The Carol Web Portal (CWP) Project Planning Coursework

The Carol Web Portal (CWP) Project Planning - Coursework Example This project report will give an overview of the system as it is perceived and will discuss various milestones of the CWP.   The software is destined to be a web-based system with several independent modules to be implemented as and when required.   These modules include Concert Management Module, Fan Club Module, Inventory Module, Order Management Module and Payroll System.  As the system is designed to be a complete web portal, therefore, it has to have following important system components and servers. The CWP will use visual studio 2005 platform, the frontend will be developed in ASP dotNet, business logic will be implemented using C Sharp and SQL Server 2005 will be used as backend database system for the portal. The CWP will be developed to sustain many unforeseen circumstances in various steps to respond to contingency include the availability of Uninterruptable Power Supply system, standby servers, system maintenance equipment and staff etc. The CWP will be the complete solution for Carol the singer and it will fully digitize the environment, orders will be placed online, system generated invoices, fully integrated email system, staff payroll system is some of the important segments of the portal. These systems along with other functionalities will provide value to the system users and will help to establish a paperless environment. Moreover, the backups and disaster recovery strategies will ensure prompt system and data recovery. The CWP is required to support all activities of the Carol Concerts, staff management, fan club management, email management, order and invoice management and other activities related to duo Val and Tyne Card. The success of the system depends on its availability around the clock, functional support for all requisite operations highlighted in the requirement analysis of the system.

Study And Introduction Of Malacca

Study And Introduction Of Malacca There is a popular story about how the Malacca was found by Parameswara when he was hunting and while resting under a tree, one of his dogs cornered a mouse-deer or in malay we called it pelandok The mouse-deer in its defense attacked by dog even force it into the river water. Parameswara decided to name this place as Malacca after saw the bravely of that mouse deer. The name of Malacca was come from the melaka tree that was shading Parameswara. In the history of Malaysia, the Malacca Sultanate was occupies a special position in Malacca. It was the beginning of the new Malay empire and as the birthplace of the Malay Sultanate and historical city. Malacca also became a stage on which the Portuguese, Dutch, British, Japanese played out their roles in the history of Malacca. After Parameswara occupation Malacca, he began noticed that Malacca actually was a strong maritime trading state. After that, Because of its strategic location, it thrived as a center of entreport trade with merchant who came from other places and Malacca starts concentrating their activities around the world such as Pedir and Pasai. China also became a important role in trading network of Malacca. In 1511, Malacca fall to Portuguese and followed by the Dutch in 1641. When the Netherlands was captured during the Napoleonic Wars, Dutch pass the Malacca to British to prevent it falling to French in 1795. After that, during 1818, Malacca was return to Dutch under the treaty of Vienna but later Malacca was exchange by the British for Bangkahulu in Sumatra. From 1826 onwards, Malacca, Penang and Singapore was combine as Straits Settlement by British East India Company and Straits Settlement was under the Straits Settlement administration in Calcutta. After the Dutch occupation the Malacca for over century, Dutch was left many fine buildings marking their heritage. For example, Stadthuys, which is a strikingly pink town hall and it became the oldest Dutch building in Malacca. Another building is red Christ Church which is constructed with pink brick. The most prominent reminders building were the A Famosa and St. Pauls Church in Malacca. After World War II, in 20 February 1956, Our Malaysias first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra was proclamation of Independence of Malaysia. Where is Melaka located in Malaysia Melaka road map via the North-South Highway Malacca is located on the Western Coast of Peninsular Malaysia facing the Straits of Malacca. The state of Malacca is between the states of Negeri Sembilan and Johor. Malacca can be reached by excellent road which is PLUS highway from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Malacca is serviced by a good network of leading to all the historical places and Malaccas area of around 658 square kilometers and it is divided into three districts which is Melaka Tengah, Jasin and Alor Gajar. The population of Malacca is around 648,000 in year 2001 and comprises of Malays 50%, Chinese 40% and the rest included Indians, Chitty people and Kristang. The major towns of Malacca are Ayer Keroh, Jasin, Merlimau, Pulau Sebang, Masjid Tanah, Alor Gajar, and Malacca Town. Food and beverage in Malacca. There have many famous foods in Malacca; one of the famous foods is baba nyonya style spicy cooking which normally gets served with coconut milk. There are many specialist baba nyonya restaurants in town. The baba-nyonya food not only known to be the best in Malacca, but in the South East Asia region too. Besides that, Malacca also has satay celup which is Satay stick with raw meat dipped in hot bolling satay sauce for cooking. ikan bakar which literally means barbecue fish served in grilled aluminium foil or banana leaf heavily marinated with spices that tingle the senses. Chicken rice ball which is the rice pudding shape like a golf ball and you can dip with chilly and served with chicken. Furthermore, the oyster omelette served in stirs fried egg, spring onions and sweet or spicy paste. In Malacca Portuguese village, there has a few speciality tongue burning dished which is will let your stomach growling whole night after a heavy meal, the dished serving there normally are spicy food. About the beverage, Malacca also have few famous beverage to drink. First is the Cin-Cau, a kind of dark grass jelly drink which has a cooling effect is popularly served at restaurants. ice kacang which is a dessert made of shaved ice with red beans, nuts, jelly and many more. Besides that, cendol is a kind a pandan flavoured jelly served in coconut milk and it has been improvise on the cendol and invented the durian flavoured cendol. The durian cendol is popular with the local tourist but the aroma of durian cendol is a bit pungent for foreign tourist. Another favourite is the Bubur Cha Cha, a sweet dessert made from steamed sweet potatoes, yam, white beans, tapioca jelly in coconut milk. Places of interest in Malacca A Famosa 2011505-A_Famosa-Melaka.jpg A Famosa, or the Famous is among the oldest surviving European architectural remain in Asia during the Portuguese occupation Malacca in 1511. In 1511, a Portuguese fleet arrived under the command of Alfonso de Albequerque and attacked the Malacca. Portuguese was successfully defeated he armies of the native Sultanate and Albequerque order built the fortress around a natural hill near the sea. He believed that Malacca would become an important trading port between Portugal and China. At this time Portuguese also establishing others outposts such as China, Goa, India and Macau to create a friendly ports for ships heading to China or returning home to Portugal. Ayer Keroh Air Keroh is lies about 15kn from Malacca town and it is a tourist complex with hotels, Mini Asean, Mini Malaysia, crocodile farm, a reptile park, butterfly farm, aquarium, zoo, golf resort, and recreational forest. Bukit China burial ground Bukit China is situated southeast of Malacca Town; there are more than 12,500 graves on Bukit China and approximately 20 Muslim tombs. The existence of the Muslim tombs has made this more special and unique. The oldest tomb in Bukit China is a double burial which is more than three centuries old. The oldest tomb is Mr. Mrs Huang Wei-Hung was built in the second year of Tian Hee of Ming Dynasty (1622). In 1933, Cheng Hoon temple had undertaken to repair it because of the weather had taken a heavy toll on that tomb. In 2001, the tomb was again restored and a stone inscription was erected to mark it. Bukit ChinaBukit China During the British occupation Malacca, British had several times try to acquire Bukit China for development purposes, road widening and land reclamation. But Cheng Hoon Temple had have authorized strongly opposed these attempts because the hill is responsible by them. At the end Cheng Hoon Temple managed to preserve Bukit China with the support of the general public. The reasons of Cheng Hoon Temple preserve it because Bukit China is the place where early traders from China were buried. Many if the Chinese traders came to this country with high expectations for success in trade and it was stated o the stone steles. But unfortunately, some traders died before fulfilling their ambitions. Since the Chinese traders families did not travel with them, so there was nobody to pray for their souls. As such, prayers were initiated by the Chinese Kapitans for them. However, Bukit China were always hampered by heavy rainfalls and strong winds because there was no proper shelter. Cheng Hong Teng s Temple Cheng Hoon Tengs Temple This site is dedicated to the vision of Cheng Hoon Tengs founders and the determination of its devotees to preserve their unique bastion of culture and heritage. Cheng Hoon Tengs Temple is a premier historical monument and it remains the finest of Chinese temples in Malaysia. The temple ranks among the most significant in Southeast Asia, being central to the spiritual aspirations of the Chinese community in historic Malacca. Christ Church Christ Church Christ Church situated near Jalan Laksamana and Jalan Gereja in Malacca city. In 1753, Christ Church was built by Dutch to commemorate a century of their rule. It was reputed as the oldest protestant church in Malaysia and now is an Anglican Church. The beams of the Church were constructed from cutting and carving from a single tree and have no joints. The building shows the ingenuity of the Dutch architectural world. The hand-made pews dated back some 200 years. The altar is a beautiful piece of the Last Supper done in glazed tiles. Gadek Hot Spring Gadek Hot Spring Gadek Hot Spring was located in District of Alor Gajar, 30 km away from Malacca. It was believed that local villagers discovered the hot spring in the forest after watching some English soldiers settled around the spring. After the war, visitors from far and wide discovered that the hot spring had strong healing elements unlike many that they had encountered before. Today visitors can enjoy the spa pool or the Soak In Pool for those seeking therapeutic cure for skin ailments. Gadek Hot Spring was an ideal spot for family outing. Hang Jebats Mausoleum Hang Jebats Mausoleum Hang Jebat was the champion of justice who died a tragic death. Hang Jebat was unceremoniously killed by Hang Tuah in a duel of honour that lasted 3 days and 3 nights. He ran amuck after suffering a fatal wound from Hang Tuahs dagger Keris Taming Sari. In the name of justice to avenge the Sultans hasty punishment against Hang Tuah for a crime he didnt commit. Hang Jebat was accused by Hang Tuah of derhaka (contumacy). The duel between two of Malaccas most prominent knights has left a permanent question as to the moral behind Hang Jebats aberrant reaction against authority and the conventions by which Hang Tuah exercised his conduct as a loyal subject of the Sultan. Jonker Street Jonker Street Jalan Hang Jebat, as known as Jonker Street, is known worldwide among famous antique collectors as one of the best places to hunt and bargain for antiques. It was A definite haven for antique collectors and bargain hunters. Authentic artifacts and relics. some dating as far back as 300 years, can be found among a host of interesting collectibles, each with its own history and mystery. Melakas Sultanate Palace Melakas Sultanate Palace Malacca Sultanate Palace is an exquisite piece of Malay architecture and is a replica of the original 15th century palace of Malaccas extinct Sultanate. The palace is built based on sketches found in the ancient Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals). This wooden replica of the Sultans palace houses the Malacca Cultural Museum. Facing the palace is the Historic City Memorial Garden. An intriguing monument to commemorate the declaration of Malacca as a Historic City is the showpiece of this garden. The monument is topped with a replica of a Malay royal headdress, a symbol of Malaysians allegiance to the throne.

The Failings of Mr. And Mrs. Elliot Essay -- Mr. and Mrs. Elliot Essay

The Failings of Mr. And Mrs. Elliot      Ã‚   This cynical look at a less than ideal marriage keeps the reader at a distance. The opening sentence startles in its baldness "Mr. and Mrs. Elliot tried very hard to have a baby" and the second sentence destroys any illusions that the Elliots are enjoying this by stating that "They tried as often as Mrs. Elliot could stand it"(Hemingway 85).    The second paragraph uses one long, oddly convoluted sentence to describe their courtship and subsequent marriage. It isn't until the third paragraph that either is referred to by a first name and then young Mr. Hubert Elliot's career is discussed. Mrs. Elliot's age has already been revealed, she is forty, and now Hubert's age is given as twenty five. This disparity in ages is explained by the fact that Hubert has been keeping "himself pure so that he could bring to his wife the same purity of mind and body that he expected of her"(85). The very thing that girls his age laugh at is what endears him to his friend at the tea shop, Cornelia.    She, too, is quite pure and they are delighted to have found each other, even if his mother cries over their marriage. Later she "brightened very much when she learned they were going to live abroad"(86). Perhaps she's relieved that the newlyweds will be out of reach of the wagging tongues of neighbors and friends.    The happy couple spends much time kissing and congratulating themselves on having remained pure. Apparently marriage wasn't in Hubert's plans, he can't even "remember just when it was decided that they were to be married"(86). But they do marry and the wedding night proves to be disappointing, the impression being that two such pure souls have no clue how to make love. A... ...friends of her own, concentrating instead on making that baby and typing Hubert's poetry. There is also a tendency to accept at face value some things that would arouse suspicion in a more thoughtful (or less desparate) person. "Hubert explained to her that he had leaned that way of kissing from hearing a fellow tell a story once"(86).    It might be easy to feel sympathy for such deluded people, creating their own traps and convincing themselves that they are so very happy. But the slightly sarcastic edge of the narrative combined with the distance maintained throughout instead works to encourage contempt. At the end of the story it's easy to dismiss the Elliots as having made their bed. Now they'll just have to sleep in it.    Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. "Mr. and Mrs. Eliot." The Short Stories. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995.   

Price Policy

The purpose of this essay is threefold. First,to identify specific factors and the environment affecting an export price policy. Second, to analyse thisthese factors within our firm and to extract the best decisions given our starting point. Finally, to consider the above and to give guidelines governing thatwhat should be applied in the international marketing price. It should be noted that in some cases due to an information deficiency, assumptions should be madee. â€Å"Pricing is the moment of truth† (Stottinger,2001).Probably this affirmation is essentially valid in domestic marketing, even more in international marketing. Surprisingly, the literature in this area is characterized by a gapthere is a gap in the literature in this area. Given theirits importance, pricing havehas not attracted much academic research interest compared with other tools of marketing (Stottinger, 2001). Nevertheless, this should not be and cannot be a barrier for the quality of this essay. Albau m and Duerr (2008) no havehave not given a clear message regarding the level of difficulty about practice of establishing an international price.However, for a large influx of authors export price differs from domestic price, and due to thatthis the environment is sui generis in each country (Jain, 1989). It is the writer? s opinion that an overview of the challenge gives the impression that it is somewhat more difficult than in domestic marketing. Sometimes the pricing affair is too tangled to be pliant to a general sort of description (Diamantipoulous and Mathews, 1995). In summary, despite of finding similar market threats in the international â€Å"arena†, every market havehas non-identical consequences and a â€Å"constellation†of elements (Kublin,1900).All of this leads to talk of international factors affecting pricing. The goal is to analyze the factors and bring them in line with our product. Sometimes these factors are so-called such aslabelled â€Å"Interna l† and â€Å"External† factors (Tellis, 1986). The writer’s intention is not to follow the system of any author concretely and to blend the most important literature and match with the firm. To avoid excessive interminable details, these factors are exclusively factors that differ from domestic factors, or actorsthose such as competition, or buyer’s perception that are present in the domestic market but now are completely unknown in the new scenario. Cost has been and is being one of the most vital factors affecting price determination (Albaum & Duerr, 2008). It is useful because the system cost creates a limit where prices below are not permitted to stayit creates a system where prices are not permitted to stay below a certain limit. (Simon,1995). Historically, the quandary is somewhere between direct cost and full cost.The choice of the cost floor depends on the company's goal. In the futureLater the company'sthis goal will be explained, but so far, it i s enough to say that full costs fits better. The company objectives are to build a new market in the long-run, and using full cost enabling the company to recovered all the cost.. Apart from a â€Å"new† packaging, the new central cost is based on transportation. It is important to take into account theat volume of the product when consideringis another important costs. (Albaum & Dueer).In some cases companies fail due to only takinge into account this factor (Backman, 1953). It given that should we mightis essential that we emphasize other factors. Market conditions: it is time to analyze demand. An important idea of our demand is the concept of elasticity. Should I give as done thatThe elasticity of our customer tends not to be inelasticgreat. A pPerson who owns a pedigree dog or an exotic animal, tends to give allwant the best for their animals, and consequently are less price-sensivitysensitive (or there is less price sensitivity).Broadly speaking, they buy regardless of price, but always in the limits of consumer? s price awareness. â€Å"The better differentiated the product, the more difficult it is to make a comparison between different products and the higher the quality and the prestige image of the product, the lower the price sensivity†. (Nagle, 1987). Theseis three characteristics should beare present in our product, therefore the customer should tend to be â€Å"inelastic† Competition is a pivotal factor and reflects supply in economic theory.Cost draws a minimum price, demand delineates a maximum price, and competitors will condition a final price between these limits. (Albaum & Duerr, 2008). Due to lack of information, it should be assumingassume some level of competition. The firm must expect some degree of competition, but owing to the kind of product (premium product for a pedigree animal) the market should be clearly delimited. Anyway, in this stage the advice for the firm should be to stay aware of our nearest competit ors and extract value information of the background of our competitorsfrom our competitors’ background.Legal or political: widely speaking, after the Treaty of Maastricht and the constitution of the European Community the legal or political issues between European countries have been removed. It Ccan be interesting to mention one aspect of the legislation related with our product, and in last instance it can affect price decision. The European Parliament has passed some regulation concerning to animal feeds, certifying that Community legislation on animal health is properly binding and fulfilling.The law of the EU is directly applicable in UK, therefore, it should be noticed that if our firm has passed the controls for selling in UK there is not going to be a problem achieveing a license to sell around Europe. It is not necessary to argue about economic themes since has been created a homogeneous economic area has been created. Company policies and marketing mix: It is inevit able to speak about the product of the company. Price should be related to product considerations (Albaum & Duer, 2008).The characteristics of the product – i. e type of demand, physical and psychological attributes, packaging, quality, degree to which competitors are considered acceptable substitutes differentiation, state of maturity and so on – influence the prizeprice. (Kaplan, Dirlam, Lanzillotti,). Assuming that Edzell Wood has a product range and product positioning similar to that sold for garden and aviary birds under the Charnwood brand some specifications should be made for relating price and product.If the product range is large and product positioning is premium, this makes it advisable to establish a rather high price. To what extent will depend more or less highon its weighting with other factors. Some studies, under some premises, have showned that â€Å"high price† is associated with â€Å"high quality†( ) It can be interesting to speak a bout the nature of the product that Edzell is selling and to connect this with the buyer’s perception, another relevant factor.Following Nelson (1970) (Darbi and Karni 1973) goods can be divided into two types: experience good and credence goods. † An experience good is one whose features can be ascertained only upon consumption. A second category might be that of credence goods, when quality cannot be determined even after consumption†. With all probability, our product may be among experience goods and credence goods. It is the writer's opinion that in this field the labels brand didn't succeed because it is a kindthe type of good where the brand plays a crucial role.Have you seen animal feeds branded by tesco? The consumers are in part blind and are using non – physical attributes to value the utility of the product and transform this utility in terms of money. It might be a compulsory stop to speak at length about terms such us value and utility but it is beyond the scope of this essay. Suffice it to say that if the consumer is not in a position to judge accurately the value of the product directly, consumers intending to reduce the risk will be willing to pay higher prices as safeto remain safe.Pet owners or Zoological centres want to give all the best for their animals. People don’t eat feeds animalsanimal feed and consequently cannot check the quality of the product. It is the total package including complementary features such as veterinarian advice, delivery, support with any problem related with the animal and food, analysis of components, demonstration about quality, certificates, as well as the symbolic features such as prestige and status that are perceived as delivering more value than our competitors in a pricing point (Hanna & Dodge, 1995).The company should take advantage of this. It is time put on the table matto analyse how the pricing philosophy and pricing objectives play a strong role in this process. In l ine with previous aspects it should be speak about price strategy. It is strongly adviceadvisable to the firm to follow a strategic pricing related to a product differentiation. The firm should stressed differentiation through   product characteristics and position in the industry that are conducive to putting the emphasis on the value of our brand name and enjoying some price premiumpremium prices in consequence.Pricing models can be mixed and matched. Probably there is no a strategy price (skimming,sliding down the demand curve, ando so on) that fsuits perfectly with our task. The price strategy should be a relatively high price related with a high premium product, putting the emphasis in the quality and the complementary features. It should try to implement some promotions to try to encourage the customer to know the product in the first stage. It can be dangerous to play upping or downing the price, becausedue to the quality image can be affected.The objective of our price str ategy should integrated goals such uas, obtaining the highest return on investment, maintaining or increaseing market share, meeting a specified sales goal, meeting a specified profit goal, profit maximisation, meeting competition and so on (Teacher). The objective of our price strategy should integrate goals such as, obtaining the highest return on investment, maintaining or increasing market share, meeting a specified sales goal, meeting a specified profit goal, profit maximisation, meeting competition and so on (Teacher)Firm and management: the international experience of the firm and commitment to the venture are important factors. Assuming that Edzell does not have international experience and it is a small enterprise it should be noticeded that it is important to advise the firm's members about the importance of pricing decisions. Furthermore, the firm should be completely conscious and to have a strong commitment withto go internationalexpanding internationally. This is commo nly forgotten in some companies, especially smaller ones. , Aall of thisthese factors influence setting the right price.It is usual to forget this in some companies, especially in small companies. A crucial place occupies the price decision controlPrice decision control occupies a crucial place – the step within the firm at which the decision is tooktaken. (Myers,Cavusgil, Diamantopoulous, 2002). To verifyied that the person who sets the prices has the skills to do it. It is important not to forget channel distribution as a factor affecting price. A product ishas much more than a physical value,value; it is also on how it is sold and after-sales service and so on.The customer’s willingness to pay is directly influenced by these features. The firm should teach the channel distribution how to give this high quality service. Remembering that animal feed is a very intangible product for the buyer and these details are the key point to give a message in consonance with our price. In our case, assuming that direct export has been choosedchosen the goal should be relatively factibleachievablee(? ). Also regarding channels and distribution our firm should avoid structures tending to result in export-price scalationthe escalation of export price (Cavusgil and Zou, 1994).It is necessary to highlight that a good relationship with the channels is very useful to control the final price. (Bowersox et al, 1992). It is the writer? s opinion that the choice ofto choose a direct mode of exportationing hasis have been influenced by theseis parameters. Our company should weight up the benefits of pricing the goods and services in euros or in sterling. Intuitively, most eurozone customers will prefer to see prices in euros. Using a sterling prices list may lose part of our business. The main disadvantage of making and accepting euro payments is that it exposes our firm to currency risks.One way to hedge against exchange rate movements can be to arrange a forward fore ign exchange contract – this is an agreement initiated by you to buy or sell a specific amount of foreign currency at a certain rate, on or before a certain date. In the field of price quotation, our exportations should use the system definition based on Incoterms (International Commercial Terms). Although the detail of which incoterms should be choosechosen is beyond the scope of this essay, exporters should consider some factors.Between others; shipment, insurance coverage, availability of information, currency convertibility problems, and son on (Albaum ; Duerr, 2008). Ultimately, price quotations should be in a form that customers and channels find suitable, and at least as convenient for the customer as those offered by competitors. Anyway, the price quotations should be reflected in the final price. All of these factors should be complemented with some basic guidelines. Pricing flexibility is a principle that should guide all the decisions. The right placeprice(? today, cannot be the right price tomorrow. The issue, more than to think if our price havehas to be higher, lower or the same level compared with our domestic prices or the competition prices it is to set the right price in the right moment. Probably, some factors hashave been omitted but not forgotten due to limited space. And always remember that setting a price â€Å"It is not a science, but it is an art. †Ã¢â‚¬  (John I. Leahy, Black ; Decker) Bibliography Stottinger, B. (2001) Strategic export pricing: a long and winding road. Journal of International Marketin, 9 (1). 40-55Jain, S. C (1989) â€Å"Standardization of international marketing strategy: some research hyphoteses† Journal of marketing, Vol 53, January, pp. 70-9 Kublin, M. (1990) â€Å"A guide to export pricing†, Industrial Management, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 29-32 Diamantopoulos, A. and Mathews, B. (1995), Making pricing decisions: A study of Managerial Practice, Chapman ; Hall, London. Mathews, B. Cavusgil , Diamantopoulos, A. (2002), Antecedents and actions of export pricing strategy: A conceptual framework and research propositions. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 36, No ? , 2002, pp. 159-188.

Feeling like “Other” Essay

I will be exploring a time when I felt like â€Å"other†, in this situation I was made to feel invisible, excluded and too visible all at the same time. In this situation I mainly felt excluded but nonetheless I felt all of the above. My husband is Nigerian and I am African American, he attends a Nigerian church and all of the members are Nigerian. Every time I go to church with him I feel as if I am too visible because I am the only non-Nigerian person there, yes we are all black but I know nothing about their culture and I do not speak their language. They often sing Nigerian praise songs and do traditional dances and when this is occurring I often feel excluded and invisible because it seem like it doesn’t matter if I’m included since I’m the only one who doesn’t understand what is going on. Because of this I very seldom go to church with him, it would be nice for us to go to church together all the time but it’s not comfortable to feel ex cluded or invisible. You wouldn’t think you could feel excluded or invisible around your own race but subgroups of the same race often have different cultures and traditions that the other doesn’t understand. In a lot of cases African’s who live in America feel that African Americans have acculturated into society which is â€Å"a form of assimilation wherein an ethnic or racial group or an individual takes on the cultural ways of another group, usually that of mainstream culture, often at the expense of traditional cultural ways†(2014). Being African American around Africans you often get a sense of ethnocentrism from this culture in regards to language, religion and behavior. Sometimes people are not aware that they are making the â€Å"other† feel uncomfortable or excluded simply because they don’t know how to include the â€Å"other†. Many people are not as culturally competent as they may think and this can cause a lot of discord between different  cultural groups. Unfortunately both groups have been marginalized, having diminished value, importance, contributions, or attributes. Because both groups notice cultural differences we feel the need to be guarded and defensive at all times. This does not help with communication and interaction between our cultures. One way for me to overcome this is exercising emotional intelligence which involves developing the ability to manage and appreciate differences. References (2014, November 1). Identity and Difference . Weekly Lecture. Lecture conducted from , . Harvey, C., & Allard, M. J. (2011). Understanding and Managing Diversity, 5th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://devry.vitalsource.com/books/9781269562744/id/ch01lev2sec22

Influences On A Persons Identity Essays - Identity, Gender

Influences On A Persons Identity Essays - Identity, Gender Influences on a Person's Identity What influences a person?s identity? Is it their homes, parents, religion, or maybe where they live? When do they get one? Do they get it when they understand right from wrong, or when they can read, or are they born with it? Everyone has one and nobody has the same, is there a point in everyone?s life when they get one? A person?s identity is his own, nobody put it there and nobody can take it out. Everyone in this world has a different identity because they all make their own over the course of their life. A person?s identity also causes a person to have masculine and feminine traits. There is no one thing that gives a person their identity, there are however many different factors that contribute to one?s identity. What is someone?s identity? Is it the way they look, the way they dress, or it could be many things all put together, or is it none of the above? To me someone?s identity is a part of their being. Nobody will ever hold it, touch it, or even see it, but it is there. Everybody has one, it guilds your decision making, your thoughts, ideas, and dreams. You may think something is terrible while someone else does not even care and yet another person may laugh, why? The answer is simple, everyone has his own identity and personality. Everyone feels, acts, thinks, and dreams differently. People may have some of these things in common with one another, but they will not be totally the same, it is like a fingerprint, unique. There are many origins to a person?s identity, their family, friends, home life, religion, environment and others. But how does it get there, you do not go into a store and pick on off the shelf. A person?s identity is developed over many years and put together by the person themselves. It comes from the individuals ability to think, reason and form an opinion. Nobody has the same mind, or the same or the same conscious, so how could anyone have the same identity as another. A person?s identity is developed over many years from the time they become aware of their surroundings, to the time they decide if they are going to college, and even as they grow old there identity will change with them. As people?s dreams are dreamed and goals are accomplished their identities will change with the individual. Their aspirations and values will change, causing their identities to change with it. It may be a slight alteration or a major overhaul but there identity will adjust to the person. Gender is a major cause for a person?s identity. A person might act a certain way because of the gender that is given to them. Nature and identity might make a woman act the way that she does. Men and women are different because of society has set them up with. It is observed for men to be strong and women to be weak. raised. However with all these factors related to forming an identity the most important and most influential is the person themselves. We see people every day, some whom we want to be like and some we hope we never turn out like. With all the other outside factors to guide and help or push and hamper, the individual has the last say. You are the only on who says what you want to be like over the course of your life. Nobody will ever get inside your mind and do the thinking for you. Nobody can influence you, you may feel as if you are being forced to do something but you do not have to do anything. You make the final decision. However you act, think, and speak is totally up to you. People grow up all coming from all different kinds of places, backgrounds and families. They will all have different identities. Gender affects the decisions made by people. Their identity and the ?nature? of the person makes them act the way they do. Nobody is the same and nobody will ever be. All the outside influences will have an effect on their identities but the individual

Microsoft and Outsourcing to Flextronics essays

Microsoft and Outsourcing to Flextronics essays (1) Microsoft's decision to outsource their Xbox production to Flextronics, a Singapore based company, was based on several variables. Microsoft is primarily a software company and had a small hand in producing hardware, such as joysticks, computer mice, keyboards, etc. When Microsoft came into the video game industry, they decided that they lacked the manufacturing and logistics capabilities to make the Xbox and manage a global supply chain [1]. Microsoft had chosen to outsource to Flextronics for several reasons. Flextronics could lower costs in production for Microsoft because they were able to tightly manage its supply chain, therefore reducing the chances of supply chain disruption, which can be costly [1]. Not only was Flextronics efficient in supply chain management they had an "industrial park" strategy that Microsoft and many other electronic manufacturers didn't have. Flextronics required that key suppliers locate their factories next to Flextronics assembly plants in lo w-cost areas. Flextronics had industrial parks in Brazil, China, Hungary, Mexico, and Poland. This global presence that Flextronics had is exactly what Microsoft was looking for. With these "industrial parks" located throughout various locations in the world, Flextronics would be able to shift production from one plant to another as demand conditions warranted [1]. Additionally, Flextronics and Microsoft used an advanced Web-based information system that it used to communicate with each other on a real time basis. This was pertinent to reducing errors and relaying information quickly to one another to ensure and facilitate expedient production of Xbox consoles where inventory is low, to avoid any shortages. Finally, Microsoft had a long standing relationship with Flextronics. Microsoft had used Flextronics for years to produce their small hardware (computer mice, joysticks, etc.) and trusted them. Microsoft trusted that Flextronics would be able to bu...

How to Speak Shakespearean Verse

How to Speak Shakespearean Verse We start with a practical approach to an old question: how do you speak Shakespearian verse? Bring Shakespeare to life in the classroom and drama studio with the understanding that Shakespeare wrote his plays in verse. This poetic framework not only gives characters a structured speech pattern but enhanced authority. What Is Verse? Unlike modern plays, Shakespeare and his contemporaries wrote plays in verse. This is a poetic framework that gives characters a structured speech pattern and enhances their authority. Typically, Shakespeare’s verse is written in lines of ten syllables, with an ‘unstress-stress’ pattern. The stress is naturally on the even-numbered syllables. For example, take a look at the first line of Twelfth Night: If mu- / -sic be / the food / of love, / play onba- BUM / ba- BUM / ba- BUM / ba- BUM / ba- BUM However, verse isn’t spoken continuously in Shakespeare’s plays. Generally, characters of higher status speak verse (whether they are magical or aristocratic), especially if they are thinking aloud or expressing their passions. So it would follow that characters of low status don’t speak in verse – they speak in prose. The easiest way to tell whether a speech is written in verse or prose is to look at how the text is presented on the page. Verse doesn’t go to the edge of the page, whereas prose does. This is because of the ten syllables to a line structure. Workshop: Verse Speaking Exercises Choose a lengthy speech by any character in a Shakespeare play and read it aloud whilst walking around. Physically change direction every time you reach a comma, colon or full stop. This will force you to see that each clause in a sentence suggests a new thought or idea for your character.Repeat this exercise, but instead of changing direction, say the words â€Å"comma† and â€Å"full stop† out loud when you get to the punctuation. This exercise helps heighten your awareness of where there is punctuation in your speech and what its purpose is.Using the same text, take a pen and underline what you think are the natural stress words. If you spot an often repeated word, underline that as well. Then practice speaking the text with an emphasis on these key stress words.Using the same speech, speak it aloud forcing yourself to make a physical gesture on every single word. This gesture can be clearly connected to the word (for example a finger point on â€Å"him†) or c an be more abstract. This exercise helps you to value every word in the text, but again it will make you prioritize the correct stresses because you will naturally gesture more when saying keywords. Finally and above all, keep speaking the words aloud and enjoying the physical act of speech. This enjoyment is the key to all good verse speaking. Performance Tips Always use the punctuation in order to discover the natural places to pause or breathe when speaking verse. A common mistake is to always pause for breath at the end of a line. As Shakespeare often writes sentences that go across lines, this tendency to breath at the end of the line will distort the meaning and create an unnatural intonation.Be aware of the natural stress rhythms in the verse but don’t allow them to dominate your delivery of the line. Instead look at the line in its entirety and decide where your stress should go.Listen to the beautiful imagery and poetic elements of the verse and close your eyes when saying the words. Allow the imagery to form pictures in your mind. This will help you find meaning and substance in your lines. If you connect imaginatively with the language, you will naturally speak the words more effectively.Listen carefully to the colliding rhythms and sounds in Shakespeare’s verse. Often repeated words, harmonic sounds, and clashing s ounds help you to understand Shakespeare’s intentions and the motivations of your character. Obviously, use a dictionary if the context doesn’t present you with the meaning of a word you say. Not knowing the meaning of one of your words can be a problem. If you don’t know what it means, the chances are the audience won’t either!

Major League Baseball Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Major League Baseball - Essay Example It uses a unique video editing information system as a product differentiation strategy that allows employees to produce highlights in just a few minutes, sending out about 200 highlights a day during the regular season and meeting a wide range of customer needs. The buyer’s volume and importance of the product are evident from its sales levels and demands for the MLBAM (Case Study 2). The product generates around $ 450 million a year in revenues, out of which fifty percent comes from fans with the balance generated from advertising that comes with online content. Supplier power Supplier strength for MLBAM is visible in its strong command and concentration in the online sports content business that has been hugely successful judging from the impressive revenue performance, satisfied users given the amount of information, updates received and convenience. The company has also succeeded in product differentiation because it offers the product in a unique way and targets niche ma rket. It also uses different technological platforms that apply a plug or a battery such as computers, laptops, and mobile phones to send clips of streaming video and text, thus creating utmost convenience informing viewers and fans about what they need to know. The product has capabilities to tap into the base by presenting multiple (camera) angles, on-demand video, and stats. Another aspect of supplier power for MLB is its specialty in providing a large amount of online information that is unavailable anywhere else or on any other device. Further, online content business has become a popular source of information for many users, thus creating immense business viability for suppliers who offer unique products and services with the objective to meet the needs of the different online customers. MLB has identified these needs and perfectly tried to meet them through their product. Increasing customer loyalty To maintain and/or increase customer loyalty, MLBAM should employ strategies that jealously guard its existing market share and also explore ways of expanding the customer base to grow revenue and increase business performance. Product differentiation based on customer segments is one of the strategies the company can use. Though it targets to introduce customized applications for certain models of cell phones, it can expand the scope to cover other handsets and also include other non-phone gadgets such as iPads. The company should also explore the strengths and limitations of its competitors by interrogating the soft spots of alternative products to strengthen its products. Other strategies may include going an extra mile to know its customers better, meet and exceed customer expectations, increase value derived by customers from its products, and endeavor to distinguish between needs and wants. Which of Porter's three generic strategies is MLBAM following? Porter’s generic strategies are: segmentation strategy (focus) for a narrow market scope, diff erentiation strategy for a broad market scope with competitive advantages of uniqueness and competency, cost leadership strategy for a broad market scope with advantages of low cost and competency. MLBAM seems to have adopted the differentiation strategy targeting a broad market but ensuring uniqueness and competency as the selling points. How can MLBAM use efficiency IT metrics and effectiveness IT metrics to improve

Genetics and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Genetics and Society - Essay Example Diploid cells which are destined to produce the male and female reproductive cells undergo a type of cell division referred to as meiosis by which the chromosomes present in the parent cell is reduced to half to form four reproductive haploid cells called gametes. This process of separation and assortment of the homologous chromosomes occurs at random and the resulting haploid cells do not contain only paternal or maternal chromosomes but a mixture of genes from both parental chromosomes. This independent assortment of genes was first observed by Mendel when he was studying the genetics of pea plants and from his study he formulated the principle of independent assortment. The process of meiosis which is responsible for the production of gametes occurs via this principle of independent assortment. Meiosis begins with the replication of a pair of chromosomes in the diploid germ cells which are destined to become male or female gametes. The replicated chromosomal pairs are called siste r chromatids which are initially joined at the central point called the centromere. As the meiotic spindle forms at each pole of the cell with the help of microtubules, the two pairs of homologous chromosomes form tetrads within which any two chromosomes can overlap or recombine to form recombinant DNA which gives rise to new genetic combinations. This process is called crossing-over. Following this the pair of chromatids are pulled towards each pole of the cell and the chromosomal pair is enclosed within a nuclei. The cell then undergoes cytokinesis during which the cytoplasm divides into two giving rise to two daughter cells each containing a haploid chromosome. Thus meiosis is an important process during which pairs of homologous chromosomes are independently assorted to give rise to haploid gametes and also the chromosomes in the tetrad stage recombine to form new combination of genes which is

The Christian Symbols of Cross and the Body of Christ Essay - 6

The Christian Symbols of Cross and the Body of Christ - Essay Example God’s purpose for creating Adam was His desire to replicate Himself, reproduction of Himself and He implemented this in the Garden of Eden. Adam was God manifested in the flesh in the Garden of Eden. In Copeland’s teaching, it was a way to show that racism was not in Gods mind. Those disagreeing with this use the bible to militate against Copeland’s teaching. Adam was not God manifested in the flesh. Jesus was exceptional in this respect (John 1:14). Beyond that, Adam was undeniably subordinate to God (Copeland, audiotape #01-0304, side 1). Copeland alleged that Jesus became a demonic being on the cross: Copeland insists "Satan dominated Jesus on the Cross and took His spirit to the dark regions of hell Copeland's description of Christ's ordeal in the hell is nothing short of chilling. He (Jesus) allowed Himself to come under Satans control" (Copeland, audiotape #02-0017, side 2). Copeland stated that the physical death on the cross did not pay the price for sin and that anybody could do that. According to him all prophets that walked on earth guided by the Abrahamic covenant would have paid the price if it were for the physical death (Copeland, audiotape #02-0017, side 2). Those in disagreement with Copeland’s allegation say because of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross, people who have their faith and trust in Him (Jesus) alone for salvation are guaranteed endless life (John 3:16). However, Jesus called His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me."

Linguisitcs- Empirical findings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Linguisitcs- Empirical findings - Essay Example Hypothesis 3 predicted that both corpora would provide more dependent noun clauses than other types of dependent clauses and is confirmed within the interview corpus but not within the linguistic corpus, which contained an even number of adverbial, noun and relative clauses. Hypothesis 4 predicted that the extract taken from a transcribed interview would contain more contractions than the linguistic extract, and is borne out by the results. This study compares two small corpora, each comprising 300 words, taken from a linguistic journal and a transcribed interview. The texts are therefore diverse in terms of content, style, register and their proposed audience, and are compared and contrasted in terms of the linguistic properties pertaining to the number and length of sentences, the number and type of dependent clauses, and the use of contractions. The focus on sentence constructions begins by ascertaining the number of sentences within each corpus. The purpose of this is that the number of sentences will provide insight as to the length of the sentences, which is measured in terms of the number of words within a punctuated sentence. The higher the number of sentences found within a 300 word corpus, then the shorter the sentences would have to be. The fewer the number of sentences therefore, would realise longer, compound and complex sentences and thus would be expected to render more dependent clauses. The second property to be measured in this study is the number and type of dependent clauses used within each text. A dependent clause does not convey a complete idea and therefore is unable to stand by itself; in other words a dependent clause relies on an independent clause for meaning. Tallerman (2005) refers to dependent clauses as subordinate clauses and the independent clause, which must contain a finite verb, as the matrix clause. She also tells us that subordinate clauses are often considered as embedded clauses because

PSYCHO-SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Essay

PSYCHO-SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - Essay Example Culture and media---in many ways manipulate the ways of thinking of the society. Women grew up deeming that perilous sports are meant for male species, because that is exactly how they were made to believe. However, as society changed its stand on gender equality, women gracefully marched into the tennis courts and charmingly started to acquire gold medals and trophies. Brown, Katrina J., (2010, p.1), â€Å"Globally, the participation of women and girls in sport has increased tremendously. Much of this growth has been attributed to relatively recent changes in national and international law, yet few empirical studies exist that test this assertion. In this study, the role of law, specifically gender-based sports doctrine, is examined across four nations: the USA, Australia, Canada, and Iran. Results are mixed, suggesting women have increased their participation in elite sporting events despite national legal and bureaucratic variations regarding women in sport.† Then again, despite the contribution and desperate attempts of women to participate in sports which are as dangerous as racing, dirt biking, surfing---men continuously dominate this field. The vindication on this issue is simple: gender, until this day, has a great bearing on people’s decisions. In the face of numerous efforts to pull off various recognitions in different fields which are normally for men, women are still outnumbered by Adam’s sons when it comes to sports activities. On the other hand, getting into sports---especially for men---can almost be taken as a social requirement, that not being able to be good at it can also make a person feel like he is less fit or not outstanding. It may not be the intended connotation of promoting physical activities in schools, however, peer pressure, as well as other societal aspects impel more and more people to get into sports---at times---not because they are inclined to, but they feel that

How Changes in Fuedalism led to a structured civilization in Europe Essay

How Changes in Fuedalism led to a structured civilization in Europe - Essay Example Charles X natural succession of Louis XVIII’s place on the throne was the last rise to power that did not involve violence in France. In the short-term, this revolutionary change in the French people and government generated an image and ideology for France by neighboring European nations like Prussia and the Habsburg Empire (Kleniewski and Thomas, 2010). This ideology was not just new, but insecure. As a result, the ideology did not express any lessons from France’s history before 1789. In the Habsburg Empire, the hope and goal of Austria that Vienna’s parliament will restore Habsburg’s role inside Germany, but in a much-streamlined perspective. This change contributed indirectly to a better government through the collapse of the Habsburg Empire. The monarchy and people of noble births lost power when the French ended the concept of the three estates (Kleniewski and Thomas, 2010). In the process, the French no longer valued nobility, as well as church treats. The French stripped the monarchy of its power and killed the king and

PSYCHO-SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Essay

PSYCHO-SOCIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - Essay Example Culture and media---in many ways manipulate the ways of thinking of the society. Women grew up deeming that perilous sports are meant for male species, because that is exactly how they were made to believe. However, as society changed its stand on gender equality, women gracefully marched into the tennis courts and charmingly started to acquire gold medals and trophies. Brown, Katrina J., (2010, p.1), â€Å"Globally, the participation of women and girls in sport has increased tremendously. Much of this growth has been attributed to relatively recent changes in national and international law, yet few empirical studies exist that test this assertion. In this study, the role of law, specifically gender-based sports doctrine, is examined across four nations: the USA, Australia, Canada, and Iran. Results are mixed, suggesting women have increased their participation in elite sporting events despite national legal and bureaucratic variations regarding women in sport.† Then again, despite the contribution and desperate attempts of women to participate in sports which are as dangerous as racing, dirt biking, surfing---men continuously dominate this field. The vindication on this issue is simple: gender, until this day, has a great bearing on people’s decisions. In the face of numerous efforts to pull off various recognitions in different fields which are normally for men, women are still outnumbered by Adam’s sons when it comes to sports activities. On the other hand, getting into sports---especially for men---can almost be taken as a social requirement, that not being able to be good at it can also make a person feel like he is less fit or not outstanding. It may not be the intended connotation of promoting physical activities in schools, however, peer pressure, as well as other societal aspects impel more and more people to get into sports---at times---not because they are inclined to, but they feel that

Pick 3 topics, each topic has only 1 paragraph with more than 10 Essay

Pick 3 topics, each topic has only 1 paragraph with more than 10 sentences i guess. so it will be 3 paragraphs - Essay Example The formation of gangs in schools, and the related violence and rivalry, is reduced by the absence of gang-identified clothes. At the same time, uniforms eliminate expensive items of clothing which lead to jealousy and theft. The secure school environment established by a uniform dress code creates an atmosphere of sharing which in turn leads to increased self-esteem. School uniforms contribute to the development of self-esteem in public school students. This is an off-shoot of the fact that self-esteem is significantly linked to attire in the case of most adolescents. This is largely because clothes are an indication of the student’s economic background. The difference in dress leads to the differentiation between rich and poor students. As clothes make a statement, student identities become linked to their clothes. Those who are unable to keep up with the latest fashion trends risk being teased by their wealthier peers. There is also the risk of teachers being unconsciously influenced by the affluence of students as reflected by their clothes. This many lead to differential treatment of students in class. A uniform dress code eliminates differences based on the student’s home environment and gives students the opportunity to be judged completely on the basis of their abilities. The resulting increase in self-esteem leads to improv ed academic performance. Academic performance is improved by a uniform dress code as the distraction of dressing fashionably for school is eliminated. Conflict with parents over what constitutes appropriate attire for school is also avoided. As there is no need to spend time on choosing clothes and accessories for school every morning, there is more time for study at home. At the same time, punctuality, and attendance at the first classroom session in schools, is improved. As uniforms eliminate the need for school teachers to monitor student’s attire, more time

The Boon Or Bane Of Global Warming Environmental Sciences Essay

The Boon Or Bane Of Global Warming Environmental Sciences Essay The stratosphere ozone (o3) is a product of billions of years of the photochemical process catlalyzed by the solar radiation . The ozone screen provides a shield for living creatures by filtering out dangerous ultra-violet rays from sunlight . ultra violet radiation causes sun burn , skin cancer , cataracts and can suppress the immune system . Since 1973 it has been increasingly recognized that the ozone umbrella is being ripped off by the industrial activities of man which release chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) The main problem with the CFCs is their long life in the atmosphere ranging from 75 to 125 years . Also one molecule of CFC can destroy 1,00,000 molecules of ozone . Also rockets which take off vertically carry ozone killers (Chlorine containing chemicals and nitrogen oxides ) Eg : The American Delta booster, the authors rate it as a second ozone killer which destroys 8 million tonnes of the earth shielding gas during every take-off SOLUTION Coming to the question of stopping launchings of space ships to obviate thinning of the ozone layer , the soviet experts are of the view the problem can be tackled by taking positive steps like minimizing production of ozone-killing chemicals , banning solid fuel fired rockets , and setting international restrictions for the frequency of launches . A BRITISH ORGANIZATION , Ozone Help (OH ) has come out with a programme to produce ozone in the upper atmosphere . A solar powered machine is carried to high altitudes by balloons over the antartica , where the ozone depletion has reached its highest . This ozonator is a simple electronic unit about the size of a large microphone and generates a charge of more than 15,000 volts . When this charge is emitted into the air , it produces a significant amount of ozone by converting the oxygen of the air. GLOBAL WARMING (due to greenhouse gases ) The large scale burning of fossil fuels in modern industry and transport systems increases the concentration of greenhouse gases such as CO2 , O3 , CH4, CFC3 and N2O in the atmosphere . These greenhouse gases allow suns rays to penetrate the earth surface but retard the return flow of the infra-red radiation. Thus the suns heat would be trapped near the earths surface, raising the earths surface temperature over a period of time. Among all the gases CO2 alone plays a major role in creating greenhouse effect. There are many reasons to be cautious about accepting CO2 as the causative agent if there really is warming. This is highlighted by 2 papers published in March 2008. Scafetta and West showed that up to 69% of observed warming is from the sun and Ramanathan and Carmichael show that soot has 60% of the warming power of CO2 The fluctuations in the composition of the atmosphere and changes in the temperature over the past two lakh years can be determined by analysis of tiny air bubbles trapped in ice that has accreted year by year in arctic and Antarctic. All scenarios on global warming show that significant climate change will occur over a period of time. There are many other issues of environmental concern too like radioactive fallouts , phenomenon of acid rain , large scale deforestation and large scale use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in modern agriculture and so on . Here are some ways for the prevention of global warming Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.. Do not leave appliances on standby Use the on/off function on the machine itself. A TV set thats switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode Plant a tree A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. Encourage the switch to renewable energy Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them Try car sharing Need a car but dont want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Is Global Warming Bad? The IPCC 2007 Reports Suggest There Will be More Losers than Winners with Warming. The IPCC process includes many unlikely scenarios. These worst-case estimates also have associated impacts, from benign to worst-case. Thus we get the 5% worst impacts that have a 5% chance of happening (a combined 0.25% likelihood) equally discussed with benign changes that are reasonable to expect. By the time summaries are written, and press releases, only the bad effects are presented.   This leads to a gross exaggeration of the problems. Global Warming Will Actually Have More Winners then Losers. Throughout the history of human life, the Earths livability has always been better when the climate has been warmer than cooler. Human populations have expanded the most when the Earth warmed and turned greener, whether during the middle ages or during the last 2 decades. Whether it is a   fish in the ocean, a shrimp in an aquaculture pond, or a bean on a   vine, it will grow faster when it is warmer, all things being equal. Humans will   be quick to take advantage of a warmer climate and to adjust if it gets too warm in an area. More crops grow where it is warm or hot than in frozen ground, and CO2 is a primary food of plants basic facts that   seem forgotten. Even now, NASA satellites show that the Earth has become 6% greener as the world has warmed over the past 20 years (In the laymans approach, ozone depletion and global warming is mostly the same thing . However if you take a closer look youll know they are completely different . Although the two are different, activities leading to one always have some impact on the other ) Read more: Difference Between Ozone Depletion and Global Warming | Difference Between | Ozone Depletion vs Global Warming http://www.differencebetween.net/science/nature/difference-between-ozone-depletion-and-global-warming/#ixzz1AiNbKbQO Facts about climate change This chart looks ominous until put into the context that the average temperature for 1901-2000 is 13.9C (57.0F), so we are talking about a change from about 13.5 to 14.3 C or 56.3 to 57. 7 F. Not only is Earths surface warming, but the troposphere the lowest level of the atmosphere, where weather occurs is heating up too, U.S. and British meteorologists reported The EPA is set to regulate greenhouse gases next year for the first time, after the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that it could treat heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide as pollutants.EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan responded: The commonsense and transparent steps weve taken are already proving doomsayers wrong, as evidenced by the fact that 98 percent of states have stated theyre in a position to comply (times of india) Democrats established the committee in 2007, after taking control of the House. At the time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, called global warming possibly the greatest challenge of our time, setting at risk our economy, environment and national security. Scientists across the globe are toiling to perfect newer sources of energy that would end reliance on fossil fuels and threat of global warming. Those at citybased National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri) have joined the pack. They have developed a process of producing biofuel from four different species of micro-algae (plants that cant be seen with naked eye). The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening .. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing. Many have agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns. Climate change, in the absence of mitigation policies would in all likelihood lead to: 1 Possible disappearance of sea ice by the latter part of the 21st century 2 Increase in freqency of hot extremes, heat waves and heavy precipitation 3 Increase in tropical cyclone intensity 4 Decrease in water resources due to climate change in many semi-arid areas, such as the Mediterranean Basin, western United States, southern Africa and north-eastern Brazil. 5 Possible elimination of the Greenland ice sheet and a resulting contribution to sea level rise of about 7 metres. Without mitigation future temperatures in Greenland would compare with levels estimated for 125,000 years ago when palaeoclimate information suggests 4 to 6 m of sea level rise. 6 Approximately 20 to 30% of species assessed so far are likely to be at increased risk of extinction if increases in global average warming exceed 1.5 to 2.5 degrees C. In Africa, by 2020, between 75 and 250 million people are projected to be exposed to water stress due to climate change, and in some countries yields from rainfed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50%. The impacts of climate change would be disproportionately severe on some of the poorest regions and communities of the world. My own analysis suggests that at least 12 countries are likely to tend towards becoming failed states and communities in several other states would show potential for serious conflict due to scarcity of food,, water stress and soil degradation. UN Summit on Climate Change, 22 September 2009 STATEMENT OF DR. R. K. PACHAURI Chairman, IPCC Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute Director, Yale Climate and Energy Institute Warming of the climate system is unequivocal as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global sea level, and that Most of the observed increase in temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHG concentrations. In the twentieth century average global temperature increased by 0.740 C while sea level rise resulting from thermal expansion of the ocean and melting of ice across the globe amounted to 17 cms. With this increase the Maldive Islands with land surface barely a metre or two above sea level, every storm surge and major upwelling of the seas represents a major danger to life and property. But this is not all. Climate change is already resulting in an increase in the frequency, intensity and duration of floods, droughts and heat waves. Precipitation has increased significantly in eastern parts of North and South America, north ern Europe and northern and central Asia, whereas it declined in the Sahel, the Mediterranean, southern Africa and parts of south Asia. Globally the area affected by drought has increased since the 1970s If we take no action to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, then average temperature by the end of this century would increase anywhere from 1.1 degrees to 6.4 degrees C. The world is increasing its emissions at a rate that may take us to the upper end of the range projected, which implies a total increase in these two centuries of over 7 degrees C, that is, over 12 degrees Fahrenheit. Yet between 1970 and 2004 global GHG emissions increased by 70% and carbon dioxide by 80%. We must halt this unacceptable trend. It is heartening that the G8 leaders have recognized the broad scientific view of limiting increase in global average temperature to 2 ° C. But, we have clearly specified that if temperature increase is to be limited to between 2.0 and 2.4 ° C, global emissions must peak no later than 2015. That is only six years from now. And the 2.0 ° ceiling too would lead to sea-level rise on account of thermal expansion alone of 0.4 to 1.4 meters. This increase added to the effect melting of snow and ice across the globe, could submerge several small island states and Bangladesh. CONCLUSION Like Michael Jackson said Heal the world make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race . There are people dying if we care enough for the living , make it a better place for you and for me While this is just the tip of the iceberg, many, many issues need addressing regarding the extinction of plant and animal species, polar bears and their natural habitat and as times of india has mentioned that the lakes are heating faster than the air There are many such questions that need to be answered. .It is more important now than ever before to pull heads out of the sand and make a change for the better to our mother earth before it becomes too late. The earth is something we borrowed from our future generation hence we must do what we can in our capacity to preserve it . where the question of global warming arises it is seen as a detriment to us hence we should take measures to counter its growth or to our peril .

Free Hamlet Essays: Talk and Action in Hamlet :: GCSE Coursework Shakespeare Hamlet

Talk and Action in Hamlet The character of Hamlet is very prestigious, but he has many shortcomings. In many cases, he shows that he is all words and no action. He waits until the very last minute to take a course of action. Hamlet realizes this, and he wishes that he had the characteristics of Fortinbras, Laertes, and Horatio. During the course of the play, Hamlet just talks and talks about what he plans on doing, but when an opportunity arrises to make good on his word, he backs down. for instance, when he finds Claudius praying, he could have easily killed him and been done with it. but instead, he makes up an excuse for himself, saying that it is dishonorable to kill someone in the church. Even Laertes agreed with Claudius when he said in Act IV, Scene 7 that "no place indeed should murder sanctuarize." The only times that Hamlet takes action is when he has no choice. He takes action when he is sent to England. He only does anything, because if he doesn't, he will be killed. The other time that he uses action instead of words is, of course, at the end. but by that time, it is already too late. Laertes, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. He was all action and no talk. A very headstrong character, he was rash and let his emotions make his decisions for him. an example of this is when he finds out about his father's death, he immediately assumes it was Claudius and enters the castle by force, fully intending on killing him. This is what Hamlet needs to be like, but only in moderation. Sometimes, when the time calls for it, you must act on instinct, without having to think it through for a couple of days. Hamlet didn't want to be brash and end up getting killed like Laertes did, but then again, Laertes did avenge his father's death a lot faster than Hamlet did. And in spite of all the thinking and planning, Hamlet still ended up the same way that Laertes did. Fortinbras was a mix of the previous two. He carefully planned out his strategy, and then acted on it when they were finished. He showed that he was not too reckless by sending his captain ahead of him to announce that he was coming, so that the king might have repay him instead of fighting him and losing men.

Native American Museum Essay -- Native Americans

George Gustav Heye Center - The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian is a fascinating building at the Bowling Green area of Lower Manhattan. It’s close to Battery Park that displays an elegant view of the water. You can see ferries floating by headed towards Staten Island, since South Ferry Terminal is nearby. It allows you to appreciate the hidden gems of the city located in the outskirts Manhattan. One of those very treasures is the museum mentioned previously. The Museum of the American Indian is directly in front of the Bowling Green Park with a water fountain at the center. From the park view you can see the front of the museum. It has stone steps with statues on the sides. Walking in to the museum up the grand stairs led me to the entrance protected by security with metal detectors. Out of the various museums I’ve previously visited in NYC this was the first time I’ve encountered going through metal detectors, maybe because the museum is free and open to the public? From that point on there’s a digital interactive guide that displays the layout of the museum and location of the exhibits. The museum is divided into quadrants with an elliptical rotunda in the middle. The rotunda is illuminated by natural light from the glass dome with skylights above you. Also when you look up you can see extraordinary symbolic painting on the ceiling. From the center of the rotunda you can go left or right to see the exhibits of Native Americans. For some reason I felt like going in through the left, aside from the fact that the right side was closed for renovations. I headed left into the â€Å"Time Exposure† exhibit by the Haudenosaunee Discovery Room. When entering the exhibit it can seem a bit disoriented, but you just have... ...due to the external forces such as other settlers e.g. the Navajos, new settlers along with the Spanish conquerors entered their world. As a result the Pueblo Indians were imposed by these external forces especially through military power that changed their ways completely; having minimal cultural practices of their ancestors before them. The museum may seem like it’s very limited to what’s on exhibit mostly because not all of the building is in use. However the few exhibits they have is substantial in sparking an interest or even beginning to understand the cultures of Native Americans. Works Cited http://nmai.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/item/194 http://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/exhibition-smithsonian-documents-impact-railroads-native-southwest http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/482769/Pueblo-Indians http://www.bigorrin.org/pueblo_kids.htm

The Olympus Scandal

The Olympus Scandal Hot Potatoes and Flying Funds Summary This paper describes the case of Olympus, a Japanese manufacturer of optic equipment, at which in early 2012 a scandal was uncovered which was soon dubbed to be one of the largest loss-concealment schemes of Japan. In the 1990’s, Olympus incurred significant losses on financial investments made. These were subsequently hidden with the aid of investment companies by shifting the investments around. In the 2000’s, these losses were to be repaid by paying exorbitant merger and acquisition fees to these investment companies.After newly-appointed CEO Michael Woodford blew the whistle on these frauds, the company got into trouble. Our research into the events leading to this scandal, as well as an observation of the internal control environment led to some interesting insights regarding possible improvements Olympus might implement. However, we also note that a collusion of board members cannot be prevented by any leve l of internal control, and a renewal of the entire board might be appropriate in order to establish proper internal control within the Olympus Corporation. Table of ContentsTable of Contents2 Chapter 13 1. 1Description of the organization of Olympus3 Organization3 Strategic Analysis3 Management Structure4 1. 2The Olympus Scandal5 Background6 Tobashi Schemes6 Whistleblower7 Legal Actions9 1. 3Analysis of the events9 Chapter 211 2. 1Evaluation of and recommendations for the control environment11 Organizational Structure11 Board of Directors and Audit Committee12 Management Philosophy and Operating Style13 Assignment of Authority and Responsibility15 Human Resource Policy and Practices16 Integrity and Ethical Values17 Commitment and Compliance18 . 2Recommendations for control activities19 Chapter 320 3. 1Conclusion20 Literature Used21 Appendix23 Chapter 1 1. 1Description of the organization of Olympus The organization which we will be discussing in this paper is Olympus, which is a Jap anese company specialized in optical and digital products. Most people will know Olympus from the cameras they make, but they produce a lot more different type of products. This chapter will cover the background of Olympus and a strategic analysis of the company. Organization Olympus was established in 1919 in Tokyo, Japan.At first they specialized in microscopes and thermometers, but in 1936 they introduced their very first camera, the so-called Pen. It is this product for which they are well-known to the public. Nonetheless, it is not their primary product. Olympus is extremely specialized in microscopes and optics. Most of these are used in professional environments, like research centers and hospitals. This links also to another specialty product of Olympus, namely medical equipment. Olympus is an important manufacturer of endoscopic, ultrasound and disinfection equipment.These medical instruments are used worldwide (Olympus Corporation, 2012b). Olympus is even market leader in the endoscopy market, with a market share of almost 70%. Of the net sales of Olympus, 42% are from the medical systems segments. According to the annual report, Olympus operates worldwide, with about 46% of the 2011 fiscal sales from Japan. Other main areas are North America (21,5%), Asia (not including Japan) with 11,5% and Europe with 18,2% (Olympus Corporation, 2011a). Strategic Analysis It is clear that Olympus is a multi-business entity which follows a related diversification strategy.They operate in several markets, namely ‘medical’, ‘life science and industrial’, ‘imaging’ and ‘information and communication’. All these areas require a lot of research and development, but there sure are operational synergies between these markets. Logically, the lenses they use in cameras are also very useful for the medical equipment. In the Annual Report of 2011, Olympus states that the two businesses it wants to focus on most are the †˜endoscopes’ and ‘surgical and endotherapy devices’. Olympus is already market leader in the first category, creating unique, high-resolution equipment.For the second category Olympus is still broadening its market share. An important step in this process was the acquisition of Gyrus, plc in 2005. Later on we will see that the acquisition of this U. S. endoscope company has played a very important role in the fraudulent activities of Olympus. In 2011, Olympus had about 34,391 employees. This number had been decreasing for a while, since in 2009 they had 36,503 employees. But not only the number of employees has decreased in the last few years. Net sales declined in 2011 to ? 847,105 million (about $10,589 million).Operating income declined to ? 35,360 million, about $442 million (Olympus Corporation, 2011a). The development of the results of Olympus in the past few years are shown in these three graphs below: [pic] Figure 1: Olympus Financial Results (Source: Ol ympus Annual Report 2011) Management Structure In the Annual Report of 2011, it is stated that Olympus values an appropriate corporate governance structure from a global perspective. They adopted a corporate structure with an auditor system based in the Japanese Corporation Law.The corporate governance systems consists of a Board of Directors of 15 members, which audits and supervises the performance of directors, and a Board of Auditors consisting of 4 members, which are independent from the Board of Directors and audit the performance of the directors. Two external auditors are members of the Board of Auditors, and also of the Special Committee, which gives advice to the Board of Directors. An interesting fact about the composition of the Board of Directors is that is has always fully consisted of Japanese directors, until April 2011, when the first non-Japanese director was appointed.Because there are a few important and recurring people in this scandal, it is important to know t heir names and position in the company. Tsuyoshi Kikukawa – Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO Michael Woodford – President of the Board of Directors and COO Hisashi Mori – Director, Executive Vice President Hideo Yamada – Standing Corporate Auditor This is how the positions of the main actors were halfway April 2011, right before the suspicions of the fraud would rise (Olympus Corporation, 2011a). The management structure of Olympus can be visualized as follows: [pic]Figure 2: Olympus Management Structure (Source: Olympus Annual Report 2011) In the Corporate Governance Structure Chart above, some aspects of the Internal Control System can be found. We will discuss this explicitly in Chapter 4. But for now it is enough to know that Olympus has a CSR Commission chaired by the president to set up and evaluate targets with regard to CSR activities. They also have an internal employee code of behavior the so-called Olympus International Standards, and they established a Compliance Department which in case of compliance problems has to report the problems to the Board of Directors and the Board of Auditors.For the Risk management system, the company has established a Risk Management Committee which helps to decide on risk management policies and the evaluation, verification and procedural standards to respond to such risks. In order to reduce the risk of takeovers, they have introduced a plan to prevent large-scale purchases of the company’s shares. The anti-takeover measures are advised on and evaluated by the Special Committee, existing of the two outside auditors and one outside director (Olympus Corporation, 2011a). 1. 2The Olympus ScandalThe scandal surrounding Olympus became known on October 14th, 2011, when Micheal Woodford was fired as the CEO of Olympus. He had been the CEO of Olympus for only two weeks. He was the first non-Japanese person to become a member of the Board. In a press statement, Olympus announced t hat they had fired Woodford because of differences in management style. But according to Woodford, that was not the actual reason. He stated that Olympus had fired him because he questioned some prior acquisitions. This was not something of the most recent years, in fact, the scandal even goes back to the nineties. BackgroundIt all started in the beginning of the nineties. A decade earlier, the dollar was almost worth ? 250 (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2012). Due to this undervalued yen Olympus suffered from an enormous operating loss, as imported resources were incredibly expensive. To solve the problem of the extremely undervalued yen, a few countries decided devaluate, and after the implementation of the Plaza Accord in 1987, a dollar was worth about ? 121. The Japanese export market was still expanding, though one can wonder whether it even was a real market, it was actually more a bubble.In the final four years of the 1980’s the stock prices tripled . Many Japanese companies, like Olympus, used speculative investments to boost their income, which was very welcome because of the declining income from normal business due to declining exports. These risky investments worked until 1990, when the Japanese markets collapsed. In that year, Olympus decided to cover the loss of ? 100 billion ($730 million). The reason why such an enormous loss could be hidden was because of the accounting rules in Japan around that time. Investments could be carried at costs.Olympus simply did not write down on the investment, which was worth nothing anymore. They hoped that they could make up for the losses by doing more risky investments. But after a few years, instead of making up for it, the losses only got worse. And then in 1997, the accounting rules changed. Investments had to be marked to market and Olympus now actively had to do something to solve the problem of the losses. And it is this very moment when the real fraudulent practices of Olympu s started, to cover the losses of the last decade of the twentieth century.Tobashi Schemes It was much more difficult now to hide the losses for the public. Hideo Yamada, in that time a former full-time auditing officer at Olympus, was the chief of Olympus’ general affairs and financial department. He consulted, together with his subordinate Hisashi Mori, two officials of an consultancy firm. Together they decided to hide the losses with a Tobashi scheme. They transferred Olympus’ losses to some funds they had established right before March 1998 at the Cayman Islands, named Quick Progress and Central Forest.These companies were not consolidated with the Olympus’ financial statements, so such assets transferred there would not show up on Olympus’ balance sheets. By moving the assets for only short amounts of time, right before the financial year ended, they managed to keep these assets hidden for several years, including the losses they were incurring on t hem. Additionally, rumors are that Olympus reported several non-existing foreign bank accounts in order to conceal it’s usage of fake transactions. Additionally, several of these loss-incurring investments were moved to Axes America and it’s Cayman Islands-based subsidiary AXAM Invest Ltd.Signs of the fraud came to light when Olympus wanted to pay back these losses to AXAM by hiring them as consultants for the takeover of Gyrus. For this takeover, AXAM was paid an exorbitant fee totaling $687 million. This consisted $67 million in cash and another $177 million in preferred shares, which Olympus repurchased two months later for $620 million. This repurchase of shares also increased the goodwill on Olympus’ balance sheet by $435 million (Woodford, 2011). Gyrus was not the only dubious acquisition of Olympus.Throughout the years they had acquired many companies, most of the time for a very high price or by paying exorbitant fees to consultants. Another example is t he acquisition of Altis, Humalabo and News Chef. Between May 2006 and April 2008 Olympus acquired the majority controlling interest in these three companies. They paid approximately $773 million for the companies (? 73,419 million). The purchases were completed in April 2008. In the same fiscal year, ending in March 2009, the investment in these three companies was written down as follows: [pic]Figure 3: Altis, Humalabo and News Chef impairments (source: Letter from Woodford to Olympus Board, 2011) So the total investment in Altis, Humalabo and News Chef was almost $800 million, but within a year is was written down with almost $600 million to only 25% of the original value. This is of course an extraordinary goodwill impairment for such a short amount of time (Woodford, 2011). Whistleblower In April 2011, Michael Woodford became the first ever non-Japanese president and Chief Operating Officer (COO). October 1st 2011 he also became CEO of Olympus, replacing Kikukawa in that positio n.But within two weeks, October 14th, he was fired as CEO of the company. The Japanese Board stated that is was because of the differences in management style, that Woodford as an Englishman could not really understand the Japanese business culture. Woodford himself stated that the story told by the board was not true. According to him he was fired because of the fact that he investigated the M&A fees of several acquisitions, especially the acquisition of Gyrus (Voigt, K. , January 2012). Woodford started questioning some of the M&A fees paid after he read an article in FACTA on July 30th about a dubious acquisition by Olympus, namelyGyrus. Upon this he contacted Kikukawa and Mori and demanded answers about the fees paid. He wrote several letters, explaining his concerns about the governance issues, but he never got any real answers. He threatened to resign if he did not get an explanation about the M&A fees. Little later, he was named the new CEO of the company. Understanding quick ly that this promotion was only done to silence him, he hired PwC to investigate the fees without informing the board about this investigation. After the report of PwC was completed, Woodford sent the report to the Olympus Board and to Ernst&Young, auditors of Olympus.On an emergency board meeting on October 14th he was dismissed (Bacani, 2011). The directors of Olympus denied the accusations of Woodford for a few weeks, even blaming him for the decline of the stock price. On October 26 Kikukawa resigns as CEO and president, and he is replaced by Shuichi Takayama. In the week of 6 November 2011 president Takayama made public that he had been informed by the now-dismissed Mori about the cover-up schemes. He explained that he had known absolutely nothing about these schemes and that Kikukawa, Mori and Yamada were not responsible for the initial losses, but had only tried to hide the losses.Yamada, the auditor of Olympus, had resigned a week earlier. One week after Woodfords firing, on October 21st, the stock price of Olympus had fallen from $32 to $16. The chart below makes clear that the stock price would drop much further. In the week of 6 November, when Olympus admitted the fraud, the stock price declines to $6. 3 per share. The scandal caused the stock price to drop with almost 80% (Yahoo Finance, 2012). [pic] Figure 4: Olympus Stock Price (Source: Yahoo Finance) Legal Actions Of course, these types of fraud with such an impact cannot go unpunished.In February 2012, seven men were arrested for the fraud, including Kikukawa, Mori and Yamada (CNN Voigt, February 2012). They were arrested on suspicion of filing false financial statements to cover up the enormous losses from the past in 2006 and 2007. Kikukawa is seen as the main suspect in this case. Separately from these accusations, the company Olympus as an entity is also charged for the falsification of the financial statements. Later on, four of the seven men were rearrested for falsification in other year s, namely 2009, 2010 and 2011 (Hasegawa, 2012).Japanese lawyers have said that the executives can face up to ten years in prison or a fine of about $125,000. If found guilty, the firm faces a fine of almost $9 million. The trial of the Olympus officers has not started yet, so it cannot be said what the final judgment will be (Reuters, 2012). On April 20th 2012, investors approved of a complete new Board of Directors, hoping that the company now can start with rebuilding its image and shareholders’ trust, and that they can finally leave these rumorous years behind (Olympus Corporation, 2012). 1. 3Analysis of the eventsAlready in 1986, the then-CEO said to press that â€Å"in difficult times, companies will have to use financial engineering in order to make a profit†, referring to the use of Tobashi-schemes to hide incurred losses or even inflate profits. In the Japanese investment climate at the time, there was little regulation on this â€Å"flying away† of loss es incurred on bad investments, and it was in fact even popular in the ‘80’s, with certain production companies come to be nicknamed banks because their financial incomes exceeded their operational incomes (Dymski & Isenberg, 2002).This was made possible by the so-called zaitech (literally: financial engineering) system which was caused by the extremely low interest rates and high accessibility of credit, which made it easy for companies to raise money to invest in speculative market activities. This led to an upward spiral of increasing stock prices, enabling companies to obtain more capital, perform more risky investments, which again led to a increase in stock value enabling the companies to report more (speculative) profits, which closes the circle by increasing the company value and enabling them to obtain more capital (Haramis, 2007).Another factor contributing in this was that a lot of these securities issued were convertible bonds. Japanese investors customarily did not take into account the possible dilution of shares caused by convertible bonds, and thus the emission of convertible bonds did not cause a decline in the price of shares (Smith, 1994). Even if the zaitech would lead to a loss, the system of Tobashi would make it possible for firms to hide the losses. With Tobashi, the investment houses could reimburse the losses to their clients in loan-like constructions which would eventually need to be repaid.These loans often involved moving the loss-giving assets into special purpose vehicles (SPV’s). These SPV’s had non-synchronous financial year-ends, allowing the losses to be kept off the books by moving around the assets. The feeling of being unable to lose was also reinforced by investors. This is described as follows:â€Å"[†¦] the Banking Bureau instructed firms to postpone the introduction of lower cost accounting until April 1, 1988. Because of this, companies did not need to write down the loss and life-ins urance companies did not have to sell stocks in mass quantities.In this way, the MOF succeeded in preventing share prices from declining. After that, stock prices surged remarkably. This was because these measures by the MOF to contain the markets made investors believe that the ministry would never let stock prices slump. † (Kamikawa, February 2010) It was not until the end of 1989 that the Japanese government interceded in this bubble by raising the interest rates, which ultimately led to the collapse of the zaitech-bubble and eventually even the 1990’s recession in Japan (Smith, 1994). Olympus partook in this as well in the 1999’s by hiding the ? 0bn ($241mln) losses incurred while investing in a venture capital fund in 1999 owned by investment house Nomura. One of the owners of Nomura was Nobumasa Yokoo. This loss never showed up in the financial statements, but was uncovered during investigation by external audit firm PwC, which was hired by whistle-blowing director Woodford. ‘Coincidentally’, Yokoo was also shareholder in 3 companies (News Chef, Altis and Humbalabo) which Olympus acquired in the 2007 – 2010 period for ? 73. 4bn. Only 6 months later, these were impaired by ? 55. bn (75%) because â€Å"the business prospect diverged from the assumption at the time of investment†. Investigation into these investments is yet to be launched officially, but suspicions are that this is also another attempt at repayment for a Tobashi scheme. Chapter 2 2. 1Evaluation/recommendations for the control environment The control environment is an essential part and basis for the internal control system within a company. A firm may have enhanced control activities and monitoring procedures but without properly established control environment all the control component would be futile.In 1992 COSO released their Internal Control – Integrated Framework, which states that control environment â€Å"sets the tone of an org anization, influencing the control consciousness of its people† (COSO, 1992), provides foundation for other components of internal control. Control environment includes integrity and ethical values, commitment and competence of the company’s personnel, Board of Directors and Audit Committee participation, management philosophy and operating style, organizational structure and human resource policies, assignment of authority and responsibility by management.In 2004 COSO published Enterprise Risk Management – Integrated Framework, which expands on internal control and focuses more on enterprise risk management. Framework contains definition of internal environment, which â€Å"encompasses the tone of an organization, and sets the basis for how risk is viewed and addresses by an entity’s people† (COSO, 2004). We will address the elements of the control environment and internal environment to the Olympus case under investigation using the seven principl es for control environments as guidance (Streng, 2011).Alongside an evaluation addressing these elements, we will give our recommendations for improving them. Organizational Structure Evaluation The Olympus Corporate Strategic Plan slogan which is actively promoted within the company is â€Å"Advancing to the Next Stage of Globalization† (Olympus Corporation, 2010). Based on this slogan the company rejuvenated its management structure in April 2011 by introducing new management rules, restructuring information-related operations and administration, shifting focus to overseas operations and reviewing the cost structure.These changes can suggest the considerable flexibility of the organization in following the chosen strategy. The overall organization structure described in the part about â€Å"The Board of Directors and Audit Committee† seems quite elaborate for such kind of company as Olympus. Information about the key managers’ responsibility cannot be found in the public sources; therefore we cannot evaluate how adequate they are and whether managers have a proper understanding of them.Nevertheless, this organizational structure which seems to be thoroughly established did not prevent the fraud, because of the involvement of almost all top officials in it – 19 people were sued in covering-up losses and some of them are still the part of the firm’s management (Buerk, 2012) Recommendations The basics of internal controls are all there in Olympus, with collusion being the main reason why the fraud could continue for so long without any detection. The new management rules which were implemented in 2011 were a good start, were it not for that the board did not follow the newly implemented rules themselves.Best would be to completely remove any ties between the internal auditors and the board, so that the internal auditors can audit the board more effectively and without interference by executives. In a construction like this, th e internal audit department would only have their responsibility to the general meeting of shareholders, preventing possible future collusion. Board of Directors and Audit Committee Evaluation The corporate governance structure of Olympus consists of two organs.The first of these is the Board of directors, which meets frequently and is tasked with supervising and auditing the performance of executives and internal auditors. The second is the Board of auditors, tasked with the audit of the performance of the executives and advising the board of directors. The division between executive and non-executive directors is an important internal control procedure in enhancing the separation of duties for monitoring and decision-making, and should increase independence between the board and management.The general meeting of shareholders has the final decision on the appointing of directors, internal and external auditors and remuneration, ensuring a separation of duties. The remuneration of d irectors is based on their performance, which is measured by the balance score card (BSC) system on the degree to which the goals are achieved in four dimensions (financial, customer service, business operation process, growth potential). Concerning the knowledge and expertise of directors, we can conclude that, based on the publicly available information, the directors of the company are highly qualified and experienced.Also this conclusion can be confirmed by the resumes of the directors, who have all been involved with the company for a significant number of years, often a majority of their lifetime. This can however also be a weakness, because they may miss a fresh view on the company. The Olympus scandal showed existence of strong ties and cooperation between the Board of directors, banks, investment bankers and accounting firms in conducting fraud and their attempts to hide it (Yasu, 2012). Proper control environment should include directors who are independent from management , trade partners and other parties (Maitland, 2012).Recommendations In the case of Olympus the chairman of the board of directors was the same man as the CEO. We think this is a part of getting a huge scandal like this one. The Board of directors should determine whether or not the CEO is independent in character and in judgment (Financial Reporting Council, 2010). But in Olympus, the chairman of the board would therefore be required to evaluate himself on his own independence, character and judgment. Seeing as this is impossible the UK CG code proscribes a segregation of duties between these two positions.Even though this would not directly apply to Olympus operating under Japanese law, it is very probable that the Japanese CG code also sports at least an advice for this. Thus we would recommend for Olympus to have two different independent people fulfilling these functions. Furthermore we think that the people within the board and people with other top functions were too long hold ing the same position at the company. This makes the board less independent and will make the chance of fraudulent actions higher, even when some executive people left they came back at the company in another function like Kikukawa did.Kikukawa was first the CEO and president of the board, and returned as an auditing officer after his dismissal. This led him to be able to review his own work as CEO. We recommend that Olympus reassigns its board members and that people within this board should not have other important functions for at least several years. The UKCG Code advises for board members not to stay on for longer than 9 years (Financial Reporting Council, 2010). This makes it harder to perform fraudulent actions because people can't rely on the new people to participate in the fraud. This will also more often give shareholder control over the actions of the board.Additionally, they cannot get â€Å"rusted into habits†. However, as the entire board, including non-executi ves, and the internal auditors were involved in the fraud scheme, we have doubts whether any amount of internal control could have prevented this fraud. Management Philosophy and Operating Style Evaluation In this section we will pay attention to the management philosophy, including risk attitude and management approaches. The Olympus Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report 2011 gives us insight into which management insights considers the most important for the company.It is stated that for the company the main focus is not on the profit but on the â€Å"win-win relationships† with stakeholders based on mutual trust. Management philosophy in the company is based on â€Å"Social IN† through which company incorporate social values into the company’s activities. (Olympus Corporation, 2011b) The CSR Concept of the Olympus Group establishes the ways in which the company can make its contribution to society (through business and other voluntary activities) and s tates the company’s duties responsibilities to society through compliance with laws, regulations and business ethics.Olympus not only states their views on how the business should be conducted but also communicates them but means of policies. For example, to act on behalf of the customer the company established Protection Policy; with respect to human rights the Human Rights and Labor Policy was implemented. These policies and philosophies are incorporated in the daily business activities. All the means and processes mentioned above create an impression that the Olympus Company has a strong attitude towards corporate values and uses strictly stated procedures to bring them into everyday business life.Olympus established a system of committees to employ more comprehensive approach towards risks and to analyze, evaluate and manage them (see Figure 2: Olympus Risk Management System on the next page), such as a Risk Management Committee (to decide on the risk management policies and on proper responses for the risks faced by company, chaired by the president), a Risk Management Bureau (to collect and evaluate information regarding risks, to develop counter measures and ensure their effectiveness) and a Business Continuity Plan (to ensure devotion to its management policy in emergency cases, to be prepared to such cases).Recommendations However, despite all these internal controls, the fraud still managed to occur and persist through collusion of the board of directors. Not any amount of internal controls would be able to prevent such a fraud, as the board can always override these controls. This can especially be seen in Figure 6, where the president is depicted as the Risk Management Leader, all the while it was the president who was the center point of the fraud. However, one can limit the options for fraud by non-executive management significantly.The processes and policies established by Olympus already give a good head start, but key to success of them is support by management. Not in word, but also in deed. Every in-house department and affiliate company should establish its own risk management structure and all the uncovered significant risks should be immediately reported to the president and Risk Management Committee. [pic] Figure 6: Olympus Risk Management System (Source: Olympus CSR Report 2011) Assignment of Authority and Responsibility EvaluationThe company established a thorough corporate governance system with stringent monitoring, auditing, evaluating and reporting responsibilities. There are various committee structures ensuring compliance and effective internal controls in all the business activities and a lot of attention is paid to compliance with norms, laws and regulations. The Boards of directors plays an important role in establishing of company strategy, making decisions about main management issues and monitoring the fulfillment of decisions made and strategies established, while leaving the day-to-day manage ment to the company managers.A special Committee, consisting of outside directors and auditors, takes advisory responsibility concerning the most important deals. Public sources do not provide information about the employee job descriptions, therefore in it hard to evaluate thoroughly appropriateness of the responsibility assignment. The firm documents also do not contain the information regarding the number of people with respect to data processing and accounting functions, which also does not allow us to get a better grasp on the actual situation within the company. RecommendationsThe company already has developed a thorough corporate governance system with stringent responsibilities. There are still some recommendations like competency controls. This is a formal control since it verifies whether organizational activities are conducted in conformity with applicable procedures and requirements (Vaassen, Meuwissen, & Schelleman, 2009). So these controls can be used to prevent unauth orized employees gaining access to certain areas or assets they should not supposed to have access to. For these competency controls to work correctly strict procedures and requirements have to be well formulated and established.We therefore recommend Olympus to have strict procedures and have competence controls using these procedures. For responsibility we think it is important for Olympus to have clear function descriptions in which the responsibilities for that particular function are described. Human Resource Policy and Practices Evaluation The Olympus Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2011 states that human resource management systems are based on the belief that a company’s performance consists not only of its business results but also of the growth gained by each individual employee.The company established a thorough Human Rights and Labor policy stressing the most important issues in this area and developed a CSR Educational Cube (see right) to raise awareness o f compliance, CSR initiatives and enhance communication within the organization. The company introduced various initiatives concerning HRM including internal job-seeking, individual career planning, skill development, newly appointed executives trainings, occupational safety programs, physical and mental health consultations, and a so-called ‘Welfare Cafeteria Plan’.All of these activities serve the goals of enhancing employees performance and their commitment to the company. Concerning the reward systems, there are established procedures for annual paid holidays and bonuses. Company CSR Report states that salaries and bonuses reflect each individual’s activities and contributions; the bonus funds are linked to business results. Company also use a so-called Advanced Technician/Engineer Incentive System to ensure improvements of the technical and practical skills of engineers and serve the innovation basis for the company activities (Olympus Corporation, 2011b).Re commendations Vaassen et al, 2009, p. 203, Describes that Human resource management processes generally consists of recruiting and selecting employees, educating and training employees, assigning tasks to employees, evaluating employee performance, employee remuneration and employee termination. Some of these aspects can be found at Olympus but not all yet. An recommendation on this part is that for each employee there is a personnel file available.This file will consist of data of the employee right before starting at the company such as address, number and contract information, but it is also important to keep this file updated with the employee performance, evaluation, payroll and career advancements. Also when the employee participates in education and training programs this needs to be included. This file needs to be available to managers because managers can use this file to assign tasks to their employees. Another recommendation to Olympus is to evaluate their employees on a regular basis.This evaluation needs to provide feedback to the employee about their job effectiveness and career guidance, because this will motivate the employees. This evaluation needs to be done by the functional manager together with the human resources manager. Then finally it is important for Olympus to have procedures in place for terminating dysfunctional employees. When during the evaluations turns out that the employee is not performing as it should be, there needs to be a plan for improvement made by the superior of the employee and the human resource manager.This plan needs to be communicated to the employee. After this the two officers needs to monitor the employee to see if there is improvement. Integrity and Ethical Values Evaluation The Olympus scandal, and even more the scale of it, points out that ethical values are very important for companies. It is not enough to just have a code of conduct or an ethics committee. The company should also live to the ethical guide lines. And if even the directors do not behave ethically, how could they expect the employees to behave ethically? In theory Olympus has done a good job on the ethical part.They have got several codes on ethical behavior and moral values and there is a committee about this. But just the existence is not enough. It is clear that there was no correct ‘tone at the top’. It could be recommended to start at the top of the company, because once the directors show moral and ethical behavior and give guidance to what is right and wrong, the employees might act the same. Recommendations Part of the board of directors was replaced, but several key figures are still in place after the scandal, even though it is known that they were (or should have been) aware of the fraud going on right in front of them.We would therefore recommend that the remaining directors are also replaced, which would give a good signal to both shareholders and employees alike that it’s time for a fre sh start. It is also important that the attitude to mistakes or misbehavior is reasonable. Of course, the effects of a mistake may be huge, but the reaction to it must be reasonable. Otherwise, people will try to hide their mistakes. Especially in a business culture like the one in Japan, this may be very hard to implement, because it is considered discrediting the company if one makes mistakes or causes significant losses.As such there must be clear and reasonable consequences to misbehavior or overriding established controls in order to diminish the amount of secrecy around losses, mistakes or ethical misbehavior. Furthermore, the code of conduct and the ethical and moral values should be known and implemented. Not only the employees, but especially the directors should be aware of it and behave as demanded, to set an example and prevent scandals like this. Commitment and Compliance Evaluation Overall Olympus developed a thorough approach for recruitment and promotion.They establi shed company Human Rights and a Labor Policy and requires from all the employees high commitment to company values. To promote the company values, Olympus holds meetings with their employees and gives trainings to the employees. This can be seen in the Corporate Social Responsibility Report of 2011 which contains methods for developing a culture based on putting the customer first. To achieve this Olympus has chosen to instill the attitude of thinking from the perspective of the customer in every employee by providing special courses at all the levels in the company including newcomers.So Olympus facilitates skill development (Olympus college, Advanced Engineer Incentive System) to equip their employees with the skills they need to work successfully. At the company group level a Safety & Health and a Ethical Conduct Promotion Committee was established to enhance safety & health and to reduce ethical problems for all the employees within the group. Recommendation Olympus already does a lot to promote their company values as described above. Also by meetings with the employees the commitment will be better.For commitment it is also important to have good guidance by superiors, therefore our recommendations on this part are similar to the ones of human resource policies. Something that can be added in this part is that the education programs employees can perform are specially for those employees, so the programs needs to fit with the employee and their career changes. This will make the employee more committed to the company. 2. 2Recommendations for control activitiesIn this paragraph we will assume that all the recommendations for the control environment has been taken into account and that Olympus has implemented those recommendations. Now we will look at recommendations for the control activities. We first need to know what control activities are. According to Streng, 2011, p. 49: † Control activities are the formal policies and procedures that help an organization ensure that objectives are being achieved and are achievable. The scandal started with speculative investments which caused a loss of $730 million.Therefore Olympus should implement control activities to ensure that this cannot happen again. First of all the company should not invest in investments that are riskier (too speculative) than they prefer. They have to decide for themselves what their risk appetite is and cut out the investments that are too risky. To make sure that such investments will be left out, Olympus needs a risk assessment report for the investment. This report needs to be approved by the management which will make the investment, but also by the higher management of the company.This will make the chance of big losses smaller. Thereby comes the fact that segregation of duties is important. The scandal was caused because higher management approved or even initiated very risky investments, so there must be someone independent to check on the investment s. After having the investment approved the investment still needs to be monitored on a frequent basis. This is because there is still a chance of a loss or that the it actually was a wrong investment. Results of the monitoring activities also need to be communicated to the higher management so that they can intervene if necessary.The decision to intervene needs to be made by someone that is independent of the investment department, so that this decision will not be influenced. Than the auditor needs to check if there are risk assessment reports for the investments which Olympus decided to invest in and also that the higher management approved of these investments. Further the auditor needs to check if monitoring is done frequently and have to look at the decisions made by higher management on the basis of the monitoring activities.So for instance if these decisions are made by a independent person. We also like to advise Olympus to have strict procedures for when to abandon an inve stment, so that it will not be possible that after a loss incurred the investment stays in the portfolio in the hope that this investment will become profitable in the future and actually becomes more loss making. Furthermore it is important that Olympus only has employees in the investment department that are capable of making the right decisions and have the right knowledge of how to monitor and when to intervene.In order to do so, Olympus must have strict recruiting policies and offer education and training to their personnel. Only then they can be sure, to a certain level, that their investors are capable of investing, know what they are doing and what risk they can take. With the continuous stream of new, complex financial products it is very important that the employees of Olympus are highly educated and have up to date knowledge. Apart from the investment department, every employee of Olympus should be aware of the Code of Ethics, including the management.Finally, it is impor tant that there is an effectively working control IT system. A proper working system should be able to detect extraordinary high fees paid to e. g. consultants, extreme impairments on recently acquired companies and the transfer of money or losses to recently set up funds in dubious places (one has to admit that funds on the Cayman Islands should have raised some questions immediately). Once a proper IT control system is implemented it should be very hard for the directors to act as secretive as they did during the scandal. Chapter 3 3. 1ConclusionThe Olympus scandal became one of the largest loss-concealment schemes in Japan, routed back in the 1990’s. We conducted our research regarding this scandal starting from the company's history and organizational issues. Then we gave insight into the scandal itself, followed by the investigation and statements of recommendations for control environment and control activities. The control environment in the Olympus company was forming and developing throughout the years of the company's existence and various control activities were established. Nevertheless, it was not enough to prevent fraudulent actions.Therefore based on our research the following procedures can be recommended regarding the control environment: revision of the company’s organizational structure to guarantee auditor’s independence, reassignment of all board members involved in the scandal, implementation of procedures to ensure â€Å"real† compliance with corporate policies at all levels, enhancement of HRM policies and practices to ensure high qualification and commitment of personnel. Moreover, strict procedures, control activities and regular monitoring over investments should be developed within the company, to eliminate chances of such fraudulent situation in the future.A good ethics lesson can be learnt from the Olympus case. Collusion within the company's top officers could hardly be prevented by internal control me chanisms. Therefore the Olympus scandal is a very representative example for the regulators to direct their efforts. 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Retrieved May 9, 2012, from Bloomberg: http://www. bloomberg. com Appendix Appendix IOlympus Timeline Appendix IIOlympus Corporate Governance Facts Main facts about the Boards of Directors (BD): †¢ 15 members (incl uding 3 outside directors) Meets once per month to make decisions about the business strategy and other current management issues and to control over the fulfillment of decisions made and strategies established †¢ Outside directors taking part in the BD meetings as members of the Special Committee[1] †¢ Executive Management Committee is formed at the company to facilitate President and COO decision making (meets 3 times per month) †¢ The term of office of directors has been set to 1 year to enhance their accountability (their performance is assessed annually) †¢ To enhance eligibility and expertise inside directors participate in seminars outside the company Main facts about the Board of Auditors: 4 auditors (including 2 outside auditors) †¢ meets 1 time per month †¢ audit management’s daily activities (for instance, director performance) †¢ participate in important company meetings (including BD meetings), they share their opinion concernin g the questions under the discussion with executive officers, subsidiary’s auditors, Internal Audit Department and accounting auditors †¢ The Board of Auditors shares its views with the President four times per year and with all other directors (excluding outside directors) and executive officers once a year. †¢ Outside auditors participate in the Board of Directors meetings as members of Special Committee.They give the company advices concerning the questions of large-scale acquisition of shares (over 20 %). Outside auditors have possibilities to visit the plants and research centers to deepen their knowledge about the company. ———————– [1] Japanese Corporate Law does not require companies with auditor have outside director within the Board of Directors. Olympus appointed Rikiya Fujita (doctor of medicine), Masanobu Chiba (career as a director of Nikkei Inc. and its group companies) and Junichi Hayashi (career as director of investment consulting company) ———————– Figure 5: Zaitech Bubble Figure 7: CSR Educational Cube (Source: Olympus CSR Report 2011)