Business Decision Making in Chinese Education System Free Essay Example, 1500 words

It is the institution s strategy to give needy students in the societies it will reach out to the best possible preparation for life. The founders understand the disparities that have existed in service provision in the educational sector within the country that leaves children from poor backgrounds disadvantaged and less prepared for life. The founders have the dream to give the needy students the best preparedness by instilling the values and core virtues of the Chinese educational system into these vulnerable members of society. The school will admit students in their high school studies. The target is to equip the students with virtues to help them be more prepared to deal with life problems and give them better chances of surviving in a society that practically alienates them. Founders of the institution believe that the Chinese education system is a little integrated than the Libyan system. Given the cultural differences between the two states, there is a lot to be learned fro m the Chinese education system focused institution by the Libyan students. The harmonious amalgam of the Western school of thought and Confucian tradition and the contemporary political agenda makes the system a model to be emulated by other education systems. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Decision Making in Chinese Education System or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page The founders have vastly learned individuals with profound knowledge in management and tutoring. As a start-up effort, the institution will have all its management duties under one of its founders as the director. Given the passion and inspiration, the founders have to see this project a success, there will be a high level of integrity and vigilance in making the project a success.

Indi Native American Captive Asian Elephants - 742 Words

India El Genetic Diversity in North American Captive Asian Elephants R.Lei, Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research R.A.Brenneman, Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research D.L.Schmitt, Grewcock Center for Conservation and Research E.E.Louis Jr., Grewcock Center for Conservation Research http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00851.x/full For about twenty eight years now the Asian elephant has been struggling for existence. They have been classified as endangered species by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Twenty eight years is quite a large amount of time for an animal to be classified as endangered so The Zoological Society of London decided to look into this issue. Asian elephants have been transferred to captivity for quite some time in the North American region. The Elephas maximus have been captured from these countries in southern Asia and brought over to North America and have experienced many complications that can hinder the genetic diversity of the evolution of the species. Captive populations of the Elephas maximus species may be essential for genetic preservation and aid in decreasing the deterioration of the authentic population (Brenneman et al. 2011). Unfortunately, keeping these elephants captive has caused issues. The females are at least 35 years of age which isn’t very essential for reproduction so as a result the mortality rate amongst the calves and disease within the

Adolescence Acting Out In Group Theraphy Free Essays

Acting-out means performing an act that expresses emotional conflict in the individual. The emotional conflict may be subconscious. The actions done in acting out are usually antisocial and are meant for getting attention. We will write a custom essay sample on Adolescence Acting Out In Group Theraphy or any similar topic only for you Order Now Behaviors acted out include drug taking, or behaving promiscuously. Actions in this category are harmful to the individual and stand in the way of the individual developing constructive behavioral responses to feelings. Acting out is the opposite of response to feelings in ways like talking out, or psychodrama. (Blatner, 1996) This behavior happens within group processes and is studied in group dynamics which is the study of groups. The group dynamics study’s primary concern is small group behavior. A group is a number of individuals who are brought together by social relations. Groups develop peculiar dynamic behaviors among its members due to their close interaction. According to psychoanalysis findings by Sigmund Freud, human actions can be explained by looking at the conscious and the subconscious part of the mind. The unconscious is a section of the mind that is not immediately connected to perceptions but is a store of a persons past experiences. The past experiences come out of the unconscious to the conscious and in a way affect our personalities. The imperative here is that the motivations for acting out are beyond conscious control. However the motivations can be accessible through inference on behavior as the actions are believed to be the expression of repressed material. (Jones, 1973) The term used to describe the relation of experiences from one interpersonal setting to another is called transference. It deals with revisiting past experiences in existing circumstances. The relation of past and present behaviors are established by other people who come into contact with the individual. The individual will be discovered to be trying to address the unresolved issues from his/her past.   In this paper, group therapy is tackled on the basis of psychotherapy, and psychoanalytic studies. Psychotherapy is the field that specializes in investigating the manifestations of relations of past actions on the present actions with aim of helping the persons overcomes the influence. Psychotherapists look into the unconscious projections of transference. In psychoanalytic study transference is seen as a source of conflict and as one of the influences of choices in life including occupations. They lead a person to be interested in certain things like settings, and people. It therefore unites the past and the present. A good understanding of transference helps psychotherapists understand the causes of some human behavior more clearly in order to be able to implement effective interventions. According to Sigmund Freud the formative experiences of a person are critical, and relationships of childhood years are reflected with other significant ones through life. The earlier events come out in repeated difficulties in relationships and dreams. Lack of happiness and conflict can in this case be understood through knowledge of unconscious human motivations. (Nickel, 1987) The repressed materials are thus acted out. Interpretations of acting out of individuals vary with the contexts under which they act, and the audiences that witness the actions. In the context of parenting acting out is literally understood. It means acting those desires that are forbidden by the society. According to psychoanalysis study the laws in the society make the Superego and a person’s body of desires is called the Id. The Superego acts on the Id to make a person behave in socially acceptable manner. Freud used the theory of psychoanalysis to devise ways of treating patients with mental problems.   The initial desires of the individual are replaced with socially accepted behavior in a process called sublimation. However, in acting out the individual goes contrary to the authority of the superego on the Id. Acting out entails coping with pressure by giving in to the desires of the Id. The person who acts out their desires do it with little or no regard to their conscience and with little thought. Hence the acts are either deliberately bad or unpremeditated wrongdoing. Even when the people are aware of their wrongdoing they try to protect themselves against the society’s censure by hiding their deeds. Other coping mechanisms that use are such as denial which is used to protect one from feelings of shame. (Freud, 1972) Acting out in essence is handling pressure by giving in to the desires. It is however not actually coping, for coping mechanisms try to handle pressure and not conforming to it. Acting out is the opposite of sublimation. Unlike in sublimation where the desired action is replaced by another socially acceptable activity, here the desire is acted out bluntly. Such things as temper tantrums are episodes of acting out. At the early age the children have not developed communication means for their distress feelings. Thus they use tantrums as an effective means of alerting parents of their needs and commanding attention. But then when the children pass through the society they learn to get attention through strategies that are socially acceptable and that are constructive. It is then interesting that the behavior of acting out shows again during the years of adolescence in many youths. It comes in the form of acts of rebellious nature such as smoking, and drug abuse that can be seen as a cry for recognition. The youth may be disruptive, a behavior that is caused by an inability to control emotions in other ways. During adolescence emergence of antisocial and criminal behavior occurs. This behavior goes on into adulthood with considerable loss that comes from the action to the individual, families and also the community. Attempts to identify risk factors of antisocial and criminal behavior have been done with aim of preventing the problems. Some of the risk factors are identified in the years of beginning primary school. At this age there is identified difference of acting in that two groups are found. The groups are the antisocial and social. From this age there is difference of behavior between the two groups. In mid childhood the antisocial group manifested higher levels of acting out, and showed more trouble behaviors like hyper action and aggression. They were also found to act in manner craving for attention. Problematic behavior continues in late childhood. The children continue showing problematic behavior. They also become less cooperative; have lesser self control, as well as poor communication with their parents. At this age the children probably have acquired friends who practice antisocial behavior. During adolescence, the antisocial group gets more significantly different from the social group. The differences between the groups were centered on aspects of temperamence such as negativity, low persistence, volatility, involvement in risky activities, and acting out. Acting out is a manifestation of all the other aspects of the individual psyche at this time. A study on the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among Australian youths illuminates the study of acting out. Heckerman in the report of the study states that there has been an increase in infection rates of youths with the deadly HIV through engaging in promiscuous behaviors. The rate of levels of adolescents who are infected with the HIV has increased in the past ten years, in spite of the education on the disease being taught in the schools and family courses. With the teens receiving this information it becomes a matter of concern that the rate of infection continue to rise.  Ã‚   However, studies show that knowledge and behavioral changes are not directly correlated.   It has been established that despite the youths having adequate knowledge on HIV, the knowledge does not influence a change of risky sexual behavior. It is seen here that the youths who act out by resorting to risky social behavior have influence that is manifested in the subconscious. (Heckerman, 2002)   In an essay on group analysis Rosenthal relates the issue of the persistent influence of subconscious on the actions of the individual on an aspect of psychoanalytic study called resistance. Resistance is understood to be an inadequate, wrongly adopted, and an indirect manner of self revelation. Using the media of resistance the psychoanalytic patient tips that he/she cannot engage in verbal communication with emotional significance. (Rosenthal, 1979). Analytic treatment exacts great demands for efforts on the part of the patient as it does on the physician. They are both demanded to overcome their inner resistances. By overcoming the resistances the patients’ mental, life is changed permanently. The patient is hence lifted into a higher level of development and remains above possibilities of regression. It takes effort to overcome the resistances as the analytic treatment is achieved. (Freud, 1916) In the essay above it has been seen that the phenomenon of acting out has got many sides to itself. A clear understanding of the concepts of transference, resistance, psychotherapy, leads one to a better understanding of the concept of acting out and helps in discerning the processes involved in the minds of those who act out and hence help in administering group therapy. References Blatner, A. (1996). Acting-in: Practical Applications of Psycho-dramatic Methods. Springer Publishing Company. Freud, Sigmund (1922) Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego. New York: Liveright Publishing. How to cite Adolescence Acting Out In Group Theraphy, Papers

Asia Pacific Business Perspective for Global - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theAsia Pacific Business Perspective for Global Market. Answer: Introduction More and more business organizations from the developing countries are entering in the international market in the recent times. Business organizations from the developing economies such as India and China are rapidly gaining brand identity due to their few competitive advantages. One of the key competitive advantages possessed by them is their low cost of production due to the fact that the cost of resources in the developing countries are much lower compared to the developed countries (Panizzolo et al., 2012). Thus, with their cost effective products, they are rapidly emerging as potential challengers for the established players in the market. However, in entering in the global market, various aspects should be determined by these organizations in order to effectively cater to the market. One of the key factors is cultural aspect, which is different in different regions. Organizations have to adhere with different cultures in operating in the global market (Vaara et al., 2012). Differences in political and economical differences are also key determining factors for the organizations. This report will discuss about the determining factors being faced by Haier in operating in the international market. Moreover, the challenges being faced by them in investing in different countries will also be discussed in this report. Company profile Compared to its market competitors, the operational history of Haier is much less due to the fact that is was being originated only in 1984. Haier was being originated in China as a small refrigerator company. However, with the change in time, they have initiated aggressive innovation strategy to foster their growth in the market. Their rapid generation of innovative ideas helped them to enter in various market segments of customer appliances such as television, Air conditioners, mobile phones, washing machines and vacuum cleaners (Haier 2017). This helped them to topped the list of most valuable brand of China for several years. However, in their initial stage, Haier had only operated in their home country of China. In the early nineties, they have initiated the policy of international business. In 1990, they had started to export their products to South-East Asia. Afterwards they have entered the western countries. Currently, they have 28 manufacturing facilities around the world a long with catering to the customers from more than 58000 retail outlets in more than 160 countries. Thus, currently they are truly a global organization with having diverse product portfolio and presence in different countries around the world. Strategy initiated by Haier to deal with CAGE issues According to the CAGE framework, there are four key challenges that should be considered by the organizations in operating in the international market. The first aspect is the cultural differences in different countries (Dunning 2012). Due to this reason, Haier has initiated of having the manufacturing facilities in the host market. This policy helped them in effectively determining the requirement of the local market and offering the products accordingly. Moreover, having the manufacturing facilities in the host country had helped them in employing the local human resources, who will have more knowledge about the local cultural aspects. The next aspect in this framework is the administrative aspect. This factor talks about the distance in administration due to the vast market area in the international business along with different political scenario. To cope up with this challenge, Haier has implemented the centralized management approach for all of their manufacturing facilities around the world (Fischer, Lago and Liu 2013). Thus, all the operation facilities in different countries of Haier adhere with the local rules and regulations along with complying with the centralized management objectives of them from the home country. The next factor is geographical distance. In the international business, the market area is so large that it covers several times zones, climates and natural environments. Thus, the products of Haier are being customized according to the local scenario (Wang et al. 2014). For instance, they offer computer-controlled refrigerators for the American market and products having less energy consumption in Italy. Moreover, the approach of centralized management style is also helping them in geographical barriers with the help of updated communication technologies. The last aspect is the economical distance. Haier operates in different countries ranging from high income to low income economies. Thus, their products also cater to different customers segments with having diversified product portfolio. In addition, the sourcing of low cost components from their home country is helping them in reducing their cost further. This is due to the reason that, China is having low cost of human and other business resources. Thus, sourcing of the cheap components from China long with utilizing the natural resources in the host country is helping them in effectively driving their operational activities. Thus, by implementing these strategies, Haier is dealing with he issues stated in the CAGE framework in their global operation. Reference Dunning, J.H., 2012.International Production and the Multinational Enterprise (RLE International Business). Fischer, B., Lago, U. and Liu, F., 2013.Reinventing Giants: How Chinese Global Competitor Haier Has Changed the Way Big Companies Transform. John Wiley Sons. Haier, (2017). [online] Available at: https://www.haier.com/mediakit/companyprofile/201502/t20150210_260980.shtml [Accessed 21 Sep. 2017]. Panizzolo, R., Garengo, P., Sharma, M.K. and Gore, A., 2012. Lean manufacturing in developing countries: evidence from Indian SMEs.Production Planning Control,23(10-11), pp.769-788. Vaara, E., Sarala, R., Stahl, G.K. and Bjrkman, I., 2012. The impact of organizational and national cultural differences on social conflict and knowledge transfer in international acquisitions.Journal of Management Studies,49(1), pp.1-27.

Youth violence Essay Example

Youth violence Essay Young person force is increasing and rapidly going one of the major concerns in American today. Frequent young person force can be found at schoolyard, at place, outside, and everyplace in the community. Why do nt people inquire themselves what is doing the young person today so violent, and is at that place anything they can make to halt this tendency? Youth force is a serious issue, and there are many factors that contribute to youth force ; they are domestic force, negative media and packs. The truth is if a kid grows up in an unhealthy family so there will more opportunities for he or she to turn up to be a violent individual. Every twenty-four hours, a kid witnesses an act of force non merely on telecasting, but besides in their ain place, from their parents. A place is supposed to be a safe topographic point where kids larn how to love and associate to others. However, if they normally see force in their parent s relationship, they would presume that all relationship is ever filled with force. As a consequence, they look at their parents and think they have the right to make that excessively, so they will non care what parents have to state to them and merely acquire thoughts from the streets which are non good. That is why they are dropping out of school and merely hanging out with their friends, which merely brings them into problem, lead to force. We will write a custom essay sample on Youth violence specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Youth violence specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Youth violence specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer How force in the media contributes to the many other factors that lead to violent and aggressive behaviour in young person? Most of the force is directed chiefly many kids and striplings. However, non every child who partakes of violent Television shows, films or picture games will go a violent felon. Two common effects from media are imitation and fright. Today s young person are invariably surrounded by important Acts of the Apostless of force on Television, in films, and in video games. Many experts in instruction and psychological science believe that kids are moving out what they see. The Acts of the Apostless can easy be reacted due to changeless exposure. For many kids, Television and picture games have become their primary function theoretical accounts. Unless parents and instructors take the clip and duty to learn kids respectful values, they will larn job resolution, get bying accomplishments and struggle declaration from video function theoretical accounts. Another consequ ence is they would be fear from watching unrated films. Some films that are meant for grownups can be rather chilling for younger childs, which can do jobs subsequently on in the socialisation procedure. The last common ground that causes youth force is packs. There are many of adolescents in pack, who come from bad friends, friends in pack. The lone thing they want when articulation there is merely to turn out them, to be cool ; even they have to contend or kill person to acquire in it the pack. That is why they are ever ready to make stupid things without believing about the consequences, merely to allow their friends know that they are moving like a hero, a large brother in their group. Another ground is they are ever believing that they are lonely in this universe, they have to make everything to last and their pack friends are merely people, who they can make everything and dice for. For illustration, there was a hideous shot in a Vietnamese eating house a few months ago. A immature cat came into the eating house, and so he killed all the people around a tabular array in the corner. The ground of his action was he hated a cat in the group of those people. The list of lending factors to violent behaviour in young persons is neer stoping. One thing that the society should retrieve though is that non merely one individual factor can be linked to youth force. To forestall young person force enlarge, non merely an single bash, but the society besides has some duty to it. For illustration, the society should restrict games and pictures that have many violent scenes ; parents should take attention of their childs much more than at the present.

Not An Umlaut

Not An Umlaut Not An Umlaut Not An Umlaut By Maeve Maddox A reader has posed a question about a mark he noticed in The New Yorker: In a recent copy of The New Yorker the word reà «lection appeared with an umlaut over the second e. I had not seen the umlaut used that way before.    Is the umlaut making a comeback?   Should it also be used in similar situations such as realignment, or reengineer or deescalate?   Or is the hyphen more appropriate?   Or nothing? Or is The New Yorker just being, well NewYorkerish? I’ll answer the last question first: Yes, The New Yorker is being â€Å"NewYorkerish.† The use of the two-dot diacritical mark in words like reà «lect is a notable feature of the magazine’s house style. Other publications are prone to ridicule this use. As for the question â€Å"Is the umlaut making a comeback?† I’ll have to contradict the reader’s use of the word umlaut in reference to the two dots in the word reà «lection. An umlaut is a diacritical mark characteristic of German. It indicates pronunciation. For example, the u in the German words à ¼ber, â€Å"over,† and unter, â€Å"under,† are not pronounced the same. The umlaut in à ¼ber alerts the reader to a vowel sound that differs from the unrounded sound in unter. The word umlaut combines German um, â€Å"about,† and laut, â€Å"sound.† Used with English words, the two-dot diacritical mark has a different name and a different function. In English, it’s called a diaeresis, and its usual function is to alert the reader to the fact that two vowels written side by side are not to be pronounced together as a diphthong, but separately, as distinct vowels. The source of the word diaeresis is a Greek verb meaning â€Å"to divide.† A diaeresis tells us to divide two vowels. Note: The first spelling in both the OED and Merriam-Webster is diaeresis; the spelling dieresis is given â€Å"also† status. Charles Elster (The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations) prefers the spelling dieresis, because it eliminates the conglomeration of vowel letters and because his preferred pronunciation is [dy-ER-uh-sis]. He offers the secondary pronunciation [dy-AIR-uh-sis, which is the first pronunciation given in the OED. Speakers acquainted with literature, art, music, and astronomy encounter the diaeresis in such classical names as the following: Danaà « Laà «rtes Pasiphaà « Aà ¯da Laocoà ¶n Boà ¶tes Two common words that some speakers still write with a diaeresis are Noà «l and daà ¯s, and the diaeresis occurs in the name of the writer Anaà ¯s Nin. The diaeresis is also seen in English above vowels that occur at the end of certain proper names. This use indicates that the final vowel, usually e, is not silent. For example: Brontà « [BRON-tee], Zoà « [ZO-ee], Chloà «, [KLO-ee], Bettà « [BET-ee]. On the assumption that readers â€Å"know† how to pronounce these names, people write them without the diaeresis. However, in these days of superficial English teaching, one mustn’t assume. I’ve heard adults pronounce the name Zoe to rhyme with toe. I’ve heard a young teacher pronounce the surname of writing sisters Charlotte, Emily, and Anne as a one-syllable word. The New Yorker’s use of the diaresesis to separate standard prefixes in words like reà «lection is silly. That’s what hyphens are for. The use of the diaeresis to clarify the pronunciation of words like daà ¯s, Noà «l, Brontà «, and Zoà «, on the other hand, is well worth a comeback. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartAmong vs. AmongstParataxis and Hypotaxis

Compair 3 journal articals about WWII Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compair 3 journal articals about WWII - Essay Example rld War II† by Susan Smith in 2008, â€Å"Ethics and Airpower in WWII† by Phillip Mellinger in 1994, and â€Å"Moral Ambiguities of the Bombing of Monte Cassino† by Uwe Steenhoff in 2005. During World War II, 60,000 American soldiers were part of the Mustard Gas experiments performed by American Scientists (Smith, 2008).The reason was to prepare America’s troops for chemical warfare. One of the questions during the experimentation was whether or not there was a difference in reaction to mustard gas by different races. These scientists were every day ethical people, but they slipped into this method of experimentation. They felt that it was important in the service of their country. Soldiers felt it was their patriotic duty to participate though most were harassed into volunteering. The United States felt it needed the information to know how to react should the enemy use mustard gas and how to assure that the enemy died, should they have to use it (Smith, 2008). Veterans describe this as a horrible experience and felt that they were never warned about the level of suffering that could occur from this exposure (Smith, 2008). Mustard gas causes severe pain and these men suffered immediate eye and skin injury with blisters all over their bodies. The long term effects for many turned out to be cancer, asthma, emphysema, and blindness. Was this testing ethical? The British bombed many civilian sectors of Germany during World War II. Many great cities were bombed. There are those that believe that this bombing was unethical and immoral. There are those that would argue that any bombing at the time of civilian areas or any other was not only moral but ethical (Garrett, 1994). Garrett, (1994) believes that it was an immoral act. He also believes our own bombing of the Japanese cities with the A-bomb during the same war was immoral and unethical. Was it? Why do we struggle with the ethical viewpoint in this type of case? Monte Cassino was a monastery in World War II.

Nursing mentors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nursing mentors - Essay Example Therefore, sign off-mentors must undertake preparation program to meet the requirements to determine whether students the competencies required by NMC during sign-off. The nursing and midwifery professions involve handling patients in delicate situations. Thus, it is essential to have professionals with competence and efficiency in handling patients through the required abilities and skills. During the practice, students are expected to gain competencies through the NMC programs or standards. The program ensures they deliver the required services effectively and competently in their nursing profession without the necessity of direct supervision. Nonetheless, it is the role of the sign off mentors to ensure that students ascribe to these competencies. Mentors are provided with necessary support and framework to ensure that they efficiently assess students in order to ascertain their knowledge and skills. The students often undertake NMC approved programs to ensure that they are regist ered as qualified professionals. These processes determine that only qualified and competent nurses whoa are fit for practices are introduced into the professional field. The main aim of these competence testing and practices are to ensure that the public is protected from unnecessary damage orchestrated by incompetent nurses without sufficient competencies for practice (Burton and Ormrod, 2011, p.78). The NMC has also given the mandate to sign-off mentors to ensure that students being released for professional practice are competently assessed. For competent assessment, mentors are required to be part of the inter-professional learning and working. This enables them to undertake an effective confirmation of the students’ achievement of proficiency The students on their last placement require the sign-off mentors for their accountability towards supporting and determining the pre-registration of the nursing students. It is because of this that the sign-off mentors are require d to achieve certain criteria and must demonstrate the competence. The role of the sign-off mentors is also complimented by that of the student mentors in the NMC program. This body is responsible for not only confirming but also helping the students gain a breadth of experience in the process of demonstrating competence as either midwife or a nurse. According to the NMC, there are certain progression points where a student may not undertake but only the most qualified students. Therefore, they need to assess and confirmed if students have undoubtedly achieved the expected outcomes or met the competency level of the previous program is quite vital in the practice. Effective implementation can only be achieved if the mentors keep adequate and relevant records that appropriately help as supporting documents for them to identify whether or not a student has obtained adequate competence or proficiency. The some records should help towards promoting the students to the next program. Reco rds for guidance and regular feedback must be adhered to in order to support and justify the decisions in determination of proficiency or competence (Burton and Ormrod, 2011, p.105). Signing-off mentors often assist in investigating the health of the nurses or the midwives during the pre-registration process. This ensures that the health of these health providers do not interfere with the health of patients to be served by the same people. Nonetheless, the process sometimes also includes determining the

Product Reliability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Product Reliability - Essay Example The design consideration includes all those conditions necessary to be taken into account while manufacturing the product. Its feasibility, compatibility, the costs of components, the maintenance costs and various other factors that make a design a success. Product success also relies on the sample/ pilot tests. Pilot tests help saving large amount of costs which might be incurred on correction and delays in projects. Increasing reliability requires improved and professional working, resources availability, skilled labor and manufacturing plants and machines. Raheja et.al in their study focus on the tools and techniques that can help creating an effective product with improved reliability. It also provides details about how to avoid failures and poor products outputs. Since the poor product production is directly related to the loss in sales, and customer trust in the company. Their study sheds light on the human safety factor since the designs in heavy machine industry demand human safety from an ergonomic view point. Tooley et.al In their study focus on the possible glitches and obstacles that might confront the design and manufacturing process. The role of suitable raw material to be used and their possible impact on the overall design and end product. Their study also highlight the importance of creativity and innovation in the product designing. Various design products and raw materials will have different costs attached to them and would result in different net output at the end of entire product design. Bernard et.al in their study focus on the modern means of manufacturing and increasing the product reliability. The global methods of designs have certainly improved with time as a result they have introduced new concepts in the designing world that have more promise to them in regard of product reliability. Finally Pfeifer et.al in their study highlight the impact the material choice can have on

The Concept Of Microfinance

The Concept Of Microfinance In the recent years, most of the countries across the globe are in a sweeping mood to promote microfinance not only as a positive rural development intervention but also as a rural development panacea. As a result, the developmental economists in underdeveloped and developing economies have increasingly become enthusiastic in promotion and development of microfinance as one of the rural development initiatives. The purpose of such an initiative is to promote the welfare of the society as a whole by targeting the most talked developmental objectives of poverty alleviation (Shah,2008) and balanced regional development (Barman et al. , 2009). Micro-finance today though has become one of the most debated topics but it is a much confused buzzword among the bankers and the policy makers. Micro-finance is more than just a word as it has much wider meaning and implications. It is an instrument and a tool that has power to collectively address poverty, empower the socially poor, address gender issues and thereby strengthen the society as a whole. Micro-finance has therefore emerged as a powerful mechanism which ensures the social and economic empowerment of poor (Sriram, 2004). Concept of Microfinance Microfinance, according to McGuire and Conroy (2000), is the provision of financial services, primarily savings and credit, to poor households that do not have access to formal financial institutions. The Task Force on Supportive Policy and Regulatory Framework for Microfinance set up by NABARD in November 1998 defined microfinance as the provision of thrift, credit and other financial services and products of very small amounts to the poor in rural, semi urban or urban areas, for enabling them to raise their income levels and improve living standards (Sharma, 2001; Reddy, 2005, Reji, 2009). These financial services, according to Satish (2005) and Dasgupta (2006), generally include deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to poor and low income households and their microenterprises. However, the expression microfinance according to Torre and Vento (2006) denotes offering the financial services to Zero or low income beneficiaries. Wanchoo (2007) defines microfinance as any activity that includes the provision of financial services such as credit, savings, and insurance to low income individuals who either fall below the nationally defined poverty line or fall just above that, with the goal of creating social value. The creation of social value means making efforts in direction of eradication of poverty, improving livelihood opportunities for the poor through the provision of capital for micro-enterprise, promotion of savings for poor so that current problems and future risks can be minimized. However, how much below or above the poverty line has not been defined anywhere in the literature so far. Arabi (2009) and Satish (2005) defines microfinance as small scale financial services primarily credit and deposits that are provided to people who farm, fish or herd and adds that it operates small or microenterprises both in urban and rural areas. According to Dinesha and Jayasheela (2009), these financial services are provided by financial institutions to the poor to meet their normal financial needs life cycle, economic opportunity and emergency. In the words of Dhandapani (2009) microfinance means extension of small loans to the poor, especially women to start business, invest in self employment works with the aim to increase their income and standard of living. As per the definition of Nagayya and Rao (2009), microfinance refers to entire range of financial and non-financial services including skill upgradation and entrepreneurial development of poor. Sehrawat etal. (2011) however, defines microfinance as a financial service provided by financial institutions to the poor which may include savings, credit, insurance, leasing, money transfer, equity transaction, etc. to meet their normal financial needs like life cycle, economic opportunity and emergency. In short, it can be said that the concept of microfinance involves Banking for the poor and Banking with the poor. Such banking initiatives open doors of finance for destitute and underprivileged people who otherwise do not have access to finance from formal financial sources due to lack of collateral security (Nagayya and Rao, 2009; Barman et al. 2009). Microfinance targets the poorest segment of clients. They are self-employed and household-based entrepreneurs. Their diverse micro-enterprise includes small retail shops, street vending, artisanal manufacture, etc. Components of Microfinance (Microfinance vs Microcredit) The term `microfinance and `microcredit are often used interchangeably but in reality there is the difference between the two. Microcredit is the extension of small loans to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. Microfinance is a broader concept encompassing not only the extension of credit to the poor, but also the provision of other financial services like savings, cash withdrawals and insurance (Dasgupta, 2006; Nagayya and Rao, 2009). Microcredit is the component of microfinance. There are four components of microfinance: Microcredit: It is a small amount of money lent to a client by a bank or other institution. Microcredit can be offered, often without collateral, to an individual or through group lending. The purpose of such a loan is to provide credit to those who require it. Microsavings: These are small sums of money that allow poor people to save small amounts of money for future use. These saving accounts are often without minimum balance requirements. It helps low households to save in order to meet unexpected expenses and plan for future investments. These are the means of collateral to microcredit (Sinha, 2005). Microinsurance: It is an economic instrument characterised by low premium designed to service low income people not served by typical social or commercial insurance schemes and helps in mitigating risks affecting property and health (Khandelwal A.K., 2007). Remittances: These are transfers of funds from people in one place to people in another, usually across borders to family and friends (Khandelwal A.K., 2007). The Rise of Microfinance Movement / the Beginnings of Microfinance The concept of Microfinance is not new as it has had its prevalence in the long past. The imprints of microfinance can be traced back to Indonesia which points towards the formation of Indonesian Peoples Credit Banks which were set up in 1895 and which had close to 9000 units. Later, efforts were made to bring about revolution in Pakistan (now Bangladesh) by Akhtar Hameed Khan in 1959 in form of formation of Academy for Rural Development (Khandelwal, 2007). In the late 1970s, the economists round the world recognised that poor lack access to financial services (McGuire and Conroy, 2000; Tiwari and Fahad,1997 ; Barman et al., 2009). From this developed a new emphasis on establishing better financial systems which could direct credit to poor clients on a more sustainable basis than had been possible under previous discredited schemes of directed credit (McGuire and Conroy, 2000). At that time, Professor Muhammad Yunus popularised the concept of microloans as he believed that peace prevails only when hunger is quelled (Shetty and Veershekharappa, 2009). He started Grammeen Bank in 1976 in the outskirts of Chittagong University campus in the village of Jobra, Bangladesh with only a meagre amount of $27 as loan and made it a target to grant loans to the poorest of the poor. He felt concerned for the miserable landless women who were labouring for other people. He reasoned that if these women could work for themselves instead of working for others, they could retain much of the surplus generated by their labours, currently enjoyed by others. He started giving loans to even beggars. He was also of the view that if beggars can go to houses for getting money, they can go to houses to sell a product also. The Grameen Bank lending procedures are simple and effective. The first and foremost step in receipt of credit is the formation of the group of five members that gather once a week for loan repayment (Dasgupta, 2001). Loans are initially made to two individuals in the group, who are then under pressure from the rest of the members to repay in good time. The borrower has to repay the loan in weekly instalments spread over a year. The functioning of Grameen Bank also involves enchanting of 16 Decisions at the start of their weekly session. These decisions include production of fruits and vegetables in kitchen gardens, investment for improvement of housing and education for children, use of latrines and safe drinking water for better health, rejection of dowry in marriages etc. Although observance of these decisions is not mandatory, in actual practice it has become a requirement for receiving a loan (Tiwari and Fahad, 1997). In order to promote thrift habit, it is compulsory for every member to save one Taka per week which is accumulated in the Group Fund. This account is managed by the group. The amount in the Fund is deposited with Grameen Bank and earns interest. A member can borrow from this fund for consumption, sickness, social ceremony or even for investment (if allowed by all group members). In case of default in repayment or failure to attend meetings, the defaulters may be charged with a fine or may be expelled. The members are free to leave the group before the loan is fully repaid; however, the responsibility to pay the balance falls on the remaining group members. Some of the key strategies adopted by the Grameen Bank are listed below: I) There is an exclusive focus on the poorest of the poor. This is exclusivity ensured by: establishing clearly the eligibility criteria for selection of targeted clientele and adopting practical measures to screen out those who do not meet them. in delivering credit, priority has been increasingly assigned to women. the delivery system is geared to meet the diverse socio-economic development needs of the poor. 2) Borrowers are organized into small homogeneous groups. Such characteristics facilitate group solidarity as well as participatory interaction. Organizing the primary groups of five members and federating them into centers. The Centers are functionally linked to the Grameen Bank, whose field workers have to attend Centre meetings every week. 3) Special loan conditions which are particularly suitable for the poor. These include: a) very small amounts of loans given without any collateral b) loans repayable in weekly instalments spread over a year c) eligibility for a subsequent loan depends upon repayment of first loan d) individual, self-chosen, quick income-generating activities which employ the skills that harrowers already posses. e) close supervision of credit by the group f) stress on collective borrower responsibility or peer pressure g) special safeguards through compulsory and voluntary savings to minimize the risks that the poor confront. h) Undertaking of social development agenda addressing basic needs of the clientele. This is reflected in the sixteen decisions adopted by Grameen borrowers. Thus, the lending operations of Grameeen Bank include the use of group guarantees, inculcating compulsory savings habit and transparency of credit transactions (Mcguire and Conroy, 2000). A still more interesting feature is the ingenious manner of grant of credit without any collateral security. The availability of lending outlets near the clients, simple application procedures, and quick disbursement of loans are the special techniques to ensure good repayment rates (Tiwari and Fahad,1997 ). The Grameen Bank is now lending loan size of $ 800 million a year with an average loan size of almost $130, the bank has 7 million borrowers, 97 percent of them are women and an unmatched repayment rate of 98 percent(Tiwari and Fahad,1997 ; Singh and Kumar,2008). The microloans not only helped the poor in getting finance in Bangladesh and facilitated the lives of millions of poor but also earned Muhammad Yunus a Nobel Prize in the year 2006. Evolution of microfinance in India The Grameen Bank model of microfinance based on joint liability of members has received wide international appeal and popularity in numerous emerging economies like India. In fact the developing economies have even tried to replicate these models for developing small scale business and reducing poverty levels (Jha, 2002; Idolor and Imhanlahimi, 2011). The evolution of Indian MF can be broadly divided into four distinct phases: Phase 1: The Cooperative Movement (1900-1960) During this phase, there was dominance of two sources of credit viz. institutional sources and non-institutional sources. The non institutional sources catered to 93 percent of credit requirement in the year 1951-52 and institutional sources accounted to 7 percent of total credit requirements pertaining to that year. The preponderance of informal sources of credit was due to provision of loans for both productive and non productive purposes as well as for short term and long term purposes and simple procedures of lending adopted. But they involved several malpractices like charging high rates of interest, denial of repayment, misappropriation of collaterals, etc. At that time, government considered cooperatives as an instrument of economic development of disadvantaged masses. The credit cooperatives were vehicles to extend subsidized credit to poor under government sponsorship. They were characterized as non exploitative, voluntary membership and decentralized decision making. The Primary Agricultural societies (PACS) provide mainly short term and medium term loans and Land Development Banks provide long term loans as a part of cooperative movement. Phase 2: Subsidized Social Banking (1960s 1990) It was observed that cooperatives could not do much as was expected of them. With failure of cooperatives, All India Rural Credit Survey Committee in 1969 emphasized the adoption of Multiagency Approach to Institutional Credit which assigned an important role to the commercial banks in addition to cooperatives. Even Indian planners in fifth five year plan (1974-79), emphasised Garibi Hatao (Removal of poverty) and the growth with social justice. It was due to this approach that in 1969, 14 leading banks were nationalized and later on five regional rural banks were set up for the purpose on October 2, 1975 at Moradabad and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, Bhiwani in Haryana ,Jaipur in Rajasthan and Malda in West Bengal. Hence, as a result of Multiagency approach and other planning initiatives, Government focused on measures such as nationalization of Banks (Shetty and Veerashekharappa, 2009; Sriram, 2005), expansion of rural branch networks, establishment of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) and the setting up of apex institutions such as the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Small Scale Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the central bank of the country played a crucial role by giving overall direction for providing credit and financial support to national bank for its operations. Therefore, after the multiagency approach, the commercial banks and regional rural banks assumed a major role in providing both short term and long term funds for serving the poorest of poor. Despite, the multiagency approach adopted, a very large number of the poorest of the poor continued to remain outside the fold of the formal banking system(Reddy and Manak, 2005; Singh and Kumar, 2008; Nagayya and Rao, 2009; Shetty and Veershekharappa, 2009). While these steps led to reaching a large population, the period was characterized by large-scale misuse of credit, creating a negative perception about the credibility of micro borrowers among bankers, thus further hindering access to banking services for the low-income people. However the gap between demand and supply of financial services still prevailed due to shortcomings of institutional credit system as it provides funds only for productive purposes, requirement of collateral, massive paper work leading to inordinate delays. As a response to failure of formal financial system in reaching the poor and destitute masses, the micro finance through Self-help groups was innovated and institutionalized in the Indian scenario. While no definitive date has been determined for the actual conception and propagation of SHGs, the practice of small groups of rural and urban people banding together to form a savings and credit organization is well established in India. In the early stages, NGOs played a pivotal role in innovating the SHG model and in implementing the model to develop the process fully (Reddy and Manak2005). The first step towards Micro-finance intervention was establishment of Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA), non formal organization owned by women of petty trade groups. It was established on the cooperative principle in 1974 in Gujarat. This initiative was undertaken for providing banking services to the poor women employed in unorganized sector of Ahmadabad. Shree Mahila Sahkari Bank was set up as urban cooperative bank. At national level, SHG movement involves NGOs helping in the formation of the groups. During this time, the planners and policy makers were desperately searching for the viable ways of poverty alleviation. Around that time, the Government of India launched the Integrated Rural Development Program (IRDP), a large poverty alleviation credit program, with the purpose of providing credit to poor and under-privileged which involved provision of government subsidized credit through banks to the poor. But the IRDP was a supply led programme and the clients had no choice over the purpose and the amount. At this stage, it was realised that the poor really needed better access to these services and products, rather than cheap subsidized credit. That is when the experts started talking about microfinance, rather than microcredit. Keeping in view the economic scenario of those days, a strong need was felt for alternative policies, procedures, savings and loan products, other complementary services, and new delivery mechanisms, which would fulfil the requirements of the poorest, especially of the women members of such households ( Barman et al. 2009; Shetty and Veerashekharappa, 2009). It was during this time, NABARD conducted a series of research studies independently and in association with MYRADA, a leading NGO from Southern India, which showed that a very large number of poor continued to remain outside the fold of the formal banking system (Reddy and Manak, 2005). Later on PRADAN in its Madurai projects started forming women SHG groups (Satish, 2005). During 1988-89, NABARD in association with Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) undertook a survey of 43 NGOs in 11 states in India, to study the functioning of microfinance SHGs and their collaboration possibilities with formal banking system (Satish P, 2005; Shetty and Veerashekharappa, 2009). Both these research projects laid the foundation stone for the initiation of a pilot project called the SHG linkage project (Satish P, 2005). Phase 3: SHG-Bank Linkage Program (1990 2000) The failure of subsidized social banking lead to delivery of credit with NABARD initiating the Self Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkage Programme in 1992 (SBLP), aiming to link informal womens groups to formal banks. This was the first official attempt in linking informal groups with formal lending structures. To initiate this project NABARD held extensive consultations with the RBI. This resulted the RBI issuing a policy circular in 1991 to all Commercial Banks to participate and extend finance to SHGs (RBI, 1991). This was the first instance of mature SHGs that were directly financed by a commercial bank. The informal thrift and credit groups of poor were recognized as bankable clients. Soon after, the RBI advised Commercial Banks to consider lending to SHGs as part of their rural credit operations thus creating SHG Bank Linkage ( Reddy and Manak,2005). The program has been extremely useful in increasing banking system outreach to unreached people. The programme has been extremely advantageous due to reduction of transaction cost due to less paper work and record keeping as group lending rather than individual lending is involved (Barman et al. 2009). The SHG bank linkage is a strong method of financial inclusion, providing unbanked rural clientele with access to formal financial services from the existing banking infrastructure. The major benefit by linking SHGs with the banks is that it helps in overcoming the problem of high transaction cost of banks as the responsibility of loan appraisal, follow up, recovery of loans are left to poor themselves. On the other side, SHGs gain by enjoying larger and cheaper sources (Varman, 2005). Later, the planners in Ninth Five year plan (1997-2002) laid emphasis on Growth with Social Justice and Equality. The objective of Ninth plan as approved by the National Development Council explicitly states as follows: Promoting and developing participatory institutions like Panchayati Raj Institutions, cooperatives and Self -Help Groups. Hence, it was ninth five year plan that expressly laid down the objective of establishment of Self Help Groups in order to achieve the objective of Growth with Social Justice and Equality as a part of microfinance initiative. Meanwhile, in 1999, the Government of India merged various credit programs together, refined them and launched a new programme called Swaranjayanti Gram Swarazagar Yojana (SGSY). The aim of SGSY was to continue to provide subsidized credit to the poor through the banking sector to generate self-employment through a Self-Help Group approach (Sriram, 2005). Phase 4: Commercialization of Microfinance: The first decade of the new millennium This stage involves greater participation of new microfinance institutions that started taking interest in the sector not only as part of their corporate social responsibility but also as a new business line. A number of institutions have been set up overtime which were required to meet the credit requirements of the new society and downtrodden. At present Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) aims at Towards More and Inclusive Growth. The word inclusive growth means including and considering those who are somehow excluded from the benefits which they (poor) should avail. Microfinance is a step towards inclusive growth via inclusive finance which moves around serving the financial needs and non financial needs of poor in order to improve level of living of rural masses. Demand and Supply forces of microfinance 1.5.1 The Demand for Microfinance Traditionally the targets of microfinance meant the poorest of the poor and the poor. More, recently, microfinance focus is changing as it has now started serving people who, although, not living in poverty, have general difficulty in obtaining the credit (Torre and Vento, 2006). This is on account of socio-economic changes that have put forward potential new microfinance clients. In this way, modern microfinance is expanding its horizon from poorest of poor to the victims of financial inclusion. The phenomenon of financial inclusion has been defined in literature as inability to access finance in an appropriate way ( ). These victims of financial inclusion involve disadvantaged individuals who are unable to bear the cost and conditions of financial products offered. Another category of microfinance targets included the marginalised people who mainly comprise of small scale entrepreneurs who are running small businesses, self-employed workers and individuals who unable to obtain cred it (Torre and Vento, 2006). In this category, women assume major significance. This is due to the more responsible nature of women who are more responsible in repayment of loan then men. The continuing involvement of poorest of the poor, poor, disadvantaged and marginalised people determines the greater complexity of the supply forces of Indian microfinance structure and thus, a more decisive move away from traditional pattern of credit. 1.5.2 The Supply of Microfinance In any economy, most of the day-to-day activities require finance. Finance is required both for productive and non productive purposes. The productive purposes include requirement of fixed capital for commencement of business, funds for working capital requirement to meet day today activities, trade related emergencies, exploring investment opportunities etc. On the other hand, finance may be needed for non productive purposes, such as for celebration of marriages, births and deaths, for litigation. In order to satisfy in above needs there are two available sources of credit available to the poor: institutional sources or formal sources, non-institutional sources or informal sources. Formal institutions are the registered entities subject to all relevant laws. These include commercial banks (including public and private sector banks), regional rural banks and cooperative banks. Recognizing the potential of micro finance to positively influence the development of the poor, the Reserve Bank, NABARD and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) have taken several initiatives over the years to give elevation to the micro finance movement in India. The Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks provide both short term and long term funds for serving the poorest of poor. The Primary Agricultural societies (PACS) provide mainly short term and medium term loans and Land Development Banks provide long term loans. The National Bank of Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD) is the apex institution at national level for agricultural credit and refinance assistance to the agencies mentioned above .The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the central bank of the country plays a crucial role by giving overall direction for providing credit and financial support to national bank for its operations. On the other hand, government owned societies like Rashtriya Mahila Kosh(RMK), Mutually Aided Cooperative Societies, private sector companies like specialized NBFCs are also involved in providing credit to the poor. Informal institutions include self help groups, money lenders, traders, relatives, commission agents. They are providers of microfinance services on a voluntary basis and are not subject to any kind of regulation. 1.6 Self Help Groups Defined A Self Help Group is a basic unit of micro-finance which comprises of 15 to 20 people having homogeneous social and economic background (Singh and Kumar, 2008) that voluntarily come together to save small amounts regularly and mutually agree to contribute a common fund. The aim of such formation is to meet present and emergency needs of the members on mutual help, solidarity and joint responsibility basis. Self Help Groups (SHGs) are necessary to overcome exploitation, create confidence and creation of feeling of self worth for the economic and social self-reliance of rural poor, particularly among women who are mostly invisible in the social structure. The Self Help Groups are the basis for further action and change which help members become self reliant economically and socially. It also helps building of stable relationship for mutual trust between the promoting organization and the rural poor (Singh and Kumar, 2008). Though loan repayment is a joint liability of the group but, in reality, individual liability is stressed upon (Singh and Kumar, 2008). Maintaining group reputation leads to the application of tremendous peer pressure. The group members use collective wisdom and peer pressure to ensure proper utilization of credit and its timely repayment thereof. In fact, peer pressure has been recognized as an effective substitute for collaterals (Barman et al. , 2009).

International Software Piracy Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Essays

International Software Piracy Disclaimer The ideas and arguments presented in this paper are provided solely for purposes of academic discussion. The author wishes to make it clear that he neither condones nor promotes software piracy in any form, and that he encourages all software practitioners to familiarize themselves with the relevant intellectual property laws of their respective countries and to adhere to the highest level of ethics in the conduct of their professional duties. I. Background Software piracy has been around since the beginnings of personal computing. The first paper tape of a BASIC compiler passed from one hobbyist to another was essentially pirated software, although, at the time, it may not have been recognized as such, and in fact, may not even have been illegal[7]. The extension of copyright protection to software coincided with an explosive proliferation of low-cost computers and an expanding market for software packages that went beyond the hobbyist and into the commercial and mass consumer segments. As the software market matured and software vendors became multi-billion dollar enterprises, concern about piracy and the resultant lost revenue increased. The proliferation of Information Technology (IT), fostered in part by the Internet, have made piracy a global issue, with one estimate placing the loss to business world-wide in a single year at over $13 billion [1]. Though illegal in most countries, the rate of piracy world-wide remains high, even in developed countries with established traditions of protecting intellectual property (IP). For example, the United States has one of the lowest piracy rates in the world, and yet its piracy rate remains at 23%. Countries with the highest p... ...lt;http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/02/14/pirate_plays_third_world_card/>. Salon, Profits from piracy, 2002, www.salon.com, 4-May-2004, . ZDNet, Microsoft slashes Windows XP price to fend off Linux, 2003, 11-May-2004, . USA Today, Software piracy takes toll on global scale,2001, 20-May-2004, . Computer Science and Telecommunications Board of the National Academics, The Digital Dilemma: Intellectual Property in the Information Age, (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2000) 55. Nader, Ralph, Consumer Harm in the Microsoft Case: Address to The Bazaar - An Open Source Software Event, 1999, 3-Jun-04, .

Morals and Beliefs in Gran Torino

Gran Torino Essay Values are principles that a person lives up to. It shapes and defines who they are. Moral refers to issues of right and wrong and how individual people should behave. Moral values are one of the most important things that we human beings live for. The movie â€Å"Gran Torino† is an excellent example of how our own moral values define who we are as a person. We make decisions based on what we think is right or wrong. The film starts off with Walt Kowalski who is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighbourhood and the world around him.Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy an old man, who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbours, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbour Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighbourhood.The film has excellent examples of moral values throughout the development of the main characters such as courage, equality and selflessness. Courage is shown throughout the film countless times. No-one can say to another individual that their morals are wrong. No one’s moral are wrong, our morals stems from our perspective of what things are supposed to be not someone else’s view on morals. Though in the movie, Thao shows courage by trying to steal Walt’s prized car. Even though it’s a wrong decision to make, he shows courage and attempts to do it. It’s a value that we would all want. To show courage in the face of fear itself.Courage is a very hard thing to come by, not many people have it but Thao demonstrates this even though it was wrong however he rights his wrongdoing. Walt also shows courage throughout the film s uch as when he beats up one of the gang members even though he is well aware of what they are capable of. The film portrays courage not only by using the actors but also film techniques such as camera shots. When a character is expressing bravery, the camera closes up on his or her face to show the emotion and expression in the eyes and facial movement. It helps the audience interpret the courage on a characters face.Courage is moral value present in the movie. Equality is another value we hope to come by. The film evolves from racism to equality. When Sue befriends Walt, she sees him as an equal not as someone who is below her. Though their races are different, they show an understanding towards one another and they don’t discriminate each other. They respect each other and therefore show equality towards each other. That also happens with Thao when he gets to know Walt. Walt shows an understanding to Thao when they grow closer and even regards him as a friend. Equality is n ot always present in the world but it can be achieved.Even the neighbours of Walt, grew to have an understanding with him who at first despised him to be white. However equality is eventually a value that not only Sue but also Walt, Thao and their neighbours possess. The film demonstrates equality as a need in this world. Finally, one of the most important moral values a human being can possess is selflessness. It is when a person puts someone else’s needs before their own. In Gran Torino, one of the most heartfelt and saddest moments was when Walt sacrificed his life for Thao and the neighbourhood. He knew that if Thao went after his cousin â€Å"Spider† he would die.So Walt decided that he needed to do this not only for himself but for the whole neighbourhood. He came to confront Spider and the gang, he spoke very loudly to provoke the whole neighbourhood and have witnesses for what he was about to do. He asked if anyone had a lighter, he then reaches into his pocket s, as he does this, the gang reaches for their gun in preparation. Walt grabs out his lighter but making it look like he was pulling out a gun from his inner pocket, then without hesitation the gang members had shot him. He was never armed and so the gang were charged and went to jail.This sacrifice that Walt made was very admirable and was probably his most important morals. He believed in putting someone else’s safety before his own. This was a moral value that was the most important within the movie. In conclusion, these three values were demonstrated as the film progressed. It shows that a person who believed in their own moral values can be regarded as a hero. By following and believing in their own morals, it goes to show that you can help not only yourself but those around you. Gran Torino was an excellent movie about how a person who followed their morals can help those in need.

Hardest College Majors Choose Your Future

Hardest College Majors Choose Your Future When you graduate from high school, you get to choose what to do with your life next. Some decide to work, while others go to the university. Studying in college is fun and lets you meet great people, but sometimes a college major becomes a difficulty. The hardest college majors are definitely worth trying, but you have to prepared to study more than usually. Many college majors take a lot of time and effort, and often students share their stories on how they had to give up favorite activities to keep working on their studies. Students spend hours in a classroom to learn new material and earn good grades in order to prepare for their future job. It is required to study for at least 4-5 years to get a bachelor’s degree, and if you are willing to go even further, you have to be ready for even more projects and class assignments. Of course, there are no easiest and hardest subjects, since each requires a lot of practice. Our article contains information about the most popular hard college majors that many students enjoy to explore. Let's Get Prepared For Your College Majors! Top 5 Most Difficult College Majors Here is a list of the hardest and the most difficult college majors based on our research. It includes detailed descriptions of each college major and possible careers for graduates. Engineering major. These days, engineering is one of the most popular degrees. It’s a broad subject that covers such areas as civil, chemical, mechanical, electrical, medical, computer, and geological engineering. Engineers study core courses of physics, computer programming, math, basic engineering theory, systems engineering, and many other classes. No doubt, engineering is one of the most challenging degrees, but still, there is a high demand for specialists in this field. The most popular career choices for an engineering student are the process, mechanical, chemical engineer, technical writer, IT consultant. Chemistry major. Chemistry nowadays is one of the top college majors. Most students take such courses as general, inorganic, and organic chemistry, college physical science, calculus, general chemistry lab. If you decide to continue more advanced studies, there is a specific requirement to take a national program accreditation, typically for those who study pharmacy or pharmacology. Popular chemistry careers are a research scientist, pharmacologist, healthcare scientist, chemical engineer, and forensic scientist. Physics major. Without physics, our world would have been very different. Famous physicians have made discoveries that led our society to technological revolutions and improved our living conditions. Still, physics remains one of the hardest sciences. Typical learning courses for students are general physics, statistics, astronomy, etc. Popular job options for this major are college professors, nuclear engineers, higher education lecturers, researchers, secondary schools teachers. Social Sciences major. Social sciences major have allowed us to study our society from ancient times to this day. Disciplines that students study include anthropology, political science, sociology, psychology, economics, and history. An average social sciences graduate with necessary skills prefer to work as a job analyst, economic developer, journalist, diplomat, and city manager. Computer Science major. No doubt, in the modern IT and areas related to computer science have become pretty popular in the last 10 years. The most important course for students are applications programming, network fundamentals, algebra and problem solving, pre-calculus, web development, information theory, data structures, and software engineering. Common careers are IT consultant, game developer, software engineer, UX designer. Other college major fields that did not seem easy to most students were biology, mathematics, foreign language, English literature, business, law, and philosophy. Pro 3 Tips To Study Effectively In College Here are some tips on studying in college from our experts in education. No doubt, there is no college major that would be easy, but with our tips, academic excellence will be much closer to you, and even hardest college majors will bring much more joy. Order College Essay 1. Set Goals In order to achieve academic excellence, you need to understand what you want to get in the end. Ask yourself such questions as: Are my goals realistic? Which steps do I have to take every day and week to achieve them? What are the terms for accomplishing my goals? After answering these questions, create a study plan. For this part, you need to write all of the topics that will be covered during the semester and on the tests. It will help you get organized and plan your time for studying better. Set a specific amount of hours you want to spend on the subject, and stick to the plan. 2. Get Prepared Before you start your study sessions, search for resources that you would use for your learning. These include scientific articles, academic databases, websites recommended by your college, books, journals. You can find many resources in your local or college library, so don’t miss the chance to study the hardest college majors there. 3. Be Collaborative Sometimes it’s easier to work in a group of people instead of studying alone. Find classmates that share the same goals with you. Organize a study group together and gather at the library or coffee shop. You could also go to the anti-cafe and spend a day studying together and working on your writing for the classes with your partners. Give hand to your friends and try teaching each other whenever you don’t understand the material. Well, pursuing the career of your dream has always been a hard path to follow. It’s important to stay on track and not give up when facing difficulties. As Aristotle once said, â€Å"The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.†. Remember not to lose belief in your powers, even when it seems like nothing goes in the right way. Don’t be worried about all of the assignments and homework you get in college - give the work you don’t enjoy doing to the experts in the field. You already know how to do these papers, so don’t hesitate to free your time with the help of professional writing services.

Crusade

Crusade Crusade Crusade By Maeve Maddox The word crusade, used as both noun and verb, derives from a Latin verb meaning â€Å"to mark with a cross.† Middle English adopted the Old French form, croisee. When the OF spelling shifted to croisade, English speakers started spelling it that way too. Finally, in the 18th century, the spelling was Anglicized to crusade. The Crusades were European-led wars that began in the 11th century with the intention of recapturing Jerusalem and other places in the Holy Land that had been conquered by Muslims in the 7th century, seven years after the death of Muhammad. The last attempt by a European king to recover the Christian sites was in 1272. The earliest OED citation for croisade in reference to these wars is dated 1557. In the 18th century, crusade acquired a figurative meaning separate from the idea of a religious war. The noun came to mean â€Å"an aggressive movement against something perceived as a public evil.† The first documentation of this use occurs in 1786 in the writings of Thomas Jefferson: â€Å"Preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance.† For more than 200 years, crusade has served English speakers as a useful word to signify any kind of zealous support or opposition carried on in the name of the public good, for example: Rep. Claude Pepper, who crusaded for Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal in the 1930s and was still championing the rights of the elderly a half-century later, died today at 88.   For years, I’ve been on a crusade to help people boost their productivity by strengthening their writing so they can avoid the problems that come with sending unclear messages. Klonsky is talking about the zealots, backed by multimillionaires, who are crusading against teachers unions as they claim to fight for the reform of public education. Kentucky has now, by reason of this legislation, decided to become educated - and we have embarked on a crusade for that purpose. Public School Crusaders Stake Out Rival Camps in Austin Sunday Express launches crusade for better mental health In the present political climate, the figurative use of crusade seems to be coming to an end as it joins others on the list of politically incorrect words: Campus Crusade Changes Name to Cru Ministry leaders worry that the word â€Å"crusade† has too many negative associations. President Bushs reference to a crusade against terrorism, which passed almost unnoticed by Americans, rang alarm bells in Europe.    Crusade is already coming in for criticism in some writing guides. This is from a UK university writing guide: Example 1: Crusade against crime Example 2: Campaign against crime The word ‘crusade’ has connotations of a battle and is more aggressive in tone than the word ‘campaign’. ‘Campaign’ implies a more considered approach. A style manual for Christian writers offers this advice: The terms  crusade  and crusades  are legitimate  words  in most contexts, although they should be  avoided  when used figuratively for Christian evangelism, modern military campaigns, or any effort to promote beliefs or values cross-culturally. As Western government spokesmen and journalists take care to avoid the English word crusade, the Arabic borrowing jihad comes to mind. Like crusade in English, jihad has two meanings in its language of origin: â€Å"a holy war against unbelievers† and â€Å"a struggle or effort to do good.† Here are some alternatives for politically correct writers who wish to phase out crusade in the figurative sense: crusade (noun): campaign drive push movement effort struggle offensive crusade (verb): work strive struggle fight agitate lobby champion promote Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names8 Writing Tips for BeginnersEmpathic or Empathetic?

Heineken Canada Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Heineken Canada - Research Paper Example Heineken has a strategically plotted acquisition policy to create commanding positions in key national markets. It tends to acquire major shares in national or local breweries that have strong national brands so as to have a good coverage of the regional or national market.Secondly, the company has a new top management structure aimed at driving and supporting growth as a global organization. It has also created a new mores stream Executive Board to connect operations, functions, and finance in a more effective way to create strengths for global functions and operating regions.Finally, Heineken believes in the delivery and concept of quality thereby creating benefit and value for Heineken as well as their reputation.Heineken mainly targets all adult consumers. However, its commercials portray its drinkers as successful, sociable, and fun revealing that it mainly targets successful middle-class men. It targets males from the ages of 22-35 particularly those who follow sports, like rug by because they completely support the Irish Rugby Heineken Cup. Nonetheless, nowadays Heineken also addresses the young in the population through differentiated mass market strategy. It also uses new packaging and a new format to attract women.The products of Heineken Canada are used across the globe. Its products are widely used and enjoyed in most cultures and countries around the world due to its strong brand recognition. It has been successfully exported and distributed to every corner of the world.

Rhetorical Situation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhetorical Situation - Essay Example So, different writers write best in different environments. However, there are some similarities among these writers. They are acquire new ideas for writing. Moreover, they are also good readers of their own work especially when revising. Through these, they shape their writing styles and gain more experience as well. I different writers work best in different environment and time They say all writers write with a thought in mind that somebody will read their work. Experienced writers normally consider audience as one of the most crucial factors when compiling their works. They do this by keeping the audience in their minds and using language and tone accordingly. Inexperienced writers, on the other hand, write as if they do not expect other people to go through their work. When talking of audience, there are two types; an individual whom the writer may or may not know and a group that may include several people whom the writer does not know. The two audiences are particular audience and universal audiences. I say audience is a crucial factor for any writer. This is the motive or aim that a writer always hopes to accomplish through writing. Some of these aims are: amusing people, discovering oneself, conveying information, exploring ideas and evaluating something. However, the primary aim of all writers is to persuade readers. Writers normally begin with one topic and narrow it down. For instance a writer writing about abortion may narrow it down to effects of abortion. This is meant to give the readers more detailed information concerning some parts of the topic. Entering into a conversation is whereby a writer reads about a certain topic, understands the concepts and controversies that relates to that particular topic. The writer then becomes aware of a large communication going on. Therefore, he or she begins to see his or her own place in the conversation. He discovers his own ideas and stance on

Civil War Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Civil War - Research Paper Example Belgian rule created more of an ethnic divide between the Tutsi and Hutu. Tutsis, who were visually fair in complexion and usually taller, were considered superior to the Hutus and had their roots in the region for centuries. The Belgian government being aware of that fact supported Tutsi political power. Each individual was issued a racial identification card which stated one as legally Hutu or Tutsi. By 1931, an ethnic identity was officially mandated and each Rwandan possessed an ethnic identity card at that time (Globalsecurity.org, 2011). Tutsis due to their superior racial status started exploiting their power over Hutu majority. There was discrimination all over the region. Any person owning 10 or more cattle was considered as a member of the Tutsi class. The Hutus were treated as the third class citizens and were not given any opportunity to excel in the society. Even the education system was entirely different for both groups. This created a sense of social injustice and hat red among the Hutus for Tutsi behavior and started rebelling against them. In 1960, the Belgian diplomats surprised everyone by reversing their favoritism and encouraged Hutu uprising in the name of democracy. In the same year, Belgium government decided to hold democratic elections in Rwanda-Burundi region. The Hutu majority elected Hutu representatives ending Tutsi monarchy. By 1962, Rwanda had become a Hutu dominated state and most of the Tutsis were exiled, if not killed, to the neighboring countries for their undesirable behavior with the Hutus (Phillip, 2000). By 1990, Hutus had gained full control and were administering the country. But there still was political unrest due to slumping economy and food shortages. The main reason however was something else. The Tutsis who were exiled more than 30 years ago were now grouping together in an attempt to overthrow Hutu led government in Rwanda and also to attain the right to live there. As a result, Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) was formed with the help of Ugandan army consisting mostly of Tutsi refugees or their descendants who were exiled earlier. The RPF, under the command of Major General Fred Rwigema began to pressurize Rwandan government and demanded Habyarimana, the Rwandan president, to make concessions and allow Tutsis to freely live there and be a part of the democratic system in the country. Habyarimana, after not being able to satisfy RPF’s demands and also RPF’s unwillingness to wait any longer and trust any longer the Rwandan government to fulfill its promises led RPF to wage civil war in the country (Globalsecurity.org, 2011). On 1st October, 1990, around 50 RPF rebels crossed the Ugandan border into Rwanda killing a guard at the Kagitumba border post. Hundreds more followed them with artillery and support provided to them by the Ugandan National Army. In few days after the first attack, the RPF army had advanced 60km to the south in the town of Gabiro creating violence and chaos in the region. This forced the government to launch a counterattack on RPF. The Rwandan Armed Forces (RAF) had a greater army and more advanced weaponry provided to them by the French as compared to rebels. However, RPF forces continued to invade Rwanda and more and more troops were deployed. As the civil war continued in the north, opposition to the government increased in Kigali. President Habyarimana was placed under immense pressure to take democratization measures and

Quran Essay Essay Example for Free

Quran Essay Essay Among the innumerable facts, this writing will contribute two facts only: First, the Quran contains many scientific facts that are only being found out recently. The Quran’s linguistic style is far superior then any other form of writing. Without a doubt men have negated and contested the truth and revelation from God including the Quran revealed to prophet Mohamed (sallahu alahi wa salaam). For that reason, men in their objection and adamant behavior suggested that the Quran is word of Mohamed or the Quran is created by Mohamed; such statement is away from the truth. Undoubtedly there are other verses in the Quran related to human development that will be understood in the future as our knowledge increases. † In the Quran, Allah (subhanahu wa tala) also speaks about the Cerebrum: ( ) ( ) (Nay! If he (Abu Jahl) ceases not, We will catch him by the forelock (the front part of the brain also known as the prefrontal lobe) (15) A lying, sinful forelock! (96:15-16) Why does Allah describe the front part of the brain to be lying and sinful? In recent research scientists have found out that the prefrontal lobe actually controls a person’s decision making, cognitive behavior, personality expression, and moderating social behavior (Yang, Y Prefrontal structure†¦). This part of the brain also deals with the creation of thoughts and actions (Miller, Earl the prefrontal cortex†¦). This shows that the prefrontal lobe is the part of the brain that may engage in sinful behavior and entices someone to lie or not. This also shows that the Quran does confirm scientific facts and there is no way an unlettered nomadic Arab man[5] in the 7th century could have known these facts. The pagan Arabs of the 7th century were for the most part isolated from the two great empires[6] at that time. The two empires did not waste their time in conquering the vast Arabian deserts because of its plain and unattractive look. The Arabs had nothing, they didn’t have any monuments, and they didn’t have masterful pieces of art. Therefore the Arabs of Mecca[7] were not much of a concern to the two empires; as well the two empires were not willing to send their forces through the dangerous deserts. Thanks to this isolation, the Arabs were able to refine their language. After a few centuries, the Arabs had shaped their language into an eloquent language where everyman was known to be a poet. The Arabs prided themselves on their language. So much so, they would have tribal battles not with swords but rather their tongues and the losing tribe would be shamed. The pagan Arabs marveled at the amazing speech of the Quran. When a person speaks he is able to organize his thoughts, but a person is incapable of organizing their words based on what they are going to say later . For example, there are two ayahs that are very much the same one ayah states: â€Å"Say (O Muhammad): Allah is enough as a witness between me and you†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The other ayah states: â€Å"Say (O Muhammad): Allah is enough between me and you as a witness † The difference is sequence, in the first ayah Allah says â€Å"witness† first, and â€Å"me and you’ later. The Quran is very sensitive to context, at the end of the first ayah Allah says â€Å"†¦he is the ever all knower, all seer of his slaves†. The ayah ends speaking about Allah, the word â€Å"witness† for Allah is used first so therefore the ayah begins with Allah and ends with Allah. While the second ayah ends with speaking about people it uses â€Å"between me and you† first then â€Å"witness† second. So the ayah begins with speaking about people and ends with speaking with people. So what is about to be said in the future has a direct influence on how words are organized before. Humans are unable to do that. Prophet Muhammad (sallahu alahi wa salaam) was never known to be a composer of any types of poetry or any other forms of literature. So when they heard this literature they were amazed. â€Å"Umar bin Al-Khattab was a great enemy of the prophet. He planned to kill the prophet, but on his way he was informed that his sister had joined the religion. He immediately changed course. Upon arrival he hit his sister. He regretted what he did so asked for the paper she was reading (containing ayahs of the Quran). Once he read it he immediately went to prophet (sallahu alahi wa salaam) and accepted Islam†. Umar bin Al-Khattab was a man that was amazed by the Quran’s linguistic style and its strong meaning. This is one of the many men who accepted Islam because of the Quran’s amazing speech. The famous Arab grammarian H. Gibb had this to say about the Quran: â€Å"As a literary monument the Koran (referring to the Quran) thus stands by itself, a production unique to the Arabic literature, having neither forerunners nor successors in its own idiom. Muslims of all ages are united in proclaiming the inimitability not only of its contents but also of its style†¦ and in forcing the High Arabic idiom into the expression of new ranges of thought the Koran develops a bold and strikingly effective rhetorical prose in which all the resources of syntactical modulation are exploited with great freedom and originality. John Penrice stated: â€Å"That a competent knowledge of the Koran is indispensable as an introduction to the study of Arabic literature will be admitted by all who have advanced beyond the rudiments of the language. From the purity of its style and elegance of its diction it has come to be considered as the standard of Arabic † These two men have an understanding of the linguistic exc ellence of the Quran. Allah says: Do they not then consider the Quran carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein many contradictions. (Quran 04:82). The Quran contains many palindromes; palindromes in many languages can only be done with one word. For example, in the English language the word Race Car can be written the same backward. In the Quran there are entire sentences that are palindromes. For example, in the Quran, Allah says: ( ) Magnify your Lord (Allah)! (Quran 74:3) In conclusion, the Quran has impacted the world in many ways. The Quran was not only sent to the desert Arabs but rather it was sent to all of mankind. Allah sends out a challenge, Allah (subhanahu wa tala) says: ( ) â€Å"And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i. e. the Quran) to Our slave (Muhammad Peace be upon him), then produce a Surah of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful. † (Quran 2:23) The Quran is a revelation from Allah and it was revealed upon the tongue of Muhammad (sallahu alahi wa salaam). The Quran contains many scientific facts ranging from embryology to the purpose of the frontal lobe. All of this presented in a beautiful linguistic form, so much so when the Quran is translated into English, the language’s primitive level is unable to display the Quran’s linguistic beauty. This renders the English native unable to appreciate the Quran in a way the pagan Arabs of the 7th century were able. The Quran reaches the top level of eloquence in the Arabic language as well as other languages. The idea of Muhammad (sallahu alahi wa salaam) being able to go from being a unlettered man to the top author in the Arabic language is impossible on all plains of reality. Therefore, the only logical reason to say is that Muhammad (sallahu alahi wa salaam) has received revelation from the Almighty. QURAN: A REVELATION? Name: Harun O. G Course: GLE20 Teacher: Ms. Vacar Date: April 09, 2011 1]sallahu alahi wasalm means peace be upon him [2] Allah is the Arabic word for God and is preferred(to Muslims) [3] subhanahu wa tala means glorified and exalted be he(Allah) [4] Ayat: this is the plural version of Ayah, this word does not have a direct translation in English but the closest one is verse. In other places in the Quran ayah means signs. [5] According to sources Prophet Muhammad (sallahu alahi wasalm) was a illiterate man [6] Persian and Roman empire [7] Is found in Saudi Arabia and is th e holiest city for Muslims

Methods of Investment Appraisal and Financial Statement Analysis

Methods of Investment Appraisal and Financial Statement Analysis The purpose of this report is to assess various method of investment appraisal and financial statement analysis and and finaly recommendation on choosing stratefic portfolio. Task 1 Forcasting There are various to forecast from the past result and find out what is going to happen future The simplest method for forcasting revenue and cost through time series analysis with simple moving average for example Using moving average the forcast for next months will be Forcast jan+febà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..to dec divided by 12 months and answer is for July the forcast would be 31.58 or 32 and so on. Trend is systermatic (gradual) increase or decrease in average over time while seasonal forcasting is the predictable short term cycling behaviour for whatever reason day month week etc For example assume the following market share of tesco in the next year Seasonal Factor Average Seasonal factor Month 2007 2006 2007 2006 Jan 31 30.6 1.02 1.02 1.02 Feb 32 30.4 0.99 1.03 1.01 Mar 35 30.6 0.91 1.02 0.96 Apr 33 31 0.96 1.01 0.98 May 31 31.4 1.02 0.99 1.01 Jun 29 31.5 1.10 0.99 1.04 Jul 30 31.6 1.06 0.99 1.02 Aug 31.4 31.4 1.01 0.99 1.00 Sep 33.1 31.2 0.96 1.00 0.98 Oct 32.2 31.4 0.99 0.99 0.99 Nov 32.34 31.4 0.98 0.99 0.99 Dec 31.1 31.4 1.02 0.99 1.01 Average  £31.76  £31.16 Now if we want to find market share of tesco in January of 2008 January forcast = Average forcast multiply by seasonal factor which is 1.02 If average mothly forcast for the year is 30 then forcast for January will be 30*1.02 = 30.6 Task 1 part 2 Its very know and understandable fact that start a new business or growing it require a lot of hard work ,planning and right kind of financing with a team of dedicated peoples. There are all source of finance which can be used to finance but each of them has some benefit or edge over in some way or other. Therefore deciding which source of financing should we use is a lots home work together ability to face issues coming up and ability to take decisions. Money (Capital) is life blood of any business and business cannot survive without capital. Keeping plan flexible Thinking big and move fast Business should move on when raising capital Strong management team What amount capital required depended what we want to achieve and our experience e and credit worthiness and stage of growth at which we stand together general factor such market trends and economic condition. There are various sources of finance depend on business 1) Self Financing: Self Financing Financing through credit card and is the most riskiest option and costly as interest rate on credit cards are very high and amount available is normally low subject credit evaluation conducted by bank. Start up Financing is another method whereby a business can put cash into the new business generated through various different source till it is reach to level to generate further financing itself. 2) Commercial Financing by Bank Business can get commercial financing if they have track record or they have something to give as security to bank. Commercial financing is very important and fundamental way to finance a specific project and normally bank will agree to finance if there is home work done with regards to feasibility. The disadvantage is company has to bear risk of loss and bank will charge interest which is great cost Though these are disadvantages still commercial finance through bank most widely use to finance a specific project. 3) Share Issue A newly establish company can issue Initial public offering to raise finance from public but a lot of home work require. Private Companies can issue new shares in the form rights issue or bonus issue but cant advertise them. Initially company can finance itself equity investment by investors. Later on merger or acquisition of limited company is very good source raising finance by issuing shares. Share issue is quite unusual way to raise money for specific project its time consuming and lengthy process but its one the less riskiest way. 5) Finding Investor/Partner Finding a person, group or organization to fund business is another form of financing to raising capital .the advantage if this method is risk is shared between partners and disadvantage is worth generates from business is divided between one more peoples according partnership agreement. There are many other sources of finance for small business like local government initiatives on lending program and commercial companies providing finance etc. Some big companies are really cash rich and therefore they look opportunities to invest cash and therefore they can act as strategic investors. Task 2 There are vaious method appraise financial returns on various competing project. The most important of them are 1) Payback period 2) Net present value 1 Pay back period Lets take a example if there are two projects where initial investment is 60m while one give return as following Year Amount 1 10 2 25 3 30 4 28 While another project give returns as Year Amount 1 13 2 20 3 25 4 50 Solution Project One Year Amount Remaining Investment 0 60 1 10 50 2 25 25 3 30 25 4 28 Project Two Year Amount Remaining Investment 0 60 1 13 47 2 20 27 3 25 2 4 50 2 iniital investment returne The first project here pay its entire investment in three years while the second projecgt pay its entire investment four year time so according payback period method project two should be selected. Payback period doesnt account for time value of money therefore not very effective method 2. Net Present Value Taking the same example above if we analyse them (we need discount factor which cost of capital to discount future cash flows. Lets assume it as 10% Year Amount Discount Factor Present Vaue 0 1 10 0.909 9.09 2 25 0.826 20.65 3 30 0.751 22.53. 4 28 0.683 19.124 71.394 Project Two Year Amount Remaining Investment Present Vaue 0 1 1 13 0.909 11.817 2 20 0.826 16.52 3 25 0.751 18.775 4 50 0.683 34.15 81.262 The Net present value of second project is more than first one therefore e according to npv method second project is more profitable. Select appropriate and relevant financial information for use in the process of making strategic decisions on investment There are vaious ways to analyse investment each has it own merit and demerit but mostly to analyse investment we required some basic information to make our decision on. If we are comparing two or more competing projects we can do by using investment appraisal techniques like net present value etc We need some basis information to calculate and appraise and finally take investment decision which Approximate amount of total investment required for the project The future cash flow whether inflow or outflow that can be generated from the project. The minimum required return . If we are going to invest in a company we need to focus on two main factor which are how much dividend it pays through ratios called dividend cover and dividend yield and how much capital gain we can get by movement in share price relevant ratios are price earning ratio, earning per share etc. For the above calculation we need exact amount of Dividend paid during the year Share price Profit after tax Number of ordinary share issued This information can be drawn from the financial statement of targeted company. The future investment can be based on basis of past performance of selected companies The investment in company to acquire needs other consideration which is based on various financial as well as non financial factors but mostly following factors are taken into account . Company financial health through calculation of various ratio profitability, gearing , liquidity and efficiency etc The vision, mission , goals and objectives of the acquiring company and strategies to achieve those and many more. Therefore decision regarding acquisition or mergers required comprehensive analysis. Make recommendations based on a post-audit appraisal on the appropriateness of selected investment project decisions The payback period is simplest method to decide between competing project which one is the best but it ignore time value of money Net present value account for time value of money and is one of the mostly used way to appraise competing projects but it is complex and and require some figures to give correct answer like discount rate etc For investment in the shares of company we need financial information such as share price dividend eps etc but selection of company to invest in its share depends on many other factors like if the investing entity want to invest for long term or short term For long term investements share price moment is more important than dividend or vice versa. Task 3 Financial Statements Analyse financial statements using relevant techniques to assess the financial viability of an Tesco for 2008 The financial statement of any organization can be analysed by calculation of ratio and each ratio has its own significance and importance. There is hard and fast rule and no parameters to judge performance of each and every company against but its very subjective and depend on company and industry in which it operates. Let assume the following financial statement belong to company called Simon Sparks and analyse its financial statement. Simon Sparks Profit and Losss Account the period ended 30June 200X  £  £  £ Sales 292,000.00 Less Sales returns 13,800.00 Net Sales 278,200.00 Carriage outwards 15,000.00 263,200.00 Less cost of good sold S Opening stock 15,100.00 Purchases 135,600.00 Less Purchase returns 5,200.00 130,400.00 Less Closing Stock 16,200.00 129,300.00 Gross Profit 133,900.00 Bad debts 2,200.00 Advertising 6,000.00 Electricity Gas 11,100.00 Salaries and wages 37,200.00 Insurance 5,700.00 Motor expenses. 16,600.00 Postage stationery 2,400.00 Rent rates 20,900.00 102,100.00 Net Profit 31,800.00 Less Drawings 15,800.00 Retained Profit Balance Sheet as at 30 June as of 30 June 200X Non Current Asset ( . Fixtures Fittings @ cost 60,300.00 Motor vehicle @ cost 42,000.00 Total Non Current Asset 102,300.00 Current Asset Cash 600.00 Trade debtors 24,000.00 Closing stock 16,200.00 Total Current Asset 40,800.00 Total Asset 143,100.00 Liabilities and Owners Equity Capital 83,800.00 Retained Profit 16,799.00 100,599.00 Non Current Liabilities Current Liabilities Bank Overdraft 5,600.00 Trade Creditors 36,901.00 Total liabilities plus capital 143,100 126,699.00 All businesses exist to make profit in some way or other and to measure profitablilty we have many ratio to analyse same data from different aspects. Retuen on capital employeed is a primary ratio to assess profitablitly of any orgnization and its one of most widly used ratio.It is calculated by Dividing Profit before interest and tax with capital plus long term liability In the case of Simon spark it is 32% which can be assume as very good performance interims of profitability but ratio cant be analyses in standalone way they must be compared with some industry average competitor or past performance to evaluate and we dont ant information available here. Simon Park has managed to generate gross sale of  £292,000 which is really commendable as long as data is reliable and comparable. The Gross profit ratio shows companys profit margin when selling price is compared with cost of sale. The GP ratio of Simon spark is 51% which is really commendable and appreciatable but remember we are assuming that data is not only reliable but trustable. The other factor to measure profitability is net profit 6% here we see how effectively and efficiently day to day operation are run by management. Surprisingly the net profit margin is just 6% it is definably not very good indication of good performance but due to limitation of information for comparison we are unable to give conclusive remarks but 6% is very low and it shows though company is earning profits but its not working efficiently and effectively. The most significant expenses are salaries and wages followed by rent and rates. We dont know if its inefficient management but definitely I think there is enough room for improvement Liquidity Liquidity ratios are very important as company can be profitable but if not liquid enough can run to insolvency or at least find it self in big problems. Liquid assets are those which can easily convert in to cash with in short duration of time. The examples are cash, debtor, stock etc. The most important of liquidity ratio is current ratio which shows current assets as number of times to current liabilities and it is very widely used in business world. There is no specific ratio which can be said as good enough or bad as it varies from industry to industry and company to company. Simon Sparks current ratio is 1.5 times it mean it has 50% more liquid asset to meet it immediate needs. Its not bad but considering limitation of information we can assume its up to standard of industry. But there is more important ratio coming out of current ratio it is quick ratio. In quick ratio we dont consider stock as quickly convertible into cash asset and therefore remove it. The quick ratio of simpn spark is 0.94 times which cant be said either good enough or bad for the reason mention above. Carry out a performance audit of an organisation including reference to internal and external factors Performance audit is audit of mainly(management operations ,function or procedures of) not for profit or governmental organization to ensure value for money (economy efficiency and effectiveness ) in utilization of resource by using systematic professionally designed and conduct methodologies which are generally accepted and well structured. Few benefits of performance audit is Improving organisational performance A tool to increase efficiency Policy and performance Legal imperative Performance audit may include detection of fraud and error but its not included everytime there fore scope of permance audit must define and given in writing prior to start of work Performance audit using internal factors might be for example in production it may number of units produce in a one hour compare with standared or ideal performance For financial performance profit can be compare from period to another with cost of sale and revenue to ensure resource are used properly and generate value for money External factors to consider for performance audit are comparision of per unit cost with major competitor to ensure VFM (value for money economy, efficiency and effectiveness is achieved . Comparision of number of staff with equivalent or similar company or employee productivity with similar organization Performance audit is not define in any standered and can include anything but it is different from performance measurement. Use appropriate calculations to improve the quality of financial information used The quality of information is very important because its not reliable and relevant than its useless most business try to spend thousand to avoid the lost of money but unfortunately lack of focus on right cause more loss. The reliable and timely financial information is essential for success and to avoid loss and making wrong decision on the basis of misleading information. Financial in itself is very vast and full of useful information but its generall and everyone has to take this information and use it assess their own purpose for example a company can generate huge profits say Company A has revenue of  £100 million while gross profit is  £50 million and net profit  £25 million. A lay men can conclude fromthis information that companys is performing really well and generating good profits but what if we got data the competitor of same size earn profit  £1000 m with Gross profit ratio of 70% unlike our 50%. Even worse can happen like company is generating huge profits but its running out of cash to pay its immediate liabilities . Creditors have right to appeal in court and prove company as defaulter and therefore cease its existence. So calculation of various ratio from the broad set of financial statement help in understanding actual position of company regarding its competitors. I Make recommendations on the strategic portfolio of an organisation based on the interpretation of financial and ancillary information The world is moving very fast and there is increasing competition with increasing globalization and opening of borders therefore organization need to update themselves with latest information and predict future and prepare for it Organizations have many reason to believe that they have to prepare themselves before the storm and therefore they are required to identify, find and use the required information whether financial or other to prepare themselves for the future. There are various strategies an organization can follow to achieve its objectives. A company should diversify if they have access to adequate resource (financial or other)and technical capability to achieve success. Diversification bring competitive advantages as with mergers as economies of scale and information asymmetry can achieved . Strategic portfolio may include developing and investing in new technologies to achieve competitive advantage as technology as key to success. The factor which can be consider for strategic portfolio is to develop new products and or improve exsiting one to compensate those products whose lifecycle is about to finish . Partnership with international companies or local companies to enter new ventures is also a great option and by doing this organization can not diversify but loss in case of failure is share between partners and there will be access to new and usesful information by working with another organization. These are the few reformation which an organization should consider to develop there strategic portfolio and its quite subjective and can vary from one organization to another. 30.6 30.4 30.6 31 31.4 31.5 31.6 31.4 31.2 31.4 31.4 31.4