Business Informaton Managemnt BIM) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Informaton Managemnt BIM) - Essay Example an easy to use communication channel to various individuals and corporations, information on almost every subject is readily available and it facilitates the conducting of various activities such as personal selling, account payments, advertising, publicity and even sales transactions among others With our focus on marketing, it must be borne in mind that the new information and communication technology has revolutionised the ways of marketing communication and doing business. The advent of the internet has brought about new features that make communication relatively easy and can reach a wide range of people located in diverse geographical areas. Digital communication via the use of the internet is very fast and effective. In terms of Marketing, Kotler (1998) calls this online marketing. Various companies have set up their online channels where marketing information about their products can be readily available from time to time. The internet is a medium that uses broadcasting and publishing with the aid of connectivity of computers that are online. Unlike other traditional forms of media, the use of the internet can facilitate a two way communication between the participants involved. In this case, both the marketer and the consumers have a direct link which makes it relati vely easier for the marketer to identify the needs and interests of the consumers. Thus, according to the marketing concept, marketing managers should try to identify the needs of their customers as well as satisfy them. In some instances, these customers are isolated and located further apart but their needs have to be satisfied which prompts the managers to undertake research in a bid to keep pace with the changes taking place in the market. Strydom, (2004 p86) defines marketing research as, â€Å"the systematic design, collection, interpretation and reporting of information used to help marketers solve specific problems to take advantage of marketing opportunities.† In undertaking this

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay Example for Free

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay Lost Generation – (young boys leaving school and going to war for their country) (Page 85) ‘’That’s what set us apart and made our parents’ world a little difficult for us to understand; because somehow we were always gently bound up with that world, submissive to it all, and the smallest thing led us onwards along the path of eternity. Perhaps it was just the privilege of our youth – we were not yet able to see any restrictions, and we could not admit to ourselves that things would ever come to an end; expectation was in our blood, and this meant that we were at one with our lives as the days went by. ’ (Page 85) ‘’Now we would wander around like strangers in those landscapes of our youth. We have been consumed in the fires of reality, we perceive differences only in the way tradesmen do, and we see necessities like butchers. We are free of care no longer – we are terrifying indifferent. We might be present in that world, but would we be alive in it? We are like children who have been abandoned and we are as experienced as old men, we are coarse, unhappy and superficial – I think that we are lost. ’’ (Wikipedia) Almost to a man, the young men are moved to join the army. The young enlistees are shown in basic training, aching for action fighting in the war. -Soldiers are referred to ‘young soldiers’ all the time, because young men, almost boys even, are sent to war. They leave school and are sent to fight for their country. (Internet) ‘’Arriving in training camp, the young boys expect war to be a great lark’’ * The boys were so young and unaware, they didn’t know what to expect from the war, but they thought it was going to be great fun and were very unaware of anything that was going to happen. They were happy to be going away, fighting for their country, they thought they were becoming men by doing this. (Internet) ‘’each young and impressionable, are recruited and trained to fight for the glory of the fatherland. ’’ (-George McGovern) ‘’Im fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in. ’’ Peer pressure. Some young boys don’t want to go to war but because all of their friends are going they get persuaded by peer ressure and by teachers, that fighting for their country would be a great duty and if they didn’t, they would be seen as a coward in their hometown. (Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet On The Western Front, Ch. 1) Yes, thats the way they think, these hundred thousand Kantoreks! Iron Youth! Youth! We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? That is long ago. We are old folk. (Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet On The Western Front, Ch. 10)I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another. (Book)‘’When we went to the District Commandant to enlist, we were a class of twenty young men, many of whom proudly shaved for the first time before going to the barracks. We had no definite plans for our future. Our thoughts for a career and occupation were as yet of too unpractical a character to furnish any scheme of life. We were still crammed with vague ideas which gave to life, and to the war also, an ideal and almost romantic character. ’’

A Cuban Reading of Psalm 137 :: Cuba Religion Bible Christianity Essays

A Cuban Reading of Psalm 137 There are two Cubas. On the Island are revolutionaries crusading to construct a Cuba that combats any attempt to subjugate her spirit to the US hegemony. On the (main)land are the modernists who look toward the United States as the guide and hope for revitalizing a Post-Castro Cuba. Consequently, the Cuban community is divided into two antagonistic camps: Resident Cubans living under Castro's Marxist regime, and Exilic Cubans living under a global capitalist system. Due to these political and economic differences, we Cubans are a people divided against ourselves. This division creates a unique space in how we read the Bible differently than the rest of Latin America or other U.S. Hispanic groups. Theologians operating from a liberationalist perspective focus on Exodus as a source of hope for their existential situation. The story of a God who hears the cries of the oppressed and personally leads them toward liberation is a powerful motif. However, Exodus is not the rubric from which we Exilic Cubans read the scriptures. It is the second exodus, narrating the Babylonian Captivity, that resonates within our very being. Like the Psalmist of 137 we sit by the streams of this country, singing about our inability to sing God's songs. †¢ BESIDE THE MIAMI RIVER WE SAT AND WEPT AT THE MEMORY OF LA HABANA LEAVING OUR CONGA DRUMS BY THE PALM TREES. In la sagà ¼esera (Southwest Miami), on Calle Ocho (Eighth Street), is a restaurant called Versailles, dubbed El palacio de los Espejos (The mirrored palace). What makes this restaurant unique are the mirrored walls. Sitting at the table in the crowded salon, I constantly see myself reflected on one of many heavily-gilded mirrors. As we Exilic Cubans look in the mirrors surrounding us, we are in fact searching for our ontological origin. Not so much what we are, but what we see ourselves as being. Versailles serves as a vivid illustration to Lacan's theory of the Mirror Stage. Lacan, the postmodern psychoanalyst, maintains that while I look at myself in the mirror, I assume that what I see is a reflection of a self ─ a secondary reflection faithful (more or less) to the likeness of an existing original self. Lacan would propose the opposite, that the image in the mirror is what constructs the self. My encounter with the mirror literally reverses the direction, and serves the function of forming my "I.

The Odyssey and Propaganda

â€Å"Homer’s The Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid as Propagandistic Literature† Propaganda is a powerful social tool that influences audiences through manipulation and selective viewpoints and has been witnessed in history as far back as written records exist. It has been used to sanction the rise of new leaders, herald a society and its dominance, and push ideological agendas to audiences of all backgrounds throughout civilizations. The methods that propaganda has been used are numerous and include both written and spoken forms of communication to reach the audience.Literature is not exempt from the use of propaganda and Homer’s The Odyssey and Virgil’s The Aeneid are two historical sources where it can be found. The propaganda seen in these texts share similarities and differences which can be compared and contrasted and include the values of the societies they represent, the destinies of the heroes and what each represents to the society, and how the backgrounds of the creators influence what occurs in the story with emphasis on politics and traditions.The Odyssey shares similar propaganda to The Aeneid, although it is not as immediately apparent given the historical backgrounds that led to the creation of each, in regards to the political and social changes being experienced around the time The Aeneid was written. The type of propaganda that is emphasized in The Odyssey is based around the dominance and traditions of Ancient Greek society and culture, the necessity of honoring the gods and goddesses, and maintaining virtues that are universal throughout society while emphasizing the importance of the individual.It is demonstrated through the journey of Odysseus, which begins with the Trojan War and follows with each adventure that he experiences on his return to Ithaca, ending on a message of the importance of homecoming when he reaches the shores of his island. The dominance of Ancient Greek society is displayed immediately i n the backstory of how the Achaeans overcame the city of Troy and won the Trojan War. It emphasizes the intelligence and cunning of the Achaeans through the example of the Trojan Horse which Odysseus thought of that was used to infiltrate the city. That the Greeks would emerge victorious at the end of a en-year siege over a powerful foe demonstrates the strength of the society militarily. Cultural influences that are affected by propaganda in The Odyssey demonstrate the achievements, values, and traditions of Ancient Greece through references to the ideal individual, proper hospitality, and the honoring of the gods and goddesses. The individual in Ancient Greek society was valued as a strong mental and physical person, who displayed cunning and strength, had a silver tongue and demonstrated articulate thoughts through powerful rhetoric, that could handle any challenge while creating an eternal legacy.The ideal individual was also loyal to his family and society, and was dedicated to the values and traditions instilled in them from birth. This is all demonstrated through Odysseus and his actions, from creating the idea of the Trojan Horse and displaying leadership in battle, to outsmarting the cyclops Polyphemus, to having an unfaltering love for his wife Penelope. Proper hospitality is explained through the suitors that have overrun Odysseus’s home, who slaughter his animals, drink his wine, and made themselves unwelcome guests. Homer is able to provide an example of how not to act when a person is a guest in another’s home.Conversely, he demonstrates proper hospitality by using the goatherd as an example when he takes a disguised beggar that is Odysseus into his home. The honoring of the gods and goddesses that were above all mortal men and women was important in the culture of Greek society, and this is demonstrated through the events of The Odyssey, whether it is praying to a god for safety and wellbeing, acting in a way so as not to anger a g od such as Poseidon, offering sacrifice to honor the legacy of a god or drinking to the honor of a god to gain their support.Homecoming is the destiny that is attributed to the story of Odysseus and his fate of returning to Ithaca emphasizes the importance of never leaving the place you were born or the ones you love, a value that was important to Ancient Greek society. These are all examples of propaganda that was used in The Odyssey, which was shared through a rich oral tradition that helped instill these ideals and virtues into the core of Ancient Greek society. Unlike The Odyssey, which began as an oral story and then written at a later date, The Aeneid was written from the point of its creation.It originated at a time of political and social change in Roman society, which influenced not only its creation but the characters and story in it. According to the â€Å"Vita Servii [which] states that the writing of the Aeneid had been undertaken at the express proposal of the emperor † (Avery 225). As it was commissioned by Augustus Caesar, this meant that it was rife with propaganda that emphasized the dominance of Roman society, its importance, and its values such as duty and honor.Caesar sought to restore tradition to Rome and remind its citizens of its history at a time when this was important to the continued prosperity of Rome under new rule. Aeneas was used a vessel for examining these functions of propaganda and his journey reinforced these virtues. In effect, Virgil â€Å"draws certain parallels to achieve one of his many political aims-constructing a national identity for Rome as glorious and ancient as that of Greece† (Bell 228). Virgil offered a new perspective on the Trojan War, immediately dispelling the Achaeans as scum for their trickery, which reinforced the dominance of the Trojans.He allowed Aeneas to survive the Trojan War, and used the gods and goddesses that were integral to Roman religion to create a destiny where it was his d uty to found Rome and bring about its prominence, despite not being entirely aware that this was his fate. Due to this, Aeneas embodies the ideal Roman citizen, much as Odysseus embodied the ideal Greek individual. He is filled with duty and honor and not giving up in a time of strife, as when he loses his home of Troy.This is compared to the society of Rome at the time of writing, which was under new leadership and government, and emphasized the importance of society remaining strong and prosperous. Duty to the gods was emphasized through Aeneas and his support from Juno, who reminded him that he has to continue on despite finding love in Dido. The importance of Roman society is examined when despite being injured in combat, Aeneas is able to recover due to the interference of Venus, and was gifted a shield that depicted the future of Rome.In the scenes on the shield, Julius Caesar can be seen, as well as the Battle of Actium, and several other key events known at the time of writi ng to be integral to the history of Rome and all of which would be a direct result of the duty that Aeneas was to serve through his piety. Virgil was effectively able to create a politically driven and supported example of propaganda through his writing of The Aeneid, and the significance of its creation led to a more unified Rome which benefited Augustus Caesar in his rule and cemented Virgil is the annals of history as a great epic poet.Propaganda was a useful tool for both Homer and Virgil, and both men were able to use it in effect to instill and remind the audiences of The Odyssey and The Aeneid of the dominance of the Ancient Greek and Roman societies as well as their values and traditions that remained deeply rooted in each society until the downfall of the respective civilization. Works Cited Avery, William T. â€Å"Augustus and the Aeneid. † The Classical Journal 52. 5 (1957): 225-29. Print. Bell, Kimberly K. â€Å"†Translatio† and the Constructs of a Ro man Nation in Virgil's â€Å"Aeneid†Ã¢â‚¬  Rocky Mountain Review 62. 1 (2008): 11-24. Print.

Tranisition Into a Global Organization

What marketing considerations do you need to understand as you evolve from a domestic supplier or international distributor to a fully integrated global company? Is it an easy transition or does it demand restructuring of your market functions? There are many factors an organization must consider before and during the transition into a fully integrated global company. Although the transition may not be easy, evaluation of and planning for these considerations will enable an organization to evolve into a strong global organization. During this process of transition from a domestic company to a true global organization, some restructuring of the market functions will have to occur. The traditional marketing model from the seller’s point of view, or the Four â€Å"Ps† of marketing, is based on Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. This model is based on the assumption that the marketplace is driven by manufacturers. According to Schultz and Kitchen (2000), manufactured-driven marketplace has â€Å"evolved† into a distribution-driven market place where major retailers or distributors like Wal-Mart control the marketplace. Schultz and Kitchen (2000) go on to state that the marketplace is continuing to evolve into a newly emerging interactive marketplace brought about by the development of the internet and new e-commerce business applications. In this new interactive marketplace, the consumer interests rule and as a result, manufacturers, according to Schultz and Kitchen (2000) must adjust to consumer needs. This new trend has led to a new marketing model from the consumer’s point of view. This model, called the Four â€Å"Cs† is consumer oriented as opposed to the traditional seller oriented Four â€Å"Ps† model. The Four â€Å"Cs† model of marketing are Customers, Company, Competitors, and Circumstances. The global marketplace, according to Schultz and Kitchen (2000) is a combination of the other three marketplace functions. If this is the case, an organization that wishes to evolve into a fully integrated global company must evaluate the global market based on the Four â€Å"Ps† and the Four â€Å"Cs† and develop a business plan accordingly to the specific marketplace of implementation. What works locally for a domestic organization may not work lobally. Consider the example of the Starbucks Company failure in Australia. According to Patterson, Scott and Uncles (2010), a contributing factor to the failure of Starbucks in the Australian marketplace was that Starbucks tried to bring â€Å"what worked in the US and applying it here (Australia), without really understanding the local market. † Starbucks had an unsustainable business model because the company failed to do the research that would have enabled the company to effectively market its product to the Australian consumer. References Patterson, P. , Scott, J. , & Uncles, M.. (2010). How the local competition defeated a global brand: The case of Starbucks. Australasian Marketing Journal, 18, 41-47. Retrieved from http://proquest. umi. com. ezproxy1. apus. edu/pqdweb? did=2097829591&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=62546&RQT=309&VName=PQD Schultz, D. & Kitchen, P.. (2000). Communicating Globally: An integrated marketing approach. Lincolnwood, IL: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Retrieved from http://site. ebrary. com/lib/apus/docDetail. action? docID=10153056

Policing Development and Operation Trends Essay Example

Policing Development and Operation Trends Essay Example Policing Development and Operation Trends Essay Policing Development and Operation Trends Essay Write a 1. 050-1. 400-word paper in which you analyze the organisational direction. disposal. and operational facets of patroling within patroling organisations. In your analysis. be certain to measure yesteryear. nowadays. and future tendencies refering to the go oning development and operation of the field of patroling and how these developments impact assorted patroling organisations ( local. province. federal ) . Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. You can larn tonss in college. It is non merely a great topographic point to acquire an academic instruction. but you can acquire a societal instruction. excessively. When you use the advice from this article. you can do your clip in college success and productive and the best clip of your life.

Citezenship essays

Citezenship essays To many people a good U.S. citizen should be one who obeys all the laws established. To some, a patriotic person could be a good citizen. Of course not all people think the same thing. Everyone has the potential to be a decent U.S. citizen. All people could be an awesome citizen of the United States. In my personal opinion there is no such thing as a good U.S. citizen. I think that everybody living in the States has the potential to be a good citizen. Everybody breaks a law at some point in there life. Whether it be a small offense such as, going five miles over the speed limit or something to the extreme such as arson. This does not affect whether or not you are a good citizen, this just determines whether or not you are a good person. A veteran of the Korean War would be a prime example of being patriotic. Not only were they willing to fight for freedom but willing to put their lives in danger for their country. This does not mean they are the best candidate for citizen of the year. It means they are brave and willing to put their life on the line for the sake of other people. This person may have no knowledge of the history of the country they are fighting for. But who is to say they are bad citizens. Charles Manson could be another prime example. He killed a number of people over a matter of years while at the same time gaining followers who in turn did the exact same thing he had previously done. Does that make him a bad citizen? It definitely makes him an extremely bad person but not necessarily a bad citizen. This does not justify the morbid things he had done it simply states that he may not be a bad citizen. Charles Manson could have been the biggest history buff of anyone, yet again who can say he is a bad citizen. For the last example I will use myself. I am a patriotic person, not necessarily as much as some other people but I am none the less. Yet I have gone a couple miles over the sp ...

Learn About Using Constants in Java

Learn About Using Constants in Java There are many values in the real world which will never change. A square will always have four sides, PI to three decimal places will always be 3.142, and a day will always have 24 hours. These values remain constant. When writing a program it makes sense to represent them in the same way - as values that will not be modified once they have been assigned to a variable. These variables are known as constants. Declaring a Variable As a Constant In declaring variables we showed that it’s easy to assign a value to an  int variable: int numberOfHoursInADay 24; We know this value is never going to change in the real world so we make sure it doesn’t in the program. This is done by adding the keyword modifierfinal: final int NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY 24; In addition to thefinal keyword you should have noticed that the case of the variable name has changed to be uppercase as per the standard Java naming convention. This makes it far easier to spot which variables are constants in your code. If we now try and change the value ofNUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY: final int NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY 24;NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY 36; we will get the following error from the compiler: cannot assign a value to final variable NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY The same goes for any of the other primitive data type variables. To make them into constants just add thefinal keyword to their declaration. Where to Declare Constants As with normal variables you want to limit the scope of constants to where they are used. If the value of the constant is only needed in a method then declare it there: public static int calculateHoursInDays(int days) { final int NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY 24; return days * NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY; } If it’s used by more than one method then declare it at the top of the class definition: public class AllAboutHours{ private static final int NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY 24; public int calculateHoursInDays(int days) { return days * NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY; } public int calculateHoursInWeeks(int weeks) { final int NUMBER_OF_DAYS_IN_A_WEEK 7; return weeks * NUMBER_OF_DAYS_IN_A_WEEK * NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY; }} Notice how I’ve also added the keyword modifiersprivate and static to the variable declaration of NUMBER_OF_HOURS_IN_A_DAY. This means that the constant can only be used by its class (hence the private scope) but you could just as easily make it a public constant if you want other classes to have access to it. The static keyword is to allow the value of the constant to be shared amongst all instances of an object. As its the same value for every object created, it only needs to have one instance. Using the Final Keyword with Objects It’s very important to realize that when it comes to objects, Java does not support constants as you might expect. If you assign a variable to an object using thefinal keyword it means the variable will only ever hold the reference to that object. It cannot be changed to reference another object. However, it does not mean that the contents of the object cannot change. A Brief Note on the Const Keyword You may have noticed in the reserved words list that there is a keyword calledconst. This is not used with constants, in fact, it’s not used at all in the Java language.

Eating Disorders in today's society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Eating Disorders in today's society - Essay Example It is because of this one standard that eating disorders have become almost fashion statements themselves, as girls result to them to maintain a thin physique. The biggest focus for both men and women when it comes to being attractive is their weight, though this is quickly followed by the physical, flawless appearance of the face. When it comes to females, a thin, slightly toned body is considered attractive and beautiful. In regard to men, they can either be thin, well-built, or athletic in appearance. Despite how pretty a person may be when it comes to their face, overweight and heavyset people are seldom considered attractive in accordance to society’s standards of today. Standards of attractiveness do not vary so much by gender or age. Men expect women to be thin and busty, while women expect men to either be thin or athletic. Each gender expects the other to at least be able to maintain a decent weight; again, the standard of thin being beautiful is still in play regardless of gender or age. Sexual orientation, however, is slightly different. The majority of homosexual individuals do not put as much stock in beauty or attractiveness as heterosexual people do. Indeed, many homosexual females who look butch or manly are considered to be attractive, while homosexual males who look dainty and delicate are regarded as being attractive. Even when, in homosexual relationships, a female looks like the typical idea of a female, or a male looks like a typical male, they are still seen as attractive by their fellows. What our culture tells men about how to attract women is they need to appear as men, regardless of what their real age is. They need to be thin or muscular; many of them tend to look like a cliched Californian surfer. However, men also need to have an appealing and independent personality, which goes to show that not all beauty is physical. On the other end of the spectrum, however, are the women who believe that they need to attract men by

An Email Asking for Recommendation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Email Asking for Recommendation - Essay Example This author stresses that his professor might know him well and have a regard of his capabilities in order to write a recommendation letter for him. "I am a person with the lively curiosity in business and seeking a guidance on competing effectively for internship in the Farmer School of Business in Miami University. I am interested in the organization called CABO, which is the China-America Business Organization that works as a networking program between the students from China and other countries. They are studying business in the Farmer School of Business and have an interest in doing business in China. A CABO organization works with other multi-national business institutions. Its staff cooperate with the other professionals in order to increase the level of education of its members outside the class studies. A CABO organization tries to create such opportunities for students so they could succeed in international business; it creates job opportunities, offers internship programs in China and the U.S. and facilitates communication between students from China and U.S. For me personally, it is a great opportunity to develop my professional and personal sides. Please let me know if you are comfortable to discuss any questions and provide me with the further information, which will help you to write your recommendation."

Africa and challenging development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Africa and challenging development - Essay Example The question on whether there is still a chance for Africa to be in the proper place in the competing world is still a question that is left unanswered. It can be remembered that the very cause of Africa's challenges and crisis as a whole and for several decades already is the colonialism of different empires due to space expansion and the quest for power. But because it has been a long time now and Africa still seemed to be in need of development, the better question to ask is that is it still valid to blame colonialism or neocolonialism for Africa's dependence to the colonialist.Before we can truly answer this, it is important to look at this neocolonialism or the small hands coming and going in and out of the country.It is true that the powerful empires have ceased literally in holding the people of Africa and there was a turn over of flags to the elite African leaders recently. But still, many people say that it was all just a turning over of flags, the powerful colonialists who play in the big world of capitalism are still at work through the elitist process of education. Education works in a way that Western oriented way of the colonialist inform and teach Africans to be more loyal to the Western way of living. This is the very simple yet powerful way of controlling the country which continuously causes Africa's dependence to other countries. (Abubakar 1989)The challenge of development can also be placed in the hands of the elite leaders of Africa who tend to control development and focus on projects that can benefit only their families and relatives. There is also another way of looking at Africa's position in the world. The people and the leaders for a long time have settled to the idea that they are already buried to the power of neocolonialism and because of this, lesser action is being done. People have already ceased to question if there is still a possibility to attain freedom in their own country. The hope as we can see still relies on the idea of becoming independent and relying on Africa's resources to be self-sustaining. (Abubakar, 1989) In the book Africa and the Challenge of Development, the writer quoted specific internal solutions to the problem and that's all coming from the preamble of African LPA. Africa's almost total reliance on the export of raw materials must change. . . . Africa must, therefore, map out its own strategy for development and must vigorously pursue its implementation. . . . Africa must cultivate the virtue of self- reliance [and] efforts toward African economic integration in order to create a continent-wide framework for the much needed economic co-operation for development based on collective self-reliance. . . . The primary responsibility of developing their economies remains with the African least developed countries themselves and the total political commitment of the Member States to the pursuit of these objectives is necessary . . . [and] social and economic reforms should be undertaken . . . to ensure full participation of the people in the development process. . . . [We] confirm our full adherence to the plan of Action, adopted at the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for implementing the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic, Social and Cultural Development of Africa and to adopting, among other measures, those relating to the setting up of regional structures and strengthening of those already existing for an eventual establishment of an African Economic Community. (Abubakar, 1989) At present though, self-sufficiency is becoming the goal of Africa and aside from the above suggested points, there is also a need to focus on external affairs more than just collective effort to attain the so-called self sufficiency. The external affairs that can be attained and is being talked about here is that Africa, more than just being affiliated in different international organizations where help form other countries are being sourced, African leaders who are in charge of coordinating with these

Jet Li as Transnational Actor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Jet Li as Transnational Actor - Essay Example He has taken different career paths such as martial arts, film production, martial arts and acting. He started training for martial arts when he was still a young boy. He trained rigorously in Wu Bin and this helped him in winning a championship in the Wushu competition. This was the turning point of his life. He retired from Wushu when he was 19 years old. He now started acting in several Chinese martial arts film. Later he performed in other Hollywood movies the Expendables being on of the movies that hit the box office movies list. This article is review of Jet Li development in his career an actor, how his various roles in varied cultures have grown him and the overall public reception he has had. Jet Li Careers in Martial Art at Wushu Li was born the last born of a family of five children. When he was only two years, his father died leaving his mother with the huge responsibility of raising the children alone. Jet Li joined Wushu when he was very young. At the age of 8, his trai ners realized the talent that he possessed and he was enrolled for classes. He participated in the sports performed by the Wushu teams. This team would perform in the all Chinese games and this gave him the exposure he needed in martial arts. During this time, he was coached by Wu Bin and Li Junfeng. The coaches realized the talent in this young man and would even go an extra mile to ensure that he did not miss on practice and that he performed well. Jet Li came from a poor family background. The coaches would buy Jet Li family meat as this was the diet recommended for a fighter. A diet with meat as a predominant content was crucial to keep an athlete physically fit. As a member of the wushu team, He traveled to 45 different countries to perform. In 1974, he performed together with the Wushu team before the former president of America Richard Nixon. Nixon was deeply impressed by Jet Li prowess that he requested him to be his personal body guard. Jet Li turned this offer down because he said that he was not meant to protect an individual but hoped that when he grew up he would be able to protect a billion Chinese citizens. During this performance, he won the All Round National Wushu Championship a title he continued to hold for the next five consecutive years. When at Wushu, Jet Li trained on several Wushu martial skills. Among them include praying mantis fist, drunken fist, eagle claw fist, shape intent fist and northern long fist style (Ushan, 2011: 182). He retired from Wushu when he was just seventeen and this is the time he began his acting career. Acting Career Chinese Films Li releases his first film in 1982 and it was called the Shaolin Temple. This movie became a hit in china and opened him to Chinese film. He later relocated to Hongkong where he acted in several Chinese martial arts movies. He got his screen name in 1982 when a publicity company in Philippines though that his real name was hard to pronounce. They likened his new career with a jet whic h takes off very fast. The name jet Li was born and was placed on his movie poster. Soon, people started referring him with his new name which is stuck and he has used it ever since. In 1991, he acted in another Chinese film called the Once Upon a Time in China. Here, he assumed the role of a legendary hero who fought against invaders thereby safeguarding and protecting the lives and property of his countrymen (Leon, 2005: 216). Later he acted in the movie fist of Legend which was a

Why did presidents Ford and Carter lose public confidence Essay

Why did presidents Ford and Carter lose public confidence - Essay Example The main intention of the pardon by President Ford was to move on from the Watergate scandal (Greene, 276-283). However, the people had a different view as they felt this was just an everyday political move. On the other hand, Carter campaigned with the promise of honesty to the citizens, which was well accepted at first and gained him the presidential position. However, his leadership was poorly reflected by his inability Another reason why President Ford was unable to gain the confidence of the people is that he inherited the economic problems from Nixon’s era, and was also incapable of restoring economic stability in the country. The inflation continued to rise along with the level of unemployment (Greene, 276-283). Furthermore, there was an increment in the interest and regardless of the reduction in taxes; the people were still economically unstable. There was also problems in the foreign interests of the country as in Vietnam the North significantly defeated the South. As mentioned above, Carter gained the confidence of the people through his campaign policy of honesty (Rosenbaum, 331-337). However, there was still an economic crisis in the country. In the addition, there was also a rise in the oil costs which further worsened the situation. Carter made some progress in the form of pioneering many peace treaties; however, we failed to fix the Iranian hostage problem (Rosenbaum, 331-337). There were American hostages that were captured by Islamic terrorists in Iran, and Carter failed to free them, which led to the loss of confidence from the people. Hence, the reason the two presidents lost the confidence of the people is that they unable to resolve the pertaining situations that were affecting the country such as the economy and the high levels of unemployment. In addition, some of the decision making was poor by both presidents, for example, the pardoning of Nixon by Ford when he

STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING IN SAUDI ARABIA HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR IN Literature review

STRATEGIC DECISION MAKING IN SAUDI ARABIA HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR IN GLOBAL CONTEXT - Literature review Example University decision-making processes are influenced by political, economic, cultural as well as technological factors (Elyas, & Picard, 2013, p. 31-41). The factors affect literally all aspects of the operations of universities and are global in nature. They therefore influence on the environment within which the universities operate, the expectations of the public in services to be offered in the future as well as the structure and sources of funds necessary for their management and running. Decision making process involves making conscious choices among many alternatives and requires critical thinking as well as sound reasoning in order to choose on the most appropriate alternative among the many (Rugh, 2002, p. 45-50). Strategic decision making therefore entails a number of attributes, which include definition, and identification of a problem, identification as well as analysis of alternatives, choosing and implementing an option as well as evaluation on the outcomes from the choi ce made for possible corrections. Besides, it is noted that decision-making and management of higher education in Saudi Arabia is not free from government influence (Onsman, 2011, p. 519). The higher education sector in Saudi have undergone through great structural and ideological change especially after the 9/11 global policy shift feature. To substantiate this, Elyas and Picard carried a study in critique of the system of higher education sector in Saudi while in perspective with global context (2013, p. 31-41). In among other findings, the effect of western economies (neoleberalism) was shown to have greatly influenced the system. Both learners as well as top management teams have embraced the policy paradigm shift in globalization as well as neoliberalism. However, in a critical view, authors have argued that adoption of ‘localized’ neoliberalism would be more effective in shaping the environment of

Why did presidents Ford and Carter lose public confidence Essay

Why did presidents Ford and Carter lose public confidence - Essay Example The main intention of the pardon by President Ford was to move on from the Watergate scandal (Greene, 276-283). However, the people had a different view as they felt this was just an everyday political move. On the other hand, Carter campaigned with the promise of honesty to the citizens, which was well accepted at first and gained him the presidential position. However, his leadership was poorly reflected by his inability Another reason why President Ford was unable to gain the confidence of the people is that he inherited the economic problems from Nixon’s era, and was also incapable of restoring economic stability in the country. The inflation continued to rise along with the level of unemployment (Greene, 276-283). Furthermore, there was an increment in the interest and regardless of the reduction in taxes; the people were still economically unstable. There was also problems in the foreign interests of the country as in Vietnam the North significantly defeated the South. As mentioned above, Carter gained the confidence of the people through his campaign policy of honesty (Rosenbaum, 331-337). However, there was still an economic crisis in the country. In the addition, there was also a rise in the oil costs which further worsened the situation. Carter made some progress in the form of pioneering many peace treaties; however, we failed to fix the Iranian hostage problem (Rosenbaum, 331-337). There were American hostages that were captured by Islamic terrorists in Iran, and Carter failed to free them, which led to the loss of confidence from the people. Hence, the reason the two presidents lost the confidence of the people is that they unable to resolve the pertaining situations that were affecting the country such as the economy and the high levels of unemployment. In addition, some of the decision making was poor by both presidents, for example, the pardoning of Nixon by Ford when he

Financial Analysis Wonderful Home Plc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial Analysis Wonderful Home Plc - Essay Example The organization headquartered in Wales operates with 30 branches in Scotland and Wales.  The organizations related to the home and office furniture retail industry deals with the number of factors. The management of the home and office furniture retail firms deal with two types of environments i.e. external environment and internal environment. The slight change of these two types of the environment may affect the company’s profitability and wealth creation. The project report mainly deals with the financial position as well as the performance of the home and office furniture retail industry. Financial performance analysis mostly interrelated with the ratio analysis. The key fundamental of the ratio analysis is the annual report of the concerned company. There are different ratios that indicate the financial performance of different sectors of the specific organization.  Here the research report is totally based on the financial performance of Wonderful Home Plc. (WH). Th erefore, the study will significantly analyze the different key ratios which indicate the financial position of the company. The ratio analysis is the mechanism that highlights the financial and operational performance of the chosen company. The primary objective of this report is to ensure the stability of the home and office furniture retail industry and developing new export markets in order to promote national economic development significantly.  It is feasible that Wonderful Home Plc. (WH) is approaching one of the leading European banks in order to take loans for business. Moreover, the reason for approaching the bank is to avail the market research data points. It will help the organization to invest in two different projects in order to attain high return. The first projects which the organization is aiming for is to establish a factory of home furniture.

The Importance Of Being On Time Essay Example for Free

The Importance Of Being On Time Essay We are successful in life only when we make the best use of time. Time cannot be stopped, paused, or regained. Some point in life whether it be business related, or for leisure, someone or something will require you to be at a certain place at a given time. Punctuality could be the key to winning a contest, finalizing a business deal, or even keeping your job. We all as human beings have been late before, things happen, but constant lateness affects your dependability. If you are not dependable your opportunities for progression will start to decrease. The life of George Washington was characterized by a scrupulous regard for punctuality. When he asked a man to bring by some horses he was interested in buying at five in the morning, and the man arrived fifteen minutes late, he was told by the stable groom that the general had been waiting there at five, but had now moved on to other business, and that he wouldn’t be able to examine the horses again until the following week. When he told Congress that he’d meet with them at noon, he could almost always be found striding into the chamber just as the clock was striking twelve. Washington’s promptness extended to his mealtimes as well. He ate dinner each day at exactly 4 o’clock, and when he invited members of Congress to dine with him, and they arrived late, they were often surprised to find the president halfway done with his meal or even pushing back from the table. To his startled, tardy guest he would say, â€Å"We are punctual here. My cook never asks whether the company has arrived, but whether the hour has come.†( www.artofmanliness.com) George Washington was a perfect example on how important punctuality is, and what opportunities can be missed. For our first president, being on time was a way of showing respect to others, and he expected to be treated with the same level of respect in return. Although no longer live in an age of knickers and powdered wigs, but being pun ctual is just as important as it ever was. â€Å"Soldiers should be minutemen. Punctuality is one of the most valuable habits a soldier can possess.† Christopher Andrews said it the best, when it comes to punctuality in the army is your bread and butter. You could be the best soldier, but if you’re late all the time you can quickly be potrayed as something way less. Being punctual builds and reveals your discipline. The  punctual man shows that he can organize his time, that he pays attention to details, and that he can put aside this to do that ; he can set aside a pleasure to take care of business. The non punctual man shows he needs to be supervised, seems unprepared, and unprofessional. These things are all the things that could stop a soldier from progressing. It is like a domino effect, one consequence leads to another, and leads you down a trail of detriment. Something so simple as being on time can be the key to being allowed to go to a promotion board, or even staying in the military. If the conduct was constant, action may be intiated to separate you from the service. If you are involuntarily separted, you could receive an Honorable discharge, a general discharge, or under other than honorable conditions discharge. An honorable discharge is a separation with honor based on the quality of service, which meets the standards of acceptable conduct and performance of duty. A general discharge is a separation under honorable conditions , based on a military record being satisfactory but not sufficiently meritorious to warrant an honorable discharge. A discharge under other than honorable conditions is based upon a pattern of behavior of one or more acts or omissions that constitutes a significant departure from the conduct expected of a soldier. An honorable discharge may be awarded under any provisions. A general discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 5, Chapter 9, Chapter 13, or Chapter 14. An under othe than honorable conditions discharge may be awarded for separation under Chapter 14 for misconduct. If you receive an honorable discharge, you will be qualififed for most benefits resulting from military service. An involuntary honorable discharge, however will disqualify you from reenlistment for some period of time and may disqualify you from receiving transitional benefits. Also the Montgomery GI Bill you have not met other program requirements. If you receive a General discharge, you will be disqualified from reenlisting in the service for some period of time and you will be ineligible for some military and VA administered benefits, including the Montgomery GI bill. You may also face difficulty in obtaining civilian employment, as employers have a low regard for the General and Under Other Than Honorable conditions discharges. Although there are agencies to which you may apply to have the character of your discharge changed, it is  unlikely that any such applications will be successful. Time is the most influential factor in this world. It is abstract. Everything in this world is commanded and decided by time. Nobody can escape the hold of time. It is the time which gives us the opportunity to make use of it. Those who make best use of time and avail those opportunities grow and rise in life. Those who waste their time lag behind. They fail to make any mark in life. He is the wisest who makes the best use of time. He rises to the great heights who keep pace with the time. Time is very important, it should be managed as if each second , minute hour, day is money. After all time is money. If time isn’t important to you, remember its important to someone else. If you are late to something chances are you are wasting someone else’s time. Being late is a form of stealing. That’s a tough truth, but it’s a truth nonetheless. When you make others wait for you, you rob minutes from them that they’ll never get back. Time they could have turned into money, or simply used for the things important to them. In coming to meet you at the agreed upon hour, they may have made sacrifices – woken up early, cut short their workout, told their kid they couldn’t read a story together – and your lateness negates those sacrifices. If you wouldn’t think of taking ten dollars from another man’s wallet, you shouldn’t think of stealing ten minutes from him either. Being punctual shows you value time yourself, and thus wouldn’t think of depriving others of this precious, but limited resource. Even when you are not dealing with work related things being on time is still important to many people, family, and friends. Being late strains your relationships. When you’re late in meeting other people, it makes them feel under-valued, that whatever you couldn’t pull yourself away from was more important or that they didn’t mean enough to you to warrant allotting sufficient time to arrive on schedule. The guest who flies in to see you feels like a dope standing at the airport alone, your date feels awkward sitting at the restaurant by herself, and your child feels abandoned as she waits with her teacher for you to arrive, all the other children having already been picked up from school. This is not the first time you’ve heard that punctuality is important. It’s easy to understand how keeping our appointments and reporting on time is a  sign of respect. This is especially the case for improving employee productivity. If your leader keeps their word about meetings, deadlines and other time-sensitive promises, it’s easy to feel motivated to get things done. Failure to be prompt has consequences. When you are late or blow someone off entirely, you are telling them that your time is more important than theirs. Of course we should all be on time. And naturally, when circumstances pop up we should call ahead to say we are running late. Let’s put aside human psychology and Army mumbo jumbo for a moment, however, and talk about machinery. Time is an essential element in any working system. The spark plugs in an engine have to fire at exactly the right speed. A bridge can hold the weight of a million cars, as long as are spaced far enough apart. A clock quickly becomes useless if every second is not precisely one second long. All of these parameters are designed for increasing employee productivity. Time is important! Being late is like taking the oil out of a well run machine. It gums up the works, cranks up the heat, and causes things to break. When you are late to a doctor’s appointment, you may cause a domino effect that disrupts other patients. And when the doctor is running behind, you may end up waiting for ages thanks to overlapping ripples in the schedule. This problem applies to any business. Improvement is only possible if we recognize that failure to manage time affects everything.

Racism in Deadly Unna by Phillip Gwynne Essay example -- essays resear

Deadly Unna "Deadly Unna" is the story of Garry Blacks realization of racism and discrimination in the port where he lives. When everyone else seems do nothing to prevent the discrimination Blacky a young boy steps up to the plate and has the guts to say no against racism towards the local Aborigines. Blacky is beginning to realize that the people he looks up to as role models might not be such good examples as most of them including his father his footy coach and even the pub custodian all accept racism as a normal way of life and Blacky begins to realize this and tries to make them aware. At the beginning Blacky becomes aware of the apartheid of white and black first in the players at the local footy team, the white players (Goonyas) all got changed at one end of the club change rooms while the Aboriginal (Nunga) players got changed at the opposite end ?Usually the nungas got changed at one end us goonyas got changed at the other? pg. 21. This is when Blacky begins to realize that even though he sees everyone as equal the rest of the town does not necessarily feel the same. Even Blackys friend Pickles encourages in a way Blacky not to be Dumbys friend, Blacky goes along with it but eventually admits to his friendship with Dumby red, ? Mate of yours now is he? (Pickles) No way not him I hate his guts (Blacky)?pg. 25 after he said this he spat on the ground to prove to Pickles that he meant it Blacky had not realized that his friend were so racist and had previously gone along with any racist slurs they made. His suspicions were confirmed when, at the grand final prese ntation Mark ?Arks? won the Mcrae medal instead of Dumby red. Dumby had been the heart and soul of the team all season and deserved to win h... ...rn because he specifically told Blacky that he was to go fishing with him and nowhere else. Despite his strong feelings for Cathy Blacky even misses out on going to Kathy barbie on her last day in the port this is (to the best of blackys knowledge) the last chance he will have to tell her how he feels about her, despite this he gets up at dawn and walks for three hours to reach the mission. In conclusion Black?s quest to make people aware of racism in the port got him into a lot of strife but he did manage to show people that he did not in any way condone this kind of discrimination and took a stand against the way the entire town thought forcing them to think about their actions. in the end the people that Garry most affected were his brothers and sisters , he may not have changed the whole towns attitude but he taught his siblings a priceless life lesson.

A Formalistic Analysis of The Fatal Sisters Essay -- The Fatal Sisters

A Formalistic Analysis of The Fatal Sisters  Ã‚      In â€Å"The Fatal Sisters† Thomas Gray has created a monologue pregnant with references to history, geography, and mythology. These reappearing references and allusions enrich the text, as they allow a closer look at the political situation surrounding eleventh century Britain.   The poems’ sixteen stanzas exhibit an ABAB rhyme scheme, which provides for systematic organization and positive aesthetic effects.   Closer examination of the setting, tone, and imagery of the poem permits insight into the text’s content and artistic genius. The setting for â€Å"The Fatal Sisters† is an eleventh century, war-ridden Ireland.   The nation’s fate appears to rest upon the shoulders of a few bloodthirsty monarchs who are entangled in a never-ending conflict.   Their massive armies wage battle after battle and therefore tint Britain’s outlook upon society and its future.   It is at such a troublesome time that twelve mysterious women are observed to â€Å"weave the web of war† and in such a way create the future of their nation.   This very day is ironically...

American History Précis Essay

In the short story American History by Judith Ortiz Cofer encourages us to understand our own feeling and being sensitive to the situation around us before we act. Cofer supports her claim by describing Elena’s insensitivity to the president’s death visiting Eugene while everyone was still mourning. Eugene’s Mother assumes that Elena, her family, or Puerto rico immigrants in general are insensitive to the tragedy. â€Å"I don’t know how you people do it,† pg 301 Eugene’s mother also doesn’t understand immigrants and believes herself superior to both Elena and people who are similar to Elena, she believes that she is not sorrowful enough about president Kennedy’s death to want to study with her son. However she doesn’t understand Elena’s feelings of simply wanted to spend time with Eugene, whom she liked and could connect to. † In the same was Elena also fails to understand the situation around her. The author uses dialogue as her mother warns her â€Å"you are heading towards humiliation and pain† pg 300. Unlike Elena, her mother understands the situation around her knowing that Eugenes mother won’t be happy that Elena want to study with her son. The author encourages to understand people feelings around us in order that we can be sensitive to them, which will prevent â€Å"humiliation and pain. † The speaker in this short story is an innocent young girl called â€Å"skinny bones† who goes through hardships and trouble at school. She lives in the crowded el building that houses immigrants from Puerto Rico like herself. Her tone can be described as unhappy and uncontent with her life â€Å"I hated my skinny flat-chested body, and I envied the black girls who could jump rope so fast their legs became blurs. The author writes with a serious tone as she portray the hardship immigrant children faces during this time period. Judith Cofer writes for other young adult who are also developing through hard times, portrayed Puerto Rico – American immigrant life and the difficult time other children gave Elena at school.

Catawba Industrial Company Essay

1.Is the company correct in its practice of not manufacturing standard model compressors on Sundays because of the accounting loss incurred on each unit? 2.The compressor department and its manager are evaluated based on profit. Compute the compressor department profit with and without Sunday production. 3.If Marge McPhee decides to manufacture ten light-weight compressors each week and to sell them at a price of $8,000, how much better or worse off financially would Catawba be? 4.What weekly production plan for standard and light weight compressors would result in the highest financial return for Catawba? That is, how many of each product should Catawba produce each week? Assume that you have been hired by Marge McPhee to help with the three decisions she must make: (1) whether to produce on Sunday, (2) whether to produce any light-weight compressors, (3) how many of each compressor should be manufactured each week. You will recommend and justify a course of action for each decision. McPhee wants to make the right decision for herself and her division, which is treated as a profit center and evaluated based on profit as computed in Exhibit 2. However, the correct decision model and her best interests (in terms of short term performance measurement) may not agree. As an accountant, you must inform her of this inconsistency and explain it so that she can, in turn, explain it to owners or top management. Be sure to discuss all the assignment questions within your written analysis. You will need to determine the optimal volume and price to choose the correct production schedule. Memo Instructions 1.The memo is an individual project, so you are expected to work on it yourself without seeking any one’s help other than the instructor. You should bring TWO complete copies of the memo and any exhibits to class. All assignments must be handed in by the beginning of the class. Bring a copy of the memo and/or detailed notes to class with you so you will be able to discuss the case intelligently in class. 2.Download and read the memo about writing memos provided by the communications specialists. You can download it from the course’s web page in the announcements section. 3.The memo should: a.Be written in proper memo format to Marge McPhee. Several templates are provided in MS Word. This assignment has a three-page maximum page limit, not including exhibits. b.Indicate the author’s name and show his/her handwritten initials. c.Begin with a short introductory paragraph stating the purpose of the memo, and end with a brief concluding paragraph. d.Your memo should contain at least the following sections: Sunday manufacturing, Minimum light-weight production, Optimal light-weight and standard production, and Performance evaluation issues. e.If you wish to use brief references to the work of others (including the text and readings assigned for this course, as well as any other sources you may choose), you must acknowledge the source using appropriate footnotes.

Legal Aspects of Criminal Justice System

Jury nullification is basically the situation wherein a certain guilty person was given the judgment â€Å"not guilty† by the set of jurors or the jury itself when that person is believed to be guilty of the crime he or she is accused of. The Jury tends to play an immoral role against his or her job which is to give justified verdict to a certain crime and thus apply an altered decision into the accused. An example of a jury nullified case is the famous case during the year 1735. This case is the trial case of John Peter Zenger charged by the former Governor of the New York Colony, William Cosby. In this case, the verdict given by the Jury to Zenger is a â€Å"not guilty verdict† wherein all the facts where given that Zenger did all the crime which he is accused of (Institute, 1992). Another case is the case of William Pen wherein he as the accused was acquitted by the set of juries. This happened in the year 1670 in London; his case was Preaching Quakerism. During this period four from the twelve chosen jurors made a non-guilty verdict which led them to spend time in prison and pay the damages they created but before they get into imprisonment, one of the judges made his plea and was able to nullify the unjust law (Institute, 1992). In the negative side of the defendant, his rights were violated because the sixth amendment says that â€Å"a defendant should not be deprived and even oppressed from his legal concerns† (FindLaw, 2008). When jury nullification occurs the defendant will be deprived from knowing what’s really happening in the court wherein the case holds his/her right to freedom. The nullification of the Jury to the case could also affect the Judge final decision about the defendant if he or she will be acquitted. Thus, the judge final judgment could henceforth be negative for the accused or the defendant because the judge may think that the defendant just influenced the Juries who voted for the accused person’s acquaintance. References FindLaw. (2008). Right to a Speedy and Public Trial [Electronic Version]. Retrieved January 16 from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment06/02.html.             Legal Aspects of Criminal Justice System Felony Disfranchisement is a process in which a convicted criminal lose his or her rights and property. It is also considered as â€Å"civil death†, whereby these persons would lose all rights and claim to property, including the right to vote. The felony disenfranchisement law was first implemented way back in ancient Romans and Greeks. Deprivation the convict’s right, confiscation of private properties and exposure to death are consequence of having a felony record during the earlier times. The Englishman gave birth to the disfranchisement of offenders in America. Nowadays, only three states in America continue to impose felony disfranchisement and the illegibility to vote to all citizens with a felony record which are states of Iowa, Kentucky, and Virginia. Conviction with felony record has its own consequence merely different from the felony disfranchisement implementation in earlier times. Today, felonies don’t have the right to vote, serve on a jury or even hold a position in the government which makes them different from an ordinary people, the lowest of the citizens. The implantation of felony disfranchisement is one of the political anomalies in America or even in other countries. As we all know, voting is a not only a privilege but a right that any man wants to exercise.  The United States Government eliminates constraints on voting whether by court or legislative action. The citizens convicted by felony are the only few who can not exercise their voting rights during elections (Rockville, 1986). Most of the pro – disfranchisement are arguing that giving the ex-felons a right to vote may serve as a risk in the society since an election process is a essential activity for the development of a state.  Pro – disfranchisement cited some problems that may occur when a offender is given a right to cast a vote. They say that it may harm the law if changed, voter fraud may occur or the â€Å"purity† of ballots may be affected (cited in Human rights Watch). These reasons are some of those who make the ex-felons unrightfully voters. A good example of a convicted felon was Richardson v. Ramirez who was barred from voting without violating the Fourteenth Amendment. Richardson v. Ramirez leaves open a valid claim that the unequal enforcement of disfranchisement laws is unconstitutional. Plaintiffs argued that California counties’ different interpretations of â€Å"infamous crime† meant that the law was unequally applied. The U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to the California Supreme Court to decide this issue, but before it could rule, California changed its law (Brennan 2007). A guy named Baker v. Pataki from New York City was a very good example of â€Å"purposeful racial discrimination† having him convicted by felony. A mixed Afro-American Latino challenged New York’s federal court who denied the votes of several felony offenders, in prison or on parole. He said that these act is merely against the Voting Rights Act 1968 since it has a disproportionate racial impact. The lower court however dismissed the case reasoning that the U.S Supreme court in Richardson v. Ramirez upheld the disfranchisement law. They also found that Voting Rights Act did not apply to such laws. The effect of felony disfranchisement law has been drastically implemented in the past century since there are increasing numbers of criminals that are sentenced by felony; they are sent to prison and stay there for a long time. Voting is a right, and equal right must be given to a citizen even if he or she was an offender of the law. Issues in racial discrimination and human rights must take into consideration. References Human Rights Watch and the Sentencing Project (October 1998). Losing the vote: the impact of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   felony disenfranchisement laws in the united states. Retrieved January 17, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.hrw.org/reports98/vote/ Westat, Inc. (December 1986). Historical corrections statistics in the united states.                                                                                                         

Consultancy Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Consultancy Report - Essay Example Further, the practice of recommendations through incentives is a major ethical issue that needs to be curtailed. It is important for the three firms to reorganize their acts and put on a higher degree of professionalism when it comes to competitiveness. It is this way that will lead to lesser unethical practices where there will be lesser stealing of product formula and incentive recommendation practices by the three firms leading to a civilized pharmaceutical industry that other firms will look up to as their model industry. The three companies selected for this discussion are: Novartis AG, GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Pfizer Inc. These companies are the three largest pharmaceutical companies in the world employing over 300,000 people across the world and sharing more than $150 billion in revenues in between them. The three firms are very innovative and compete with each other on their brand equity and image. Ethics is defined as the standards that enable one to tell the difference between right and wrong. Thus, ethics is a standard that can vary for each individual, company or entity. The ethics standards of a truthful and honest person will be higher than that of a regular liar. Ethics is what enables one to judge something as right or wrong. It is highly qualitative and as mentioned earlier, can differ greatly for two entities (Framework for ethical thinking, 2009). Focusing constantly on innovation and quality, it is not possible for any of these firms to engage in quality compromise as it would not only be detrimental to human life but would also endanger there future existence in the market. Thus, ethics is one of the most important pillars of operations in the pharmaceutical industry. However, this quality is not religiously practiced when it comes to competition. Novartis, Pfizer and Glaxo manufacture a wide variety of medicines and drugs that are cures for the same diagnosis: the only differences lie in

Summarization of Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Summarization of Organization - Essay Example As the discussion outlines the physician’s office is an independently run office that also functions as a business organization in itself, and it must compete with other local physician’s offices. The organization is named after the physician, Dr. Brown, and is referred to as â€Å"Dr. Brown’s Medical Office.† The medical office, which focuses in dermatology, has provided a good organizational structure to assist adult learners and those working to gain knowledge of the field. Trainees, for instance, are always working under somebody, and they usually participate in several aspects of examinations and do other jobs around the office. The training is a very hands on experience. The office also continues to offer training courses and opportunities to learn one on one with the doctor as necessary, thus encouraging the learners. The business is attempting to improve its prospects by moving its skin care products online and thus reaching a larger target audienc e, since it had always been recognized as a local business. Therefore, an analysis of this organization and its interactions with its adult learners is necessary to understanding how the business could better focus on use of technology and the Internet to achieve goals. This paper highlights that Dr. Brown’s office has been in business for twenty-one years. They are a local business venture and provide many services. Since the dermatology services offered at this office are not always covered by health insurance, the company must do what they can to keep prices low and attract customers. A variety of local advertising is used in local newspapers and pamphlets. The advertising focuses on the services offered, and the fact that the services here are usually better priced than services at other local offices. The company has been successful, even regardless of the recent recession. It has been able to retain its customers by offering price slashes and returning customer discounts.

Reggio Emilia Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reggio Emilia Approach - Essay Example According to Gandini, this was the time when men and women became motivated towards building schools by themselves for their children. At the same time, teachers also began to work hard in creating fresh methods of educating in order to "support the new democratic society." The schools built up at that time merged the theory of "social services with education." There was a sequence of national regulations accepted during the years 1968 and 1971 which made it feasible for the progress of Reggie Approach. According to Rinaldi, who is an educational director, the teachers worked as a steady piece in order to establish a new strength, and had rights to assign certain working terms like the authority to suppose, to arrange, and to understand various things. Every single child has prospective, inquisitiveness, and divert ness in communal dealings, creating affiliations, building their knowledge, and bargaining with whatever their surroundings offer them. When a child takes part in a commotion, it is necessary that they pick out their wrong doings and correct them. This step can help kids in becoming more practical and solving matters more by themselves. Teachers' role here is vital, as they should give children enough space to correct and improve themselves without being criticised and pointed out by teachers. Due to their young age group, they are tending to be more proficient than any other age group. The Reggio Emilia Schools take this picture of children as being more enthusiastic and confident towards life instead of being dull and dependent. "Children's Relationships and Interactions Within a System" Schooling involves paying attention to each child individually with respect to their behaviour with their family, other mates, their teachers, their surroundings, and their society. "The Rights of Children, Parents and Teachers" All children have their own rights of getting worthy care and proper schooling which could further enhance their prospective and abilities. "Parents have the right to be involved in the life of the school; teachers have the right to grow professionally." "The Value of Relationships and Interactions of Children in Small Groups" Children get this chance to work along with their teachers and in a form of huge cluster of children, or a small one, or as an individual. Teachers are supposed to choose that which type of grouping is suitable for each child depending on the type of project and work assigned to children, children's interest in the project, and the duration of time taken by them to complete the task. The teachers play a vital role while making children work in small groups in order to make children comprehend their tasks better. "Cooperation and Collaboration as the Backbone of the System" Collaboration between all elders in the educational institute should be inclusive of asking questions about various things, sharing their views, and developing a trust in each other. For the sake of achieving this goal, all teachers should pay close attention towards children, enquire about their interests and explore their knowledge and ideas.

The extinction of Chinese Sturgeons Research Paper

The extinction of Chinese Sturgeons - Research Paper Example This is considered the longest migration of up to 3200kms up the Yangtze River (Meadows). Although the females can carry an excess of a million eggs in one cycle, their reproductive capacity in each cycle is very poor. They breed only three to four times in their lifetime with a survival rate to hatching at only 1% (Zhuang). As earlier stated the Chinese sturgeon is largely dispersed along the main streams of the Yangtze River and the coastal areas of Qiantang, Minjiang and also the Pearl River. The Chinese sturgeons feed on most aquatic animals for example the aquatic insects, larvae, diatoms and the humic substances. The Chinese sturgeon is highly sensitive to increased noise on the river which is caused by the growing river traffic and are generally vulnerable to death and injury by boat propellers (Chen). The Chinese sturgeon has a habit of upstream migration; they migrate up rivers for reproduction once they reach sexual maturity. Most of the sturgeons will spawn in the fresh waters and then migrate to the salt waters to mature and breed their young. The primitive nature of the Chinese sturgeon sets it apart as a great academic interest in taxonomy and biology. It is for this reason that the Chinese government has devised ways to breed and preserve this endangered species. It is classified as China’s most protected Animals. In 1982 the Chinese Government built a Museum in the Chinese sturgeon institution which is used for artificial breeding procedures to try and preserve the endangered Chinese sturgeon, The Chinese Sturgeon Museum is located in a small island known as Xiaoxita in the Huangbo River within the district of Yiling. This reserve is one of Chinas several conservation programs that is geared towards the preservation of this endangered species (Birstein V). To also reduce the threats against the Chinese sturgeons, the Government of china took the initiative of closing commercial fishing since the year

Research & Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research & Development - Essay Example To cope with the changing situations, the essence of research and development is increasingly felt. Constant research and development in almost every aspect of life is being continuously conducted to generate better value to its related factors. Like other sectors of industry (e.g. technology, communication, marketing and finance, etc), labor sector is also under the constant purview of research and development. The most important feature which makes labor industry significantly different from that of other functions is the psychological touch involved in it along with the technical expertise. The laborers of any industry are human beings in first place and so they have aspirations, goals, objectives and needs. Again these psychological factors differ from laborers to laborers depending upon their culture, backgrounds, perceptions and prejudices and other factors. In order to make the labor industry efficient in its functions and performance all the above factors are to be considered and continuous research and development should be initiated. So, it can be conferred that the research and development in the labor industry is critical and important, sometimes even more than other organizational functions. Research and development is initiated generally to upgrade any working system from its present condition or performance. Popularly known as R & D, research and development can be defined as, "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications" (OECD. 2008). Research and development generally can be subdivided into three sub parts namely basic research, applied research and experimental research. Basic research is a type of research activity where investigational and theoretical initiatives are undertaken basically to acquire knowledge base of the underlying facts and figures. This type of research activity is done generally as part of academic interests as there are not much application or usage of the results of basic research. Applied research is built upon the basic research and is also done to acquire new knowledge domains but with more specified and certain objectives. It deals with the core of the subject. In comparison to the first two types of research, the third component i.e. the experimental research deals with more application. It develops the research output from the basic as well as applied research and is concerned with development of new products or installation of new processes. It also deals with improvement of devices already installed or produced. Traditionally, labor has been classified as a person who sold his physical strength in order to earn his livelihood. The payment that he received for such a sale was known as 'wage'. So the laborers are also known as wage earner. But today the term labor has a more broad perspective. In the present world, laborers are generally classified under three broad heads i.e. the skilled labor, the semi skilled labor and the unskilled labor. It can be well presumed that the skilled laborers are those who have certain technical knowledge about the task they perform and so generally receives the highest pay among the three classes. Semi-skilled

A personal quality Essay Example for Free

A personal quality Essay It has often been said that the true measure of a person can be seen through her deeds. I feel that I am no different in that I am a woman of action but more importantly a woman of compassion. Since I was young, I naturally learned the importance of sharing and helping from my parents. They motivated me to consider the sharing and helping as the most basic privileges of my life. I was greatly motivated by the bibliography of Albert Schweitzer and Florence Nightingale. These role models have greatly influenced my character. Taking classical ballet classes since I was 3 years old until I became 17 years old, I have had many experiences and qualities that I am quite proud off. I have always been a well rounded individual. On top of my ballet classes, I went to school and performed very well in my academics. I have also learned how to accomplish these extra-curricular activities while still maintaining very good grades. My parents have always been community oriented their whole life and have devoted much of their time reaching out and helping other people in our community. Naturally, I learned how to use my ability to help the others who are in need and how to interact with them readily and satisfactorily. My affirmative thoughts and incessant enthusiasm toward the other cultures greatly affected in learning and accepting the new cultures. Thus, I was adamantly sure that I wanted to study more about the global cultures and increase the global sensibility while studying in the University. The works that I have done while I was in school such as garnering those valuable awards are complimented by my social work. Most importantly, I figured out my lifetime goal, gained many relationships and learned the valuable lesson of sharing. All my contributions, small or big, seemed to be very appreciated by those people and I felt proud of myself. After all those volunteer works and the depth in education, I am now more confident about myself and I made up my mind to challenge myself to get into UC. I will significantly apply all that I saw, listened, and felt in the community works to my educational goals. I will try my best to become a role model of adopting the proper measures for the relief of the minorities to provide them fair opportunities and advantages in life. With well analyzed research data and convincing demonstration, I will play an important role as a link between the minorities and the supporter. While I personally believe that â€Å"there is no such thing as a free lunch† and that everything a person has in life must come from hard work and perseverance, I also believe in charity. I believe in helping others who do not have much in life. I believe in helping people regardless of their nation, race or creed. I believe in being a better person so I can best help myself and others around me. I believe that UC is the best place for me to turn these beliefs into realities.

Commercial Casino Industry

Commercial Casino Industry Commercial Casino Industry has been occurring in United States over 75 years since Nevada legalizing it. When Chef Wolfgang initiated to out fine dining restaurant in commercial casino, this is the beginning of food and beverage revolution in industry in 1992. In 1995, American Gaming Association was created. MGM Mirage acquired Mandalay Resort Group, Harrahs Entertainment Inc. and Caesar Entertainment in 2005 and the commercial casino industry started booming and other states started legalize opening casinos since then. The international gaming industry is expanding. Many U.S. casino companies expanded or planned to expand to other countries such as Macao, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. The international casino industry tends to have rapidly growth as gross gaming revenue in Macao has been more than gross gaming revenue in Las Vegas strip since 2006. Know your enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be defeated. (Sun Tzus The Art of War Writings). This Chinese wisdom of warfare probably helps companies deploy a better strategy in many business situations. The MGM Mirage Inc. is the largest company in the Hotel and Casio industry by revenue in the U.S., but MGM financial statement showed that company bottom-line in debt. The company was facing bankruptcy code in the early 2010. In this project, the report had been organized and presented MGM Mirage Inc. or MGM Resorts International in 4W framework: (1) Who are we? (Company profile, Hotel and Casino industry profile), (2) Where are we? (Sophisticated tools in Management, Technology, Marketing, Financial and Accounting were used to analyze the company position with competitor in the industry.), (3)What are problems? (SWOT analysis) and (4) What are solutions? Who are we? : Know yourself MGM History The Beginning of Las Vegas Race: 2005: MGM Merged Mandalay Bay Group. MGM Profile in 2009 Organization Structure Company Strategy The MGM Mirage Inc. strategy is to generate sustainable, profitable growth by creating and maintaining competitive advantages and through the execution of our business plan, which is focused on: Owning, developing, operating and strategically investing in a strong portfolio of resorts; Operating our resorts in a manner that emphasizes the delivery of excellent customer service with the goal of maximizing revenue and profit; and Leveraging our strong brands and taking advantage of significant management experience and expertise. (Source: MGM Mirage 2010 Form 10-K) Current Operation As of 2009, the MGM Mirage reported that the company has completed control of 14 casino resorts and hold 50% of investment in 5 casino resorts. In addition, the MGM Mirage also owned 3 golf courses in Las Vegas, Mississippi and California.(Source: MGM Mirage 2010 Form 10-K) Casio Resort ( Completely owned) Nevada MGM Grand Las Vegas Mandalay Bay The Mirage Excalibur Monte Carlo Railroad Pass, Henderson Gold Strike, Jean Luxor Bellagio New York New York Circus Circus Las Vegas Other MGM Grand Detroit Beau Rivage , Biloxi, Mississippi Gold Strike Tunica ,Mississippi Casio Resort ( hold 50% in stock) Nevada City Center (Joint Venture with Dubai World) Circus Circus Reno Siler Legacy Other Borgata, Atlantic City, NJ Gran Victoia , Elgin, IL MGM Grand Macau, China Industry Analysis Industry Analysis process is an essential assessment tools for every company to deeply understand industry current trends and opportunities. In fact, company will gain a better position and achieve a competitive advantage when it truly understanding marketplace. In the complex marketplace, the U.S. government is categorized industry with 4-digits Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. In addition to SIC, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is a new standard for the industry. The NAICS with 6-digits code contains more details than the SIC system. The purpose of SIC and NAICS are economy analysis. The MGM Mirage Inc. has been classified with SIC into three major categories: Hotels and Motels (SIC 7011), Coin-Operated Amusement Devices (SIC 7993) and Amusement and Recreation Services, Not Elsewhere Classified (SIC 7999). In addition, the MGM Mirage inc. also has been classified with NAICS into two categories: All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries and Hotels (except Casino Hotels) (713990) and Motels (721110). To thoroughly understand MGM Mirage Inc. marketplace, the hotel industry and casino industry had been analyzed. Hotels and Motels Industry (SIC 7011) The U.S. government defined a company in Hotels and Motels Industry as Commercial establishments, known to the public as hotels, motor hotels, motels, or tourist courts, primarily engaged in providing lodging, or lodging and meals, for the general public. Hotels which are operated by membership organizations and open to the general public are included in this industry. Hotels operated by organizations for their members only are classified in Industry 7041. Apartment hotels are classified in Real Estate, Industry 6513; rooming and boarding houses are classified in Industry 7021; and sporting and recreational camps are classified in Industry 7032. Recession impacts hotel industry In May 2010, Standard Poors industry report stated the hotel industry is still in an unstable condition. The industry will require a longer period to recover from the 2008 recession. Currently, the industry is operating in a difficult situation. The hotel industry is facing drastic competition that forces hotel businesses to lower room rates, which in turn results in lower profit. The data from Smith Travel Research (STR) Inc. indicated that on average the hotel industry has lost its Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) since 2008. The 2008 recession has also brought the hotel occupancy rate down from 60% to 55%. In addition, average daily roommate also dropped significantly 8.8% in 2009. Moreover, room demand dropped 6% in 2009. In contrast, the supply of rooms rose 3.2% in 2009 (refer to figure1). While the U.S. government is making their way out from 2008 recession, SPs forecasted that the hotel industry will not return to the same pre-recession level for the next eight to ten years. Real GDP helps the hotel industry in predicting room demand In the hotel industry, a high accuracy in room demand elasticity estimation provides CEO with essential information for a long term planning and deploying strategies. In 2009, the research by Dr. Hanson from Global Hospitality Group Hospitality Lawyers shows approximately a 1-to-1 relationship that holds between the U.S. Real GDP and room demand until the 2001 economic crisis. The real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total output of goods and services produced in a country and adjusted for priced change. The demand is more elastic when the greater the proportion of income spent on the good. After the 2001 recession, the demand retract and continue to grow in a slower pace when compare with the real GDP. The GDP is increasing 4 times faster than the room demand does. The 5 factors that researcher believes that might have an influence GDP and room demand relationship are: Long-term deterioration in consumer confidence, Higher consumer saving rate, consumers trying to recover lost investment, new pattern of behavior and proposed levels of tax increase affecting disposable income. Moreover, in the 2008 recession, the researcher also believes that the recession might create an additional snap back for room demand. U.S. Business and group travel The hotel industry profitability can be influenced by a demand from business travel. According to a member survey, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) reports hotel expense represents, on average, 40% of all business travel expense. In addition, American Express stated that airfare will increase from 2% to 10% in 2011, and hotel rates will increase 1% to 10% (Paurowski, 2010). The survey also indicated that 35% of its member strongly considered optimizing hotel expense in 2011 and 50% of its member expressed concern regard increasing in expenses. Passenger Name Record (PNR) in Computer Reservation System (CRS) showed that cooperate travelers have shifted booking methods from Travel Management Companies (TMCs) to Online Travel Agency (OTA). In fact, 30% of its members stated that online hotel rates offered are lower than negotiated rates. The complementary items that are preferred by the majority corporate travelers are: complementary cocktails, free WiFi-internet ac cess and comfort. In conclusion, the demand for business and group travel will likely be for cheaper rooms at lower rates with free complementary. (Michael Boult, 2010). Domestic and international travelers Shifts in airline schedules and passenger booking have a direct impact on hotel occupancy. According to the data from Air Transport Association (ATA) 2010 annual report, the static in figure 3 shows that domestic capacity had a declining trend since 2000, and the data also showed that passenger enplaned has dropped significantly from 743 million passengers in 2008 to 703 million in 2009 reflecting a 5.3% decrease of airline industry capacity. In fact, profit margin in the airline industry has been on the negative side. Airliners cut back routes and canceled destinations. For international travelers, The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI) expect the industry growth in 2010 and gradual increase to approximately 6-9% through 2015. Five countries, excluding Canada and Mexico, that rank highest in number of visitors to the U.S. in 2010 by volume are: China (40%), Brazil (35%), Korea (35%), Hong Kong (27%), New Zealand (24%) and Australia (19%). A weakening in U.S. currency helps the hotel industry by stimulating the demand from international travelers. Medical tourism -a little hope for the hotel industry In the economic downturn, hotel industry needs a stimulant plan to boot-up its occupancy rate. In 2009, Reuters Health section provided some interesting facts about medical tourism in the U.S. The report indicated that U.S. health providers have lost 650,000 patients to hospital oversea such as Thailand, India, and Singapore. In addition, the health providers are predicted to lose as much as $67.7 billion in revenue in 2010. Oscar Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas, foresee the opportunity for the hotel industry in Las Vegas. Mayor encourages a local business to support the idea of medial tourism. The medical tourism will be an alternative business in the area, the national public radio reported. Casio Industry Casinos are the largest revenue generator in the gambling industry. The industry provided approximately 350,000 jobs in the U.S. market. The American Gaming Association and the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA) are the main organizations in the U.S. casino industry. The AGA encourages its members and their employee to be aligned with updated law and regulations. Moreover, AGA is a realizable source for a gaming industry providing gaming history, educational program, and statistic data on the Casino industry. In addition, the NIGA under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act has provided Native Americans opportunities to legally run casinos. U.S. casino trends The casino industry has been hard-hit by the recession. According to the United States department of labor, the Mass Layoff statistics (MLS) program showed that the hotel-casino industry eliminated 13,000 jobs in 2008 (Labor, 2010). The revenue trend in the casino industry has been on a downturn for the last two consecutive years. The SP expected a slow recovery from the casino industry. Las Vegas, Nevada As of 2009, the American Gaming Association reported that Las Vegas with $5.55 billion in revenue was a dominant U.S. market. According to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), the statistic in figure 5 showed a 2.4% increase in the number of visitors from 2009. The Las Vegas Strip gaming revenue was increased by 4.3%, but the downtown area gaming revenue was decreased by -7.3% from 2009. In 2009, the 14% unemployment rate in the state Nevada plummeted the economic trail. On a carryover impact from the economic crisis in 2008, the number of attendees at conventions, and a number of scheduled conventions and number of meetings held remained on the decline with decreases of -1.1% and -6.7% respectively. According to the Las Vegas Visitor Profile, Market Segment reported by LVCVA (2009) that 76% of Casino guests were most likely to be traveling in a party of two and average stay in Las Vegas is 4 nights. Casino guests on LVCVA survey stated that 87% of visitors called the hotel-casino directly to book their accommodation. In 2010, SPs industry report estimated casino revenue on the Strip to be 35%-45% of total revenues, and the revenue from hotel rooms was 20-30% of the total revenue. A total enplaned and deplaned air passenger continued to decline. The number of air travelers accounts for 42% of all visitors. (LVCVA visitor profile: ir visitor version). The SPs report indicated strong growth from Las Vegas. Atlantic City, New Jersey The Atlantic City is a second large of the U.S. casino marketplace. The static in figure 4 shows that casinos in the area have been losing revenue -5.7%, -7.6% and 13.2% in three consecutive years. According to SP, casinos in Atlantic City are facing heavily competition from New York and Pennsylvania. Macau, China: New Era of Asia Gold rush Macau is a special administrative region of China. The CIA The World Factbook reported that, in 2006, Macaus gaming revenue surpassed that of the Las Vegas strip, and gaming-related taxes accounted for more than 70% of total government revenue. The Macau market attracted many casino operators from Las Vegas to come and establish a new home-based outside the U.S. In 2010, the profit in Macau market increased 9.7% in revenue from its loss in 2009. The gaming industry in Macau was expected to rise, but, SP reported a concern about the room surplus of 40% in 2011 and 2012. In the long-term, SP still believes that the Macau gaming industry will generate a significant profit for China. Singapore: A hidden dragon Singapore is the one of the most strategic locations in South-East Asia. According to Economy Watch and World Bank, Singapore is considered to be a very attractive country for new business. Sources in the Wall Street Journal on October 7, 2010 reported that the Marina Bay Sands project is a 8-billion dollar casino in Singapore, known to be the cleanest city in the world. The casino includes three 50-story structure with approximately 2,500 rooms; a casino, retail stores, dining and 800,000 square feet entertainment complex. The SP 2010 industry report predicted that the top five markets for Singapore casinos are: Indonesia, China, Australia, India and Malaysia. In addition, the Marina Bay Sands should have no effect on Macau market because the hotel presents a more family-orientated appeal. Legal and Regulation Internet/Online gambling Online gambling is illegal in the U.S. as of November, 2010. Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act (H.R. 2266) was introduced to congress in May 2009 by Frank, Barney (Rep). The bill is aimed to Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which prohibits internet gambling operators from receiving money related to any online gambling that violates State or Federal law (Frank, 2010). Online gambling is also on a serious debate among AGA members regarding a safety and government regulation. The concerns regarding an online gambling are a security technology such as firewall to protect million online users. Summary Key Fact from Industry Analysis Room demand dropped because economic recession. Occupancy rate dropped because dropped in demand and increasing room surplus. Real GDP could be used as atool for the hotel industry to future demand. Business Travel booking trends changed from Travel agency to online travel agency. China is a number one inbound visitor by volume from oversea. Medical tourism could be an alternative route for simulating demand. Gaming on Las Vegas Strip continues generating profit. Atlantic City market for casino is not pleasant after loss in profit of 3 consecutive years. Macau is growing and generated more revenue than Las Vegas Strip. Singapore could be a new growing casino market in South-East Asia. Legalize an online gambling is an ongoing process. Casino Market: Oligopoly Market Competition In 2009, the casinos industry had revenue in total of $US 21.8 billion. To determine an economic competitive type of market in the industry, the company uses a four-firm concentration ratio as the indicator. The ratio is the percentage of total industry sales made by the four largest firms (Fig. 4). The four-firm ratio for the casinos industry is approximately 70%, which had created an oligopoly form of market competition. In oligopoly, one firm decision can have a direct influence on demand, price, and profit of competitor in the industry. Figure 5: Companies in the casino industry by revenue Furthermore, external assessment of the industry is a critical process for management in decision making. The Porters Five-Forces Model, competitive analysis tool, has been utilized for in-depth industry analysis. The model analysis is provided five perspectives in assessing the industry: Rivalry among competing firms, Potential entry of new competitor, Potential development of substitute products, Bargaining power of suppliers, and Bargaining power of consumers. Porters Five-Forces Model Analysis Rivalry among existing competitors: MGM : Rivalry among existing competitors : HIGH Same-size competitors High exit barrier Indifferent in product and service among competitors Table x: Threat of existing competitors The competitive atmosphere in hotel industry is high. There are a lot of competitors in industry. Furthermore, it seems that competitors compete in same dimension because in commercial casino industry, customers are not much diverse. Therefore, players in this industry found it hard to target different customers with different needs There are a lot of competitors with equal power and size. Exit barrier in commercial casino industry is high because a company invests huge amount of money, especially, building cost. Even a company wants to exit from the industry, sometimes it force to stay in because exit costs are high. Product and service in commercial casino industry are identical. Moreover, there is no switching cost for buyers. Thus, competitor might cut price to attract buyers. Fixed costs are high. In order to compete in hotel industry, a casino manager adopts revenue management. The process allows buyers to stay in same type of room in different price. Even a hotels products and service are not rapidly become outdated but competitive atmosphere in commercial casino industry is hot, therefore, companies cannot make high profit from this industry. Threat of new entrants: The threat of new entrants for hotel and motels industry is low. The industry has significant barriers to entry which include: MGM : Threat of new entrants : LOW Supply-side economies of scale Demand-side benefits of scale Customers switching costs Capital requirements Restrictive government policy Position advantages independent of size Unequal access to distribution channels Table x: Threat of new entrants Supply-side economies of scale: In commercial casino industry these economies hardly appear. Even a company built more rooms or more recreations in its casino, these economies will not appear. Moreover, the company has to carry more cost, more maintenance cost and more employees cost. Demand-side benefits of scale (network effects): These benefits occur when the numbers of buyer patronize the company. However, these benefits might not occur in commercial casino industry. In commercial casino industry, a company will find advantages in location, facilities and characteristics of personal working in direct contract with customers. Therefore, having a lot of customers patronize a company will not provide huge demand-side benefits of scale. Customers switching costs: In commercial casino industry, when customers purchase service from a casino, it is one time use. Therefore, there is no switching cost. Capital requirements: In order to enter commercial casino industry, a company needs to finance huge budget and the industry return is not attractive. Thus this industry has high barrier. Position advantages independent of size: These advantages are not depends on a companys size, incumbents can have competitive advantages that not available to competitors. These advantages in commercial casino industry can stem from locations, brand identities and service. Unequal access to distribution channels: It is not hard to establish or find distribution channels in commercial casino industry. A company could use agents or let customer books rooms via its websites. Restrictive government policy: There might be some restriction related to commercial industry such in some area government do not allow a company to build a building that higher than 2 floors or in some countries, a company has to has citizens hold more than half of a companys shares to operate in that country. In U.S., commercial casino industry is the most regulated and monitored industry. The threat of substitutes: MGM : Threat of substitutes : HIGH Competitor Table x: Threat of substitutes There are some substitutes for commercial casino such as hostels, apartments or houses. Customers can stay in hostel, apartment or houses and go to gaming or using recreation facilities at casinos. If buyers concern convenience, they might prefer casino. Because they will have maids clean their room and casinos always locate in a convenience location. If buyers concerns price, they might stay in hostel. However, if buyers concern privacy, they might prefer house. There is no cost of switching to substitute. Buyers can change to substitutes anytime if they would like. Hostels, apartments and house can be substitutes for casinos. They perform similar products and service to casinos, if you concern only hospitality part. However, there are some differences which made substitutes have huge different from hotels. Buyers have to determine trade-off between hotels and substitutes. In this industry, the threat of substitutes is not high because substitutes have too many differences in facilities and service from casinos. Thus, industrys profitability is not suffered from substitutes. The power of suppliers: If suppliers have power over a company, suppliers might set its price higher, limit quality of service and shift its cost to other parties. In commercial casino industry, a company uses wide range of different suppliers such as supplier for construction, supplier for food and beverages and supplier for hotel equipment. There is almost no monopoly in hotel suppliers. Moreover, only a few supplies that have switching cost such as securities equipment and suppliers did not differentiate their products. The company has to differentiate itself by choosing good location, providing well-maintenance facilities and providing supreme service. Furthermore, the company can easily find substitute suppliers. Therefore, the power of suppliers in commercial casino industry is low. The power of buyers: MGM : The Power of Buyer : Table x: The power of buyer There are various customers in commercial casino industry. However, there are some buyers that have ability to negotiate such as group tour. Products and service in commercial casino industry are not much different. If customers find that a hotel that they always stay in is full, they have to stay in other hotel. They have to purchase products and service in some hotel anyway. Buyers have no switch cost. If buyers want to change from a hotel to a hotel, they can just check-in to another hotel without any switching cost. Buyers cannot produce industrys product if buyers found that a hotel is too profitable. Buyers can switch to other hotels but they cannot produce it by their selves. In commercial casino industry, buyers do not stick with brands. Buyers might concerns about quality of product and service. If they find another casino that cheaper but quality and facility are same, they will switch to another casino. In sum, in commercial casino industry, buyers are relatively price sensitive. From analysis given above, buyers in commercial casino industry have high power and seem to be price sensitive. They can press companies to lower their price and can ask for more quality and service. Financial and Accounting Analysis The financial information was published annually to external and internal users. MGM Mirage Inc. financial statements had been analyzed using financial ratio analysis and information in management discussion. The median number of industry ratio in 2009 is used in this report. By the nature of hotel business, MGM contains a high fix-cost in normal business operation and profits are driven by tourism and business travel demand. MGM requires a large capital to run its hotels and casinos. In 2010, MGM is in process of development a City Center, a capital intensive driven project. The delayed of City Center project has enormous impact on MGM financial statement. Liquidity and Financial Position Credit Risk: Facing Bankruptcy As of December 31, 2009, MGM is in a weak financial position because of its indebtedness. MGM with credit rating of CCC+ operated the business with 39% on the long-term debt. The management team declared unpleasant statement about the $1.1 billion senior credit facility debt which might be defaulted on maturity date in 2010. The management suggests that MGM must extent the payback period by negotiating with their creditors. Also, management has predicted that future revenue from operation and tax refunds would help reducing MGM debt. The current and quick ratio indicated that MGM has had insufficient fund to operate its casino since 2005. With the ratio less than 1 and below the industry average in both current ratio and quick ratio, MGM has been operated on the line of bankruptcy if the company defaults on its debt. Revenue base and mix MGM primary source of revenue came from Las Vegas Strip. As December 31, 2009, the majority of MGM revenue came from three sources: casino (44%), hotel room (23%), and food beverage (23%). Casino revenue dropped 12% from 2008 and it had been on decline trends since 2007. In 2009 MGM financial statement, revenue from casino had been divided into three sub-categories: Table games (36% of total casino revenue), Slots (60% of total casino revenue), and Other revenue. The table game revenue decreased 11%, even though there is 33% increases in demand for baccarat. Sustainability of revenues and earning MGM profitability ratios are negative in 2010 and 2009 for some ratios. ROA in both 2009 and 2010 are negative. We can break ROA to net profit margin multiply total assets turnover to deepen our analyzing. Assets turnover ratio shows MGMs ability to use assets generate revenues. MGMs assets turnover ratio decreases from 2007 to 2009. Even this ratio does not decrease much during 3 year period, it made ROA go down. The main factor that has impact on ROA is net profit margin. The MGM has very low net profit margin since 2008. MGMs bad signal shows since 2008. After its net profit margin ratio plunge to -11.86% in 2008 and -21.61% in 2009 which a major factor lowing ROA. From analyzing ROA, we can see that MGM has a problem with maintaining its profit margin. MGMs revenues in 2008 are not much different from 2007, however, MGM cannot control operating expenses, operating expenses in 2007 exceeds revenues. In 2009 MGM revenues decreases by 17%, further, MGMs ability to control its operat ing expense decreased. MGMs operating expenses in 2009 is 114.65% from revenues. The major increase in operating expenses in 2008 and 2009 is property transactions. MGMs ability to fulfill its short term obligation is getting better in 2009. Both quick and current ratios go up. The reason both quick and current ratios increase because in 2009 MGM carries more cash. However, MGM debt management ratios worsen. Long term debt to equity ratio increases from 2007 to 2009 results increase in total debt to equity ratio. These ratio shows MGM has larger portion of debt compare to equity. Even MGM carries more long term debt recently; MGM has interest coverage ratio high enough to pay back its interest. But this ratio trend increase in recent year. Hotel operating statistics Strengths Strengths Various portfolios of products and services: MGM mainly operates casino resorts which include gabling, hotel, restaurant, entertainment and retail. The main operation is in Las Vegas, Nevada, the world famous gambling and entertainment center. Properties in Las Vegas include CityCenter (50% owned), Bellagio, MGM Grand Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Luxor, New York-New York, Excalibur, Monte Carlo and Circus Circus LasVegas. MGM operates outside Las Vegas includes casinos in Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey and Illinois. Not only operate in U.S. but MGM also own 50% MGM Grand Macau ownership. Because each MGMs casino offers different theme, amenities such as restaurants, spas, private gaming and swimming pool facilities ;and difference pricing to target each customer segment, MGM enjoy competitive advantages over competitors. Moreover, MGM is continuously reinvesting in its business to keep this competitive advantage. Strengths-Strong Brand Recognition: MGM operates in tourism and leisure sectors which are gaming, hospitality and entertainment in two continental. MGM offers different casino for different segment, therefore, casinos brand that are operated by MGM are recognized by people all around the world. Moreover, Forbes Travel Guide bestowed AAA five-diamond awards to Bellagio and MGM Grand in 2010. Strengths-Location: MGM has properties in the top destination for traveler to go for gaming and entertainment. MGM has 10 casinos in Las Vegas, the world largest gaming and entertainment center and has MGM Grand Macau in Macau, the world second largest gaming and entertainment center. The reason behind this selection, these two places are the major tourism destination not only for gaming activities but also n