The Alcan Case Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

The Alcan Case - Coursework Example Advantages and Disadvantages of the current Alcon technology infrastructure When Robert Ouellette joined Alcan as the Vice President - Corporate IT, the company was found to spend 80 % of its annual IT budget on external consulting and outsourcing services and also on hardware equipment and software. The annual budget for technology infrastructure was estimated to be around $76 million. Alcan had a complex technology infrastructure to support its diverse business operations. This consisted of 400 network sites and six main data processing centres. Under this regime, Alcan also used extensive hardware equipment including 3,000 servers, 31,500 personal computers and about 9,000 laptops. In addition, the IT employees had to manage information in 30,000 voicemail boxes and also answer 3,700 calls per month. To facilitate the smooth functioning of such technology infrastructures, Alcan had forged partnerships with numerous IT firms. Thus the current technology infrastructure included a range of diverse equipments. The company’s network was extremely complex in nature. Alcan had developed clusters of interdependent sites through a period of continuous acquisitions. Different suppliers provided service on these networks: it included big suppliers like MCI, Equant, Bell, Videotron as well as small local suppliers. In order to access the central network one had to go through many of these interdependent sites which were linked to a master site which in turn was linked to another master site that was finally connected to the main network of the company. So, a person wanting to access the company network had to go through a number of sites before that. As Alcan increased its acquisitions and sales, the clusters of these sites also multiplied in number. Gradually the whole system became so complicated that it started giving rise to instabilities within the network. It was hard to predict the after effects of removing even one single link, but it could be safely presumed that the consequences w ould be difficult to manage. (Dube, Bernier, Roy 2009, p8) Alcan had contracts with six different companies till 2009 for managing its six main data processing centres. They included the Hewlett Packard and the T-Systems in Germany, the T-Systems in Paris, the IBM in Toronto, the CGI in Montreal and the CGI in Saguenay. Thus, a lot of time and resources were spent in managing these different contracts. Gradually, the responsibility of simultaneously managing the six data processing centres required a greater amount of technical expertise than that which was already available within Alcan. (Dube, Bernier, Roy 2009, p8) Advantages and Disadvantages of the new Alcon technology infrastructure Alcan started implementing an infrastructure standardization plan in 2003 after it had acquired Pechiney. Under the regime of the new technology infrastructure, an Infrastructure Shared Service Centre was first set up for bringing the networks, servers and workstations to a common platform and thus decrease the complexity of the existing technological installations. Though the operations of the different business groups varied widely from each other, their technology infras

Personal Development Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Development Planning - Assignment Example According to the report findings the most important part of a student’s personal development planning is the communication skills. Communication skills according to Smith, is not only about talking to fellow students and tutors but listening to them as well. Listening is a very powerful tool for a student as it is through listening that they learn the art of patience as well as end up learning more than they already know. A student has to for example, listen to the professor in class, if they are to learn the concepts of the course. Communication is a two-way process, which is listening and talking.As the discussion highlights communication skills also incorporate non-verbal form of communication. When one is communicating with classmates or others that will aid in developing their future goals or in capitalizing their strengths, they can rely heavily on their non-verbal communication to know whether they are on the right track or not. In communicating goals to mentors for exa mple, they may praise the goals verbally but their facial expressions are different and indicate otherwise. This way one learns that they need to make changes. This constant relying on both the verbal and non-verbal form of communication is what eventually leads to a student having strong reflection as well as address their weak areas as a way to have stringer future with more developed and realistic goals that can be easily attainable.  

Compare and Contrast between Ethics and Law Essay

Compare and Contrast between Ethics and Law - Essay Example The fundamental purpose of both ethics, as well as the Law, is to moderate the behavior of the individual in the society. Both seek to regulate misguided human emotions from causing harm to the society and himself. Ethics has generally been considered as the â€Å"law of nature† or the â€Å"law of God†. From the beginning of civilization, man has always come to realize the dichotomy of right and wrong which is demonstrated by the universal thread of morality that runs through the worlds’ diverse cultures. Law in the present age has come to be extremely diversified. There is now a corporate lawyer to govern the interactions of business organizations, a civil law to tackle general affairs, international law to deal with the affairs of sovereign states and intellectual property law to deal with knowledge and knowledge dissemination. Correspondingly, there has come to be a Business ethics, biomedical ethics, corporate ethics and so on. All legal systems are derived from ethical systems of one kind or the other. Just as there are dissensions in the interpretations of the law, there are also different kinds of ethics. Hedonism, Cyrenaic Hedonism, Epicureanism, stoicism, utilitarian ethics, realism etc have extended their influence on significant subsections of the intellectual globe. This apparent absence of unity does not nullify the content of either law or ethics. It has been commented upon by various authors, that the ultimate interpretation of any law or statute rests on the presiding judge. In making his individual ruling, the judge relies to a large extent on his ethical convictions. In the famous Roe Vs Wade trial pertaining to the legality of abortion, five  judges ruled in favor while three dissented. These judges no doubt knew that there were no legal grounds to deny an abortion in the specific trial but they considered it a breach of morality to deny the right to life of a potential human being.

Paying less for fashion Essay Example for Free

Paying less for fashion Essay Mr. Rubel, a director of SUPERVALU since 2010, serves as a Senior Advisor with TPG Capital, a leading global private investment firm with $49 billion of capital under management. Until 2011 Mr. Rubel was the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Collective Brands, Inc., the holding company for Payless ShoeSource, Collective Brands Performance Lifestyle Group and Collective Licensing International and a leader in lifestyle, fashion and performance brands for footwear and related accessories. Mr. Rubel joined Collective Brands in 2005 as Chief Executive Officer and President. Among many qualifications, Mr. Rubel brings significant retail and branding experience and experience as a chief executive officer of a large public company, including managing a significant business transformation. Mr. Rubel is a Director and serves as Chairman of the Governance Committee for The Hudson Bay Company. From 2005 until 2011, Mr. Rubel was a director of Collective Brands, Inc., and from 2006 to 2008, Mr. Rubel was a director of Furniture Brands International, Inc., a company that designs, manufactures, sources and sells home furnishings. It is perhaps one of the most representatives CEO of the last years in the fashion world. Her task as leader of Payless has made this company become one of the largest distributors of shoes worldwide. He has managed to position it as one of the most attractive companies to work by the most renowned designers. His work in difficult times was very good and is redeemable know how tackle these big problems could redesign and rethink a new strategy in order to give it another go to Payless. Lela Rose After graduating from Parsons School of Design in 1993, she went to work with two esteemed designers, Richard Tyler and Christian Francis Roth. There she honed her love of couture fabric as well as fanatic attention to detail. In 1998, Lelas vision and passion compelled her to create her signature collection, Lela Rose. Through intricately designed and finely detailed separates, dresses and jackets, Lela has established herself as a renowned designer. The Lela Rose collection is built on a design philosophy of creating hand finished clothes that exude a casual luxury and refinement. The beautiful embellished fabrics are the foundation of this innovative collection and speak to the elegance of its personality with a nod to the era of glamour. Lela Roses collection has garnered her a following of trendsetters across the country. Lelas ready to wear apparel under the Lela Rose label is sold in more than 75 specialty stores nationwide, as well as Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and internationally in Canada, Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Taiwan and Japan. In Fall 2006, Lela Rose launched the Lela Rose Wedding collection. The collection is a pairing of unconventional fabrics and techniques that are trademarks of the designer. The impeccable quality and couture sensibility of these gowns make them one of a kind. The Lela Rose Wedding collection can be found in bridal boutiques nationwide as well as internationally. With the success of both collections, the Lela Rose brand expanded into footwear in the Fall of 2007. Rose partnered with Payless Shoesource to create the Lela Rose for Payless brand of fashion forward shoes at an extremely affordable price. This collection was followed up by Unforgettable Moments by Lela Rose, a collection of dyeable special occasion shoes that launched late in 2008. Both collections can be found in Payless stores nationwide. In 2009, Lela Rose announced she was launching Lela Rose Bridesmaid, a partnership with the Dessy Group. The Lela Rose Bridesmaid collection can be found in over 200 bridesmaid stores nationwide as well as in Canada and in the United Kingdom. Stacey Bendet. Stacey â€Å"Staceypants† Bendet was born Stacey Wiener in Chappaqua, New York. She graduated from Horace Greeley High School and went on to the University of Penn where she was a member of the gymnastics team. Stacey turned to a life of fashion after an interview on Wall Street. She rollerbladed to the interview in â€Å"orange pants and a fur bomber jacket† only to leave immediately after seeing her competition. Stacey then turned to the internet where she designed web sites for fashion houses. That designing led her and a friend to start â€Å"Alice + Olivia† with their first show involving models wearing â€Å"pants with Partridge Family–style vertical stripes and not much else besides some strategically placed bouquets.† The show was a success with requests from celebrities and stores like Fred Segal and Barneys, where she went on to be a pants designer, came pouring in. As with all of New York’s elite, rumors fly, but Bendet herself is responsible for the one about attending her yoga classes drunk. Also, some say she is reaping the benefits of her parents money and her partner is actually the talented one, while Bendet yells, makes people cry, and takes laxatives all day. Oh, the price one pays for being rich and famous. On the good side, Bendet reportedly does charity work for organizations like the New York Pubilc Library and Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Organization. Designer Stacey Bendet, designs the Alice + Olivia womens and kids collections in addition to a shoe collection for Payless. She has been on the Vanity Fair Best Dressed list for two years in a row. Last year, she was married to Eric Eisner, and the couple had their first child, Eloise Breckenridge Eisner, on November 24, 2008. Cristhian Siriano Designer old Christian Siriano hails from Annapolis, Maryland, and was educated at Baltimore School for the Arts and The American Intercontinental University, London. Inspired by McQueen and Westwood, he is a freelance designer who travels from New York City to Los Angeles to work with designer Rosetta Getty. Siriano’s career in design began when he was 13 years old, as he worked for a local salon where he created costumes for the yearly hair show competition. Upon graduating from the Baltimore School for the Arts, he moved on to study at the American Intercontinental University in London and consequently showcased his small collection on 2005’s London Fashion Week in Fall. He was then given the opportunity to work with Vivienne Westwood, and was consequently given a position at Alexander McQueen. Christian Siriano was one of fifteen hopefuls on season 4 of Bravo’s reality fashion competition, Project Runway. He won three challenges throughout the season: What are The Skinny, En Garde, and The Art of Fashion. At the reunion show, Christian won $10,000 as this seasons Fan Favorite. On the final episode, Christian was named the winner of Project Runway and guest judge Victoria Beckham asked him to design an outfit for her. They have since worked together and he has designed several outfits for her. He has been incredibly successful after the show, teaming up with Puma, Gaia Online, Payless Shoesource and Victoria’s Secret. Aside from launching his own make-up line, he has also penned a book called Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self. He later appeared on even more shows, including Make Me a Supermodel and Ugly Betty. In 2010, he starred in his own Bravo special called Christian Siriano: Having a Moment, which chronicled the time he spent preparing his collection for Fashion Week. Maxine Clark Maxine Clark is one of the true innovators in the retail industry. During her successful retail career, her ability to spot emerging retail and merchandising trends and her insight into the desires of the American consumer have generated growth for retail leaders, including department store, discount and specialty stores. In 1997, she founded Build-A-Bear Workshop ®, a teddy-bear themed retail-entertainment experience. Maxine was the Chief Executive Bear until June, 2013. Today there are more than 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores worldwide, including company-owned stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and franchise stores in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Mexico and the Middle East. The company extends its in-store interactive experience online with its award winning virtual world atbuildabearville.com. Isaac Mizrahi Isaac Mizrahi holds the distinction of being one of todays best-known American fashion designers. His fame comes from far more than his runway creations, however: Mizrahi is a bona fide celebrity who has applied his abundant energy to a number of diverse projects. In 1995, early in his career as a designer, he was the subject of a widely praised film documentary titled Unzipped. During 1997 he published a collection of three comic books under the title Isaac Mizrahi Presents the Adventures of Sandee the Supermodel. Two years after the 1998 closing of his high-priced clothing design business, Mizrahi explored his love of theater by crafting and starring in a one-man Off-Broadway cabaret show called Les Mizrahi. The following year he began hosting his own offbeat talk show, fittingly called The Isaac Mizrahi Show, on the cable network Oxygen. During 2004 Mizrahi returned to his fashion-design origins with the launch of two new ventures appealing to very different members of the buying public: an affordable yet fashionable line of clothing for discount retailer Target, and Isaac Mizrahi to Order, a company creating high-end custom-made clothing for consumers willing to spend $20,000 on a single dress. Through all of his various projects, Mizrahi has displayed a fun-loving, humorous, and adventurous style, proving that even high fashion need not take itself too seriously. Karl Lagerfield Is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He is the head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel as well as the Italian house Fendi, in addition to having his own label fashion house. Over the decades he has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects. He is well recognized around the world for his trademark white hair, black glasses, and high starched collars. Isabel Toledo Isabel Toledo was born in Cuba and moved to New Jersey where she attended high school and met her future husband and collaborator, Ruben Toledo. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology (NY) and Parsons School of Design (NY) where she studied painting, ceramics, and fashion design. An avid seamstress from a young age, Toledos work reflects not only a distinct design sense but a keen understanding of garment construction and appreciation for the geometric intricacies of pattern shapes. In 1985, Toledo presented her first collection. In 1998, she stopped presenting biannual collections, instead choosing to create on her own schedule. Toledo was named creative director of Anne Klein in 2006 after more than twenty years of working solely under her own name. Toledo made her debut with Anne Klein at New York Fashion Week in February 2007.[1] Toledo and Anne Klein parted ways later in 2007. ORGANIZATION INVOLVED COMPETITIVE COMPANIES Walmart: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., branded as Walmart, is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the worlds second largest public corporation, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2013, the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and is the largest retailer in the world. Walmart remains a family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family, who own a 48 percent stake in Walmart.[5][6] It is also one of the worlds most valuable companies. â€Å"Shoes Cost Less at Walmart From womens shoes, mens shoes to athletic shoes for the whole family, youll find all the shoes youre looking for at Walmart.com. Whether youre checking out the seasons hottest womens sandals or trying to find new kids shoes for their ever-growing feet, our selection of shoes has got it all covered. You can shop our shoes by category to discover everyday low prices on sneakers, styles under $10, work shoes and more. You can also shop our list of best-selling shoes to see the most popular trends of the season. So shop shoes at Walmart.com — and save† Target The Target Corporation, originally the Dayton Dry Goods Company and later the Dayton Hudson Corporation, is an American retailing company, founded in 1902 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, Walmart being the largest. The company is ranked 36th on the Fortune 500 as of 2013 and is a component of the Standard Poors 500 index. Its bullseye trademark is licensed to Wesfarmers, owners of the separate Target Australia chain which is unrelated to Target Corporation. The first Target store was opened in 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota. Target grew and eventually became the largest division of Dayton Hudson Corporation, culminating in the company being renamed as Target Corporation in August 2000. In 2013, Target expanded into Canada and now operates over 100 locations through its Canadian subsidiary. â€Å"if you’re looking for the latest styles in women’s shoes, Target has you covered. It’s a shoe–in! Pump it up with our wide selection of peep toes,slingbacks, heels and pumps that come in a variety of heights. Indulge in cool neutrals, or select styles in colors designed to pop. Want toshow off that kickin’ pedicure? A pair of strappy sandals will definitely give it the attention it deserves. Sandals with multi–tone designs, glamaccents or uber–cool prints–you name it, we have it. If you have a serious case of FLAT–itude, we also have a large collection of ballet shoes,moccasins, flats, boat shoes and more. Execute a perfect cha-cha or samba in footwear that screams endurance and comfort.† Kohls Kohls Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating 1,146 stores in 49 states as of February 2013. In 1998, it entered the SP 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500 (#146 in 2012). The chain was the 20th-largest retailer in the United States in 2013 in terms of revenue I.n 2011, Kohls was the second largest U.S. store company by retail sales. ASSOCIATED BRANDS Keds: Is an American brand of plimsoll-style canvas shoe with rubber soles. Keds were introduced in 1916 by U.S. Rubber (later known as Uniroyal, then Uniroyal Goodrich, and finally acquired by Michelin). The shoe brand was later acquired by Stride Rite Corporation and is currently owned byWolverine World Wide. When choosing a name, the initial choice was Peds, from the Latin meaning foot, but that name was already a trademark. Keds were first mass-marketed as canvas-top sneakers in 1960. They became known as sneakers because the rubber soles allowed sneaking around silently. In the 1960s and 1970s, Keds added to its range of casual shoes a line of athletic shoes called Pro-Keds for more serious use, specifically forbasketball. Keds have been used by many athletes. In countries like India or Soviet Union, Keds has been transformed into a generic brand and until recently any athletic shoe was customarily called a Keds. Keds are a staple at physical training classes in the school curriculum, and usually the students are needed to compulsorily wear the basic white Keds for their classes. â€Å"today, Keds is a head-to-toe fashion lifestyle brand fueled by a passion for imagination, inspiring a new generation of girls to stay authentic, optimistic and brave.† Sperry Top-Sider On an icy winters day in 1935, Paul Sperry watched in amazement as his cocker spaniel Prince ran across the icy New England landscape without slipping. Sperry, a former naval officer, avid sailor and part-time inventor, had been trying to design a proper shoe to safely navigate the slippery deck of his sloop, Sirocco. Nature and Princes paws provided the ultimate answer. Tooling a pattern in a rubber outsole similar to the wave-like grooves on Princes paws, Paul Sperry created a truly sea-worthy boat shoe. The first Sperry Top-Sider Authentic Original was officially launched and the worlds first boat shoe was born. Over 75 Years later, Sperry remains the vanguard of the nautical lifestyle. From the worlds first boat shoe to todays product collections featuring iconic design details, enduring style and the latest performance technologies, Sperry Top-Sider embodies a passion for the sea and the good life it represents. Tommy Hilfiger As one of the world’s leading lifestyle brands, Tommy Hilfiger delivers superior styling, quality and value to consumers worldwide. The band celebrates the essence of classic American cool and provides a refreshing twist to the preppy fashion genre. Since its debut in 1985, the Tommy Hilfiger Group has become a US$ 4.6 billon apparel and retail company by offering consumers a breadth of beautifully designed, high quality products including men’s women’s and children’s apparel, sportswear, denim, and range of licensed products such as accessories, fragrances and home furnishings. Kenneth Cole: Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. (NYSE: KCP) is an American fashion house founded in 1982 by Kenneth Cole. He originally named the company Kenneth Cole Incorporated in September 1982 and planned to showcase his new line of shoes during market week at the Hilton New York Hotel. Finding that he could not afford to purchase a hotel room or showroom to exhibit his line, he borrowed a truck and asked the mayor’s office for permission to park two blocks away from the Hilton Hotel in front of a fancy shoe building. Upon learning that permits were only granted to utility companies and production companies shooting full-length motion pictures, Cole changed the name of the company to Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. and applied for a permit to shoot a full-length motion picture entitled â€Å"The Birth of a Shoe Company†. With Kenneth Cole Productions painted on the side of the truck, they opened for business on December 2, 1982, in front of 1370 Avenue of the Americas. They had a fully furnished forty-foot trailer, klieg lights, a director, a rolling camera, models as actresses, and two NYPD policemen as doormen. A velvet rope allowed a limited number of people into the trailers and in two and a half days they sold forty thousand pairs of shoes. The company remains Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. to this day to honor this unusual beginning In 1985, Kenneth Cole opened his first store on Columbus Avenue in Manhattan, followed shortly thereafter by another store on Union Street in San Francisco. Kenneth Cole retail and Company Stores can now be found worldwide in countries such as Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, Israel,United, UnitedKingdom, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Australia and South Africa. Michael Kors Michael Kors (USA), Inc. designs and produces luxury accessories and sportswear for men and women in North America. The company offers dresses, tops, jeans and pants, skirts and shorts, outerwear, special sizes, swimming products, spring trends, and Michaels picks for women; handbags and small leather goods; shoes, including sandals, pumps, wedges, flats, and boots and booties; watches and jewelry; and accessories, such as belts and fragrance, and gifts. It also provides apparels, sunglasses, underwear, loungewear and sleepwear, and cologne for men. Michael Kors (USA), Inc. was founded in 1981 and is based in New York, New York with lifestyle stores in Edison, New Jersey; Paris, France; Vancouver, Canada; San Antonio, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; and Valencia, California. MAGAZINE ELLE Is a worldwide lifestyle magazine of French origin that focuses on fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the worlds bestselling fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hà ©là ¨ne Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means she. Today, it is the world’s largest fashion magazine, with 43 international editions in over 60 countries. Technologically speaking, the Elle brand is a global network encompassing over 33 websites. Subscriptions account for 73 percent of readers. There are 33 Elle websites globally, which collectively attract over 25 million unique visitors and 370 million page views per month[4] Elle reaches over 21 million readers. The vast majority (82 percent) of Elles audience are women between the ages of 18 and 49. Elle readers have a median age of 34.7 years. Forty percent of readers are single, and the median household income is $69,973. Our readers are young enough to think about life as an adventure and old enough to have the means to live it, said Robbie Myers, editor in chief. Elle owes its graphic signature to Art director Peter Knapp. Vogue Magazine is a fashion and lifestyle, which is published in many countries. It is a monthly publication aimed primarily at audiences interested in both fashion trends as lifestyle. It is considered the worlds most influential post that is published in 14 countries. The distributed Condà © Nast Publications, based in the U.S. city of New York. The first issue appeared on December 17, 1892. He began as a weekly, then biweekly, and monthly now. W magazine W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condà © Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1972 by the publisher of sister magazine Womens Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and thirteen inches tall. Stefano Tonchi is the editor of W; Nina Lawrence is the vice president and publisher. W magazine has a reader base of nearly half a million, 469,000 of which are annual subscribers. 80 percent of the magazines readers are female and have an average household income of $135,840. STRATEGY First, the company should focus on better understanding the customer and their needs. More research is needed regarding what the customer experience in stores and what else do they expect the company to deliver them , as the management of fashion products , can become boring for customers at some point and in some way go out of style to them , which will lead to other products in the competition. This as the company is focused on customers between 20 and 30 years who purchase a larger quantity of shoes, but also change their minds more often and is more difficult to retain segment. On this issue, it is important that the company generates strategies that allow customer loyalty so that they seek only Payless shoes and accessories in decreasing the risk of direct competition, the above is feasible to achieve to track the companys participation in fashion shows of the major cities , advertising in magazines and also a coupon , preferred customer cards and other attractions that help customers generate a high recall brand . On the other hand , it is important that the company also locate a focus on new segments and improved product offerings for men, older women, children and in general for the whole family . The company currently has an image of offering products for young people and their strategies focus on delivering products to other segments the sales of the company can significantly increase and improve margins for partners. The renewal of collections should go together a wide range of products throughout the time in which the collection is current , otherwise , customers come to the stores at the beginning of the collection and will be for them a novelty, but after half the time of the collection or the end of the sales may be affected because customers will not find novelty in products, then to keep sales constant is important that the company has a good assortment innovative shoes and accessories in the duration of each collection. This can be tricky to achieve particularly in relation to the management of production costs and also in terms of the distribution chain, in order to minimize these risks is of great importance generates a strict planning and control each of both design processes, such as production and distribution throughout the supply chain, which will have or maintain its current competitive advantage. Furthermore, the company must generate sound policy management of its human resources not only in their stores but also in the factories that produce as this can generate greater prestige to the business and attract more customers by empathy policy development on human resources and social responsibility. Question for Discussion 1. Which of the different product mix pricing strategies discussed in the text applies best to payless new strategy? Payless For two handled ways of pricing strategy. The first is the competitive pricing strategy, because the large surface chains were entering the business, had to maintain low costs with the mood of even remain competitive and thats when entering the second pricing strategy is the strategy. The psychological price was instrumental in the development of the new corporate strategy. The stores became much more comfortable and much more brands hired additional recognized and trusted, which generated a positive perception approaching clients. The company is returned much more competitive and achievement to establish a business model focused on the distribution of brands and innovative shoes thanks to the hiring of renowned designers worldwide. 2. How do concepts such as psychological pricing and reference pricing apply to the Payless Strategy? In what ways does the strategy deviate from these concepts? Customers know that when arriving at Payless can find brands and models of shoes from famous designers at prices much lower than in the normal market, but not only that determined the success of the company. Trust, responsibility, environment model shops and sell their shoes which have made ​​people detect a unique and innovative model to its most direct competition. The strategy can deviate from these concepts through customer care. People often need greater customer care and the fact that a model which provides the self does start losing attention to the wishes of the client. On the other hand need to have a large amount of supply. People seek innovation and variability Payless therefore has the obligation to renew its product portfolio much faster than the competition or their dealers themselves in order not to lose the appeal against their clients. http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/designers/stacey-bendet/ http://www.forbes.com/profile/matthew-rubel/ http://www.buddytv.com/info/christian-siriano-info.aspx http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/Mizrahi-Isaac.html http://www.walmart.com/cp/Shoes/1045804 http://www.target.com/c/women-s-shoes/-/N-5xtd2 http://www.keds.com/store/SiteController/keds/us_keds http://www.sperrytopsider.com/store/SiteController/sperry/History_sperry http://global.tommy.com/int/en/About/overview http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Cole_Productions http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=1007367 http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_(revista

Health And Illness Across The Lifespan Health And Social Care Essay

Health And Illness Across The Lifespan Health And Social Care Essay The Royal College of Nursing defines nursing as the use of clinical judgement in the provision of care to enable people to improve, maintain, or recover health, to cope with health problems, and to achieve the best possible quality of life, whatever their disease or disability, until death (RCN, 2003). This essay will look at the role as a nurse, in supporting an individual, the family or carer living with a person suffering from Alzheimers disease. Walkers, (2002) definition of Alzheimers is that of a degenerative brain disease, manifesting itself in premature ageing, with speech disorder and was first discovered by a German neurologist, Dr Alois Alzheimer who, in 1906, examined the brain of a patient he cared for who subsequently died of an unusual mental illness (dementia) at age 51. Her symptoms included memory loss, language difficulties, and unpredictable behavioural manner. After her death, Dr Alois Alzheimer examined her brain and found a plague like structure and tangled fil ament in the nerve (neurons) of the patient brain (Stanton, 2001). The plaques represent a naturally occurring sticky protein and the tangled filament represents collapsed tau proteins. Though Krebs, et al (2012) theory agrees with this that plaque clumps (now called amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibres (now called neurofibrillary tangles) accumulating in the brain triggers this disease, it has been called into question. Of today, Alzheimers is classified an unquantifiable science condition; which holds within its own right a large area of mental health. The definition of Walkers, (2002) degenerative refers to gradual deterioration; this means that this disease may be broken into gradual stages of early, middle and late. The early (onset) stage appears with symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, personality and behavioral changes, these normally occur between 2-4 years prior to and during diagnosis. The middle (progressive) stage has similar symptoms as the onset but with more obvious signs such as an increase of confusion, an increase of memory loss, difficulty in completing simple tasks, showing a decrease in communication skills and occasionally can at times appear to be delusional; this stage may be more distinct with language ability being decreased. This stage has a time frame of 2-10 years following diagnosis. The late (end) stage show symptoms that are more prominent than earlier stages, wi th the inability to care for oneself; with little or no communication ability, continence and inability to recognize loved ones, followed by death usually caused by infections. These symptoms may appear between 1-3 years after the disease has passed through its progressive stage as Gwythers (1985) cited by Gogia and Rastogi (2009). Though the cause of this disease is a common subject amongst scientist and physicians, it is believed that excessive intake of aluminium may be a key factor in acquiring this disease. In the 1960s and 1970s, research showed high aluminium levels in the brain tissues of some people who died with Alzheimers disease; this discovery spurred public concern that exposure to aluminium in our diet could be the cause of the disease (Rao and Rao 1995). Since then several scientific studies have examined the link between aluminium and Alzheimers, and none have found a clear association between them, Dean (2009). This contradicts Crapper et al (1976) that Aluminium h as been shown to be associated both, with plaques and tangles, in the brain of people with Alzheimers disease. There have been numerous studies among experts to resolve the issue in question, whether aluminium is in fact the cause of Alzheimers disease. This has been extremely difficult as this common disease is believed to have multiple causes, but while aluminium is widespread in our environment, there is no method that allows researchers to measure this individual burden or lifetime exposure to this element. Lliffe and Rusted, (2012) states that although no one single factor has been identified to be the cause of Alzheimers disease, it is likely that a combination of factors, including age, genetic inheritance, lifestyle and overall general health, are responsible. Even so, Alzheimers disease has a high impact on the aged population affecting around 496,000 people in the UK, with one in every fourteen people over the age of 65 and one in six over the age of 80, this shows that the greatest risk factor of Alzheimers is indeed old age. However, this disease is not restricted to the older generation; in the UK alone, there are over 17,000 people under the age of 65 living with the disease. (Ref) The Wife of United States former president Regan quoted: Alzheimer disease is a cruel disease that steals lives. Its hard to know what to expect. The years of exchanging memories of old age are gone. Its a long, long good-bye (Reagan, N. Cited in Brill, 2005). Burfoot, (2008) believes there are a minority that do not worry about getting Alzheimers disease; these include athletes which are at half the risk compared to that of the sedentary individual, studies have shown that they are showing lower risk for senile dementia and diseases like Alzheimers. Indeed, the chances of Alzheimers disease increases with each successive year of life after age 65. However, Alexander, (2009) believes that the disease is inevitable and is associated with the ageing population, particularly from the baby boom generation that came after the second world war and also due to the difference in medical care given by the National Health service (NHS) compared to health services that were available at this era, because of this people are living longer, and an increase in population means more people are making it to old age, but the reward for making it to old age is a gift of Alzheimers for 6 from every 100 people who gets past the age of 65, (Brody 2011). Though scientists have estimated that 496,000 people have Alzheimers disease in the United Kingdom alone and 22 million worldwide, the disease only affects about five percent of people ages 65 to 80 and nearly half the population of those 80 and older. Disturbingly, the disease is becoming even more common; statistics now show that the number of people with the disease doubles every five years among older people and failing to find a preventative or curative measure will be costly to society. Alzheimers disease not only affects the patient, but the society and family around them. Alzheimers disease slowly attacks the cognitive function, which is the higher thought processes. These individuals degenerate in such a way that they return to the stages of infantile dependents (Ref). While the lives of family members, especially those directly involved in the individuals care, are significantly impacted in many ways, caring for adults with a degenerative disease can be an extremely physically demanding task, Clark, (2001). For the primary caregiver involved in the day-to-day care, the disease can take its toll emotionally, physically, mentally and financially. The carer responsibility may even be extended for many years; of course this depends on what stage of Alzheimers the sufferer has been progressed to. The diagnosis of a parent or spouse with Alzheimers disease may also conjure up a number of mixed emotions; such as frustration, helplessness, or even guilt. The fact that it is a progressive and ultimately terminal illness can be difficult to grasp, Lu and Bludau (2011). To have a family member suffering from Alzheimers disease alters your life unavoidably, as the reversal of roles from being the child to the nurturing care provider can be unsettling and even overwhelming. The impact on the family can be quite difficult to witness, of watching a previously vibrant and independent parent decline over time to a former shadow of themselves and having to adjust to the increasing responsibilities as a caregiver can be psychologically demanding, as this role reversal usually occurs for spouses. For example a husband whose wife who has always managed the household may find himself having to take over this role, or vice versa. Children and grandchildren, nieces and nephew may find themselve s in this role. Whatever the make-up of the family, there is usually a role reversal, where someone to steps into the shoes of the caregiver, Lu and Bludau (2011). This is where a therapeutic relationship between the nurse, the family and patient has to be formed; this is a key component in the nursing profession that enables the best care possible is provided to an Alzheimers sufferer. However, before any treatment is given consent must be obtained (NMC, 2008) whether it may be from family members or clinicians caring for the patient on a day-to-day basis if the patient is unable. Making decisions for such person as long as its within their best interest and lacking the mental capacity to do so for themselves is acceptable, as the Mental Capacity Act (the Act) 2005 states any act done or decision made on behalf of an adult lacking capacity must be in their best interests. In the case of an Alzheimers sufferer, as their cognitive memory deteriorates, neglection and decision making for themselves becomes apparent, these patients becomes highly vulnerable, helpless and in a dependent position and looks to the nurse to uphold their dignity and res pect for their confidentiality, as stated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), a person must be treated with respect, dignity and has the right to confidentiality, NMC (2008). As quality of care not only depends on good healthcare but also on respect for the person as an individual DH, (2001). Teamwork in this sense also has a vital role, without this, communication between different agencies such as social services, and the multidisciplinary team which may involve psysiotherapy, psychologist and nutritionist. These skills together will identify the support needed to make sure treatment is patient-centered and also promotes a collaborative partnership between the patient and health professionals (Silverman et al, 2005), only then effective treatment can be achieved that is needed for an Alzheimers sufferer. As a nurse, one should have excellent communication skills, whether through speaking, writing, observing or listening (Egan, 2002), this will enable them to be the ultimate patients advocate. To expand on this, nurses form the primary system of support; this could range from logistical issues, such as treatment in the accident and emergency department through to being admitted to the ward within the hospital. In the case of an Alzheimers patient where the patient may be within his or her own home for some time, regularly visiting the patient to assess the patients health condition, to provide emotional support to both frightened patient and family member. The nurse must be able to facilitate and identify any health promotions needed for his or her patient so that they are able to implement any strategy to best support the patient, family and carer neccessary. In an Alzheimers patient, onset of many chronic diseases, infection or illnesses will become inevitable and a reduction in a once bubbly individual will be a thing of the past, as their brain deteriorates. Alzheimers sufferer may forget simple task such as washing of themselves or eating the required amount of meals necessary for intake of nutritions needed, thus health promotions has to be tailored specifically for an Alzheimers patient unigue lifespan (Hubley and Copeman, 2008). Addressing issues such as smoking or cooking as well as living alone will enable any health concerns will allow you to make any changes before they become a danger to themselves or others. Alzheimer sufferer also needs to be protected from abuse; this is one of many important aspects of being a nurse. Abuse may come in many forms, being physical, psychological, financial, sexual, neglect or discriminated upon because of their culture or ethnicity and as the United Kingdom becomes a multicultural society, there are implications on how healthcare is delivered by nurses. Furthermore, a nurses action is guided by principles of moral and legal rights, this compliments excellent nursing care. Awareness of the legal codes helps them to control complicated situation that they may encounter and helps to direct the nurse as well as their multidisciplinary team in the best possible action answerable by law (Dimond, 2011). It is important that nurses are aware of this and that they are sensitive when treatment is being administered. Nurses need to familiarise themselves with what is acceptable behaviour and respond accordingly (Timby, 2005). An example being that in some cultures it may be unacceptable to make eye contact while in others it is not or it may also be unacceptable to touch certain parts of one body. In conclusion, whether or not aluminium or old age is infact the cause of Alzheimers disease, the nurse has to be the the patients representative in order to address underlying issues that exist between, the family, carer and society. Also, to amalgamate the multidisciplinary team and relevant agencies so that health promotions may be implemented by means of controling infections, which is the predisposing factor of an Alzheimers patient death. This relationship is complex and the nurses job has to be the forefront of it all, whether it may be to educate family and carer on how best to include hygiene and infection control as the disease worsen or to inform the multidisciplinary team about the patients health and wellbeing.

The Power and Genius of Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades Essay

The Power and Genius of Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades In Alexander Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† many aspects of the short story have made for considerable debate among scholars.   Pushkin fills an integral role in Russian literary history, and there are abundant research sources to use in analyzing and interpreting his texts.   Pushkin is often referred to as the Father of Modern Russian Literature, but until just recently much of the criticism on Pushkin focused on Pushkin himself as the author, the innovative simplicity in his prose, or the political relationship between Pushkin and the Russian aristocracy.   Pushkin’s personal life was often the subject of public debate among his readers and the Russian aristocracy, forcing him into a some what reclusive state.  Ã‚   His prose was innovative, but, in the early research, very few bothered to interpret why the style was so effective.   What about the words made Pushkin different?   It did not seem to matter as long as the aristocracy was satisf ied. Finally, much of the early information available on Pushkin had nothing to do with his writing.   During Pushkin’s time, the domination of the Russian nobility over publications was so great, the ultimate beauty and depth to Pushkin’s writing was over looked in order to expose censorship and political manipulation.  Ã‚   These early attempts at criticism and investigation fall short of exposing the true power and genius in Pushkin’s writing. Another problem with much of the available literature on Pushkin and his texts is   inconsistency in interpretations.  Ã‚   Scholars do not research sufficiently and are often vague in communicating their ideas to the reader.   The purpose of the given work is often confusing enough to the aud... ...nleaf. Studies in Romanticism v 36 n 2 (Summer 1997): 292-299. Pushkin, Alexander.   â€Å"The Queen of Spades.† Alexander Pushkin: Complete Prose Fiction. Trans. Paul Debreczeny. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1983. 211- 233. Rosenshield, Gary. â€Å"Choosing the Right Card: Madness, Gambling, and the Imagination in Pushkin’s ‘The Queen of Spades.’† PMLA v 109 n 5 (October 1994): 995-1008. Rosenshield, Gary.   â€Å"Freud, Lacan, and Romantic Psychoanalysis: Three Psychoanalytic Approaches to Madness in Pushkin’s ‘The Queen of Spades.’† Slavic and East    European Journal v 40 n 1 (Spring 1996): 1-26. Shrayer, Maxim. Rev. of Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† by Neil Cornwell. The Modern Language Review   v 90 n 4 (October 1995): 1051-1053. Terras, Victor. Rev. of Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† by Neil Cornwell. The Russian    Review v 54 n 3 (July 1995): 453-454.

Comparing Fuentes’ Aura and Ligotti’s The Last Feast of Harlequin Essay

Mythological and Archetypal Reading of Fuentes’ Aura and Ligotti’s The Last Feast of Harlequin  Ã‚   Mythological and archetypal techniques coupled with the interpretation of symbolism found within a piece of literature tells the reader something about the mind and character of a people or culture. Not only does it allow you to delve deeper into this collective mind and speculate about the meaning of a particular work, it can give you something more. I believe that by using these techniques you also get a better glimpse into the main character’s state of mind. It also gives you clues as to is going on ‘behind the scenes’ that will affect the character’s mental state. The texts I chose for this essay are Fuentes’ Aura and Thomas Ligotti’s The Last Feast of Harlequin. Both are dark tales that are full of symbolism. Interpreting some of this symbolism may tell us why the main character acts the way he does and what his mental state is throughout the story. The main characters in both stories are similar. Both are young men who are well educated, with one who attended Harvard and the other who attended the Sorbonne in Paris. The two men are both teachers, each working on his own ‘life’s work’. Interestingly enough, neither story mentions any close family or friends the main characters might have. Fuentes’ Aura is definitely a strange story. It is hypnotic; it draws you in with its slow, seductive style. That is how I would describe this twisted love story that ends very surprisingly. Within this story there is symbolism that helps the reader to understand it better. First, we will explore some of the symbolism that could show us there was an effect on Felipe’s mental state. Darkness abounded in Senora Consuelo’s ... ...things. This approach also gives you an insight into the character’s mind and possibly answers the question of why would they do something that no other sane person would do. In Aura, some of the symbolism found throughout the story suggested that Felipe was not thinking clearly. Surely anyone else would have just left after encountering that woman and her house. In the other story, the main character’s dark side was leading him to do things he or any other outsider might not have done otherwise. Using this approach gives the reader little clues as to what might happen in the story, insight into the main character’s mental state, and a greater understanding of the story as a whole. Works Cited Fuentes, Carlos. Aura. Trans. Lysander Kemp. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1981. Ligotti, Thomas. The Last Feast of Harlequin. The Voice of the Damned 1990.

How employable individuals turn their focus to start-ups

How employable persons turn their focal point to start-ups?An Empirical Study on Factors Motivating Business Students to Travel to the Entrepreneurial SectorAbstract.This exploratory survey is efforts to analyze how employable persons turn their focal point to start-ups. Today, bulk of employees still rehearse a more or less self-protective scheme. In this paper the research worker has reported on the consequences of an empirical survey of factors actuating degreed possible employees to travel to self enterprising. The make up one's minding factors to go an enterpriser and of sustainable employment-oriented factors to be analyzed in order to detect how they differ. Participants consisted of 200 pupils from Malaysia entered concluding twelvemonth of concern undergraduate and graduate student plans. Self-administered questionnaires were used to garner informations on factors and types of relationships act uponing calling pick and entrepreneurial purpose. The consequences will function as a footing for betterment of employment patterns and assuring entrepreneurial course of study in universities to back up start-ups in making sustainable concerns.1. IntroductionToday, employees still act in conformity with employers ‘ official contracts and non doing attempts to pull prioritise attending from local independent concern proprietors. This paper ‘s chief purpose is to take a fresh expression into alumnuss ‘ outlook on the factors actuating employees when sing exchanging occupations if employed and to place the degree of involvement as they commence and develop entrepreneurial ventures. The survey chiefly examined why pupils decide to go enterprisers, hence, seven chief issues associated with alumnuss ‘ motive as they established, driving and developing their concerns, these being chosen following a procedure of pilot perusal of graduating pupils.2. Review of Literature2.1. OverviewA figure of research workers have attempted to see factors such as gender, grade point norm, continuance and field of survey and entrepreneurial household background as of import factors impacting pupils ‘ perceptual experience and attitudes towards the chance of new ain concern formation, and some of these factors clearly enhance or inhabit such inclination ( Oakey, Mukhtar and Kipling, 2002 ) .2.2.MotivationCoevals of start up thoughts have been explored by a figure of research workers. Opportunity acknowledgment is dependent on whether the enterpriser was extrinsically stimulated. A taking entrepreneurship text has recognised the â€Å"important deductions for enterprisers who need to be originative in their thinking† and of the construct that creativeness can be learned or enhanced ( Timmons & A ; Spinelli, 2008 ) . The three types of chances designation to the field of entrepreneurship as established by Sarasvathy, Dew, Velamuri, and Venkataraman ( 2003 ) are recognized, discovered and created. There are assorted motivations to get down a new venture. Harmonizing to Amit, McCrimmon, Zietsma and Oesch ( 2001 ) , money is of import but non needfully most of import. They argue that some of the cardinal non-monetary motivations for get downing up a concern include the wish to be independent and the combination of work and family duties. These start-up motivations may hold of import effects for the grade of ( over ) optimism that characterizes ( assuring ) enterprisers. For illustration, if an enterpriser is chiefly driven by wealth creative activity, it may be expected that ( s ) he is more likely to be disappointed if the turnover in the first twelvemonth is comparatively low. If the enterpriser is driven by the want to be independent, ( s ) he may be unpleasantly surprised by the strong trust upon a limited figure of clients or the bank. If the primary start-up motivation is working a sensed chance, the enterpriser may be faced with other people who came up with the same thought or perchance an overestimated market demand for the ( new ) merchandise. Gilad and Levine ( 1986 ) , agreed in their analysis on intrinsic and extrinsic that there are favoritism between start-up motivations. Intrinsic motivations include the desire for independency and uniting work with attention for household members. Entrepreneurs who are driven by such motivations will likely be less inclined to put unrealistically high monetary ends. Extrinsic motivations include two classs: pull and push factors. An chance of sensed net income is an of import pull factor of entrepreneurship, while ( the menace of ) unemployment is a well-known push factor. Sing the development of chances, As Hayward, Shepherd and Griffin ( 2006 ) argued, instigators of new ventures with overconfident will put to death excessively much capital to the chances. If enterprisers are ‘blinded ‘ by their ain thoughts and neglect to adequately measure the competition and the ( possible ) jobs to transform the chance into a profitable venture, over optimism is around the corner. Those who under employment or unemployment, belief that making new concerns assuring more expected public-service corporation ( Douglas & A ; Shepherd, 2000 ; Van Praag & A ; Cramer, 2001 ) .3. MethodologyGartner ( 1989 ) proposed that a common restriction of surveies into the forecasters of entrepreneurial purposes is the failure of research workers to take samples that are ( 1 ) comprised entirely of people who are serious about entrepreneurship and ( 2 ) who are in the procedure of doing the determination to go involved in making a new concern. Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud ( 2000 ) find that surveies consisting samples of upper-division college pupils can bring out job-related penchants at a clip when respondents are fighting with of import calling determinations. Therefore, it is acceptable and appropriate to look into entrepreneurial purpose using a sample of upper-class college pupils. ( Brice and Nelson, 2008 ) , it is of import to observe that the population of involvement in their survey consists of persons who perceive that they will go enterprisers and non needfully merely those who will really go enterprisers. This difference is important because while actions has been demonstrated to be predicted by purposes. Therefore, the focal point of this research remains at the entrepreneurial purposes degree of analysis. The sample chosen consists of graduate student and undergraduate concern grade plan pupils who were approaching graduation. When pupils contemplate graduation, they may besides develop immediate calling programs and long-range ends. The respondents are those from the concern subjects because, based on their subject involvement, they have already decided to prosecute business-related callings. For that ground, a homogenous sampling of university college pupils was included in this survey. This survey sample consisted of 200 pupils from University Colleges in Malaysia who participated using a structured questionnaire informations aggregation methodological analysis. Subjects consisted of concluding ( 3rd ) twelvemonth concern undergraduates and concluding twelvemonth Master of Business Administration ( MBA ) pupils in the concentrations of direction. They were appropriate chiefly because their academic concentration implied that they had serious involvement in prosecuting a concern cal ling. Based on literatures to set up the major feelings and spheres associated with start up purposes, the research worker has gathered his ain study instrument with a series of 29 employment -self employment related motivational points that could be practicably responded by pupils. The 7 chief subjects covered by the study inquiries include house and proprietor features ; involvement to start-up ; motive to exchange occupation if employed ; calling preferred timing and industry ; medium for seeking employment: desire and chance of wagess and chance ; standards of taking employers. Many of the points overlapped conceptually, but one of the purposes of the pilot survey was to pare the survey points after finding which preeminent represented the concepts. The research worker contacted pupils straight via targeted groups of respondents list arising from the Faculty of their academic major plan. Responses were gathered on a 5-point Likert graduated table runing from 1 = â€Å"extremely undesi rable† to 5 = â€Å"extremely desirable.† and entire graduated table mark was obtained by averaging the nine inquiries. Any points with a negative valency were rearward coded so that higher tonss were declarative of favourable entrepreneurial -related motives. Table 1, shows the hypotheses to be tested in this survey.4. Analysis and ConsequencesStudents ‘ primary motives to start-up were probed one time all the related information from the respondents was wholly obtained. In order to set up instrument dependability, Cronbach ‘s coefficient alpha was computed. The dependability coefficient was 0.71 which indicates that the instrument was dependable in its measuring of determiners for start ups. Information refering to each respondent ‘s age, gender, and expected wage was obtained to utilize as control variables in the analysis. Each of these control variables was recorded as non-continuous, categorical forecasters. Then, informations decrease technique is used to blossom the information embedded in the study informations. Hypothesis 1: Purpose for independent concern start-ups is higher than fall ining established houses After riddance of topics with study questionnaires were merely partly completed, the concluding sample totalled 196 pupils. As shown in Table 2, this sample was every bit represented between the genders, dwelling of 107 ( 54.6 % ) males and 89 ( 45.4 % ) females. Subjects were chiefly graduating undergraduate concern pupils ( 65.8 % ) and graduating postgraduate pupils ( 34.2 % ) . In fact, there were 129 unmarried man degree pupils who aged below 25 old ages than MBA pupils who aged 26 and supra. The bulk of topics were anticipating salary between RM5001- RM15000 ( 56.2 % ) which is non in conformity or earnable with employment even in established houses. Students ‘ responses for researching into entrepreneurial sector were gathered on a 5-point Likert graduated table runing from 1 = â€Å"Very Keen† to 5 = â€Å"Not interested at all.† Since the mean, average and mode values are really near to each other, it shows the information is symmetrical. The mean for the 196 pupils is 2.08 with a standard divergence of 1.088. The Trimmed average value of 2.01 is similar to the mean above. Hence, shows there are no outliers in the information set. In this study, since the sample size is 196, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov trial is used. The p-value of the trial is less than 0.001. Hence, the information is non distributed normal. Of the 196 pupils, 77 ( 39.3 % ) really enthusiastic towards start-ups, 52 ( 26.5 % ) tidal bore to start-up, 46 ( 23.5 % ) open to any chance, and 16 ( 8.2 % ) to see start-up option. Out of entire, 5 ( 2.6 % ) prefer employment. Since the correlativity value is within 0.5 to 0.8, start-up purpose among degree pupils is said to correlate â€Å"adequately† with at least one other variables in the concept. In this study, the KMO value is 0.819, which is considered good. Bartlett ‘s trial of sphericalness is used to analyze whether the correlativity matrix is an individuality matrix. Identity matrix can be ruled out if the p-value of the trial is less than 0.05 ( Karuthan and Krishna, 2009 ) . In this theoretical account, since the p-value is less than 0.001, the research worker returns with factor analysis. Since the research worker wanted to analyze the implicit in concept among the six variables: Curiosity, Interest, Consideration, Preparation, Puting Up and Start-up Timing. This is a individual implicit in construct ; hence, it is called the â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† . Since the â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† varies from individual to individual, it is a variable excessively. However, it can non be measured by physical agencies. Hence, it is called a latent variable or merely factor. The theoretical account for â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† is given in Figure 4. In Figure 4, one can visualise six coincident arrested development maps: Curiosity, Interest, Consideration, Preparation, Puting Up and Start-up Timing as the dependants and â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† as the independent. Curiosity = L1 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e1 Interest = L2 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e2 Consideration = L3 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e3 Preparation = L4 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e4 Puting Up = L5 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e5, Start-up Timing = L6 ? â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† + e6 where Li ‘s are called the factor burdens and ei ‘s are the mistake footings. Table 4.1, since there are 6 variables in this analysis, 6 constituents ( or factors ) are listed in the first column. The several Eigen values and per centum of discrepancy explained are provided in the following two columns. For Factor 1, the Eigen value is 3.109 and the discrepancy is 51.811 % of the entire discrepancy. For factor 3, 4,5 and 6 the Eigen value is less than the default value of 1. In the same tabular array, under â€Å"Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings† , merely two factors are listed, matching to the factors for which the Eigen values is more than 1. Based on the cumulative % column, these factors explain 68.792 % of the entire discrepancy in the 6 original variables. Harmonizing to Karuthan and Krishna, ( 2009 ) established that, in societal scientific disciplines, at least 50 % of the entire discrepancy in the variables in analysis must be explained by the factor of factors. In this study, a individual factor extracted explains more than 50 % of the enti re discrepancy in the original variables. Hypothesis 2: Motivations to exchange occupation if employed in constituted houses associated with independent concern start-ups One manner Analysis of Variance is used to prove if there is a difference in agencies between motive variables. Based on Kruskal Wallis Test ( Table 5 ) for the average ranks, evidently, the degreed pupils are looking for a more ambitious calling in footings of expanded range of work, more duties and alteration in calling way rank much higher compared to the pupils who looking to fall in a more constituted and stable administrations. On the other manus, 82.20 % pupils feel that they need to get away from unfavorable office working environment such as non happy with equals, foremans, office political relations and etc. Table 3.1, supports pupils involvement, whereby 97.4 cumulative per centum and average rank shown chance of sing the new concern start-up. Table 6, the p-value for the Levene ‘s trial for equality of discrepancy is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Therefore, equality of discrepancies is non assumed. Table 7 depicts that the F-value is 3.933 and the grades of freedoms are 7 and 188. A little F statistic implies that the difference between group means is little and, therefore, it could be concluded that there is no difference between the group means. The p-value of the trial is 0.000, which is less than 0.05 and the eta-squared value of 0.128, which is less than 0.15, hence, at least one brace of agencies differ significantly. Therefore there is a demand to place the brace that differs significantly. In this instance nonparametric trial is performed. Based on Kruskal Wallis Test, the p-value of this trial is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Therefore, at least one ground differs in footings of motive towards self-employment instead employment. From the mean of all motive concepts, it could be argued that most pupils are acute to get down their ain concern ( average rank 109.37 ) and the chief motivation for start-up instead than sing employment is looking for more ambitious calling ( average rank = 110.89 ) , followed by working environment grounds ( average rank = 82.20 ) and the demand for fiscal security ( average rank = 68.96 ) . The research worker identified two types of possible enterprisers depending upon their intents at the clip of get downing the concern: foremost â€Å" self-acting † who placed high precedence on non holding to work for others, and secondly, â€Å"company-men † who builds the organisation. This research obtains interesting findings and makes of import tri-party parts for pupils as future enterprisers, for policy shapers in big established companies and for the decision-makers or course of study interior decorators of universities. As the consequences have shown, the motive that encourages pupils to get down up a new concern, their wonder with the thought of the new concern or the difficult work they are willing to set in readying phase of the new concern, along with their start-up timing, are cardinal in the start up of the new concerns. Detecting this rule, the new concerns are formed non merely by those alumnuss who can make it, nevertheless, by the alumnuss who to make it matching with those who have the â€Å"acquired eagerness† to make that. However, policy shapers in established companies need to guarantee that their employees working in a contributing office working environment with concentrating more on employee relationship direction. That likely will f orestall employees to exchange occupation looking for favorable working environment which free of office political relations. Within this model, pedagogues are playing a really of import function. Recently, Malayan universities and governmental organic structures have made attempts which include classs on new venture creative activity, nevertheless, it is non sufficient since the topic is non practiced or implemented from the lowest degrees of schooling.4. RecognitionsA particular thanks is due to the Dean of Business and Accountancy Faculty without whose openness and fairness this research would hold been impossible.

Classic Pen Company: Developing an Abc Model

ANALYSIS Background Information: The Classic Pen Company was a low-cost producer of traditional BLUE and BLACK pens with profit margins over 20% of sales. They then introduced RED pens at a 3% premium, and a year later they introduced PURPLE pens due to the 10% premium that they could command. However, they were disappointed with the most recent year; RED and PURPLE pens were not bringing in expected sales (still considering their higher profit margin), and BLUE and BLACK pens profitability was down.Issue(s) Identification There are two main issues within this case: -Profitability -Pricing ?Which involves Production time and effort per unit. -Should they introduce even more variety? Can they keep up with demand and competition? Recommendations: 1. Get rid of RED pens – They are the trickiest to make; their revenue is only $. 03 more than standard pens. 2. Lower the Price for BLACK pens, since they are the most simple to make and require less overhead and direct labour. . Lower price of BLUE pens- they are the most popular, but with the changing market prices must be adjustable. 4. Invest in new equipment (Therefore eliminating time to clean vats in order to make new coloured pens). 5. Focus in only making BLUE and BLACK pens as specialty pens Conclusion: My recommendation to Dempsey would be to invest in new technology to lower the overhead costs (Set-ups, runs) in the future. With a competitive market it is important to adapt.The addition of new colours is crucial to their survival, but with the current machinery it may not be possible. New equipment would mean limited backlog (if any), more options in colour, and meeting customers’ demands. If investment of new machinery is not doable for the company, it would be best to try and cut cost, and focus on standard pens for future investments. BLACK and BLUE pens bring in the most sales volumes and they could potentially cut back to 200% overhead once again.

Interesting Passages Response from Things Fall Apart

â€Å"Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not true- that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation. † (Achebe, 131) This passage created a question in my mind. Who’s perspective are we reading from? It seems as thought we are reading what a narrator is saying, but the narrator is somebody from that tribe. In most books, if a character doesn’t do the narration, the narrator knows what is really going on or what is going to happen.In this book, and shown in this passage, the narrator seems to have full believe in everything he is saying. When it comes to what the passage itself says, I start to think about what their beliefs are doing to them. Is this what they are born to believe? Their chi seems to be pulling them back for than helping them move along. It and their other beliefs are always stoppin g them from something, which is more beneficial then they know. For example, what is so bad about having twins? If anything, that should be a blessing because the family has more children, but with a shorter wait. . â€Å"He sighed heavily, and as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed. And immediately Okonkwo’s eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He sighed again, deeply. † (153) This was the last paragraph in Okonkwo’s thoughts on Nwoye and also were he sated that he was popularly called the â€Å"Roaring Flame†. He then started to compare himself to the fire. I really liked this passage and what was written before it for various reasons.This action shows us that he and his people aren’t any different than other human beings. We have different beliefs and different life styles, but when it comes down to it there human just like us. We all relate ourselves to things. One example used i n English is the use of similes. Similes are just one way we relate ourselves to living and non-living things. Probably the best reason to why I like this passage so much is because I can really relate to it. I don’t mean I once compared or portrayed myself as something I’m not like you’d do in a simile.I mean that in one point in my life I actually compared myself to a burning fire. I still have that comparison. I could really understand where Okonkwo was coming from with this cold ash thing because I’ve done a comparison a lot like it. I even mentioned a dead fire when I ended that comparison and this wasn’t some poem I wrote for a grade, but an actual journal entry and not just something to get a grade. What I am trying to say is, I really liked this passage and I liked how metaphoric Okonkwo was when he said it.

Development and Social Change Essay

DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL CHANGE STRATEGIES IN KENYA IN THE 21ST CENTURY DEFINATIONS Strategy is a high level plan to achieve one or more goals under conditions of uncertainty. Strategy is important because the resources available to achieve these goals are usually limited. Strategy is also about attaining and maintaining a position of advantage over adversaries through the successive exploitation of known or emergent possibilities rather than committing to any specific fixed plan designed at the outset. Henry Mintzberg from McGill University defined strategy as â€Å"a pattern in a stream of decisions† to contrast with a view of strategy as planning while Max McKeown (2011) argues that â€Å"strategy is about shaping the future† and is the human attempt to get to â€Å"desirable ends with available means†. Development means a progression from a simpler or lower to a more advanced, mature, or complex form or stage. It is also defined as the gradual advancement or growth through a series of progressive changes. Development is a process, not a leve l. It is a path to achieve certain goals. see more:factors affecting social change INTRODUCTION In the 21st century Kenyans have come up with different strategies to advocate for development and social change. These strategies are mostly based on economic issue, political issue, and social issues those which are affecting the development and growth of our country. These strategies are aiming at transforming Kenya into a newly industrialized middle income country providing a high quality life to all its citizens. For these development to be achieved thre have to be an all inclusive and participartory stakeholders and a consultive process involving Kenyan from all parts of the country. Kenyans are also willing to from suggestions by some of the leading local and international experts on the newly industrialized countries around the world have made the leap from poverty to widely spread prosperity and equity. Every strategy has been developed to address issues lying across them e.g. economic strategy aims to improve the prosperity of all Kenyans through an economic development programme covering all the regions in Kenya. Social  strategy seeks to build a just and cohesive society with social equity in clean and secure environment. Political strategy aims to realize a democratic political system founded on issue based politics that respect the rule of law and protect the rights and freedom of every individual. Kenyans in the 21st century are advocating for a consultive approach in its development involving as many ordinary Kenyans and stakeholders as possible i.e. public service, private sector, civil society, media and non government organization. The importance of consultations is to provide in-depth understanding of countries development problems and necessary strategies to achieve development. Detailed analysis is carried under the consultative approach in order to come up with the s trategies capable of resolving the social and political problems that face Kenyans today. Findings  In every category of the strategy Kenyans have come up with ways to address the problem found in that particular category. The Social Strategy  Kenya’s journey towards prosperity also involves the building of a just and cohesive society, enjoying equitable social development in a clean and secure environment. This quest is the basis of transformation of the problems found in the category of social strategy, I .e. Education and Training; Health; Water and Sanitation; the Environment; Housing and Urbanization; as well as in Gender, Youth, Sports and Culture; and also in terms of promoting equity and poverty reduction across the entire Kenyan society. It also makes special provisions for Kenyans with various disabilities and previously marginalized communities. Education and Training Under education and training Kenya will provide a globally competitive quality education, training and research for development. The overall goal for 21st century is to reduce illiteracy by increasing access to education, improving the transition rate from primary to secondary schools, and raising the quality and relevance of education. The Health Sector To improve the overall livelihoods of Kenyans, the country aims to provide an efficient and high quality health care system with the best standards. This will reduce health inequalities and improve key areas where Kenya is lagging, especially in lowering infant and maternal mortality. Specific  strategies will involve: provision of a robust health infrastructure network; improving the quality of health service delivery to the highest standards and promotion of partnerships with the private sector. Water and Sanitation Kenya is a water scarce country. The country therefore aims to conserve water sources and start new ways of harvesting and using rain and underground water. The 21st century has a vision for Water and Sanitation is to ensure that improved water and sanitation are available and accessible to all. The goal to increase both access to safe water and sanitation in both rural and urban areas beyond present levels The Environment Kenya aims to be a nation living in a clean, secure and sustainable environment. Specific strategies will involve: promoting environmental conservation for better support to the economic pillar, improving pollution and waste management through the design and application of economic incentives; and the commissioning of public-private partnerships for improved efficiency in water and sanitation delivery. Housing and Urbanization The 2030 vision for housing and urbanization is an adequately and decently housed nation in sustainable all inclusive environment. The goal for 2012 is to increase the annual production of housing units from the current 35,000 annually to over 200,000. Kenya’s cities and towns are poorly planned. There is an acute need therefore for an effective capacity for regional and urban development planning. In addition, there will be better development of and access to affordable and adequate housing; enhanced access to adequate finance for developers and buyers, and pursue targeted key reforms to unlock the potential of the housing sector. 6. Gender, Youth and Vulnerable Groups The 2030 vision for gender, youth and vulnerable groups is gender equity, improved livelihoods for vulnerable groups, and a responsible, globally competitive and prosperous youth. The goal for 2012 is to increase opportunities all-round among women, youth and all disadvantaged groups. 7. Equity and Poverty Elimination The 2030 goal for Equity and poverty elimination is to reduce the number of people living in poverty to a tiny proportion of the total population. Kenya will aim at a society that guarantees equality of opportunity in accessing public services and providing income generating activities as widely as possible. That will be achieved by placing the citizens at a level of income sufficient to cater for basic requirements of a healthy, productive life. 8. Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Vision 2030 will be based on the creation of international competitiveness through more efficient productivity at the firm and household level, with government support. However, all the strategies and flagship projects will exploit knowledge in science, technology and innovation (STI) in order to function more efficiently, improve social welfare, and also promote democratic governance. STI can and will be applied in all the lead sectors. The education and training curricula in the country will, therefore, be modified to ensure that the creation, adoption, adaptation and usage of knowledge become part of formal instruction. Economic strategy The Kenyan economy, East Africa’s largest, has experienced considerable growth in the past few years, driven by several key factors. The country enjoys some particular advantages: a reasonably well-educated labour force, a vital port that serves as an entry point for goods destined for countries in the East African and Central Africa interior, abundant wildlife and kilometers of attractive coastline and above all, a government that is committed to implementing business reforms. This strategy seeks to improve the prosperity of all regions of the country and all Kenyans by achieving a 10% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate by 2012(vision 2030). To achieve this target, Kenya is continuing with the tradition of macro-economic stability that has been established since 2002. It is also addressing other key constraints, notably, a low savings to GDP ratio, which can be alleviated by drawing in more remittances from Kenyans abroad, as well as increased foreign investment and overseas development assistance The country is continuing with the governance and institutional reforms  necessary to accelerate economic growth. Others critical problems being addressed include poor infrastructure and high energy costs. The five key sectors described below are being given priority as the key growth drivers for achievement of the economic vision: * Tourism * Increasing value in agriculture * A better and more inclusive wholesale and retail trade sector * Manufacturing for the regional market * Financial services Tourism This sector aims to be one of the top ten long- haul tourist destination in the world. To achieve this it has put ahead some strategies as their guideline that is offering a high end, diverse and distinctive visitor experience, achieving high tourist revenue by improving facilities in all underutilized parks, creating new high value niche product and investing in new conference facilities to boost business tourism Agriculture This aims to promote an innovative, commercially- oriented and modern agricultural sector. This will be accomplished through transforming key institution in agricultural and livestock to promote agricultural growth, increasing productivity of crop and livestock, introducing more irrigable areas in arid and semi- arid areas for both crops and livestock. It also aim sat adding value to our firm and live stock products before they reach local and international market (vision 2030) Whole sale and retail market Aims to raise earnings by giving our large informal sector opportunities to transform itself into a part of a formal sector that is efficient, multi tiered, diversified in product range and innovative. This will be raised through training and credit, improving efficiency by reducing the number of players between the producer and the consumer (vision 2030) Manufacturing It aims to have a robust, diversified and competitive manufacturing sector. This will be achieved through the implementation of the following restricting key local industries that use raw materials but are currently  uncompetitive, exploiting opportunities in value addition to agricultural product. The Political Pillar This aims to realize a democratic political system founded on issue-based politics that respects the rule of law, and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual in Kenyan society. It hopes to transform Kenya into a state in which equality is entrenched, irrespective of one’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender or socio-economic status; a nation that respects and harnesses the diversity of its peoples’ values, traditions and aspirations for the benefit of all its citizens. The political pillar vision for 2030 is â€Å"a democratic political system that is issue-based, people-centered, result-oriented and accountable to the public.† An issue-based system is one in which political differences are about means to meet the widest public interest. â€Å"People-centered† goals refer to the system’s responsiveness to the needs and rights of citizens, whose participation in all public policies and resource allocation processes is both fully appreciated and facilitated. A result-oriented system is stable, predictable and whose performance is based on measurable outcomes. An accountable system is one that is open and transparent and one that permits free flow of information. This vision is expected to guarantee Kenya’s attainment of the specific goals outlined under Vision 2030’s economic and social pillars To meet objectives outlined in the economic and social pillars, Kenya’s national governance system is being transformed and reformed to acquire high-level executive capability consistent with a rapidly industrializing country. The country is adopting a democratic decentralization process with substantial devolution in policy-making, public resource management and revenue sharing through devolve d funds. This has been achieved through a delivery of a new constitutional dispensation which came in effect in August 2010. Transformation within Kenya’s political governance system under Vision 2030 is expected to take place across six strategic initiatives, whose overarching visions, goals and specific strategies for 2012 are as follows: * Rule of law * Electoral and political processes * Democracy and public service delivery * Transparency and accountability * Security, peace building, and conflict management Rule of law Under the rule of law the vision 2030 is adherence to the rule of law is as applicable to a modern market based economy in a human right respecting state. A lighting the national policy and legal framework with the need of a market based economy, national human right and gender equality commitment. Increasing access and quality of service available to the public and reducing barriers of justice. Democracy and public service delivery People centered and political engaged open society, pursuing, constitutional and legal reforms necessary to dissolve to more resources and responsibility to local governance institution. Encouraging formal and informal civil education and action programmes, promoting open engagement between government and civil society as well as the free flow of information. Transparency and accountability Transparent, accountability, ethical and result oriented government institution strengthening the legal framework for ant- corruption, ethics and integrity. Promoting result based management within the public service, introducing civilian oversight around key legal justice and security, strengthening government legislative oversight capacity. Security Security of all persons and property throughout the republic, Promoting public- private cooperation and community involvement for improved safety and security, Deeping policy legal and institutional reforms for improved enforcement of law and order, Promoting national and international dialogue in order to build harmony among ethnic, racial and other groups. Electoral and political process Seeks to cultivate genuinely competitive and issue based politics introducing rules and regulations covering political policies, enhancing the legal and regulatory framework covering electrical process, conducting civil education programmers to widen knowledge and participation among citizens leading to an informed active citizens. Conclusion For development and social change to occur Kenyans in the 21st century Kenyans should evaluate the pre and post development and analyze the strategies they want to put across and see whether they will be of any impact or they will be able to serve them effectively. There should be an integration of all strategies for sustainable development to occur. That is they should put value both in economic, social and political strategies. Commitment is expected for both the government and civil society, international, local and personal positive relationships are also major contributors to sustainable development in the 21st century. Mission, vision, goals and objectives should be successfully laid, well defined and achievable. References Vision 2030 document The national broad strategy Vision 2030 flagship project

Drunk Driving

Drunk Driving Free Online Research Papers Imagine being in a bar with a few of your good friends. Everyone is drinking and having a good time. Your are going to leave and go home, but you friends wont let you because they know the dangers of driving after having a few drinks. Instead they ca ll a cab to give you a ride home. You would be extremely lucky to have such smart friends. Drunk driving is a very serious problem in our society today, but it is becoming socially unacceptable causing the numbers of alcohol related traffic fatalities t o decline considerably. Drunk driving can be very deadly. Yet many people drive while under the influence everyday. Drivers who are drunk are blamed for the loss of as many as twenty-five thousand lives in highway crashes each year and hundreds of thousands of severe injuries. It is thought that drunk drivers have a long history of doing this and many prior arrests. In addition, most of those killed are just innocent victims whose behavior did not contribute to their deaths. These last two statements are both false. On aver age a drunk driver that kills has never been involved in a alcohol related accident before and have no prior convictions for drunk driving. The part about the people killed are just innocent bystanders is over-exaggerated also. Most of the drunk drivers victims are the drivers themselves, their often passengers, and the drunken pedestrians and cyclists. Despite this drunk driving is still very dangerous. It is the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in America today. In fact it is said that ab out 40 % of the population will be involved in a alcohol related crash during their life. Drunk driving is especially dangerous to young people, who seem to be more involved than others. Drunk driving is the number one cause of death among young people, accounting for 20% of all deaths from ages 15 to 20. Drunk driving is such a hard thing to overcome though. In our society alcohol is overwhelmingly accepted as a facilitator of sociable interaction, and the great majority of adults drink. But steps a re being taken and the numbers of deaths are declining. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been decreasing lately. As a proportion of all traffic fatalities it has been decreased since 1982. In fact since 1982 the number of alcohol related traffic fatalities has decreased 30%, from 25,165 to 17,699, while alcohol-related traffic fatalities, as a proportion of all traffic fatalities, decreased from 57% to 45%. This is a great achievement when you consider that the number of miles traveled has increased 40% since then. For the past 14 years the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities have been dropping steadily. With the help of a growing number of support groups and tougher penalties the numbers should drop even more in the next few years to come. The numbers of accidents have been dropping for a number of reasons. The states have taken some effective measures such as immediate license suspension, lowering the blood alcohol concentration legal level from .01 to .08 for adults and for people under age 21 to .02. Others such as sobriety checkpoints, public education, community awareness, and media campaigns about the dangers of alcohol-impaired driving. In addition some strategies should be considered, such as those outlined during the Surgeon Generals Workshop on Drunk Driving and in the national plan for injury prevention and control. Such strategies include changing the social norm to make alcohol-impaired driving socially unacceptable, limiting alcohol availability among under-aged youth, alcohol service training for those who sell and serve alcohol, early alcohol treatment and rehabilitation programs, offering alternative transportation programs for those of the legal drinking age, and increasing the perception of the risk for arrest for alcohol-impaired driving. States like California have raised the penalty for misdemeanor drunk driving offenses to a maximum $1000 fine and one year in jail. In July, a state law took effect requiring twice-convicted drunk drivers to equip their cars wit h a breath analysis device that prevents them from starting their engines if they have a blood-alcohol level higher than .02%. And after Jan. 1, people under the age of 21 caught driving with a blood-alcohol level .01% or greater will immediately lose their drivers licenses for one year. In fact Ohio now allows officials to confiscate vehicles registered to drivers with at least four DUI convictions in a five-year period of those who twice allow their vehicles to be used by someone they know to be drunk or without a license. Currently the state is taking away those cars and putting them in a car crusher. Steps like these need to continue to be taken and hopefully the number of accidents will decrease. Its great to see problems like these decreasing. Drinking and driving is very dangerous. Many people have their lives shattered and ruined because of a drunk driver. That is why this is becoming so socially unacceptable. People are finally starting to realize how dangerous this can really be. With the help of new laws and continued hard work the number of drinking and driving accidents should be very little in the future. Research Papers on Drunk DrivingHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseCapital PunishmentBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm X19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesStandardized TestingTwilight of the UAWThe Masque of the Red Death Room meanings

Supply side policies and its economic impact Essay Example

Supply side policies and its economic impact Essay Example Supply side policies and its economic impact Paper Supply side policies and its economic impact Paper Supply side policies are those that improve the supply side of the economey. There are the two forms of supply side policy. Supply side policies of the product market and that of the labour market, which can directly influence the national economy. All the supply side policies of the product market are design to increase competition and therefore productivity. An increase in productivity will mean that an industry is able to produce more with a given amount of resources. Privatisation is a major supply side policy of the product market side that is intended to increase the productive potential of the economy and consequently lead to a higher rate of economic growth. Privatisation actually break up state regulated monopolies into privately own enterprises and this would eventually mean that the intensity of competition among businesses will increase, rather than having government firm not competing against each other, these privately owned businesses compete together. Recently in the United Kingdom the utilities such as gas and electricity have been privatised and this has benefited the economy greatly, although there have been a few exceptions to this such as rail track privatisation which has generally been considered as a national failure due to excessive under investment. Another common supply side policy of the product market side is deregulation, which aims at removing excessive sate imposed regulation on economic activity within the national economy. Excessive regulation requires certain expectations and standards that business must spend to comply with, and consequently it is these excessive regulation that are imposed on business which increase costs. Therefore deregulation decreases the economic costs for businesses and simultaneously allows more entrants to enter the market. The supply side policies of the labour market side are possibly imperative for attaining substantially higher levels of economic growth. The reforms such as legislation against trade union can help industries stuck in an endless cycle of dispute with their employers. Trade union typically aim to achieve higher wages and make sure that condition for workers are sound, and improving within their particular industry. If the government aims to reduce trade union power then this will hugely advantage the industry. Other supply side policies such as reducing unemployment benefits have not been used very much in the U. K. economy but possibly in other free market economies. In some free market economies the benefits received for being out of work can exceed those for taking a low paid job, therefore people would rather be out of work and receive benefits than working, therefore by reducing the benefits received for being out of work people would be less well off and consequently unemployment would increase helping increase the rate of GDP. Diagrammatically the level of output and the price level are determined by the interaction of aggregate demand and aggregate supply. Under some conditions, employment depends only on total spending, or aggregates demand. At other times, supply limitations are an important part of the policy problem and have to receive major attention. From the 1930s to the later 1960s, macroeconomics was very much demand-oriented. But in recent years the emphasis has shifted and aggregate supply and supply-side economics have gained in importance. This shift of emphasis and interest was no doubt fostered by the slow growth and high inflation experienced by the industrialised countries in the 1970s. If the economy is close to full employment, increased aggregate demand will be reflected primarily in higher prices or inflation. The aggregate supply side of the economy has then to be introduced. The aggregate supply curve specifies the relationship between the amount of output firms produce and their price level. The supply side not only enters the picture in telling us how successful demand expansions will be in raising output and employment, but also has a role of its own. Supply disturbances, or supply shocks, can reduce output and raise prices, as was the case in the 1970s when the price of oil increased sharply. Conversely, policies that increase productivity and thus the level of aggregate supply at a given price level, can help reduce inflationary pressures. In the early 1980s supply-side economists promised that disinflation was possible without unemployment. The 1981-1982 recession punctured that hope. But supply-side economics made a partial comeback because the recovery from that deep recession was both rapid and prolonged. Supply-side economics and its effectiveness abroad. Supply-side economics was all the rage in the United States in 1981, the first year of the Reagan administration. And so-called supply-siders still run a very active publicity machine, proclaiming the correctness of their views in the press and in books. Supply-side economists lay heavy stress on the incentive effects of taxation in determining the behaviour of the economy. Beyond that broad agreement there are really two separate supply-side groups. The mainstream group stresses the importance of tax incentives in promoting growth, especially by their effect on saving and investment. Similarly, it analyses the effects of tax changes on labour supply, the effects of Social security on saving and retirement decisions and a host of other important issues. But it was the radical fringe of supply-side group that received most of the publicity during the early 1980s, when Reagan tax cut that determined fiscal policy for the entire decade was put in place. This group made exaggerated claims for the effects of tax cuts on saving; investment and labour supply and for the effects of tax cuts on total government revenue from taxation. Among the intellectual leaders of the fringe was Arthur Laffer, whose curve has become famous. Radical supply-siders were installed in the Treasury and there was an active supply-side group in Congress. The radical fringe argued that 1) tax rate reductions would have such powerful effects on work effort that total tax revenues would rise and 2) the supply-side effects of the tax cuts would have a powerful effect in reducing inflation by increasing the growth rate of output. In 1981 the Reagan administration presented an optimistic scenario for growth with low inflation that was supposedly justified by supply-side considerations. Tax rates were to be cut significantly but, it was claimed, the rapid increase in growth would keep the budget close to balance. That at least was the public claim. Radical supply-side economics was thus an essential part of the rhetoric supporting Reaganomics. The most important factor in these policies was the Presidents determination to cut taxes. This was done in the belief that the government was too large and that government spending could be cut by denying Congress tax revenue to spend. Arguments by supply-siders that tax cuts would rapidly increase economic growth and reduce inflation were certainly welcome, but it is quite likely that President Reagan would have proceeded with his policies even had he known they would result in massive budget deficits, so long as they would reduce the size of government. Supply-side predictions were criticised at the time by mainstream macroeconomists. The evidence is that tax reductions do affect incentives and that tax cuts increase output. But there is no evidence that the incentives would be so strong as to result in higher government revenue after a tax cut. Similarly, an increase in the growth rate of output will contribute to reducing the inflation rate-but the effects are unlikely to be powerful. The events of two years following the Reagan tax cuts do not support the views of the radical supply-siders. Inflation was indeed reduced, but the reduction was a result of tight monetary policy and not of expansionary fiscal policy. Output fell rapidly; it did not increase. These events led to the departure of the radical supply-siders from responsible policy-making positions, but did not slow their claims that supply-side economics (of the radical branch) was the solution for the economys problem. An interesting sidelight on supply-side economics comes from considering the relationship between supply-side economics and monetarism. Both approaches are often associated with conservative political positions. But the two groups of economists are critical of each other. In their policy positions, favouring tax cuts in almost all circumstances and believing also that the Fed should allow rapid money growth to foster rapid output growth, the supply-siders are closer to Keynesianism than to monetarism. Supply side policies An alternative or even a complementary policy to demand-side management is to increase the productive potential of an economy, irrespective of the state of aggregate demand. Policy measures, which raise the long run or potential GDP, are known as supply-side policies. Successful supply-side policies raise potential GDP faster than if were it left to the normal process of economic growth. The attractiveness of such policies is that they bypass the uncomfortable trade-off between output and inflation. The general conclusion is that, regardless of their effectiveness, supply-side policies do not produce immediate miracles. They may increase incentive to raise production; they may be aimed at improving general efficiency; they may require some sectors to decline and free resources for other, more valuable uses. All these measures take time to work, five to ten years, or even longer. Three broad approaches to increasing the economys long-run potential have been examined. First, good supply-side policy should aim to make markets as efficient as possible and when markets fail that test, government intervention can improve matters. Second, given that governments are already interfering in the market place for both good and bad reasons, they should strive to minimise the negative impact of their intervention. One example is regulation; another is taxation; yet another is subsidy policy. Third, unemployment remains a deep concern in much of Europe where roughly 10% of the labour force is out of work. Taxation and the provision of public goods. Public goods are special because they naturally are non-rival and non-excludable. Being non-excludable, public goods cannot be charged to their users. A toll booth can be installed at a bridges entrance, but what price should its owners charge ? Non-rivalry means that the marginal cost of their use is very small; thus the price ought to be low. But fixed costs can be large (a bridge is very expensive to build), so how can the producer be compensated ? In addition, a bridge is a natural monopoly if it is the only one in the vicinity. If the owner charges a high price and makes large profits, market competition will lead to the multiplication of bridges next to each other, a very inefficient outcome. Markets just cannot cope with such failures, public goods need to be provided collectively (free bridges), or their provision needs to be regulated (privately built bridges are generally subject to strict regulations, including pricing and quality of service). Public goods are pervasive: transportation and amenities, but also justice and police, passports, defence and diplomacy etc. In each case, there is a market solution, but it is inefficient as not enough-sometimes none at all-would be privately provided. And in each case, the insufficient provision of the public goods would greatly impair economic activity, possibly leading to the breakdown of other, well-functioning markets. This is why the provision of public goods is a fundamental supply-side policy. The more efficient the provision, the more productive the economy will be. Efficiency means that public goods are produced at the lowest possible cost-which also involves issues of corruption. It also requires that resources be collected to finance the production of public services, an issue to which we now turn. Once a society has agreed to let government perform certain public functions, public resources need to be raised in order to pay for them. This is done through taxation of final goods and services. Taxation generally distorts markets by driving a wedge between the cost of producing goods and services and the price paid by the consumers. Non-distortionary taxes do not affect economic behaviour. An example would be lump-sum taxes levied on individuals without any reference to incomes, wealth, or spending, or taxies levied unexpectedly on past incomes and wealth so that it is too late to react. For this reason, non-distortionary taxes are appealing to governments. In practice, however, retroactive taxation is considered unfair precisely because it takes people by surprise. Lump-sum taxes are also unpopular, as Mrs Thatchers fateful experience with the poll tax in 1990 showed. As a result, nearly all taxes are distortionary. Laffer curve. Because distortionary taxes move the economy away from its first-best equilibrium, it is entirely conceivable that higher tax rates actually result in lower tax yields. This effect is sometimes called the Laffer curve. This curve describes a theoretical relationship between total government tax revenues and the average tax rate (the ratio of tax receipts to GDP). The tax rate ranges from 0 to 100%; at a 0% rate, tax revenue is nil; when the tax rate reaches 100%, no one is likely to work or produce at all so tax receipts are also nil. At intermediate tax rates, tax receipts are positive. The hump-shape of the curve indicates that the tax rate distorts the economy so much that beyond some tax rate, taxable income declines faster than the tax rate increases. The threshold point corresponds to the average tax rate for which tax receipts are at a maximum. Any rate of taxation to the right of this point is inefficient because the same tax income can be raised with a lower tax rate, i. e. less distortion. Incentives and taxation The social safety net. The social safety net refers to the system of transfers and benefits designed to help the disadvantaged and vulnerable in society. These include unemployment benefits, social welfare, old-age pensions, early retirement, health insurance and disability benefits. A large gap divides European countries, which transfer between 20% and 30% of their national income to individuals or firms, from the USA, Japan and Switzerland, which transfer only 10-15%. This might lead a casual observer to conclude that high European unemployment is a product of the social welfare state, which puts weight on solidarity but at the cost of productivity and economic efficiency. Yet it is too hasty to claim that Europeans have erred too far in the direction of social protection, in comparison to the rest of the OECD. The high level of transfers observed in Europe is to some extent a response to high unemployment, which may have other underlying causes. At the same time, these transfers-in the form of unemployment benefits, welfare and premature retirement and disability pensions-take the pressure off workers and firms to adjust to a changing world economy. The greatest danger is that the safety net becomes a trap, leading to long-term unemployment. It is useful to think about the adverse effects of the safety net on incentives. The social systems of most countries share two institutional features. First, poor or unemployed people receive transfers-income maintenance programmes or unemployment benefits-from the state. Second, income taxes are progressive: the rate of taxation increases as income rises. Taking up a job not only means receiving a salary, but also paying taxes if the salary is high enough and thereby losing eligibility for income maintenance programmes. It is conceivable then that people can be financially worse off by taking a job, not to mention incurring a loss of leisure and possibly some activity in the underground (shadow) economy. Implicitly, these people face an effective marginal tax rate-considering the overall effect of work on their income-in excess of 100%. Recent experience of work-to-welfare in the USA indicates that the incentive aspect is important for bringing workers on social assistance back to work. Labour taxation. Because labour is so important in any economy, it is natural to expect governments to tax it. Labour is one of the most highly taxed commodities. Not only is labour subject to income taxes paid by households, but also to a number of social security contributions by both employees and employers.