Roman Women Essays - Marriage, Family, Gender, Spouses, Anthropology

Roman Women The life of a Woman of Rome was filled with many traditions and rules, which were carried on generation after generation. Many say that Roman women were oppressed because they were not allowed to be an active part of society and politics. The book Roman Women by J.P.V.D. Balsdon gives, what I consider to be, an accurate and detailed account of a typical woman in Rome during the Roman Empire. Balsdon writes about the married women of Rome and the formidable ceremonies needed to perform a wedding. The children that soon came after marriage, which was in itself, another worry for women of the Roman culture. Rome also had its share, like most civilizations, of happy and unhappy marriages that women lived through. In addition, there were the less reputable women of Rome, the prostitutes and courtesans. And last, but not least, Balsdon gives a detailed account of a woman's daily life down to hairstyles, make-up, and jewelry. A woman's looks were very important in Rome. A woman revealed no more of her body than a nun does today. She usually wore the standard dress called a stola with light undergarments beneath this. It is a rather interesting fact that this style of dress did not change for three hundred years. Purple and gold, and a dark rose, scarlet, or amethyst were a few of the favored colors for the women of Rome. Women's hair arrangements often occupied a large portion of their time and were performed by a hairdresser. Younger women dressed their hair very simply by drawing it back into a knot at the back of the neck. Most hair was parted down the center and curled into waves, or styled with small ringlets. Make-up, an important part of a woman's beauty process, was only moderately applied unless the woman was a prostitute. Jewels, however, were sometimes lavishly applied. Opals, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds were popular among the wealthy women. The amount of jewelry a woman wore signified he r husband's wealth. The wedding ceremony in Rome was always preceded by a choice of husband. A girl was deemed ready for marriage at the tender age of twelve. Most boys were considered ready at the age of fourteen. The marriage was considered null if the pair was married before they had reached the age requirement. In higher social classes, the father's arranged the marriages. Both the boy and girl were expected to agree with their father's decision. It was acceptable, however, for the girl to confide in her mother and reveal if she was satisfied with her father's choice or not. The mother was then allowed to express her daughter's feelings to her husband for the choice he had made. Betrothal sometimes happened in infancy. There were certain limitations to this though and Roman law required that the children must be able to understand what was happening, and they must be at least seven years of age. There were three forms of marriage in Rome. Each contained the similar idea that the wife passed from the authority of her father to the submission of her husband. The first form of marriage was a primitive bride-purchase. In the presence of five witnesses, the bridegroom would make a fictitious purchase and then pay the father of the bride a penny for it and, in exchange, received his bride. The second form of marriage was a cohabitation of a man and woman. This marriage, of course, must be declared honorable from the beginning so that the marriage was not confused with a man and his concubine. In this case, the husband did not have full authority over his wife until a year had passed with the two of them living together for that year. Before the end of the fifth century B.C., however, women had found a way to escape total submission to their husband's. The plan was simply that they would leave their husband's house for three days time each year. This meant that they had not been in full company with their husband for the entire year and therefore absented themselves from the law. The third form of marriage was by far the most interesting and could be said to

Logging essays

Logging essays Forests are the richest and most diverse biological system on the face of the earth. Forests are valuable and useful natural resources, providing fresh air and varied recreational areas. In recent years, there has been a controversial question as to whether logging should be excluded from native forests. Logging brings short-term benefits, however, logging harms us all in the long term. Logging should be excluded from Native Forests. There are two main reasons to support that. Firstly, logging forests destroys the ecosystem and brings long-term harm. Forests are an interrelated part of ecosystem. They can prevent soil erosion and pollution of rivers with sediment. Logging takes most of the trees and destroys forests ecosystem. However, according to Hurditch in Giles (Ed) (1993), he showed the timber industrys wise management can ensure an everlasting supply of timber from the natural processes of forest growth and development. He also said that forests are regenerated after logging. Despite that, Angel in Giles (Ed) (1993) said that forests are one of the most ancient and rich terrestrial life from left. The trees take hundreds of years to grow and cannot be logged on a renewable basis. Once logged, their structure and prolific life are damaged beyond repair. In actual fact, the forests are very difficult to regenerate. According to Ms Linda Parlane in The Weekend Australian, 1998, a survey by the Department of Conservation, Forests and lands (CFL) showed that between 1979 and 1982 up to 40 percent of logged forest had not regenerated successfully in selected areas. Her colleague, Mr. Andrew Booth, said forests marked for logging is rotated in 80-years cycles, but it takes more than a century for eucalypts to mature. If logging is not controlled, the ecosystem would be destroyed and we would lose the useful and valuable nature resources. Logging of an area of forest means total destruction of the flora and founa of an are...

Should Abortion be Illegal Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should Abortion be Illegal - Research Proposal Example Oktay Kadayifci -- professor from the Medical Faculty of University of Istanbul titled â€Å"Ethical and Legal Aspects of Abortion†, a philosophical outlook on the topic from â€Å"Abortion and the Unborn Life† author Patrick Lee who holds the John N. and Jamie D. McAleer Chair of Bioethics and is the director of the Institute of Bioethics at Franciscan University Steubenville, as well as the National Right to Life website that contains vital information regarding some important abortion information that not all people may be familiar with. Abortion is a highly controversial topic that has been debated about through the decades with both the pro-life and pro-choice sides making highly valid and acceptable pleas on behalf of their stand. While the pro-choice stance makes a good point of indicating that a woman should have the right to make a decision about what goes on and happens with her body, it still does not erase the fact that abortion is, as the pro-lifers point out, tantamount to murder because the woman is carrying a life within her womb and that fetus has a right to live, just like any other child who was conceived, regardless of how the conception was done (e.g. rape) or accepted by the woman. The aforementioned information is but a few reasons to consider the total ban on abortion. Other information to consider cover the aspects of moral and ethical arguments. Conscionable considerations also take an important place in the discussion as the idea of abortion as murder must be considered and understood by the public. Therefore, it is important to listen to information being shared by both the pro and anti-abortionists. According to a journal article by Prof. Oktay Kadayifci, society must learn to respect the views of the pro-abortionists. That is actually not the point of discussion at the moment.

Burberry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Burberry - Essay Example It also has a prominent base of goods made of leather and beauty products in the world. Burberry has a well diversified business model through which it sells apparel, accessories. It has well spread network of Retail, wholesale and licensing and it operates mainly in Asia Pacific, USA and European region but also has stores in rest of the world. In case of product diversification it has a rich source of women, men and children’s apparel and accessories and beauty products. The group operates into different functional areas like designing and marketing of its apparel, store architecture, supply chain management, IT, HR, Corporate affairs and strategy and finance section. For the financial year 2012-2013 its retail sales have earned 71% of total revenue and wholesale has earned 24%. Burberry has made a transition in its make-up and fragrance business by transferring it into direct operating structure. Burberry.com an online store of the group delivers it services to more than 10 0 countries in the world and further expansion of 84 more retail stores. Burberry is the most preferred luxury brand with more than 15 million fans on Facebook. It is also expanding its business in Middle East countries and has been listed as Top 100 Global Brands for consecutive four years by Interbrand (Burberry, 2013, pp. 17-26). Question 2. According to the auditor’s report of Burberry PLC, it was prepared by following the rules of IFRSs as adopted by EU. The report includes opinions which were prepared for the members of the company as per Companies act 2006. Auditors have analyzed all financial and non financial information of the company to identify whether it has any material misstatements with audited financial statements. Auditor’s report has given some opinion about the group’s financial statement that it has got a true view of the group’s profit and cash flows for the financial year 2013 and it was prepared as per the requirements of Companies Act 2006. Auditor’s report also has some matters like it has identified that director’s remuneration in some cases was not abide by law and auditors didn’t receive all the information they required for audit. Auditors need to review the director’s statement and the corporate governance statement which relates to the company’s agreement with nine provisions in UK. Auditor’s report has some advantages related to financial information like it provides the true view of the company’s financial statements. It also identifies the material misstatements or frauds in the financial statements prepared by the company. It also indicates the areas on which the company can improve it and evaluates the strength and weaknesses of the company. It analyzes the firm’s financial data and helps the investors by giving them the clear picture about the financial position of the company. Question 3. Profitability 2013 2012 % change ROE 0.24 0.30 -0.1 8 Gross Profit Margin 0.72 0.70 0.03 Net Profit Margin 0.13 0.14 -0.10 Profitability Ratio:- Profitability Ratio can be defined as financial a tool which is used to justify a company’s ability to generate revenue which is compared to the business’s expenses and other operational costs which are incurred during a specific time period and are compared to the same ratio of previous period. If the ratios are higher then it indicates that the company is doing well (Thukaram, 2007, p.99). From the above table we can see that Return on Equity for

Murder Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Murder - Essay Example However, it is a fact in criminal law, that the â€Å"criminal intent† or the â€Å"mens rea† of the offender to be convicted for the commission of any of the crimes under the Code requires a different degree of culpability which is dependent on the nature of the crime. Hence, the elements of these two crimes are to be treated differently. The issue that presented before us now that needs to be resolved is: The Mens rea for murder is too narrow in certain respects and too wide in others. The fault element for involuntary manslaughter is simply too wide. To differentiate these two crimes, first thing that needs to be done is to identify the elements for the commission of each of the crimes. We start with the crime of Murder. Alan W. Norrie has reported that for the crime of murder, the case of R. V. Woolin 1 should be highlighted as the basis of defining the intention of the accused. â€Å"In this case, the House has rejected the conclusion of the Court of Appeal that f oresight of a substantial risk of death or serious bodily harm could in certain circumstances be an â€Å"alternative mens rea† that can quality to intention of the accused†. While in the case of R. V. ... However, there exists a conflict in the Woolin case which leaves the test for the criminal intention too specific. In the event that in the future a crime of murder is committed, the victim or his family shall be prejudiced by the conviction of the criminal to a lesser offence, carrying with it a lesser penalty because of non-compliance with the attendant circumstances as stated in the Woolin case, to make him liable for murder. Thus, it gives the criminal the privilege to demand for a lesser penalty and escape a portion of the imprisonment. Moreover, there are two issues which are left unanswered by the Woolin case, which concern the moral basis for convicting a criminal for murder. In one, the foresight of virtual certainty may be regarded as morally under-inclusive, while in the other, it is over-inclusive. These problems, relating to issues of good and bad motive, originated from the unstable moral core at the heart of mens rea, which the dominant subjectivist approach ignores at its peril.5 The principle laid down by Woolin case caused quite a stir because foreseeability and intention are the elements used to prove the degree of culpability of the offender. The terms â€Å"direct† and â€Å"indirect intention† are given their conservative meanings of â€Å"purpose, aim or object† and â€Å"necessary means to an end or side-effect foreseen as virtually certain to occur whether desired or not†. The argument of Norrie is that in the â€Å"process of legal and moral judgment in the criminal law, these terms cannot be fully separated from broader issues of â€Å"motive† or â€Å"ulterior intention†, understood as the moral backdrop to the intentions that are formed, and generally seen as irrelevant to culpability†6. Therefore, if the

Foreign Market Servicing Strategies of Lidl

Foreign Market Servicing Strategies of Lidl Lidl is one of the leading global discounter and owns round about 9000 stores in Germany and all over Europe. Lidl has beaten its main competitor Aldi. Aldi is already successful in the United States. The latest history of the company Lidl was clouded by the observation scandal in 2008. This scandal damaged their image. In the matter of the important topic Corporate Social Responsibility Lidl started a project called ECO2LOGISCH. This project is about building stores that are energy-efficient and sustainable. In addition the company sells Fair-trade products. The food retail industry in Germany had a moderate growth in the past but the forecast for the industry looks good. The category of supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters has the highest market share in the food retail industry. The buyer and supplier power is moderate as well as threats of new entrants and substitutes are moderate. The rivalry in the industry is very strong. The US food retail industry in comparison to the German one has a strong growth and the forecast is not less significant. The category of supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters has a major market share of 80.2 %. With a Gross Domestic Product of $ 14.2 trillion in 2009 the Unites States are the second largest economy after the European Union. There is a very high diversification of income and thereby a problem of poverty occurs in the United States. With predominating Strengths and Opportunities after the SWOT analysis, the United States satisfy all requirements to become the new market Lidl should expand to. Lidl has ownership, location and internalization advantages and thereby Foreign Direct Invest is the best mode of entry. Given that Aldi used Greenfield investment successfully to enter the US market in 1776 and Lidl did use the same strategy to expand to the European markets, Greenfield investment is the appropriate strategy to enter the new market in the United States successfully. Introduction In times of globalization and international expansion Lidl, who is one of the leading global discounter, should think about an expansion overseas. The following report should discuss if the United States are the right country to expand to and which mode of entry Lidl should use for the expansion. In the first steps the company Lidl itself will be analysed with a closer look at the Corporate Social Responsibility. After that the German food retail industry will be examined. Porters Five Forces Model will be used for this. The next step is to analyse the food retail industry in the United States. For this the industry itself will be investigated and the PEST analysis will give a closer look at the United States. The SWOT analysis will demonstrate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for Lidl by entering the US market. Afterwards the mode of entry will be discussed and the conclusion will give a final answer to the question, if the United States are the right country to expand to. The company Lidl Company overview Lidl is a German discount chain and is part of the Schwarz Beteiligungs GmbH (Holding company). The Schwarz group also owns the consumer markets Kaufland, KaufMarkt, Concord and Handelshof. The history of Lidl can be traced back to the beginning of 1930. At this point in time Josef Schwarz got general partner of the Sà ¼dfrà ¼chte Großhandlung Lidl Co. He restructured it to a wholesale business which was then destroyed in 1944. After ten years the business was rebuilt and in 1972 the headquarter was relocated to Neckersulm. After the dead of Josef Schwarz in 1977 his son Dieter Schwarz assumes full responsibility for the business. Dieter Schwarz bought the naming rights from Ludwig Lidl and from this point on the success started. Lidl first expanded in the region of Neckersulm and then to the whole republic. After the success in Germany, Lidl started to expand internationally. Lidl now owns round about 9000 stores all over Europe and thereby has more stores than its main compet itor Aldi (Langer, 2004; Wikipedia Lidl, 2011). Corporate Social Responsibility Due to the fact that Lidl is not a public company, it is very hard to find any information about Lidl itself. In the history of Lidl it was always the case that Lidl did not want to show any information about the company. For this reason Lidl got the nickname Geheimniskrà ¤mer (mystery monger) (Langer, 2004). In spring 2008 Lidl got involved in a big scandal in Germany. Lidl was accused to observe their employees. This scandal damaged the image of Lidl. Lidl Germany has apologized for this incident and has assured that they will promote immediate moves to prevent any of these incidents to happen again (Byrne, Skilly, 2008). After this incident, Lidl reformed the conditions of employment. A new project is called ECO2LOGISCH. This is a new store generation. The stores will be energy-efficient and sustainable. For example the new stores will be 100% heated using the waste heat from the refrigerated sections. Lidl plans that from 2010 on all Lidl-stores should be build ECO2LOGISCH. With this project Lidl is the first food retailer in Germany who sets sustainable building services engineering as a standard (Lidl: ECO2LOGISCH, 2010). In addition Lidl sells Fair-trade products and has some social projects like a football club for kids. The food retail industry in Germany The food retail industry includes the sales of food and beverages. In Germany the category Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Discounters has the highest market share of 47.6% (see Appendix 1). In 2009 the industry had a growth of 2.3 % and a value of $ 234.8 billion. In the past the growth was moderate with an average of 2.1 % (see Appendix 2). The forecast for the industry looks good. The growth should be steady and in 2014 the industry will have an expected value of  § 265.5 billion (Datamonitor (a), 2010, p. 10). With the help of the Porters Five Forces Model the food retail industry will be analysed in the following. In the analysis the buyers will be the end-consumer and the suppliers will be food manufacturers, farmers, and agricultural co-operatives. The players in this analysis will be supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters. Buyer power There is one important change in the consumers behaviour to which the retailers have to respond to. Nowadays the importance of health gets bigger and bigger. The convenience food becomes less important and consumers are more interested in fresh and healthy food. Another important fact is the price. Because there is a wide range of large retailers in Germany the consumer faces no switching costs and thereby the retailers have to have an attractive price scheme. All in all the buyer power is moderate (Datamonitor (a), 2010, p. 15). Supplier power The big German retailers often have a large range of suppliers. With this strategy the retailers ensure stability. They avoid possible delays in deliveries and price fluctuations. In addition to that some large retailers have started to sell own brand products. These two facts weaken the supplier power in the German food retail industry. Overall supplier power is moderate (Datamonitor (a), 2010, p. 17). New entrants It is not easy for new entrants to enter the market because of the aggressive marketing and pricing schemes of the large retailers in the industry. Nevertheless there are low entry and exit costs in the food retail industry and the changes in consumers behaviour gives new entrants a possible niche to enter the market successfully. Besides the low growths rate makes the industry not that attractive to new entrants. In conclusion the threat of new entrants is moderate (Datamonitor (a), 2010, p.18). Substitutes The only real substitute to the food retail is the food service represented by fast foods restaurants, sit-down restaurants and delivery services. But for consumers the food service is more a complement than a substitute. A more direct substitute are individuals and families who cultivate their own food. This is no longer used nowadays but in the long term possible because of the changes in the consumers behaviour and the threat of economically and politically instability. The threat of substitutes is therefore weak (Datamonitor (a), 2010, p.19). Rivalry There exists a high competition in the food retail industry. Main reasons for this are the not existing switching costs for the consumers. The similarity in the basic products of the large retailers pushes them into a competitive pricing scheme. This leads the price wars. These are encouraged by the consumers who are now comparing more and more. They have a look on special offers and the lowest price. The German food retail industry has a lot of competitors. Therefore in a conclusion rivalry is strong in this industry (Datamonitor (a), 2010, p. 20). The United States for expansion Since Lidl already expanded to whole Europe it is time to think overseas. Aldi, one of the main competitors, expanded successfully to the United States in 1976. Lidl already beat Aldi in Germany and Europe. Lidl has more stores all over Europe and has overtaken Aldi in the rankings. So the existence of Aldi in the US food retail market is no real threat for Lidl. The food retail industry in the United States The US food retail industry in comparison to the German has a strong growth. The total revenues in 2009 had a value of $ 859.1 billion and the average growth rate in the years from 2005 to 2009 was 5.3% (see Appendix 3). The forecast is not less significant. By the end of 2014 the US food retail industry will have an expected value of $1,043.1 billion (Datamonitor (b), 2010, p. 10). In the US the category Hypermarkets, Supermarkets and Discounters has the highest market share of 80.2 % (see Appendix 4). Worldwide the market share of the US food retail industry is 19.8 % billion (Datamonitor (b), 2010, p. 11). All these facts make the US food retail industry attractive for Lidl to expand to. To have a closer look at the real attractiveness of the US market for expansion a PEST analysis of the United States will be proceeded in the following. PEST analysis of the United States In this section the political, economical, social and technological environment of the United States will be analysed. Overall the United States are one of the strongest powers worldwide since more than 50 years. Politically the United States have a strong position. In 2009 the democrat Barack Obama displaced the republican George W. Bush. Barack Obama was inheriting a poisoned chalice because of the financial situation and the great debates about the military operations in the Iraq and Afghanistan. Nevertheless the US has a great global influence and a strong democratic setup (Datamonitor (c), 2010). With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $ 14.12 trillion the United States were the second largest economy in the world in 2009 after the European Union (CIA The World Factbook, 2010). In the years before the 11th of September 2001, the United States had an economical boom, after that date the growth slowed down and they felt into a recession. The congress passed bills to stimulate the financial market in 2008 and 2009. Because of this the public dept in the United States increased from 39.7 % in 2008 to 52.9 % of the GDP in 2009 (Datamonitor (c), 2010). The United States are facing a rapidly aging population. This can lead to a decreasing economic growth and thereby to rising tax rates and shortages in labour. The US have a very high diversity in the distribution of income. The Gini index was 45 in 2007 (CIA The world fact book, 2010). 1 per cent of the population belongs to the upper class and in 2009 these people owned 37.1 per cent of the entire property of the United States (Wikipedia Vereinigte Staaten, 2010). However, the United States have a remarkable education system and Barack Obama passed a new health service reform in 2010 (Datamonitor (c), 2010). On the technological front, the United States are a world leader in adapting and applying technology and innovations and they will stay in the position in the near future. But there will be a threat of competition in this sector because of the continuing process of for example China (Datamonitor (c), 2010). SWOT analysis of the company Lidl The SWOT analysis brings together the analysis of the environment and the company. It identifies the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT is the basis for the strategy development of a company. The main facts of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats will be discussed in the following. The whole SWOT analysis is provided in Appendix 5. Lidl has a high market share in the fast growing market segment of the food retailers. It has become a global player due to the fact that Lidl expanded successfully to Europe and owns round about 9000 stores. After the success in Europe there are no more obstacles for an expansion to the United States. Another important Strengths is the very good pricing which attracts many consumers. The main Weakness of Lidl is the damaged image because of the observation scandal and the discussion about minimum wages, which affects nearly every discounter. Additionally the low customer loyalty represents another main Weakness. This is an issue because of the low switching costs for the consumers because of the high competition in the food retail sector. An Opportunity is that the category of supermarkets and discounters has a markets share of 80.2% in the food retail sector in the United States. Another Opportunity is the existing poverty in the Unites States. Poor people are more interested in low pricing products. The main Threats are the competitors on the US food retail market. There is Wal-mart, who now starts to open smaller stores like in the store model of Lidl and there is Aldi, the main competitor in Germany. Aldi is a Threat and an Opportunity. Lidl already beat Aldi in the German and European market and Aldi was successful on the US market by using the same discounter model like Lidl. But Aldi entered the US market in the 70s and is now integrated and accepted from the US consumers. This is a challenge for Lidl. In a conclusion the Strengths and Opportunities predominate and Lidl should start the expansion to the United States. Choosing the mode of entry to enter the US market After decided that the United States are a good market to expand to, it is now time to think about the mode of entry. There are various modes of entry: Exporting International Licensing International Franchising Specialized modes (e.g. contract manufacturing, management contracts) Foreign Direct Investment (Greenfield investment, Acquisition strategy, Joint Venture). Dunnings Eclectic Theory gives a good framework to decide which mode is the right one for the company and the market it wants to expand to. Dunning developed three conditions which a firm should be satisfying. Ownership advantage: The firm has to have some special advantages to compete with the foreign companies. For example a good brand name, special technology, know-how or a unique product. In this case exporting would be the mode of entry. Location advantage: It has to be more benefiting to expand to a foreign market rather than expand in the home market. For example lower labour costs. If the ownership advantage and the location advantage apply contractual arrangements like licensing, franchising or alliances are the best modes of entry. Internalization advantage: There has to be a higher profitability by controlling the activities on the foreign market on their own rather than recruit a local company to provide all the important services. For example lower exchange rate risks. In the case that all three conditions are satisfied Foreign Direct Investment would be the best mode of entry (Griffin, Pustay, 2010, p. 196). Lidl as a retailer has the ownership advantages like a bargaining power in purchasing and a special supply chain. Another fact is that exporting would be no alternative for Lidl because a retailer sells products it buys from suppliers. It would be meaningless to export the products again. There are location advantages as well. The German food retail market is concentrated with a high level of competition. Hence there is not much space for further expansion. The market in the United States is a big market and offers enough space to expand to. Even though there are some main competitors. The entry and exit costs are low. For a retailer franchising harbours some dangers. For example it is difficult to legally protect the innovations a retailer is making. Franchising has indeed lower costs but the firm has also a lower level of control. Internalization advantages occur when company-specific advantages cannot be achieved on the foreign market via franchising or similar cooperation forms. This is given because of the facts mentioned before (Borgstrà ¶m, Hertz, Nyberg, n.d.). In summary Lidl satisfies all three conditions and for this reason Foreign Direct Investment is the best mode of entry for Lidl. Now Lidl has the choice between Greenfield investment, joint venture or acquisition. By having a closer look at Lidls past expansion in Europe and the mode of entry Aldi chose in 1776, Greenfield investment is the best solution for Lidl. The company also entered the new markets in Europe via Greenfield investment and Aldi did the same in the United States and it was successful for both. Conclusion The food retail market in the United States offers a good opportunity to expand to. The market has a strong growth and the PEST and SWOT analysis acknowledge the choice of the United States for a new market for expansion. As a conclusion to Dunnings theory, Foreign Direct investment and more precisely Greenfield investment is the best mode of entry. Exporting, Licensing and Franchising do not offer Lidl a good business. These modes of entry are not appropriate for a retailer and in addition Lidl would lose parts of their revenues. Due to the fact that Lidl is not willing to disclose any internal information, Acquisition or a Joint Venture do not represent a possible choice, even though both possibilities have low fixed costs. Furthermore the companies could be competitors on another market and no company wants to share information with a potential competitor. Greenfield investment is the best solution for a successful expansion to the food retail market in the United States. Appendix Appendix 1: Germany food retail industry by categories: % share, by value, 2009à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.13 Appendix 2: Germany food retail industry value: $ billion, 2005-09à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..13 Appendix 3: United States food retail industry value: $ billion, 2005-09à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦14 Appendix 4: United States food retail industry by categories: % share, by value, 2009à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..14 Appendix 5: SWOT analysis of the company Lidlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦15 Appendix 1: Germany food retail industry by categories: % share, by value, 2009 Source: Datamonitor (a), 2010. Appendix 2: Germany food retail industry value: $ billion, 2005-09 Source: Datamonitor (a), 2010. Appendix 3: United States food retail industry value: $ billion, 2005-09 Source: Datamonitor (b), 2010. Appendix 4: United States food retail industry by categories: % share, by value, 2009 Source: Datamonitor (b), 2010. Appendix 5: SWOT analysis of the company Lidl Strengths Weaknesses High market share in a fast growing segement (discounter) Global player Very good pricing (always offers the lowest price on the market) Very good store locations (near housing areas, good transport connections, good parking facilities) Fast reaction to changes in the market conditions (flexibility is very important in a high competition sector) Damaged image (oberservation scandal and dicussions about minimum wages) Dependence on discouter model Low customer loyalty Exit from the Norway market because of low success Changing consumer behaviour (healthy living) Opportunities Threats After successful expansion all over Europe its time for overseas expansion Significant market for supermarkets and discounters in the US Expansion of the product range (more healthy food) Poverty problem in the US leads to higher demand of low pricing products Aldi already had a great success on the US market (same discounter model) Only focus on low princing products Existing competitors in the US food retail market (Wal-Mart, Aldi) Limited success of food retailer Tesco after entering the US market in 2007 Source: Self made with the help of: Bord Bia, 2008; Jiroutek, n.d.

Essay --

Heart of Darkness, Things Fall Apart, and Learning to Bow are three works which give insights on indigenous societies and cultural conflicts. Heart of Darkness and Learning to Bow both provide insights on indigenous societies from the eyes of outsiders from completely different cultures. Things Fall Apart is different than the other two readings in the sense that it is written from the perspective of an indigenous person. All three works clearly provide â€Å"An insightful perspective of indigenous society; a penetrating analysis of culture conflicts.† Heart of Darkness is written from the perspective of a European sailor named Marlow who travels to Africa and ends up working for the Company, which is a trading company in Africa. Soon after arriving in Africa, Marlow notices a group of enslaved Africans walking in a single file line. He notices how malnourished they are and says â€Å"I could see every rib, the joints of their limbs were like knots in a rope; each had an iron color on his neck, and all were connected together with a chain whose bights swung between them, rhythmically clinking.† (Conrad 10) It does not take long for Marlow to realize how horribly Africans are being treated at the hands of Europeans, the Company in particular. He noticed the face of a young slave near his hand when he was observing his surroundings and gave him a biscuit. Right after seeing these malnourished and mistreated natives, Marlow meets the company’s chief accountant, a man who was so well dressed and groomed that Marlow thought he was a vision at first. Unlike the natives, who wear rags, the chief accountant has â€Å"a high starched collar, white cuffs, a light alpaca jacket, snowy trousers, a clean necktie, and varnished boots... ... effects of imperialism on natives and white men in Africa. The Company has enslaved many natives and one of its officials, Kurtz, goes insane because he is in the jungle by himself with no moral compass to guide him and after the natives start to view him as a demigod, he starts to believe it. Learning to Bow is a journey into Japanese culture from the eyes of an American who ends up teaching the Japanese a lot about his own culture. Throughout his time in Japan, he is faced with what he calls the â€Å"widespread myth of Japanese uniqueness† and encounters many Japanese who believe that he can’t understand their culture because he isn’t one of them. This reading is unlike the others because it takes place in Asia, not Africa. Things Fall Apart is an insight into indigenous African culture from an insider and shows how diverse and complex Africa is.

Intermediate Accounting 14th Chapter 5

Questions 1. The balance sheet provides information about the nature and amounts of investments in enterprise resources, obligations to enterprise creditors, and the owners’ equity in net enterprise resources. That information not only complements information about the components of income, but also contributes to financial reporting by providing a basis for (1) computing rates of return, (2) evaluating the capital structure of the enterprise, and (3) assessing the liquidity and financial flexibility of the enterprise. 2. Solvency refers to the ability of an enterprise to pay its debts as they mature.For example, when a company carries a high level of long-term debt relative to assets, it has lower solvency. Information on long-term obligations, such as long-term debt and notes payable, in comparison to total assets can be used to assess resources that will be needed to meet these fixed obligations (such as interest and principal payments). 3. Financial flexibility is the abil ity of an enterprise to take effective actions to alter the amounts and timing of cash flows so it can respond to unexpected needs and opportunities.An enterprise with a high degree of financial flexibility is better able to survive bad times, to recover from unexpected setbacks, and to take advantage of profitable and unexpected investment opportunities. Generally, the greater the financial flexibility, the lower the risk of enterprise failure. 4. Some situations in which estimates affect amounts reported in the balance sheet include: (a)allowance for doubtful accounts. (b)depreciable lives and estimated salvage values for plant and equipment. (c)warranty returns. d)determining the amount of revenues that should be recorded as unearned. 5. An increase in inventories increases current assets, which is in the numerator of the current ratio. Therefore, inventory increases will increase the current ratio. In general, an increase in the current ratio indicates a company has better liqui dity, since there are more current assets relative to current liabilities. 6. Liquidity describes the amount of time that is expected to elapse until an asset is converted into cash or until a liability has to be paid.The ranking of the assets given in order of liquidity is: (1) (d) Short-term investments. (2) (e) Accounts receivable. (3) (b) Inventory. (4) (c) Buildings. (5) (a) Goodwill. 7. The major limitations of the balance sheet are: (a)The values stated are generally historical and not at fair value. (b)Estimates have to be used in many instances, such as in the determination of collectibility of receivables or finding the approximate useful life of long-term tangible and intangible assets. c)Many items, even though they have financial value to the business, presently are not recorded. One example is the value of a company’s human resources. 8. Some items of value to technology companies such as Intel or IBM are the value of research and development (new products that are being developed but which are not yet marketable), the value of the â€Å"intellectual capital† of its workforce (the ability of the companies’ employees to come up with new ideas and products in the fast changing technology industry), and the value of the company reputation or name brand (e. . , the â€Å"Intel Inside† logo). In most cases, the reasons why the value of these items are not recorded in the balance sheet concern the lack of faithful representation of the estimates of the future cash flows that will be generated by these â€Å"assets† (for all three types) and the ability to control the use of the asset (in the case of employees). Being able to reliably measure the expected future benefits and to control the use of an item are essential elements of the definition of an asset, according to the Conceptual Framework. 9.Classification in financial statements helps users by grouping items with similar characteristics and separating items with different characteristics. Current assets are expected to be converted to cash within one year or one operating cycle, whichever is longer—property, plant and equipment will provide cash inflows over a longer period of time. Thus, separating long-term assets from current assets facilitates computation of useful ratios such as the current ratio. 10. Separate amounts should be reported for accounts receivable and notes receivable.The amounts should be reported gross, and an amount for the allowance for doubtful accounts should be deducted. The amount and nature of any nontrade receivables, and any amounts designated or pledged as collateral, should be clearly identified. 11. No. Available-for-sale securities should be reported as a current asset only if management expects to convert them into cash as needed within one year or the operating cycle, whichever is longer. If available-for-sale securities are not held with this expectation, they should be reported as long-term inves tments. 2. The relationship between current assets and current liabilities is that current liabilities are those obligations that are reasonably expected to be liquidated either through the use of current assets or the creation of other current liabilities. 13. The total selling price of the season tickets is $20,000,000 (10,000 X $2,000). Of this amount, $8,000,000 has been earned by 12/31/12 (16/40 X $20,000,000). The remaining $12,000,000 should be reported as unearned revenue, a current liability in the 12/31/12 balance sheet (24/40 X $20,000,000). 14.Working capital is the excess of total current assets over total current liabilities. This excess is sometimes called net working capital. Working capital represents the net amount of a company’s relatively liquid resources. That is, it is the liquidity buffer available to meet the financial demands of the operating cycle. 15. (a)Shareholders’ Equity. â€Å"Treasury stock (at cost). † (b)Current Assets. Include d in â€Å"Cash. † (c)Investments. â€Å"Land held as an investment. † (d)Investments. â€Å"Sinking fund. † (e)Long-term debt (adjunct account to bonds payable). Unamortized premium on bonds payable. † (f)Intangible Assets. â€Å"Copyrights. † (g)Investments. â€Å"Employees’ pension fund,† with subcaptions of â€Å"Cash† and â€Å"Securities† if desired. (Assumes that the company still owns these assets. ) (h)Shareholders’ Equity. â€Å"Premium on capital stock† or â€Å"Additional paid-in capital. † (i)Investments. Nature of investments should be given together with parenthetical information as follows: â€Å"pledged to secure loans payable to banks. † 16. (a)Allowance for doubtful accounts receivable should be deducted from accounts receivable in current assets. b)Merchandise held on consignment should not appear on the consignee’s balance sheet except possibly as a note to the finan cial statements. (c)Advances received on sales contract are normally a current liability and should be shown as such in the balance sheet. (d)Cash surrender value of life insurance should be shown as a long-term investment. (e)Land should be reported in property, plant, and equipment unless held for investment. (f)Merchandise out on consignment should be shown among current assets under the heading of inventories. (g)Franchises should be itemized in a section for intangible assets. h)Accumulated depreciation of plant and equipment should be deducted from the plant and equipment accounts. (i)Materials in transit should not be shown on the balance sheet of the buyer, if purchased f. o. b. destination. 17. (a)Trade accounts receivable should be stated at their estimated amount collectible, often referred to as net realizable value. The method most generally followed is to deduct from the total accounts receivable the amount of the allowance for doubtful accounts. (b)Land is generally s tated in the balance sheet at cost. (c)Inventories are generally stated at the lower of cost or market. d)Trading securities (consisting of common stock of other companies) are stated at fair value. (e)Prepaid expenses should be stated at cost less the amount apportioned to and written off over the previous accounting periods. 18. Assets are defined as probable future economic benefits obtained or controlled by a particular entity as a result of past transactions or events. If a building is leased under a capital lease, the future economic benefits of using the building are controlled by the lessee (tenant) as the result of a past event (the signing of a lease agreement). 19. Battle is incorrect.Retained earnings is a source of assets, but is not an asset itself. For example, even though the funds obtained from issuing a note payable are invested in the business, the note payable is not reported as an asset. It is a source of assets, but it is reported as a liability because the com pany has an obligation to repay the note in the future. Similarly, even though the earnings are invested in the business, retained earnings is not reported as an asset. It is reported as part of shareholders’ equity because it is, in effect, an investment by owners which increases the ownership interest in the assets of an entity. 20.The notes should appear as long-term liabilities with full disclosure as to their terms. Each year, as the profit is determined, notes of an amount equal to two-thirds of the year’s profits should be transferred from the long-term liabilities to current liabilities until all of the notes have been liquidated. 21. The purpose of a statement of cash flows is to provide relevant information about the cash receipts and cash payments of an enterprise during a period. It differs from the balance sheet and the income statement in that it reports the sources and uses of cash by operating, investing, and financing activity classifications.While the income statement and the balance sheet are accrual basis statements, the statement of cash flows is a cash basis statement—noncash items are omitted. 22. The difference between these two amounts may be due to increases in current assets (e. g. , an increase in accounts receivable from a sale on account would result in an increase in revenue and net income but have no effect yet on cash). Similarly a cash payment that results in a decrease in an existing current liability (e. g. , accounts payable would decrease cash provided by operations without affecting net income). 3. The difference between these two amounts could be due to noncash charges that appear in the income statement. Examples of noncash charges are depreciation, depletion, and amortization of intangibles. Expenses recorded but unpaid (e. g. , increase in accounts payable) and collection of previously recorded sales on credit (i. e. , now decreasing accounts receivable) also would cause cash provided by operating activities to exceed net income. 24. Operating activities involve the cash effects of transactions that enter into the determination of net income.Investing activities include making and collecting loans and acquiring and disposing of debt and equity instruments; property, plant, and equipment and intangibles. Financing activities involve liability and owners’ equity items and include obtaining capital from owners and providing them with a return on (dividends) and a return of their investment and borrowing money from creditors and repaying the amounts borrowed. 25. (a)Net income is adjusted downward by deducting $5,000 from $90,000 and reporting cash provided by operating activities as $85,000. (b)The issuance of the preferred stock is a financing activity.The issuance is reported as follows: Cash flows from financing activities Issuance of preferred stock| $1,150,000| (c)| Net income is adjusted as follows:| | | Cash flows from operating activities| | | Net income| $90,000 | | Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:| | | Depreciation expense| 14,000| | Premium amortization| (5,000)| | Net cash provided by operating activities| $99,000| (d)The increase of $20,000 reflects an investing activity. The increase in Land is reported as follows: Cash flows from investing activities:Investment in Land| $(20,000)| 26. The company appears to have good liquidity and reasonable financial flexibility. Its current cash debt coverage ratio is 1. 20, which indicates that it can pay off its current liabilities in a given year from its operation. In addition its cash debt coverage ratio is also good at . 80 which indicates it can pay off approximately 80% of its debt out of current operations 27. Free cash flow = $860,000 – $75,000 – $30,000 = $755,000. 28. Free cash flow is net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures and dividends.The purpose of free cash flow analysis is to determine the a mount of discretionary cash flow a company has for purchasing additional investments, retiring its debt, purchasing treasury stock, or simply adding to its liquidity and financial flexibility. 29. Some of the techniques of disclosure for the balance sheet are: (a)Parenthetical explanations. (b)Notes to the financial statements. (c)Cross references and contra items. (d)Supporting schedules. 30. A note entitled â€Å"Summary of Significant Accounting Policies† would indicate the basic accounting principles used by that enterprise.This note should be very useful from a comparative standpoint, since it should be easy to determine whether the company uses the same accounting policies as other companies in the same industry. 31. General debt obligations, lease contracts, pension arrangements and stock option plans are four items for which disclosure is mandatory in the financial statements. The reason for disclosing these contractual situations is that these commitments are of a lo ng-term nature, are often significant in amount, and are very important to the company’s well-being. 32.The profession has recommended that the use of the word â€Å"surplus† be discontinued in balance sheet presentations of owners’ equity. This term has a connotation outside accounting that is quite different from its meaning in the accounts or in the balance sheet. The use of the terms capital surplus, paid-in surplus, and earned surplus is confusing to the non-accountant and leads to misinterpretation. Brief Exercise 1. Current assets| | | Cash| | $ 30,000| Accounts receivable| $110,000| | Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts| 8,000| 102,000| Inventory| | 290,000| Prepaid insurance| | 9,500| Total current assets| | $431,500|Exercise (a)If the investment in preferred stock is readily marketable and held primarily for sale in the near term to generate income on short-term price differences, then the account should appear as a current asset and be included with trading investments. If, on the other hand, the preferred stock is not a trading security, it should be classified as available-for-sale. Available for sale securities are classified as current or non-current depending upon the circumstances. (b)If the company accounts for the treasury stock on the cost basis, the account should properly be shown as a reduction of total shareholders’ equity. c)Shareholders’ equity. (d)Current liability. (e)Property, plant, and equipment (as a deduction). (f)If an asset in process of construction is being constructed for another party, it is properly classified as an inventory account in the current asset section. This account will be shown net of any billings on the contract. On the other hand, if the asset is being constructed for the use of this particular company, it should be classified as a separate item in the property, plant, and equipment section. (g)Current asset. (h)Current liability. (i)Retained earnings. j)Current asset. ( k)Current liability. 4. GULISTAN INC. | Balance Sheet| December 31, 20XX| Assets| Current assets| | | | Cash| $XXX| | | Less: Cash restricted for plant expansion| XXX| $XXX| | Accounts receivable| XXX| | | Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts| XXX| XXX| | Notes receivable| | XXX| | Receivables—officers| | XXX| | Inventories| | | | Finished goods| XXX| | | Work in process| XXX| | | Raw materials| XXX| XXX| | Total current assets| | | $XXX| | | | | Long-term investments| | | | Preferred stock investments| | XXX| | Land held for future plant site| | XXX| |Cash restricted for plant expansion| | XXX| | Total long-term investments| | | XXX| | | | | Property, plant, and equipment| | | | Buildings| | XXX| | Less: Accum. depreciation— buildings| | XXX| XXX| | | | | Intangible assets| | | | Copyrights| | | XXX| Total assets| | | $XXX| Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity| Current liabilities| | | | | Salaries and wages payable| | $XXX| | | Notes payable, short-term| | XX X| | | Unearned subscriptions revenue| | XXX| | | Unearned rent revenue| | XXX| | | Total current liabilities| | | | $XXX| | | | | | Long-term debt| | | | |Bonds payable, due in four years| | | $XXX| | Less: Discount on bonds payable| | | (XXX)| XXX| Total liabilities| | | | XXX| | | | | | Stockholders’ equity| | | | | Capital stock:| | | | | Common stock| | XXX| | | Additional paid-in capital:| | | | | Paid in capital in excess of par—common stock| | XXX| | | Total paid-in capital| | | XXX| | Retained earnings| | | XXX| | Total paid-in capital and retained earnings| | | XXX| | Less: Treasury stock, at cost| | | (XXX)| | Total stockholders’ equity| | | | XXX| Total liabilities and stockholders’ quity| | | | $XXX| 7. Current assets| | | | Cash| | $ 92,000*| | Less: Cash restricted for plant expansion| | 50,000| $ 42,000| Equity investments (fair value) (cost, $31,000)| | | 29,000| Accounts receivable (of which $50,000 is pledged as collateral on a bank loa n)| | 161,000| | Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts| | 12,000| 149,000| Interest receivable [($40,000 X 6%) X 8/12]| | | 1,600| Inventory (lower-of-cost (determined using LIFO)-or-market)| | | | Finished goods| | 52,000| | Work-in-process| | 34,000| |Raw materials| | 187,000| 273,000| Total current assets| | | $494,600| 8. a. Dividends payable of $1,900,000 will be reported as a current liability [(1,000,000 – 50,000) X $2. 00] b. Bonds payable of $25,000,000 and interest payable of $2,500,000 ($100,000,000 X 10% X 3/12) will be reported as a current liability. Bonds payable of $75,000,000 will be reported as a long-term liability. c. Customer advances of $17,000,000 will be reported as a current liability ($12,000,000 + $30,000,000 – $25,000,000). 12. VIVALDI CORPORATION| Balance Sheet| December 31, 2012|Assets| Current assets| | | | Cash| | $197,000| | Debt investments| | 153,000| | Accounts receivable| $435,000| | | Less: Allowance for doubtfulaccounts| 25,000| 4 10,000| | Inventory| | 597,000| | Total current assets| | | $1,357,000| | | | | Long-term investments| | | | Debt investments| | 299,000| | Equity investments| | 277,000| | Total long-term investments| | | 576,000| | | | | Property, plant, and equipment| | | | Land| | 260,000| | Buildings| 1,040,000| | | Less: Accum. depreciation| 352,000| 688,000| | Equipment| 600,000| | | Less: Accum. epreciation| 60,000| 540,000| | Total property, plant, and equipment| | | 1,488,000| | | | | Intangible assets| | | | Franchises| | 160,000| | Patents| | 195,000| | Total intangible assets| | | 355,000| Total assets| | | $3,776,000| Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity| Current liabilities| | | | Accounts payable| | $ 455,000| | Notes payable (short-term)| | 90,000| | Dividends payable| | 136,000| | Accrued liabilities| | 96,000| | Total current liabilities| | | $ 777,000| | | | | Long-term debt| | | | Bonds payable| | 1,000,000| |Notes payable (long-term)| | 900,000| | Total long-term liabili ties| | | 1,900,000| Total liabilities| | | 2,677,000| | | | | Stockholders’ equity| | | | Paid-in capital| | | | Common stock ($5 par)| $1,000,000| | | Paid-in capital in excess of par| 80,000| 1,080,000| | Retained earnings*| | 210,000| | Total paid-in capital and retained earnings| | 1,290,000| | Less: Treasury stock| | 191,000| | Total stockholders’ equity| | | 1,099,000| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity| | | $3,776,000| | | Sales| | $7,900,000| Investment revenue| | 63,000| Extraordinary gain| | 80,000| Cost of goods sold| | (4,800,000)| Selling expenses| | (2,000,000)| Administrative expenses| | (900,000)| Interest expense| | (211,000)| Net income| | $ 132,000| | | | Beginning retained earnings| | $ 78,000| Net income| | 132,000| Ending retained earnings| | $ 210,000| Or ending retained earnings can be computed as follows: Total stockholders’ equity| | $1,099,000| Add:Treasury stock| | 191,000| Less: Paid-in capital| | 1,080,000| Ending re tained earnings| | $ 210,000|

success essays

success essays Success: The achievement of something desired or attempted. Aim for success is an independent, non-profit, educational organization that promotes a life style of excellence by encouraging the development of self-control, self-respect, and self-discipline. Through live presentations students are encouraged to develop strong, responsible characters. We learned to speak one word after another. A sequence of thoughts can "direct our brains" to a series of actions that lead to ACCOMPLISHMEN. So how can we direct our brains and schedule ourselves for achievement? The series of thoughts that led to motivations, self-esteem, and accomplishment must be embed in the UNCONSCIOUS. I only have to mention three now: beliefs, decisions, and strategies. Beliefs are POWERFUL but they can remain "just potential." You can have powerful beliefs all your life and never bring them to fruition. Decisions are NECESSARY. They are how we take a belief and decide to "achieve prosperity." Strategies are necessa ry to bring beliefs and decisions to DYNAMIC achievement. SET for Success provides a self-evolutionary template that gives you step-by-step instructions for EMPOWERING beliefs, decisions, and strategies. You believe that you deserve to be more successful and you are absolutely right. That belief needs a decision, a spark. The brain evolved as our ancestors scratched, fought, and thought their way to survival and prosperity. It describes how we use five senses plus language to project images, provides floods of feelings, and creates logic in our internal dialogue. It teaches you how to use the mental tools that we all have we all have, our inheritance from our ancestors. It is easy to stagnate in life. Do the same routine things while life just whizzes by. Think back when you were a kid and you had all those dreams of your future. You may have planned on being and doing great things. Achieving success from living a totally empowered and fulfilling lif ...

Watcher

Watcher The Watcher This incredible short story is about a little boy named Charlie Bradley, who isn't like all the other kids his age. He was a very sick boy. Charlie had a loving mother who cared for him when he was sick. They seemed to have both one terrible thing in common, a bad chest. The Bradleys did not own a television set, so Charlie had to find different means of entertainment on his long sick days at home. He learned that if he kept quiet and still, the adults would have labeled him to be part of the furniture. On his days home, Charlie received glimpses into the adult world of common topics like misery and scandals. These relations and encounters with the adults had drastically matured Charlie before his time. Later on that year, Mabel Bradley, his mother, was sent to the hospital because the condition of her chest had worsened.Allen Ginsberg, Frankfurt Airport, 1978.

Organizational Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organizational Justice - Essay Example Organizational Justice is the term used to define people's perception of fairness in an organization. The majority of studies on justice were conducted in the 1960's, but the majority of studies on justice in organizations have been published since 1990 (Charash 278). As it is a relatively newer field, it is surprising the number of studies that have been conducted, Charash mentions 400 studies and 100 theoretical papers. It is therefore obvious that it is an important topic in Business Management. There are three main types of Organizational Justice; distributive, procedural, and interactional (Charash 278, Henle 248). Distributive justice emphasizes the perceived outcome of fairness, and is mainly related to the cognitive, affective, and behavioral reactions to particular outcomes. When an outcome is perceived as unfair, it will affect the employee's emotions and ultimately their behavior in relation to the organization. Distributive justice fails the measure the interpretation of the methods of an organization, it only addresses the outcome. Procedural justice shifted the focus from emphasizing not only the outcome as with distributive justice, but rather the perceived fairness of the process by which the outcome was achieved. (Charash 280). It is simply defined as the fairness of the process by which outcomes are determined. ... They are; (a) the consistency rule; (b) the bias-suppression rule; (c) the accuracy rule; (d) the correctability rule; (e) the representativeness rule; and (f) the ethicality rule. It is worth noting that perception of unfairness in an organization's procedure will result in reactions directed toward the organization as opposed to distributive justice, where the reactions will be directed toward the decision maker. The third type of Organizational justice is interactional justice. Interactional justice pertains to the human side of organizational procedures (Charash 281). It is best explained as the way management is behaving toward the recipient of justice; it relates to the communication process between the source and the recipient of justice. Because interactional justice is determined by the interpersonal behavior of management's representatives, reactions are generally directed toward those individuals as opposed to the organization. It is difficult to determine a measurement of the justice in an organization as the interpretations of justice are subject to an individual's opinion. However, there are some determining factors. Perceptions of justice are influenced by many different variables including (a) outcomes one receives, (b) organizational practices, and (c) characteristics of the perceiver (Charash 282). An organization can be perceived to be unfair if an individual receives an outcome that they perceive to be unfair (ie. Don't receive a promotion they feel they deserve). A set guideline or practice of an organization can be perceived as unfair, such as no health care until a year's employment. The perception of fairness is most drastically colored by the individual who is examining the judgment; if they expect health

Is enterprise risk management (ERM) an effective form of risk Dissertation

Is enterprise risk management (ERM) an effective form of risk management and value creation in the oil and gas industry and to w - Dissertation Example In effect, the major strengths and weaknesses that have been associated with BP Oil’s risk management policies shall be outlined and compared to risk management practices at Tullow Oil Ghana. This comparison will be done so that in later chapters, particularly the discussion chapter, the researcher will draw inferences on how Tullow Oil Ghana can learn from the strengths and weaknesses of risk management policies from BP Oil perspective. In relation to the general aim of the study, particular attention shall be paid to how BP Oil have both benefited and failed to benefit from the use of Enterprise Risk Management practices at different times of risk situations that the company faced. In order to follow the qualitative philosophies of the research, the researcher is going to dwell on the analysis of secondary data instead of the use of primary data. This will be done because of the impact that secondary data has on qualitative data, making it more subjective, but backed by empi rical evidence from related literature (PSA, 2007). 4.1 Analysis of Secondary Data on Risk Management Practices at BP 4.11 Risk Management Options at BP As far as risk management practices are concerned, there are a number of options that can be found throughout of existing data for oil and gas companies, of which BP Oil is one. Generally, BP Oil has been identified to have used three major risk management practices at different times of its operations. These options have been avoidance, knowledge and research, and controlling. Avoidance has been used in very high risk situations to ensure that there exist alternative approaches that do not bear any risks at all (Vinnem et al, 2007). The effectiveness of avoidance has however been found to be vested in a risk management environment where risk managers can be proactive enough to identify alternative options (Bly, 2011). Knowledge and research has been pointed out in some existing research data as not being an independent risk managem ent option but an effective tool for equipping the functionality of other risk management options. At BP Oil therefore, knowledge and research is not used in dealing with initial risks but is used as mop up risk management option to consolidate the efficacy of other options on practice. Commonly, research and knowledge is used in relation to the final risk management option at BP, which is controlling. Controlling has been found to be the commonest risk management option at BP for day to day risk situations (PSA, 2007). It has been found to involve the creations of a risk reduction plan made up of parallel development programmes (Vinnem et al, 2007). From the graph above, it can be observed that BP Oil chooses different risk management options depending on the level of risk that the company is presented with at any point in time. Where there is high risk, the company employs the use of avoidance; where there is medium risk, the company employs the use of controlling; and where there is low risk, the company employs the use of knowledge and research (K & R). 4.12 Risk management failures in the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill In several sectors of risk management application, BP Oil was sharply criticised in the academic and professional cycles for some levels of inefficiencies that accompanied the handling of the Gulf of Mexic