Patton-Fuller Community Hospital Essay

Team C has identified that the Human Resources Department of Patton-Fuller Community Hospital has primary system deficiencies with the information security and lack of information. The records are currently open to all system users, exposing personal information to the Internet through the public website. The requirements for updating the Human Resources operating system have been identified using a specification checklist for updating software for the department including payroll and accounting. Team C has gathered the business requirements to understand the needs of the Human Resources department. The department currently operates on an Apple iMac with 2 gigahertz, 350-megabyte hard drive wireless with Mac OS X including Leopard and Windows XP. All patient files are encrypted for storage using AES. Advanced Encryption Standard is highly secure using 256-bit AES encryption for sensitive data. The Human Resource department also needs to have their sensitive data secure. The Human Resources department performs many functions including all of the accounting for the hospital. The hospital accounting and finance needs to operate using a secure and sophisticated software system. Updating the software to be able to perform accounting records is crucial to determine the financial soundness of Patton-Fuller Community Hospital. Patient accounts and billing must be secure and the software to be modified and updated should be too easy to learn and work with. Further research needs to be conducted if off-the-shelf software should be purchased or if the software should be modified or developed specifically for the department. Marketing communication is relatively designed to sell the value and benefits of the project to the stakeholders, which includes the healthcare providers, insurance companies, and pharmacies that are willing to invest in an organization working towards an accessible, affordable healthcare system such as the one that will be provided by Fuller-Patton Community Hospital. Team C has chosen to use branding as the source of marketing communication since it is indeed known to be the most sophisticated. The primary purpose of branding is to establish an identity that conjures up a positive image (Mochal, 2007). Our purpose in implementing this new software system is to assure the stockholders with this positive image, reflection and emotion  when a person hears of the new product. In order for Team C to make sure that the positive image is captured we will need to ask one another some important questions such as:Will this new system require a change in the way people perform their jobs and will this project make the business workers nervous as a result of efficiencies that will ultimately require less people to do the same function? As long as Team C holds a steady stream of positive communication amongst one another during the implementation of this project for the Human Resource Department then the project will be successful and should help overcome any negative perceptions one may have about the project. As a marketing research strategy Team C should implement a survey or questioner on how consumers in the local and surrounding areas gather information regarding hospitals and healthcare, as well as to what type of documentation the consumers are getting the information from such as the Internet, family, newspapers, friends, television, radio and possible hospital pamphlets or flyers. Once the information from the survey or questionnaire is gathered it should supply us with the insight of just how much the consumer’s friends and families have on the organization and patient satisfaction. This will guide Team C into the direction that they need in order to come up with the best image to fit the needs of Patton-Fuller Community Hospital. Team C can also set their marketing research plans toward is employee satisfaction and increase administrative efficiency by implementing Magic Service Desk for the Human Resources department. Magic Service Desk has the ability to track all employee requests while providing him or her with instant answers to policies and procedure questions. This will be an instant way that Team C can improve Patton-Fuller’s organizational efficiency by automating the Human Resources processes and empowering all employees to help them with access to the knowledge base and retrieve the available FAQ’s that they so desperately need. Mochal, T. (2007). Use branding techniques to build a positive image for your project. BNET Business Network. Retrieved on 12 Oct 2008 from: http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6162466.html

The Shawnee Tribe

The Shawnee Tribe Did you know that the Shawnee Indian tribe is a fascinating tribe? I recently have learned that they are nomads. Nomads are people who travel instead of settling in one place. Southern Ohio, West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania were a couple of states they once lived in. Until around 1660 Iroquois drove out the tribe to southern Carolina, Tennessee’s Cumberland basin, eastern Pennsylvania, and southern Illinois. They had tried to return, but again they were forced to leave by American settlers.The settlers pushed them first to Missouri and then to Kansas, but the Shawnee people settled in Oklahoma after the Civil War. The Shawnee survived using various methods of hunting and gathering. Both men and women had responsibilities in providing food. They hunted many animals including deer, squirrel, turkey, raccoon, bear, muskrat, rabbit, and ducks/geese. They set traps for the animals, and they disguised themselves to blend in with their surroundings to get clo se enough to club or shoot them. People never wasted anything; they used all the different parts for different things.In January and February they hunted beaver for their pelts and meat to trade with the settlers. In the summer time they, and during fall, groups of men and women would leave the village and hunt. Small temporary lodges were used. Another way to get food was to plant or gather it. They planted beans, squash, corn, pumpkins, and melons but corn was their main food. They gathered wild berries, nuts, maple, roots, and wild honey. In the springtime women planted crops and summer through fall they gathered wild plants and fruits.Tapping maple trees for sap was another thing they did. Raiding beehives was also popular to get honey. The women were mostly responsible for planting, harvesting, and taking care of crops. Roles for people are very important because the people would know what their job was and what other’s jobs were. Men were very important because they mos tly hunted, carved wood into ladles, bowls, and spoons, were in charge of politics and war, and were warriors. Women had many roles, but some were harder than others. They built homes and fires, dressed the game, cooked, lanted crops, scraped skins and tanned hides, made clothing, wove blankets, and made vessels of clay. They also served as advisors of peace and war. They managed all farming activities and ceremonies in the village. Both men and women took part in storytelling, artwork, music, and traditional medicine. Young girls learned from their mothers how to gather wild foods, plant crops, care for children and perform household duties. Boys were taught to hunt and fight from their fathers. At age nine, boys began special training and self-discipline. Parents were strict, and the children were seldom punished.They were expected to be the judge of their own behavior. However, the parents expected high standards of behavior and responsibility. Special jobs of the Shawnee tribe i ncluded being a chief. Chiefs would handle problems and activities, good or bad and also dealt with problems that could not be resolved by individuals or families. War chiefs protected the tribe from enemy attack and decided when to go to war. They had to prove themselves in battle as leaders and warriors. Chiefs inherited their positions as peace, clan, or war chiefs. Peace chiefs could also call-off a war.The Thawikila and Chalaakaatha divisions were in charge of governing the people and chiefs came from one of the two divisions. Membership for one of the five divisions was inherited by the father’s side. Clothing of the Shawnee was homemade and you had to make your own clothes in order to stay warm. Deerskin clothing was what most Shawnee people wore. During the winter, men and women added loose shirts and leggings and would also wrap themselves in buffalo robes or fur cloaks made of bear or moose skins. Decorations were important to the tribe. They dyed clothing, porcupin e quills; and feathers and points were also used.Men wore headdresses made of animal fur and decorated them with feathers from a bird of prey such as an eagle, hawk, or owl. Men mostly wore shirts and leggings and women wore shirts with leggings or dresses. After contact with the European traders, the Shawnee began to own glass beads which they used on their clothing. Jewelry included silver pins, necklaces, and bracelets for women. Men liked to wear silver nose rings and earrings. Dances, music, and ceremonies were all important to the Shawnee tribe. Spring held a dance named â€Å"Spring Bread Dance† in which they prayed for plentiful crops.In the summer they held the â€Å"Green Corn Dance† in celebration for the growing of corn. Fall held the â€Å"Fall Bread Dance† where they prayed that game would be plentiful also and gave thanks for the harvest. Musical instruments included skin drums, gourd rattles, deer-hoofed rattles and sometimes reed flutes. Many di fferent tools were used by the Shawnee and they needed them to survive. They used hammers made of stone or other hard substance, some had handles and some did not. Knives and saws were made of shells, stone, or other materials. Borers were natural tools used for making holes in soft or hard objects.An axe was another tool made of shells, iron, or copper. The blade could easily turn at a right angle. It was held with your hands or attached in various ways to a handle by a rawhide. Some other weapons are bows and arrows, stone tomahawks, spears, and chipped flint arrow points. Homes and shelters were another item that was needed by the Shawnee. The home they lived in was called a wegiwa which were tree poles covered by bark or animal skin. The frame of the house was made of sapling tied together and covered with bark from elm or birch trees.When bark was not available animal skin was used. There were no windows and there was only one opening in one end for a door and a hole in the mid dle of the roof for the smoke from the cooking fire. In a pit in the middle of the floor is where they burned the fire. Inside walls were lined with raised wooden platforms that were used as beds. Homes were sometimes furnished with shelves, benches, and tables. The Shawnee’s way of life came to an end by splitting into small bands and moving away from others. The Shawnee had many wars with American settlers over land rights.One Native American named Tecumseh, who was an excellent communicator and military strategist, was admired greatly by the Shawnee. They followed his every command. During the Battle of Thames in 1813, Tecumseh was shot and killed. With his death the Shawnee people lost their spirit to fight. They then scattered and drifted in small bands into Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Some remained in Ohio. Between 1825 and 1900 the United States Government took more land rights away through various treaties. This led to more movement and most Shawn ee became part of a non-native society.The Shawnee tribe is so interesting and amazing. Shawnee people believe in one female God, Our Grandmother, and she created the earth and made people. When people grew old she scooped them up in nets and brought them to the sky. Also, the most sacred spirits to the Shawnee were Tobacco, Fire, Water, and Eagle. Daniel Boone was one of the most famous prisoners taken in war and was held for several months. During that time he made friends with them and participated in their games. When he went back to the settlers he realized that the Shawnee tribe was a friendly tribe.Another interesting fact about the Shawnee is that parents would plunge their babies into snow or freezing cold water every day for several months because they wanted to make their children tougher. The Shawnee tribe was fun to study and I learned a lot about their way of life and history. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bial, Raymond. The Shawnee. Tarrytown, New York. Benchmark Books, 2004. Flanagan , Alice K. The Shawnee. Canada. Children’s Press, 1998. Mattern, Joanne. The Shawnee Indians. Manakato, Minnesota. Bridgestone Books, 2001. Yacowitz, Caryn. Shawnee Indians. Chicago, Illinois. Heinemann Library, 2003. Additional research includes many websites

The Culture of Basseri Tribes of Iran Research Paper

The Culture of Basseri Tribes of Iran - Research Paper Example Culture plays a very important role in shaping behavior and attitudes and it is particularly true in spirituality and religion. It is believed that how a makes its living and the modes of subsistence has a strong impact on the culture. This paper aims at studying the culture of Basseri of Iran. Different modes of subsistence and its impact on the culture will be discussed. The Basseri culture and its various aspects of modes of subsistence such as Foragers, Horticulturist, Pastoralist, Emerging Agriculturist, Agrarian states or industrialist will also be discussed. Culture is a very vast field which is depicted in all strata’s of life that is beyond the scope of this paper. This paper will be restricted to only three aspects of culture namely social organization, kinship, beliefs and values. Basseri of Iran Basseri of Iran is the nomadic Muslim tribe that is mainly defined as a political group rather than geographical or ethnic criteria. The Basseri’s though mostly are geographically bounded and they inhabit the province of Fars and have migrated near the town of Shiraz along the mountain. This traditional Basseri culture still exists in Iran although there are new recent data available on them such as the size of the population. Language is a strong component of any culture. The language of Basseri is a dialect of Farsi called the Basseri dialect. Most of the members of the Basseri tribe can only speak Basseri dialect but a few also has command over Turkish and Arabic dialect. Basseri is a very old tribe of the area hence most of the population in southern Iran has ancestral link with Basseri. The east of Iran, Semnan, is inhabited by other nomadic groups such as Yazd-e-Khast, the Bugard-Basseri, and Basseri. However it is believed that all of them have rooted from the traditional Basseri of Fars. The political history of Basseri started in the mid-nineteenth century when Khamesh confederacy was formed. Basseri was part of it. The importance and influence of Basseri tribe grew with passage of time and they became an important political and social unit and hence diminished the power and authority of the confederacy. The habitat of the Basseri is hot and acrid climate of the Persian Gulf. They traditionally inhabit a large ecological range of 18,000 to 21,000 square kilometers. In the southern section there is a desert of about 600-900 kilometers whereas north has high mountains. Mountain precipitation supports reasonable vegetation and even foresting (Khanam, 2005). Modes of Subsistence Different modes of subsistence has evolved as societies and human civilizations evolved. This evolution process has been more or less the same throughout the world. The reason is that these modes of subsistence are derived from the needs and how these needs have been satisfied defines the progression of modes of subsistence. These modes of subsistence have a strong role to play in the definition of social structure, culture, values, beliefs a nd customs. Based on this concept many theories have been proposed for the progress and social change (Marko, 2008, issue 39). One such theory is proposed by Smith. According to him based on modes of subsistence and its impact on social institution and human activity, societies can be divided into four categories. Smith’s four stages of human civilization are age of hunters, age of Sheppard,

Opinion paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Opinion paper - Essay Example Speech features in interpersonal communication, organizational communication, group communication, and public speaking. A good speech is audible and clear. However, the human auditory system can understand speech in adverse conditions. This paper will focus on the intelligibility of periodically interrupted speech in speech communication. The paper will, rely on a research study, â€Å"Effects of low-pass filtering on intelligibility of periodically interrupted speech,† by Pranesh Bhargavaa and Deniz BaÅŸkent. The paper will focus on audibility, effect of audibility on perception of interrupted speech and factors causing reduced intelligibility of interrupted speech with hearing impairment as analyzed in the study. The study involved use of meaningful Dutch sentences on eight young undergraduate Dutch native students of both genders. The sentences were low-pass filtered and were left uninterrupted, or were interrupted by modulating with a periodic square wave. The listeners were then supposed to listen and repeat verbally what they have heard (Bhargavaa and BaÅŸkenta Web). Audibility of any speech is very necessary in communication. One needs to hear clearly in order to interpret reasonably. Biologically, the ability to speak and hear clearly seems to depreciate with age. However, other biological and general factors can affect the audibility of an individual’s speech like diseases and physical disabilities. According to the results drawn from the study, slow interruption rates reduced speech intelligibility. However, there was no effect of the fast interruption rate without the interruptions. There was no effect of low pass filtering on the speech intelligibility except on the lowest cut-off frequency and the highest filter orders. It was also observed that the increase of the filter order, decreased intelligibility of speech (Bhargavaa and BaÅŸkenta Web). Concerning the factors that cause the poor intelligibility of interrupted speech in hearing

Automotive Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Automotive Design - Essay Example When an automobile is being designed the customer's taste and expectation plays a very important role, as it affects the market and the sales. The competition in the automobile industry is growing day after day. Every company is trying hard to out beat the other in providing the customer with the best possible design and engineering. The future of automotive design will see different kinds of automobiles, such as, eco-friendly vehicles, custom made vehicles, vehicles that are not too heavy on the pocket and suit the lower middle class section of the society. Eco-friendly vehicles are on the rise. Moving away from the traditional form of fuel, that is petrol and diesel, vehicles are being designed to run on gas. Gas is not only cheaper than petrol and diesel; it is also fuel efficient and gives the vehicle a better mileage. Designing fuel efficient vehicles is on the rise as people are looking for vehicles that are cost effective and easy to maintain. Another advantage of vehicles that run gas or electricity is that they are eco-friendly and produce less pollution. Another design feature that is growing is start-stop.

British Gas. Proposal for Corporate Social Responsibility Program Research Paper

British Gas. Proposal for Corporate Social Responsibility Program - Research Paper Example Evidently, in the United Kingdom, the extreme weather periods during winter means that temperatures reach freezing levels that are highly unfavorable to the health of local inhabitants. To this end, the local populace has to adopt artificial warming strategies in order to cope with the harsh weather conditions. The heating services are normally offered by local heater service providers at a fee. In this regard, one such company is the British Gas Company located in the Middlesex County in London, United Kingdom. Evidently, the cost of maintaining such heater services normally rise drastically since the hours of heat warming are determined the length of the extremities of the winter period. In this regard, it is critical to point out the disparities in the levels of income that hamper the abilities of the lower income families to maintain their gas payment for the heater services. This most often results to a termination of the heater services and leaves the poor families susceptible to a host of health complications and life threatening situations. To this end, the necessity of a corporate social and responsibility plan is pertinent towards addressing the needs of the low income earners in Middlesex County without affordability to the high gas bills. Evidently, the Corporate Social Responsibility will aspire to achieve three pertinent issues, increase access of to gas provided by British gas; provide assistance in financial resource mobilization for the low income earners so as to increase their purchasing power; to lobby for incentive measures from the gas provider that will ensure access to low cost gas. Financial Issues in the Community The aftershocks of the global financial crisis greatly affected the economies of the European countries and the purchasing power of local households Moon. In this regard, the household incomes of various households across L ondon were negatively affected to the effect that the purchasing power of basic necessities was significantly decreased. The situation has been aggravated further by the rising costs of basic amenities such as food, clothing, and shelter. In addition, other essential commodities such as house heater services during winter climates have become increasingly unaffordable. This has been due to the increase in service charges for gas supply by provider companies such as British gas. To this end, the cheapest gas charges are at least three hundred pounds monthly (Social action plan and household energy efficiency: Ofgem : report 2004). This rate is above the purchasing power of very many low income households. Evidently, One in ten households in London households is unable to afford the high gas charges. To this end, the low income earners are subjected to health related risks arising from the harsh cold winter. These include pneumonia, frost bites, common cold among other. Furthermore, t he poor families are subjected to increased death rates arising from the extreme winter period. Evidently, a raft of measures needs to be introduced so as to increase the purchasing power of the low income earners, provide alternatives that guarantee low cost gas supply, and solicit for contributions that will go towards alleviating the cost of gas supply to the low income earners. Description of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program The precincts of a social responsibility program entails four major components. Foremost, a CSR program requires businesses to carry out their financial duties in a social responsible and ethical manner. Second, it entails ensuring that the safety of people and the environment is protected. Third, it involves ensuring

Performance and Reward Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Performance and Reward Management - Assignment Example The above issue is critically discussed in this paper. Reference is made particularly to the potential decrease of the payroll costs without the corporate plans to be affected. The reward practices, as a tool for supporting employee motivation, are analytically explained because of their high contribution in the increase of payroll costs. Particular emphasis is given on the problematic relations between the reward policies and practices since the above problems can negatively affect the payroll costs of organizations. A series of studies related to the issues under discussion have been studied. It is made clear that the limitation of payroll costs, as a strategic target of firms in different industries, is feasible; however, it is not clear whether the above finding involves in all organizations or whether there are organizations where the limitation of payroll costs is more difficult – especially when the need for increased profits, even in the short term is high and the limi tation of payroll costs would negatively affect such effort. In any case, the decrease of payroll costs should be adopted by all organizations, which are interested in establishing a long-term growth. The use of specific strategies, as indicatively suggested below, could help these firms to be protected from failures in their plans, as a potential consequence of the limitation of payroll costs across their departments. 2. Reward policies – role and forms In everyday business practice, the term ‘reward’ is used instead of the terms ‘salary’ and ‘wages’ (Cowling et al. 1998, p.173). In other words, the particular term is used in order to show all the potential benefits of an employee from his work in a specific organization. Moreover, the term reward can include both the monetary and the non-monetary benefits of employee in the workplace (Cowling et al. 1998, p.173). It should be noted that reward, as described previously, is part of a gre ater framework, the reward system, which has specific structure and rules as explained below. Moreover, in the context described above, reward can affect the payroll system of each organization (which under these terms is considered equal to the reward system). For this reason, the evaluation of the potential limitation of the payroll costs of a particular organization requires the reference to the reward system of the specific organization. The reward system of each organization can be differentiated, in accordance with the organizational culture and goals but also with the resources available for the realization of the relevant plans. In accordance with Armstrong (2007) the reward system established in modern organizations is likely to include a series of policies and practices, as for example: a) a reward strategy including the future plans of the organization regarding the payroll of employees, b) a reward strategy that refers to the terms on which the payment of employees in va rious organizational departments is based – compared to the average salary of employments within the same industrial sector; the particular strategy needs to be based on the relevant provisions of the law – referring both to the type of the reward given to each employee but also to the level of the reward, c) a reward practice referring to the techniques used for estimating the effectiveness of job evaluation techniques – as developed within the local or the international

Managerial complexity in project based operation Essay

Managerial complexity in project based operation - Essay Example The decision to undertake any meaningful project comes with a lot of challenging complexities that the project manger has to overcome to achieve success.Attempts to get a single concise definition for the term managerial complexity have virtually failed because there are no specific tools to measure levels of complexity of individual project. The Rational Rhapsody observes that â€Å"Levels of complexity can be measured in all kinds of ways, including the number of team members or components, complexity of the design, integration of legacy code, type of content management used, and geographical distribution of the team.† The complexity of projects varies in demand and input. However, an attempt to give a concise measure of complexity has been done by Carver et al (2008). In doing this, Kailash (2008) observes that the writers â€Å"present a qualitative empirical model which captures both structural (static) and dynamic elements of   managerial complexity in projects.† The major themes introduced in the model are structural complexity and dynamic complexity. Structural complexity The Carvers model tries to make the understanding of the structural complexity of project management look easier by introducing a model that serves as the benchmark for determining the complexity of the structure of every project. In determining the structural complexity of a project, the writers put forth five (5) major dimensions from which the structural complexity of a project would be measured. The five dimensions, Mission, Organisation, Delivery, Stakeholders and Team. These are dimensions that help in determining the structural complexity of managing a project. Since the model helps in determining the structural complexity of a project, it is referred to as structural complexity model. To make it easier to remember the dimensions upon which the structural complexity is determined, an acronym, MODeST was developed to represent the first letter of each of the dimen sions and the first two letters of ‘delivery’ in the dimension. The model represents an empirical basis for measuring the complexity of projects globally. This is because typical challenges faced by complexity in project and programme environments in the management of all major projects around the world can be measured on the basis the dimensions of MODeST. Project managers are putting behind traditional project management strategies to get adapted to the realities of the structural complexity as proposed by Carvers et al (2008). â€Å"Until now, project management has lagged behind other corporate processes in its quest for simplicity while global entities have embraced complexity, even chaos† (Management Concepts, 2011). A typical real life example can be given with the setting up of an iPhone industry. With the establishment of an iPhone industry as a case study, such an industry follows the structure of MODeST as discussed above. To with, the company starts w ith a mission, starting their aims and objectives for venturing into business. These aims and objectives lays bare their vision and what they want to get out of the establishment of the business. As part of their mission, there is scale of operation which includes long timescale. Stating a mission would of course not be complete or valid without stating what possible uncertainties and constraints are there to be face. Some of these constraints include legal acquisition of licence. Such as business are would also put an organisational structure in place. As part of their organisation, the company would specify time frame of operation, trade or market space, and possible restructuring that would have to take place in the company either immediately or in the nearest future. Next, the industry will consider their delivery mode after production starts. To do this, they get an administration and management in place to take care of all duties that has to do with major decision making. Ther e would also be a mapping strategy to determine the project

Logicial Fallacies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Logicial Fallacies - Assignment Example . To give a perfectly good example of the Slippery Slope fallacy, one only has to look at the Direct TV â€Å"Dont Sell Your Wig† commercial from 2012 whose premise is that people who are dissatisfied with their cable TV provider eventually end up taking unbelievable steps to keep themselves entertained so that they eventually end up selling their hair at a wig shop because the unbelievable steps they took to entertain themselves left them without any money to keep themselves entertained. Now, Appeal to Authority is one of the most popular logical fallacies in commercials. As the name of the fallacy implies, people believe in the words of authority figures. Therefore, the people will believe anything that a popular or powerful figures says. In the â€Å"GoDaddy Presents - The Baker† commercial, Jean Claude Van Damme exemplifies this definition. Although he is not a baker, people will believe anything that he says in the commercial because he is a popular and trusted public figure. Coming to the Post Hoc fallacy, one must try to understand the concept of â€Å"after this, therefore because of this† in order to make sense of the belief that the actions of a person affect the end result of an event. The best example of this type of fallacy in commercials can be seen widely in sports related commercials. Bud Light has one of the most memorable Post Hoc commercials with the closing line â€Å"Its only weird if it doesnt work†. After all, sports fans have very specific beliefs and traditions about each game played by their favorite team. There is the the favorite shirt, the favorite mug, not changing underwear, and the like that these team fans and members do in order to ensure â€Å"victory† for their team. Just like in the Bud Light commercial, the Post Hoc fallacy asks us to believe that just because 2 things happened one after the other, then it must be connected and must always be done in order to ensure the same outcome every time. This i s a

Bridgeton Industries Essay Example for Free

Bridgeton Industries Essay 1. Describe the competitive environment for Bridgeton as well as the cost accounting system currently in use. When foreign competition and scarce, expensive gasoline began to play an important role in the market, Bridgeton began to lose domestic market share. The ACF Bridgeton plant faced new challenges in their production that led them to serious cutbacks like the closing of the ACF plant for manufacture of fuel-efficient diesel engines. By 1987, they classified their products in terms of â€Å"world class† competitive position and potential. With four criteria (quality, customer service, technical capability and competitive cost position) they classified their products in Class I (remain), II (observe) and III (outsource). The classification allowed Bridgeton to take decisions on how to better manage their products performance compared to their competitors. The cost accounting system was product costing, a mixed between job costing and process costing. 2. Explain why manifolds moved from Class II to Class III after oil pans and muffler-exhaust systems had been outsourced from the ACF. Despite improvements in the production process manifolds were downgraded from Class II to III. The results were not sufficient, even though they increased the uptime from an average of 30% to 65% they were behind their Japanese competitors that reached a â€Å"world class† goal of 80% uptime. In addition, as seen in Exhibit 2, the direct material costs for manifolds (based on stainless steel) is extremely high as a percentage of sales (around 40%) compared to the other products manufactured at ACF and at a better Class level. However, there was a doubt on this move due to the possibility of new market requirements for lighter weight (more efficient manifolds). This represented a good opportunity for ACF because as they manufactured manifolds with stainless steel, demand could increase and therefore selling price too.

Tv Advertising And Peer Group Pressure Marketing Essay

Tv Advertising And Peer Group Pressure Marketing Essay Children also exert a powerful influence over their parents to buy them the latest products, influenced by TV advertising and peer group pressure. TV/film and the latest toy crazes are also important drivers, so a strong stream of new products heavily supported by the media will help to ensure regular uplifts in toy sales. The big challenge is for toy retailers to avoid competing too heavily on price, so as to drive value growth in sales. This will be difficult given the slow pace of the economic recovery and the squeeze on incomes that will increase in 2011 due to austerity measures being introduced to cut the government borrowing deficit. Licensed products will continue to be a major focus of new product launches, with ranges related to new TV or film releases supplementing long-established licensed ranges that continue to be popular. Educational toys that aid learning are also likely to see growth. Nostalgic toys with a modern twist are another important area of the market and in terms of retailing the multi-channel combination of websites, catalogues and stores with a bit of added retail theatre will help drive incremental sales and reduce the heavy reliance on Christmas. This portable Mini Photo Studio is designed to steer children away from video games and towards the artistic passion of photography. The concept came with the increase in popularity of social media and photo sharing, as well as a high percentage of digital camera ownership. Market Description Mini Photo Studio is primarily focused in the market of arts and crafts products; selling a product that will help develop the creativity of the children and teenagers by learning the beautiful art of photography. Demographic Analysis of Consumers The main target market of the Mini Photo Studio is the young teenagers (9-16 years) who are interested in the artistic passion of photography. Children and young teenagers, who are aged between 9-16 years old, are generally interested in social networks, fashion, make-up, latest technology mobile phones and photography (Mintel, 2008). In addition, according to a 2008 Mintel Report the second feature used on mobile phones by young teenagers is the camera facility. Starting with 2003, young teenagers also have more disposable pocket-money to buy their own things and when shopping with parents their own decision is the most important. There are different types of consumers interested in buying the Mini Photo Studio such as consumers interested to learn or develop the photography skills, or interested in modelling which are usually connected more with the celebrity. As Mintel Report says Celebrity endorsement is apparently more influential among children than among adults, with almost a quarter of parents claiming that their child/children aged 12+ are influenced by some kind of celebrity/pop/ sports star. The above characteristics of consumers were among the top factors that came with the increase in popularity of social media and photo sharing, as well as a high percentage of digital camera ownership. With the main focus on creating a product designed to increase the creativity of the teenagers and to keep them away from the use of the video games, which according to Mintel, parents are concerned that video games can become addicted to their children, so it is beneficial for us to focus on this type of consumer. The consumers are those whose attitudes, behaviours, and use of goods are significantly important for their personal development and interest. They make brand choices based on new trends and celebrity endorsements. In fact, according to Mintel Children claim to place heavy emphasis on their own opinion when making purchasing decisions, with around 4 in 10 children claiming to be confident about their own opinions. Therefore any use of celebrities must not appear to dictate or lecture to children, instead allowing them to make informed purchase or usage decisions. This is especially important among older children, who are exerting their independence.

Graduation Speech: I Was a Thrift Store Kid :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I grew up a thrift store kid. We took trips in a beat up station wagon, but I went to school in Shallow Creek. I was considered a little different. We are all different. Later we will find that we are all the same. It will not matter later in life who we were friends with or what clubs we belonged to. It will not matter what our grades were, or what kind of clothes we wore. It will not matter what kind of cars our parents drove. It will not matter what our dreams were, but what dreams we accomplish. We realize that cliques are lame and that they don't matter in the real world. In the real world where we have to choose what we do all day. There are no longer laws or our parents to make us get to school every morning at 7:30. For some of us it was hard and for others it was easy. I was one of the people who didn't know until this last semester if I'd graduate. It's hard to believe that you can do something if someone tells you it's not worth it. The advice given to me my entire senior year was to drop out and get my GED, because too many people had a high school diploma that didn't mean anything. That person had no idea what they were talking about. Just getting a diploma means everything, it's what we have been working for all of our lives. Maybe that person's goal was for me to take those words and prove them wrong. I did, but I had to convince myself not to take that advice. Many people helped me get here. Many people helped all of us get here. Thank you mom, for the countless phone calls to the school, and to the superintendent when my credits were messed up and no one listened to me. Thank you dad, for getting on my case even when I got an attitude. Thank you to my teachers who put up with our talkin g even when it wasn't an appropriate time. Thank you to my friends who gave me all the strange nicknames that only we could understand. We all have our thank you's because none of us did it alone. Whether you know it or not, at least one person helped you get here. Take a minute right now to look around this room.

The Effects of Violence in Children Cartoons :: Psychology

Television is everywhere these days, not just in our living rooms but in bathrooms, kitchens, doctor's offices, grocery stores, airplanes, and classrooms. We have access to TV virtually anywhere and as American's we are taking advantaged of it. Adults aren't the only ones watching TV; children today are watching more TV than ever before. TV has even become known as "America's baby-sitter." (Krieg). Meaning that parents are now using the television as a way of entertaining their children while they attempt to accomplish other things such as cooking and cleaning. Most American's would agree that children watch a lot of TV. It's common to see a child sitting in front of the TV on a Saturday morning with their Coco Pebbles watching their favorite superhero. This sounds harmless enough. However, many parents and teachers across the country are worried about the cartoons their children are watching. They feel that the cartoons have become too violent and are having negative long-term effects on children. It is common to see young boys pretending to shoot one another, while jumping on the couch and hiding in closets as a sort of make-believe fort. But parents say that children are learning these behaviors from cartoons and imitating them. Others however, disagree, they say that violence in cartoons does not effect children and that children need this world of fantasy in their lives. They say that children would show these same behaviors regardless of the content of the cartoons they watch. On average and American child will watch 32 acts of violence per hour on TV. This number has skyrocketed from 20 years ago when it was just 12 acts per hour (Krieg). This being said a child will have watched anywhere from 8,000 to 100,000 acts of violence before they even finish elementary school (Weiss). While adults can watch violence on TV and understand that it is not real, children on the other hand have difficulty differentiating the between what is real and what is make believe. Those arguing that children's cartoons are too violent say that these cartoons will greatly affect these children's behaviors growing up. Violence is a learned behavior and therefore children need to see violence in order to become violence themselves (Krieg). If a child is viewing their favorite character hitting, kicking, and beating up the "bad guys" a child will learn these behaviors too.

Feudalism in Today’s Society Essay

When searching for information on feudalism it is difficult to find modern sources speaking of it in a positive connotation. Most seem to regard it as merely a necessary step to capitalism. However, there are many aspects of feudalism still present in our society. Our society’s modes of defense and organization, as well as the devices used to make our standard of living possible, can be traced back to the age of feudalism. The feudal system stemmed from the people’s need to defend themselves from their many enemies. The main reason that people were willing to become vassals and work for their lord was so that they could be protected by him (Tierney 162). In the same sense, people in modern society expect their government to provide protection from any enemies that arise. In the feudal system, this protection was in the form of armies provided by the vassals to the lord. These armies where made up of knights who where expected to fight when called upon by their lords to do so (Tierney 162 ). In modern society the armies are also made up of people in the community who are called upon during times of war through, a system of drafts. In the Middle Ages, when a neighboring fief controlled by the same lord was attacked, the neighbor was expected to help defend it (Feudal Life). If one of the United States is attacked by a hostel force, soldiers are drafted from all of the adjoining states, not just th e one under attack. The organization of the country into different states that are in turn divided into counties and cities is also reminiscent of the feudal system. Each successively smaller division is run by it’s own elected official and each official answers to the one higher up the ladder. This is very similar to the feudal system where the lord had vassals who in turn had vassals of his own and serfs. All of the vassals where involved in decision making of the land. Counsels had to be consulted before any major decisions were made (Tierney 162-163). Another thing that emerged in the Middle Ages that we still see today is the middle-class society. During the feudal era there were plenty of people who could farm so some of them started to do other things such as carpentry and blacksmithing. There were enough specialists  around that the farmers didn’t have to do everything themselves anymore. For example, many manors in the Middle Ages had mills on the property. These Mills provided everyone with the flour needed to make bread (History). Today, few people in the general population would be able to do everything required for their survival. Everyone has one or two things that they are good at and that they make their living from and everyone buys what they need from other such people. In order to make all of the food and other goods required to keep modern society functioning normally, many devices are used that originate from the time of the feudal system. Around this time, slaves were replaced by serfs and free workers so ways of making the work easier surfaced. One of these was the practice of using work animals to help with farm labor (History). Granted this is not practiced as much now as it was then because we now have things like tractors and cars to make labor easier, but there are still some animals used for labor. Another device developed during this time that made work easier for the workers was the wheelbarrow. This is still widely used today for all sorts of things, along with the gear or toothed wheel which is the basis for most machinery and clock mechanisms. Another practice started in the middle ages that is extremely useful to us is the use of wind and water for energy (History). We generally use the power of these elements to provide us with electricity where they used them for mills and similar applications, but the basic idea is still the same. So it is apparent that our society is indebted to the age of feudalism for many things that we take for granted. We still use aspects of feudalism for producing food, defense, and structuring our government. Perhaps those socialists that can only speak of feudalism as a necessary step to capitalism with an arrogant detachment to its true importance should be reminded of what it was like trying to survive during one of the most dangerous periods of civilization. Works Cited History of Feudalism in Europe; History Interactive. National Heritage Academies. http://michiganepic.org/NHA/Feudalism/feudalism.html. Feudal Life in the Middle Ages. Learner.org. http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/feudal.html Tierney, Brian. Western Europe in the Middle Ages: 300-1475. Sixth Edition. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 1999

Post Modern Perspective on Criticism Essay

Post modernism is one among the highly debated issues that to a great extent has influenced the way human being think and views issues that exist in the present world .however it encounters a resounding critique from those against and support from the for generation whom believe in inevitability of change in all human perspectives.post modern perspective criticism is important because since it provides a promise of deterritorialing modernity and restructuring its political , cultural and social limits as well as affirming social gender and ethic differences as seen human daily interactions. Post modernism bear a world with a resemblance of increasing individual and mass influence on the way we think and see the world in the present times. Artifact chosen                     Martin Luther King Junior speech â€Å"I have a dream† is one of the most famous world speeches that influenced thinking million of Americans both whites and blacks (Kuypers, 2009). The speech was a very powerful tool that spearheaded the thinking of Americans and need of ending racial segregation. We may probably argue that were it not for martin Luther speech, probably the American society may be segregated even in the present. Luther calls for all American to work together towards achieving a fair and one and the same society (King and Washington, 1986). Luther employed well selected and scrutinized rhetoric modes that facilitated the appeal he desired to create to Americans. The power of his speech definitely lays in his authoritative diction and the rhetoric modes applied (Johnstone and Eisenhart, 2008). For instance, the king compares and contrast the lives of the whites a and the Negros were he notes that, the blacks continue to live in slave I n their home country one hundred years after the constitutional declaration that was signed by Lincoln .he further compares the plight of blacks to the lives of the white Americans and says that the blacks are subject to police brutality (Bobbitt, 2007). Although the emancipation proclamation was for all the whites had denied Negros the basic fundamental right granted by the constitution. Additionally, he says that emancipation proclamation came as a joyous day break to the blacks but later on turned to a long night of their captivity (Johnstone and Eisenhart, 2008). This comparison tells the audience how the declaration was of great hope to the suffering blacks, however, their hope turned to despair when the whites denied them of their rights. The Negros was saddened because even after one hundred years there were still in their own world full of pains of the manacles of racial discrimination and segregation. Furthermore, martin adds that justice shall roll like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. I n this context, the king appear to have feeling that he and other will not tire to demand and fight for blacks people rights until they are granted (King and Washington, 1986). Moreover, in his speech King employs a rich content of situational analysis of the representing the current situation interaction and expresses his optimism for a bright future, were both whites and Negros shall sit down under ones table as equal where the blacks will not nbe segregated upon .This dream sent a message of hope to the Negros that a time in coming in future when there will be no discrimination based on color. The dream also portrayed a message to the whites that blacks are tired of being segregated and were in the process of peacefully fight for their fundamental rights. Martin Luther Biography                     Martin Luther King Junior was born in 15th of January, 1929 to Michael king sr. After his father returned from a trip in German, he changed their names to Martin Luther king senior and Martin Luther King Junior. These names were adopted from a religious icon of past, martin Luther was initiated Lutheran denomination. In 1944 King Junior started his higher education at Morehouse College (Haskins and King 1992). Before then, the rampant racial discrimination and segregation had caused a lot of tension especially in New York and Michigan (Bobbitt, 2007). He later graduated with a degree in sociology and was after wards appointed his father’s assistant at the Ebenezer Baptist church. While King Junior was in graduate school he had bitter memories of house bias that existed in the American society. He says that when trying to find a house to live, he went to place in Boston where there was a sign â€Å"house for rent†. (Haskins and King, 1992. Martin literates that the houses were for rent until the servants realized he was a Negro and then the situation changed suddenly, the houses were already rented. In 1952 Martin Luther king junior met his wife Coretta; they married and were blessed with four children. Martin says that his wife was the source of strength and at some points she was much stronger that the king. On January of 1956, a strange occurrence happened whereby, Martin’s home was bombed. However, guided by his religious policy and believes of non-violence King calmly accepted the incident and even urged all the believers to go home after the meetings and adhere to policy of non-violence, a policy that is evident in his speech. Luther delisvered his famous speech â€Å"I have a dream† in 1963 in Washington during job and freedom, to address racial injustices that he and other human rights activist were against. His life came to an end when he was assassinated by James Earl Ray in 1968 at Memphis Tennessee Haskins, and King 1992). Martin Luther had just delivered another type of his legendary speech, â€Å" I have been to the mountain-top†. Martin Luther Junior died at 39 year and was buried on 9th of April, 1968 in Atlanta (King and Washington 1986). Until his death, the king was proud of his title â€Å"the preacher† because he believed that his vocation a nd strength were essential at healing the scar of racial discrimination and segregation that blacks had and giving the hope of a new dawn Metaphorical analysis                     Metaphorically Martin Luther s life that was filled with many ups and downs ideally represents the struggle and tribulations that Negros underwent in the hands of heartless whites. The passion that made him move forward to defend the welfare of the blacks shows the suffering the forced Negros and other human rights activist stand out and form liberation movements. Kings life is a clear indication of how an individual action may have resounding impact to present and future generations (Johnstone and Eisenhart, 2008). The metaphors used in the speech serves a very important role in making the audience clearly understand the message. In criticism where metaphors are used the analysis, the analysis of the artifact involves examining it for its context and dimensions and the isolating the metaphors to identify the underlined meaning that makes the artifact more appealing (Bobbitt, 2007). For instance, the artifact chosen, â€Å" I have a dream â€Å"is crammed with metaphors that ideally communicated the necessity of eradicating racial discrimination and segregation in United States of America .most of the metaphors the king uses are soft but the message is conveyed in a very unique way. For example Martin’s say that it is the high time to lift America from chains of injustices to high heights of freedom and equality (Hasand , 1992). Through this metaphor King intent to plea to all people that racism will not make the nation strong but will separate it .It is through social justice that a st rong and prosperous country will be build. Conclusion                     In a summary the metaphorical analysis appear as the best method for the critical analysis of the speech, â€Å"I have a dream† in the modern perspective. It clearly and precisely articulates ethos and logos making the whites realize their injustice towards the Negros. Additionally the method plays a very critical role in awakening the blacks to form liberation movement in demand of the rights granted by the constitutional declaration. References Bobbitt, D. A. (2007). The rhetoric of redemption: Kenneth Burke’s redemption drama and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s â€Å"I have a dream† speech. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littefield Publishers. Haskins, J., & King, M. L. (1992). I have a dream: The life and words of Martin Luther King, Jr. Brookfield, Conn: Millbrook Press. Johnstone, B., & Eisenhart, C. (2008). Rhetoric in detail: Discourse analyses of rhetorical talk and text. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Jr. Lanham [u.a.: Lexington Books. Manheimer, A. S. (2005). Martin Luther King Jr: Dreaming of equality. King, M. L., & Washington, J. M. (1986). I have a dream: Writings and speeches that changed the world. New York: HarperCollins Kuypers, J. A. (2009). Rhetorical criticism: Perspectives in action. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books. Echols, J. (2004). I have a dream: Martin Luther King Jr. and the future of multicultural America. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Source document

Strategic Management Analysis of Saudi Aramco Ltd.

To: Prof. Dr. M. Mahmodul Hasan. Course Instructor, Faculty of Business, AIUB. Re: Submission of Term Paper on Saudi Aramco. Dear Sir, It is a grand contentment for us that we have been capable to submit the report. It’s been an enormous practice for us to bring about such a job and we took pleasure in the whole term paper making actions. We tried our degree best with our knowledge to make a full pledged report by analyzing all the available information. We hope that we have fulfilled all the requirements you have asked for. We would be delighted if you kindly accept the report and oblige us thereby.On behalf of the group ‘Jeener Badshah’ With Best Regards, Plaban Roy. Id. No. 11-94732-2. MBA Course: Strategic Management. Section: A. Department of Business Administration. Contents of term-paper as follows: 1. Acknowledgement Letter 2. Executive Summary 3. Definition of Strategy 4. Most Strategic Management Model 5. Company Detailed Profile including mission & visi on and Organogram 6. PESTEL, SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 7. SWAN Analysis & TWOS Matrix 8. Value Chain Analysis 9. ViSA Model & SMARTER Model 10. The BCG chart 11.PURE Objectives & GREAT Model 12. Market Analysis including Market Segmentation 13. EFE Matrix 14. CPM Matrix 15. QSPM Analysis 16. Financial Analysis 17. Competitor Analysis 18. Breakeven Analysis 19. KSF Analysis (Industry Key Success Factors) 20. Strategy Evaluation and Contingency Plan 21. Recommendation 22. Conclusion 23. References 2. Executive summary: Saudi Aramco (Arabic: ?Aramko s-Sa? udiyyah), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a Saudi Arabian national oil and natural gas company based in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.Saudi Aramco's value has been estimated at up to US$10 trillion in the Financial Times, making it the world's most valuable company. Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 260 billion barrels (4. 1? 1010  m3), and largest daily oil producti on. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco operates the world's largest single hydrocarbon network, the Master Gas System. Its yearly production is 7. 9 billion barrels (1. 26? 109  m3), and it managed over 100 oil and gas fields in Saudi Arabia, including 279 trillion standard cubic feet (scf) of natural gas reserves.Saudi Aramco owns the Ghawar Field, the world's largest oil field, and the Shaybah Field, one of the world's largest oil fields. Operations: Saudi Aramco is headquartered in Dhahran; and its operations span the globe which include exploration, producing, refining, chemicals, distribution and marketing. Objective of the study: 24. PESTEL, SWOT and Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 25. SWAN Analysis ; TWOS Matrix 26. Value Chain Analysis 27. ViSA Model ; SMARTER Model 28. The BCG chart 29. PURE Objectives ; GREAT Model 30. Market Analysis including Market Segmentation 31.EFE Matrix 32. CPM Matrix 33. QSPM Analysis 34. Financial Analysis 35. Competitor Analysis 36. Breakeven Analysis 37. KSF Analysis (Industry Key Success Factors) 38. Strategy Evaluation and Contingency Plan 39. Strategy Evaluation and Contingency Plan 3. Definition of strategy: Strategy (Greek â€Å" † – strategia, â€Å"art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship†) is a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty. Strategy becomes ever necessary when it is known or suspected there are insufficient resources to achieve these goals.Strategy is also about attaining and maintaining a position of advantage over adversaries through the successive exploitation of known or emergent possibilities rather than committing to any specific fixed plan designed at the outset. Henry Mintzberg from McGill University defined strategy as â€Å"a pattern in a stream of decisions† to contrast with a view of strategy as planning [2] while Max McKeown (2011) argues that â€Å"strategy is about shaping the fu ture† and is the human attempt to get to â€Å"desirable ends with available means†. Good Strategy + Good Strategy Execution = Good Management . Most strategic management model: 1. PEST analysis 2. STEER Analysis 3. Five Forces Model 4. Strategic Group Map 5. SWOT analysis 6. Blue Ocean Strategies 7. Open innovation 8. seven S model 5. Company detailed profile including mission ; vision: The world’s need for energy is growing, but so too is our ability to meet that demand. Our teams have been discovering new and better ways of delivering petroleum energy since 1933. Find out more about our leadership, our history and the people who make us the world’s leading integrated petroleum enterprise.Who we are Not only is Saudi Aramco the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we are also a fully integrated,  global petroleum and chemicals enterprise  and a world leader in exploration, production, refining, distribution, shipping and marketing. We manage the world’s  largest proven conventional crude oil and condensate reserves  of 259. 7 billion barrels. Our average daily crude production in 2011 was 9. 1 million barrels per day (bpd). We also have stewardship over the  world’s fourth-largest natural gas reserves  of 282. trillion standard cubic feet (scf). Saudi Aramco’s downstream accomplishments include our rank as the8th largest refiner in the world, with a worldwide refining capacity of 4. 02 million barrels per day (including domestic refineries, and domestic and international joint and equity ventures). We are also theworld’s top exporter of natural gas liquids  (NGL). Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco and its subsidiaries have offices throughout the Kingdom. We also have offices in North America, Europe and Asia.Our subsidiaries and affiliates are located in Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, India, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United Ara b Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. Our operations span the Kingdom, including its territorial waters in the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea, with production and distribution linking all market areas around the world. Vision: * Future of energy * Reliable supply * Contributing to the economy * Developing human potential * Sustainability * Wellness Powering possibilitiesAt Saudi Aramco we’re leading the drive to solve some of the issues that matter most to the global energy industry. We consider it our responsibility – to the Kingdom and the world. Transforming for the Future By 2020, Saudi Aramco will have evolved from being the leading oil and gas company that it is today, into a  fully integrated, truly global energy and chemicals enterprise  with extensive operations across the globe. What we aim to be tomorrow will facilitate a  diversified and sustainable expansion  of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s economy and enable a globally compet itive and vibrant Saudi energy sector.Our vision for the future is best described through the company’s 2020 Strategic Intent: * Shaping our business portfolio through  establishing an integrated value chain approach  in our crude oil mix, further develop the Kingdom’s unconventional gas resources and become a leading global chemicals and refining company. * Supporting the Kingdom in building a vibrant energy industry by promoting an energy efficient economy,  developing alternative energy options, and building a technology portfolio. Delivering an agile, flexible, and efficient organization  to achieve operational excellence and world-class reliability and safety performance through improved operational efficiency, agile decision-making and budgeting activities, insightful performance measurements, and business process improvement. * Building capacity, knowledge, and skills to improve our processes and systems of leadership selection and development, performan ce evaluation, innovation, and research and development. We will take the lead in developing a knowledge-based economy in Saudi Arabia.In short, we aim to unlock the potential of our people and our enterprise to transform from a company of which the Kingdom is proud into a company of which the world is proud. 6. Five Forces Model The five forces model is a framework that analysts use to evaluate the interior factors affecting competition and the external factors affecting bargaining power. This helps to understand the industry and what strategies are needed to gain a competitive advantage Rivalry Among Existing Firms (Low) 1. Threat of New Entrants 2. Threat of Substitute Products 3. Bargaining Power of Customers . Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining Power of Suppliers * High competition among suppliers | | | | * Volume is critical to suppliers | Bargaining Power of Customers | | * Product is important to customer| | * Large number of customers | Intensity of Existing Rivalry * Government limits competition| | * Large industry size | | | Threat of Substitutes * Substitute is lower quality | | * Substitute has lower performance | | * Limited number of substitutes| Threat of New Competitors * Strong distribution network required| | * High capital requirements| | * High learning curve | | Entry barriers are high | SWOT analysis Strengths * Spending on alternative energy. * Investment in high profile project. Weaknesses * Declining sales of refined products, resulting in lowering top line growth. * Declining replacement rates in recent years. Opportunities * Growing Asian-Pacific population and expansion of their economy will lead to greater demand for energy * Bio-fuels and alternative energy methods Threats * Prolonged global recession * International Union Strikes and other global political events (Environmental issues) SWAN Analysis StrengthThe brand image they have created sustaining over 80 years. Management who are highly skilled and to operate the com pany Weakness Declining profit over the years Unable to cope up with the existing competitors to become the leader in the industry Achievements Have major achievement in taking out the oil from deep of the desert Emerged as one of the biggest supplier of Oil Next Step Achieving the global leadership Beating the close competitors Developing the skill of the local employees. TOWS Matrix Factors| Weight| Rate| Weighted Score| Opportunities|   |   |   |Better management of product lines| 0. 18| 3| 0. 54| Globalization| 0. 21| 4| 0. 84| Environmental concerns| 0. 21| 4| 0. 84| | | | | Threats| | | | Fierce competition| 0. 2| 3| 0. 6| War and terrorist attack impact| 0. 2| 3| 0. 6| Total| 1. 00| | 3. 42| | | | | Strength| | | | The brand image| 0. 22| 3| 0. 66| Skilled management| 0. 13| 2| 0. 26| Enriched natural resources| 0. 15| 3| 0. 45| | | | | Weaknesses| | | | Improper utilization of natural resources| 0. 25| 3| 0. 75| Lack of local skilled labor| 0. 08| 2| 0. 16| Local techn ological non advancement| 0. 17| 2| 0. 34| Total| 1. 00| | 2. 62|

Understand How To Safeguard The Wellbeing Of Children And Young People

There is much more to Safeguarding than just protecting children from direct abuse. Any service that works with children and young people knows that they have a much wider responsibility than simply protecting the children from neglect and abuse. An action plan was put in place by Her Majesty’s Government called the ‘Stay Safe’ action plan, and it identifies a number of important features in the wider view of safeguarding including:†¢Keeping children safe from accidents†¢Crime and bullying – This could be helping victims of crime and also helping those that commit crime. This could also be witness's that need support Bullying could be racially motivated, cyber, text. Making sure that children and parents are given the information to protect themselves†¢Forced marriages†¢Missing children – This aims to develop an action plan to put the principles set out in The Children’s Society recommendations into action, to initiate an e arly review of emergency accommodation provision, to consider how local authorities can best provide safe places and ‘breathing spaces’ for young runaways; and revise the Missing from Home and Care guidance, in conjunction with the review of the Children Act 1989 regulations and guidance.†¢Actively promoting their welfare in a healthy and safe environment – The Staying Safe action plan states that it is important that everyone (parents, practitioners, government) work together to create the healthiest, safest environment possible for children and young people to access wherever they are, whether they’re at home, school/nursery, on public transport or just outside playing. It is everyone’s responsibility to create this safe environment so that all young people can achieve and are getting the best support possible.The Staying Safe consultation document set out three levels of safeguarding: †¢Universal safeguarding – Working to keep al l children and young people safe and create safe environments for all children†¢Targeted safeguarding – Some groups of children are more at risk than others, and it is important to target policies and services to these groups, to help keep them safe from harm†¢Responsive safeguarding – Unfortunately, no matter what we do, there  will always be some children and young people who suffer harm. We need to respond quickly and appropriately when this happens – supporting children and dealing with those who harm them.

Stock and Berkshire Hathaway

1. What is the possible meaning of the changes in stock price for Berkshire Hathaway and Scottish Power plc on the day of the acquisition announcement? Specifically, what does the $2. 17-billion gain in Berkshire’s market value of equity imply about the intrinsic value of PacifiCorp? The significant change in stock prices for Berkshire Hathaway and Scottish Power plc is partially due to the wide variety of products produced under these names. The approval of these investments and products are indicated by the overall market because they are creating value for both the buyer and the seller. Berkshire Hathaway is responsible for eight different types of product ranging from insurance and financial products to retail including wholesale distributing and apparel along with an array of smaller businesses. Warren Buffett’s name goes a long way based on the type of work and success he has had in the past. His decision to run the company in the interests of the shareholders has proven to be successful. â€Å"In 1977, Berkshire Hathaway’s year-end closing share price was $102; on May 24, 2005 the closing price on Class A shares reached $85,500†. It seems that Warren Buffett refuses to ‘split’ the firm’s share price in order to make it more accessible to everyday investors is because of the value of the company and the contribution that these investors have made to Berkshire Hathaway. They make risky decisions and expect a successful outcome which in turn results in a profitable project. The $2. 17-billion gain in Berkshire’s market value implies that the intrinsic value of PacifiCorp is increasing as well. The market value may be different than the intrinsic value however the intrinsic value is the actual value of the company including assets and the underlying perception of that value. Both tangible and intangible factors may be included. Therefore the intrinsic value of the PacifiCorp is on the rise with the amount of revenue they are generating. 1. Based on the multiples for comparable regulated utilities, what is the range of possible values for PacifiCorp? What questions might you have about this range? PacifiCorp |Revenue |EBIT |EBITDA |Net Income |EPS |Book Value | |Median |$6. 252B |$8. 775B |$9. 023B |$7. 96B |$4. 277B |$5. 904B | |Mean |$6. 584B |$9. 289B |$9. 076B |$7. 553B |$4. 308B |$5. 678B | | For the most part, the means are higher than the medians for the enterprise financial value of PacifiCorp. 2. Assess the bid for PacifiCorp. How does it compare with the firm’s intrinsic value? As an alternative, the instructor could suggest that students perform a simple di scounted cash flow (DCF) analysis. Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway’s bid of $5. 1 billion for PacifiCorp was a risky yet profitable move for the pair. With the average revenue earning of $6. 584 billion and an average net income of $7. 53 billion, the earnings seem to exceed the overall cost of purchasing this corporation. PacifiCorp had steady returns for numerous years as presented below. 5. 4 percent of their stock was preferred stock for two consecutive years with dividends of $1. 35 per share. With the wide range of businesses under their belt including, insurance, apparel, building products, finance and financial products, flight services, retail, grocery distribution and carpet and floor coverings along with an assortment of smaller businesses, PacifiCorp would just be another notch in the belt of Warren Buffet. His investment strategies have proven to be profitable and his decisions have proven to be knowledgeable and successful. The intrinsic value of the corporation will definitely be of value to Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway based on PacifiCorp’s earnings, financial worth and the value of their assets in years prior to Warren Buffett’s acquisition. [pic][pic] 3. How well has Berkshire Hathaway performed? How well has it performed in the aggregate? What about its investment in MidAmerican Energy Holdings? Berkshire Hathaway has become an investing empire. Their enterprise value in 2005 was nearly $520 billion. Taking a look at their current value is no different. According to Berkshire Hathaway’s most recent 10K report (2010), they had 1,648,000 outstanding shares of class A stock. At the end of 2010 the price of the class A stock was $120,450 per share. If we use the formula for market capitalization we get: Market Capitalization = Outstanding shares * share price Market Capitalization = 1,648,000*120,450 Market Capitalization = 198,501,600,000 We then use the 10K to find their cash, cash equivalents and debt for 2010. According to their annual report they had cash and cash equivalents of $2,673,000,000 and a reported debt of $6,621,000,000. We then use these numbers to find the current enterprise value: Enterprise value = 198,501,600,000-2,673,000,000+6,621,000,000 Enterprise value = 202,449,600,000 These estimates from 2005 and 2010 show us that Berkshire Hathaway did lose some value; however they still have an enterprise value of over $200 billion. This shows us that even through the last few years when the United States has been in an economic recession overall they have remained strong. Using Yahoo Finance we see that there was a slight drop in stock A prices in February of 2009 when it reached a low of about $78,000 per share. But by the end of 2009, prices rose back to above $100,000 per share and have remained, showing consistency and continuing to build shareholder confidence. Berkshire Hathaway has increased its interest in MidAmerican from 88. 6% to 89. 8% since 2005. By doing this it only adds even more value to Berkshire Hathaway as MidAmerican is a leading provider of natural gas for more than 2. 4 million customers. The investment has surely paid off as the 2010 annual report showed 1. 13 billion dollars of earnings for Berkshire from MidAmerican. 4. What is your assessment of Berkshire’s investments in Buffett’s â€Å"Big Four†: American Express, Coca-Cola, Gillette (now part of Procter and Gamble), and Wells Fargo? With a little more than 150,000,000 shares of American Express, Berkshire Hathaway owns about 12. 6% of the company. It initially cost about $1,300,000,000 to invest in these shares. As of today the market value is right around $7,500,000,000. As you can see, Investing in American Express has turned out to be a smart move for Buffet as they have seen over $6. 2 Billion in profit. American Express shows a consistent trend year after year of making a profit and continues to be a safe and attractive purchase. Berkshire owns around 200,000,000 shares of Coca-Cola coming out to be about 8. 6% ownership of the company. The cost of these shares was about $1,300,000,000 and the market value of the shares today has grown to be almost $13,400,000,000. Again we see a smart investment, with Coca-Cola producing a $12. billion dollar profit for Berkshire. Coca-Cola continues to be a leader in effectively running their finances as it seems their stock prices rises every year. They carry low debt and our consistent fitting perfect into the Berkshire mold. Berkshire Hathaway owns close to 73,000,000 shares of Procter and Gamble. These shares are equal to a 2. 6% ownership of Procter and Gamble. When they invested this cost them $464,000,00 0. Today these shares are worth around $4,800,000,000. Again we see that this investment has worked out in favor of Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway. Proctor and Gamble carries a low amount of debt and produces a high net income and continues to grow year in and year out making Buffet and other investor’s very happy shareholders. The last company Wells Fargo, Berkshire has about a 6. 8% ownership of or roughly holds around 360,000,000 shares. The cost of the Wells Fargo stock to Berkshire was estimated at around $8,000,000,000. In today’s market these shares hold a value of about $10,600,000,000. Even though this is a profit of about $2. 6 billion I’m not sure if Buffett is extremely happy with this investment. Proctor and Gambles stock price is relatively low giving it much room to grow however over the last couple of years it has fluctuated quite a bit. Out of the four investments this is definitely the least effective and efficient. 5. From Warren Buffett’s perspective, what is the intrinsic value? Why is it accorded such importance? How is it estimated? What are the alternatives to intrinsic value? Why does Buffett reject them? As I already stated, intrinsic value is found by using a company’s stock price and their earnings per share. People tend to buy the stocks that they feel are worth more than what the market claims they are worth adding to the notion of a company’s intrinsic value. Warren Buffet obviously does much more than the average person when he chooses stocks to invest in as we can see from the amount of money he and Berkshire Hathaway have. When deciding whether or not to invest in a company he looks at the return on equity of a company to see the consistency of a company’s performance and how much equity they are able to generate for their shareholders. Buffet performs this calculation year after year to be sure that the company is consistent. Next, he looks at the company’s debt to equity ratio to be sure that the company is avoiding large amounts of debt. None of the companies he invests in have higher liabilities than assets as he believes that debt in large amounts is a bad thing. In order for him to be willing to invest he must see that the company is or will be highly profitable for years to come. If the company hasn’t been publically traded for at least 10 years more times than not, he won’t even consider investing. He does not believe in short-term success; he claims that â€Å"in the short-term, the market is a popularity contest. He chooses stocks by looking at the overall ability and potential of a company rather than how they perform in the short-term ignoring the supply/demand attraction. When Buffet considers companies for the long-term, he looks at them more as an owner than a shareholder concerned with receiving capital gains. He is concerned with the individual company and their abili ty to make money over the long-term. He prefers to act as almost an owner and less of a shareholder concerned with receiving capital gains. 6. Critically assess Buffett’s investment philosophy. Be prepared to identify points where you agree and disagree with him. . Economic reality, not accounting reality. When looking at a business, Warren Buffet looks at the economic reality as opposed to the accounting reality. Accounting reality looks at a company using the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to determine the value of the company. GAAP covers revenue recognition, balance sheet item classification, and outstanding share measurements. Economic reality is broader than accounting reality and includes intangible assets, such as patents, trademarks, special managerial expertise, and reputation of the company. When looking at the value of a company looking at the economic reality makes more sense because it includes intangible assets that can’t be computed, but are an important factor for the value of a company. For example, the reputation of a company cannot be quantified, but reputation is valuable in the sense that a company with a good reputation will draw more favor from customers and investors while a company with a bad reputation will drive away customers and potential investors. 2. The cost of lost opportunity. This compares an investment opportunity against the next best alternative. What this means is that when making a decision as to whether to invest in one company or the other, choices are made as either/or decisions rather than yes/no. By looking at companies this way, Buffet is able to see how investing in one company would compare by looking at the potential returns on common stock from investing in another company. 3. Value creation: time is money. In terms of value creation, Buffet believes that intrinsic value is a better indicator of future expected performance as opposed to using book value. Intrinsic value is the discounted value of the cash that can be taken out of a business during its remaining life while, book value is the number of total assets a company has minus intangible assets and liabilities. What makes the intrinsic value a better indicator of future expected performance is the fact that book value may not reflect the economic reality because depending on the relationship between expected returns and the discount rate; value can either be gained or lost. What this means is that the estimates of the return on equity can drastically change whether or not a company is seen as valuable. . Measure performance by gain in intrinsic value. Performance is measured by gain in intrinsic value as opposed to accounting profit. Warren Buffet says that Berkshire’s performance is not measured by the size of the company, but by the companies per share progress. The gain of intrinsic value is modeled as the value added by a business compared to the cost for the use of capital in that business. Other forms of measuring performance look at the ability to earn returns in excess of the cost of capital. By looking at per share progress, it is easier to see growth in a company than by looking at how large it is because a large company does not mean that it is a profitable company or that their growth is related to an increase in profit, if anything their growth could just be related to a large number of acquisitions. 5. Risk and discount rates. When looking at risk and discount rates, instead of using the traditional capital asset pricing model (CAPM) to estimate discount rates, Buffet chooses to use the rate of return on the long term treasury bond to discount cash flows. The CAPM model of estimating discount rates adds in a risk premium to the long term risk free rate of return, while Buffet’s method avoids risk altogether and uses a risk-free discount rate. The reason behind this is that Buffet likes to invest in companies with predictable and stable earnings and avoid financing his firm with debt. Overall this is a smart strategy because if there was ever an economic crisis, like there was a few years ago, a company not financed with debt and low risk would pull through better than a company who had many high risk investments and was financed by debt. . Diversification. Buffet’s view on diversification is that it is an unnecessary precaution, and that instead of inventing in many stocks to avoid risk, it would be more profitable to wait for one exceptional company to invest in. The logic behind this makes sense, but the execution is difficult because of the fact that the stock market is so volatile and investors do not have all of the information necessary to make an informed decision with 100% confidence that there investment will pay off. There is also the fact that some investment opportunities may be missed if companies wait too long to find that one exceptional company to invest in. 7. Investing behavior should be driven by information, analysis, and self-discipline, not by emotion or â€Å"hunch†. Buffet believes that stock prices have become unreliable measure of intrinsic value of a company because they are influenced by the fear and greed of investors. He also doesn’t believe in the efficient markets hypothesis (EMH), which states that stock prices are fair in reflecting what was known about a company. Buffet disapproves of this theory because he believes that stock prices do not accurately portray the intrinsic value of the company and believing in this theory prevents investors from seeing the bigger picture on how the stock market really works. It is important to use information and analysis of companies when making an investment decision because you can’t always trust the information that is given and the information given may not give the whole picture on the value of a company. 8. Alignment of agents and owners. When it comes to investing Buffet believes that an alignment of agents and owners is important. This means that the needs of the company are that of the needs of the shareholders. Keeping the needs of the shareholders first is important to having a successful business. If shareholders are happy, businesses can expect to receive a good supply of cash flow from investments. Shareholder wealth can also lead to more profits in the company as well as the company will be focused on long term profit maximization and not just the short term. 7. Should Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders endorse the acquisition of PacifiCorp? While looking at PacifiCorp’s Consolidated Financial Statement (Exhibit 7) PacifiCorp’s income from operations before tax fits the criteria 1 presented in Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition criteria (Exhibit 8) by having more than $75 million in pretax earnings, (PacifiCorp has $4. 2 billion. ) However, they do carry about $3. 92 billion in long-term debt, which fails criteria 3 in Exhibit 8. They do however, fill criteria 2 in Exhibit 8 by bringing in about $3. 6 million more in net income from 2005 to 2004 (Exhibit 7) although more data would be needed to see if PacifiCorp was consistently earning a profit. Compared to 6 other companies in the same field in Exhibit 9, PacifiCorp doesn’t seem like the best investment. PacifiCorp is number 2 for total assets, but also number 2 for total liabilities. This goes in hand with their total long-term debt as they are also number 2, but for short-term debt they are number 5. For total debt they are number 2. For total revenue before taxes, PacifiCorp is number 4. What these numbers mean is that compared to other companies, it seems that PacifiCorp is a more risky investment. PacifiCorp generally has more debt and is not bringing in as much revenue, though they still have positive growth in net income. Another source of concern is that PacifiCorp has very low earnings per share with a EPS of just $0. 81 with the next competitor having an EPS of $1. 42 (Exhibit 10). From looking at the data presented in the tables, shareholders should not endorse the acquisition of PacifiCorp because the company fails several criteria that were established by Berkshire Hathaway as guidelines for acquiring corporations, and it is unlikely that the acquisition will result in the 15% annual growth of the intrinsic value of the firm.

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