tools and tactics for getting its message out to its growing audience. The band will target Post-Rock music listeners that geographically reside in China including Mainland China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The age range of the target market is twenty to fifty years old. WhyOceans will the band will sell CDs and other merchandise through performances, which will consist of festivals and events at other places. The band will also sell records through record stores, and online stores. WhyOceans

American Political System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Political System - Essay Example In addition, many historians feel that that the exit strategy was executed in a hasten manner and was different than the exit date. Both Kennedy and Nixon felt that Vietnam could be saved even though that was not the case as the pressure from American public continued to mount (â€Å"Isolationism†). As a world power, it was crucial that the United States made a stand to solidify their position as a world superpower. When JFK ordered his troops to withdraw from Vietnam in 1963, it was a clear symbolization that Johnson would have executed the same order. According to many historians, the judgment was derived through the Johnson’s statement as he states, â€Å"To Kennedy and his fellow New Frontiersmen, it was a doctrine of faith that the problems of Vietnam lent themselves to an American solution† (Perkins 20). The Kennedy administration in essence felt that the problems associated with Vietnam were in geopolitical terms. As part of the containment policy, Kennedy considered Vietnam to be highly risky. As the toll of death count continued to stagger, the American public became weary of the Kennedy administration (Perkins 24.) The implications were endless because South Vietnam remained to be in chaos and could have fallen under the rule of communism (Brooks 8). In essence, the Vietnam War served as a testament of the constant struggle of American foreign policy to fight against communism or any methodology that risks Democracy. This is depicted even in modern century as America continues to enforce democracy in other parts of the

Research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Research proposal - Essay Example The Kingdom is ranked number five in the globe in terms of fiscal freedom with highly secure earnings that have resulted from its stable currency. Further, the economy of the Kingdom is remarkably open to trade and boasts of the lowest mean weighted tariff in the whole MENA area. In order to boost trade further, port handling fees were reduced by the government by half in early 2008. When conducting business with the Arabs, it is likely to meet hard but polite bargaining from people who are experts at it, therefore, one has to be very confident in regards to the contents of contractual agreements (Elashmawi, 2001, p.  180). In the event that there are gaps, the Arabs are good at finding and exploiting them, however, in most of the cases, the Arab businesspersons meet their obligations completely and the experience of doing business with them can be enjoyable and approachable, with the creation of long-lasting trust. Parenthetically, it is rare to find Arabs saying a direct no and this requires that one pays attention and observes in a careful manner (Cullen & Parboteeah, 2014, p.  561). The possible gains of opening and operating a business are numerous but the endeavour is not for the fair hearted. One needs to remember that he or she is not a citizen of the Kingdom and when it reaches a time that he or she has to leave and sell the accumulated interests, t he individual may not have the same amount of time as his or her partner. The key purpose of this study is to amass information concerning the advantages and disadvantages of starting a new business in Saudi Arabia. The study’s objective will also entail proving a detailed review of the activities and requirements that should be met before one starts a new business in Saudi Arabia. The study will dwell especially in the following sub-objectives: The results of this study will be of importance to