The War That Never Ends(Veterans)

The War that Never Ends- Soldiers suffering with Post Traumatic stress disorder The impact of deployment and especially war-zone experiences on the well-being of military personnel and veterans continues to receive growing attention. The military operation in Iraq and Afghanistan continues to raise important questions about the effect of the experience on the mental health of members of the military services who have been deployed there (Hoge et al. ,2004). Combat exposure has been linked to an array of negative health consequences, most notably posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).According to the DSM-IV-TR, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop in a person after a traumatic experience in which â€Å"the person [has] experienced, witnessed, or [been] confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of [one]self or others. According to the Surgeon General, of those individuals experiencing ext reme traumatic events, nine percent develop PTSD. Approximately 50% of those cases will return to a normal mental health state in less than a year.After one year, women were twice as likely to continue with symptoms of traumatic stress. Sometimes dubbed emotional mental health disorders such as acute stress, depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common by products of military combat (Soldiers’ Mental Health, 2007). During the current U. S. -led war on terrorism a campaign initiated following Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against U. S. – tens of thousands of soldiers deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq have been diagnosed with such conditions (Soldiers’ Mental Health, 2007). While some military veterans seek medical treatment after they return to the U.S. , many do not, beginning what often becomes a life long battle with mental illness (Soldiers’ Mental Health, 2007). Furthermore, the individual's â€Å"response involved intense fear, h elplessness, or horror. † The individual must also experience at least one symptom of intensive recollections, at least three symptoms of avoidance/numbing, and at least two symptoms of hyper arousal. Symptoms of hyper-arousal include sleep problems, irritability, concentration problems, hyper-vigilance, and exaggerated startle response. All symptoms must be present for one month or longer.In order for PTSD to be diagnosed as a disorder, â€Å"clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of fractioning† must be present. PTSD received official recognition and a separate diagnostic heading with the DSM-III publication in 1980. However, the symptoms of PTSD have been recognized for centuries. During the Civil War, generals noted that the troops were suffering from â€Å"irritable heart† or â€Å"effort syndrome,† in World War I the diagnosis was â€Å"shell shock,† and in World War II it was called â⠂¬Å"battle fatigue† or â€Å"combat exhaustion.In modem engagements such as Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), symptoms of PTSD are denoted â€Å"acute stress,† perhaps in an effort to reduce stigma among deployed troops. Whatever its appellation, it is deemed a â€Å"signature wound† of the Iraq and Afghanistan engagement veterans. Therefore, military personnel are among the most at-risk populations for exposure to traumatic events and the development of PTSD. Ethnic minority Veterans may be more likely to disclose problems or engage in treatment when paired with a clinician of the same race (Loo, 2007).Despite study differences, the trend suggests that being an ethnic minority may cause one to be more â€Å"at risk† for PTSD (Loo, 2007). The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study found differences among Hispanic, African American, and White Vietnam theater Veterans in terms of readjustment after military service (L oo, 2007). Both Hispanic and African American male Vietnam theater Veterans had higher rates of PTSD than Whites (Loo, 2007). Rates of current PTSD in the 1990 study were 28% among Hispanics, 21% among African Americans, and 14% among Whites (Loo, 2007).African Americans had greater exposure to war stresses and had more predisposing factors than Whites, which appeared to account for their higher rate of PTSD (Loo, 2007). The difference in rates of PTSD between Hispanics and Whites remained even after controlling for the fact that Hispanics had greater exposure to war stresses (Loo, 2007). Rates of PTSD among American Indian Vietnam Veterans ranged from 22% to 25% (depending on the tribe) (Loo, 2007). American Indians were exposed to greater war zone stresses (e. g. atrocities, violence, and combat) than Whites, including psychological conflict resulting from identification with the enemy (Loo, 2007). Differences in PTSD rates between American Indians and Whites disappeared after con trolling for the greater war zone stresses experienced by American Indians (Loo, 2007). Unfortunately, there continues to be an ongoing supply of combat- traumatized soldiers to study. As noted by Coleman (2006), war is a disease that kills and maims, not just by tearing apart soldiers’ bodies, but also by ravaging their minds.As the United States continues a military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is also coming to grips with one of the products of war at home: a new generation of troubled veterans. Hoge, Auchterlonie, and Milliken (2006) emphasize that research with active duty personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan suggests that this new generation of veterans has high levels of PTSD and related mental health symptoms. Studies are demonstrating that troops who serve in current conflicts are experiencing PTSD and other mental health problems on a scale not seen since the war in Vietnam (Robinson, 2004).PTSD prevalence is widely disputed in medical literature, particularly its predominance among military personnel. However, â€Å"approximately 8% of the [general] population meets criteria for PTSD during their lifetime. PTSD Stressors in the general public are often the result of a traumatic event (violent crime, accident, etc. ). With regard to military personnel, the range of estimates is wide—†PTSD is the most prevalent mental health disorder among deployed service members, and affects roughly 5 to 15% of service members, depending on who is assessed and when they are assessed. From October 2001 to April 2008, approximately 1. 4 million U. S. troops had been deployed in OEF/OIF engagements. As of October 2009, more than 2 million men and women had shouldered the deployments, with 793,000 of them deploying more than once. Nearly 40% of OEF/OIF veterans had multiple deployments, and multiple â€Å"combat† exposures. Even at the low end, a 5% incidence of PTSD among deployed veterans would equal 100,000 OEF/OIF veterans with PTSD. However, this 5% is questionable on broader assessment, and most likely an underestimate. Using Veterans Affairs (VA) data, 23% of OEF/OIF veterans seen at the VA received a preliminary diagnosis of possible PTSD.Further analysis of the same data shows that only half of these PTSD patients had approved PTSD claims. Therefore, about 50% of OEF/OIF veteran patients receiving treatment for PTSD from the VA were not receiving compensation, and hence are likely undercounted as victims of PTSD. In addition, since approximately 40% of service members are still active on active duty, considering active duty military PTSD cases is also instinctive. Surveys of deployed Army soldiers and Marines show between 14% and 17% met screening criteria for PTSD while they were deployed between 2003 and 2006.This data lends additional support to the proposition that the estimate of 5% prevalence of PTSD is empirically low. The United States has incurred massive human and financial expenditures through i ts involvement in Iraq. It is estimated that total spending on the Iraq war will cost the United States up to $3 trillion to fund current military operations along with the expenses of paying the long-term disability costs of injured military personnel, death benefits sent to the families of those killed in Iraq, and interest fees paid by the United States Treasury to borrow money to fund current expenditures (Bilmes ; Stiglitz, 2008).The National Center for PTSD embraces the customary treatment strategy for PTSD as being symptom logically based. As such, individuals diagnosed with depression and anxiety receives pharmacologic treatment, in addition to the use of cognitive behavior therapy to help individuals with cognitive deficits (Summerall, 2008). Cognitive behavior therapy usually includes education regarding the stress response and relaxation techniques in efforts to enable the individual to exercise control over the extreme physical reaction to PTSD triggers and engage comple tely in therapy, overcoming avoidance symptoms.Case management, psychosocial rehabilitation, pharmacotherapy, and psychotherapy are all viable components and options regarding treatment and care provision for individuals who have incurred PTSD (Kennedy et al. , 2007). When it comes to medication management, special attention should be paid to possible drug interactions in individuals diagnosed with PTSD. These individuals may be taking medications for various symptoms such as pain, insomnia, and dizziness, in addition to surgery-associated anesthesia and antibiotics.Fluid changes resulting from procedural treatment of burns, amputations, wounds or internal organ injuries can dramatically affect the action and interaction of drugs. Moreover, individuals with PTSD may be hypersensitive to medicinal effects and corresponding side effect. Medications have proved helpful to treat depression, seizures, and agitation among persons with PTSD (Perna, Rouselle, ; Brennan, 2003).However, antip sychotic medications should be used with caution given their potential to increase negative neurobehavioral symptoms (Rosenthal ; Ricker, 2000). Impaired recall and attentiveness resulting from PTSD can also complicate medication management, as an individual may have difficulty accurately following dosage recommendations (Kennedy et al. , 2007). Furthermore, New Treatment Modalities recognize the need to meet the unique needs of military personnel with PTSD, the United States Government is exploring a variety of new treatment models.For example, the Office of Naval Research funded a $4 million project in 2005 to study the efficacy of virtual reality treatments for PTSD, which is being tested in universities and military installations across the United States (Bergfeld, 2006). This treatment involves the person experiencing virtual reality situations (i. e. , guiding them through a military compound in Fallujah or going on patrol through homes of Iraq citizens). The therapist monitor s the veteran’s responses (e. g. , breathing, sweating) and then teaches the veteran how to remain calm and composed through the use of meditation.The hope is that that the client can generalize this skill to prospective high stress situations in the real world (Bergfeld), ultimately leading to a reduction in the occurrence of PTSD symptoms. PTSD can make somebody hard to be with; living with someone who is easily startled, has nightmares, and often avoids social situations can take a toll on the most caring family (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). Family member may feel hurt, alienate, or discouraged because your loved one has not been able to overcome the effects of the trauma (U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). Social support is extremely important for preventing and helping with PTSD, it is important for family members to take care of themselves both for their own good and t help the person dealing with PTSD (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). Veterans with PTSD and their families can access several other resources associated with rehabilitative assistance. Active duty service members and their families are eligible to utilize health care services through Tricare, or Triwest depending on geographic region.Services are available on base from military providers, as well as through private care providers who require a co-payment. Also available to active duty members is Military OneSource, which provides a maximum of six free counseling sessions for service members and their families. Military OneSource has licensed counselors available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and also serves as informational resources, addressing topics such as relocation and finances (Fairweather ; Garcia, 2007). Veterans with PTSD often have other types of problems (U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010).They might have other stress, medical or mental health problems. Sometimes PTSD is overlooked when other problems seem very pressing (U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010). In Addition, a number of community organizations have been established to assist veterans and their families with adjustments to daily living brought about by combat incurred injuries such as PTSD. Swords to Plowshares, Veterans for America, and Veterans and Families exemplify groups that offer a wide range of information, resources and services (Fairweather ; Garcia, 2007).The Marine Corps Community Services, The Coming Home Project, Operation First Response are some of the Internet-based health, family, employment and education, and benefit, advocacy, and general resources to meet the needs of veterans with PTSD and their families compiled from research (Fairweather and Garcia (2007, Yeoman, 2008). According to the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the VA provides nearly 200 specialized PTSD treatment programs referral is usually needed (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010).Each PTSD program offers education, evaluation, and treatment, some of the program services include: One to one mental assessment and testing, medicines, one to one psychotherapy and also family therapy, and group therapy which covers topics such as anger and stress, combat support, partners or groups for Veterans of special conflicts (U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 2010). The VA also offers specialized outpatient PTSD programs (SOPPs) and specialized intensive PTSD programs (SIPPs).Congress has in fact passed some notable legislation aimed directly at improving mental health care and quality of life for combat veterans (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). The  Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010  provides financial support for family members of injured veterans who are now responsible for caring for their loved ones who have returned with lifelong disabilities (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). The VOW to Hire Heroes Act  provides tax credits for businesses hiring veterans and is an important step in working to lower the al armingly high veteran’s unemployment rate (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012).The  COMBAT PTSD Act  has died in two previous sessions of Congress and remains in committee in the current legislative session (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). As it stands today, a veteran must be deemed to have had â€Å"combat with the enemy† to be entitled to compensation for mental health conditions (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). What constitutes â€Å"combat with the enemy† is extremely vague, making it difficult for some veterans suffering from PTSD to have their injury recognized by the VA (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012).The COMBAT PTSD Act would broaden the definition to include all veterans who served in a theater of combat operation during a time of war (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012). Civilian clinics and their physicians, who are responsible for treating combat stress-related injuries for the  millions of veterans  who receive care outside of the VA system, would benefit greatly from additional training (Wilcox-Fogel, 2 012). The inclusion of cognitive behavioral therapy in treatments covered by TRICARE for veterans diagnosed with TBI would improve the affordability of crucial rehabilitative care for thousands of veterans (Wilcox-Fogel, 2012).Reference Page Loo, C. (2007) PTSD Among Ethnic Minority Veterans retrieved from www. ptds. va. gov â€Å"Soldiers' Mental Health. †Ã‚  Issues ; Controversies On File:  n. pag. Issues ; Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 11 May 2007. Web. 6 Nov. 2012. http://www. 2facts. com/article/i1200260 U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs (2010) PTSD Programs in the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs. U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs Retrieved from www. ptsd. va. gov Wilcox-Fogel, N. (2012) Despite combat PTSD Act, congress is falling short in providing for veterans with PTSD retrieved from www. policymic. com

Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat Essay

The two poems I am comparing; â€Å"Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat† by Thomas Gray and â€Å"To a Mouse† by Robert Burns were both written in the eighteenth century, which makes it interesting to make a comparison of their content, style and techniques, to see how poems of the eighteenth century differ from each other.  Both of the poems feature an animal as the main subject of the poem. In Gray’s poem he has a house cat as the main focus of the poem whilst Burns dedicates his poem to a field mouse. Both these animals come to an unfortunate end. The cat due to curiosity â€Å"tumbled headlong† into â€Å"a tub of gold fishes† This supports the well known phrase â€Å"curiosity killed the cat† In the poem it refers to the cat as actually loosing 9 lives: â€Å"Eight times emerging from the flood  She mew’d to ev’ry watry God†.  No one arrives to save her:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirr’d :  Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heared†.  The dolphin is included in the list of possible rescuers because it is a reference to the classical legend of the harpist, Arion, being saved by a dolphin which had been entranced by his music, much in the same way the cat wanted to be saved by someone who heard its meowing.  Ã‚  In Burns’s poem the mouse unlike the cat does not actually die, but it is made clear that the prospects for the mouse are bleak due to its home being destroyed by the plough and the fact winter is coming and the mouse has no time to build another home for itself: â€Å"Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,  But house or hald,  To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble,  An’craneuch cauld!†Ã‚  The poems are both basically about a particular ill-fated animal but each has a deeper meaning and message through anthropomorphism.  The cat in Gray’s poem is given feminine characteristics: a â€Å"fair round face† illustrates the ideal image of an eighteenth century woman’s face. Gray also uses metaphors to describe the cat which also apply to a lady’s jewels and adornments: â€Å"The velvet of her paws,  Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,   Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes.†Ã‚  In verse four the comparison of the cat to a woman is made even clearer:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"She stretch’d in vain to reach the prize.  What female heart can gold despise?  What cat’s averse to fish?†Ã‚  It is clear here that Gray is illustrating how women are seduced by the desire for gold as cats are seduced by the desire for fish. The anthropomorphism continues in verses 5 and 7:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Presumptious maid† and  Ã¢â‚¬Å"From hence you Beauties, undeceiv’d  Know one false step is ne’er retrieved†.  The last lines of the poem contain a moral:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Not all that tempts your wand’ring eyes  And heedless hearts, is lawful prize;  Nor all that glisters gold†. Through the cat Gray created a cautionary tale specifically aimed at women. It’s a warning not to be tempted by what is not rightly theirs, and not to be seduced by glittering appearances because it may not be as good as it looks on the outside.  Gray is very direct with his message of warning to women but he writes in a light-hearted way throughout. However, Burn’s poem is much more serious and sombre. He uses anthropomorphism like Gray to get his message across through an animal, in this case the mouse is used to highlight the social and moral problems that he felt existed in both the public and in his own family – His father died after eighteen years of hard work as a farmer. After his father’s death they had little money, leaving them no choice but to sublease a farm in order to keep their home. These experiences were brought through in to his poem when the mouse had its home destroyed by the plough:

Land law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Land law - Essay Example There, however, lacks any requirement as pertaining to whether the paper owner should be aware or not of the trespass as can be seen in Rain v Buxton.8 Nonetheless, if the possession is based on a given legal entitlement, then it cannot be termed as adverse. Factual possession: Kevin has taken care of the land and erected a permanent building in the land. The council has not been in possession of the land in this time period while Kevin has been actively using the land for 20 years. Courts must have evidence of the land being possessed as passed in Buckinghamshire County Council v Moran.9 The Council’s possession of the land is limited to shortcuts. The courts need continuous possession with some form of development. Trespass is not sufficient as was seen in the case of Powell v McFarlane.10 Presence of implied licence: The council has not objected for over 20 years despite the fact the Council’s management team uses the land as a shortcut and could see the developments made by Kevin. Implied license is limited by the Limitation Act 1980, schedule 1, paras 8(4). Intention to possess: The courts need proof that trespasser needs to use the land (animus possidendi) as given in Powell v McFarlane.12 The trespasser’s approach to possession does not matter; however, he must have intentions to possess the land exclusively.13 The trespasser must have the intent to take full control of the land and exclude everyone else including the paper

Digital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Digital - Essay Example The CIA initiated the process of collecting information anonymously following advice by the 9/11 commission. The data privacy issues in this article are that the CIA collects information without the consent of twitter and face book accounts holders hence infringe on their privacies. Burnham, Kristin. â€Å"Online Privacy: How to Block Google Ads and Adjust Your Settings.† 2011. Web. 10 November 2011 . This article highlights how Google an online service provider, collects information from its services users to optimize online searches. For instance, the article highlights that most of the advertisements Google shows are linked to the subject of the email exchange or thread. In view of this, if a Gmail account holder receives several emails centered on the theme of photography, Google collects this information and optimizes it for advertisements related to photography. Google claims to protect its online user’s privacy by not offering the users information that individua lly identifies them to the third parties such as marketers. The relevance of the article to data privacy is that, it offers tips on how to adjust Google setting to safeguard ones privacy. The Privacy Projects. â€Å"National Cyber Security Alliance to Coordinate Data Privacy Day.† 2009. Web. 10 November 2011 . In this article the National Cyber Security Alliance, highlights some of the measures it has put in place, to create awareness on data privacy and protection in the online platform. National Cyber Security Alliance highlights some of the achievements, which have been realized in data safety through collaborative efforts. The relevance of this article to data privacy is that organizations have realized data privacy is an issue in the online platform hence the need to safeguard it. Data protection Day 2010 - Think Privacy - new videos. 2009. This video centers on the needs to safeguard information shared. Those who do not safeguard their information do not enjoy peace, wh ile those who do safeguard their information enjoy privacy. Thus, information shared with the public can be used against the owner resulting into bad consequences. Data protection lesson. 2009. This video focuses on educating young people on the importance of data privacy, how data is collected and misused. Furthermore, the teachers in this video teaches her students on various methods through which data is obtained and how it is used to benefit everyone such as through a census. The significance in this to data privacy is that individuals need to be careful with who they share their information with Data Privacy and Social Networking 01-28-2010.mov. Dir. ontargetweb. 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YLt3g8hI5I This video focusses on how information shared on the online platform can turn out to be disadvantageous to the owner. Furthermore, the video highlights measures people can put in place to safeguard data privacy such as maintaining anonymity in the online social setting. Poor data privacy can lead to loss of jobs, loss of finances and loss of identity in an event the information shared is accessed by unauthorized individuals. Article 2 Intellectual property rights Understanding Intellectual

How we determine if a portable air cleaner is effective Research Paper

How we determine if a portable air cleaner is effective - Research Paper Example The use of air purifiers assists to eliminate these components, thus helping to relieve respiratory symptoms. These components are harmful to human health, especially for people who suffer from asthma or allergic to the common allergen particles. Air cleaners eliminate about 98 percent of harmful particles in the air. Portable air cleaners that are slow to remove contaminants in the air are considered as extremely ineffective. The electrostatic precipitators removed ozone which aggravated the asthma attacks. On the other hand, portable air purifiers are perceived to be effective if they eliminate all the harmful air particles to create a high indoor air quality. The paper establishes that a portable air cleaner is effective if the air it cleans does not affect a patient with allergic respiratory diseases to common particle allergens, such as, pollen, dander, dust, and mold. This means that the equipment can ensure good air quality. Indoor air pollution is among the top five environmental health risks. Control of air quality is crucial for various reasons including the control of moisture damage, and to ensure proper health of the occupant. Most people purchase air purifiers in order to ease allergies or asthma. The practice cleaning air using portable devices started in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The World Health Organisation has set out standards of air conditioning to ensure to that indoor air quality is maintained. The air pollutants are mainly classified into four categories including particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide. There is evidence that ozone and particulate matter pose health risks to humans. Therefore, humans need to stay away from these compounds. Removing the sources of pollution is more effective in contrast to cleaning the already polluted air. Portable air cleaners are tasked with ensuring that air is free from contaminants. In this

The Presidents of the United States Movie Review

The Presidents of the United States - Movie Review Example His entry in the office is in a period when the country is facing crisis over the question of expansion of slavery into new western territory. Southern extremists threaten succession if the rule is in favor of the Northern evolutionists. The passing Bills to link California as a free state with slavery measures favorable to the South does not please everyone; including President Taylor. He passes on from an inflation of the intestines (David). In 1991, his descendants gave a green light towards exhuming his body. Forensic analysis reveals no signs of foul play and determines cholera as the likely cause of death. His vice president assumes the presidency. He is Taylor’s opposite and a tool to balance the ticket geographically and politically. He is a Northerner, who aims to please and appease rather than lead. He reverses the policies of his predecessor by signing the compromise of 1850 into law, supporting slavery. He believes its abolishment will give rise to the collapsing of the southern economy; with slavery as an accelerator. He believes the constitution protects slavery issues. He hopes to please everyone for his support for the compromise but fails in 1852 presidential elections (David). A Northern Democrat with strong political ties to the South. He is a social and political butterfly. His election to the presidency is poor timing. He seems to be emotionally unstable after the loss of his only son in a train wreck shortly after his election. He is a troubled man who seeks the approval of others. His vice president William passes within two weeks after the inauguration. He defends slavery as an admitted right to favor Southerners (David). In 1854, he twisted arms to win passage of Kansas-Nebraska act. It repeals the ban on slavery and allows the people to make an informed choice concerning the issues. This result produces much blood shade, and the democrats drop him from the

Nestle and American Home Products Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nestle and American Home Products - Essay Example Nestle and American Home Products (AHP) had exercised corporate social responsibility (CSR) by distributing free samples of infant formula to famine-stricken children and those who could not be breastfed. On the one hand, Nestle and AHP were of the opinion that their free donations of the infant formula did not violate the World Health Organization (WHO) code, which outlaws the distribution of free samples of the product to attract sales. On the other hand, critics such as Action for Corporate Accountability, and Infant Formula Action Coalition (INFACT) pointed out that the body language used by the food processors did not point to any effort aimed at encouraging breastfeeding alongside the use of the infant formula, especially in third-world countries. Nestle’s marketing strategies of enhancing the quantity of free samples of the infant formula to counter breastfeeding campaigns gave it away as an organization that did not care about CSR. This is a classic case of corporate b odies prioritizing their profit-making strategies instead of the moral responsibility, especially where millions of young, innocent lives are in danger. Question #4 Nestle’s CSR as viewed from a narrow perspective depicts the picture of a corporation that had and indeed showed some moral responsibility by saving millions of poor children in third-world countries from famine with its free samples of infant formula. In light of this, the dressing code for Nestle marketers tasked to distribute the product to consumers, and the lack of adequate information on the need to use the product to complement breastfeeding does not seem to attract any qualms. However, a wider perspective of the company’s... Nestle and American Home Products According to Shaw (2010), all corporations all companies are expected to return some of their business gains back to the society as a show of moral responsibility. Nestle and American Home Products (AHP) had exercised corporate social responsibility (CSR) by distributing free samples of infant formula to famine-stricken children and those who could not be breastfed. On the one hand, Nestle and AHP were of the opinion that their free donations of the infant formula did not violate the World Health Organization (WHO) code, which outlaws the distribution of free samples of the product to attract sales. On the other hand, critics such as Action for Corporate Accountability, and Infant Formula Action Coalition (INFACT) pointed out that the body language used by the food processors did not point to any effort aimed at encouraging breastfeeding alongside the use of the infant formula, especially in third-world countries. Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s marketing strategies of enhancing the quantity of free samples of the infant formula to counter breastfeeding campaigns gave it away as an organization that did not care about CSR. This is a classic case of corporate bodies prioritizing their profit-making strategies instead of the moral responsibility, especially where millions of young, innocent lives are in danger. At the inception of the infant formula, Nestlà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s conduct seems to be moral in the sense that the product was a favorable option for infants who could not be fed on breast milk.

Investigation and evaluation of the opportunities of food retailer Essay

Investigation and evaluation of the opportunities of food retailer Tesco expending into Mumbai of India - Essay Example According to Czinkota and Ronkainen (2007) international marketing can be portrayed as a process of planning and carrying out transaction across the national boundaries, in order to create an exchange and to satisfy the needs of the organization. The forms of international marketing are generally export-import trade, wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures, licensing, management contracts and turnkey operations. This study aims to evaluate the opportunities of food retailer Tesco expending into Mumbai, India. In other words, the objective of the study is to uncover the opportunity for food retailer Tesco to setup its business in Mumbai. Tesco PLC, the UK based multinational general merchandise and grocery retailer is presently headquartered at Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England (Yahoo Finance, 2012). It was founded by Jack Cohen in the year 1919. Based on its strong performance and determination, the company has been able to achieve colossal success in a short span of time. The compa ny is considered as one of the largest retailers of the world. Tesco is the second largest retailer in terms of net profit, just after Walmart, and the third largest retailer in terms of revenue, just after Carrefour and Walmart. ... Earlier the company used to position itself as a company which sells in large quantity and at low price. However the company has repositioned itself as a company that appeals to a mass customer through its wide range of products and value. The strategy paid off to a large extent as Tesco was successful in setting up 2000 stores more from the period of 1990 to 2005. Figure 1- Countries Where Tesco Operates (Source: DeadAnarchistPhil, 2012) With depressing economic environment, people are moving towards cheaper and value products. Some of the established players of Mumbai grocery retail industry such as Reliance Fresh, Aditya Birla’s MORE, Big Bazar, Metro Cash & Carry, and Marks & Spencer among others. (Source: Sood and Jashnani, 2012) Considering the present market conditions, the only way a company can earn profit is by satisfying the customers. Therefore proper segmenting and targeting the customers have become an indispensible task. In order to segment a market, companies n eed to consider factors such as psychographic aspect, demographic aspect, geographic aspect and behavioural aspect (Lao, 1998, p.114). According to the reports, the current strategy of the company is developed to compliment the vision, address the changing needs of the consumers and to satisfy the global nature of the company’s business. The strategy of the company is to create highly valued brands and customers with a variety of choice. This strategy helps the company to target customers from different segments of the society (Tescoplc, 2012). In addition, it also allows the company to realise economies of scale in the field of marketing and production. Moreover Tesco has the ability to sell products at a low price and therefore the company should deem catering to

Tradition from my father Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Tradition from my father - Essay Example As far as what I have heard of him, he has always been very paternalistic. I once heard a story by my mother describing my father ´s character. This is as follows: A newly-married couple visited Yujoo, where my grandparents lived. The male was my father ´s cousin. At the time my father had not started his business and he only had five thousand Won (roughly $5.00US) in his pocket. He gave all of his money to his cousin saying, â€Å"Keep it for your taxi fare.† Later on my parents had to borrow their own taxi fare from someone else to get home. My family would go to the best restaurants no matter how the business was doing. I have never heard my father say, â€Å"Please tighten up your budget.† This has even been at moments when economically I have not been well. I think my mother has not heard it either. He has never talked about his business affairs at home, however, his mood changes to aggressiveness such as when â€Å"he is in trouble† according to his sister, just to alarm my mother rather than hearing it from him. Not so long ago, he told me that he never took buses or economy class flights, in a proud manner, while he was drinking with me. I did not feel him to be arrogant when he was saying it. I thought that it was cool of him. At that moment, I wished I could make more money than he. At the same time, I thought, â€Å"I am not going to stay like this forever†. He is the kind of person that would never express his feeling or his real thoughts, at least, not in front of my younger brother or me. He would rather say, whatever one has inside, one keeps it to ones self. I call it â€Å"the educational tone!† When I was a youngster, I did not know that he was trying to teach me something. As I grew up, I understood some of his sayings. Now, I think I do not only understand him, but I also know him, and he might even know how I approve the way he is. When my family got together during the years he would say less

French Education System Essay Example for Free

French Education System Essay In France, education has a clear goal: the system must always produce a group of well-educated individuals with a common culture, language and abilities that can then serve the State. The French educational system has a very large emphasis on content, culturally specific knowledge, scientific and mathematic knowledge. The system is designed to serve the needs of the state; the individuality and originality are not considered worth while values The French Republic has 60 million inhabitants, living in the 22 regions of metropolitan France and four overseas departments (1. million). Despite the fact that the population is growing slightly (up 0. 4% a year), the number and proportion of young people under 25 are, however, falling: there are now fewer than 19 million of them in metropolitan France, i. e. 32% of the total population, compared with 40% around 1970 and 35% at the time of the 1990 census. France is seeing a slow aging of the population — less marked however than in other neighbouring countries (Germany and Italy), especially as the annual number of births is currently increasing slightly. 5 million pupils and students, i. e. a quarter of the population, are in the education system. Just over 2 million are in higher education. In 1999, Frances GDP was close to FF 9,000 billion (EUR 1,330 billion), i. e. FF 150,000 (EUR 22,000) per inhabitant. Of this total, just over FF 600 billion (EUR 95 billion) were devoted to initial or continuing education: 7. 2% of GDP. As far as school education spending is concerned, France is in a middle position, behind the Nordic countries (Sweden and Denmark), but fairly significantly ahead of Italy and Japan. France has a workforce today of 26 million, of whom fewer than 2 million are unemployed: the unemployment rate recently fell to below 9%. 6% of the labor force (about 1. 5 million jobs, including 1 million civil servants and local government officers) are undergoing training. Educational Structure Around 13 million pupils attend school in France. The system is a unified one, whose present general structure (primary schools, colleges, lycees) was gradually put in place during the 1960s and 1970s, ending the formerly more compartmentalized system which was based on a clear separation between rimary and secondary education. Since the 1970s, France has also had an outstanding record with respect to the development of pre-school education; all 3- to 5-year-olds can go to nursery classes. Since 1967, school attendance has been compulsory for those from 6 to 16 years of age. France has 60,000 primary schools catering to pupils during their first five years of formal education: the first three years (CP cours preparatoire cours elementaire 1 and 2) provide a grounding in the basic skills. The next stage CM1/CM2 (cours moyen 1 and 2) takes the children up to the end of primary school. Secondary schooling is divided into two successive stages, known as cycles. From 11 to 15 years, almost all children now attend a college, taking them from form 6 (sixieme) to form 3 (troisieme) (1). Since 1975 there has been a single mixed-ability college for all pupils regardless of their level of achievement. After form 3, they move onto a general, technical or vocational lycee. These prepare pupils for the corresponding baccalaureatexaminations (referred to as le bac), which they normally take at the age of 18.

Effects of globalization on hospitality and tourism industry

Effects of globalization on hospitality and tourism industry In recent years, organizations in the hospitality and tourism industry have experienced a great deal of turmoil as the competitive forces within their industry have shifted under the weight of globalization. To survive, many companies must now build competitive advantage by relying on their employees to implement improved service delivery processes. Shifting travel markets, world-class competition, and escalating operating costs are forcing hospitality and tourism organizations to pay more attention than ever before to the needs and desires of their customers. This means that companies are having to find ways to become more responsive and create greater value for their customers. The quality of an organizations service delivery hinges in part upon its people. How frontline personnel act has a determining influence on customers perceptions of service quality and, in turn, on the overall level of customer satisfaction. However, even employees who are not directly involved in serving the customer have an indirect impact on customer satisfaction by means of the backup support they provide to frontline staff. The important role employees play in the success of service organizations, human resource management has traditional been a weak link in the hospitality and tourism industry. QESTION 1 Explain the communication process and same common forms of communication use in hospitality and tourism industry. INTRODUCTION QUESTION 1 Communication is perhaps the most important and most used of all skills in the hospitality and tourism industry. Managers spend the largest portion of their time in verbal or written communication with their employees, other managers, or outside parties. Frontline employees have frequent interaction with customers and other employees. Other staff members communicate among themselves, as well as with their managers, frontline employees, suppliers, and so on, to give and receive the information they need to perform their jobs. Communication has been recognized as the means by which both people and the organization survive. When human beings lack the ability to cope with life, the source of the problem is often a lack of appropriate information. Incomplete and unorganized information places a heavy strain on the ability of people make sense out of their existence. Their performance of a job depends on having the necessary information, having the skills to do a job depends on the quality of communication during the skills acquisition period. 1.1: Verbal communication Verbal communication is further divided into written and oral communication. The oral communication refers to the spoken words in the communication process. Oral communication can either be face-to-face communication or a conversation over the phone or on the voice chat over the internet. Spoken conversation or dialogs are influenced by voice modulation, pitch, volume and even the speed and clarity of speaking. The other type of verbal communication is written communication. Written communication can be either via snail mail, or email. The effectiveness of written communication depends on the style of writing, vocabulary used, grammar, clarity and precision of language. 1.2: Nonverbal communication Nonverbal communication is such as facial expression, gestures, posture, and tone of voice is an important component of personal business interactions. Nonverbal communication can help a small business owner to get a message across, or to successful interpret a message received from another person. On the other hand, nonverbal communication can also send signals that interfere with the effective presentation or reception of message. Nonverbal communication is usually understood as the process of communication through sending and receiving wordless messages. Such messages can be communicated through gesture body language or posture, facial expression and eye contact, object communication such as clothing, hairstyle or even architecture, symbols and info graphics. Speech may also contain nonverbal elements knows as paralanguage, including voice quality, emotion and speaking style, as well as prosodic features such as rhythm, intonation and stress. Likewise, written texts have nonverbal elements such as handwriting style, spatial arrangement of words, or the use of motion. However much of nonverbal communication process has focused on face-to-face interaction, where it can be classified into three principal areas and they are environmental conditions where communication takes place, the physical characteristics of the communicators, and behavior of communicators during interaction 1.3: Verbal VS Oral communication Scholars in this field usually use a strict sense of the team verbal, meaning of or concerned with words, and do not use verbal communication as a synonym for oral or spoken communication. Thus, vocal sounds which are not considered to be words, such as a grunt, or singing a wordless note, are nonverbal. Sign languages and writing are generally understood as forms of verbal communication, as both make use of words although like speech, both may contain paralinguistic elements and often occur alongside nonverbal messages. Nonverbal communication can occur through any sensory channel sight, sounds, smell, touch or taste. Nonverbal communication is important as when we speak or listen, our attention is focused on words rather than body language. But our judgment includes both. An audience is simultaneously processing both verbal and nonverbal cues. Body movements are not usually positive or negative in and of themselves; rather, the situation and the message will determine the appraisal . Interaction of verbal and nonverbal communication. When communicating, nonverbal messages can interact with verbal messages in six ways and they are repeating, conflicting, complementing, substituting, regulating and accenting or moderating. 1.4: Formal communication Formal communication includes all the instances where communication has to occur in a set formal format. Typically this can include all sorts of business communication or corporate communication. The style of communication in this form is very formal and official. Official conferences, meetings and written memos and corporate letters are used for communication. Formal communication can also occur between two strangers when they meet for the first time. Hence formal communication is stringent and rigid tone to it. 1.5: Informal communication Informal communication includes instances of free unrestraint communication between people who share a casual rapport with each other. Informal communication requires two people to have a similar wavelength and hence occurs between friends and family. Informal communication does not have any rigid rules and guidelines. 1.6: Appearance In oral forms of communication, the appearance of both the speaker and the surroundings are vital to the successful conveyance of a message. Whether we speaking to one person face to face or to a group in a meeting, personal appearance and the appearance of the surroundings covey nonverbal stimuli that affect attitudes even emotions toward the spoken words. For example, a speakers clothing, hairstyle, use of cosmetics, neatness, and stature may cause a listener to form impressions about her occupation, socioeconomic level, competence. Similarly, such details of the surroundings as room size, furnishings, decorations, lighting, and windows can affect a listeners attitudes toward the speaker and the message being presented. The importance of nonverbal clues in surroundings can be seen in the desire of business managers to have a corner office with a view rather than a cubicle in a crowded work area. 1.7: Body language Body language, and particularly facial expressions, can provide important information that may not be contained in the verbal portion of the communication. Facial expressions are especially helpful as they may show hidden emotions that contradict verbal statements. For example, an employee may deny having knowledge of a problem, but also have a fearful expression and glance around guiltily. Other forms of body language that may provide communication clues include posture and gestures. For example, a manager who puts his feet up on the desk may convey an impression of status and confidence, while an employee who leans forward to listen may convey interest. Gestures can add emphasis and improve understanding when used sparingly, but the continual use of gestures can distract listeners and convey nervousness. 1.8: Sounds Finally, the tone, rate, and volume of a speakers voice can convey different meanings, as can sounds like laughing, throat clearing, or humming. It is also important to note that perfume or other odors contribute to listeners impressions, as does physical contact between the speaker and the listener. Silence, or the lack of sound, is a form of nonverbal communication as well. Silence can communicate a lack of understanding or even hard feelings in a face-to-face discussion. CONCLUSION Communication can take any of a wide variety of forms. However, verbal communication is the form that is relied upon most often by managers. To be an effective verbal communicator requires that one adhere to the two basic laws of communication and be skilled in supportive communication. Much communication at the group level is conducted in meetings. Hence, effective meeting skills go hand-in-hand with effective communication within workgroup and teams. Communication at the organizational level can occur either via formal or informal channels. Each of these channels has associated benefits and a drawback, thus which channel is best depends on a given situation. Of utmost importance at the organizational level is to ensure that both internal and external communication systems are working in a way that facilitates the free flow of vital information throughout all levels and functional areas of the company. QUESTION 2 Motivation is the key to keeping performing continuously at the highest standards. How organization motivate their employees to excel at their jobs. INTRODUCTION QUESTION 2 A vital managerial function in any organization is to motivate employees. This is because motivation is inextricably linked to employee satisfaction and ensures employees consistently excel at their jobs. Motivation is especially important in the hospitality and tourism industry, where employee satisfaction and competence are key determinants of service quality. The definition of motivation is to give reason, incentive, enthusiasm, or interest that causes a specific action or certain behavior. Motivation is present in every life function. Education is motivated by desire for knowledge. Motivators can be anything from reward to coercion. Motivation plays a major role in achieving high performance in the workplace, which is an important goal of management. However, just because an employee is motivated does not guarantee she or he will perform satisfactorily. Effective performance requires ability, direction, motivation, and support from the work environment. Therefore, changing the performance of workers is rather more complicated than just motivating. In motivation they have two main kinds of motivation and they are intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is internal. It occurs when people are compelled to do something out of pleasure, importance, or desire. Extrinsic motivation occurs when external factors compel the person to do something. However, there are many theories and labels that serve as sub tittles to the definition of motivation. A common place that can see is the need to apply motivation, is in the work place. In the work place, we can see motivation play a key role in leadership success. A person unable to grasp motivation and apply it will not become or stay a leader. To motivate the employees to excel at their job is the management have to identify what motivates the employees as each employees is likely to be motivated in different ways. For example is they might find that some employees are motivated when given praise for a job well done while others excel when given a bonus or a raise. Second is the management have hold contests that pit employees in one department against employees in another department or even between employees of the same department. Offer a fun reward for those who win the contest and the management also have to listen to the employees and let them know that management are there to support and to listen to them if they have a problem or concern. By listening to the employees, the management also will be able to assess their morale and whether they need motivation. Fourth is the management must allow their employees to use new skills they have acquired. If an employee has learned a new skill or completed a training course, try our best to implement his new skill into his everyday responsibilities and keep the employees from becoming bored. The management should continually strive to ensure that their employees are being used to their full potential rather than under-using them, which can stress them out. The management should be flexible with their employees specific roles within the company. While it is important that their employees fulfill the responsibilities defined in their job description, it is equally important to ensure that the employees are allowed to be creative and to contribute in ways that go beyond their job description and the management must offer positive feedback to employees who are doing a good job. Praise can often be a powerful motivator. The last motivate employees to excel at their jobs is stay focused on motivating their employees, so the management can ensure a high level of productivity from them. If the management notice that employees are starting to lag and lose their motivation, the managements must take action as soon as possible to re-motivate them. In motivation they have seven type of motivation and they are achievement motivation, affiliation motivation, competence motivation, power motivation, attitude motivation, incentive motivation and fear motivation. Achievement motivation is the drive to pursue and attain goals. An individual with achievement motivation wishes to achieve objectives and advance up on the ladder of success. Here, accomplishment is vital for its own shake and not for the rewards that accompany it. Second is affiliation motivation. Affiliation motivation is a drive to relate to people on a social basis. Personnel with affiliation motivation perform work better when they are complimented for their propitious and co surgical procedure. Third is competence motivation. Competence motivation is the drive to be good at something, allowing the individual to perform high quality work. Competence motivated people seek job mastery, take pride in developing and using their problem-solving skills and strive to be crea tive when confronted with obstacles. Fourth types of motivation are power motivation. Power motivation it is drive to influence people and change situations. Power motivated people wish to create an impact on their organization and are willing to take risk to do so. Fifth types of motivation are attitude motivation. Attitude motivation is how people reckon and feel. It is their self confidence, their belief in them selves, their attitude to life. It is how they feel about the possibility and how they react to the past. Sixth motivation is incentive motivation. Incentive motivation it is where a person or a team reaps a reward from an activity. Example of incentive motivation is you do this and you get that, attitude. It is the types of awards and prizes that drive people to work a little harder and the last motivation is fear motivation. Fear motivation is for coercions a person to act against will. It is instantaneous and gets the job done quickly. It is helpful in the short run. The importance of motivation is obvious. The employees need motivation in order to reach their goals. In fact it is one of the most important and driving factor for the employees to reaching their goals. Motivation does not have to be positive emotions. Fear can be very effective motivating factor. Stress is an example of negative motivating ineffective feelings. Most people have a tendency to become narrow sighted when they are stressed, some even get paralyzed or apathy. It is the rewards for reaching the goals that motivates or the feeling of fulfillment when they reach their goals or the satisfaction of being important. In motivation they have behavior styles. If the employees ever come across any of the behaviour matrixs that is available on the market, they will notice some interesting things when it comes to motivation. It is easy to realize that most companies bonus and appraisal system are not very well thought. Usually a behaviour matrix divides people into four different types of behaviour group. The four IDI styles are motivator, producer, processor, and realtor. They all have different needs and are therefore motivated by different emotions. Motivators are people that are good at motivating others, they are often perceived as exciting, fast, outspoken, engaging, enthusiastic, and creating. There is always something new going on. They are often very good at getting others to want to take on new challenges. Their need is to be unique and that is driving their motivation. Producers are people that often are perceived as goal oriented, strong, self confident, practically, down to earth and determent. Producers are good at driving towards goals. Their need is to be in control and that is driving their motivation. Processors are often perceived as well thought, objective, consistent, serious and logical. They are good at structuring and analyzing and their need to understand and that is driving their motivation. Relators are often perceived as supporting, loyal, trustworthy, considerate, calm, friendly and caring. Relators are good at creating and maintaining good relations with others. CONCLUSION Motivation refers to employees willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals in the expectation that doing so will enable them to satisfy some individual need. Motivation is a necessary, but by itself not a sufficient, condition of effective performance. The recipe for effective performance also calls for employee ability, managerial direction, and a satisfactory work environment. There are various motivational theories and strategies that can be applied at the individual, group, and organizational levels. At the individual level are Maslows hierarchy of needs, Herzbergs two-factor theory, and McClellands manifest needs theory, and equity theory. Motivational theories and techniques that can best be applied at the group level include the Hawthorne effect and equity theory. At the organizational level, the following motivational theories and strategies are most applicable reinforcement theory, job enrichment, job redesign, and the Scanlon plan. CONCLUSION OVERALL People management can be defined as the process of controlling and monitoring individuals. The concept of people management is widely used in organizations where the managers most important task is to manage people. In order to increase the efficiency of the people the manager has to lead, motivate and inspire people. Sometimes rules are defined to manage people like time lines, duties and more. In order to manage the people Human Resource Departments are established in the organization. These departments are specifically responsible to deal with people of organization.

Wackenhut SS :: Personal Narrative Writing

Wackenhut SS It was a warm spring day. I turned down the radio as I drove across the bridge at Hoover dam, water and cement connected the state line separating Arizona from Nevada. Crossing the dam then past the tourist information center reached two huge stone angel monuments with arms and wings stretched toward the sky. The sight of them invoked religious desperation from me as if a I was lacking from divine intervention. Parked on either side of the two towering angels sat two highway patrol cars. One on each side of the statues like vultures ordered by the sherif of Nottingham to victimize taxpayers. I felt desperate and uneasy as I stared into the troopers eyes as I passed by and they stared back. I am not paranoid but that doesn't mean they are not after me. Everyone is a suspect and victim for harassment and possible revenue. My sense of privacy dissolved with the irreverent mix. Psychically connected and hoping to break the troopers attention, I turned up Black Sabbath on the radio and sa ng along. "They tell you black is really white, the moon is just the sun at night and when you walk through golden halls, you get to keep the gold that falls, it's heaven and hell." The patrol cars stay put as I wind up the mountain road out of sight. I keep the heavy metal tunes blaring to give me that extra boost of primal fire that leads one to believe that enough vrihl energy omnisciently moves away adversaries. My attention shot through their hollow headslike a laser out of the screaming skulls of hell. Aggressive aesthetic attention, makes things move quicker with a lottery of victims. I drop my vigil as I drive through Henderson Nevada. From the clouds, mountains and small skyscrapers, the twilight cast a weird silhouette around the city. I felt safe, as if the ratio of civilians had the police outnumbered. I turn off the radio to sense the silence that Lake Mead evoked in the sunset. Winding up the highway, the sky pulled like a magnet, my hair stood on end, the roof of the car like static electricity. I head north-west towards Vegas into the orange twilight. I light a joint and savor the powerful ringing in my ears as I focus my attention on the electric silence, invisibly driving me into Las Vegas.

The Reason Behind the Flooding of Great Salt Lake Essay -- Terry Willi

The Reason Behind the Flooding of Great Salt Lake In Refuge, Terry Tempest Williams blames a natural disaster—the overflowing of the Great Salt Lake in Utah--for the destruction of the place she loved most in the world, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. What Williams attempts to explain, however, is that this disaster wasn’t really â€Å"natural† at all. Refuge is critiqued by some for being over-dramatized, and Terry Tempest Williams is often criticized for blaming the world and others for the loss of the bird refuge. In fact, Williams is correct when she says that humans are responsible for the flooding of Salt Lake, which was caused by the construction of a railroad causeway that split Great Salt Lake into two bodies of water. The author is not a reckless finger-pointer, she is a realist. In describing the bird refuge before the flooding, Williams goes into great detail about the abundance of birds and vegetation that inhabited her paradise: â€Å"Avocets and black-necked stilts are knee deep in water alongside interstate 80. Flocks of California gulls stand on a disappearing beach†¦I inhale the salty air. It is like ocean, even the lake is steel-blue with whitecaps†(Williams 30). In a visit to the bird refuge with her grandmother, she describes the refuge as a place full of life, with countless birds among beautiful plants and wildlife. Indeed, the bird refuge was a sanctuary to her; there was something magical, she writes, about seeing the thousands of different birds in one place, a sight that kept her going back. The rise of Great Salt Lake engulfed the refuge, and as the flooding continued, the population of birds plummeted, Williams’ sanctuary turned into a graveyard filled with only memories of the birds she grew ... ...e the ones most affected by flooding, are also those where the poorest residents live. In 1987, three pumps were used to pump 800,000 acres of water into the West Pond of Salt Lake in an attempt to even out the water levels on the two sides of the lake. This effort to fix the lakes’ problems, which cost $60 million, became known as the West Desert Pumping Project. The project went on for more than two years, until 2.7 million acre-feet of water, containing 695 million tons of salt, were pumped out. (www.ugs.state.ut.us/online/PI-39/pi39pg08 ) These pumps were successful in balancing the lake’s water levels, and remain on standby in case of another disastrous rise. It remains to be seen, however, whether this corrective measure will restore Great Salt Lake’s wildlife—and particularly the birds that Terry Tempest Williams treasured—to their pre-causeway levels.

Nutrition for Lean Muscle :: Health Nutrition Pyramid Diet

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As important as it is to exercise, it may be even more important to watch what you eat. It is not so much of what you eat, but how much you eat, when you eat, and how often you eat. If you eat low in calorie snacks between meals, you will not be as hungry during normal meals, causing you to eat less then you would have without the snacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Eating five or six smaller meals a day, rather than three large meals, is said to increase your metabolism. An increase in metabolism should help you burn calories when you are exercising. A small meal may be a bowl of whole-wheat cereal with one percent milk for breakfast. For a mid morning meal, you could have a cup of cottage cheese. Your whole day continues like this, with small, yet healthy meals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The problem with low protein, low calorie, low fat, low anything diets is that when you are working out, or even performing everyday activities, your body does not have anything to get energy from in order to burn off fat. Foods that are high in protein or calories give your body energy, which is important if you are trying to increase your metabolism. Smoking and drinking don’t help if you are trying to lose weight because they make your body hungry, one because you are not aware of how much you are eating, or two because your blood pressure and pulse increase, and they too need nutrition to keep them down.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If you are careful about what you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat, your muscles should become healthy and lean. It is also important to note that skipping meals does not help you loose weight, but gain weight, because when your body does get food it stores it as fat because it does not know when you ate going to eat again.

Henry Moore Analysis Essay

Henry Moore was born 30. 07. 1898 and lived for 88 years. Moore would have prioritised his art over his academic study. After numerous visits to the ethnographic collections of the British museum, Europian modernist; i. e Picasso, Arp, Brancusi and Giacometti became influences. Uniting these inspirations was a deeply felt humanist. He often used abstract form to draw comparisons between the human body and landscapes. Moore’s images of figures sheltering in London subway stations sheltering during World War II are still loved. Moore loves drawing from the human figure ‘studied it for half my life’ he quoted. Moore believes that our bodies help us understand nature and are the biggest influence on art. ‘If our bodies were the sizes of elephants, the whole scale of architecture and art would be different. ’ Moore loves landscape as well as figures, ‘if landscape was different, all of our lives would be different. You can’t get away from nature. ’ He believes that it is ridiculous for something to have no real connection to real life and nature. During the 1930’s, Moore became experimental with abstract and was inspired by surrealism. Surrealism shaped his mature style; it encouraged his love for biomorphic forms and also suggested how the figure could be split into parts and reduced to essentials. Henry Moore takes natural/ realistic things and uses abstract form to rearrange and magnify them to show hidden quality. Moore’s etchings are quality to viewers because of the expression and liveliness they carry each appropriate to what the image is. In the 1960s Henry Moore became so intrigues by the skull of an African elephant kept in the garden of his friends that eventually they gave the skull to him, Moore examined the object’s internal and external features through a number of etchings. When Moore published these works, he called them â€Å"a mixture of observation and imagination,† as while he studied and drew the skull up close he â€Å"could begin to see in it great deserts and rocky landscapes, big caves in the sides of hills, great pieces of architecture, columns and dungeons. What we know as hidden qualities. This is an etching from Henry Moore’s elephant skull portfolio. Concaved and convex areas are shown through darker and lighter tones; he creates the darker tones with lots of dark lines (using cross hatch perhaps), however, in the lighter areas, Moore uses less lines going in the appropriate direction to the shape of the image. The direction of each line is very important, if Moore wanted to enhance a certain part of the image or give it 3D quality, he could use the directions of lines according. Moore uses lines varying in shape, length and direction; this makes his etchings expressive, free and lively but organised enough to make sense. This makes his work incredibly effective to look at. This piece has great definition in shape thanks to the directions of his lines, the amount of lines also make it look so effortless which proves that Moore is being expressive; this gives huge effect to the viewer. The composition in this etching of Moore’s is a centre view with a slight side angle on the elephant skull, looking at his other etchings of this skull, the front is not the most detailed but it is not the least effective. It gave Moore opportunity to show expression and freedom in the directions and shapes of his lines. The eye is taken up through the centre to the eye sockets of the skull, this is because Moore’s lines are directing towards that centre line which is directing to the cows eye sockets. It is a full frame therefore the skull is the main focus of the etching as there is no detailed background. Moore’s work doesn’t vary in colour. He uses natural tones (black, grey and white), these give a simple, earthy look of the natural world. This is more than appropriate towards the etchings in which Moore creates, as it keeps them realistic and not too abstract even though they do deceptively have abstract features and hidden qualities within them. Moore still has the ability to represent warmth and coldness in his etchings despite the lack of colour; as the colder etchings i. e. the elephant skull have less heavy lines to create the cold affect, whereas warmer etchings i. e. his etchings of figures sheltering in the subway create a warm affect for the viewer. The lack of bright colour in Moore’s work is effective, keeps it unique, extremely recognisable and still keeps the sense of reality and natural world Moore believes in.

Quiz 7

1. Access controls include the following a. Answers 1 and 2 only require employee logouts when the workstations are left unattended, prohibitions against visitors roaming the building in which computers are stored 2. Identity theft can be prevented by b. All of the above monitor credit reports regularly, sending personal information in encrypted form, immediately cancel missing credit cards, shred all personal documents after they are used 3. Which of the following can be used to detect whether confidential information has been disclosed c. A digital watermark 4.Which of the following is a fundamental control for protecting privacy d. Encryption 5. Which of the following are internationally recognized best practices for protecting the privacy of customers' personal information e. All of the above Disclosure to third parties only according to their privacy policy. , Use and retention of customer information as described by their privacy policy. , Organizations should explain the choices available and obtain their consent to the collection of customer data prior to its collection 6. The same key is used to encrypt and decrypt in which type of encryption systems f.Symmetric encryption systems Read also Quiz Week 4 7. Which of the following represents a process that takes plaintext and transforms into a short code g. Hashing 8. Which of the following uses encryption to create a secure pathway to transmit data h. Virtual Private Network (VPN 9. Which of the following represents an organization that issues documentation as to the validity and authenticity of digital identification such as digital certificates i. Certificate Authority 10. Which of the following is NOT a factor that can influence encryption strength j. Digital Certificate Length 1. What is the first step in protecting the confidentiality of intellectual property and other sensitive business information k. Identify where confidential data resides and who has access to it 12. Which of the following is a major privacy-related concern l. Answers 1 and 2 Spam, Identify theft 1. These are used to create digital signatures a. Asymmetric encryption and hashing 2. On March 3, 2008, a laptop computer belonging to Folding Squid Technology was stolen from the trunk of Jiao Jan's car while he was attending a conference in Cleveland, Ohio.After reporting the theft, Jiao considered the implications of the theft for the company's network security and concluded there was nothing to worry about because b. the data stored on the computer was encrypted 3. Using a combination of symmetric and asymmetric key encryption, Chris Kai sent a report to her home office in Syracuse, New York. She received an email acknowledgement that the document had been received and then, a few minutes later, she received a second email that indicated that the hash calculated from the report differed from that sent with the report.This most likely explanation for this result is that c. the symmetric encryption key had been compromised 4. Asymmetric key encryption combined with the information provided by a certificate authority allows unique identification of d. the user of encrypted data 5. These systems use the same key to encrypt and to decrypt e. S ymmetric encryption 6. In a private key system the sender and the receiver have ________, and in the public key system they have ________ f. the same key; two separate keys 7.In a private key system the sender and the receiver have ________, and in the public key system they have ________ g. the same key; two separate keys 8. Encryption has a remarkably long and varied history. Spies have been using it to convey secret messages ever since there were secret messages to convey. One powerful method of encryption uses random digits. Two documents are prepared with the same random sequence of numbers. The spy is sent out with one and the spy master retains the other. The digits are used as follows. Suppose that the word to be encrypted is SPY and the random digits are 352.Then S becomes V (three letters after S), P becomes U (five letters after P), and Y becomes A (two letters after Y, restarting at A after Z). The spy would encrypt a message and then destroy the document used to encrypt it. This is an early example of h. symmetric key encryption 9. Which of the following is  not  associated with asymmetric encryption? i. Speed 10. A process that takes plaintext of any length and transforms it into a short code j. Hashing 11. k. 12. l. 13. m. 14. n. 15. o. 16. p. 17. q. 18. r. 19. s. 20. t. 21. u. 22. v. 23. w. 24. x. 25. y. 26. z. 27. {. 28. |.

Capsim Report

I. Executive Summary Erie Corporation has been founded in 2011 with the mission is to provide both reliable products for low-technology customers including Traditional and Low End segments; and premium- technology oriented customers including High End, Performance and Size segments. This business plan is written so as to provide the board of directors a detailed picture about the company’s strategies as well as the direction how we can implement these strategies. The plan consists of three parts. The first part is about the corporate objectives and strategy. In detail, at the end of year three, Erie aims to be one of the two leading companies in the market with a net profit of $10,000,000 and 25% of market shares of the whole industry. In addition, the company’s management expects to gain at least 30% of contribution margin for each product, to reduce 60% to 70% of total labor costs and 11. 8% of total material costs. Erie’s strategies are niche cost leadership and niche differentiation. In particular, while products in Traditional and Low End are oriented to operate under the niche cost leader, products in three remaining segments including High End, Performance and Size are aimed to follow the niche differentiator strategy. This is because while price is the most considerable criterion of customers in Traditional and Low End segments, this does not matter to the other three segments’ consumers as long as the products offered are premium-technology. To implement this strategy effectively, Erie should operate under the direction like this, besides revising products to meet customers’ expectation; the company set up a relatively low price for products in Traditional and Low End segments and vice versa for products in the three remaining segments. Simultaneously, the company will invest on capacity and automation gradually for all segments. This will bring to Erie a competitive advantage over other competitors in terms of long-term cost savings. In addition, maximum second shift capacity may be run as much as possible and a significant amount of money will also be spent on promotion and sales budgets so as to capture the highest possible percentage of market shares. Furthermore, Erie is willing to make losses at least in the first two years because in the remaining years of the simulation, when higher capacity and automation are ready as well as Human Resources and Total Quality Management functions are applied, Erie will become more competitive in the market and hence can make profit as the production costs will be minimized. Secondly, specific objectives, key performance indicators and strategy which are followed strictly the corporate objectives of all departments including R&D, Marketing, Production, Human Resources and Total Quality Management will be also set out. Finally, a back-up plan which might be utilized when there is trouble in the operation of the company’s products is also prepared. Under this plan, the failed product will be remained for two years instead of stopping its operation immediately so as to sell its remaining inventory and wait for the new product to be finished and could be sold to the market. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 4 Corporation Objectives & Strategies 4 1. Corporation Objectives 4 2. Corporation Strategies. 4 R&D Department 5 1. Objectives 5 2. KPIs. 5 3. Strategies. 5 Marketing Department 6 1. Objectives 6 2. KPIs. 6 3. Strategies. 7 Production Department 8 1. Objectives 8 2. KPIs & Strategies. 8 3. Strategies. 9 Human Resource Department 10 1. Objectives 10 2. KPIs & Strategies. 10 TQM Department 11 1. Objectives 11 2. KPIs & Strategies. 11 Finance Department 12 1. Objectives 12 2. KPIs & Strategies. 2 3. Strategies. 12 Back-up Plan 13 Conclusion 14 Reference 14 Appendix 15 II. Introduction Sensor industry is more likely an oligopoly because the products are high technological including cameras, biometric devices and labs-on-a-chip. In addition, there are only six firms dominating the market and the total demand for the whole industry remains stable which means that new firms cannot enter into the market. Furthermore, year after year, while customers’ expectations are becoming higher and higher, the products are getting older and price ranges are stricter. This indicates such a challenge for all companies in the market. A critical successful factor which can assist all companies to overcome this difficulty is that each company should choose an appropriate strategy to follow so as to succeed and become more competitive in the market. Recognizing this fact, Erie has chosen two strategies including niche cost leadership and niche differentiation that are appropriate for each types of segments. In this business plan, these strategies will be examined in depth and detailed actions of all Erie’s departments which are followed these strategies are also sketched out. III. Corporation Objectives and Strategies 1. Corporation Objectives By the end of year 3, Erie will: * Be one of the two leading companies in the sensor industry * Achieve net profit of $10,000,000 * Obtain at least 25% of market shares of the whole industry * Gain at least 30% of Contribution Margin for each product * Reduce at least 70% of the total labor costs and 11. 8% of total material costs 2. Corporation Strategies According to customers’ buying criteria of Traditional and Low End segments, prices are deemed to be the most considerable factor. In fact, respectively, the price ranges of Traditional and Low End take up approximately 23% and 53% over other criteria such as position and reliability. In other words, customers are willing to purchase low-tech products as long as their prices are relatively low. As a result, Niche Cost Leadership seems to be the most appropriate strategy for these two segments. On the other hand, prices are the most insignificant buying criterion in High End, Performance and Size segments. No matter how high the prices are, customers in these segments are more preferable to high-tech product. In particular, for the High End and Size segments, ideal position occupies 43% and products’ ideal age is 29%. Furthermore, reliability is the most important consideration to customers in Performance segment. Hence, Niche Differentiation is a proper alternative for these three segments. IV. R&D Department 1. Objectives * Meet customers’ expectations in all segments * Control R&D budgets for products in Traditional and Low End segments as low as possible * Continuously update products’ positions for High End, Performance and Size segments every year . KPIs * Keep R&D costs for in Traditional and Low End segments maximum at $1,000,000 * Invest minimum $1,500,000 for revising products in High End, Performance and Size segments 3. Strategies a. Traditional and Low End segments For these two segments, Erie decides to invest slightly and annually in performance and size while decrease the mean time before failure (MTBF) of products in year 1. After that, MTBF will be r emained stable during the first three years. | EAT| EBB| | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Performance| 5. 7| 6. 4| 7. 1| 3| 3| 3. 2| Size| 14. 3| 13. 6| 12. 9| 17| 17| 16. 8| MTBF| 16000| 16000| 16000| 14000| 14000| 14000| Table 1: R&D investment for Traditional & Low End segment for the first three years b. High End, Performance and Size segments So as for customers to perceive the differentiation of our products in these three segments, performance, size and MTBF should exactly meet the customers’ expectations. Therefore, Erie decides not to launch the products in the first year. Since second year, when the products appear in the market, they will be revised annually in order to appeal to be younger in customers’ perception | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| | ECHO| Performance| 8| 9. 8| 10. 7| Size| 12| 10. 2| 9. 3| MTBF| 23000| 24000| 24000| | EDGE| Performance| 9. 4| 11. 4| 12. 4| Size| 15. 5| 14. 6| 13. 9| MTBF| 25000| 27000| 27000| | EGG| Performance| 4| 5| 6. 1| Size| 11| 8. 6| 7. 6| MTBF| 19000| 20000| 20000| Table 2: R&D investment for High End, Performance and Size segment for the first three years V. Marketing Department 1. Objectives * Increase sales of 5 segments by 10% each year Increase demand over 10% each year * Reach above 25% of market shares for Traditional and Low End segments, and above 20% for High End, Performance and Size segments at the end of year 3 * Keep the sales forecast error of 5 segments fluctuate between 5% – 10% during three years 2. KPIs * Keep the price of products of Traditional and Low End segments lower than the av erage price of their price ranges; the ones of High End, Performance and Size higher than the average price * Remain the same prices of all products for the first three years, then slightly decrease all prices from $0. to $1 after year 3 * Maintain customer awareness and accessibility of 5 segments from 95% to 100% * Keep the forecast errors for 5 segments not higher than 200,000 units for Traditional and Low End segments; 50,000 units for High End, Performance and Size segments every year 3. Strategies a. Pricing Strategies * Traditional & Low End In a product life cycle, the introduction stage starts when development is complete and ends when sales indicate that target customers widely accept the products. The marketing strategies are ‘fully implemented during the introduction and should be tightly integrated with the company’s competitive advantages and strategic focus’ (Ferrell & Hartline, p210, 2008). Therefore, during the first three years, in light of cost leadership strategy, Traditional and Low End segments will be followed the penetration pricing approach, which is setting relatively low initial prices, so as to maximize sales, gain widespread market acceptance, and capture large market shares quickly. It means that, in order to comply with the low cost strategy, the prices of the segments are set below the average of their price ranges. In particular, the price of Eat, which dominates Traditional segment, is established at $21. 5 per unit compared to $25 of the average price, whereas the one of Ebb, which takes up majority of sales of Low End segment, is set at $18 compared to $20. (Refer to appendix 1b: Pricing Forecast for further details) This approach is suitable for these two segments because of two main reasons. The first reason is that the segments’ customers are price sensitive since prices outweigh such other elements as ideal position and reliability. The other one is due to the fact that R&D expenses are relatively low as customers do not pay much attention on the segments’ characteristics. * High End, Performance & Size Unlike to Traditional and Low End segments, High End, Performance and Size segments are pursued differentiation strategy; hence, price skimming approach seems to be an appropriate alternative. The rationale behind price skimming is to intentionally set high prices relative to competitors, thereby skimming the profits of the top of the market, recovering the high R&D and marketing expenses associated with developing new products. In other words, the prices of these three segments will be set above the average of price ranges and should be, at least, obtain the contribution margins of 30%. In detail, the prices of Echo, Edge and Egg is respectively set at $39, $34. 5 and $34. 5 for High End, Performance and Size segments compared to the average prices of $35, $30 and $30 of each price ranges. Refer to appendix 1b: Pricing Forecast for further details) b. Promotion and Sales Strategies Percentage of products’ awareness and accessibility, which reflect the number of customers who know the existence of a company’s products, and who can easily interact with the company, are determined respectively by each product’s promotion and sales budgets. In order to in crease demand up to 10%, our company, therefore, initially invests $3,000,000 in promotion budgets during the first two year, and $2,200,000 in sales budget of Eat and Ebb during three years because customer accessibility requires long time investment to achieve 100%. Since year 3, when customer awareness achieves over 100%, the investment in the promotion budgets will be scaled back to $1,500,000. For Echo, Edge and Egg, since they will be launched in the second year, there are only $1,500,000 invested in promotion budgets, and around $1,100,000 to $1,500,000 spent in sales budgets in the first year. However, when they are ready for sales, their promotion budgets will be increased up to $3,000,000, whereas their sales budgets will be invested up to $2,200,000 in the second year so as to encourage customers’ demand. (Refer to appendix 1d: Promotion and Sales Budgets for further details) VI. Production Department 1. Objectives: * Achieve a proper plant utilization * Control production costs effectively 2. KPIs By the end of year three, Production manager aims to: * Keep plant utilization ratio from 90% to 130% to minimize machine downtime cost and expensive 2nd shift charge * Decrease labor costs for all segments by 60% to 70% * Maintain overtime ratio at 0% * Minimize inventory carrying costs at maximum 25% of total production per year 3. Strategies a. Automation Due to the fact that each rate of automation will decrease labor costs by 10%, Erie will increase automation in all segments. Even though the costs of automation are high, this is such a short-term aspect. In long-term, the improvement in automation will bring a greater benefit because costs spent on automation just incurred once while the reduction in labor costs is annual. Therefore, Erie plans to raise automation rating for all segments so as to achieve rate at 7 for Ebb and 6 for all other segments in year 3 as set out in table below: | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Eat| +1| -| +1| Ebb| +2| -| -| Echo| +1| -| +2| Edge| +2| -| +1| Egg| +2| -| +1| Table 3: Production investment in automation level for 5segments the first three years b. Capacity Using an efficient amount of capacity can help the company to achieve economic of scale as well as to be consistent with the pricing strategy as set out by Marketing department. Furthermore, in order to satisfy higher demands as well as to follow sales forecasts of Marketing department, production manager plans to buy 600 units for Ebb; 300 units for each of Edge and Egg in year two. After that, in year three, 500 units of capacity will be purchased for Eat and Ebb. This will also help Erie achieve plant utilization ratio objective as mentioned above. | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Eat| -| -| 500| Ebb| -| 600| 500| Echo| -| -| -| Edge| -| 300| -| Egg| -| 300| -| Table 4: Production investment in capacity for 5segments the first three years Additionally, in case that there is a restriction for purchasing capacity like limitation in the maximum investment or unexpected increase in sales, second shift of capacity will be utilized as much as possible to maximize sales. At the same time, using second shift workers will also be chosen instead of first shift workers with overtime. The main reason is that while second shift workers are paid the same wage rate of addition 50% as first shift workers work on overtime, second shift ones are more efficient as they are not as tired. Moreover, the employee turnover rate is lower which can help Erie to keep talent workers and reduces future recruiting costs. Relying on second shift workers, Erie will also achieve its goal which is to keep overtime ratio at 0%. VII. HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT 1. Objectives The department intends to: * Increase Productivity Index by 5% * Lower Turnover Rate to 7. 5% in year 3 2. KPIs and Strategies: Erie plans to invest $4 million for Recruiting Spend and 40 training hours in both year 2 and 3 in order to support Production department reducing labor cost. However, 5% turnover rate is unavoidable annually because of retirement, relocation and weeding out poor workers. | Year 2| Year 3| Recruiting Spend ($000)| $ 4,000| $4,000| Training Hours| 40| 40| Table 4: HR investment in recruiting and training for workers the first three years VIII. TQM DEPARTMENT 1. Objectives By the end of year 3, Erie proposes to: * Reduce material costs by 11. 8%, labor costs by 14% and administrative costs by 60% * Shorten the length of time required for R&D projects to complete by 40% * Increase demand by 14. 4% for the product line 2. KPIs and Strategies For each initiative, Erie is planning to invest $1,500,000 in a 3 year cycle. In particular, in year 3, 4, 6 and 7, $1,500,000 will be invested in each initiative; while in year 5 and 8, there is only $1,000,000 budgeted for each initiative. The firm chooses an investment of $1,500,000 because expenditures beyond $ 4 million over 2 or 3 years in each initiative will lead to the diminishing returns. | Year 3| Year 4| Year 5| | Year 6| Year 7| Year 8| Process Management Budgets| | CPI Systems| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| Vendor/JIT| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| Quality Initiative Training| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| Channel Support Systems| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| Concurrent Engineering| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| UNEP Green Programs| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| | TQM Budgets | | Benchmarking| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| Quality Function Deployment Effort| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| CCE/6 Sigma Training| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| GEMI TQEM Sustainability Initiatives| $1,500,000| $1,500,000| $1,000,000| Table 5: TQM investment in each initiative during 8 years IX. Finance Department 1. Objective By the end of year three: Avoid emergency loan * Achieve the cumulative profit between $15,000,000 to $20,000,000 * Utilize debt in investment effectively 2. KPIS * Maintain the leverage between 1. 8 to 2. 8 * Achieve the ROE ratios between 15% to 25% * Maintain closing cash position at around $12,000,000 to $15,000,000 each year * Maintain working capital day from 30 to 90 days 3. Stra tegies a. Emergency loan: In order to finance the maximum investment in the capacity and automation of the first three years, the highest amount of stocks and bonds will be issued in year 1 and continue to be considered issuing since year 2 in case of cash shortage. In addition, to sustain the loss in the first two years for capturing the market shares, a maximum amount of current debt will be borrowed in the first year. This in turn could avoid a 7. 5% of penalty for the emergency loan. After that, our company will continue to borrow a sufficient amount of current debt with the purpose to maintain our cash position at around 12,000,000 to $15,000,000. Besides, the credit for account receivable is set at 30 days so as to have a sufficient amount of cash to avoid emergency loan. b. Leverage The purpose of maintaining the leverage ratio is not to use too much retain earnings for funding the growth and avoiding a high amount of debt which can lead our company to a financial risk because of a significant amount of interest expense. In order to keep an appropriate leverage ratio, the total amount of debt will only be considered in the worst case. However, if the leverage is too high, the production investment needs to be scaled back. c. Cumulative profit So as to achieve the above expected cumulative profit, firstly, the day of working capital needs concerning and maintaining from 30 to 90 days. This in turn can protect our company from a risky position if problems occur as well as help us achieve a higher productive rate. Secondly, the expenditure for HR and TQM will be carefully calculated. Finally, the account payable policy is set at 30 days which will minimize significantly suppliers’ material withholding. Hence, our company’s profit can be improved in case of stock out because of lacking materials. X. Back-up plan Most companies have to confront with several unexpected and difficult situations during operating period. One of these difficulties could be that some companies might collapse as losing their ability to continue to compete with other competitors in some products. The reason for this would be that they no longer make enough sales to cover costs which lead to a decrease in market shares and an extreme financial loss as well. Therefore, in order to avoid this situation, Erie has developed a back-up plan in case that one of our products suffers serious loss. According to the BCG matrix, it is believed that Traditional and Low End segments might be in the ‘harvest’ stage since year 5. This is because these two segments have dominated a large proportion of market shares. Moreover, their growth rates start to decrease significantly for a long time of being operated in the sensor market. As a result, our company intends to adopt the exiting strategies when these segments begin to make relatively small profits or suffer serious loss. Instead, our company decides to develop and launch a new product which will be followed the differentiation strategy like High End and Performance segment since these segments are just in the ‘hold’ stage at that time, hence can catch up with other competitors’ products. XI. Conclusion In conclusion, relying on the application of such strategy, Erie’s products will be high-recognized in the market as they are revised regularly and efficiently. In addition, through the advantage of an initially significant investment, the company could become more competitive in the market as its production costs are minimized. Furthermore, by accepting a little bit of risky at about the first two years, Erie will gain a competitive advantage over other competitors in terms of long-term cost savings and hence could provide cheaper products and increase sales in later years. XII. Reference * Ferrel. O. C. & Hartline. D. M. 2008, Marketing Strategy 4e, South- Western Cengage Learning, the USA. XIII. Appendix 1. Marketing Forecast a. Sales Forecast | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Eat| 2,000,000| 2,200,000| 2,420,000| Ebb| 2,200,000| 2,420,000| 2,665,000| Echo| 430,000| 475,000| 525,000| Edge| 350,000| 385,000| 425,000| Egg| 400,000| 440,000| 485,000| b. Price Forecast | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Eat| $ 21. 5| $ 21. 5| $ 21. 5| Ebb| $ 18| $ 18| $ 18| Echo| $ 39| $ 39| $ 39| Edge| $ 34. 5| $ 34. 5| $ 34. 5| Egg| $ 34. 5| $ 34. 5| $ 34. 5| c. Sales Revenue Forecast | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Eat| $43,000,000| $47,300,000| $53,030,000| Ebb| $39,600,000| $43,560,000| $47,970,000| Echo| $16,770,000| $18,525,000| $20,475,000| Edge| $12,075,000| $13,282,500| $14,662,500| Egg| $13,800,000| $15,180,000| $16,732,500| d. Promotion & Sales Budgets | Promotion Budget (000)| Sales Budget (000)| | Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Year 1| Year 2| Year 3| Eat| $3,000| $3,000| $1,500| $2,200| $2,200| $2,200| Ebb| $3,000| $3,000| $1,500| $2,200| $2,200| $2,200| Echo| $1,500| $3,000| $3,000| $1,500| $2,200| $2,200| Edge| $1,500| $3,000| $3,000| $1,100| $2,200| $2,200| Egg| $1,500| $3,000| $3,000| $1,100| $2,200| $2,200| . Production Plan PROUCTION PLAN Year 1 – 2011| | Eat| Ebb| Echo| Edge| Egg| NA| NA| NA| Total| Units sales forecast| 2000| 2200| 430| 350| 400| Â  | Â  | Â  | 5380| Inventory on hand| 189| 39| 40| 78| 62| Â  | Â  | Â  | 408| Production schedule| 1800| 2200| 400| 300| 340| Â  | Â  | Â  | 5040| Production after Adj. | 1782| 2178| 396| 297| 337| Â  | Â  | Â  | 4990 | Margins| Â  | 2nd shift production %| 0%| 57. 10%| 0%| 0%| 0%| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Labour cost/unit| $8. 22 | $8. 26 | $9. 39 | $9. 39 | $9. 39 | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Material cost/unit| $10. 96 | $7. 63 | $15. 53 | $15. 45 | $13. 3 | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Total unit cost| $19. 18 | $15. 89 | $24. 92 | $24. 84 | $22. 62 | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | CM| 10. 8%| 11. 7%| 36. 1%| 28. 0%| 34. 4%| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Physical plant| Â  | Total| 1st shift capacity| 1800| 1400| 900| 600| 600| Â  | Â  | Â  | 5300| Buy/sell capacity| –| –| –| –| –| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Automation rating| 4| 5| 3| 3| 3| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | New automation rating| 5| 7| 4| 5| 5| Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Investment| $7,200 | $11,200 | $3,600 | $4,800 | $4,800 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $31,600 | Workforce| Last year| Needed| This Year| 1st shift| 2nd shift| Overtime| Â  | Max Invest| 32,694 | Completement| 700| 820| 820| 705| 115| 0%| A/P Lags| 30| (days)| 3. Profo rma Financial Statements a. Balance Sheet PROFORMA BALANCE SHEET| ASSETS| | Cash| 28034| Accounts Receivable| 10240| Inventory| 1055| Total Current Assets| 39328| Plant & Equipment| 145400| Accumulated Depreciation| (47626)| Total Fixed Assets| 97774| | Total Assets| 137102| | LIABILITIES & OWNER'S EQUITY| Accounts Payable| 7699| Current Debt| 20341| Long Term Debt| 60694| Total Liabilities| 88734| | Common Stock| 32060| Retained Earnings| 16308| Total Equity| 48368| Total Liabilities and Owner's Equity| 137102| b. Cash Flow Statement PROFORMA CASH FLOW STATEMENT| Cash Flows from Operating Activities| | Net Income (Loss)| (13274)| Adjustment for non-cash items| | | Depreciation & Writeoff| 9693| Change in Current Assets and Liabilities| | | Accounts Payable| 1116| | Inventory| 7562| | Accounts Receivable| (1933)| Net cash from operations| 3165| | Cash Flows From Investing Activities| | Plant Improvements| (31600)| | Cash Flows from Financing Activities| | Dividends Paid| | Sales of Common Stock| 13,700| Purchase of Common Stock| | Cash from long term debt | 18994| Retirement of long term debt| | Change in current debt (net)| 20341| | Net change in cash position| 24600| | Starting cash position| 3,434| Closing cash position| 28034| c. Income Statement PROFORMA INCOME STATEMENT| Product Name| EAT| EBB| ECHO| EDGE| EGG| Total| Sales| 42385| 39600| 16770| 12075| 13757| 124587| | Variable Costs| | Direct Labor| 16227| 18156| 4043| 3284| 3748| 45458| Direct Material| 21632| 16771| 6682| 5403| 5279| 55768| Inventory Carry| 0| 33| 18| 75| 0| 127| Total Variable Costs| 37859| 34960| 10743| 8761| 9028| 101352| | Contribution Margin| 4520| 4640| 6027| 3314| 4729| 23235| | Period Costs| | Depreciation| 3120| 3173| 1320| 1040| 1040| 9693| SG&A: R&D| 269| 0| 1000| 1000| 1000| 3269| Promotions| 3000| 3000| 1500| 1500| 1500| 10500| Sales| 2200| 2200| 1500| 1100| 1100| 8100| Admin| 365| 341| 145| 104| 119| 1074| Total Period Costs| 8955| 8715| 5465| 4744| 4759| 32637| | Net Margin| (4429)| (4075)| 562| (1431)| (29)| (9402)| | Other| 1635| EBIT| (11037)| Interest| 9384| Taxes| (7147)| Profit Sharing| 0| | Net Profit| (13274)| d. Cash Budget CASH BUDGET| | Total| Beginning cash balance| 3,434| Cash from operations| 3,165| Total Available Cash| 6,599| Less:| | Capital expenditures| (31,600)| Interest| (9,384)| Dividends| 0| Debt retirement| 0| Other| (1,635)| Total Disbursements| (42,619)| Cash Balance (Deficit)| (36,020)| Add:| | Short-term loans| 20,341| Long-term loans| 18,994| Capital stock issues| 13,700| Total Additions| 52,035| Ending Cash Balance| 16,015|