Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Gross Domestic Happiness vs. Gdp - 2948 Words

Gross Domestic Happiness: What Is the Relationship between Money and Well-being?: Knowledge@Wharton (http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2675) Gross Domestic Happiness: What Is the Relationship between Money and Well-being? Published : January 19, 2011 in Knowledge@Wharton Most of us have seen the bumper sticker: Anyone who says money can t buy happiness just doesn t know where to shop. It s an amusing sentiment, but it provokes an important question: What exactly is the relationship between money and happiness? On one hand, there is an unquestionable link. Certainly no one would deny that having enough money to cover basic needs -- to provide food, clothing and shelter -- makes you happy, or at least†¦show more content†¦The team s data, which spans over 40 years, looks at 155 countries and hundreds of thousands of individuals. Their findings: There is a robust relationship between well-being and economic development, says Wolfers. Their research is discussed in a paper titled, Subjective Well-Being, Income, Economic Development and Growth (PDF). Money is closely associated with well-being, a finding that rings true when comparing the happiness of two individuals in the same country, one 10% richer than another, or the average happiness of tw o countries, one with 10% higher income per capita. Easterlin s paradox intuitively makes sense, but as it turns out, the earliest findings of happiness research were things that we wished were true, rather than [being] actual facts, Wolfers notes. It was an enormously reassuring hypothesis and made it easier for us to sleep at night without worrying about the human suffering in Burundi, knowing that people in Burundi were just as happy as we were. For his part, Easterlin, who teaches at the University of Southern California, has not backed down. Last month, he published a new paper concluding that in 37 countries around the world, rich and poor, levels ofShow MoreRelatedGdp vs Gnh1782 Words   |  8 Pagesintroduced the calculation of National Income in 1934. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the market value of all goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP can often be looked at as the total value added of every business in an economy. GDP is also an indicator of the living standard of a country. Usually, GDP is basically comparing a country’s economy yearly. For example, if a country’s year-to-year GDP is up 5%, this could mean that the country’s economyRead MoreIs The Fundamental Factor Of Human Life?1464 Words   |  6 Pageslife fabulous with happiness ? Plenty of philosophers and social anthropologists have been seeking to answer it but they still can not suggest an obvious solution because various factors affect happiness and these are interacting with each other, thus, these points are not analyzed easily. However, even though analyzing happiness is complicated, it is studied by many groups in order to propose a measure of happiness for evaluating human life. Humanity is able to live w ith happiness if the factors areRead MoreCorrelation Between Wealth And Happiness1483 Words   |  6 Pagesbetween Wealth and Happiness in Developed and Developing Countries: Is the level of Happiness Equal to Wealth? This is a frequently asked question; How to make life fabulous with happiness ? Plenty of philosophers and social anthropologists have been seeking to answer it but they still can not suggest an obvious solution because various factors affect happiness and these are interacting with each other, thus, these points are not analyzed easily. However, even though analyzing happiness is complicatedRead MoreGdp .. Measure of Welfare ?2473 Words   |  10 PagesENPC-EHTP-MBAXIV A MA 1407 : Business Economics in a Global Market Individual Assignment GDP vs. Welfare The Moroccan Example Othmane Bouzoubaa Student ID : MA14 - 016 April – May 2012 This paper emphasis on GDP as an inefficient measure of welfare using arguments from the Moroccan example. MBAXIV A – MA 1407 – Business Economics in a Global Market GDP Welfare – The Moroccan Example Table of Contents 1. 2. 2.1 2.2 2.3 3. 3.1 3.2 4. 5. Introduction .............................Read MoreDo Politics, Economics and Social Factors Affect the Living Standard of People in a Country2729 Words   |  11 Pagesstatistical data. The influences evaluated will consist of the social, economic and political conditions in the country, which will be proven to be the most significant when considering its effect on the happiness and living standards of people residing in a country. As money is strongly correlated to happiness and the wellbeing of people due to its ability to provide, the economic portion will be considered in the relationship between a country’s wealth and the living standards. Furthermore, the socialRead MoreVictoria’s Secret in China5430 Words   |  22 PagesRelationship Program 11 11 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18 18 19 20 21 Implementation Control Financial Analysis Reference Appendix Corruption Perceptions index 2011 Exchange Rate(US to RMB and Hong Kong Dollar) VS estimate Trading and Proï ¬ t and loss Account 2011 VS estimate Balance Sheet 2011 Financial Equation ii Executive Summary Objective The hugh population, urbanization, and shapely growth of economy compose favorable market to all industry. Victoria’s Secret need toRead MoreThe Impact Of Economic Growth On The World And The Environment3597 Words   |  15 Pageseconomic growth will also be observed. Arguably the most fundamental questions in economics revolve around why some countries have an abundance of wealth while others struggle for the basic necessities. According to data found on the World Bank website, GDP per capita for the US is approximately 28 times that of Bangladesh. This critical essay aims to demonstrate an understanding of why this occurs, using relevant theory and proven case studies as evidence. (Radhakrishnan, 2012) discusses how this translatesRead MoreJollibee Food Corporation1982 Words   |  8 Pages Spain, and China. The ethnic Chinese have been very influential in the Filipino economy. Filipino culture is rooted in Asian, Spanish, and American values. Total GDP for the Philippines in 2009 was $174.3 billion, with a growth rate of 0.9%, as compared with the U.S. GDP growth rate of -2.4% for the same period. Per capita GDP is $1,779. The currency of the Philippines is the peso (PHP), trading at 43.9 PHP in December 2010 and ranging between 40 and 53 PHP per U.S. dollar over the past fiveRead More7 Megatrends 203026297 Words   |  106 PagesDYNAMIC TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION T6 GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY T7 SHARING GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY START INDEX TRENDS CONTACT 6 SUBTRENDS ONGOING GLOBALIZATION BRIC: THE NEW POWERHOUSES BEYOND BRIC Exports   and   FDI will    grow   faster   than    GDP Their   GDP   will   grow    by   7.9%   p.a. The   Next   Eleven    will   grow   by   5.9%    p.a.    Strong    growth   for   ASEAN   5 A. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Seven   global   megatrends   shape   the   face   of   the   world   in   2030 T1 CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS T2Read MoreInstitution as the Fundamental Cause of Long Tern Growth39832 Words   |  160 PagesPolitical institutions, similarly to economic institutions, determine the constraints on and the incentives of the key actors, but this time in the political sphere. Examples of political institutions include the form of government, for example, democracy vs. dictatorship or autocracy, and the extent of constraints on politicians and political elites. For example, in a monarchy, political institutions allocate all de jure political power to the monarch, and place few constraints on its exercise. A constitutional

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Luis Valdezs Los Vendidos Essay - 2024 Words

Luis Valdezs Los Vendidos Social science teaches that a person’s self identity is a reflection of that which other people put on the individual, in other words a person’s behavior steams more from what they see of themselves from someone else’s perspective and less from how they see themselves. In the case of the Mexicans, this concept holds true. From that, which has been studied thus far this semester, Mexicans/ Mexican Americans are good examples of this concept. Their sorted past has resulted in a new kind of Mexican American and perhaps a new kind of Mexican. Certainly the Mexicans American’s experience in this country has brought about some changes from the first generation of Mexicans who were born in this country to those who†¦show more content†¦The play opens with the storeowner, Amano Sancho addressing the audience. Shortly thereafter a women from the governor’s office walks in looking for a young Mexican to be placed in the audience at the governorâ€⠄¢s press conference. Immediately the audience is made aware of some of the social differences amongst Mexicans. Amano has a very thick accent, the woman from the governor’s office introduces herself as Miss. Jiminez, but insist that it be pronounced with an American accent, when Amano tries to pronounce it the way it suppose to she retorts with can’t you speak English? It is somewhat apparent that Miss. Jiminez does not recognize her Latino, most likely Mexican, heritage even though it is all over her, her brown skin to be exact. Luis makes the audience aware of this at a key point near the end of the play. Miss. Jiminez wants to take her newly bought Mexican American straight to the governor’s press conference so a brown face can be seen in the audience. Amano replays, you outta know, again pointing to the fact that this woman is Latina and completely unaware of it. Through her search the director points out many different kinds of Mexicans, or different Mexican identities that have existed in the past. He starts with one of the better known identities that Mexicans are often portrayed as. The lazy Mexican that sit in a slumped position with his head down, between his knees, wearing the large sombrero, and is usually drunk. This image is also used a lot inShow MoreRelated Luis Valdezs Los Vendidos Essay1680 Words   |  7 PagesLuis Valdezs Los Vendidos Los Vendidos, directed by Luis Valdez, is a remarkable play that looks into the historical struggles, stereotypes and challenges of Mexican Americans in a unique fashion. Rather than tell the history of Mexican Americans through documentaries and actual footage, the play conveys its message about the true history of Mexican Americans in the United States through both subtle and blatant techniques. Mexican American struggles in the United States date back to theRead More Luis Valdezs Play, Los Vendidos Essay2016 Words   |  9 PagesIn his play, Los Vendidos, Luis Valdez addresses, through humor and stereotypes, the issues faced by Mexicans in America throughout history. Although a White Washed Mexican woman is supposedly looking for a Mexican, what she is actually looking for is an American with darker skin. The key word here is American, as she is looking for someone who has denied his or her Mexican roots and become acculturated to the American way of life. This woman does not want a Mexican for any other reason thanRead More Los Vendidos Essay examples1526 Words   |  7 PagesLuis Valdez wrote â€Å"Los Vendidos† in order to address his view of the Mexican culture and in reference to the prejudices that surrounded him. The play defines four versions of Mexican men, shop owner Honest Sancho is trying to sell to a Secretary in Governor Reagan’s political offi ce. The buildup of characters: The Farmworker, Johnny Pachuco, The Revolucionario, and the Mexican-American, symbolizes an evolution of what society deems the â€Å"ideal† Mexican-American should be. â€Å"Los Vendidos† translatesRead MoreZoot Suit1167 Words   |  5 PagesZoot Suit Based on the notorious 1942 â€Å"Sleepy Lagoon† murder mystery, which resulted in the â€Å"Zoot Suit Riots† in Los Angeles, California, playwright Luis Valdez combines fact and fiction in the play â€Å"Zoot Suit† to portray the fate of 12 young Mexican Americans that were brought to trial for a murder they did not commit. Valdez created the play; â€Å"Zoot Suit† that brought a strong symbolic significance for Mexican Americans and expresses about the riots during World War II. The play, â€Å"Zoot Suit†Read More Mexican-Americans in United States and Politics Essay2150 Words   |  9 PagesMexican-Americans in United States and Politics We need a Mexican but it’s more important that he be American This quote, taken from the play Los Vendidos by Luis Valdez, well illustrates the ambivalence and hypocrisy Anglos have projected towards Mexicans for the last two centuries. Specifically, this quote refers to the United States government needing a brown face in the crowd at one of their meetings to showcase their supposed support and inclusion of Mexican-Americans in the U.SRead MoreSummary Of Los Vendidos1223 Words   |  5 Pages Discrimination against Mexican Americans has always been a grave issue in the United States. The short play Los Vendidos written by Luis Valdez sheds light upon the horrid state of racism in our nation. The play centers around the Secretary’s visit to Honest Sancho’s shop and depicts outrageous images of Mexican Americans as mere objects. Through this play, Valdez attempts to delineate the discrimination and prejudices against his people. To deliver his perspective, he employs a principle knownRead More Los Vendidos, Produced by Luis Valdez Essay2209 Words   |  9 Pagespeoples has been ignored and many times erased from the American conscience. They have struggled for acknowledgment, they have fought for equality and they have gone to battle for respect. Luis Valdez’s play, Los Vendidos, is just one of many contributions to this effort. A powerfully moving play, Los Vendidos, or the sell-outs, is a piece created to gain acknowledgement, heighten awareness and to create a sense of camaraderie amongst the people fighting in the Chicano Movement of the late 1960’sRead More Latinos, Politics, and American Cinema Essay3885 Words   |  16 Pageshistory, the Chicano resistance movement sought to change the overall racist views that, by the 1970s had been embedded in the American psyche. The conservative stereotypes of violent, sex-crazed Latinos had a negative impact on the races treatment, so Luis Valdez and his cohorts presented a liberal brand of politics to counter this racism, using films that embraced the true Chicano cultural identity. The history of film is essentially one of representation of certain groups, or as the case may be

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Legal Moralism Free Essays

Morals determine greater social good. The purpose of law Is preserving greater social good. With this being said, putting morality In legal decisions brings out a greater social good as a whole. We will write a custom essay sample on Legal Moralism or any similar topic only for you Order Now Fundamental agreement about what Is bad and what Is good (morality) is essential for the survival of collocation. So morality can be viewed as quintessential Judgment factor when It comes to law. Morality Is determined by the majority of civilization. Legal moralist encompasses the views of the majority and thus, Is more democratic. Society Is held by common thoughts of Individuals. The bondage of such common thoughts Is necessary to preserve collocation. Legal moralist upholds the decision of the societal common thoughts. Cons: Infringes Individual freedom Morals are often religious than not. Thus, groups with different religious orientation than the dominant will not be treated fairly by legal moralist based on he dominant religion. Populist views and opinions overshadow less known views and opinions. ; Diversity of thoughts are suppressed As much as I think legal moralist should be part of the legal process and decisions, in my opinion do not agree that it should be the predominant decision factor in legal system. Legal moralist interferes with the individual freedom and forces individuals to adhere to the predominant social norms. Take for an example, the marriage teen two homosexuals are banned in many states. This example clearly infringes the freedom of homosexuals to get married and have a family like heterosexuals. As time passes, society changes and values change. Legal moralist does not have the flexibility to keep up with the ever changing values and traditions of the society. Hence, I believe that legal moralist is too rigid to accommodate with the changing society, beliefs and values and cannot Justify as groundwork for the greater good of society. How to cite Legal Moralism, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Company Evaluation Exporter and Operation

Question: Discuss about the Company Evaluation for Exporter and Operation. Answer: Introduction BHP Billiton is an Australian conglomerate involved in mineral operations. It has also invested in other countries like Brazil, Peru and Colombia. BHP Billiton is an energy exporter and operates seven segments in mineral resources mainly, base metals, diamonds, stainless steel, liquefied natural gas, energy coal and oil. BHP Billiton is in a process of splitting of its core assets in order to concentrate on products such as iron ore, copper, coal, oil and potash(Banks, n.d.). As of March 1, 2016, came into effect a new operating model that will bring together the operations of the firm in three new areas: Oil, Minerals in the Americas and Australia. Notes to Financial Statements represent clarifications or explanations of facts or situations quantifiable or not presented in the movement of accounts, all of which must be read in conjunction with the Financial Statements for proper interpretation. Also they represent important information for investors wishing to buy shares of a company through the stock market, because usually show relevant information to consider that determines the behavior of the value of the shares(Bragg, 2007). The notes to the financial statements represent the dissemination of certain information that is not directly reflected in those states, and which is useful for users to make decisions with a clear and objective basis. This does not imply that these explanatory notes are a financial statement, since according to current regulations they are not, rather an integral part of them as part of the analysis, being mandatory submission. On the other hand these notes represent balances disclosures applicable to transactions or other significant events, to be observed in preparing and presenting the financial statements when appropriate. BHP Sustainability report 2015 Sustainability is a core strategy in BHP Billiton growth implementation strategy. Sustainability report index aims at creating a good social responsibility with the communities around. It focuses on environmental sustainability, employee welfare, government contributions and its economic growth. More than $225 million is committed to community programs Local suppliers are awarded a 42% allocation to tenders in BHP. More than $ 100 million was used to raise awareness to environmental issues. It is known to have contributed more than $2 billion dollars of its income to community projects in the last two decades(Barclay, Dann and Holroyd, 2000). Statement of financial analysis/ consolidated income statement The profit for the last financial year ended 30 June 2015 is $44.6billion down from $56.76 billion the previous year. This decline is attributable to a sluggish economic uptake of minerals and depreciation of the Australian dollars. There is also an aspect of increased competition from major competitors like Torino(Bull, 2008). Profits from operations declined from $22.6 billion the previous year to $ 8.4 billion this financial year. This is a significant drop in operating profits due to the above mentioned reasons. Profit after taxation from continuing operations dropped significantly to 1.152 billion. There is heavy taxation on mining company which is dictated by the Australian mining act. Dividend per share in ordinary shares stood at $124 dollars which is an improvement and among the best paying company. It was an improvement of $ 3 from the previous year. Continued and discontinued basic earnings per ordinary shares stood at $35.9 dollars while diluted earnings from discontinued and continuing activities stood at a mere $35.8. The number of ordinary shares at the end of the period stood at 5.324 million, the weighted average number of shares stood at 5.312 million while the diluted number of ordinary shares stood at 5.333 million. Other financial information related to BHP Billiton is Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) which stood at $21.8 million, while the underlying attributable profit which stood at $6.417 and the net operating cash inflows were at $19.26 million for the financial year ending 30 June 2015. The initial note of identification of the business and economic activity is necessary for BHP Billiton(Diamond, Stice and Stice, 2000). Declaration on compliance with IAS official in the country where the financial statements are drawn up. Notes on significant accounting policies used by the company for the preparation of financial statements. Notes specific character for items presented in the financial statements. Other notes financial or not financial required by the rules, and those deemed by the board and management of the company are deemed necessary for a proper understanding of the financial situation and the economic result. Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) which stood at $21.8 million, the underlying attributable profit which stood at $6.417 while the net operating cash inflows were at $19.26 million for the financial year ending 30 June 2015. Example of Notes to Financial Statements: The following excerpt model elaborate note has been based on a real note of a Mining Company: According to recent geological studies and the current production volume, estimated ore reserves of the Company's proven and probable will last 7 years. As of December 31, 2015, the number of employees (officers, employees and workers) of the Company was more than 40000 respectively(Diamond, Stice and Stice, 2000). The Financial Statements for the period ended 30 December 2015 were approved by the Board of Directors of the Company at a meeting that took place on January 20, 2008. Significant accounting policies The significant accounting policies used by the Company in the preparation and presentation of its financial statements are as follows: Basis of preparation and presentation: The financial statements are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in Australia, which comprise the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS incorporated into the International Accounting Standards (IAS) from 1 to 41, and Interpretations 1 to 33, issued by the Standing Interpretations Committee (SIC), formalized for mandatory application in Australia from 2005(Goel, n.d.). The financial statements of the Company will be presented in the functional currency, ie Dollars, from the first quarter of 2015. Balance sheet analysis and asset quality/ Liquidity risk BHP billiton has a net debt of $ 26.1 billion, and a liquidity of $16.3 billion. The current ratio: current ratio is also known as an efficiency or liquidity ratio, it determiones a firms ability to use its current assets to pay off its short term liabilities(Walters and Dunn, 2001). A company has got a limited amount of time to raise funds to pay for the short term liabilities that are usually payable between 1-3 years. The formulae for this ratio is Current assets/ current liabilities = $ 126,534million/$63,974 Million =1.97 The ideal ration to measure this short term liquidity risk is usually 2. This means that the company has a risk of not meeting its short term liabilities and therefore the companys current assets do not meet the quality required by IASB. Formulae: Cash ratio= (Cash+invested funds+cash equivalents)/Current liabilities As of December 2015 BHP billiton had a cash in hand of $ 23,876m, cash equivalent of $5,321m and invested funds that amounted to $10,432m.On the other hand, the current liabilities at the end of the period were $63,974. $(23876+5321+10432)m/$63,974m =0.62 This means that BHP Billiton may not be in a position to pay off its debt. Industry analysis The industry has generally been hit and the growth is sluggish. Therefore, BHP Billiton is just one of the companies that is hit by the industry economic slump, thus shareholders should not be worried because the economic slump is across board(Goel, n.d.). Other mining companies also recorded reduced profits and stock value, however5, economic analyst are bullish on the industry trend. Remuneration report Remuneration policy of BHP biliton,General principles and foundations of the remuneration policy of Directors seeks to compensate them so adequately given the responsibility assumed and dedication, ensuring that such compensation is appropriate in terms of market requirements, as provided in the law. Furthermore, in the case of non-executive directors are that the Board of Directors ensures that the amount of remuneration given to the non-executive director is such that it offers incentives to dedication of the directors. Linking with the Group's strategy of BHP Billiton, a portion of the compensation must be linked to the achievement of the objectives that constitute the Group's strategy. Therefore, pay for performance significant part of the remuneration should vary depending on the results. In 2016, the Board of Directors a proposal from the Remuneration Committee, has decided to submit to the approval of the General Meeting of Shareholders the implementation of Plan Long Term Inc entive 2016-2020, in line with policy remuneration of directors in force. The accounting method Any company, to carry out its activity, operates with the outside world, buy, sell, etc. As a result of these actions, their heritage is altered and gets results, profits or losses. BHP Billiton uses Duality principle Is to distinguish in any empirical fact, at least two elements relate to each other. This principle also applies to economic facts. Thus, the companies, to capture or collect any of its transactions, distinguish at least two elements involved in it. Valuation of inventory Since any company performs multiple operations, the valuation of its elements will be subject to continuous variations. The financial statements provide an overview of certain economic variables of interest of BHP Billiton. Within an outstanding place they occupy today, given its obligation, the balance sheet, the profit and loss and memory. The result will depend on various parameters, such as: the number of products sold the selling price of these, the cost of production, etc(Ricardo, 2001). Hence, it is impossible to determine the outcome or surplus generated by the company if certain interval of time has elapsed.The most detailed and comprehensive account of stocks of goods has a company to start operations or accounting period, after doing a physical count. Valuation methods do not involve physical movement of the goods, but inflation and the cost or price for the inventory. Auditing Report This article is for educational purposes and discussion, to conduct an analysis of the conceptual framework of companies accounting from the perspective of the International Standards on Auditing (ISA), consequently the reporting application in its case, the ISA ISA 800 or 700, but not intended to be a guide or establish any criteria International Auditing Standards require the auditor to perform an analysis of accounting framework on which the financial information is prepared for that, consequently, the necessary disclosures are made in his report; to this effect, Auditing Standard 200, provides that the exercise of defining the type of conceptual framework is a complicated undertaking and on which a high degree of analysis and study is required. Accounting publications When there are conflicts between the financial reporting framework and the sources from which you can obtain guidance on its application, or between the various sources that make up the financial reporting framework, the source prevails more regulatory status. Some financial reporting frameworks are fairly frames, while others are compliance frameworks. The financial reporting frameworks mainly comprising the financial reporting standards established by an authorized or recognized to promulgate standards to be used by entities in the preparation of financial statements for general purposes often are designed to achieve fair presentation in BHP Billiton. Transfer pricing In our country transactions between related parties they governed by Article 281 of the Tax Code and Regulation 78-14 on Transfer Pricing (Kaplow, 2011). For the purpose, they are considered related or related parties, individuals, legal persons or entities, provided that one of them resides or is placed in Australia and for which any of the circumstances linking BHP Billiton. Taxpayers achieved by the transfer pricing regulations are natural persons, legal entities or residents performing operations like BHP Billiton. Conclusions and Recommendations From this perspective it is worth reflecting on whether there are accounting frameworks addressed present fairly the financial or accounting performance end, perhaps one possibility might be the need that had an organizational that would like to know the use and origin of liquid resources beyond their generation profitability, or perhaps the need for a regulator or authority to hear through the construction and issuance of financial statements of the timely implementation of any law as may be tax regulation. Requirements applicable financial reporting framework determines the structure and content of financial statements (Godfrey et al., 2010). Although it is possible that the framework does not specify how to account for or disclose all transactions or events, usually it contains sufficient general principles that can serve as a basis for developing and applying consistent accounting policies with the concepts underlying the requirements of the framework. References Banks, D. (n.d.).The Mining industry. Barclay, I., Dann, Z. and Holroyd, P. (2000).New product development. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. Bragg, S. (2007).Business ratios and formulas. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Bull, R. (2008).Financial ratios. Oxford: CIMA. Burgess, J. and Connell, J. (2006).Developments in the call centre industry. London: Routledge. Diamond, M., Stice, E. and Stice, J. (2000).Financial accounting. [Cincinnati, OH]: Southwestern College Pub. Goel, S. (n.d.).Financial ratios. Mand, M. and Whipple, W. (2000).Partnering for performance. New York: AMACOM. Temte, A. (2004).Financial statement analysis. La Cross, WI: Schweser Study Program. Wiehle, U. (2006).100 IFRS financial ratios. Wiesbaden: Cometis. Godfrey, J., Tarca, A., Godfrey, J. and Picker, R. (2010).Financial accounting theory practice. Milton, Qld.: John Wiley sons. Kaplow, L. (2011).The theory of taxation and public economics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Overview of best practice environmental management in mining. (2002). [Canberra, A.C.T.]: Environment Australia. Ricardo, D. (2001).On the principles of political economy and taxation. London: Electric Book Co. Transfer pricing. (2002). London: Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. Walters, D. and Dunn, J. (2001).Student's manual of auditing. London: Thomson Learning.

Friday, November 29, 2019

The Importance of Education in Improving the American Economy Essay Example For Students

The Importance of Education in Improving the American Economy Essay As a child, I knew money was scarce. Though my family had one parent and one income, we sufficed. On the news, reporters spoke of the economic downfall. Elementary teachers discussed the economic social ladder and daily statistics about increasing poverty levels. But what is poverty? About two years ago, our financial status began to follow the economic trends. My father could no longer afford rent or groceries for dinner. For months we were living off the few food stamps available to us. This was the most petrifying moment of my life. A question developed that tormented my mind. Will we have food or a house tomorrow? Having the constant fear of living on the streets is deathly terrifying. Various letters appeared on our door demanding evacuation. Nightmares which once tormented my nights had become a reality. Bankruptcy had been an ongoing fear, but this was only half of my anguish. Before this point in my life, I had a definition of poverty. Poverty was achieved by laziness and negligence. After experiencing financial hardship, I discovered how naive and heartless I was towards disparity. Thousands of people in our community are deprived of basic necessities as we speak. We will write a custom essay on The Importance of Education in Improving the American Economy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Living in alleyways, they strive to find employment, food, or a mere conversation. This is poverty. Yet as these unfortunate individuals stand on street corners wishing for a miracle, we glance at them with callous faces as if they are worthless. I have now experienced the adversity I once criticized. The recent economic stimulus package signed by Obama will initiate an optimistic future for the United States. Several prominent ideas which will influence our economy the most are the housing, tax, and unemployment benefits. These will allow adults o. .cle if one occurs. Fortunately, we are slowly escaping poverty. However, there are many kids out there who have not experienced this; they are in danger of making mistakes which could cause them various months, or dare I say years, of anguish. The youth of this nation have the future government in their hands; we are the foundation of opportunity. By educating this new generation, a bright future will be ahead and a misfortune such as our current foreclosure crisis is less likely to occur. Change will not happen within the next few days, or even weeks; it will take a great deal of time to overcome the financial catastrophe we have endured. A drastic initial amount of money has been spent on individuals in hope of reinitiating the consumer cycle. However, by educating both our citizens and our youth, an even greater amount of potential is in the near future.

Monday, November 25, 2019

pH Definition and Equation in Chemistry

pH Definition and Equation in Chemistry pH is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration,  a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The pH scale usually ranges from 0 to 14.  Aqueous solutions at 25 °C with a pH less than 7 are acidic, while those with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. A pH level of 7.0 at 25 °C is defined as neutral  because the concentration of H3O equals the concentration of OH− in pure water. Very strong acids might have a negative pH, while very strong bases might have a pH greater than 14. pH Equation The equation for calculating pH was proposed in 1909 by Danish biochemist  Sà ¸ren Peter Lauritz Sà ¸rensen: pH -log[H] where log is the base-10 logarithm and [H] stands for the hydrogen ion concentration in units of moles per liter solution. The term pH comes from the German word potenz, which means power, combined with H, the element symbol for hydrogen, so pH is an abbreviation for power of hydrogen. Examples of pH Values of Common Chemicals We work with many acids (low pH) and bases (high pH) every day. Examples of pH values of lab chemicals and household products include: 0: hydrochloric acid2.0: lemon juice2.2: vinegar4.0: wine7.0: pure water (neutral)7.4: human blood13.0: lye14.0: sodium hydroxide Not All Liquids Have a pH Value pH only has meaning in an aqueous solution (in water). Many chemicals, including liquids, do not have pH values. If theres no water, theres no pH.  For example, there is no pH value for vegetable oil, gasoline, or pure alcohol. IUPAC Definition of pH The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) has a slightly different pH scale that is based on electrochemical measurements of a standard buffer solution. Essentially, the definition uses the equation: pH -log aH where aH stands for hydrogen activity, which is the effective concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution. This might be slightly different from the true concentration. The IUPAC pH scale also includes thermodynamic factors, which may influence pH. For most situations, the standard pH definition is sufficient. How pH Is Measured Rough pH measurements  can  be made using litmus paper or another type of pH paper known to change colors around a certain pH value. Most indicators and pH papers are useful only to tell whether a substance is an acid or a base or to identify pH within a narrow range. A universal indicator is a mixture of indicator solutions intended to provide a color change over a pH range of 2 to 10. More accurate measurements are made using primary standards to calibrate a glass electrode and pH meter. The electrode works by measuring the potential difference between a hydrogen electrode and a standard electrode. An example of a standard electrode is silver chloride. Uses of pH pH is used in everyday life as well as science and industry. Its used in cooking (e.g., reacting baking powder and an acid to make baked goods rise), to design cocktails, in cleaners, and in food preservation. Its important in pool maintenance and water purification, agriculture, medicine, chemistry, engineering, oceanography, biology, and other sciences.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Bhopal Disaster Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Bhopal Disaster - Essay Example (e) The MIC tank was filled beyond capacity, so much that the overflow tank was also full. (f) The malfunctioning blow down value of the MIC tank was malfunctioning because it was in an open position. Consequences of the disaster: As stated earlier, there were 3800 plus deaths and more than 200,000 injured. Apart from the loss of human life, crops, animals and marine life were destroyed. Many of the women developed diseases such as gonorrhoea and pelvic inflammation, excessive menstruation and suppressed lactation. There was a high incidence of still births and among the babies who where born, there was a high rate of babies born with deformities. Many foetuses suffered from respiratory ailments and complications, which also afflicted the mothers. Other symptoms which were produced included impaired audio and visual memory, neuroses and anxiety reactions. Reliability Block Diagram: The reliability of any system is derived in terms of the reliabilities of the individual components of the system. The advantages of using reliability block diagrams are as follows: (a) Integrating the probability of faults occurring into modules (b) Including within each module, the probability of failure, the failure rate, the distribution of time to failure, the steady state and instantaneous availability (c) The ability to organize each module in a structured way, dependent upon the effects of each module’s failure The reliability block diagram can be used to assess probability for failure for the Bhopal disaster as well. The major cause of the failure was the faulty valve which allowed water to pass into the MIC tank. This major fault was only... There were 3800 plus deaths and more than 200,000 injured. Apart from the loss of human life, crops, animals, and marine life were destroyed. Many of the women developed diseases such as gonorrhea and pelvic inflammation, excessive menstruation and suppressed lactation. There was a high incidence of stillbirths and among the babies who were born, there was a high rate of babies born with deformities. Many fetuses suffered from respiratory ailments and complications, which also afflicted the mothers. Other symptoms which were produced included impaired audio and visual memory, neuroses and anxiety reactions. The reliability of any system is derived in terms of the reliabilities of the individual components of the system. The advantages of using reliability block diagrams are as follows: Integrating the probability of faults occurring into modules Including within each module, the probability of failure, the failure rate, the distribution of time to failure, the steady state, and instantaneous availability The ability to organize each module in a structured way, dependent upon the effects of each module’s failure The reliability block diagram can be used to assess the probability of failure for the Bhopal disaster as well. The major cause of the failure was the faulty valve which allowed water to pass into the MIC tank. This major fault was only exacerbated by other related factors, such as switched off air-conditioning, and malfunctioning pressure and temperature gauges, which prevented the fault condition being detected on time.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Speed limit in texas going from 70 to 95 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Speed limit in texas going from 70 to 95 - Essay Example The speed limit of 80 is already too high, as too many people see it as an open door to go as fast as their cars will allow. According to Representative Joe Pickett of El Paso, Interstate 10 is â€Å"flat with a long line of sight and good shoulders. For people like us who travel that long distance, it could be good† to raise the speed limit even more (the_old_coach, 2011). Rightfully so, auto insurance providers are in an uproar over the bill, citing viable safety concerns. According to Jerry Johns, representative for the Southwestern Insurance Information Service, â€Å"†¦the two things that kill most people on our highways are speed and alcohol. Increasing it to 85, or even 75, will have a dramatic impact on the death and injury rate†¦ where it’s implemented† (the_old_coach, 2011). Drivers already exceed the 70 mph speed limits, and will continue to exceed the posted limits no matter how high they go. Allowing people to drive at 85 mph is simply too fast for any type of road. There is too much traffic, too many inexperienced drivers, and going at such blistering speeds is dangerous not only to the driver going the posted 80 mph, but to those who are interested in safety and economy going only 65 or 70 mph. granted, texas is the second largest state in the U.S., but that should not afford people the right to travel at any rate of speed that they so desire simply due to the size of the state in which they live. According to a recent research survey conducted by the Alberta Motor Association (2011), 88.6% of 2,394 total respondents failed to pass a basic driver knowledge test, which is based on the learner’s permit test. In order for respondents to pass this test, they had to answer 25 out of the 30 questions correctly, and the average score was 22. This is a stark reality, which most people choose not to face. Most people feel that they are the world’s best drivers, particularly those with over ten years driving exp erience. However, this does not prove that raising the speed limit from 70 to 85 will do texas any safe justice in traveling, because even the most experienced drivers have become so complacent that they can no longer pass a learner’s test. The idea of having a raised speed limit in texas is a bit grandiose, as it is unreasonable to pass such legislature. They need to consider not only the four-wheeled vehicles, but the semis as well. It is nearly impossible to fathom an 18-wheeler doing 85 mph, as their stopping distance, control and often inexperienced driver at the wheel in those cases as well are going to be a bane on texas society. The posted speed limit of 70 is rarely heeded, as most people take carte blanche with it wherever they go and cruise at a higher speed than is legal. By raising the speed limit to 85, texas is asking for more accidents, more casualties and more speeding tickets. Our law enforcement officers have a daunting job that they deal with every day, wh y would texas be silly enough to make it that much harder on them over an 85 mph speed limit? That is ridiculous. Texas is a phenomenal state, and I am proud to be a citizen. Nevertheless, it is simply foolishness to raise the speed

Monday, November 18, 2019

The Company Yahoo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Company Yahoo - Essay Example As the discussion stresses, the company was on the height of its success at the time of dot-com boom in 2000 when its stock price plunged to record high. Yahoo! also started its free mail service in response to the release of Google’s Gmail in 2004. In the following year, the company took over Flickr, a thriving photo sharing service. Yahoo! continued to expand by acquiring and purchasing innovative business in need of capital. The range of services offered by Yahoo! also rose in the year 2005 when the company stepped into Web 2.0 services. MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger became interoperable in 2005 which was another great achievement for the company. Yahoo! also allowed its mail users unlimited free space in 2007 as it removed the barrier of 1GB storage. In 2008, in the time of recession, the company announced the layoff of 1000 employees. The company was facing difficulties in competing with the efficient Google. The main revenue model for the company was advertising ini tially. Afterwards, the company started making money from the augmented services that it offered. Efficient management of capital and reduction in expenditure helped the company to gain its profitability in the pure internet business. In 2008, the company was approached by Microsoft for the offer of a merger. However, Yahoo! rejected the offer of Microsoft as the share price being offered was very low. Recently, Yahoo! webpage is seen to be changed and a new version is launched called the Metro. This new look also has links to famous applications such as Facebook.com and Netflix. E-commerce website like Yahoo! needs to constantly innovate and develop new features on the website to attract more users and subscribers. The company right now faces lack of originality as it is engaged in merging and acquiring already established businesses like Flickr. The customer data which is private should not be used by the company to be sold to marketing agencies.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

South Africa World Cup 2010 Project Leadership

South Africa World Cup 2010 Project Leadership Executive Summary This paper analyses the project of the Soccer World Cup held in South Africa in 2010 on behalf of FIFA. An introduction to the project at hand is laid out to explain the situation in which the project took place. A critical evaluation of the project is made, determining the facets that the Government and organising committee had to effectively deal with, what type of leadership styles were implemented, how team building progressed, the project life cycle and the external factors influencing this project. Improvements are recommended for some aspects of this project that could have made the Soccer World Cup more successful than what it was deemed to have been. Some of these recommendations include; better team building, more effective planning, budgetary concerns and public relation issues. The World Cup Opening Ceremony was a major success, followed by the first goal of the World Cup in the first game between South Africa and Mexico. When Siphiwe Tshabalala, of South Africa, scored the first goal, South Africans deemed the project a success. Introduction to Case Study FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) has taken it upon themselves to be the guardian of the game all over the world, in every shape or form. According to FIFA World Cupà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ (2010), their mission statement is, Develop the game, touch the world, build a better future. They do not merely focus on playing the game but rather they have to focus on every aspect that may affect the game and all that the game stands for. Rules, laws, players, developing the game and using this sport to bring hope to people all over the world, especially those less privileged than others. FIFA World Cupà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢(2010) states that the World Cup started in 1930 in Uruguay and this inaugural World Cup was won by the host team. There have only been two times since the inauguration that the World Cup was not hosted and that was during World War II. South Africa recently hosted the FIFA Soccer World Cup. This is the project that will be used as a case study as I am a South African citizen and am currently residing in the country. Information that has been referred to on this project has been experienced firsthand. This was the first time that the FIFA World Cup that was hosted by an African Country. The Soccer World Cup was hosted in South Africa from June 11th 2010 to July 11th 2010. 32 teams participated in the World Cup with the final game being played between Spain and Netherlands. Spain reigned victorious. It was a major project for South Africa, as although the country had previously hosted the cricket and rugby World Cups, it was the first time that this type of World Cup was hosted in the country and the event was made up of many projects. Many project defining aspects needed to be started from scratch. The project management was run by the Government who recruited a number of different resources, companies, personnel and task teams with the hope of making the project a success. Most importantly they assigned the role of project coordinator to Danny Jordaan. The areas that needed to be addressed included, amongst others, stadium construction and improvements, airport construction and refurbishment, infrastructure and logistics, transportation, accommodation, policing and justice, immigration, finance and health. Each of these projects needed to be successful in order for the event to be a success. This project consisted not only of these internal projects but was also influenced by external factors such as the countrys image to the world, opinions of South Africa by other countries and contractual agreements with FIFA. Therefore media and marketing were also part of the project. The success or failure of the project would impact on the economy and general well-being of the country for many years to come even after the event had taken place. The project management team needed to ensure that the projects that were undertaken would have a positive outcome on the countrys operations even after the event had taken place and concluded. Transportation and the creation of jobs could be highlighted as the most crucial aspects of the World Cup. These components are highlighted as crucial as their impact would be felt most notably once the event concluded on July 11th 2010. The construction of the stadiums was crucial as although many rugby and cricket stadiums already existed in South Africa a lack of soccer stadiums was obvious. Transportation also needed to be improved as although the government felt that roads were acceptable pre-World Cup with the influx of people from all over the world, roads and transportation systems needed to be improved. Highways were expanded and refurbished, additional buses were bought and coincidentally the construction of another transportation project, the Gau-train, would be fast-tracked to be used for the World Cup. The benefit that South Africa did have was that the country was also selected to host the Confederations Soccer Cup during June 2009. The country was able to use this event as a type of a trial run for the World Cup. The rapid bus transfer system was tested in Pretoria and errors or faults that occurred were able to be rectified before the World Cup the following year. The projects success will be analysed in order to determine the factors of project management that were used, the elements of team building that are available and how the leadership aspects, styles or type of management could be changed to make improvements to the project. Critical Evaluation According to Kerzner (2009) project management and in turn project success can be defined as completing a project within the allocated time frame, within budget, meeting a specified performance level, with as few changes to the scope as possible. Project management and team building go hand in hand when dealing with any type or any form of a project. This is because almost all projects, even when operating in a virtual environment, have people involved. When dealing with a project such as the Soccer World Cup, a third aspect fits into project management and team building just as critically. This aspect is public relations. According to the Independent institute of education (2010) although public relations can be seen as its own concept away from project management, the people involved in the project need to be aware of the standings with regards to public relations. With the World Cup being such a worldwide event, with sold out stadiums and an estimation of over a billion people wat ching, what the media says, or what the world thinks will be of critical importance to determine whether the project was gauged as a successful or failure. The main problems or areas of improvement that the South African World Cup organizers had to deal with were construction, ticket sales, transportation and crime. According to Cooke Tate (2005) project management can be defined as a culmination of knowledge, skills, expertise, systems and programs that ensure that the work that is being done, by a team of people, is in fact working towards accomplishing the strategic goals of the organization or fulfilling the aims of the project to which they have been assigned. Project management will need to bring together different areas of an organization, or that of a number of different organizations such as finance, administration, human resources, marketing or operations to work in unison to achieve the aims or goals. Project management has been developed so that a single department or person working on a project has control and visibility over all the other departments to ensure that the project runs smoothly, for the Soccer World Cup 2010 that person was Danny Jordaan. The project manager will oversee all departments and actions to try and produce a successful outcome. Project management is made up of many sections and sub headings that need to be considered. The following subjects need to be addressed when developing a project and have been summarized from Shtub Globerson , 2005. Communication guidelines and the hierarchy of leadership need to be established. Lifecycle planning needs to take place to ascertain which model would be best suited to your project. Implementation and monitoring is the next area that needs to be addressed. When and how the project will be implemented and how this will be monitored to establish control. Then cost estimates and budgeting need to be developed and contingencies need to be established as to where the cost can exceed budgeted amounts and where cut backs could be implemented if needed. Variance is an aspect that all projects need to be aware of as nothing in life is certain, external environments are constantly changing and a project needs to know where it can change and where there is no room to adjust. The project needs to have prepared for any expected changes that may affect their plans or any unexpected changes that could drastically impact the outcome of the project. An important and final aspect that many projects o ften forget to include is the closeout. In the case of the soccer World Cup in South Africa, the closeout will happen in varied stages but need to be included in the planning. The initial closeout occurs when FIFA approves the set out requirements, other close outs occur at the closing ceremony, and then when projects that were included in the World Cup preparations are complete, this may be months or even years after the final whistle had blown on the final game. All projects have a project life cycle and they can vary in length. A project lifecycle is typically made up of the following 5 stages, (Gray and Larson, 2006); Project Management can be divided into five parts: Project charter development Request for Proposal Development and Process Planning Design Project team creations, Project kick-off Planning (Work Breakdown Schedule), Budget Implementation/monitoring/control Project termination, hand-off to operations management. In the case of the soccer World Cup the project life cycle would have been spread out over a number of years, even before the World Cup was awarded to South Africa. The government had to tender a proposal to FIFA against other competing countries to be allowed to host the World Cup. Therefore the project life cycle would have started pre-2004. As different projects were started and came to an end, each would have had their own life cycle as well. Each project had to go through a tender process as well. An example of a tender used for Green Point stadium has been attached in Appendix A. Different projects will also take on different life-cycle formations or models. The most commonly accepted of these models are the waterfall project lifecycle model, the agile project lifecycle model, the iterative model and the spiral project life cycle model. Each model has different strengths and weaknesses and therefore some models are better suited to different working environments. Each sub-project, underneath the main World Cup South Africa project, would have made use of different life-cycles. The World Cup would have to have implemented the Spiral project lifecycle model as Mall (2009) explains; this model combines elements of design and prototyping-in-stages, in an effort to combine advantages of top down and bottom up concepts. This model can also be referred to as the spiral development model; it is a systems development method. This model of development combines the features of the prototyping model and the waterfall model .The spiral model is intended for large, expensive and complicated projects. The World Cup was expensive, intricate, and took place all over South Africa. The stages of the project also overlapped and did not have to wait for the completion of one project to start the next. For example the building of the airports and stadiums were not contingent on the completion of the roads or other transport projects. The project was awarded to South Africa on the 15th of May 2004 and the start of the project began soon after however some parts of the project are still busy being completed, even after the World Cup. Although the highways and roads were open to be used at full capacity during the World Cup, the construction of these roads and highways are still taking place today. In comparison to standard projects that organizations will take on, and the case study at hand, the soccer World Cup in South Africa, certain aspects of normal operations will differ quite substantially from this type of project. The teams that worked on the World Cup in South Africa were not working in a normal business environment. Their end product was not intending to gain a competitive advantage over other competitors in the same market. The products they were producing were not to be resold yet a profit needed to be made. The product could not become obsolete, however there was a deadline date, that of the opening ceremony. The deadline date however was not that of the opening ceremony because South Africa was dealing with FIFA, FIFA required that all stadiums or any structures or projects relating to the World Cup were completed a number of months in advance. As South Africa was in control of hosting the World Cup, they were also responsible of reporting to FIFA to ensure that the FIFA World Cup was a success. Stephen Blatter, the president of FIFA, was heavily involved in the operations taking place in South Africa and Danny Jordaan was the project coordinator for the Soccer World Cup. With regards to leadership styles, two main types of leadership styles generally exist, autocratic or exclusive and democratic or inclusive. A democratic leader takes other individuals opinions and ideas into consideration before making the final decision. Danny Jordaans style of management can be seen to be democratic. His involvement with the World Cup showed that he had South Africas best interests at heart. He took into consideration other leaders opinions and advice and worked in close unison with Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela when securing the tender bid to host the World Cup. Reports needed to be presented on weekly and monthly basis and he was the spokesman for interaction with the media in relation to World Cup activities. FIFA however are deemed to be autocratic. FIFA can be seen to be a franchise. Every four years a different country is elected to host the World Cup. FIFA has certain contractual requirements that each country needs to meet in order to be granted the privi lege of hosting such a prestigious event. Although South Africa could decide what the stadiums would like and how the upgrades would take place, FIFA required a certain number of stadiums to be erected or improved, for certain activities to take place and other similar requirements. The project management team needed to be compiled of a number of individuals with different areas of expertise. Although the project had a start and end date (11th June and 11th July), a budget and a scope as most projects do, the areas that this project needed to delve into were vast. The South African government had tendered to organise the World Cup. In order to successfully accomplish this, a number of facets needed to be improved, developed or started from scratch. These areas include, (Media Report, 2010), amongst others; Infrastructure stadiums needed to be built and renovated. Health Although no pandemics were forecast, they needed to be prepared. Transportation the highways needed to be improved, as well as public transport. Finance- a developing country would need to analyze budgets with high scrutiny. Technology- new fibre optic cables for televising the games worldwide. Electricity- Eskom had guaranteed power for all games, through the use of generators. Safety and Security Xenophobic attacks sent shocks throughout the world, this needed to be stepped up. Immigration- a new type of visa was created to allow access to more foreigners. Hooligans were banned. Accommodation availability and standards were a worry. Media and marketing- people needed to feel safe coming to South Africa. The South African Government identified the dramatic changes to transport logistics in South Africa as the legacy that would remain for years to come. The issues identified above are just a few examples of the projects that the overall project manager or project coordinator, Danny Jordaan, would need to have expertise on, and it would seem highly unlikely that one person would have this type of knowledge; however general management could appoint a number of sub-project managers to oversee each department and report back to one project manager. Danny Jordaan might not have had the expertise in each sub-section of the project however he was able to employ other team members to take control of those areas. Information taken from the Background Information on Government Preparations for the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUPà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ (2010) shows a breakdown of each element that the government was dealing with. The government had weekly and monthly report sessions for each area of development. In order for a project to be successful the team that works on the project needs to be selected in a certain manner. Dr. Meredith Belbin defined a team role as: A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. He spent a number of years working on the theory about teams. Dr. Meredith Belbin has written a number of books and one of his fundamental theories is based on team roles. The roles that individuals will fill when placed in a certain situation when trying to achieve a certain goal. Individuals have different personalities and different strengths and weaknesses. Belbin initially believed that the success or failure of a project would rely on the intellectual levels of the team members. According to Belbin associates, (2010), he ran a simulation test at a university for over ten years to determine the grounds of his theory. The theory is that a teams success or failure is not reliant on intellect but rather on the balance of roles that each individual will assume when in a certain environment. This team roles can be divided into three sub-sections and then into 9 individual team roles. The three main sections are Action-oriented, People oriented and Thought oriented. Action-Oriented roles include Shaper, Implementer and Complete-Finishers. People Oriented Roles include Coordinator, Team Worker and Resource Investigator. Thought oriented roles include Plant, Monitor Evaluator and Specialist. Advantages and disadvantages that make up each team role need to be discussed and understood in order to create the most effective team for the project at work. According to Belbin Associates (2010) and Belbin himself, (1993) the different roles have different pros and cons. The shapers advantages include the drive to challenge team members to improve, they are dynamic people, who are extroverted and who stimulate others. They also avoid complacency by introducing new attributes. Negative characteristics include that they are argumentative and are not sensitive to other peoples feelings. The implementer is characterized by people that get things done, those who take ideas and turn them into actions. They are conservative, disciplined and work systematically. The disadvantages however are that they show inflexibility and resist any kind of change. Complete finishers have the advantageous characteristics that ensure that a project is completed with all the small details completed. They are focused on deadlines and can be seen as perfectionists. These characteristics lend themselves to worry unnecessarily and these individuals find it difficult to delegate tasks to others for the fear of losing control of the task at hand. Belbin also identifies advantages and disadvantages for the other roles too. The coordinator leads the team to achieve the goals and objectives that they perceive as realistic. They are excellent listeners, calm, good natured and are able to delegate tasks, however sometimes the coordinator delegates away too much authority and may be seen to be manipulative. The team workers provide support to the team and ensure that all the team workers are able to work together effectively. They are able to be flexible, diplomatic and perceptive. Their disadvantages have been identified as having tendency to be indecisive and do not commit to any major decisions. The resource investigators are innovative and curious. They explore other options available to them and handle negotiations. These team members may however be overly optimistic and lose their enthusiasm for the team and their own roles rather quickly. The final three roles also each have advantages and disadvantages. The plant role is cr eative, flourishes on praise and invents new ideas or advances. The disadvantages however are that this team member finds criticism very hard to handle or accept, they are introverted and prefer to work alone. Their communication skills are poor and often ignore restrictions or restraints that they are given. The monitor evaluators strengths include that they are ideal at analysing and evaluating other team members ideas, they are successfully able to weigh up pros and cons of different possible investments, and are critical thinkers. Their drawbacks are that they can be detached and unemotional; they are poor motivators for their team members and wait to react to events rather than instigate them. Finally the ninth role, the specialist, that was added on later by Belbin include advantages of that they pride themselves on their skills and abilities, they are focused on their professional status and are an expert in a certain area of knowledge. Their disadvantages include that they m ay limit their contribution purely to what they consider themselves to be expert in and may lead the team to become pre-occupied with technicalities and small detail rather than the overall plan. In relation to the World Cup information on which techniques were used for team building are not readily available, however it has been assumed that Belbins theory was used when selecting the teams that were brought together for this project. Each team involved with the project would need a careful balance of the team members in order to be successful. A key element of team building is the stages of team development as developed by Tuckman (1977); Forming, Norming, Storming, Performing and finally Adjourning. Each individual team that is part of the World Cup development project needed time to adjust to each stage to team development. It is clear that the construction teams on site had not properly adjusted to team development as they coordinators of these projects had to deal with strikes and unrest at many of the stadiums. The projects where the majority of teams were based, transport and infrastructure is what the world watched most with regards to development projects, it is here where nation branding took place. The way in which South Africa wanted to portray itself was largely reliant on what was reported in the media and in the news. Strikes, delays and xenophobic attacks were in the news for a large majority of the time leading up to the world cup. Due to this the branding of the country was portrayed in negative lighting for a lot of the time that should in fact have been used for positive and encouraging reporting. The influx of foreign tourists to South Africa missed the original goal by a large number. Due to many of these factors the income to the country was much less than the expenditure and much less than what was expected. According to an article in the Telegraph, South Africa made a return of just  £323m on the  £3bn it spent. In conclusion to the critical reflection; the sustainability that FIFA brought to South Africa for the World Cup was not incorporated into the countries national strategy and therefore many of the strides that the country made during the World Cup were quickly eliminated when the final whistle was blown. Recommendations The specific details of the areas of which project management, project leadership or team building activities used during the World Cup were not readily accessible. Therefore the overall outcomes of the world cup and which practices should have been more heavily included can be deduced. Although information about the World Cup as a whole was available the smaller projects techniques and tools were not made available to the public. In critical review of the World Cup one of the most unsuccessful areas of the project was the budget or cost aspect of the iron triangle. To illustrate the point, (Pedroncelli, 2010), Soccer City Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the World Cup was completed at R1 billion over budget. Strikes at other stadiums such as Green Point, forced organisers to bring in negotiators for increases in salaries, and the lost time then forced the Government to enforce additional shifts at higher costs to finish on time as the completion deadlines were non-negotiable. Imports of construction materials ran over budget as the rand lost strength to other currencies and prices escalated higher than what the budget had predicted. Therefore although the scope and time were met, the cost was extraordinarily higher than predicted. This could be due to two reasons, either the budget was not well planned out and the estimates and actual costs were not realistic and not well researched or revised, or the variance of aspects discovered in the project was vast. It seems that the variance was the reason to blame for some of the over spending on the project. Poor planning could be blamed for this. Elements such as strikes or increases in costs of materials could have been realised beforehand and more concisely included in the budgetary stage of planning. A recommendation for future projects is to research and predict more accurately about future fluctuations, or to buy materials in bulk at a known price so that variances do not occur at a later stage. A number of projects were not completed on time which can be viewed as contrasting as other projects managed to finish ahead of schedule. A recommendation for future projects of this nature is to learn from other projects which developed similar end products and were produced under similar circumstances. Green Point Stadium organizers could look at the development techniques used by the project co-ordinators of the Soccer City Stadium. Work breakdown schedules and organisational breakdown schedules should have been more precise and shared amongst projects with similar outlines. Managers in control of stadiums or projects that ran over budget or over time should take note of the way in which projects were executed which ended on time, on budget and had no scope creep. It is clear that as the sub-projects of the World Cup were each significant in their own right therefore each project was governed by different managers or by different planning committees. Some stadiums were handed over to FIFA ahead of schedule and other projects such as the construction and refurbishment of highways are still being completed after the event has ended. It is a recommendation that the tenders for the construction or refurbishments should have been sent out earlier. The tender, as attached in Appendix A, shows that although a very thorough and positive process was followed, it was only started in 2006, 2 years after the World Cup project was given to South Africa. If more time had been given to the constructors and those parties, the costs involved may have escalated less. The teams may have had more time to form The leadership style of FIFA cannot be changed. They are a corporate body that acts as a franchise in relation to the World Cup. They have a formula that works and they expect participating nations to follow this plan. This autocratic style is suitable to the environment in which FIFA operates. Danny Jordaans leadership style and approach to the World Cup was successful. Nelson Mandela said, when South Africa was awarded the privilege of hosting the World Cup that, South Africans should treat this decision with humility and without arrogance because we are, after all, equal. Danny Jordaan focused on bringing South Africans together. From the construction workers on the roads and in the stadiums to fans to corporate CEOs funding different projects, all parties felt part of the World Cup, because the country felt proud to host the World Cup as one nation not separate races. The final recommendations that would be made however include; Better planning for variance conditions. These conditions include: working environments and severance, stability of the Rand against currencies or then bulk buying. Earlier tender dates for highway construction. Improved communication with the media for a positive reflection of the host nation. Incorporating FIFA changes into the national strategy in order to retain the positives. Increased time for team development on different projects. If projects were tendered and started earlier, strikes and delays may have been less severe. Ensuring the project coordinator is democratic or inclusive when dealing with a force as strong as FIFA in its autocratic behaviour or tendencies. Conclusion In conclusion the Soccer World Cup hosted by South Africa, on behalf of FIFA, in 2010 was a successful project. As indicated in the recommendations a number of improvements could be put forth that could have eliminated some of the problems that the Government and other parties experienced. A focus on public relations should have been highlighted. The xenophobic attacks prior to the World Cup should have been better handled by the Government to reduce the negative image that is portrayed of the country. Communications between the sub-projects could have been better established so that problems experienced on one site could be avoided on another. The leadership styles executed by the parties involved were well executed and appropriate. FIFA is a corporate organization that operates as a franchise when dealing with the World Cup. Their style therefore needs to be autocratic. They need the country which is hosting the World Cup to fulfill certain goals and expectations. Danny Jordaan, the project coordinator, executed a democratic or inclusive style of management which worked well in the environment in which he was operating. He was able to successfully execute the project, although over budget, by incorporating all South Africans into the buildup of the World Cup. Budgetary problems experienced by the organizing committee could have been overcome through better planning and better time management. Tenders and start dates of the projects could have been brought forward to an early date, relieving the tensions of deadlines and fluctuating prices. If the start dates had also been brought forward it may have allowed teams more time to go through the development stages of forming, norming, storming and performing. The construction of the highways may also have been completed to a better schedule. To summarise one moment of the World Cup that truly showed the success of such a tournament being hosted in Africa for the first time was when South Africas striker, Siphiwe Tshabalala, scored the first goal of the tournament. The country celebrated as one, and brought the African spirit alive.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Stephen Kings Why We Crave Horror Films Essay -- essays research paper

As I was lying in bed recalling the event happened an hour before I was thinking to myself that I will never look at lightning the same way again. Thunder and lightning was still present in the night sky as I lay there in bed thanking God I was alive and well. Each flash of lightning lit the entire room and each clap of thunder rattled the windows of my hotel room. Lightning can seem much more terrifying when you’re up 20,000 ft in the mountains, and the thunder sounds a lot louder too. The sound of nature’s fury seemed to slowly descend as the night went on, but my nerves did not. I was still stunned and in shock of being stuck in a lightning storm high in the mountains. I never thought about the power and damage lightning can inflict upon its surroundings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It was summer 2001 and we had been invited to attend the wedding in Colorado for one of our friends. The wedding took place on a mountain top in Keystone, Colorado. The wedding reception also took place in the lodge on the mountain top. The mountain top was about 20,000 ft about sea level. In order to get there you had to ride two gondolas. Each gondola sat about six people and would carry on up the mountain and down the mountain and down the mountain; much like a ski lift. Each ride lasted about 15 minutes. The wedding was a success, and it was one of the best weddings I’ve ever attended. The reception went all into the night. Laughter and conversation could be heard yards away from the lo...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Groupe Ariel S.A. Essay

Abstract Groupe Ariel is a company that manufactures and sells printers, copiers and other document production equipment. The case focuses on an investment project in the company’s Mexican subsidiary that would expand operations into a new market, something it been slow to do in the past. Groupe Ariel believes its products have better durability for a lower after-sales service costs and markets it as a competitive advantage. The company is now considering replacing the manual equipment used for recycling in Mexico by new equipment that requires less material and labor costs. 1. Compute the incremental peso cash flows for the life of the project. The incremental cash flows of the next 10 years should be calculated. The initial cash outflow is the cost of investment in the new equipment (3,500,000 Pesos). Also, selling the manual equipment for cash value of 175,000 Pesos is subtracted from the cost of the new equipment to arrive at the initial net cash outlay of 3,325,000 Pesos. For the cash flows in the next 10 years, it is calculated by taking the difference of the cost of the manual method and the new automatic equipment. Next, to arrive at after-tax incremental cash flows we add back depreciation cost, which is non-cash expense (if total cost does include depreciation) and deduct tax. The new equipment would have a useful life of 10 years and would be depreciated under the straight-line method for both tax and financial reporting purposes. The corporate tax rate is 35%. 2. Compute the net present value of Ariel-Mexico’s recycling equipment in pesos by discounting the incremental peso cash flows at a peso discount rate. The present value of all these cash inflows and outflows can be calculated by discounting them at 8.5%, which was calculated by using real peso long-term borrowing rate of 2.2% and a real euro rate of 1.8%. The NPV can be calculated by taking the sum of present values of all the cash flows. This NPV comes out to be 3,754,474 Pesos. 3. Compute the NPV in Euros by translating the project’s future peso cash flows into Euros at the expected future spot rates. We translate the project’s future peso cash flows into Euros using the expected future spot rates estimated by the international business publication in the article—rise to 20.00 by 2011 from current 15.99 exchange rate and upwards of 25.00 in 2013-2018. We then discount the cash flows in Euros at 8% (the discount rate for similar projects in France) and get the NPV in Euros as 118,903 Euros. 4. Translate the NPV in pesos calculated in 2. To Euros and compare to the answer in 3. Comment on your findings. We translate the NPV in pesos calculated in 2 to Euros using the spot exchange rate on June 23 at MXN15.99/EUR. It gives an NPV of 234,801 in Euros, which is much higher than our number in question 3 as 118,903 Euros. The difference is driven by prediction of Pesos against Euros, and a slight different discount rate. From our analysis, we see that expectation of steep depreciation in pesos and a slightly higher discount rate in Mexico result in a much higher NPV value if we translate the pesos into Euros now.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Multi-Agency working and safeguarding adults in care Essays

Multi-Agency working and safeguarding adults in care Essays Multi-Agency working and safeguarding adults in care Essay Multi-Agency working and safeguarding adults in care Essay Essay Topic: Adults There have been various cases recently in the news to where abuse has been either suspected of confirmed, for example the Panorama undercover programme at Winterbourne view whereby a range of physical, emotional, psychological abuse were identified. Abuse is defined as A violation of an individuals human and civil rights by any other person or persons. Vulnerable people are more open to abuse due to the individuals either not being able to stand up for themselves and are usually unwell, frail or/and confused. Different types of services try to combat this abuse through taking a multi-agency approach whereby the organisations all work together to discover ways of preventing the abuse from taking place in the beginning or resurrect the situation when abuse has been confirmed by providing a range of support through support planning and single assessment. Rather than the organisations working separately and providing separate services without any communication, multi-agency working encourages the services to work together through sharing information and a co-ordination of approach whereby the individuals needs are central to the process and that a person centred care approach is used. With multi-agency working there will be an array of professionals from different agencies where they will combine each of their individual skills and expertise to meet all of the individuals holistic needs. For Multi-agency working to be successful, good communication from all organisations and a good understanding of what each other do is crucial. Not only this but it also requires a co-ordinating professional, to ensure that the organisations are working to satisfactory levels and that the needs of the individual are being met. Another benefit is that through multi-agency working, it is encouraged for the individual to have involvement in their health care services and allows them to feel more confident in talking about their worries, fears and potential abuse. Not only this but having equality through the relationships of the working encourage the individual to develop a higher self-esteem, self-confidence and the strength to stop accepting the abusive situations that may occur are the norm. It also ensures that there is an agreed approach to all of the organisations which are involved including the families and informal carers as well so that they are all aware of and can monitor the situation. Multi-agency working is also a way of enabling better information sharing and communication in terms of the staff, team meetings, communication via emails and written records such as in a care home whereby there would be a daily log which enables each staff coming on shift to be able aware of events that had taken place since they were last on duty. With the multi-agency approach they believe that the sharing of information and concern will conclude to early preventive action on abuse to take place and that patterns of behaviour can be identified of the service users when different members of staff come on to duty which could suggest that abuse is taken place by that worker. Forums are another way in which multi agency works (monthly meetings of residents in care services) where by the individuals are encouraged to share ideas and speak out giving the individuals more confidence to speak out and have a greater ownership and independence in terms of decisions that affect their lives such as being involved in interviewing new care staff. Not only this but it is also a chance for the service users to understand what procedures and guidelines that the care service has and their own rights emphasised to increase their expectations of the individual care that they receive. When the service users are clear on the guidelines they are more understanding on the what the behaviour of the staff should be, so not only are these guidelines are for the use of the staff but they are also for the service user to know what is acceptable behaviour from the staff and what is not. This is why the complaints procedure should be understood by all service users of the health facility and should be able to gain access to by all even if support is needed from an advocate from outside the organisation when making a complaint. So that there is a guarantee that all the staff members understand new procedures and policies, training needs to be implemented. Each new staff that works at the service also will require a formal induction whereby all of these policies and procedures are explained thoroughly, which will then underline their expected behaviour and practice in the service. Without training taking place, abuse is more likely to happen because of the poor practice and the workers lack of understanding of the policies and procedures. To prevent this from taking place and to ensure that the services are working with the best interest of the service user and following the rules and regulations that apply to each of them an independent regulator of health and social care services was established but shortly taken over by The Care Quality Commission previously help by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, the Healthcare Commission and the Mental Health Commission in April 2009 (stretch et al, 2010). Procedures laid down by the organisation in conjunction to the multi-agency framework should be followed in terms of cases of alleged or suspected abuse and include six stages including alerting the worker who has the responsibility of dealing with these situations to then for them to refer the allegation to the police or social services who will feedback after investigation and an Adult Protection Case Conference will share results of the investigation with the vulnerable persons family who is the subject of abuse. An assessment is then carried out and a review of a Protection Plan to make sure that the individuals needs are met in the future which will then be monitored and recorded. If another member of staff identifies the abuse they have the chance to whistleblow which since the Public Interest Disclosure Act (1998) the staff have the right not to suffer detrimentally or be fired as a result of disclosing the information. In the past it has been known that staff have been aware of abuse taking place however have not reported it due to not wanting to be known as a grass to the service and their employees. To ensure that new employees of health and social care services are suitable for the job role of caring for vulnerable adults they will require a CRB check which since October 2009 they are required to obtain an Enhanced check rather than the normal standard check. This allows the employer to be aware of the convictions to which these individuals applying for the job may have and therefore will be able to pick which potential employer is actually right for the job role in terms of offering greater protection to the service users. This however may not always go to plan due to the loop holes which can still be identified in cases such as in the Winterbourne View residential care home whereby Panorama went undercover after a whistleblower who previously worked at the care service alerted higher authorities with the management at the care home and to the Quality Care Commission however his claims didnt get followed up however after the programme was shown the Safeguarding Adults Board were made aware and appropriate action was taken in line with established and procedures which should have been followed by the staff members previously to prevent the abuse. The abuse in which was taken place could have been prevented through thorough training of the staff and ensuring they were up to date with these policies and procedures. Not only this however but the recruitment of the staff should also have been more carefully picked with staff members with job history of being a tattooist with no previous healthcare qualifications. In conclusion if the policies, procedures and guidelines were followed correctly and appropriate training was also implemented then the abuse that took place at Winterbourne View would have never happened. If the communication between the different services was also improved through a multi-agency working approach then the abuse could have been stopped a period of time before the Panorama programme.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

The Saratoga Battle Front essays

The Saratoga Battle Front essays Through out the American Revolutionary war there were many key battles taking place. Every one of the battles was important in there own aspects. Some of them prevented British troops from advancing while others pushed the British back and restored land previously lost. The Battle of Saratoga goes down in history as one of he most important battles of the war. The time and location of the battle, the engagement, and the results of the battle were a few of the reasons the Battle was so crucial for the Patriot cause. The location of the battle was in the generally proximity of upstate New York. The Battle took place near the shore of the Hudson River. The field the engagement took place in was called Freeman Farm. The American army came up from the south while the British forces marched from the north. The two largest engagements were on September 19th and on October 7th. The camps of the two armies were about one mile apart from each other during that month. Three maps of the area are on the next page of the paper. The location of an open field would seem to help the British or so they thought. The Battle of Saratoga was a great battle for the American continental Army. The American Army had a far more troops then the British. On the night of September 17th the British were helped be Hessian troops that helped push the Americans back for month or so. But on October 7th the Americans were able to drive British forces out of the field and win the war by surrounding the British and Hessian troops. The victory became was monumental for the Patriot cause The victory First and for most persuaded the French to enter the war as Americas Allies. This proved to be essential towards the eventual war victory for the Americas. The American Army also gains a much-needed moral boost. This showed the Americans could defeat the large British Army. Finally it took 5,000 British troops and 300 officers (7 Generals) from th...

Monday, November 4, 2019

The presidency of Mexican president Porfirio Diaz Term Paper

The presidency of Mexican president Porfirio Diaz - Term Paper Example erm of presidency, Diaz found the state in almost bankruptcy under the rule of Gonzales, his friend and an ally.2 He immediately introduced reforms and established a solid banking system. He was able to improve the tax collection systems and had abolished sales taxes, production taxes and state tariff .3 For the first time also the country had achieved a balanced national budget in 18844. In 1893, Mexico attained a stature of being one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America having attained budgetary surplus.5 Mexico became rich and became one of the world’s largest gold and silver producer. When Diaz relaxed the mining laws and allowed foreigners access to subsoil rights and ownership of oils and metals contained in the ground, the mining industry went into a boom period never realized in Mexico for four centuries. DÃ ­az was able to make the Mexican peso in the ranks of strong currency as he placed Mexico under the international gold standard.6 Diaz implemented modernization program hoping to bring Mexico to a modern state level. 7 His host of advisers was composed of technocrats, which could be called today as scientists who embarked on program of railroad buildings and telegraph lines across the country. Under his administration also, the first railway was constructed, and the amount of railroad tracks increased by ten folds. Report says that these tracks remain operational until today.8 Under his rule, steam machines and technological appliances were introduced while at the same time inviting foreign investments to the country. As such foreign capital entered the country, factories were established, bringing forward urban development in Mexico.9 He amended the laws to attract foreign investors and allowed them to own sub soils minerals, mines and oil fields. His laws of land reform allowed a big chunk of surveyed lands to be owned by foreigners. He assured his foreign friends that they would win against any lawsuit instigated by Indian

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Autobiographical gender socialization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Autobiographical gender socialization - Essay Example While I was a homemaker, I was stigmatised by the community and with no any forecast. As a medical student, I am regarded as a valuable woman, and my life has been full of joy. The similarity of cooking soup portrays my life has a homemaker. On the other hand, writing papers shows my life as a medical student. Introduction A gender-based examination of the relation between the need to be the ultimate writer with the urge to be the ultimate soup maker is the thesis of this paper. The information given is autobiographical. My goal is to express my changing role from a homemaker, to a doctor who is successful in the area of academics. Gender plays a crucial role by virtue of that the homemaker’s work of preparing soup is feminized in community, whereas the medical’s student work of writing papers is masculine. To start with, a literature review on the duty of a woman and the merit of female’s voice will be given (Watson 432). According to this review, a clear pictur e of my changing responsibility from that of a homemaker to a medical student will be presented. Preparing soup originates from a disciplinary system and is seen as a kind of individual –construction, whereas writing papers is a resistant system and a self-reconstruction. These two opposing life experiences assist to demonstrate how a gender point of view affects my insight of women’s importance in the community. ... First, preparing soup helped to keep my daughter’s nutritional health and give a disciplinary system in my determination to be the best mother. Second, that is from a qualitative perspective, in my society, being a perfect and outstanding wife is seen as a need for the growth of the kid admirable characteristics such as joyfulness and cheerfulness. This positive approach and hopeful mannerism can be recognized by consuming the correct nutrition soup. Third, from a quantitative point of view, the more weight my daughter realized, the more kinds of soups I had to prepare for him (Kosta 212). Therefore, the measurable results of maintaining my daughter health through the means of preparing soup could be the most useful pointer of whether I was a perfect, exceptional or even a successful homemaker in my community. Metaphorically, preparing soup showed the love and care I had for my daughter, which had gone far beyond merely providing her necessity for food. To a wide extent, carin g out this activity was an attempt to obey the rules of social expectations of a woman’s role. In addition, the capability to prepare soup was the criteria for determining whether I was the best mother. In terms of the marital perspective, preparing soup became a way of raising my bargaining power with my husband according to tradition, which showed that a well-educated man believes that the best wife has to understand how to cook and be willing to prepare soup for the family members every day. Preparing soup is regarded as a homemaker’s main significant, activity as related to other forms of house activities, which includes washing utensils, ironing clothes and sweeping the floor. This is because it may significantly influence the health of the

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Consumer Relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consumer Relationship - Essay Example Consumer relationship management is one area of organizations that calls for proper intelligence and understanding to achieve. Most organizations look into satisfying the needs of their customers without first understanding themselves. By giving so much focus to consumer satisfaction and ignoring the organization itself, in the long run even the customers themselves hardly get satisfied (Liveris 2011, p. 17). This paper critically analyzes the contribution of organizational/product- consumer relationship trends in the global beer industry by taking into consideration the demands of consumer relationships, theories around consumer relationships and the techniques that have been employed by organizations so as to achieve customer relationships. In purchasing goods and services, consumers are always faced with dilemmas before arriving at the decision to buy some specific products or services. In the beer industry, one may ask such question as, why do I need to buy â€Å"Heineken† but not â€Å"castle lager† for instance. Well, depending with the individual, different factors such as price, quality and satisfaction will start ringing in their minds. To others, however, the producer of the product matters a lot. It is common that people tend to choose products from well established organizations as opposed to the upcoming organizations. Described below is the process that most consumers undergo before arriving at the decision to purchase certain products: What triggers the mind of any individual to buy a certain product is the need to solve a certain need or problem that such a consumer may be facing. Here, the consumer tends to believe that by purchasing specific products, their problems will be solved. Most organizations start influencing the customer decision making from this point. Companies try to put to customers that those customers actually have problems and those problems can only be  solved with products from such organizations. A good example is alcohol consumption.Â