Learning Team Industry Averages and Financial Ratios Essay

Watch the Industry Averages and Financial Ratios video and use the industry classification from the financial services website to locate the company’s SIC code on the U.S. Department of Labor’s website. Find the industry ratios for the company using the Dun &  Bradstreet ® Key Business Ratios link in the Week 2 Electronic Reserve Readings. If your company’s SIC code does not appear in the dropdown menu, choose another company. Assume the inventory ratio is based on a traditional inventory system, but globalized markets and the supply chain make it critical to adopt lean principles to create a more efficient system. Calculate the 14 ratios (show your calculations) for the company using the two most recent annual financial statements found on the financial information website you used earlier. Be careful not to use quarterly information, and include ratios for both years. Note. You can access a downloadable Ratio Guide PDF by clicking the Help Guide link in the upper-right of the Dun & Bradstreet ® Key Business Ratios window. Compare the ratios for the company you selected with the appropriate industry ratios including profitability, solvency, and efficiency ratios shown on the Dun & Bradstreet ® report. Write a 350-word response about how the company you selected performed compared with the industry. Instructor Notes: Also upload the following: Formula and calculations of your company’s financial ratios for most recent two years (Excel) Dun & Bradstreet financial ratios for your company’s SIC code (exported to Excel) (Please delete the text in yellow-highlight above) Industry Averages and Financial Ratios Paper The purpose of this analysis is for our team to analyze how Amazon.com Inc. performed compared with the industry based on financial ratios. In Attachment 1, our team provides the industry ratios for the company using the Dun & Bradstreet Key Business Ratios. In Attachment 2, we provide the Balance Sheet and Income Statement information for the company’s most recent two years. In Attachment 3, our team calculates the company’s 14 financial ratios. In Attachment 4, we compare the financial ratios with appropriate industry ratios including profitability, solvency, and efficiency ratios. Analysis of Company’s Financial Ratios Compared to Industry’s Financial Ratios Xxxx Provide an analysis of the selected company’s 14 financial ratios compared to the industry’s financial ratios. Compare the most recent two years from D&B industry average to the same two years from your calculated financial ratios. Use the â€Å"Median† from the D&B industry average Remember to select financial ratios related to profitability, solvency, and  efficiency ratios. Note: the analysis includes interpreting the importance of the company’s vs. the industry’s financial ratios. 3 points out of 3 possible points (please do not delete these lines with point scoring) Conclusion References [Insert references here.] Attachment 1 Industry’s ratios from Dun & Bradstreet ® Key Business Ratios Solvency Ratios Solvency ratios measure the financial soundness of a business and how well a company can satisfy its short- and long-term obligations. D&B uses six key financial business ratios to measure a company’s solvency: †¢ Quick Ratio, also called â€Å"acid test† or â€Å"liquid† ratio, considers only cash, marketable securities and accounts receivable because they are considered to be the most liquids forms of current assets. A Quick Ratio less that 1.0 implies â€Å"dependency† on inventory and other current assets to liquidate short-term debt. Cash + Accounts Receivable à · Current Liabilities †¢ Current Ratio is a comparison of current assets to current liabilities, commonly used as a measure of short-run solvency, i.e., the immediate ability of a business to pay its current debts as they come due. Potential creditors use this ratio to measure a company’s liquidity or ability to pay off short-term debts. Current Assets à · Cu rrent Liabilities †¢ Current Liabilities to Net Worth Ratio indicates the amount due creditors within a year as a percentage of the owners or stockholders investment. The smaller the net worth and the larger the liabilities, the less security for creditors. Normally a business starts to have trouble when this relationship exceeds 80%. Current Liabilities à · Net Worth †¢ Current Liabilities to Inventory Ratio shows, as a percentage, the reliance on available inventory for payment of debt (how much a company relies on funds from disposal of unsold inventories to meet its current debt). Current Liabilities à · Inventory †¢ Total Liabilities to New Worth Ratio shows how all of a company’s debt relates to the equity of the owners or stockholders.  The higher this ratio, the less protection there is for the creditors of the business. Total Liabilities à · Net Worth †¢ Fixed Assets to Newt Worth Ratio shows the percentage of assts centered in fixed assets compared to total equity. Generally the higher this percentage is over 75%, the more vulnerable a business becomes to unexpected hazards and climate changes. Fixed Assets à · Net Worth Efficiency Ratios Efficiency ratios measure the quality of a business’ receivables and how efficiently it uses and controls its assets, how effectively the firm is paying suppliers and whether the business is overtrading or undertrading on its equity. D&B uses five key financial business ratios to measure a company’s efficiency: †¢ Collection Period Ratio is helpful in analyzing the collectability of accounts receivable or how fast a business can increase its cash supply. Accounts Receivable à · Sales x 365 Days †¢ Sales to Inventory Ratio provides a yardstick for comparing stock-to-sales ratios of a business with others in the same industry. A high ratio may indicate that sales are being lost because of low inventory and/or customers are buying elsewhere. A low ratio may indicate that inventories are obsolete or stagnant. Annual Net Sale à · Inventory †¢ Assets to Sales Ratio shows how efficiently a business is usingits assets to generate revenue. A high ratio may indicate the business is not aggressive or that its assts are not fully used. A low ratio may indicate a company is selling more than can safely fulfilled by its assets. Total Assets à · Net Sales †¢ Sales to Net Working Capital Ratio shows the number of times working capital turns over annually in relation to net sales. A high turnover rate may indicate that the business relies heavily on credit. Sales à · Net Working Capital †¢ Accounts Payable to Sales Ratio shows how a company pays its suppliers in relation to the sales volume being transacted. A low percentage may indicate a healthy ratio. A high percentage may indicate that the business may be using suppliers to help finance its operation. Accounts Payable à · Net Sales Profitability Ratios Profitability ratios measure how well a company is performing by analyzing how profit was earned relative to sales, total assets and net worth. D&B uses three key financial business ratios to measure a company’s efficiency: †¢ Return on Sales (Profit Margin) Ratio measures the profits after taxes on the year’s sales. The higher the ratio, the better prepared the business is to handle downtrends brought on by adverse conditions. Net Profit After  Taxes à · Net Sales †¢ Return on Assets (ROA) Ratio shows the after tax earnings of assets and is an indicator of how profitable a company is. Return on assets ratio is the key indicator of the profitability of a company. It matches net profits after taxes with the assets used to earn such profits. A high percentage rated indicates the company is well run and has a healthy return on assets. Net Profit After Taxes à · Total Assets †¢ Return on Net Worth Ratio measure the ability of a company’s management to realize an adequate return on the capital invested by the owners in the company. Net Profit After Taxes à · Net Worth Median Median is the value from the midpoint that falls halfway between the Upper and Lower Quartiles. Industry Quartiles Industry Quartiles are static values taken directly from the KBR database tables. The value from the midpoint that falls halfway to the top of the list is selected as the Upper Quartile. The value that is halfway between the median and the bottom of the list is selected as the Lower Quartile.

Petitions of African Chiefs Essay

1. When the slave trade was abolished in certain regions of Africa, the Africans were forced to find other alternative sources of livelihood such as entering in a legitimate trade of shipping various products.     Ã‚  Instead of selling human beings as merchandise, the Africans accepted the timber trade when it was introduced by the Europeans.   However, when   the timber trade did not succeed, they turned to growing and exporting ground nuts and when this too did not come through, the Africans resorted to palm oil trading – the subject of King Ockiya’s letter to the Earl of Derby. 2. Since the abolition of the African slave trade, Africans having been trying to find other sources of income and livelihood.   Among such is the valued palm oil which they collected from the hinterlands.   However, greedy British traders wanted to bypass them and go directly to the source of these valued commodity.   Hence, the African leaders were asking the British to let them have their own source of livelihood, free of intervention from the Europeans who were already encroaching on their trading posts thereby stopping the African trade completely. The petitions and demands of the African leaders show how powerful the Europeans are that even building huts or places of abode are considered taxable.   Nonetheless, these ruthlessness of the Europeans paved the way for the Africans to wake up and saw all of these as an assault to their customs, livelihood and traditions. Lin’s Letter to Queen Victoria 1. The rise of the opium trade in China according to Lin has poisoned and injured its people.   The laws of the country have been disregard in lieu of the temptations and addiction of the opium drug. 1. Lin tries to convince Queen Victoria to stop the opium trade by appealing to their conscience and strict morality. He tries to emphasize that since opium is forbidden in Britain and brings harm to the British people, the Queen must condemn it as well especially its importation.   As Lin proudly said, China has only exported things that are beneficial to the people and opium is not one of them. By giving the impression that China only exports things that are beneficial, from which the world has undoubtedly benefited, Lin thinks that Queen Victoria and the rest of Britain might be convinced of his argument.   However, the tone of Lin’s letter is also threatening whereby he gives the appearance that China in consonance with its laws will not hesitate to execute anyone caught selling and using the prohibited drug. Hence, the response of the British will naturally be to disregard Lin and his contention, even get angry at such preposterousness.

The Supreme Court Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Supreme Court - Assignment Example This is a clear indication that both have equal protection of the law regarding the rights that human beings should enjoy. This decision overrules the one offered by Plessy v Ferguson that allowed segregation in state- sponsored schools. The state should not provide separate educational facilities based on race since all people are equal, they should receive equal treatment. The court ruled de Jure segregation as a violation of Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution of the United States. This crucial factor paves way for the civil rights movements and integration (Losco and Baker, 2011, p. 15). Question 2 Why do liberals oppose health insurance to cover laws such as abortion restrictions while favoring laws that require contraception? Answer Liberals feel that abortion is a personal choice that people should not interfere with since it involves a woman’s body, her future, and personal health. Liberals feel that the life of children and parents is better when abortion is l egal. This is because it prevents women from undertaking desperate measures to obtain illegal abortions. Provided abortion happens in a medically controlled environment with proper medical practitioners, then it should not be restricted. In areas where people have limited knowledge concerning contraceptives and sex education, abortion is necessary to control families in a state. Abortion is necessary in cases of rape, where the health of a woman is in risk, incest, congenital disorder, and financial constraints. Liberals require health insurance to cover the laws favoring contraception since they play a significant role in reduction of abortions (Losco and Baker, 2011, p. 19). An affirmative action is an action that favors those who tend to suffer from discrimination. Question 3 How can family, peers and school influence someone’s opinion on affirmative action? (6 points) Answer Families influence the affirmative action that one takes in a situation. The close bond and relati onship that exists between family members’ influences a person’s decision. This bond forces people to weigh things differently and act accordingly to appease them. Peer pressure and school also influence a person’s affirmative action. In schools, teachers discourage discrimination as it leads to conflict among individuals. The law of a state also does not give room for discrimination making its practice a violation of law, which should face accusation (Losco and Baker, 2011, p. 27). Peer pressure is tremendously influential, as one tends to act the way peer friends act. Depending on the level of education of the peer group and their beliefs, the group interferes with the decision that one makes. The group might affect a person positively or negatively, and hence, every person has a responsibility to ensure that the effect is to their advantage. Question 4 Why did the Dred Scott decision make the Civil War more likely and lead to the 14th Amendment of the US Cons titution? (7 points) Answer The Dred Scott decision is a ruling of the Supreme Court that the people of African descent could never become U. S. citizens. The court ruled the slaves as private property and, hence, led to Civil war. The slaves are people just like the citizens and oppose the way the citizens treat them as chattels. This gave them the motivation to oppose slavery since even in freed states; the free slaves enjoyed the rights of citizens. From the opposition experienced, the government found an amendment that is

Week 3 Discussion Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Week 3 Discussion Questions - Essay Example ide a chance to the companies to be invest into something new but will also allow for a chance where the competition can get together and build a bigger brand. This is a simpler mode where the competition can get together and work in cooperation with one another and builds a brand or product which is much bigger than what they could have build by themselves. This brand or product will allow for the companies to be sure of remaining a part of the market. 4. The position of CEOs in a company is one which brings along a number of responsibilities and even longer working hours to cope up with the needs of shareholders, media, government, lawyers and many more parties involved. With the decrease in the earning of the CEOs and the amount of work that they put into the businesses, it is not fair. This is majorly because people in the other fields like the movies and celebrities; earn much more for comparatively lesser efforts. One of the best examples would be to compare Oprah who earns as much as $200 million per year and the CEO of Oracle who draws as less as $ 1million as salary. This in comparison is not quite fair keeping in mind the efforts and the number of hours of work that is put in by each of these people. 5. Fraudulent activities in companies have been on a serious rise since the early 2000s. One of the most famous frauds was that of Enron. However it is important to understand that the company portrays itself to be in perfect line and in complete control and working within the law. Enron as has been seen has paid its audit fees and has kept up in terms of hiring lawyers for the company. However the company has worked on the basis of real time auditing which is not a very responsible move by the company or even the auditor and is in a lot of ways the major cause for the fraud. Hence it is important that the companies and auditors learn a lesson from this and avoid this type of auditing and to follow the traditional style of marketing to avoid the chance for

Labor law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Labor law - Essay Example In return, employers gained a loyal â€Å"internal labor market† of semi-trained workers that would save employers money required to recruit, and train. Beyond the implicit contract, unions were also successful in protecting against termination, requiring â€Å"just cause† instead of the more current employer flexibility of â€Å"at will† employment1. The ushering in of the boundaryless workplace has dismantled much of the New Deal labor structure, and has put a premium on individual skills and knowledge. Employees have become free agents in the workforce, needing such skills to compete for prevailing wages with no implicit or explicit guarantee of job security. The strongest protection workers now have is education and training. Stone also notes that those hurt the most by this instability are blue collar and untrained workers2. While the lack of security is tumultuous in itself, Stone argues that the current labor structure does not have answers for many of issues that the changing economy present. Using Stone’s method of chronicling historical changes in the employer-labor relationship, the trend towards a more flexible and boundaryless workforces has worked to improve opportunities for women and minorities. At the same time, however, she believes that, †the new employment relationship makes discrimination hard to identify and difficult to challenge3.† Successful attempts have been made to prevent overt discrimination such as Title VII, of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights law, the Age Discrimination Act of 1967, the Equal Pay Act of 1962, and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act4. This legislation is effective in allowing women and minorities to gain access to the points of entry into an internal labor market, however, due to the breakup of internal labor markets, these acts do not address more modern forms of discrimination. Modern forms of discrimination have become

Changes in the Demand and Supply of Cooking Gas in the U.S Research Paper

Changes in the Demand and Supply of Cooking Gas in the U.S - Research Paper Example This paper describes current state of American market for cooking gas in terms of the volumes of demand and supply at a time of the introduction of new technology of gas production. There is also a grafical illustration of these changes in the diagram in the paper. Cooking gas is one of the basic items whose demand and supply has been very unsteady over the years 2011-2013 . These situation led to changes in the prices for cooking gas in the U.S. The new engineering tools have resulted into boom in the supply of natural gas products, hence a change in the consumption pattern for cooking gases. Natural gas has become a preferred energy source in the U.S. and has served as the replacement of the old and popular coal-fired generations and nuclear gas in some circumstances. The U.S. has faced a new challenge in meeting the growing demand for natural gas products, particularly cooking gas, as the supply of natural gas products with the the introduction of new technology significally rised. The report by the EIA revealed that the demand for natural gas has been fueled by the fast increasing industrial energy demand. The industries are preferring natural gas over other sources of energy given its economics value such as reduced negative externalities such as pollution and affordability These changes in the prices of natural gas have given rise to speculative demand for natural gas in the U.S. Given the price elasticity of demand for natural and cooking gases in U.S., any little change in the demand for these products results into a significant change in prices.

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of an Ethical Dilemma - Essay Example It will further establish the relationship between company ethics and ethical dilemma. The paper concludes that, though the company has its business strategy and goals, it is faced with ethical challenges within the stakeholders and shareholders. Therefore, the group should not only focus on growth, but also put into consideration the ethical impact of its operations on employees, the government, customers, suppliers, and the community. Ethical dilemma Business ethic is vital for any business entity to gain a competitive edge and attain its goals. Ethics ensure observation of morals and code of conduct within an organization as well as its operation with its stakeholders. Business ethics disciplines employees and other stakeholders as it defines what is wrong and what is right. At times, organizations experience conflict of interests with its employees, society, the business environment as well as the government policies. When such differences arise, the management decision-making or gan has to decide, harmonize, and reconcile the conflicting interests. For an organization to avoid and solve ethical dilemmas, it should be able to have a sound decision-making body. The body should be able to collect as many information and material facts as the situation permits. It should then identify the relevant and key ethical issue and consider alternative viewpoints. When dealing with ethical issues, it is crucial to identify, measure, and prioritize the effects on different stakeholders. This is because the effect may vary from one stakeholder to another due to their diverse interests and concerns. The decision makers should then consider what effort it has put towards the issue and how committed it is to solve the issue. This will enable the management to understand its failure and evaluate its commitment to the organization. In order to establish a well serving solution to the issue, the management should identify the available options for the issue. A variety of course of action will allow it choose the best action since they will be able in a position to analyze the consequences attached to each option. These consequences may be either long term or short term to the business. Positive results will be of much importance and the option with such results should be emulated while negative results will harm the business therefore, should be avoided. The practicality of benefitting options should be identified and the impacts upon ones character and integrity. The management should then pick most beneficial and practical course of action as it fits the situation better. Causes of ethical dilemma In a perfect business environment, employees and employers would always do the right and perfect thing while conducting business. However, ethical dilemmas are present in every workplace, as people have to make a very difficult choice between moral and immoral (Touchstone, 2008). Employees should handle work related pressure to perform well and facilitate comp any goals and objectives achievement. At times, employees experience temptations to apply the shortest route possible; to achieve targets or even handle the pressure. The shortcuts may be immoral or against the company policies. Therefore, pressure from management regarding profits and results can push employees to act immoral and witnesses not whistle blow for fear of victimization. Ambitions and discrimination also causes ethical dilemma especially when some employees are under hunger for

Genetics of sickle cell Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Genetics of sickle cell - Assignment Example Those with a single inherited gene do not suffer from the disease but possess the sickle cell trait that can be transferred to their children. The genetics of sickle cell disease are discussed here, with respect to the inheritance of the disease, its molecular genetics and genetic variation. SCD is a multi-system disease in which episodes of acute illness occur along with progressive organ damage (Rees, Williams and Gladwin, 2010). It is among the worlds most commonly occurring severe monogenic disorders. Herrick first described the occurrence of sickle shaped red blood cells in 1910 (Cited in Rees, Williams and Gladwin, 2010). Pauling et al. (1949) later identified that sickle haemoglobin has electrophoretic abnormalities, therefore terming SCD as a molecular disease. Normal red blood cells can pass freely through capillaries while abnormal sickle shaped red blood cells cannot. Sickle shaped red blood cells are long and sticky, with tapering ends. Figure 1 shows the difference between normal RBC and sickle cells. Sickle cells tend to bunch up while some break down, stopping or slowing down the flow of blood (Peterson, 2008). Sickle cells do not receive enough oxygen and their waste products cannot be carried away. Because of the buildup of waste products and lack of oxygen, sickle cell disease causes great pain and even death. As per the National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates, around 72,000 Americans, most of which are African Americans, suffer from sickle cell anemia (Peterson, 2008). Worldwide, there are millions of people inflicted with the disease, which commonly occurs in warm areas near large bodies of water (Peterson, 2008). While the occurrence sickle shaped red blood cells was discovered by James Herrick and their abnormal electrophoretic mobility was identified by Linus Pauling and colleagues, it was Vernon Ingram who discovered that the disease resulted from a

The Influence of Gender and Age on the Second Language Acquisition of Research Paper

The Influence of Gender and Age on the Second Language Acquisition of University Students in South Korea - Research Paper Example It is so important that some companies and industries like healthcare include English proficiency among their requirements (Lorenzo, 2007). Moreover, many families travel abroad for several reasons, and this may require that they speak the language of the country they are in other than their native language (Gordon, 2000). Like learning a native language, secondary language acquisition is influenced by a variety of factors and outcomes may vary depending on the leaning style of the student, age, gender, and even culture. Similar to secondary language acquisition, learning style is influenced by age and gender. Learning style is defined as a persons personal choice of the way or method on how he can best gather data, process it, and put it to later use in terms of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. It was suggested by Kolb (1976) that an individual learner has particular strengths with related to his particular learning style. Moreover, the term refers to the individual differences in approaches to learning based on preferences. It pertains to the ways in which an individual characteristically acquires, retains, and retrieves information (Felder and Henriques, 1995). A study conducted by Ramayah, Sivanandan, Nasrijal, Letchumanan, and Leong (2009) explored the relationship between learning style and gender among business students. The study used a questionnaire to collect and gather data, and classified the participants using VARK (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic) by Fleming. A convenience sampling method was used to ensure that an adequate number of samples are able to participate. The results indicate that there is a significant difference between their learning styles in terms of gender, with female participants highly preferring a visual or auditory learning style than male participants.

President of India and Equal Rights Essay Example for Free

President of India and Equal Rights Essay First of all youth need to have strong character which need to be based on a catch word watch, standing for people who watch their Words (W), Actions (A), Thoughts (T), First of all the youth should fight for equal rights for all the citizens. Even now, there are lots of people who do not get equal rights. India should have youth politicians and they should live in clean democracy and let others also to live in corruption free India as India is now full of corruption. We see lots of news related to corruption each day. In the present day the burning topic is Black Money, but is the answer in getting the money back or is it important to eradicate the root cause from where this comes? In this fashion the problems need to be addressed. The youth should not get swayed away by lucrative political slogans, this is what the meaning of watch   is all about. There is great responsibility on the shoulders of youth in abolishing corruption. They should also empower the masses to fight for their rights. Nowadays the youth brains of India are working as brains for other countries looking for great salaries . The youth should work for the development of their own country. So looking for jobs within the country is a great thing for realizing the dreams of Dr. Kalam. The youth should involve in the social issues like those. So the youth should take part in promoting national integration. As I said before, all should have equal rights and responsibilities as a citizen of india. So the youth should take part in empowering women to participate equally in all fields for the development of our country..

The Hershey Company Is The Largest Chocolate Producer Marketing Essay

The Hershey Company Is The Largest Chocolate Producer Marketing Essay The Hershey Company is the largest chocolate producer in North America and also one of the oldest US manufacturers of chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery and chocolate-related grocery product. The Hershey Company operates in accordance with their mission statement: Undisputed Marketplace Leadership (www.hersheys.com). Among the companys well established brands are  Hersheys Chocolate Bar, Almond Joy, Kit Kat, Hersheys Kisses, Reeses and many others. I shall begin an external analysis with the first element of Porters Five Forces Model: Industry Rivalry. Slow confectionery industry growth increases the intensity of rivalry among numerous competitors. It needs to be mentioned that the stage of confectionery industry life cycle is Maturity stage. These chocolate have been around since a 100 years and most people buying these chocolates are repeat consumers. The Hershey Company holds one of the leading positions in the domestic market, currently having a market share in the U.S. of over 22%. Its biggest rivals in US market are Mars Inc (the leader according to the industrys 2010 results), Kraft Foods and Nestle. As for the global competition, according to the latest results of the confectionery industrys global survey, Hershey Foods Corp. (USA) is number 5 among the top 100 international HERSHEY COMPANY EXTERNAL ANALYSIS confectionery brands rating with 4,881 US($) millions sales volume figure. The main competitors in the global market are Mars Inc (USA), Cadbury Schweppes PLC (UK), Nestlà © SA (Switzerland) and Ferrero SpA (Italy).(The Big Get Bigger, 2011, January 10). Although the Hershey Company has a steady strong presence in the U.S. chocolate and confectionery market, its global position needs to be strengthened and the focus should be kept on the global market. Rapidly developing countries such as China and India have to be Hersheys main targets because even a limited presence in these countries would provide a substantial increase in revenue. Besides it, company cannot duplicate their domestic strategy and expect to be successful. On the contrary they must integrate into each countrys culture and develop an adapted strategy to immerse their brand name into these areas. The next force I need to specify is the Risk of Entry by Potential Competitors force and this risk for chocolate industry is quite low. The reasons of it are significant entry barriers (high production output, large capital requirements, product differentiation, and customer loyalty). These factors deter smaller competitors from entering into the market. (Ellis M., McCants M., Frye N., Miller J., Polk M., Rogers G, 2008, May 22). HERSHEY COMPANY EXTERNAL ANALYSIS The third and one of the most influential in the Hersheys case force is Bargaining Power of Suppliers. Their bargaining power is relatively high because the number of suppliers of the chocolate industry is limited, supplier group is concentrated and there are no substitute products as well. The Hershey Company needs to find alternate (non-West African) locations or different methods for obtaining cocoa beans, because this would allow Hershey to have a secure control over their raw materials. The next force is Bargaining Power of Buyers which can be described as low to moderate. This industry has several large volume retailers that have significant bargaining power. Large volume retailers can bargain for lower prices and reduce the industrys profits, but the differentiated products (with high level of brand identification and customer loyalty among the chocolate consumers) considerably reduce the power of buyers. Finally, the Threat of Substitutes for chocolate industry is moderate. There are numerous substitute products such as alternative cooking flavors (such as vanilla, butter, etc) and non-chocolate snacks (such as ice cream, fruits, etc.). Also there is a threat of unhealthy image of chocolate products among the consumers. Besides Porters Five Forces Model and Industrys Life Cycle I would like to analyze the way demographic, social, or HERSHEY COMPANY EXTERNAL ANALYSIS technological trends have influenced the chocolate confectionery industry. There are some positive and negative socio-cultural and demographic trends that make an influence. Among the positive are: the desire for richer products/changing tastes, joint ventures (i.e. coffee), dark chocolate health benefits and increased importance of holidays. The negative trends are: spreading of allergies, increasing obesity and greater environmental concern. Among the social/political trends a problem of child labour and unfair trade can be named. For example, Hershey has been criticized for not having programs to ensure sustainable and ethical cocoa purchase, lagging behind its competitors in  fair trade  measures. (Hershey Dominates US Market, but Lags Behind Competitors in Avoiding Forced Labor, Trafficking and Child Labor (2010, September 13). The positive technological trends are: technological improvements to milking machines, efficiency improvements for distribution, telecommunications. And the negative technological trends are lack of government support to developing countries (poor education of new technologies) and increased cost of managing the manufacturing technological progress. And I would like to finish this essay with Hershey Company founder Milton Hershey quote about the most distinctive feature of Hersheys products: Give them quality. Thats the best kind of advertising in the world. HERSHEY COMPANY EXTERNAL ANALYSIS REFERANCE LIST Hershey slogan (n.d.) is retrieved from www.hersheys.com The Big Get Bigger (2011, January 10). Retrieved from http://www.candyindustry.com/Articles/Special_Reports/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000972812 Ellis M., McCants M., Frye N., Miller J., Polk M., Rogers G, (2008, May 22). The Hershey Company Introducing the World of Chocolate. Retrieved from http://www.washingtoniv.com/?p=65 Hershey Dominates US Market, but Lags Behind Competitors in Avoiding Forced Labor, Trafficking and Child Labor (2010, September 13). Retrieved from http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-forced-labor/cocoa-campaign/news/12397 Confectionery Company Shares Report (2010), USA. Packaged Food: Euromonitor from trade sources/national statistics.

Essay About Family: A Portrait of a Sister :: Personal Narrative essay about my family

A Portrait of a Sister Sitting at my desk, trying to organize all my server sales reports from work, photo-copied papers, coupons, gift-certificates and important receipts, I start laughing to myself at how much I am like my sister. The sound of her soft voice echoes through my mind, â€Å" Lee, photo-copy all these documents, and don’t forget to keep your receipts.† That is my sister’s fetish; anything important must be photocopied, unless a sin. It’s those little things she says and does that I have always teased her about that I find myself doing now. I glance up looking on my desk for the FAFSA document, and the picture of my sister and me driving the cardboard school bus catches my eye. January 1988 Sitting in my living room, my grandma and mom were taking down the Christmas decorations, and putting them in cardboard boxes. My sister always had my grandma’s creativity, which they both passed on to me. My sister turned to me and said, â€Å" I have a fun project for us, Lee.† Rolling my eyes and looking back over my shoulder, to my sister, I said, â€Å"Oh, no way. Last time you had a fun project I ended up having my hands tied behind my back.† She informed me that it would be really fun, she swore. The whole week we secretly stashed cardboard boxes in the closet in our room, and then we cut out all different shapes. The shapes together were going to make up a school bus. Since my mom is a schoolteacher we stole her paint, and later that week we painted the cardboard yellow. Two weeks later, we presented our project to my mom and grandma at dinner. We were so proud of ourselves. Looking back now, I remember that the school bus was our favorite toy for that week. I also remember that the following week my sister had a new â€Å"project†. May 1996 My first week of JV Kickline tryouts. I come home and say, â€Å"We have a mission on our hands.† I tell her it is now time to make me the next member of the Bethpage JV Kickline team. During that whole week of tryouts, I am practically in house arrest. I think this is when my sister really teaches me that no one is perfect and she shows me how to use my strongest strength.

Willa Cathers O Pioneers! and Charlotte Perkins Gilmans Mr. Peebles

Willa Cather's O Pioneers! and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Mr. Peebles' Heart In both Willa Cather’s novel O Pioneers! and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story "Mr. Peebles’ Heart" present the reader with strong, successful female characters. Alexandra Bergson, the heroine of O Pioneers!, becomes the manager and proprietor of a prosperous farm on the Nebraska frontier while Joan R. Bascom of "Mr. Peebles’ Heart" is a successful doctor. Cather and Gilman create competent, independent female characters that do not conform to the perceived societal standards for women in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century. Both women must struggle against society’s perception of what they should be and how they should behave, however, Alexandra’s struggle leaves her emotionally distant while Joan’s struggle does not hinder her emotional attachments. Throughout the nineteenth century, gender roles were increasingly characterized by a division of activity into separate spheres for men and women. Men moved freely between home and the outside world, however, women were largely restricted to the home and remained financially dependent upon a man. While this situation offered women more power within the home, that power was very limited in scope. As the twentieth century neared, more and more women began to challenge the societal expectations placed upon them. Many Americans began to fear that the family was disintegrating due to "a declining birth rate, a rising divorce rate, and efforts of a growing number of women to break out of their separate sphere of domesticity by obtaining a higher education, joining women’s organizations, and taking jobs outside the home" (Kellogg and Mintz 1937). As this progressive movement gained momentu... ...ifestyle as the manager of a profitable farm. But while Joan has thrived in her professional and her social life, Alexandra is emotionally stunted as a result of her struggle against societal norms. Works Cited Cather, Willa. O Pioneers! New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1993. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "Mr. Peebles’ Heart." "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Other Stories. Ed. Paul Negri. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1997. 63-70. Kellogg, Susan and Steven Mintz. "Family Structures." Encyclopedia of American Social History. Ed. by Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn and Peter W. Williams). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1993. 1925-1945. Pleck, Elizabeth H. "Gender Roles and Relation." Encyclopedia of American Social History. Ed. by Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn and Peter W. Williams). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1993. 1945-1961.

Big MAck :: essays research papers

Sunday Night Match – up: Big Mac vs. Whopper   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By reading that comparison of the Big Mac and the Whopper, many pros and cons came to mind. For every good thing the Big Mac has, the Whopper doesn’t, and for every good thing the Whopper has, the Big Mac doesn’t. For instance, the Whopper has only one beef patty that is only slightly larger than one of the Big Mac’s 2 beef patties. Both of thee hamburgers are relatively the same price, yet both have different things to offer. The Big Mac’s beef patties are fried, and the Whoppers patties are broiled. The broiled beef patties are better for you healthwise then the fried patties are. The Big Mac still offers more to the customer for the same price though. Or does it? The Whopper only uses 2 slices of bread, while the Big Mac uses 3. The Whopper seems to be better for your health than the Big Mac. Even though it doesn’t offer as much food, the nutritional value would be better for the human consumption. The whopper has brolied beef, which is healthier than the Big Macs Fried beef. The slices of onion that are on top of the Whopper could very possibly add up to be more onion on top of the Big Mac, which would give the consumer more nutrition, and worse breath. Once again the Whopper offers 2-3 slices of tomato while the Big Mac offers lettuce. 2-3 slices of tomato is proven to have better nutrition than 1slice of lettuce. Both ketchup and Mayonnaise are used as toppings on the Whopper. While only â€Å"sauce† is used on the Big Mac. For all we know the Big Mac special sauce could be ground up rat meat

Chinese Foreign Policy & National Security Essay

The China-South Korea axis is perhaps the most overlooked variable in the strategic environment of Northeast Asia. For nearly five decades their relationship was characterized by war, lack of dialogue and non-recognition; then, over a period of some three years, this situation gave away to fully normalized and amiable relations in 1992. Rapprochement between Seoul and Beijing in 1992 opened one of the first frontiers of the post-Cold War thaw in the region, and future security will hinge at least partly on this core relationship. In this context, Cha analyzes the evolution of Sino-South Korean reconciliation, and argues that the South Korea’s engagement policy from the late 1980s in the political, economic, and cultural arenas played a major part in eliciting unprecedented cooperation from Beijing, however, its initiatives alone were not a sufficient condition to prompt this cooperation. A prior and necessary condition was a change in the strategic context surrounding China and the Korean Peninsula that raised both the benefits of cooperation and the costs of non-cooperation; the end of Cold War . In the context of security environment in Northeast Asia, South Korea’s success in engaging China has implications for future security on the Korean Peninsula. On balance, the axis is a stabilizing factor but not without its share of future challenges. With this in mind, the key questions of the article include: (1) How does one explain the growth of cooperation between China and South Korea? (2) To what extent has Sino-ROK rapprochement been the result of successful strategies on the part of South Korea to ‘engage’ China? (3) What are the implications on North Korea? For a quarter-century after the Korean War, Sino-South Korean relations sat at the intersection of the global East-West conflict and the Sino-Soviet split, making any hint of cooperation impossible.1 However, since the middle 1980s, Sino-South Korean relationship has moved from being sworn enemies and opposed combatants in the Korean War, to being potential economic partners (but still strategic adversaries), and fully normalized diplomatic relations in 1992. Three key drivers propelled the change in the relationship: (1) the transformation of strategic environment concomitant to the end of Cold War, which established the baseline for post-war interaction. In this context, Sino-Soviet reconciliation was a significant factor in Chinese calculations to normalize with Seoul. In particular, the end of Sino-Soviet rivalry reduced in Chinese minds the strategic consequences of ‘losing’ North Korea to Moscow, and made opening to South Korea more feasible. Furthermore, in South Korea’s view, China had evolved from being a revisionist power to being a status quo one, in the degree to which Beijing emphasized ‘unification’ or ‘peace maintenance’ as the security priority for the Peninsula. ‘Unification’ was associated with China’s revolutionary power and support for North Korea to overthrow the South – the essence of China’s one Korea policy of the Cold War. On the other hand, ‘peace maintenance’ implied stability outcome for Korea by recognizing South Korea and opposing provocative acts by the North which might upset the unstable peace on the Peninsula. (2) Domestic change in China concomitant to Deng Xiaoping’s modernization reforms, and subsequent separation of politics from economics. The initial economic trade was largely indirect, transacted through third-party intermediaries or South Korean trading firms in Hong Kong. By 1985, however, total Chinese-South Korea trade surpassed that between China and North Korea. During the 1980s, while the two sides still viewed one another as military adversaries, they increasingly recognized each other as economic opportunities. The beginnings of a diplomatic relationship also emerged in the 1990s with the establishment of trade offices between the Korea Trade Promotion Association (KOTRA) and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in 1990, which facilitated shift from indirect trade to open and direct transactions, and subsequently in establishing formal diplomatic relations in August 1992. (3) South Korea’s conscious policy of engagement to elicit cooperation from China, in particular using non-punitive, non-coercive diplomacy and seeking mutual accommodation. South Korea’s engagement strategy contained the following tiers: first, economic linkages, investment and trade ties to increase the benefits to China of cooperation, and the costs of non-cooperation, providing foreign capital and technology, separating political cooperation with economics, but gradually produce cooperative behavior in other arenas. The growth of trade ties in the 1980s was a major reason why China chose to participate in the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics hosted by South Korea, which served as key event to normalize relations. Second tenet of South Korea’s engagement strategy was to treat the opposing state’s perspectives as legitimate per se. This meant engaging China’s divergent position into official dialogues on the proposals for enhancing peace and stability in the region such as the Four-Party talks, and more importantly South Korea’s recognition of One China Policy, acknowledging Beijing as the only legal government in China. These initiatives at the diplomatic front were followed by general increase in communication flows on the business, educational, and cultural levels to cultivate goodwill. In this context, South Korea’s engagement strategy included the following goals: (1) cultivate Beijing’s cooperation by tying Chinese national interests to stability on the Peninsula; (2) improve South Korea’s credibility in the international arena by enhancing its image as a ‘regional player’ willing to reduce tensions and foster dialogue; and (3) engage North Korea through alternative channels. In order to pursue these goals, South Korea utilized the following means: in the macro-political perspective, the strategy of engagement of China was pursued through the policy of Nordpolitik and Globalization (segyehwa) which implied mutual economic prosperity as a means of expanding diplomatic ties with former adversaries as well as assuming a leading role for South Korea in international organizations and the continued expansion of program multi-directional diplomacy (i.e. using meetings of multilateral bodies such as APEC, ASEAN, non-governmental track-t wo diplomacy, high-level military exchanges). The second method of engagement has been sports diplomacy – participating in athletic competitions hosted by each country provided a useful means by to express good will and interest in expanding the economic cooperation (Seoul 1988 Olympics, Beijing Asian Games 1990). What was the benchmark of success of South Korea’s engagement strategy? The key was not only engaging China, but also the terms of policy toward North Korea. The following measure could be used: (A) Failure – Chinese support of North Korea (B) Minimal Success – ‘1.5’ Korea policy; formal support of North Korea and de-facto recognition of South Korea (C) Moderate Success – equidistance between North and South Korea (D) Very Successful – discourage North Korean provocation and aggression (E) Most Successful – China supports only South Korea Cha argues that the outcome of South Korea’s engagement falls in the middle range (B to D). For example, Chinese behavior on the North Korean nuclear issue in 1993-94, when Beijing sided with the US and South Korea on many aspects (such as opposing North Korea to renege Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and abide to non-nuclear Peninsula), however, at the same time Beijing expressed strong opposition against any acts of coercion against the North. It persistently pressed for dialogue and negotiona as the only acceptable means of settling the dispute, and opposed any U.S. led sanctions thought the UN Security Council. A more successful outcome was the redefined Chinese behavior on UN admission of the two Koreas in 1991, in which Chinese accepted dual membership of the two Koreas in the UN. Arguing that South Korean engagement of China has been sustained, comprehensive and moderately successful, the next question is how this new relationship will affect security on the Korean Peninsula and throughout the broader region? Salient issues include the impact of the Asian financial crisis, the dynamics of second U.S.-North Korea nuclear crisis, the effect of Bejing-Seoul dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente on South Korea’s alliance with Washington, and the future challenges that could be posed by Korean unification. (1) The impact of the Asian Financial Crisis didn’t affect China-South Korean relations thus far. In-fact, in 2003 China has surpassed the U.S. as South Korea’s largest trading partner (2) Sino-South Korean relations have important implications in understanding current relations between North and South Korea. Under Kim Dae Jung, South Korea initiated Sunshine Policy that rests on Seoul’s assurances of no-isolation, no destabilization, and no absorption. The Sunshine Policy is in many ways similar to the engagement strategy toward China, both in form and potential success. In particular, it is consistent (despite North’s provocations) and designed to elicit cooperation from the opposing state. However, there are also differences- regarding intentions; for cooperation to emerge, the opposing state has to be engageable. North Korea’s behavior does not suggest she is open to an improvement of relations. Second, there are differences in South Korea’s capabilities of early 1990’s and late 1990s, in particular, in the early 1990s South Korea that engaged China did so from a position of relative strength and prosperity; however, in the late 1990s, the Asian financial crisis put South Korean position to a relative weakness., because conciliatory gestures are more likely to be interpreted as appeasement rather than engagement. Hence success to engagement of North Korea is not likely. (3) Looking beyond the immediate North Korean nuclear problem, Korean unification raises a plethora of new factors that would test the resilience of China-South Korea engagement. The absence of the North Korean buffer would give rise to a situation in which two powers with different regimes share a contiguous border. Another future challenges is on the economic front – the rising China may hange its trade needs and increase competition with Korea. A final potential conflict between a united Korea and China centers on nationalism, and the two-million ethnic Korean living in Chinese Jilin province, which a unified Korea might claim. In the final analysis, the dramatic transformation of Chin-South Korean relations in the 1990s represents the most successful case of engaging China in East Asia. The lessons stemming from this engagement include: (1) consistency- a policy can only be successful if it is applied consistently and deliberately, (2) engagement requires will and domestic political support to sustain the policy even in the face of little reciprocity by the other state; (3) engagement applied from a position of strength conveys credibility, but applied from a position of weakness connotes appeasement. For the foreseeable future, the burden of managing the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula falls even more on the new China-South Korea dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tente and the continuing U.S.-South Korea Alliance. My Observation: Victor Cha offers a plausible analysis of the South Korea’s engagement strategy and the factors that have significantly improved Sino-South Korean relations, nonetheless, I would argue that he underestimated the historical factors that bind China and South Korea together, which might have accelerated the rapprochement on both sides. Traditionally, Korea has fallen under the Chinese sphere of influence, with Korea belonging to the first-tier state of the Sino-centered worldview. In this context, another traditional binding element is the continuing anti-Japanese sentiments and mistrust in both Koreas and China that target Japanese sense of irresponsibility and demand apology for its war atrocities. Taken together, I would argue that these factors also facilitated the relatively rapid transformation of the relations, on a personal level between Korean and Chinese officials. In the context of enhancing peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, positive Sino-South Korean relations certainly play an important role. Both states are aware of this factor, and share similar interests. However, Beijing seems to be in a dilemma, it desperately does not want to face a collapse of North Korea nor does it want to see a nuclear North Korea. Hence, China’s actions in the foreign policy arena are still bound to the minimum necessary level to ensure stability. Ironically, while the Chinese officials have been claiming that they are making efforts to persuade North Korea to enter multilateral dialogue and negotiation, they also claim that North Korea doesn’t listen as it used to. In this regard, my question is: How much leverage does China have over North Korea? 🙂 1 From the ROK perspective, during the Cold War China was part of the communist bloc, a patron of revolutionary regimes in Asia, and thus one of the primary threats to South Korea’s survival. China’s intervention in the Korean War in 1950, in conjunction with the July 1961 Friendship Treaty between China and North Korea with its automatic intervention clause cemented South Korea’s perceptions of China as a threat. At the same time, China’s hostility toward South Korea was equally intense. South Korea was the ‘fascist’ axis of the ‘iron triangle’ that included ‘U.S. imperialism’, and ‘Japanese militarism.’

College Course Preference Essay

Months from now, senior high school students will be graduating and will be entering a new chapter of their lives—college life. In line with this, the incoming college freshmen should have decided on what program they should take in college. Unfortunately, senior students nowadays are facing a dilemma on their college course preference. This quandary made the researcher conduct a study regarding the factors that influence seniors’ decision making in their college course preference. Information Technology, Nursing, and Hotel and Room Management are the usual courses that are taken up by many students because of the popularity. Some of them are constrained by their parents’ desire while some based their choice to one’s mental capacity. Some are hindered by their family status and there are those who still pursue their dreams. Some are undecided and end up taking a course which doesn’t fit them. The seniors are loaded with a pile of school works, their theses, and basic accountancy. On weekends, some still find time to spend it with their friends in malls, computer shops, play basketball or just dillydally despite their busy schedule while some make use of these days to study their next lessons or prepare for their incoming thesis defense. These things made them forget that soon, they will be leaving this school and they need to pick a course and find a university or college. They even missed to search for courses and universities they might want to apply to but instead they arrive applying for a course they don’t even like. The researcher desires to help the seniors and the next batches in deciding on what course to take in college by determining the factors that may influence them. The researcher wanted them to have an easier way to make a choice through presenting the respondents options that will determine the factors influencing their college course preference. This may also help the guidance counselor of the school in advising the students who are experiencing dilemma regarding their college course preference.

Cost Accounting Past FInal

January 10,800 February 1 5,600 March 12,200 April 10,400 May 9,800 The inventory of finished products at the end of each month is to be equal to 25% of the sales estimate for the next month. On January 1, there were 2,700 units of product on hand. No work is in process at the end of any month. Each unit of product requires two types of materials in the following quantities: Material A-4 units Material B- 5 units Materials equal to one half of the next month's production are to be on hand at the end of each month.This requirement will be met on December 31st, 2012. REQUIRED: a) Prepare a budget showing the quantities of each type of material to be purchased each month for the first quarter of 2013 Question Two (20 marks) KILL Industries use weighted-average process costing to determine the cost of goods manufactured. The firm began the current year with 20,000 units in process, 75% complete. Work was begun on an additional 90,000 units during the period. The period ended with 8,000 u nits in process, 40% complete.Materials are added at the beginning of the process, labor when the units are 50% complete, and overhead is re sold for scrap at $0. 10 each. Normally, 2% of the units inspected are expected to be rejected. Costs attached to beginning work-in-process were $80,000 for materials, $120,000 for labor, and $150,000 for overhead. Current costs for the period were $371,000 for materials, $475,000 for labor and $865,280 for overhead. One hundred thousand good units were completed and transferred out during the period. ) Prepare a cost of production report for this department using weighted average process costing using the vertical format (as taught in class, not in the text) b) Prepare Journal entries to record the activities for the month Question Three (22 marks) Pfizer-Plow Pharmaceuticals is a major seller of cold remedies. Its product line consists of aspirin, cough lozenges, cold capsules and a nasal spray. The firm manufactures only the cold capsules in Puerco Ricoh.The other products are purchased from firms which specialize in the manufacture of those products: For the first quarter of 2012, management of Pfizer-Plow prepared the following master budget: Sales Aspirin 10,000 cases Lozenges 20,000 cases Capsules 20,000 cases Spray 5,000 cases Total Sales Aspirin Lozenges Spray Manufacturing Costs: Caffeine 40,000 grams 400,000 Antihistamine 60,000 grams 300,000 Aspirin concentrate 100,000 grams 350,000 Direct labor 40,000 hours Overhead (all fixed) 500,000 Total Costs Net Income Through excellent SIT inventory control, the firm was able to keep purchases and production exactly equal to unit sales.The firm uses actual process costing for its manufacturing operation. A summary of the actual results for the first quarter of 2012 follow: Cost of purchases 1 ZOO cases 20,000 cases $200. 00 a case Capsules 2000 cases $310. 00 a case ,000 cases $390. 00 a case Actual Manufacturing costs incurred during the period were: Caffeine 45,000 g rams $427,500 Antihistamine 64,000 grams $384,000 Aspirin Concentrate 1 1 5,000 grams 414,000 Direct labor 43,000 hours Overhead 482,000 a) Determine actual cost net income b) Calculate I.Sales quantity variance it. Sales mix variance iii. Sales Price variances ‘v. Material yield variance v. Material mix variance v'. Material price variances c) Reconcile actual net income to the master budget in a single statement, including any other appropriate variances Question Four (12 marks) revived more Buts of heat per cord of wood than any other wood burning fireplace insert or stove. One model, the Heatproof, sells for $1,800, and a new model, the Heat Queen, sells for $1,200.A traditional costing system ‘. The BBC system b) Which system would most likely do a better Job of measuring costs for this product emphasis/keep or drop decision? Explain. C) Franklins controller points out that the BBC information could also be used to identify and eliminate non-value added activities. Explain how BBC and BAM can be used for this purpose. Question Five (18 marks) The steam-generating department of the Sotto Company provides the power necessary to run the machines in two production departments, Pl and UP.Based upon past experience, it has been determined that the total costs of operating the team generating equipment contains a fixed element of $30,000 per year and a variable element of $2. 00 per 1,000 cubic meters of steam. In addition to any allocated overhead costs, Pl has direct fixed overhead of $20,000 per year and UP has direct fixed overhead of $10,000 per year. Direct variable overhead in Pl is $1. 00 per machine hour. Direct variable overhead in UP is $2 per machine hour.Each machine hour in Pl requires the use of 1,000 cubic meters of steam. Each machine hour in UP requires the use of 250 cubic meters of steam. Maximum yearly machine hours in Pl and UP are 20,000 and 30,000, respectively. Under current economic conditions, management expects to utilize 10,000 machine hours in Pl and 30,000 machine hours in UP during 2013. A) Determine the expected 2013 operating costs of the steam-generating department.

Examining Cultural Elements Essay

The following paper will look at the ways a therapist may be able to look upon and treat a family keeping all the cultural and the social boundaries, also known as the ethnocentric barriers aside. When looking at the view of the therapist, it may be important to look at the context of the family theories which have been introduced by sociologists all over the world. This idea was particularly introduced by the GAP or the group for the advancement of psychiatry. The association explained that it may be important for the families to be ascribed roles which are not specified when looking at the family. thus, if in any family which has an increasing amount of conflict, it may be helpful if it is somehow possible for the therapist to ensure that there are not any such roles put forward and emphasized. Note that in such a case particularly in a country with the traditional societal rules, it may be unlikely that such informality and the absence of clear cut roles would be possible. In such a case the therapist must allow for a setting and an environment such that the rigidity formed by the society is minimized so as to ensure an effective functioning of the family. This way neither the societal norms will be completely challenged, nor would there be any difficulty associated with the societal stereotypes. Another aspect which needs to be taken into consideration is that of the process of mystification. This process of mystification has been described as a process by which there are attempts made by one party to keep the other party in an awe state by maximizing the distance that they have between each other. When applying to the family life it implies denying the child’s experience by relabelling it. in other words if there is going to a conflict in the family, it may be very likely for the parents to blame the children rather than excepting their own mistakes because they lie in a superior position in contrast to the child. When talking about it with relation to the therapist, making sure that this element of mystification does not occur in a strict family environment where there may be a great deal of respect for the elders may be problematic. However, the therapist, by looking upon at all the aspects of the problem should make sure that such biases are not essentially a part of the experience he encounters when treating the family. perhaps, the therapist can take the family to a different setting, perhaps away from the present place where they are in order to ensure that such a problem does not occur that much. Apart from this, the therapist may also be able to effectively provide for therapy by looking at how the family has and follows the system of double blinds. By this we imply a system in which there are two contractory points. It may thus be very likely for an individual to take up one and not both the points. For instance how boys are told to be tough and at the same time not be harsh with their mothers. These situations imply that an individual can follow only one and thus a family conflict may very likely occur. In such a case, the therapist should easily identify the double bind situation and then allow for a dialogue or a discussion to take place between the related parties. After looking and keeping all the things into consideration there can be a presentation of the values and norms of the societies and then there can be an agreement reached upon. No only this, but an important thing that should be done by the therapists is to carefully observe the way these discussions take place. This would be more and way better than a mere speculation because the therapists may make an increasing amount of assumptions which may otherwise not be made in case of a proper observation. not only this, but it may also be important to note that by observing, it may be possible that other possible forms pf conflicts that occur within the family and may not completely be realized or perhaps are otherwise hidden are highly likely to come up. It should be noted that the observations by the therapist must also be made first and fore mostly, perhaps even before one to one counseling of the families occur. This may be so that there is an absolute certainty that there are no previous biases left for evaluation. Therefore, one may say that there may be numerous ways through which the cultural and societal biases can be avoided by a therapist. First and for mostly can be a clear evaluation of the conflict that occurs in the family with a particular look at the element of mystification as well as double binds. Not only this, but also observing the family to look and obtain additional data may also be very helpful. Reference: How the students’ culture effect their behavior www. literacynet. org/lp/hperspectives/culteffect. html Lyman Stone, How much does culture and lifestyle affect behavior? http://www. helium. com/items/493732-how-much-does-culture-and-lifestyle-affect-behavior What makes lives, what influences Behavior?

What would You do if YouI won 200 million dollar lottery Research Paper

What would You do if YouI won 200 million dollar lottery - Research Paper Example While most individuals believe they would relish this opportunity, it’s been noted that many of these people end up facing considerable problems in their lives because of the sudden influx of money (Veneziani). I recognize if I suddenly won 200 million dollars I would make the best use possible of it. In winning 200 million dollars one of the first things I would recognize is that I need to preserve some sort of structure within my life. Past lottery winners have even gone as far as keeping the jobs they held before winning the lottery (Celezic). While I don’t believe that I would keep working the same job I would attempt to preserve many of the aspects of my current life. In these regards, I would continue to live in the same town. I would also work at keeping the same group of friends. Rather I would implement my money to stay within the general structure of my current life, but enjoy it in fantastic ways. For instance, I would buy a much larger house, with a pool, an d an excellent view. I would then throw large parties at this home. This way I would be able to keep some semblance of my current existence, while enjoying the thrill of the million-dollar prize. Another important element of winning a million dollars is making safe investments. .

Customer Profile Pape for La Perla Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Customer Profile Pape for La Perla - Essay Example The fashion pipeline of La Perla products is a representation of a broad range of final and consumer goods. The firm proposes sleepwear and underwear for men and women (including bras, matching sets, briefs, lingerie, pajamas, and undershirts). The marketing line also has beauty and knitwear products (such as shower foam, body cream, and EdT) for the women. This paper aims at developing a customer profile for La Perla. The store produces skirts, pants, jeans, handbags, jewelry, blouses, dresses, tops, sweaters, coats, jackets, and shoes. La Perla positions the products within softer and sensitive to the client needs unlike compelling products the obverted sexuality in which most lingerie brands are placed. La Perla designs among women favor soft and feminine sensuality.1 The terms of service from La Perla are based on stronger points and dense storage networks within Italy with fashion stores and exclusive positioning of the central city and immediate areas. The focus also offers the convenience in terms of shopping experiences. The marketing agents renew women’s underwear merchandise up to four times each year through constant offering of consumer fresh models and other greater choices. Fabric compositions are used for the products. La Perla focuses on a market segment that allures high-quality, elegant, and luxurious products solicited from valuable fabrics. There is much input towards emphasis on artisan aspects in manufacturing immediate products as well as stressing implications on the Italian craft heritage. Leavers Lace and the Soutache process, as well as Frastaglio techniques, are illustrations of the valuable hand-made fabrics and techniques that are used in crafting La Perla products. Through the origins of corsetry, La Perla has in-depth knowledge for dressmaking as well as possession of unique â€Å"body knowledge† to enhance the female emotion in socially diverse ways. La Perla’s products are strong in development of fabric

The 2007 Cricket World Cup Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The 2007 Cricket World Cup - Essay Example Obtaining such funds was a big challenge, in that the organizers and the sports ministries involved had to present their governments with the requests for the allocation of funds to finance the renovations. This process took long before such funds were approved, with some countries like Jamaica almost wanting to cut down the fund proposals that were presented, claiming that spending $100 million on the cricket final hosting was not worth, since there was little observable benefit from hosting such an event to the country (Atherton, 2007). Low attendance is yet another challenge that faced the organizers of this event. The 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean was not attended by a large audience of fans. This lack of high attendance was caused by the restrictions that the organizers of the event had placed, for security purposes, which hindered any individual from bringing in outside items such as food, kits, musical instruments among other items mostly used by the fans during such events (Tyson, 2007). The organizers of the events over commercialized it, by requiring that those attending the event purchase requisite items for use from within, an aspect that killed the morale of the fans, who would have attended. The high prices charged for the ticket is yet another factor that hindered the large attendance of the fans to the event. This hindered the achievement of the set revenue target of $42 million (Jordan, 2006). Lack of good preparation is yet another challenge that faced the organizers of the events. Poor preparations led to some of the major venues where the event had to take place remain incomplete, by the time the event was kicking off (Chambers, 2007). Security concerns and the selection of incompetent jury, who caused confusion in the final match, are the other challenges that the organizers faced. There are various positive and negative impacts the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean had on the countries that hosted the event. Among the posit ive impacts is the income generating opportunities that were presented to this countries, courtesy of the event (Tyson, 2007). With the event running for six weeks, there were many business opportunity that were open for the entrepreneurs in different industries of those countries to capitalize on. Such opportunities mostly favored the transport, the trade, tourism and hospitality industry as well as the entertainment industry. That was a period of high-income generation for such businesses, in that the goods and services they offer were in high demand due to a higher number of visitors. Improved cooperation and coordination is yet another positive impact that was brought by this event. The Caribbean countries were forced to enhance their cooperation and coordination, since the event required that all the countries in that island co-host the event, with each country hosting six matches. This being the situation, the countries were forced to coordinate and cooperate in the organizati on and management of the event, serving to enhance their relationships (Lakshman, 2008). Promotion of the region as a tourism destination is yet another benefit obtained by the Caribbean countries from hosting the event (Jordan, 2006). Since there were different people from various parts of the world who attended the event, they learnt the beauty of the region and its attractiveness, enhancing the chances of such visitors coming back to tour the region. Additionally, the focus of the media on the

Museum Visit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Museum Visit - Essay Example The art shows the events that take place in the voyage journey, and it comprise of the sailors, boat and paddler in a water body. The water body is engraved with the aspect of the rough stormy movements of the water. According to the proponent of the art, it communicates the actual world in which we leave; it challenges our individual view of culture, politics, and consumerism for all spheres of life in a period. The art is presented in reaction to an arena of heroism and abstract expressionism. He depicts and eradicates the ideology that has been gathered over a period and tends to downplay the art originality and adopting various mechanisms of the actual into the realm of the artistic work. Thus, this allows for the endless flow of reproduction of the images in a rapidly changing environment and the world around us. He draws the inspirational representation of the symbolic ideas that have a great impact on individuals and presents the subject matter in a contemporary existence in t he world around us. In the actual world, Andy Warhol presents the art to cover the aspect of experimentation of the world events, our emotional reaction, and an experience that we gather as we relate to the events, subversion and attitude. These require the insightful interpretation of the colors used, the events represented and the general expression that is created in the artwork (Brown-British, active USA, 1831-1913). The message portrayed in the art concerns the dimension of culture, politics and how we relate to them in the process of human life. The sea or the water body as used symbolically represents the daily happening that take place in our environment, the message portrayed is that the events faced in life has two sides. The political, economical, financial and cultural system can be favorable or unfavorable, but the individuals in the environment develop the tools of management of the problems and the challenges. In the literal view of

Introduction to film studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Introduction to film studies - Essay Example uelle Seinger is about a book dealer whose primary aim is to make money and who is hired by a wealthy book collector to track down a particular book called ‘The Ninth Gate’. The book dealer is also supposed to authenticate the book. Only one of the three copies of this book exists in the world and the wealthy collector is very keen on getting hold of this book, as he believes that this book will be able to conquer evil. The opening sequence of the film is very arresting and the focus shall be on that particular sequence while analyzing the mise en scene. The director begins the film by taking a wide shot of an old man shown sitting in a room and writing a note at his desk. Then the camera slowly moves towards a small chair focussing on it for about thirty seconds before panning straight to the top of the ceiling where a rope is shown hanging from a chandelier. While the camera is zooming on this sequence, the background music and the sound of a clock ticking away build up the suspense and makes the audience is filled with an ominous feeling that something terrible is going to happen. The director then skilfully cuts the camera from the rope on the chandelier to a medium shot of the old man where it stays on him showing him stopping his writing and then folding the sheet of paper. The atmosphere of suspense is reaching a crescendo as the camera again suddenly cuts from this shot to follow the old man’s legs while he is walking towards the chair. Because of the skilful placement of the camera and shot angles, the audience has already got an inkling of what’s going to happen but the music and the camera shots keep the suspense building till it reaches the man climbing onto the chair, putting his head through the rope and tightening it and then quickly pushing away the chair. As the chair falls down on the second try, the audien ce can see the man’s feet trembling and the sound of the broken neck along with the background score heightens the drama in the

Why the need for a Nurse Practitioner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why the need for a Nurse Practitioner - Essay Example They are required by patients to carry out the tasks of daily administration of medicines and also to be looked after during the time they are in hospital. The nurse practitioner has also become necessary on private basis for those recuperating at home. Nurses have to attend to people of all age groups. The lives of patients depend on the way the nurse administers to their requirements. Normally, doctors diagnose and prescribe medicines. It is the nurses who attend to the actual requirements of administering medicines and looking after the patients. Nurses are also involved in the field of research and help in augmenting new medical treatments for various diseases. They are often involved in collaborating with physicians and other health professionals as required. They counsel and educate patients on health behavior and self-care. They prescribe physical therapy and other rehabilitative treatments. And they carry out numerous other tasks involving medical care. The nature and scope of nurse practitioners is dependent on the context in which she is authorized to practice. They are general nurses and specialized nurses. The role of each is unique and confers knowledge and legitimate recognition in clinical practice. The role of a nurse is developed through access to service and his/her outcome of the patients' treatment.

Health and Safety Practices Plan (Part Two), Product Safety and Research Paper

Health and Safety Practices Plan (Part Two), Product Safety and Security Risks - Research Paper Example 132). The Apple Company strongly believes and upholds each worker’s health and safety. The company requires its suppliers create a safe working conditions and at the same time upholding the standards in its Code. Risks assessment techniques The company’s has health and safety programs that start with standard audits, and include occupational health and safety training which is carried out throughout its supplier base. Audits have resulted in various noncompliance findings, such as workers not wearing appropriate personal protective equipment, lack of first-aid supplies and fire detection equipment, or inadequate exit paths for emergency evacuations. In the last ten years, Apple has grown to become one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world. Apple and other American industries have achieved a dozen of achievements nearly unmatched in modern history. Workers involved in the assembling of iPhones, iPads and other devices are said to labor in harsh and di fficult conditions, which is according to employees inside most of its plants, advocates of these workers and documents published by companies themselves. Security risk More serious violations in the past have also included the exposure to chemicals as a result of poor ventilation, and where workers perform activities at dangerous heights in the absence guardrails or safety harnesses. The apple production uses n-hexane to clean mobile phones screen. The employees find the smell very irritating which makes the eye aches. In case of a prolonged inhalation one may feel weak, in addition, the chemical causes tingling and numbness in the hands and feet. The first poisoning case was discovered in July 2009 and triggered a strike at that time. Afterwards, Wintek sent two doctors to give employees physical exams. According to an employee, the only test the doctors did was to tap their knees with hammers. While recognizing that this is a, method of diagnosis, workers felt the examination was not professional. None of the workers were diagnosed as poisoned during the health examination. Deeply worried about their health, workers went to hospitals for further exams. Around 100 of them were told that their nerves were damaged. After the health examination, the employee had to be advised how he/she would attend the duties to prevent further damage of the nerves. Explaining why workers had to rest at home instead of receiving treatment at the hospital, the management said there was not enough bed space in the hospital. Wintek, which Apple’s n-hexane supplier, promised that workers who were discharged from hospital could rest at home for 3 months. The victims were entitled to a compensation, which included the basic wage, nutrition allowance and meal subsidy. Since the workers' strike, propane and isopropanol are being used in place of n-hexane, and the ventilation system has been improved. However, workers believe the new cleanser is also toxic. Some time the company discovers worker health and safety issues not covered by its regular audits. The company digs deeper to understand the cause of the problem and, in some cases, hire experts to conduct specialized assessments. The results of these assessments have led to the development of new standards for its suppliers to follow. Safety measures In the year 2010, Apple sought the services of Foxconn to initiate an employee assistance program (EAP) at one of its

Egyptian Style Essay Example for Free

Egyptian Style Essay â€Å"Egypt has long fascinated the west. † This couldn’t be more true. Egyptian art can be said to be one of the most significant periods in art history. Their modern advances in such a far time ago were made unknowingly and helped shape art to what it is today. By just looking at it, Egyptian art may not come off as amazing as it actually is. One must dig deeper. The artwork they were creating wasn’t always made to be art. Instead, it was mainly made for religious purposes. Anything they created was being made to be symbolic in a religious view. They decorated their temples with paintings and statues in the belief that doing this served the gods, showed devotion to the king, and maintained the order of the universe. There was much more involved in the artwork, or craftwork of the Ancient Egyptians. They created their own style that everyone followed, and it reoccured through many periods of Egyptian history. Styles can range from abstract to realism, expressionism to surrealism. But in order to understand these styles, one must need to know the true definition of style. When used in describing the history of art, style usually refers to a characteristic, or a number of characteristics that we can identify as constant, recurring, or distinct. In art, the sum of such characteristics can be associated with a particular artist, group, or culture, or with an artist’s work at a specific time. Ancient Egyptian art forms styles were just that. They are characterized by regularity or consistency and detailed depiction of human beings and the nature. Artists wanted to preserve everything of the present time as clearly and permanently as possible. Completeness took precedence over prettiness. These forms and art styles present an extraordinarily vivid representation of the time and the culture, as the ancient Egyptian life was lived thousand of years before. Egyptian art seemed to obey one law. The mode of representing man, nature and the environment remained almost the same for thousands of years at that time, and the most admired artists were those who replicated most admired styles of the past. A Shabti is a small human figure representing a person who would perform a given task for the deceased in the afterlife. Described as funerary figurines, these figures were costly items produced for the privileged people. The wealthy nobles and royalty did not plan on doing any work themselves, so they would take their symbolic servants with them. Shabties were made from various materials including; faience, wax, clay, wood, stone, metal and other minerals. The Shabties observed, were from the time of 1932-1759 BCE. Covering the period of the Middle Kingdom. They all seemed to be very similar by the way the were posed with their arms crossed and standing up. All their facial expressions seemed to have the same appearance as well. The painting or carving of the writing all looks similar but once looked at more closely to see the details, the the amount of time put into the pictures and writing can be seen. Many of patterns include lines drawn on the clothing. Also the figures were called upon to carry out the tasks in the after life. To do so the Shabti was supplied with miniature agricultural tools to fulfill these tasks. Which can be seen when looked at very closely. What makes them different from each other is the medium they were created in. The faience figures are a blueish to light green color with most of the writing carved into it. The wood Shabties are painted over to be any color, sometimes even with golden leaf. To call these figures a type of object is correct. They are all objects that can be seen and once were touched and made. They all are this same type of object because even though they were made at different times and in difference places in Egypt, they all still are seen today. If the Shabties were not grouped together, being able to recognize them separately would be just as easy. They are very distinct figures by their size, silhouette and detailed writing. Being able to be recognized Ancient Egyptian Shabties when separate and still look appropriate when together is one of the style characteristics Egyptians were able to create. The similarities in the each other figures, is the characteristic of being consistent. How each statue was placed in the glass case, they almost seemed to be grouped. Beginning with the alabaster, the two figures were both of medium size and couldn’t make out much of the writing on them. The next grouping was ones made of limestone. With these three figures grouped together, one could see how they were created by the same artist following the steps of the first. The largest of the bunch was the limestone, Coffin of Luy. This was different from most in the collection since it was an actual open figure, but still had a reoccurring pattern like he other figures. The next grouping, The Three Shabties of Setau, were made out of wood. These were the most colorful, since they were all painted. They seemed to still be like the older figures but made in a newer and more decorated way. The figures made of faience varied in size, some only a few inches. They were either carved in or has black paint writing on them. As seen, there is a large variety of Shabties, yet the sense of style kept between was able to pass along through hundreds of years. The one Shabti that stood out to me was the, Shabty of Sati. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Reign of Amenhotep III 1390-1352 BCE. It was made out of faience, but wasn’t the common green-blue color. It had the most different colors all painted on it. Including red, blue, yellow, and green. The whole figured wasnt painted so the faience material could be seen. What drew me to it at first was that it was in a case of its very own. It was in the same pose as the other figures but this one looked very well preserved, not smudged or chipped like many of the others, so it stood out. The combination of the paint and grey made it very unique to use both materials. The style of this figure very much goes with the rest of figures. As stated earlier, the most admired artists were those who replicated the most admired styles of the past. With this figure since it was a later on piece, it seemed to still associate with the same characteristics of the past Shabeti figures. Ancient Egyptian artwork was not meant to be artwork at first. Religious meanings and symbols were the priority. Everything was for the god’s and what would come in their life. But from these practices of art, they created a style of their own. Style in relation to art history, usually refers to a characteristic, or a number of characteristics that we can identify as constant, recurring, or distinct. In art, the sum of such characteristics can be associated with a particular artist, group, or culture, or with an artist’s work at a specific time. The culture of Egyptian art was to keep the process constant of the same kind of art. And as time passed, even if some characteristics changed, the main style recurred somehow. The Shabeti figures did that, and once studied upon more, most of Egyptian art will be styled in the same way, shape, and form.

Game Theories Essay Example for Free

Game Theories Essay In â€Å"Game theories†, Clive Thomson contrasts the differences and similarities between the real world and that of the gaming world, through his depiction and analysis of the economics in both environments. To further drive Thomson’s insight, As a group we discussed two main points that are integral in understanding his perspective on the matter. One, the idea of an â€Å"economical pure model,† a scenario that is present in the gaming world as all individuals are born equal. Two, corruption- the idea that venality exists, and can exist the same way in the gaming world. The existence of both of these topics solidifies Thomson’s claims and can be explored through various examples and scenarios. As Smith states, â€Å"people inherently prefer a free market and the ability to rise above others,† a market that is non-existent as the world offers no â€Å"truly level playing field. † As individuals, we are born into an unpredictable environment that varies immensely between people. Whether the variation occurs in status, finance or cultural demographic, it’s impossible to create a baseline where we can interpret all as equal. â€Å"Capital was inherently unfair and those with power would abuse it,† thus there is no â€Å"pristine world† that exists. However, the gaming world offers individuals with the opportunity to begin as equals. There is no advantage to birth in this surreal world, and thus creating â€Å"the world’s first egalitarian polity. This ideal world is enjoyed by the millions of gaming fanatics who enjoy the undoing of â€Å"all the inequities in society,† something which can only be dreamt about in our world today. Ironically, the corruption that exists in our reality is also mirrored in the gaming community. Players can create businesses within the game, whether clean or dirty, a player can acquire currency through their endeavours. For example, certain individuals within the highly popular simulation game ca lled The Sims Online, a player developed a chain of brothels which led to sizeable profit in gaming currency. Another created a mafia that had the ability to red flag other players and eventually push them to be blacklisted leaving them isolated from other fellow gamers. Through the gaming worlds creation of an egalitarian polity we are shown the existence of an economic pure model in a surreal environment. Corruption that exists in society today is also equally present in the gaming world, that which is produced by the player. Both of these topics were openly discussed and used to further empower Thomson’s contrast of both worlds.

Past Present And Future Of Mcdonalds Marketing Essay

Past Present And Future Of Mcdonalds Marketing Essay McDonalds is the largest chain of fast food restaurant that specializes in making quality hamburgers worldwide. This fast food chain restaurant has over 62 restaurants worldwide with its presence in over 41 countries. McDonalds is engaged in different initiatives all over the world that define its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR calls for companies to behave in a responsible manner socially while carrying their mandate to the public. Moreover, CSR also encompasses the companys social behavior while dealing with other companies and business partners who do business with it. McDonalds therefore owes lots of responsibility in its operations socially to the public as well as its strategic business partners. The chain restaurant also runs several franchises which imply that it deals with several strategic business partners. The increase in public awareness has brought CSR into the limelight as companies seek to incorporate this social responsibility it its plans. McDonalds has a number of CSR driven activities and strategies that shall be considered in this paper The aim of this research paper is to consider the past, present as well as the future Corporate Social Responsibility and business ethics that McDonalds has towards the environment. McDonalds has opened many different outlets and franchised several fast food restaurant outlets as well. This therefore implies that it must consider its social responsibility towards the environment as it seeks to expand into the new market. Corporate Social Responsibility often gives the company an edge against its competitors. In conclusion, the paper will consider some of the CSR and business ethic strategies currently employed by McDonalds while conducting its business. McDonalds has also initiated various programs aimed at developing its CSR way beyond the near future. Thus, the company is committed towards delivering its social responsibility to the market and the immediate environs. It is thus recommended that McDonalds should partners with other likeminded fast food restaurants in order to deliver its CSR in the future. McDonalds should also compare its business ethics with those of other companies and ensure that it is in unison with other companys business ethics. This will aid in delivering an effective CSR. Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 3 Aim and Purpose 3 Situation Analysis 4 Factors and Discussion 4 Values 4 Sustainable supply chain 5 Nutrition and wellbeing 6 Environmental responsibility 7 Employment experience 8 Community responsibility 9 Conclusion 10 Recommendation 11 Works Cited 12 Introduction This report will aid McDonalds in identifying its core CSR strategies that will propel its business goals into the future. The report also identifies the business ethics that McDonalds has practiced over time and the impact of these business ethics to its strategic partners and customers. This report is thus an indicator of how well McDonalds is delivering its CSR and business ethics. McDonalds being the worlds largest hamburger chain fast food restaurant owes the environment a lot in terms of its Corporate Social Responsibility. The environment in this case implies its customers, business partners as well as the public at large. The firm has played a large role in the past towards conserving the environment. In addition, McDonalds continues to develop a sustainable supply chain for the benefit of its suppliers and distributors thus ensuring that there is continuous flow of business. McDonalds CSR revolves around sustainability. This is because the firm identifies that through sustainability, it will be able to get constant products that it uses to make the hamburgers as well as other fast food products. Sustainability also helps McDonalds in the sense that it will be able to sustain its distribution networks, thus benefiting a whole chain of distributors and suppliers. Aim and Purpose This report on the CSR and business ethics for McDonalds will aid the management and executives in the board of McDonalds to better deliver their CSR to their strategic business partners and the public in general. The report also illuminates areas that perhaps McDonalds should consider incorporating into its CSR plan for the next operating year. This report shall assume certain factors. Firstly, that McDonalds CSR is uniform throughout all the countries that it operates fast food restaurants in. secondly, the report shall also assume that the CSR and business ethics that McDonalds has implemented and will implement have gained general acceptance amongst its business partners, customers and the public in general. The limitations to this study include the fact that some of the CSR strategies that McDonalds has implemented are hard to measure. Most of the business ethics can only be explained but cannot be measured in definite terms. In fact, McDonalds cannot establish the extent of success that it has achieved in the past in regard to the CSR strategies. Situation Analysis In each and every country, McDonalds has thrives to develop a menu that fits the tastes and culture of the people in those countries. This has made McDonalds unique in its delivery of fine and quality fast food products. Its CSR strategies have helped it to identify the needs of the people within these destinations and develop fast food solutions that best fits their needs. McDonalds is thus mindful of its customers diverse needs. In addition, McDonalds strives to promote healthy diets that benefit its customer. Research reveals that fast food products are not good for the health, especially for the heart as well as the liver. However, McDonalds disputes this by developing and making fast food products that are free from cholesterol, fat that causes cardiac diseases. The firm has also won several awards in environment conservation and employment sensitivity. McDonalds has no gender inequality whilst employing its staff from the regions where it has expanded. The company hopes to have trained and retrained all its employees in their respective fields by the end of 2012 (May, Cheney and Roper, p.32). According to an employee at the fast food restaurant in Europe, McDonalds is perhaps the best employer and always listens to the needs and demands of the staff; the employment environment is one to die for. Factors and Discussion This section will identify the various CSR strategies that McDonalds has implemented in the past, present and the future of these strategies. The factors are identifies in the ensuing paragraphs. Values McDonalds core values are all aimed at promoting the Corporate Social Responsibility of the firm. This is achieved through giving value to the customers, the supply chain as well as the other business partners with whom McDonalds does business. McDonalds indeed acknowledges the fact that its customers are the reason behind its success and existence. Therefore, the customers are very much valued within the company. The company thus strives to create a warm and welcoming environment for its customers. Secondly, McDonalds values its employees and states that it is committed towards the career growth and development of its employees through a comprehensive training plan. This is perhaps the greatest CSR that McDonalds has. McDonalds believes in empowering and valuing the employees for increased commitment from them and their continued success. McDonalds also maintains high business ethics and thus conducts its business with high ethical standards (Fisher and Lovell, p.33). The company conducts its business with high integrity, honesty and fairness for all its customers and suppliers. McDonalds also values the community in which it operates and strives to give back to the society through sponsoring various community initiatives such as education. McDonalds believes in making the world a better place (Johnson and Turner, p.112). McDonalds being a public company values doing profitable business with all its stakeholders. The company therefore lays much emphasis on profitable business while enforcing its business ethics across all its subsidiaries. This is achieved through maintaining high ethical standards. McDonalds always strives to excel in whatever field it undertakes to operate in. constant improvement is achieved within the company through continued training and innovation. Thus, McDonalds has grown to become the worlds largest fast food chain of restaurants through its commitment towards achieving its CSR as well as maintaining good business ethics. According to Richardson (p.16), McDonalds has achieved much success through its good will initiatives worldwide, hence many customers identify with the positive side of the company. Sustainable supply chain McDonalds suppliers are required to adhere to the strict Code of Conduct which enhances the supply chain ensuring that the fast food giant gets the best quality products as raw material for preparing the fast food restaurants. The firm values its supply chain in such a manner that there is no way a poor quality product can access the firms production unit. In addition, there are checks and balances to ensure that only the best raw materials are used to prepare fast food products. These checks and balances often involve empowering the suppliers to supply quality products through training programs. In 2007, McDonalds established a strong supply chain department which ensures that the quality standards for its suppliers are continuously met by the suppliers (Hanekamp, p.14). The complexity of the supply chain requires that McDonalds maintains an effective communication amongst its suppliers in order to solve and avert problems at an early stage. McDonalds always purchases its products from suppliers who only comply with the established code of conduct thus ensuring continued quality standards adherence (Gitman and McDaniel, p.34). Furthermore, McDonalds always strives to promote a supply chain that is positively supporting the environment. Thus, the supply chain of the fast food giant usually has no adverse effect on the environment. McDonalds therefore supports an environment-friendly supply chain. The supply chain also aims at promoting a positive economic impact on the suppliers and the immediate beneficiaries. According to Crowther and Rayman-Bacchus (p.42), an effective supply chain is one where suppliers receive timely information that will enable them be able to succeed in supplying the best products for the fast food giant. Andersen (p.24) suggests that McDonalds requires improving efficiency of its supply chain and reducing the bottleneck so that the Small and Medium Enterprises within countries where McDonalds operates may be able to benefit from the existence of McDonalds. Nutrition and wellbeing McDonalds is always committed to the wellbeing of its customers through producing fast food products that have no adverse health effects on the customers. The company follows the strict advice of its nutrition experts. There have been concerns about obesity that McDonalds has taken seriously and strived to avoid producing fast food products that may lead to obesity among its customers. Moreover, McDonalds also promoted doing exercises as part of the health promotion program that it started in 1998 (Ferrel, Ferrell and Fraedrich, p.18). Exercising is an imperative activity that McDonalds acknowledges could reduce the health effects of fast foods. Nutrition experts also advice that eating fast food products is not harmful to ones health for as long as they do enough exercises. McDonalds encourages customer to make quality choices regarding its fast food products that will benefit their health. The firm discourages eating for the sake of it and insists on supporting healthy living (Rendtorff, p.142). McDonalds continues to develop high quality and a well balanced diet that serves the needs of its customers comprehensively. The firm has also developed a wide range of choices to enable its customers to choose from, thus increase customer satisfaction. The firm through its nutritionist has developed consumer-friendly nutrition information that enable the customers to gain useful knowledge regarding the fast food products that the firm sells across all its restaurants. This helps the consumers to make an independent choice regarding which fast food product to purchase. Today, a lot of the consumer choices are driven by the nutrition that McDonalds provides its consumers with. McDonalds has strived to improve the communication that it has with its customers, especially children thus encouraging them to make wise nutrition choices. According to Hartman and DesJardins (p.76), McDonalds established the Global Advisory Council (GAC) which works in collaboration with the international teams to source for expert advice regarding nutrition and wellbeing. Environmental responsibility According to Kotler and Lee (p.19), McDonalds has won the Energy Star Partner of the Year award which is usually awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). McDonalds has been recognized for its massive efforts in reducing greenhouse emissions. The firm is sensitive to the environment and concerned more about the global warming. This has promoted the firm to save on energy and thus avert carbon emissions. McDonalds takes its social responsibility concerning the environment seriously. The firm established its very own Global Environment Commitment (Houk and Williams, p.134). The company has continued to focus on improving its commitment towards the environment. As far as McDonalds CSR regarding the environment is concerned, the fast food giant has in the past and present focused on three main areas namely; energy efficiency, sustainable packaging and waste management as well as green restaurant design. McDonalds has sort to use more energy efficient strategies such as the use of natural gas in the fast food restaurants. McDonalds continues to seek ways of increasing energy efficiency. Furthermore, the fast food giant also seeks to reduce the impact of its operations on the environmental impact. In addition, McDonalds continues to explore ways in which it can package the consumers product in packages that are easy to recycle and reuse. Malachowski (p.27) reveals that the company banned the use of plastics in packaging the fast food products. The firm continues to use paper-based packages though it is in a bid to look for an environmental friendly package. The firm has been criticized for using paper-based packages in the wake of the global warming panic. Paper comes from trees and thus by using the paper-based packages, McDonalds may have been going against the environmental preservation requirements. Trevino and Nelson (p.47) reveal that McDonalds has an environmental department which attends the green house conferences in Geneva annually. These officials are in charge of ensuring that McDonalds continues to comply with the environmental laws of various countries where it is established. Most of the restaurants belonging to McDonalds have adopted the green restaurant design which helps in saving energy. This has given McDonalds the opportunity to participate in the reduction of carbon emission through investing in energy efficient buildings. Most of the restaurants belonging to McDonalds have an open space which allows plenty of light to enter into the building thus saving the use of electricity during the day. McDonalds CSR supports the conservation of the environment through reduction of carbon emission as well as the green restaurant designs. Employment experience McDonalds has a policy within all its subsidiaries and fast food restaurants worldwide of giving its employees a priority over all other things. The firm indeed identifies that employees are core in the companys success. McDonalds has in the past devised training programs aimed at employee development. Moreover, the firm empowers its employees to take up new challenges in the fast food market. Furthermore, McDonalds supports human rights which forms part of it global business conduct. Respect to life and the preservation of human dignity has enabled the company to excel in its core relationship with its employees as well as customers and business partners. This has enabled McDonalds to grow through its appreciation of human life and dignity, an area where many other companies have failed. Employees rights are a priority at McDonalds. McDonalds has developed a strategy that allows the employees relative freedom in working with the firm. There are three aspects of the employee priority virtues that McDonalds has identifies namely respect, commitment growth and talent enhancement (Hoffman, p.114). McDonalds has created a culture where every employee is respected and valued globally. In addition, McDonalds is committed towards realizing quality employees through comprehensive training programs and staff development strategies. McDonalds identifies young talented graduates and employees then as graduate trainees thus ensuring that it acquires the right caliber of future employees. These young graduates are drawn from various hospitality colleges and universities across the globe. According to Mullerat and Brennan (p.22), McDonalds always strives to deliver quality employee training to its employees. Moreover, its employment policy is not biased against one kind of gender. There is an open approach towards those employed at McDonalds. Every employee is thus a priority at McDonalds since the firm realized that its workforce holds the key to its valued success. This CSR involving valuing and respecting employees has enabled McDonalds to improve its service provision to its clientele. Community responsibility For ages, McDonalds has been supporting the Olympic Games through feeding program aimed at feeding the athletics. McDonalds is also involved in various charities and also supports education in the developing countries where it has its franchises and fast food restaurants. As part of its bid to return back to the society, McDonalds has sponsored several children programs involving eradication of illiteracy and poverty. McDonalds also sponsors a number of events worldwide including the Olympic Games and walks. Over the past calamities, McDonalds has been involved in disaster response where it has supported the victims of such disasters. Just recently during the Haiti disaster, McDonalds moved in to donate a handsome amount towards the rebuilding of the destroyed country. According to Morris, Willey and Sachdev (p.54), McDonalds has also supported various community based programs such as sponsoring the education of poor children in India and Asia. Conclusion McDonalds has been able to achieve high success through its identification of the elements that make it succeed most. These elements include its employees, customers and the suppliers. McDonalds values its employees and has various training programs to support their bid towards an excellent service provision. The company draws its success mostly from its employees. McDonalds also hires quality and highly valuable employees thus ensuring continued success for the company. McDonalds also draws its success from its highly valued customers. The company provides the customers with nutrition information thus ensuring that the customer makes informed decision. Moreover, the firm develops well balanced diets that meet the dynamic requirements of each fast food market. Indeed, customers have enabled the firm to develop strongly with most customers referring others to the fast food giant. The customers also benefit from the advice of the international nutritionists as well as the nutrition experts that are dissipated to McDonalds on a regular basis (Daft and Marcic, p.11). McDonalds support for the environment has ensured that its CSR continues to grow. The firm has many ways of giving back to the community. McDonalds supports various sponsorship programs, the most profound being that which supports the education of children (Carter and Clegg, p.48). McDonalds also feeds the athletes at the Olympic Games. Poverty eradication has also been a priority for the company as it seeks to improve the standards of living. McDonalds continues to support CSR and good business conducts and ethic across its operations, now and in the future to come through enhanced quality programs. Suppliers also form part of the core business that McDonalds supports. The suppliers are organized in supply chains to ensure that they continue to abide by the quality standards. Recommendation McDonalds should make us of solar energy, which is a renewable form of energy. This will go a long way towards ensuring that there is less carbon emission. The EPA would thus be pleased with the efforts propagated by McDonalds. McDonalds should also run advertisements in the media to promote its balanced healthy diet. The advertisements should also contain nutrition advice on various ways of eating healthy fast food diets. The firm should also diversify its diets to ensure that it meets the requirements of different ages.