Monday, September 30, 2019

Mearl Oil Company Case

Mearl oil company case review The case is about a manager environmental support system of Mearl Oil Company named Leslie Milne which noticed that there are serious potential environmental and health hazard problems in areas which industrial facilities were discharging wastewater into open ditches. According to this discovery, company made a memorandum of wastewater discharge, environment and health standard to all Mearl subsidiaries which were then called by Environmental Impact Targets (EITs).The EITs provide very detailed and specific manufacturing standards down to the process and controls that facility had to apply to its operation related to health and environment. Then the protest came from MearlCan, Mearl Canada subsidiaries. Maya Stevenson, Mearl Canada senior environmental manager said that EITs just added a level unnecessary bureaucracy with little positive improvement to MearlCan performance. She stated that in developing country like Canada, the local regulation is alread y high so then EITs would be redundant and often be ignored in reality.The objection of EITs implementation by MearlCan is also because the swelling of expenses which will reached $ 2 million will occur as a result of Secondary treatment plant for sanitary waste system that required by EITs. Based on the above reasons, Maya Stevenson was going to request deviation from the EITs requirements that could be covered under MearlCan Memoranda and also consideration of possibility EITs equalization with MearlCan Memoranda which is regulation that already applied in Canada.In this case, there are conflict between Milne and Stevenson. Milne embraced absolutism understanding in EITs implementation which that policy needs to be implemented without exception in all Mearl subsidiaries. While Stevenson embrace relativism and teleological understanding that related to local custom, belief, necessities and consideration to the outcome and result of EITs implementation impacts in MearlCan. And also and ethical problem in this case is â€Å"Would it be ethical, when ompany good willingness of environmental enforcement by policies initiation compromised by the interest of financial issues and local situations? † The intention of EITs requirements compromise came from MearlCan. MearlCan see that EITs implementation will costly, and unnecessary due to existed standard which already high. In my point of view, we can take utilitarian action to address different perception among Milne and Stevenson.Both perceptions have logical different perspective that needs to be accommodated. The compromise of EITs implementation to be applicable and suitable by local situation is still acceptable, as long as not reducing standard level and deviate the initial goal of EITs as the realization of Mearl’s company environmental awareness. The principle of environmental enforcement should be placed at the top and should not be compromised by other thing such as money. Mearl Oil Company Case Mearl oil company case review The case is about a manager environmental support system of Mearl Oil Company named Leslie Milne which noticed that there are serious potential environmental and health hazard problems in areas which industrial facilities were discharging wastewater into open ditches. According to this discovery, company made a memorandum of wastewater discharge, environment and health standard to all Mearl subsidiaries which were then called by Environmental Impact Targets (EITs).The EITs provide very detailed and specific manufacturing standards down to the process and controls that facility had to apply to its operation related to health and environment. Then the protest came from MearlCan, Mearl Canada subsidiaries. Maya Stevenson, Mearl Canada senior environmental manager said that EITs just added a level unnecessary bureaucracy with little positive improvement to MearlCan performance. She stated that in developing country like Canada, the local regulation is alread y high so then EITs would be redundant and often be ignored in reality.The objection of EITs implementation by MearlCan is also because the swelling of expenses which will reached $ 2 million will occur as a result of Secondary treatment plant for sanitary waste system that required by EITs. Based on the above reasons, Maya Stevenson was going to request deviation from the EITs requirements that could be covered under MearlCan Memoranda and also consideration of possibility EITs equalization with MearlCan Memoranda which is regulation that already applied in Canada.In this case, there are conflict between Milne and Stevenson. Milne embraced absolutism understanding in EITs implementation which that policy needs to be implemented without exception in all Mearl subsidiaries. While Stevenson embrace relativism and teleological understanding that related to local custom, belief, necessities and consideration to the outcome and result of EITs implementation impacts in MearlCan. And also and ethical problem in this case is â€Å"Would it be ethical, when ompany good willingness of environmental enforcement by policies initiation compromised by the interest of financial issues and local situations? † The intention of EITs requirements compromise came from MearlCan. MearlCan see that EITs implementation will costly, and unnecessary due to existed standard which already high. In my point of view, we can take utilitarian action to address different perception among Milne and Stevenson.Both perceptions have logical different perspective that needs to be accommodated. The compromise of EITs implementation to be applicable and suitable by local situation is still acceptable, as long as not reducing standard level and deviate the initial goal of EITs as the realization of Mearl’s company environmental awareness. The principle of environmental enforcement should be placed at the top and should not be compromised by other thing such as money.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Sale to Procter & Gamble

On February 28th 2005, Gillette was sold to Procter and Gamble for $57 billion.Gillette is based in Boston and was founded in 1901. It sells products in over 200 countries in 31 manufacturing plants in 14 countries. It is one of the leading manufacturing firms left in Boston.Procter and Gamble is based in Cincinnati, established in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble and was incorporated in 1905. To date it has sold more than 300 brands of products in more than 160 countries.Because of the competition in this industry, Procter and Gamble thought it was a good idea to buy out Gillette. They had already noticed that Walmart had the biggest percentage of Procter & Gamble’s revenue (17%) and this would grow to 30% after the merger. Also, there would be a cost savings of $14 to $16 billion a year and a 1% increase in sales growth after the merger.Key Issues One of the key issues is that 6,000 employees of Gillette would be losing their jobs.Another key issue is that severance packages from these kinds of mergers have been seen to be too high. For example, when Manulife Financial Corporation merged with John Hancock Financial Services, the Chief Financial Officer from John Hancock, David D’Alessandro, received a package of $16.4 million. When Bank of America bought Fleet Boston Financial Group, Chad Gifford (CFO of Fleet Boston) got $16 million.Now, Gillette’s James Kilts is getting a severance package of $30 million and could earn $172 million in cash   and stock. In fact, $50 million of the compensation package was directly tied to the merger. A lot of academics did not agree with this arrangement because they believe it should be tied to the performance of the company and not to the merger.Another issue is that employees of Gillette were already complaining about unfair working conditions and retirees were going to have to pay more for healthcare after the merger.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Pricing Tourism Services Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pricing Tourism Services - Case Study Example Then there is a set of dependent and independent variables. Price is a dependent variable with regard to demand and so is supply. Thus price plays a pivotal role in determining the equilibrium demand and supply. For instance the dependent variable of demand, viz. the availability of substitutes elsewhere such as those in Sydney influences this outcome. According to this outcome, the ACC must make a special effort to attract a variety of customers. The feasibility study provides just that information. The Adventure Climb Company's (ACC) supply curve is relatively inelastic perhaps because of the fact that supply doesn't respond to price changes and demand variations instantly (Gregory, 2007). In the first instance equilibrium demand for Brisbane Story Bridge climbs is determined by a number of factors such as the price of the product, consumers' incomes, the availability of substitutes, prices of those substitutes, the geographical proximity to the place where substitutes are available, the impact of weather patterns, interstate tax variabilities, supply constraints such as resource-mobility and consumers' preferences for variety. Equilibrium price is determined more or less by some of the same above factors in addition to the level of supply and the elasticity of supply. In other words the supply of Brisbane Story Bridge climbs is relatively inelastic (Rofail, 2002). Thi... S D P2P1 D S QuantityQ2 Q1 Q3This is illustrated by the above diagram. The market equilibrium is identical to the firm's equilibrium here. On the other hand the demand curve is rather elastic because consumers are able to respond to price with instantaneous effect. Thus the market equilibrium for the ACC is shown by the price, P1 where the quantity demanded and supplied is equal to Q1. This outcome would solve the problem of the ACC by identifying the consumer's willingness to pay P1 in Brisbane.Sydney and Brisbane are two separate regions and therefore the impact of selling walks across the Sydney Harbor Bridge on the business in Brisbane can be summarized as economically varied. For example when resources are separately managed to provide services in two different locations there can be quite strain on the scale of operations in each location. Assuming that the demand for walks in Sydney is constant or growing at a steady p0redictable pace, then the existing resources can be combined to pr oduce the best output. However, demand for walks in Sydney might be influenced by other external factors such as the existence of the Harbor as a place of extra attraction (www.igougo.com). Landmarks such as harbors with an international reputation are more likely to

Friday, September 27, 2019

Australian National Fund Raising Organization Association Essay

Australian National Fund Raising Organization Association - Essay Example Our group will use many techniques to raise funds for our events and they will be discussed below. Our group is planning two separate events in order to raise funds. There are two broad segments of the society that can be used to raise funds. One segment consists of adults of over 35 years of age and the other is the younger segment which comprises of young people from ages 16 to 35. Our group is planning to make use of both these segments to raise money for our fundraiser. For adults, we are planning a dinner reception where they will get a chance to socialize. In the dinner, notable members will be given a chance to say something for the cause of poverty. The dinner reception will be formal as its target market is mature adult people who will be willing to spend their money on donations. Another, often neglected in terms of fundraising, the segment of the society that can contribute to charity is the younger generation. Young people can also play a big role in raising money given that fundraising is done keeping in mind their needs. Our group is planning to hold a party for the younger population in order to raise funds for the poor. We will be selling food, drinks, and other items in the party in order to raise funds. Different techniques will be used to raise funds for both the events. Older and younger people have different demands and perceptions, and it is vital to plan fundraisers accordingly in order to raise sufficient amounts of a fund. In the dinner reception funds will be raised by tickets and donations. People will be sold tickets and they will be communicated that the money we get from the tickets will go to the charity. In the dinner reception, we will also ask people to donate money towards the cause. Speeches will be made to motivate them to raise money. In the dinner reception, we will offer people drinks, appetizers, and dinner so that people have enough time to socialize, and we can raise more and more money. Donations will be our main target because most of the money from tickets will be used to cover expenses that will be incurred in arranging for the venue and dinner for guests.  Ã‚  

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Rise and Fall of the Qin Dynasty - Essay Example In 225, the King of Wei surrendered where all of his territories were annexed to Qin dynasty. It was followed by the defeat of the Kingdom of Chu in 223 BC where its King was eventually killed and its General committed suicide. A year later, the Yan territory was taken until finally in 221, the last King of other warring states was captured with the seizure of the King of Qi (Portal 32-35). For the first time, ancient China was unified under a single leadership with Qin Shi Huang at the helm declaring himself as the first emperor of China (Portal 32-35). Qin dynasty’s rose to prominence as the first dynasty to unify China is a huge achievement considering that it started from a humble beginning. Qin dynasty begun when the last heir of the Zhou dynasty gave land to one of its Dukes, Duke Zhuang which enabled the Qins to start as one of ancient China’s vassal lords. Later, the small land granted by the Zhou dynasty expanded when Duke Zhuang’s son embarked on expans ionary quest that eventually established the State of Qin (Yu 15). The Qin dynasty’s reign however was short lived lasting only for 15 years from 221 until 207 BC. Despite this short period of Qin dynasty’s existence, it left a lasting legacy in China that even its name as a country was derived from this dynasty. Unification of China In 221 AD, the Qin dynasty through the leadership of Qin Shi Huang finally emerged as the victor during the period of warring states through its superior and fierce military. Immediately after its victory Qin Shi Huang installed himself as the first emperor of China which unified China under one ruler for the first time. Qin Shi Huang first directive as the emperor of China was to initiate reforms such as the improvement of the administration of its bureaucracy with the establishment of shi bureaucracy where educated bureaucrats were tasked to administer the various functions of the regime. The nature of military also changed when the vass al warriors under the former warring monarchs eventually faded in significance when they were replaced by the conscription of peasants who were previously imprisoned. Implementation of Reforms The reforms initiated by the Qin dynasty yielded to the increase of collection of funds and this afforded the regime to improve its military capability by building the size of the army and further improve the technology of its weapons. This increased military capability provided the Qin dynasty the advantage to defeat other kingdoms during the period of warring states and eventually unified it to make it the China that we know today. The Legalist Sanction One of the systems employed by the Qin dynasty that made it an effective state and perhaps even became precursor of the present idea of nation state is the use of legalist sanction. Legalist sanction was the basis of the despotic regime of Qin dynasty. This legalist thought was founded by Shang Yang who espoused that people should be subservi ent to the state but the state must also be ruled by law without exemption that even its rulers are subjected to it (Yu 80). Following this absolutist principle, the Qin dynasty believed that it is the foremost duty of any leader to increase the power and wealth of the state. Legalist sanction also imposes that for a state to be orderly it has to employ strict laws to create social stability. The legalist sanction w

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Corporate Governance in the United Kingdom Essay

Corporate Governance in the United Kingdom - Essay Example The rules-based approach to corporate governance was largely influenced by the Sharbanes and Oxley Act in the USA, which enshrined that the management and the board of an organization are expressly accountable for the financial reports that are published by their organization. (Mallin, 2005) Penalties are put in place for any instances of transgression as wells as setting rules on corporate governance which are also applicable to a company’s subsidiaries. This approach issues liability to directors in case of mismanagement, improves the communication of important issues to an organisation’s shareholders, improves the confidence that investors and the public have in the company, improves the internal control measures that a company puts in place as well as improving an organisation’s overall governance structures. Therefore, this approach is essential in the establishment of the minimum standards of practice that all should abide by. The principles-based approach to corporate governance on the other hand, is a complete contrast to the rules-based approach. This is because instead of the use of hard and strict rules to reform corporate governance as is the case with rules-based approach, the principles-based approach influences a broad set of practices that meet the expectations of all stakeholders. Thus the organization adheres to the spirit rather than adhering to what the code stipulates. This approach is largely used in the UK and is a listing requirement by the stock exchange. (Tricker, 2004) Those that champion the use of this approach argue that by setting up rules that all should follow; the rules-based approach does not speculate the invention of imaginative ways to get around the rules by some organisations. Principles-based approach is the best approach to use for those organisations that do not only want to abide by the minimum standards that are put in place; the implementation of this approach impresses all stakeholders in an or ganization. Part 2 Role of Institutional Investors in a Business Institutional investors are basically organisations which invest money in securities, real property and any other investment assets held in their name or held in trust for others like investment funds and pension funds. Corporate governance codes and principles have over the years stressed the importance of institutional investors in corporate governance. Not only are institutional investors being significantly influential in their home countries, through their increased cross-border ventures, institutional investors are also becoming an integral element in other countries as well. The global financial crisis triggered corporate governance reforms which subsequently stressed on the crucial role that institutional investors play. (Tricker & Mallin, 2005) The Cadbury Report in 1992 accentuated on the role of institutional investors by stating that, ‘We look to the institutions in particular  to use their influenc e as owners to ensure that the companies in which they have invested comply with the Code’. (Tricker & Mallin, 2005) It is the role of institutional investors to ensure that there is a mutual understanding with the company regarding the objectives of the firm. Institutional investors should also evaluate companies’ governance structures, laying particular emphasis on the board structure and composition. The third main role of instituti

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Comparison of Shakespearean Adaptations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparison of Shakespearean Adaptations - Essay Example The 1996 film entitled â€Å"Twelfth Night† and the more recent adaptation of the Shakespearean story, entitled â€Å"She’s the Man†, are two great movies showing how the story is told in the modern era. The two films use different techniques which are obviously made not only for entertainment but for different audiences as well. In this paper, the films will be compared and contrasted according to audience, plot, telling of the story, revelation of character, conflict, opposing forces and camera angles. â€Å"Twelfth Night† did not change much of the Shakespearean story when it comes to the setting and the use of the old English language. This makes the film look and sound very Elizabethan. It has been created for audiences who appreciate the great works of the genius and would rather watch adaptations set in a theatrical manner. The film presents the performers having long and boring conversations that viewers really have to listen intently for them to b e able to follow and understand the story. On the contrary, â€Å"She’s the Man† has been created for the modern viewer who appreciates not only the story but also the use of technological advancements. The conversations are short and scenes change more often than the former movie. There is a lot of editing made which makes the film more interesting and there is also a modification of the story to match modern settings for it to be more believable, considering the modern culture in America. â€Å"Twelfth Night† tells the story of a woman, Viola and her identical twin brother, Sebastian, who thought they have lost each other in a shipwreck. To get to the man she loves, Viola acts as a man and names herself Cesario. She then becomes the trusted friend of Count Orsino, the love of her life. However, the count was hopelessly in love with the beautiful Olivia and he asks his new friend to persuade the woman for him. Contrary to what was expected, Olivia fell in love with the disguised Viola. Meanwhile, Sebastian has come to town with a friend who rescued him during the shipwreck and when Viola/ Cesario was fighting with another admirer of Olivia, Sebastian’s friend came along, saving the pitiful young woman. When the admirer went after Cesario, he found Sebastian instead who courageously fought Olivia’s admirer. When Olivia came out, the other men dispersed and Sebastian and Olivia were left behind. Overwhelmed and naturally attracted by Olivia’s beauty, the man followed the woman to the priest without question and they got married. However, just after a few moments, Count Orsino and Cesario came and all the characters met at the front of Olivia’s house and the twins came to realize that they both survived the shipwreck after all. Count Orsino learns that his trusted friend loves him and proposes that she become his mistress and the comedy ends with the conflicts being settled. â€Å"She’s the Man† pres ents a different story without getting rid of all the important elements of the story. Viola is a part of a women’s soccer team at Cornwall which gets cut. Due to her love for the sports, the young lady cannot accept what happened and proposes that they join the men’s team. However, that is not allowed. Meanwhile, trying to escape his mother, Viola’s identical twin brother tells her his plans and asks her to do something for him in order to cover for his absences in school. Viola then comes with the bright idea of taking the place of his brother while he is away in order for her to get to the soccer team and she does so quite successfully. However, she fell in love with his roommate, Duke who was so deeply in love with the school’s hottest girl, Olivia. The woman on the other hand falls in love with the sensitive Viola/Sebastian but since s/he showed no interest in the woman, Duke asks

Monday, September 23, 2019

Analytical essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analytical - Essay Example It was seven pm and Chris was still at work, after a long wait I decided to go ahead along with my friends. Music was on but was not rocking enough really to dance with joy, seeming as though it was a heart breaking moment leaving another year behind. I took my place at one corner leaving all my friends aside, with a drink in my hand and thoughts wandering in my mind. All my friends had their love by their side, holding one another smiling softly feeling every moment of that night. I wish I had my love too as it was ten in the night. We were done with our dinner, drinks and play. I was unable to pretend any longer, tears just roll off my eyes when I did see flowers showered over my head. Chris grabbed my shoulders to lift me up and wiped off the tears and was sorry to keep me waiting for some time. I just stood by unable to explain how much hard it was to be away from him on this specially arranged night. All I could do was to just lay my head on his shoulder and spend the rest of the night in his arms. The dance floor was on with couples dancing by and when the clock ticked 12 midnight there was the blast of music and crackers all around. Crowd just shouted in a single tone â€Å"Happy New Year 2006† after the count down was done. I turned up to Chris to wish him a bright and prosperous year ahead, but there was something special in store for me tonight. Chris go down on his knees to ask me share his life, this was the moment I started to cry once again but this time the tears were rolling out of joy. Now I see myself by his side unable to believe how these long years just flew. Everything around seems to be the same with all the dazzling stars and the moon shinning to the brightest in the clear

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Performing well academically and having a social life Essay

Performing well academically and having a social life - Essay Example â€Å"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.† Being a 16 years old sophomore I believe I have faced enough competition in the early academic years. Since my childhood, I’ve been a shy, reserved and quiet person. I don’t interact with people much due to my hesitation while talking to new people. I feel uncomfortable when I am surrounded by a group of individuals and I’ve always tried to stay out of group discussions. These natural personality constraints led me to the isolation from my social circle. I have had a few friends and even their knowledge was limited about my problems, likes, dislikes and issues. These personality traits seem normal and unproblematic to many people. However, I personally feel that these were the factors that affected my academic performance the most. I never wished to take a position in the class in order to avoid prominence and attention from others. I did not take part in class discussions as I felt awkward and uncomfortable speaking in front of all students and the teacher. I kept myself from asking question even if I had some confusion in my mind regarding the topic being taught by the teacher. When I was a kid, I used to avoid interactions with other kids. I kept myself isolated in the parks, play grounds and even in the school. I used to keep my feelings secret and ideas personal. All these traits resulted in inner conflicts arising in me. I felt irritated by the thought that people avoid talking to me. I felt aggressive and angry when people talked to each other and did not involve me in their conversations. Somehow these were the reactions of my responses to them when they started a conversation or tried talking to me which I avoided most of the times. My parents noticed these problems and were constantly making efforts to make me friendly, confident and sociable. At first I found the lectures of my parents and elder siblings completely meaningless. I was extremely disheartened by the way people ignored me while talking to each other. This was the most difficult phase of my life. I lost my hopes of getting good grades, having friends and making my way out of the isolation that I created in the past years. However, the constant struggles of my parents motivated me to talk to them about my issues. I started discussing my experiences, daily activities and secrets with them. Their friendliness, affection and loving nature made me confident enough to share everything with them. The main problem then, was to change myself in front of others. I felt comfortable with my parents but when it came to other people I still felt the same hesitation and shyness. I started motivating myself to take part in the conversations. I started writing a diary of my day to day activities in order to blow out the negative feelings. I used to feel relaxed after writing the diary. I made a plan to encourage myself on speaking in crowds. Firstly, I started asking questions during the class lectures when I found anything confusing. I started taking part in the classroom discussions and academic debates which greatly helped me to enhance my social skills. My class fellows started discussing their academic and other issues with me which again was considered as an encouraging gesture by me. The first effect of this step was a positive apparent impact on my

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Poverty In United States Essay Example for Free

Poverty In United States Essay United States of America being among   Ã‚  the richest and most developed nations one would expect poverty to be a vocabulary that only exist in the national policies of third world countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By comparison Americans can be described as wealthy but there are some pockets of poverty in this vast and rich nation This paper attempts to explore poverty situation in United States highlighting its causes and characteristics, digging deeper to understand which group of people consist the poor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A report released in 2002 shows that there were 35 million poor Americans, this represented roughly 10% of the population, and this figure has been rising Presently 12% of Americans are living below the poverty line.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By definition poverty is described as that condition where one is unable to meet the basic need in life, that’s one, can not afford a well balanced meal, decent housing and clothing. Poverty in United States is somehow different from the one experienced in least developed nations where living on less than a dollar qualifies one as poor. The poor in America constitute people who depend on state welfare since they are unable to provide for themselves, every year people fall in and out of poverty.   In a period of 10 years 40% of American fall in and out of poverty, this is attributed to fall of their income, when one of the family member moves out, among other situations (Fisher, G.M., 2003)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some groups of people are more prone to poverty than others. This depends on their economic social or cultural position they occupy in the society. There are those who are unemployed meaning they do not engage in any income generating activity. Crime on one hand is a result of poverty or it can breed poverty. Poor tend to engage into criminal activity or they are driven into it by poverty. Apprehended criminals in correction centers rarely engage in economic activity while victims of crime e.g. thefts have to replace the stolen property eating on their savings. (Zweig, Michael, 2004)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Households headed by women on average tend to be poor in comparison to those with both spouses. In this type of a family woman is the sole bread winner. Most of her income goes towards provision of basic needs with less or no savings therefore making it difficult for this family to rise beyond poverty line (Martin N.,2008).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The size of the family affects family income, large families have more mouths to feed, more household bills to clear, huge spending in insurance, education and healthcare. If this type of family income is not enough they will for ever be trapped in poverty cycle.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Other groups that are likely to be poor are the unskilled, the less educated substance abusers immigrants and children.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Causes of poverty in America are several they range from economical, cultural, and geographical to social. . Distribution of resources largely affects people ability to produce. This also determines employment opportunities available which by and large dictates people incomes. States endowed with resources will have low poverty rates than those with little or unexploited resources. (Adams, J.Q, Pearlie S.A, 2001)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Economic condition which is not favorable will result to increased poverty rate, recessions leads to rise in inflation which means people pay more for the same goods they were buying but their income remains constant, and this means savings are curtailed. For example recession in 1982 led to rise in poverty rates from 12% to 15%   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Education equips Americans with skills that enable them to gain employment or venture into business. On average Americans with a college diploma have access to high paying jobs compared to the less educated. To a greater extent educational level determine ones income, less educated are likely to earn less making it impossible for them to afford a decent living. On the same line education level dictates opportunities available to an individual. Unskilled labor attracts low pay making unskilled laborers more prone to poverty than their skilled counterparts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rural and urban settings provide greater disparities as far as living standards are concerned. Americans living in urban areas have higher incomes when compared to their rural countrymen. There are more opportunities in urban areas due to high population with disposable income and better infrastructure. In rural areas opportunities are few and are limited to primary production e.g. agriculture, mining e.t.c.This means income generation activities and employment opportunities are fewer and only attract the less skilled   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Regionally, most of the southern states have higher poverty rates especially the rural areas .This is due to few employment opportunities and historical background.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Children are more prone to be poor than any other age group. According to the information released from population survey by census bureau in 2004, 21% 0f children were considered as poor. A greater disparity is seen when it comes to racial lines, almost half of African Americans and 40% of Latino kids are trapped in poverty circles. (Harrington, M.,1962).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Immigrants are great victims of poverty .Those with low education earn their living in low paying jobs. Illegal immigrants are even more disadvantaged as they can not gain any meaningful employment, therefore remaining in poverty circles for a long time   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, poverty in United States is dynamic, one may be in and out of poverty throughout their lives. Though there are conflicts as to who is poor, there is a common understanding that those who live on an income that is below what an average American earn is living below poverty . What constitutes poverty in United States may be middle class in some parts of the world especially in least developed nations. Poverty is a limiting factor in the society as it denies some Americans decent lives curtailing their freedom to enjoy lives. Policies need to be implemented to lower the poverty rates so as to rid United States of poverty. Reference Adams, J.Q.; Pearlie Strother-Adams, 2001. Dealing with Diversity. Chicago, IL: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. . Harrington, Michael ,1962 The Other America. Macmillan. Fisher, G.M. ,2003 The Development of the Orshansky Poverty Thresholds. Macmillan Zweig, Michael ,2004 Whats Class Got to do With It, American Society in the Twenty-first Century. ILR Press. Martin N. ,2008. Social Inequality: Patterns and Processes, 4th ed.. Boston: McGraw-Hill

Friday, September 20, 2019

Marks And Spencer: An Analysis

Marks And Spencer: An Analysis Introduction Marks and Spencer is one of the UKs leading retailers. MandS was founded by a partnership between Michael marks, a polish immigrant from Slonim and Thomas Spencer in the early years 1884 to 1949. Then the next few years Michael marks opened some market stalls in many locations like North West of England. In 1984, Thomas Spencer invested in Marks activities and the plan to open the first store in partnership at 20, Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester. And that was the first founding of the present Mark and Spencer retail company. They started their business with a simple business strategy which was to sell quality products under the label of St Michael. MS lingerie, womens clothes and girls school uniform Task 1: Strategic Formulation: According to G Johnson K Scholes, Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the aim of fulfilling stakeholder expectations. In simple words, business strategy is a plan which is set by an organisation in terms of future performance. It also gathers what are the plans needed to get the goals set. Whenever embryonic your strategy it is important to understand which position you want to start from in terms of the current performance levels. In addition it is important to consider the important factors which can influence the ability to achieve the strategy. So as MS strategy is including the following components they are vision, mission and goals. As MS Vision is to be standard against which all others are measured MS Mission is to make aspirational quality accessible to all And MS Values are Quality, value, service, innovation and trust Meaning of Stakeholder: Stakeholders are persons, groups or institution with interest in a project or programme. Stakeholder analysis helps to find out the interest of stakeholder in relation to the project, to identify the conflict of interest and understand the relations between stakeholders for the project interest is drawn. MSs management gave a great support that helped in its growth. But recently MSs mangers seems to fail on leading the group to lower and lower sales and profits and their strategic decisions. Shareholders are feeling insecure for future because the share prices are falling down. Hence, MS needs to undertake various steps to maintain the market share and retain its stakeholder in the business for the future growth and success. Stakeholder management has two important elements Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Planning. Stakeholder analysis is a technique used to identify the key and important people who are needed for the project whereas stakeholder planning is a support that would help to succeed the plans. Importances of Stakeholder Analysis that is carried by MS are as follow: To understand the relationship with the stakeholder. To understand the stakeholders place in the organization. To understand the importance of the stakeholder in the organization. Stakeholders power Stakeholders priorities Associated risk areas. To help decide better strategies and decision To help accept the strategy and decision of the organization. http://www.actuaries.org.uk/?a=161691 take the diagram from this for stakeholder of MS What is Stakeholder Mapping? Description During the Stakeholder analysis process, it is useful to classify the various stakeholders by drawing pictures of what stakeholders interest they represent, what groups they are in, the amount of power they process, whether they symbolize inhabiting or following factors for the organisation to recognize its objectives, or which methods they should be dealt with. Stakeholder Mapping is the process to create such pictures to clarify the position. Business strategy definition: Strategic or institutional management is the conduct of drafting, implementing and evaluating cross functional decision that will enable an organization to achieve its long term. According to Arieu (2007), there is strategic consistency when the actions of an organization are consistence with the expectation of management, and these in turn are with the markets and the context. As MS is the UKs leading retailers, MS sells stylish, great value clothing and home products, as it also deliver excellent quality food, reliably sourced from around 2,000 suppliers globally. MS has a commitment as to provide advanced quality products at a reasonable price which has built a  £8 billion turnover, MS employ 68,000 employees in 30 countries, and has more than 500 stores and serving ten millions of customers each and every week. MS have spent the last five years putting in place tough foundations in line with the long term plans. MS have introduced new products and services in the core business of general merchandising (GM) and food, expanding the international business, broadening the multi-national portfolio, and putting the plan A in the heart of our business. MS also respond to the changing needs of the customers by improving the values without comprising on quality; something MS keep viewing the short term pain for a long term gain. MS with its strong brand, delivering the right products and with the exclusive experienced management team, MS are now: Operational executive and increase in the pace of change in the business Increasing MS direct by structuring more channels to markets. MS keep building their international portfolio so as to grow the global customer base MS keeps updating with the current brand communication. As MS celebrate their 125th anniversary they have revealed reputation for Trust, Quality, Service, Value and Innovation. These central part values of MS are as important today as they ever have been. MS has nearly 300 stores in UK which is the shop keeping leader. It is countrys largest retailer and the main business is Clothing which contribute 17% on market share price. MS has always targeted the middle aged class especially their clothing department and specifically the womens wear. Per Una is the brand that is very popular in UK. MS has decided to expand and explore new market in Malaysia. MS share price is also falling due to recession; hence investors are worried about it. Therefore a detail research is carried out to solve the problem and to launch a new clothing range in Malaysia as per the expansion plan. MS has carried out the environmental and organizational audit in order implement its expansion plan with strong clothing range and wide range of products to retain the market position and increase the share price. Following is the SWOT analysis that is carried by MS to first decide it strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of entering in new market for launching a range of new clothing in womens wear. SWOT Analysis for MS. Internal Strengths Weaknesses Own branded products under own labels. Best Quality service Having their own farm which gives Fresh/ Quality Food. Large Range of products Understands customer trends and preferences. Online-Shopping Existing store coverage is leading to difficulties High price as compare to competitors Very dependent on the performance of own labels External Opportunities Threats Expansion into the new markets. Retail Partnerships Internet shopping Available technology to improve their functioning. Cheap-chains targeting the high end market Overseas groups entering the market Threats from discount store which offers same price with trendy clothing range. With above analysis it is clear that MS can use a strategy that will allow them to enter new market like Malaysia. MS can certainly use its brand image and name to get familiar in the market and to face the competition. Though there is threats and weakness that needs to be taken care by MS in order to be successful in the expansion plan to maintain the market share price. Table 2 MS Industry, PEST Analysis Political Economic European Integration and Free Trade Agreement. Open market for British companies to invest in European. Competition Commission EU Competition Law 2009 Market value  £5.66bn Relative Recession proof industry Optimistic customer Booming retail industry Socio Cultural Technological Change in consumer taste and lifestyle. Organics and healthy eating Environmental conscious Internet selling. IT and Communication Supply Chain Optimization Cool Storage and Transport Stock Management and Bar Code Above analysis gives a clear picture about the European market as a part of expansion for MS. INTERNAL AUDIT: MS has decided to conduct the Organizational audit through Porters Generic Value chain. Porters Generic Value Chain Inbound Logistics > Operations > Outbound Logistics > Marketing Sales > Service > M A R G I N Firm Infrastructure HR Management Technology Development Procurement Diagram 1: http://www.netmba.com/strategy/value-chain/ MS goal behind these activities is to give the customers the value that exceeds the cost of activities and thereby this offer will result in the profit margin. The value chain activities explain MSs: Inbound Logistic: This explain the distribution to manufacturing of MS and even warehousing of the raw materials. Operations: Operation explains the process of transforming raw materials into finished products and service to sell them in MS outlets. Outbound Logistics: The manufacturing and distribution of finished goods. Marketing and Sales: carrying out the market research to identify the customers need and requirement to face the competition in the market. Service: After the product and services are sold MS has a strong support of customers. MS takes every complaint seriously because no problem is small in business in this modern competitive world. MS supports these activities with: The infrastructure of the MS firm is guided with organizational structure, control system and company culture. Put Diagram please to explain: Human resource management: MS takes additional care in selecting its workforce to make that it keeps the values and market position. TASK 2: Table 2 MS Boston Consulting Group Matrix Relative Market Share High Low Rate of Market Growth High Stars Question Marks Organic foods Clothing range Online shopping# Indian own brand foods Services Bakery Low Cash Cows Dogs Perfectly Balanced Own Brand Label Products Wines Delicatessen Counter sales (Fish, Cheese, Pattisserie, Meat) Frozen uncooked foods Flowers Entertainment goods STRATEGIC PLANNING: There are six steps in strategic planning, MS has covered few step as discussed above with various analysis carried out. In this task we will discuss the strategies to be used for entering in new market as part expansion plan. MS and every companies has three main generic strategies available either become the lowest cost retailer or differentiate product and services in such a way that the customers so that they will pay a premium price. Generic strategies result: Cost Leadership, Differentiation and Focus. MSs core products ( food and clothing ), it emphasis a focus generic Strategies as it concentrates on a narrow segment A particular set of groups such as executives Market segmentation such as high end Product feature such as freshness and within the chosen segments MS attempts to achieve differentiation from Tesco, Asda and any high street retailer. Needs that can be better serviced by focusing entirely on it. Competitive Strategy: Competitive Strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing to perform activities differently or to perform different activities than rivals to deliver a unique mix of value ( Michael E Porter) The essence of strategy lies in creating tomorrows competitive advantages faster than competitors mimic the ones you posses today (Gary Hamel C K Prahalad) Porters four generic Competitive Strategies MS Generic Strategies: As per these strategies it is argued that to establish its competitive advantage the business needs to make two fundamental decisions which are: Whether to compete on Cost. Its competitive scope. Cost Leadership: As MS has decided to enter the market which is more competitive at price. In order to enter broad cross section of the market by introducing products and service at low price. MS wants to sustain and retain customers in European market; hence it has kept its cost as low as possible to keep low prices for the products and service. MS has to make sure that its quality or the features of the product are untouched with the efforts being at low cost. Market place is more dominated by price, as the product is same from seller to seller. Differentiation: MS will be introducing its product with differentiated feature. MS own brand such as Per Una is very popular within UK that attracts customers frmom aged 35, MS will launch its a new clothing range that will attract customers from aged 20 to 25. It will have a new clothing range with low prices to attract young customer. New Group Strategy and Structure: Based on the above analysis and research and strategic review, the board of MS announced in April 29 of 2009 significant changes to the structure group and strategy. Highlighting the new plans which will be used to retain the customers and increase the share price in the market: More focus on UK retail: Own brands will be modified and will be made more stylish to attract young group of people as well. MS will be selling more of its own brand and products exclusive to MS so that customers can be rest assure that the products are quality, value and service. Recovery plan for range of clothes: There is a huge growth in products like Home, food and Beauty. Store improvement Programme Focused customer service Closure of loss making business, Cost cutting measures and realisation of value: MS is a huge company, customer, investor and everyone has great expectation from them. Therefore MS intend to merge or close business which is making losses. MS intend to close the subsidiary in the European rather than the Irish one. Selling of brooks in king brothers market and super markets in the US as there are no suitable platform for future international expansion by MS in US. MS has opened a new store in China through franchising. MS intends to close its loss making business including a dedicated call centre with about 340 jobs in total. Cost cutting is one of the best ways to reduce the costs of goods sold by using foreign suppliers and less supplier mainly to Asia. TASK 3: Lately, MS has faced some tough competition and thats how its time for MS to come up with new market for growth. In order to analyse the market and find a new market MS has adopted the Ansoffs product market matrix. Table 4 MS The Ansoff Matrix; Growth Vector Components Products Existing New Markets Existing Market Penetration Product Development Improve service and quality Repositioning Withdrawal Expand Own Brand Labels Introduce new products Expand to non-food sector New Market Development Diversification Internationalising Globalization Expand abroad Online shopping Conglomerate Acquisitions Above Ansoff matrix suggest that MS can use this as a base to plot its expansion plan for future. In order to develop a new marketing strategy, MS carried out a market research. MS market research shows that the best way to bring new customers in their existing range would be by exploiting new markets (market development). The company when carried out the research in both primary and secondary and as a outcome, they find the opportunity to target between the ages 18-25 which also includes the students (three million) as potential customers, with a spending ratio of  £12 billion. To aim the youth (students) so that they start shopping for their early student days, MS set a new strategy. 90 universities were contacted and the company used variety of tactics to attract the students like give free gifts at freshers fair, free voucher, direct mail flyers and we banners. This would help the students to maintain their loyalty over degree course and ahead in working life. To increase the awareness about the MS value and products, the company set up a campaign. This campaign was really helpful where MS achieved business aims, including growth and a new market (students, youngsters). Trendy with less price catalogue was another step towards substantive growth. It was launched in 2009 with an aim that it benefits the company as well as the customers which offers a variety of product, free home delivery, and online service as well. To maintain this rapid growth, MS is also planning to take discounted offers internationally with opening new stores in different countries, to further expand the growth in business with a unique selling proposition. MS market research gives the result that the existing product into new markets was the best direction to take further TASK 4: In Addition, MS is to adopt a new system to manage supply. MS is introducing merchandise lifecycle software (Trade Stone Software system) which will support its global sourcing initiatives. This software will reduce the time which will take to bring new products to market, increase imports over an unspecified timeframe and expand its product selection. And with the introduction of the CPR (Customer Pulled Replenishment), MS is planning to implement on the financial strategy by reducing labour costs and stock handling. Accordingly, MS will be maintaining different levels of implementations of strategies. Following the operational strategy for MS Below is a cash flow statement for MS expansion plan in European Market with new clothing range and new product line. Above is the GAP analysis will help MS to set realistic goals and as a basis for identifying the extent to which existing strategies will fail to meet performance objectives in the future. GAP analysis will help MS to realise the requirement and effort required to fill in the GAP from where we are to where we want to go, this gap between this two questions will help MS to fill the gap with all resources that is needed. While planning the strategies MS has forecasted desired revenue/profits. It is then possible to consider how this gap may be bridged, as MS has decided to fill in the gap with expansion and launching a new clothing launch for attracting customers from 20-25 years. Expectancy Theory (Vroom) Effort hh Expectancy? Leads to Performance Instrumentality Leads to Outcome (Reward) Valence? Personal Goals After a extraordinary amount of research over the last few years it shows an increasing realisation of the customer satisfaction and customer focus in the company, MS decided to rebrand few of its stores by applying over the last few years it shows an increasing realisation of the customer satisfaction and customer focus in the company, MS decided to rebrand few of its stores by applying whole new concept design to take MS forward. With the new merchandising techniques and displays MS have found a real positive change in the customers hopping environment. Additionally, to increase the effort towards its modernised offer MS is also mulling a revamp of few of its stores. Moreover, MS also continues to fine-tune its portfolio, transferring its existing store into larger sites such as Oxford Street store, which took over a site formerly occupied by CA in 2002. In order to carry out the market surreys and research, MS is evaluating systems in their organisation. To form the budget of the company MS are opening new stores and departments. As well, the company is working on the limitations to achieve the targets. For example MS has recently evaluated a recycling technique (Plan A) through which it is generating quite a lot of money. Referencing: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8KS4gKNgLysCpg=PT29dq=G+Johnson+%26+K+Scholescd=1#v=onepageq=G%20Johnson%20%26%20K%20Scholesf=false http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Strategy (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/essays-and-dissertations/bcg-growth-sharemarket.php http://www.netmba.com/strategy/matrix/bcg/ http://www.examstutor.com/business/resources/companyprofiles/marksandspencer/strategyinsight.php (about ms details and information.) http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=29922 http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/management/market-strategy.php http://www.oxbridgewriters.com/essays/marketing/marks-spencers-corporate-objectives.php http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/essays-and-dissertations/ansoff-analysis.php

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Metaphors That Justify War :: essays research papers fc

Metaphors that Justify War Truth Uncloaked Do you think we had all the information that was at the President's disposal when he made the decision to deploy our troops in the Gulf? Do you think having that information might have made you feel more comfortable about our involvement? Should our government decide what we get to know and what we don't? By in large, we hear exactly what our government wants us to hear. Knowing this, at no other time paralleled in history, we want the truth; we thirst for it like those traveling through the desert without water and we are tired of being manipulated and deceived by those we elect to serve our interests. However, more often than not, we settle for what is given to us. Our truth is wrapped by the media and promoted as gospel without hesitation or moral reservation. Our acceptance of and reliance upon the media for sensitive, truthful, information brings a sense of security and knowledge of world affairs that satisfies our internal push for social involvement (even if it is at the point of acknowledgment only). We are happy with the knowledge because there is no discernible contradictions and seldom question its relevancy, focus or content. Then later, a contradictory report erupts in the media and we begin to question even what we see. The short footage shown by the media concerning the beating of Rodney King was out of context. Who is responsible for the disparity? The media. They decide what we hear and see. They manipulate to dramatize for the dollar. Gossip, murder, rape, political espionage, treason, drug deals, incest, wife battering, muggings, immoral behavior of all sizes shapes and volumes seem to appeal to human interest and the Networks use it to build their ratings while claiming they proclaim truth for all (double effect). These people and their focus gave us the Gulf War everyday, around the clock. Would it be surprising to know that the media not only reports the news they help facilitate public approval that could justify a war through the use of metaphors alone? The use of metaphors in war and everyday life is common and an important method employed to eventually arrive at a position of approval for military action. Before the use of metaphors is discussed it is necessary to understand specific conditions in which any war is justified. Conditions Necessary to Justify a War Two specific conditions are necessary to justify war. First, direct aggression against the United States, our allies, or those who are unable to protect themselves against direct aggression.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Negative Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect Essay -- Consequences

Children are beaten until their bodies no longer heal, they are scalded with boiling water, they are starved and so dehydrated that their skin shrivels around their fragile bones, they are sexually assaulted and forced to perform all sorts of perverted acts, and they are locked in closets or tied to bed posts for days on end (Koster and Swisher). In the year of 2012, more than four children a day were killed due to child abuse, and the number seems to be steadily rising (Child Abuse Statistics & Facts). Child abuse is a horrible crime that harms many of the children in today’s society. One problem with this crime is that it is a silent crime, one that most often happens in the privacy of a family’s home. It is sad fact that, due to the crime being hidden, children in society suffer in silence, and not all perpetrators get caught for their crime. However, people need to be aware of the problem, because child abuse has adverse psychological and social effects. Though child abuse has adverse psychological and social effects, to understand how these effects come about, one would need to know what child abuse is. Child abuse is an act â€Å"carried out by a child’s caretaker or allowed to happen, that results in a range of injuries ranging from death, to serious disabling injury, to emotional distress, to malnutrition and illness† (Gelles 14). All these different forms of injuries are what cause children to have psychological and social problems. Doctors, psychiatrists, and legal system all have different interpretations to what defines child abuse. There are varying forms of the definition, but the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act defines child abuse as, â€Å"The physical and mental injury, se... ..., Jacquelyn Quiram, and Nancy R. Jacobs, ed. Child Abuse: Betraying a Trust. Wylie,TX: Information Plus, 1995. Lowry, Laura. Personal interview. 8 Nov. 2002. Mammen, Oommen K., David J. Kolko, and Paul A. Pilkonis. â€Å"Negative Affect and Parental Aggression in Child Physical Abuse.† Child Abuse and Neglect 26 (2002): 407-424. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton. 17 Oct. 2002 . Mitchell, Brandon J.A. Personal interview. 8 May 2015. Veltman, Marijcke W. M., and Kevin D. Browne. â€Å"Three Decades of Child Maltreatment Research: Implications for the School Years.† Trauma, Violence & Abuse 2 (2001): 215-239. Academic Premier Search. EBSCO. Roesch Library, Dayton. 18 Nov. 2002 . "Child Abuse Statistics & Facts" ChildHelp Web. 3 June 2015. https://www.childhelp.org/child-abuse-statistics/

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Pay Differential in Sports Based on Performance

The salary gap between genders has been a predominant issue in the sports arena. Women are continually paid less than their male counterparts, but men experience pay differentials between each other in some sports. In male dominated sports, such as hockey, baseball, and basketball, there is a variation in an individual’s salary that adversely affects the team’s performance and vice versa. In a capitalist society, everybody is paid what their work is worth. Sports such as hockey, basketball, and baseball are pay-for performance sports, in that the players are paid what their skills are worth to the team. The less common a desired talent is, the more money an athlete will make because of it. There has been a continuous debate about how athletes should be paid. Is a defensemen in hockey who can score as valuable as a forward or more so? Is a catcher in baseball who can hit multiple homeruns in a season as valuable as a star pitcher? Many researchers use economic theories to analyze â€Å"Pay-For-Play† or the idea that athletes are paid better for a better performance. In order to examine athlete’s salaries certain definitions need to be established beforehand. Overpaid athletes are not athletes are not players who are paid more than what they are worth, but rather are the top earners in their sport. Underpaid athletes are athletes who are paid less than the average player. It needs to be acknowledged that the success of a team is not just dependent on salary, but also coach and managerial input that are often omitted from research papers. The following examines the idea of pay-for-performance in hockey, baseball, and basketball. The correlation between a team’s performance and the individual salaries of the players are examined. Whether or not being a free agent or having a signed contract and the influences these may have on an athlete’s effort exerted are also looked at. Hockey, baseball, and basketball are all pay-for-performance sports where the best performing players are paid top salaries. Idson & Kahane (2000) used the National Hockey League (NHL) to examine coworker productivity and its influence on salary. Because the statistics of a team’s performance and the salary of each player are publicly recorded and readily available, the information was considered accurate and ideal to use in the investigation. Idson & Kahane (2000) asked the question as to whether an individual’s special attributes were rewarded/valued differently (in the form of a higher salary) in a variety of environments or in special cases. The investigators got the statistical data from Hockey News [February 8, 1991 and November 15, 1991] and the Hockey News Complete Hockey Book that compiled data from various years. The final data set of Idson and Kahane (2000) contained data on 930 players from the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. The points and plus/minus interaction were statistically significant at the 10% level indicating that an individual player performed at a higher level when playing with a team that contained better players. One of the main problems with studying athletes is that players can be traded midyear and essentially play on multiple teams in a given season. To counter this, the researchers placed an athlete on the team that reported the athlete’s total salary for the year. There is no one way to examine a player’s skill in hockey. Idson & Kahane (2000) placed players as either a â€Å"forward† or â€Å"other†, such as defenseman or goalie. The strict dichotomy of this category might have had an adverse influence on their results because defenseman and goalies are not known for scoring points. Jones & Walsh (1988) made two categories for position in their data by labeling forwards and defensemen as forwards that would be examined by the points they scored. Goalies were the other category and were analyzed using goals allowed on average. Because defensemen do not score as many points as forwards, the researchers pointed out that a defenseman scoring an equal number of goals as a forward would earn more money because of the added skill. In hockey, goalies make the big saves of the game, while forwards score the big goals of the game. Doing routine defensive maneuvers in a typical and habitual manner, defensemen are covered in a sheet of ambiguity. The top paid forward in hockey, Vincent Lacaviler, made $10 million, while the top paid defense man was, Zendo Chara, made only $7. 5 million for the 2009-10 season. Both had relatively equal statistics for the season, but Lacaviler is a well known forward who makes the big plays people remember. Jones & Walsh (1988) incorporate the number of trophies and the number in the draft pick into their equation. Both trophies and draft pick numbers help defense men more than forwards. Adding these in was an attempt to even the playing field between forwards and defenseman. It was still shown that forwards with defensive skills, â€Å"enforcers† as they are called, make more money than defensemen with scoring abilities. It is a possibility that enforcers are paid more because they excite fans with both their scoring and fighting skills. George Steinbrenner once said, â€Å"You measure the value of a [player] by how many fannies he puts in the seats. † People who go to athletic events go to see the home team win, not just to observer one power player. Sommers, P. M. , & Quinton, N. (1982) used that approach to examine how having a superstar on the team, regardless of their input to winning the game, would affect revenue. It was discovered that although superstar have a slight influence on revenue, winning has a big influence on crowd attendance. Because the players were organized into the categories of â€Å"free agents† and â€Å"not free agents†, it was also shown that free agents make more money on average than players without contracts. Harder (1992) hypothesized that pay-for performance contracts would lessen the effects of being underpaid on an individual. It was also hypothesized that underpaid individuals would not cooperate as much and would tend to have more self-centered behaviors. Using the equity theory, Harder (1992) compiled data for four seasons of players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Statistical data was accumulated from Sporting News [May 8, 1988]. The number of points a player got in a season and the overall number of points in a career were positive indicators that basketball is a pay-for-performance sport. The results for baseball are the same; the better an athlete was in the season and overall his career, the better that athlete’s salary was. The first hypothesis was proven partially correct in that Harder (1992) found in baseball, the players who were paid less had lower average statistics, but this did not affect the number of runs from the underpaid athletes. In basketball, an underpaid athlete was more like to shot the ball, but would not score as often as overpaid athletes. Overpaid athletes would contribute more to the team as a whole, rather than just scoring points, and were generally more team oriented than underpaid players. This was consistent with the second hypothesis put forth by Harder (1992). Some limitations put on Harder’s (1992) work was that when using sports salaries in equity theory, the salaries tend to be much higher. Although sports teams are a good area to research performance-based pay because of the easily accessible data, it also limits how generalizable a study can be. A more recent way to interpret pay-for-performance was with the agency theory. Contracts in sports, such as basketball, are intended to make both the athlete and the team managers, content. Athletes who are at different cyclical stages of their contract perform in various ways. Just before signing or resigning a contract, athletes are more likely to put forth more effort to get a better contract (multi-million dollar, multi-year, or both). Just after or in the middle of a contract, players tend to play less strenuously (Stiroh, 2007). Stiroh’s (2007) hypothesized that the decline in the effort a player puts forth is directly linked to the length of a contract and also the age of the athlete. The results showed that there is statistical evidence at the 1% level that before a contract was signed, an athlete put more effort into a performance. There was a negative regression in relation to age such that as age increases, the performance of an athlete steadily declines. The hypothesis that a player’s effort will decline after a contract is signed depends on the length of the contract. The longer a contract is, the less likely that a player is going to keep playing with the same effort. Stiroh (2007) concludes that the status of an individual player’s contract is a good predictor of the athlete’s overall performance. An examination between the win/loss percentage of a team and the team’s payroll using multiple sports (baseball, hockey, football, and basketball) was conducted by Quirk and Fort (1999). Over a six year period (1990-96), there was significant evidence in both the NHL and the NBA to suggest that a difference in payroll for athletes on a team will affects the win/loss percentage. There was not conclusive evidence for the MLB and NFL. One needs to be wary of the results though; the evidence may be misleading because of unforeseen events like injuries and players holding out on signing contracts. These four sports were examined again in the same context by Forrest & Simmons (2000) using the results for the 1999-2000 season and came to the same conclusion. In the three main sports that were focus on (hockey, baseball, and basketball), there is repeated significant evidence to support the idea that the performance of an athlete and/or a team is influenced by the payroll of the individuals on the team. The only sport that shows a slight discrimination in the pay of an athlete is defensemen in the NHL. More research and analysis is needed to see if a stronger correlation between the win/loss percentage and the team wages because current research suggests a weak predictive power. All of the current research is focused on regular season. Play-off performances are an area where more research needs to be done to see if the added pressure changes the team dynamics thus influencing an individual player’s salary.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Pepsi Marketing Essay

Supermodel, entrepreneur, actress, Cindy Crawford has been promoting the OMEGA brand since 1995. Her striking beauty and international appeal are the perfect complement to OMEGA’s image. Cindy even helped to design a collection dedicated to her: the Constellation My Choice. PEPSI: Today’s PepsiCo, Inc. was found in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi Co and Frito-Lay, the world’s largest manufacturer and distributor of snack chips. In 1998, it acquired Tropicana, the world’s largest marketer and producer of branded juices. In addition to the main body of 3 companies, the Pepsi-Cola Incorporation also owns four well-known fast food restaurants in the world; they are Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, and Burger King. Furthermore, with its 4 fast food restaurants, PepsiCo Inc. owns 24,000 restaurants, more than McDonald’s 14,000. Based on PepsiCo Incs annual report in year 2000, PepsiCo Inc. has total net sales of 20.438 billion US dollars and they are worth 44 billion dollars in stock value right now. There are several reasons why the world’s second largest soft-drink company, the PepsiCo Inc., is very successful in the world and almost exceed the current market leader in soft drink industry, Coca-Cola. These reasons are taste, investment, management policy, and marketing strategy. In this report, we will put our main focus on marketing strategies and more details analysis, such as 4Ps (product, price, place, promotion), SWOT analysis (strength, weakness, opportunity, threaten), Marketing Environment (economic, technological, cultural, social, and competitor), advertising, and target market, etc. First element of 4Ps is product. With more and more customersãÆ' » unique needs, besides its regular Pepsi, it adds regular caffeine-free Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Diet Caffeine-free Pepsi, Wild Cherry Pepsi, and Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi into its product lines. Its Diet Pepsi is even the first of its kind in Cola market. For the price, based on the laws of demand and supply, price plays a very important role in customersãÆ' » initial purchase. In addition, psychologically speaking, customersãÆ' » have such mentality to judge a productãÆ' »s quality by its price. Therefore, Pepsi has to determine its price very carefully. If the products are wrongly priced, either damage to its reputation on quality or lost of sale due to high price will be resulted. However, Pepsi seems to do fine at the moment. Based on their corporate pricing policy, providing quality products at lowest possible price has always been one of their main concerns. For example, in some parts of the country, a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi costs 99 cents a decade ago and still does today. As for the place, it has to get the right target market and has to be available when customers need. Pepsi has done a great work on the place, because their channels of distribution certainly provide their products at any market in the American very successfully. Last and the most important element of 4 Ps is promotion. It is so important because how they promote their products will affect how successful their message will be delivered to their target audiences. In 1963, they created a new product policy that is called ï ¼Å¡The Pepsi of new generationï ¼â€º. They focus on customerãÆ' »s needs and wants. Also, they try to make people memorize their product. Lots of soft drink customers do not have so-called royalty toward certain brand. Such issue was well noted by PepsiCo Inc. and decides to change customersãÆ' » buying habit. During that time, ï ¼Å¡The Pepsi of new generationï ¼â€º is a very successful campaign until 1988. After that, they have changed the marketing scheme to ï ¼Å¡The Choice of a New Generationï ¼â€º and still using the same process today. Right now, Pepsi has a special campaign called ï ¼Å¡The Pepsi Challengeï ¼â€º that gets a lot of attention from people and offers a good opportunity for Pepsi to earn more profit. In 1974, this promotion also works very well in Kansas. Advertisement is another promotion; they usually focus on the teenager. From Electric Youth to Generation next, Pepsi has had its finger on the youth pulse of every decade. In their advertisings and target markets, they always use idols to catch teenagersãÆ' » attention. For example, in 1984 to 1999, they use Michael Jackson and Ray Charles etc. to be PepsiãÆ' »s spokespersons. In 2001, they have signed a 100-million-dollars contract with Britney Spears to be PepsiãÆ' »s next spokesperson. The SWOT analysis is another important concept in the marketing. The strength of the Pepsi is his strong, well-recognized brands. Pepsi-Cola owns many of the worldãÆ' »s best-loved consumers brands, especially in North America. According to annual report, the percentage of the total sales volume is 45% in North AmericaãÆ' »s market. For many years, Coca-Cola still has a great position in the American. As a result, if Pepsi-Cola wants to replace the number one position that is a very hard task, and also a big weakness for Pepsi-Cola. Even though PepsiCo has better total sales than Coca Cola (20.4 billion vs. 16.2 billion), however, the market value of the whole company is just about half of Coca Cola (44 billion vs. 93 billion). The main reason is that PepsiCo has its foot into fast food market. Furthermore, the profit margin they make is not even one third of current market leader in fast food industry-McDonald (4% vs. 15%). Pepsi-Cola has launched a campaign called ï ¼Å¡The Pepsi Challengeï ¼â€º that gives Pepsi-Cola a good opportunity, because they might get more customers to accept the products and gain the sales revenue for Pepsi-Cola. Because there are a lot of competitors in the soft-drink industry, these competitors often introduce new tastes from time to time and customers have the tendency of trying new tastes while PepsiCo Inc has limited product lines in soft drink despite the fact that they have already have juices, root bear, ice teas, etc. Needless to say, this is a very big threaten to the Pepsi-Cola. The economic environment can affect Pepsi-Cola very significantly. If we have bad economic situation, people will watch their own packet more carefully and, in turn, the sales revenue is the first thing to suffer. Although such impact might not be very severe to PepsiCo because Cola can be seen as a daily necessity in American, yet, they still have to keep close watch. The 270 million people in America consume about 28 million cases of Pepsi Cola annually. In American culture, and its social environment, Pepsi-Cola doesnãÆ' »t need to have a significant change since Pepsi-Cola is a very traditional favor. As a result, Pepsi-Cola Company should focus on two main things- get peopleãÆ' »s attention and create the ï ¼Å¡Needï ¼â€º. Our technology environment is growing very fast and so does Pepsi-Cola in its technology to operate their products. Pepsi Company always builds their products at highest quality and catches up with the new technology. Pepsi can always be peopleãÆ' »s favorite; because Pepsi Company always adapts whatever new technology is available in the market today. In competitor environment, we know that Pepsi-Cola Company face three main competitors: Coca-Cola, Quaker Oats, and Cadbury Schweppes. As stated by the President of Pepsi ï ¼Å¡in the Cola War, there is never a winner. It is not important whether you win or lose; the more important is that to have fun in the Cola Warï ¼â€º. Although my information might not be sufficient, there are still many different types of information customers could research by themselves. Consumers can also compare information about different or competing  companies more easily because information is literally at their fingertips. Consumers don’t have to deal directly with or influenced by sales people to make their decision of purchases. Companies can also stay in touch with their customers and suppliers by creating web pages and setting up Internet addresses to receive e-mail from customers worldwide. Basic Marketing: A Global-Managerial Approach, 13th edition Irwin McGraw-Hill, 1999 Gornstein, Leslie. â€Å"On-line Marketers Targeting Kids.† San Diego Union-Tribune, July 2, 1996, Page 4. Pepsi Co. Incorporation Annual Report 1997-1999 Pakistan has a multimillion dollar official contract with Pepsico which entitles the company to put a ‘Pepsi’ logo on all players kits. Each player gets around Rs 1.8 million every year from this deal. In addition, Pepsi is almost always the title sponsor of series held in Pakistan. But it seems that there is nothing in the Pepsi contract that forbids players from promoting another soft drink off the field. All rights are for on-field promotion, which the players have not violated. PEPSI PROMOTES CRICKET†¦.. http://www.pepsi.com/current/index.html http://www.pepsiamericas.com/ http://www.thestreet.com/funds/investing/1396149.html http://www.hoovers.com/co/capsule/9/0,2163,55869,00.html http://garden.2118.com.cn/cnfoods/big5/sale/PACKAGING –Back to Top– Providing our consumers with easy-to-use, convenient and innovative containers is one of our top priorities. Package introductions we’ve made over the years include the industry’s first two-liter bottle; the first company to respond to consumer preference with lightweight, recyclable, plastic bottles; The Cube, an easy-to-store 24-pack; Big Slam, the wide-mouth one-liter bottle; as well as our three-liter bottle, designed to provide consumers with extra value (not all products and packaging is available in all markets). Our local bottlers, many of which are privately owned, franchise operations,  make all packaging decisions. Most of our bottlers are following the industry-wide trend to use plastic packaging due to environmental considerations. The industry is now making greater use of fully recyclable aluminum cans and PET plastic bottles. More information on Pepsi-Cola’s environmental commitment, including its packaging initiatives, can be found here. The â€Å"CUBE† is Pepsi’s new innovative 24-can multipack. It was dubbed the â€Å"CUBE† by consumer focus groups, which are a small test market population that’s invited by Pepsi-Cola to give the company feedback before the introduction of a new package or product. The consumer focus groups Pepsi used for this product coined the name the â€Å"CUBE† and it stuck! Polyethylene terephthalate, or â€Å"PET plastic,† is a form of polyester used to make strong, lightweight, shatter-resistant bottles for soft drinks, water, juice and other non-food products. Bottles made from PET plastic, which are marked with the number one code on the or near the bottle of the bottle, are recyclable into products including new containers, fiberfill for sleeping bags and coats, fabric, carpet, auto parts, film and more. 2.htm omega: The World of Omega is defined by high-profile watches on display in the most select show-windows in more than 130 countries around the globe. Fine timepieces worn by outstanding â€Å"ambassadors† like Cindy Crawford, Pierce Brosnan, Michael Schumacher and Martina Hingis†¦ Leaders in their fields who express the spirit of the brand through their faces, their words and their actions, reflecting all the elegance, sophistication and achievement behind every Omega watch. â€Å"Constellation† A star on the wrist of the stars. â€Å"The Constellation is consistent with my image†, says Omega spokesperson Cindy Crawford. â€Å"My Constellation has three qualities I admire: precision, elegance, reliability. And for someone who travels as often as I do, it’s an essential and beautiful fashion accessory†. In space, with the â€Å"Speedmaster Professional†, the only watch worn on the Moon and winner of NASA’s Snoopy Award for helping to save the Apollo 13 mission astronauts; Omega Cindy Crawford Model:1465.71 Gender/Size:Mini List price:$2,595.00 Stainless steel case(22.5mm) and bracelet, Mother-of-pearl dial with silver pyramid markers, diamond bezel with 30 diamonds totalling .42 karats in diamonds (G-H color, VVS clarity), diamonds in bezel set in 18kt white gold, Swiss quartz movement, water resistant to 30m. Comes in beautiful gift package. SHOW STOPPER! Coupons not valid on this model. Conclusion At the start of this review, I mentioned the fact that I have recently started to look more at the value for money end of the market, or if you will, lower priced end of the market. Having worn the Zeno for a few months I have to say that I suspect that there are some pleasant surprises for those who don’t want to spend a fortune on a watch but want something that is different, rugged, water resistant, reliable but mechanical. The Zeno confirms my theory that a good watch needn’t be expensive. It has been accurate, reliable, I have worn it everywhere and many people have asked me if it was new old stock from the 1960s! So, yes, I do recommend the Zeno but are there any downsides.? Not really given the price tag of this watch. It is personal preference as to whether one likes the looks or not. Personally it is different but classic to my eyes; I like the design. Not forgetting that Zeno make a large range of watches of the rugged variety, both mechanical and q uartz and they would all appear to offer good value for money. I might buy more!! Thanks for reading this; I hope you enjoyed it and please bear in mind that all the contents are just my opinion based on my experiences. My watch was obtained from a very affable and helpful UK Zeno dealer who’s site is worth visiting to see more examples of the range, web address below: Omega Watches Omega’s commitment to quality watch making spans 150 years and dates back to its beginnings in Switzerland as one of the first watch companies established there. Omega watches are fit for royalty and feature the highest quality components, precious metals, and technology within every watch that they manufacture. With celebrity  endorsements from Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, and Ernie Els, Omega has established itself as one of the most popular luxury watch brands around the world. The original symbol of perfection and quality, the Greek letter Omega, represents all that the Omega watch company strives to be. For over 150 years, the team at Omega watches has created timepieces of extreme perfection and are proud to participate in some of the world’s most historic and precisely timed moments. After all, if NASA and Formula 1 rely on Omega watches to keep track of their time, why shouldn’t you?

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company was founded by Frank Seiberling in 1898 on the Little Cuyahoga River in Akron Ohio. He borrowed thirty five hundred dollars from his brother-in-law to start the company. The company was named after Charles Goodyear who discovered the rubber vulcanization process in 1839. The company started to build their first factory in 1902 in Akron. In 1903 Paul Litchfield, a factory manager received a patent on the tubeless tire. In 1904 the company became a leader in automobile, carriage, and bicycle tires. In 1909, the company became involved in making airplane tires. Goodyear employs 73,000 people in 22 countries and operates 53 facilities globally. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s mission statement is â€Å"To increase the value of our brands for everyone with market driven innovation, delivering the highest quality tires, related products and services, for our customers and consumers†. Strengths Goodyear has evolved as a leader in tire manufacturing and retreading across the globe. The company is the third largest tire company in the world with revenue surpassing twenty billion dollars. Goodyear is the best-selling tire in North America. Goodyear has very strong growth potential in all markets. This is a positive strength because competition is fierce and there is no room for error in the tire business due to the low profit margins on tires. Goodyear remains very profitable despite competition and that has Goodyear in a strong position for future plans and innovations. Goodyear has a strong liquidity position in the market. In the last couple of years Goodyear has advanced their position and had strong revenue streams to bolster their short and long term goals. Over the first three months of 2013 Goodyear’s revue was at a record 5. 5 billion dollars. Goodyear managed to achieve this even when raw materials and weaker demand was present. This demonstrates that Goodyear is financially sound, beating out competition to remain on top of tire industry and also proves its positive leadership and goals are on target in today’s market. Weakness One of Goodyear’s weaknesses is Debit. While Goodyear is seeing a rise in revenue and profits they still carry a large debit from recent years. On April 19th, 2012, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company announced that it has completed a refinancing package of its U. S. credit facilities. These changes include increasing the company’s existing 1. 5 billion dollar existing revolving credit to two billion dollars and the maturity date has been increased to 2017. The company’s pre-existing 1. 2 billion dollar loan was extended until 2019. This is good news for Goodyear but still leaves them with a lot of debit to reduce in the future. They should be able to reduce this debit with the strong earning they are making and with new introductions of tires coming to market at this time. Another weakness of Goodyear is weaker overseas demand. As most of Europe is in a recession and many countries have severe unemployment, tire sales are down. This not just a problem for Goodyear but for all tire manufactures. Goodyear must analyze their overseas market strategy and take new measures to improve sales and remain profitable. Once a strategy can be put in place to remain a strong contender in Europe, Goodyear will see positive gains once again. Goodyear can minimize losses by reducing inventory and plant operation costs to make it more efficient than ever to keep their presence and name recognition at the forefront in the tire industry. Opportunities Goodyear has many opportunities to expand and gain market share worldwide. The Asian market is growing leaps and bounds and more people are able to purchase vehicles than ever before. The opportunities in these markets are quite great, and Goodyear will be there. With a solid global strategy, including manufacturing plants overseas, Goodyear is in a solid position with a large market presence already. Goodyear realizes the expanding market in Asia and is attacking on all sides with marketing and rebate campaigns to capitalize on the growth that is there for the taking. If Goodyear stays aggressive, they will surely reap the benefits. Another opportunity for Goodyear has been their new innovation centers in Akron Ohio and Colmer-Luxembourg. These new centers are developing new tires that are being highly praised and wanted, like the new Goodyear Assurance fuel Max tire that has 27 % less rolling resistance than conventional tires. The new Ultra grip 8 has more and stopping power than any tire on the market. With these new innovations and slim line operational costs, Goodyear is poised to be a market leader and very possibly will move up from the number three position they currently hold, and with the way the company is being run at this point, that is a definite possibility. Threats The highly competitive market is a big threat to Goodyear on all accounts. Bridgestone is the largest tire and rubber company in the world with sales over 35 billion. Michelin Tire Company is the second largest tire company in the world and both of these companies are threats to Goodyear in sear size and operation. There are other tire manufacturers, but these two are Goodyear’s biggest threats today. These large companies have great leadership and facilities to have the positions in the world market that they do and are very competitive in nature. These companies can lower prices to gain market share without making money for a short time and cut Goodyear’s market down, affecting the profits at Goodyear. Has this been done? Well nobody is pointing fingers, but there have been some fierce tire sales to accomplish increased market sales. Other threats that Goodyear faces are the lower cost tire manufactures. Other leading tire manufactures are selling tires at lower prices to gain a foothold in the market. These tires are good tires, but may lack the quality and reliability of a Goodyear tire. However with a tight economy, people sometimes will go with a cheaper tire to save money even if the tire will not give them the mileage and quality of a Goodyear. These companies can affect the over market share and profit at Goodyear. At a time when things are tough, people may choose these lower cost tires over Goodyear’s product, but Goodyear also has lower cost tires on the market to combat this, such as Dunlop and Kelly-Springfield brands. Summary Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company can capitalize in any market for tires, from high performance tires to lower priced economical tires. Goodyear has strong liquidity, multiple manufacturing plants and retreading facilities around the globe to compete in a very competitive market and has done well in the last couple of years in reducing operational costs and offering tire rebates, to place them in a great position for future growth. If Goodyear holds to its mission statement of delivering high quality tires at a great value, Goodyear will continue to prosper. References Goodyear Corporate website (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.goodyear.com/corporate/about/ Cars Direct, (2009, August 17). Retrieved from: http://www.carsdirect.com/car-repair/the-7-best-tire- companies-out-there Ranker, (2012), Retrieved from: http://www.ranker.com/list/world_s-top-10-tire-manufacturers-by-2010-revenue/micksgarage TR & W, (2010) Retrieved from: http://www.tiresrimsandwheels.com/top-tire-manufacturers/ Market Research.com. (2009, December, 31) Retrieved from: http://www.marketresearch.com/map/prod/2532908.html Consumer reports, (2012, April), Retrieved from: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/tires/buying-guide.htm Event Brief of Q1 2012 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Earnings Conference Call – Final Fair Disclosure Wire (2012, April). Quarterly Earnings Reports. Retrieved from: Database: Points of View Reference Center

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Poem Nettles

When analysing poems ‘Netttles' and ‘born yesterday', both are similar in how they show a parents love and responsibility for a child. While ‘Nettles' highlights the anxieties that a parent has for their child, the latter deals with the hopes a parent can wish upon their child. Both use various language techniques and structure to convey how parents can have different ways of expressing their relationship and love for a child. Born yesterday depicts this love for a newborn baby, but this poem is written in a more hopeful, unconventional manner.The first stanza of Born Yesterday highlights his views of what â€Å"the others*( seeming to mean most people) hope for in a newborn, which comes across as fairly sarcastic and almost as if he despises upon this general opinion of your child having the best things that life can offer. This sarcasm or mocking appears to be shown in the line â€Å"running off a spring of innocence and love†. In the fourth line he uses t he term â€Å"usual stuff , which further highlights this negative opinion as Larkin seems to think they are boring and non-realistic.His love for this baby is comes across in a specific way and is fairly unusual almost as if he is just writing it in hope, for example in the last line of the first stanza â€Å"well, you're a lucky girl† These unconventional aspirations continue into the second and final stanza where he gives a more personal view on how he would like to see this child grow up. Despite the repetition of negatives that he uses such as towards the end its still clear that he cares deeply about this child's future as it is still written with positive hopes.The oxymoron on the third line â€Å"An average of talents†, expresses that someone that is not at rock bottom but still not having many luxuries at the same time can result in the baby having a happy life, and this sums up the overall message that Larkin is getting across to the audience. This can even be seen before on the second line where it could be said to almost be insulting when he says â€Å"may you be ordinary†. Furthermore, he says how he wishes for the baby to not be ugly but immediately following with â€Å"not good-looking†, balancing his wishes in order to reinforce the baby being nothing more but nothing less in life.Repetition in â€Å"unworkable† and â€Å"working† in the eighteenth and nineteenth lines increases the sense that this one thing spreads to disrupt everything else, but also shows the extent of how specific a parent could be in detail about a child. The way in which Larkin writes the poem, particularly in the first stanza when explaining the special hopes for a child that are normal, shows that these things may inevitably and that she may not have much control over living her life, almost the opposite way to how he would like. This tells he understands how complicated a persons dreams for a child can be.The five adjectives i n quick succession towards the later part of the final stanza show how complicated this â€Å"catching of happiness† is. In addition, the rhyming couplet in the last two lines gives these lines more meaning as the repetitive adjectives stay in the readers mind and it leads to an obvious close. The last four lines also tell us that happiness can come in many ways, and that this is what he truly wants for the baby, and this has been his feelings throughout. However these lines do stand out to the more controversial tone of the rest of the poem.With the poem consisting of just two stanzas each makes it very effective by how it gets the idea across of how someones life could plan out so differently, despite how much a person wishes it could plan out. In contrast, Scannal *(poet of Nettles) Nettles takes a simple and common occurance, and thinking about its implications shows various techniqus to show the possibl outcome of a parents protective measures. The poem is only one stanz a with 16 lines and has a strong reguler rhyme scheme. The rhythm gives the poem this organised and at the same time a rigid feel to it.Its possible that the poem consisting of 16 lines is done with intent as a symbol to how long a parent has a bond with a child. It is also reminiscent of a sonnet, often a love poem. The love in this poem is of a father who is trying to protect his son but who realises the futility of this. Every other line rhymes in this poem which has the effect of making the poem seem more intense as the rhyme is not overly obvious. It is also written in the first person which makes it seem so much more personal, â€Å"my son,† â€Å"I saw† and shows Scannal wanting to make the reader sympathies for the child.He reminds us in the last two lines our lives are exposed to physical and negative pain. This Ab Sb cd cd rhyme scheme pattern used throughout to possibly suggest how soldiers march in complete sink and can maintain this synchronisation. The us e of the iambic pentimeter adds tro this structured effect as it uses a 10 syllable limit a line. Line 10 has an extra beat which shows the poets anger at these nettles and really makes it stand out. The use of enjambment in the fourth, fifth and sixth line shows a narrative style and brings out an overall theme of emotion with the use of alliteration.This alliteration can be seen on the 6th line. The bold sound shows the pain that the child is suffering with the term â€Å"tender skin† used as a contrast to the child's vulnerability. The word â€Å"bed† in the first line makes you think about what the nettles represent, and by using words referring to the military, this can be seen by the extended metaphor. These military/army metaphors bring out the nettles spite more vividly, together with his own feelings of anger and aggression. They also make the hurts that are inflicted upon the child sound more severe than they actually are.This demonstrates how a parents love for a child can reach the point of where they exxagerate reality, in order to make us as an audience feel more sypathetic for the person they care moe than anything else about. This is shown when he explains how he â€Å"lit a funeral pyre to burn the fallen dead†, implying that these nettles could be something that could inflict pain upon his son in the future. The sympathetic tone at times shows he is aware of his sons vulnerability once again in the 6th line as the aggressive sound reflect the sharp pains that were experienced.The idea that he knows theres only so much he can do in protection is shown on the second from last line, when he explain how the â€Å"tall recruits† had been â€Å"called up† again. Overall , after analysing both poems, I fell that Nettles is more effective in it showing how relationships are present among families. Through the use of a catalogue of language techniques he manages to get across the emotional and enduring pain that fami ly relationships can bring, and that despite the amount of care one can have for a child, this may not be enough to stop them from meeting issues in their future.