Monday, September 30, 2019

Bangladesh capital market

It has two full-fledged automated stock exchanges namely Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) and an over-the counter exchange operated by SEC. It also consists of a dedicated regulator, the Securltles and Exchange Commission (SEC), since, it implements rules and regulations, monitors their implications to operate and develop the capital market. It consists of Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL), the only Central Depository In Bangladesh that provides facilities for the settlement of transactions of dematerialized securities In CSE and DSE.Dhaka Stock Exchange was set up on 28th April, 1954 that started formal trading on early 1956. Post-independence government did not promote a capital market during the first five years, and it was activated again in 1976 with 9 issues on board. In 1995, a second bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange, was set up with sophisticated loglstlc support and modern management. Two stock exchanges exist in Bangladesh Dhaka stock Exchange (DSE) Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) One Investor must know about these markets before he/she goes for an Investment.To make this report more understandable and specific, we will only focus on Dhaka tock market. â€Å"The stock market is an important ingredient of the financial system in Bangladesh. It is an important avenue for channeling funds to investors through mobilizing resources from individuals. In view of the rapidly Increasing role of the stock market, volatility In stock prices can have significant Implications on the performance of the financial sector as well as the entire economy. There exists important link between stock market uncertainty and public confidence in the financial market.The policy makers usually rely on the market estimate of volatility as he barometer of the vulnerablllty of the stock market. Stock return volatility represents the variability of day-to-day stock price changes over a period of time, which is taken as a measure of risk by the relevant agents. High volatility, unaccompanied by any change in the real situation, may lead to a general erosion of Investors' confidence In the market and redirect the flow of capital away from the stock market.Excessive volatility also reduces the usefulness of stock price as a reflector of the real worth of the firm. Volatility, however, is not an evidence of rrational market behavior or inefficient markets. Stock return volatility is usually asymmetric in its response to past negative price shocks compared with the positive shocks, but what factors drive volatlllty over time Is not clear. Moreover, Increase In firm-specific risk appears to adversely affect its stock valuation.This note analyzes 2003-2007 and draws some policy implications. † Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) â€Å"Dhaka Stock Exchange (Generally known as DSE) is the main stock exchange of Bangladesh. It is located in MotiJheel at the heart of the Dhaka city. It was incorporated in 1954. Dhaka stock exc hange is the first stock exchange of the country. As of 9 December 2009, the Dhaka Stock Exchange had 671 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $34. 2 billion. Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) is a public limited company.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Fdi Norms, Foreign Participation in an Indian Insurance Company

As per the current (Mar 06) FDI norms, foreign participation in an Indian insurance company is restricted to 26. 0% of its equity / ordinary share capital. The Union Budget for fiscal 2005 had recommended that the ceiling on foreign holding be increased to 49. 0%. The government approved the much-awaited comprehensive Insurance Bill that seeks to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in private sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent. abc 4JVGh 7596 Insurance Market in India: Past-Present-Future pic2 pyYXW 7596FDI Cap 49% from 26%: Impact on Indian Insurance Industry A higher foreign direct investment (FDI) will unshackle the insurance industry and drive growth and long-term development enrich the business by bringing world-class business practices and processes expand distribution capabilities and deepen market penetration. Over US$ 2 billion of foreign capital could flow into the country if the Government were to pass the Insurance Amendment Bill that raises the FDI limit. Scene 1: Change in waive service tax on micro insurance productsThe growth of the rural insurance industry necessitates a waiver of the service tax, which currently stands at 10. 3 per cent, including education cess. This tax is detrimental to the growth of the rural insurance industry and insensitive to the plight of rural populace which lacks quality healthcare and is vulnerable to numerous perils, including illness, accidental death and disability, loss of property due to theft or fire, agricultural losses, and disasters of both the natural and man-made varieties.Rural insurance has an enormous potential for growth and a service tax waiver will make micro insurance products more affordable for the rural populace, and will drive pan-India penetration of this market. Scene 2: Revision on Service tax on small transactions There is an urgent need to increase the threshold for the levy of service tax on policies. The present notification exempts small transactions involving premium of less than Rs 50 (except motor insurance) from the ambit of service tax.The threshold limit of Rs 50 which was fixed in 1994 needs urgent revision. Small transactions involving premium up to Rs 1,000 should be exempt from service tax which will benefit the under-privileged sections of our society. Insurance premium for covering small and medium enterprise risks should be exempt from service tax. For other insurance products, we would like a reduction in the service tax by at least 3-4 per cent. Scene 3: Exempting personal insurance from service taxThere is an overwhelming demand across all players in the industry that individual health insurance policies should be totally exempt from service tax. Exemption of health insurance from the service tax will make health cover affordable and accessible for the layman. Consequently, cheaper health insurance will increase its pan-India penetration. Additional IT exemption for householders’ policies and concessional IT rates will give a fill ip to home insurance and will also reduce the burden on the government in the event of catastrophes. Scene 4: Exemption for profit on sale of investmentsTo encourage general insurance players to be active participants in capital markets, there is a requirement for specific exemption from income-tax on profit on sale of investments. The issue of admissibility of UPR (unexpired premium reserves) as per IRDA regulations rather than as per Insurance Act only, for IT deductions. The UPR is at present restricted to the extent of limits specified in rule 6E of the Income Tax rules due to which insurance companies need to pay tax beyond their profit disclosed in their audited accounts. Hence, the UPR created as per IRDA regulations should be allowed as per rule 6E.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

What Does a Rigorous High School Schedule Look Like?

We at frequently use the term â€Å"rigorous† to describe course loads and course schedules. That’s because rigorous studies in high school are something that admissions committees look for specifically during the application process. They want to know that applicants are capable of difficult, college-level work.    It’s not surprising then that we often hear from students asking, â€Å"How can I make sure my course load is challenging or rigorous enough?† If you’re wondering how to assess if your classes are up to snuff and how to choose a course load that’s challenging without being overwhelming, this post is for you. Rigorous is a vague term, but it can be more helpful to think of your course load as it compares to the course loads of other students at your high school. Admissions committees understand that not all high schools offer a full suite of challenging course options. While some have dozens of AP classes or an IB program to choose from, others have only college placement or honors tracks available. Luckily, you don’t need to worry too much about how many options are available at your high school, since this is out of your control. Instead, you need to focus on choosing the most challenging options available to you. You can think of a rigorous course load as the one that represents the most challenging track available at your high school. To learn more about how your classes will impact your college applications, check out our post Should I Take AP/IB/Honors Classes? . Being the most challenging track available, a rigorous course load can sometimes be a little overwhelming, especially at first. You should start by easing into a challenging course load. During ninth grade, select classes that are rigorous enough to challenge you, but not enough so as to overwhelm you. Think of 9th grade as a time to test the waters and see what you’re capable of. Remember, it is always easier and looks better to add another class or transfer to a more challenging section than it is to drop a class or move down to a less challenging one.    In addition, balance your course selections with reasonable extracurricular commitments. Focusing on two or three extracurriculars is ultimately enough, especially if you stick with them consistently and work your way up to leadership positions or increased responsibility. Dropping an extracurricular after 9th or 10th grade is no big deal if doing so means that you can keep your grades up and take on more challenging classes. Our Early Advising Program helps students in 9th and 10th grade discover their passions and build strong academic and extracurricular profiles to succeed in high school. Admissions committees generally want to see well-rounded students insofar as having completed four years of coursework in each core subject area. This includes English, history, math, science, and usually a foreign language. In fact, many colleges require that applicants have completed four years of coursework in each of these subject areas just to meet application prerequisites. In these core subject areas, you should strive to take the most challenging courses that you’re capable of doing well in, and your primary focus in studying and achieving should be in these core subject areas. Taking any additional classes is not necessary, but it does represent an opportunity.    Beyond the core subject areas, any elective classes that you take should reflect your interests. This is an opportunity to reinforce any potential career choices or college majors. Rather than worrying about taking especially challenging electives, think of them as a chance to explore and demonstrate your interests. Taking electives shows intellectual curiosity and might even allow you to discover a new interest. The balance between better grades and harder classes is always a delicate one. We hear from many students wanting to know if they should take a harder class and get a B, or an easier one and get an A. While there’s no universal answer that will impress every admissions committee, it’s important to know that admissions committees aren’t interested in easy A’s. In fact, a 4.0 GPA in regular college-placement classes may actually be a deterrent to some admissions committees who are looking for students who want to challenge themselves. In general, a good rule of thumb is that if you think you can achieve a B or higher in it, take the more difficult class. Admissions committees will appreciate that you have worked hard for that B, rather than pursuing a less rigorous track. Planning a rigorous track starts in 9th grade. To get off on the right foot, you should make a four-year plan. The simplest way to do this is by using backward design. Start with 12th grade—what classes do you need to be taking in 12th grade in order to get into the types of colleges you hope to attend? These classes are generally the highest level courses available at your school. They might be AP or IB classes if your school offers them, or they could simply be honors level classes if that’s all your school has available. Work backwards from 12th grade to ensure that your prerequisites are met each year. It is much easier to work backwards incrementally from your final 12th grade goal than it is to start with your ninth grade classes and try to imagine where they’ll take you. It’s a good idea to meet with a guidance counselor as you create your four-year plan. You’ll want to ensure that you’re meeting all graduation requirements and that it represents a course schedule that is rigorous as compared to others available at your school. Your guidance counselor will be able to lend some insight into which paths are commonly taken by students with the same goals as you. In addition, remember that the classes you enroll in aren’t the only way to impress admissions committees. You can also highlight your academic chops through options like independent studies, summer college courses, or online coursework. To learn more about these options, check out our post What To Do If Your High School Doesn’t Offer AP Classes . Lastly, if you’re looking for more personalized guidance through high school, consider the benefits of ’s Mentorship Program , which pairs each student 1:1 with a mentor from a top college who can help you develop the skills you’ll need for becoming a successful college student.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Business report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Business report - Essay Example The purpose of higher education centres is to award various professional certificates and academic degrees to the students who are the main beneficiaries to their services. This report will have two sections and the first section will have introduction, statement of the problem, significance of the study, scope of the study, literature review, and methods of the study. The second section will have various findings, discussions, and recommendations. Section One Introduction to the study Very many countries have expanded their higher education opportunity for most of their students as well as other international students and an example of these countries is the United States. The urge for the various expansion processes is to appeal to other countries around the globe to put more emphasis on higher education since various skills and techniques can be learnt at these stages. However, the establishment of policies in these higher education institutions has proved to be a challenge to the United States as well as other countries. Some of the challenges that are faced in this 21st century are existence of gaps in the higher education due to the various economic hardship as well as lack of fair access also due to the economic hardships that some of the students faced. The gaps are also faced in terms of the enrolment of the female student verses male students in these higher education institutions. Poverty has also proved to be one of the major challenges that face many students that attend these institutions of higher education (Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission 2013, p.2). Statement of the problem The low enrolment of students in some higher education institutions like Ontario has raised a lot of concerns when it comes to pursuing higher education in this city. According to the College Student Alliance (2011), the low enrolment could be attributed to economic factors that tend to acts as a barrier to many students from poor families. Apart from low enrolm ent another problem that faces many students in higher education is lack of fair access to the various facilities within these institutions. Significance of the study This report will tend to provide various remedies and recommendations that can be used to solve the already existing problems in higher education. This study will also tend to focus on the various improvements in higher education enrolment through earlier preparation of the high school students to develop a liking for higher education institutions. Besides preparation of the high school students, this study will also focus on the various ways of streamlining the education processes in higher education institutions. Scope of the study This study will focus on the various limiting factors that act as barriers for many students who are joining these institutions. Besides the factors mentioned earlier such as gaps, fair access challenge, and various breakthrough, the study will also extend to good policy and practice among the processes of education in these institutions of higher learning. Literature review According to Ross and Kena (2012), a gap exists between the participation of the female and male students in various higher education institutions and the gaps cuts across all races. The issue of the gap has also been echoed

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Letting Gays Adopt Children Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Letting Gays Adopt Children - Research Paper Example The concluding portion would highlight the supporting arguments favoring same sex couples to adopt and raise children as their own. Letting Gays Adopt Children: Final Draft One of the most controversial issues in contemporary times is focused on homosexuality in terms of allowing same sex marriages and allowing same sex spouses to adopt children. The significance of the issue is seen in terms of supporting basic human rights pursuant to the principles of American democracy and several researches that validate the fact that children could be holistically raised by same sex couples. Chrisler (2010) cited some relevant statistics from the UCLA's Williams Institute that discloses the number of gay partners, totaling about 1 million, to have raised more than 2 million children. The American Academy of Pediatrics revealed the findings that â€Å"no data have pointed to any risk to children of growing up in a family with one or more gay parents† (Laumann, 2002, p. 344). The current r esearch therefore aims to provide arguments that support allowing same sex couples to adopt children. The article published in The First Post entitled Pros and Cons: Gay Adoption (2007) presented relevant details that provide advantages and disadvantages of allowing same sex couples to adopt children. The article revealed that there are five distinct advantages ranging from: (1) the ability to give adopted children a more secure home; (2) two full time parents are more beneficial than single parents; (3) the option for artificial insemination to female gay parents have been proven to create raising well-balanced children; (4) barring gay parents from adoption is a discriminatory act; and (5) the shortage of adoptive parents make this alternative a better option than foster care system. As emphasized by Jost (2003), â€Å"same sex marriage advocates note that virtually all states permit – any many encourage – adoption of children by gay or lesbian parents because it he lps relieve the burdens on overcrowded and underfunded state foster-care systems† (p. 732). These advantages, therefore, give credence and support to same sex couples being more in an advantageous position in terms of providing holistic support to children than opting for foster care and giving the couples enhanced privilege for a stronger bond through the experience of raising children. After considering the benefits of allowing same sex couples to adopt children, the disadvantages are likewise presented to provide a balanced picture of the situation. The arguments against gay adoption have these following supportive statements: (1) the children’s need for role models for both sexes is not satisfied; (2) gay adoption is contrary to Christian teaching; and (3) society simply views gay parenting unconventional and wrong. These disadvantages stem from some researches that indicate that the traditional basic framework and ideal familial environment is that children need bi ological parents. Cultural norms and tradition have

Religion in school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religion in school - Essay Example This has led to wide spread ignorance in terms of one own religion as well as the religion of the worlds. In the global village of today where we reside, it is important to know the basics of the main religions in the world in order to be able to relate to the people of a different faith. The disappearance of religious studies in schools has led to deterioration of moral and ethics in the general society. By being taught ones own religion as well as the different religions of the world in school; the children tend to develop awareness, patience and tolerance amongst themselves and towards people of different race, ethnicity and religion. However due to the deterioration of morality caused in the society because of lack of religious education the children are now depicting lower tolerance towards different groups and races in their school. This has resulted in a substantial increase in the race hate crimes and racial, as well as ethnicity basses harassment in schools. â€Å"The number of reported xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and homophobic crimes has increased considerably between 1997 and 2003. The most common hate crimes against immigrants are threats, harassment, slander, ethnic agitation, and assault.† (Bunar, 2007) The other problem that is caused by lack of religious education is the increase in the violence and the number of shootings in the schools. The trend for high school shootings by children against their teachings and peers has shown an alarming increasing trend since the shootings of 1996. One of the most prominent ones was the high school shooting in Cleveland in the Succes Tech Academy. In this shooting â€Å"14-year-old Asa Coon wounded two teachers and two students before killing himself. One of the teachers, Michael Grassie, had already realized that Coon needed special attention. Coon had been singled out as a troubled youth after being disciplined for fighting.† (Raymond, 2007) In order to

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

A Research Proposal on 'Climate Change - A Global Problem. How can Essay

A Research Proposal on 'Climate Change - A Global Problem. How can Professional Help' - Essay Example This research study will focus on the profession of architecture specifically, to determine how the professionals have a role in current trends of climate change. Firstly, the aims and objectives of this study will be presented. Secondly a critical analysis of the relevant and up-to-date literature will be outlined. Next, the methodology, method and data collection technique for this research project will be outlined and justified. Following, a timetable of duties and their timeline will be illustrated. Finally, a conclusion shall synthesise the main points of this proposal and demonstrate the value of this study in determining the place of professional architects in climate change. The aim is to identify the place for professional architects in determining how to limit climate change, by evaluating their attitudes toward climate change and their responsibilities as architects. It is anticipated that this project will indicate directions for a global approach by architects as to how to approach limitation of climate change. Scientific inquiry using the scientific method requires investigation that aims to answer a question in a systematic manner, relying on a predefined set of procedures to collect evidence, and to produce results that were not known of in advance and that can be applied beyond the immediate study (Morris, 2005). This is a set of procedures used to investigate a research question to acquire new knowledge about the world, or to correct and integrate previous knowledge, using observable and measurable data, which is subject to the laws of reasoning and logic. Research methods are employed to control for extraneous variables that may influence the results of measurements, and to guard against investigator bias, or the subjective bias of the participant. Empirical data is used to depersonalize the issue,

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Creative Problem Solving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Creative Problem Solving - Essay Example Since the experts blame alcohol advertising for alcohol consumption among teens, then they take it as truth. Alcohol adverts are not aimed at teenagers or for alcohol consumption increase. Rather, advertising of alcohol is targeted for those who take alcohol to switch alcohol brands. Most commercials will take a minute or so and do not really reveal what they are about. Usually, only those who understand them are old and mature enough to take alcohol. This I say from experience when I first look at an advert I rarely know what the advert is talking about at first. For instance, most Smirnoff adverts require one to understand alcohol and know that they are talking about it. While alcohol ads are highly visible in sports magazines, most people who watch sport agree that liquor and sport are not compatible. Most teens who read sports magazines will know that should they have an interest in sport when they grow up, then they are aware that alcohol will destroy or stop their dreams. Alcoh ol ads are not meant to increase consumption but to get people to take the specific brand instead. While people think that these ads are targeted at consumption of alcohol, the truth is that they are not bad intentioned. The reason why these adverts are on the magazine is to increase market share. The adverts are not intended for young people since the advertisers are only out to increase brand awareness. While advertisement of alcohol may be high coupled to high abuse of alcohol among teens, evidence is not conclusive that young people are led to increase alcohol consumption by the adverts. Not only do alcohol adverts not target consumption of alcohol, there is no evidence that it leads to increased consumption either. ... However, it is also true that some underage drinking is caused by alcohol adverts on magazines aimed at teenagers. This is because it can be proven that young people are more vulnerable to persuasion from magazines with higher readership since they feel part of something bigger. The possibility that delayed effect from adverts on magazines with high circulation among teenagers has an effect on alcohol consumption among them is very high (Rand Health 1). It is obvious that the younger generation does spend a lot of time reading magazines and, in the process, take in a lot of alcohol adverts. It is quite clear that these magazines have to do with sport and being chic. These sorts of magazines also have a very high proportion of their adverts dedicated to alcohol. In fact, most of the teenagers read twice as many magazines as the older generations who have extra pressing issues at hand. Since these magazines have a very high proportion of their adverts linked to alcohol, it is highly po ssible that their readers are the major target. While children at a younger age who do not read these magazines have a low knowledge of alcohol, the generation right ahead of them seems to know a lot more (Rand Health 1). In short, the average sixteen year old knows more about alcohol than the average nine year old. This, in my opinion, implicates the magazine adverts. The social cost of adolescent drinking is very high on most economies in the world with alcohol fuelled accidents and alcohol aided crime being the most obvious. Combating drivers who are underage and drunk involves multiple systems of approach (Rand Health 1). With emphasis on advertising of alcohol in magazines, several policies

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The issues that face the well-known clothes brands to open new stors Research Proposal

The issues that face the well-known clothes brands to open new stors in Perth City In Western Australia - Research Proposal Example As such, it will outline some of the factors that they should put into consideration, as well as the strategies that they must employ in order to capture the market and have a controlling share of the sales volume (Aage and Belussi 2008, p.45). The key objective of this research proposal is to determine the issues that face well-known clothes brands when they want to open new clothes stores in Perth City located in Western Australia. In identifying these issues, the research proposal will provide prospective investors with an avid avenue to invest in the city. Some of the key areas of research to cover include (Ambrose, Cohen and Tannenbaum 2003, p.17). This research comes at the backdrop of an increase in the entrants of new players in the fashion industry within Perth city. The city is located in Western Australia and lies within one of the largest metropolis in Australia (Mathur 2001, p.133). As such, the high population of people living in this city creates a viable opportunity for the market players to take advantage of and maximize their sales volume, thereby increasing their profits. It is among the most isolated cities in the world, with a calm and presentable habitat hosting over one and half a million residents. The city also lies along the coastal line and has beautiful beaches that define the lifestyle of the city adequately as a safe, quiet and laid-back city (Balmer 2008, p.182). As such, fashion investors need to consider these lifestyle practices and trends of city dwellers in order to determine the best fashions to market within the city. It is always advisable for the suppliers to provide customers with what they demand, rather than what they feel the customers might want to use(McCracken 1986, p.71). For instance, because of the long sprawling beaches and hot afternoons, the fashion industries can invest

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Mathematics of the Greeks and the Mayans Essay Example for Free

Mathematics of the Greeks and the Mayans Essay Mathematics is the study of time, space, structure, and quantity which is used to calculate almost anything in the world from the amount of atoms in an element to calculating the air pressure in a room. Although levels of math such as calculus are not taught until college, the use and study of mathematics have been around since the beginning of time and the world wouldn’t be able to function without it. The term â€Å"mathematics† comes from the Greek word mathema which means study, knowledge, or learning. Along with philosophy and astronomy, the ancient Greeks were well known for their development and contribution as brilliant mathematicians. Despite their widely spread fame as the world’s first greatest mathematicians, the Greeks had competitors. My contention is that the Mayans were one of the top mathematicians of the ancient world and were even more advanced than the Greeks. Ancient Greek mathematics has been developed since the early seventh century B.C. which could also be called the period during the Hellenistic Mathematics. Some of the greatest Ancient Greek mathematicians were Pythagoras, Aristotle, Anaxagoras, Euclid, Archimedes, Thales, and Aristarchus. These Greek mathematicians were big on the development of geometry which is a subdivision of math that focuses on shapes, size, and the relativity of space. Although their number system was based on letters of the alphabet and used units of five and ten, they therefore were not big on the processes of Algebra. However the Greeks became the masters of calculating solutions concerning volume, lengths and areas using geometric methods and theorems to solve algebraic equations. Despite contributions to modern day arithmetic such as the Pythagorean Theorem and Euclidian Geometry the Greeks were missing one essential part of math, one number that modern day civilization mathematics would not be able to f unction without. The Mayans included this number in their mathematic system which in turn made them the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world, this number was zero. Along with ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome and Babylonian history did not have or use the number zero. Although the Greek number system worked fairly well for their arithmetic, they were very limited to what they could do because of their limitations of their numbers. For example, the number zero and irrational numbers did not exist and were not possible from the doubt of how nothing could count as something. It was not until 150 A.D that Greek astronomer Ptolemy was the first to put a zero at the end of a number represented by the letter O which was well over a thousand years after the Mayans. Maya civilization was established in Mesoamerica in current day Yucatan Peninsula from about 2,000 B.C to 250 A.D during the Pre-Classic era to the classic era up until the settlement of the Spanish conquistadors and its collapse. Similar to Greece, Maya was not a unified kingdom and consisted of many smaller city states and they were also known for the uniqueness of their astronomy, original art and architecture which was all built and based by math. Contrasting from the Greeks instead of using units based on five and ten, the Mayans used a base number of twenty. In the Mayan number system, a dot represented one while a horizontal bar represented five. During the Hellenistic period in Europe, many astronomers arose when they applied their knowledge of math to astronomy. Some well-known astronomers of ancient Greece are Anaxagoras, Thales, and Ptolemy all of which who discover that the Earth was round, Earth revolved around the son and that the weather was not controlled by God. Due to these marvelous discoveries, Ancient Greece is often referred to as the Father of astronomy however this is not quite accurate. These findings were based on grounds that were built upon by civilizations in other parts of the world such as Mesoamerica. Because of the geographical distance from the Maya civilization to the Greek civilization, they were not influenced by the Greek’s findings and instead came across almost the same discoveries but with their own methods. Not much is known about Maya history due to the destruction of Maya texts and writings by the Spanish church and government officials in the 16th century; however three books miraculously survived which are the Dresden Codex, Madrid Codex, and the Paris Codex. These books contain the last written information about Maya history, art, rituals, astrology, zodiac, calendar, and math. One significant item in these books was a drawing of a shell which was on the first representations of the number zero. The codex also contained recorded meticulous observations of the sky and space. In the codex were diagrams that displayed an eclipse table that calculates times when eclipses might happen, a Venus table that calculates the times when Venus appears as morning star, and a Mars table that records the times when Mars goes into reversing motion. The Maya pursued to apprehend the repetitive sequences of motions of the moon and planets to be able to forecast when these objects in the sky would be in a certain place in the sky during a certain time. For example, they used the movement of the sun in the sky to calculate the number of days in a year. Due to the tilt of the Earths axis, the sun shows up at different locations in the sky depending on the time of year which causes the change in seasons. The Mayans were able to calculate the number of days in a solar tropical year from the equation, 1507 tropical years = 1508 haabs or 365 multiplied by 1508 days which equals out to be 365.242 days which is very precise and accurate to the actual modern calculations of 365.24198 days as compared to the Greeks calculations of 365.24667 days. The Mayans have proven to be at the top of the ancient world’s mathematics and astronomy from their discoveries that are established as accurate even to this day by using their own methods written on their codex stripping ancient Greece of their title of the fathers of mathematics and astronomy.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Concept Of Pricing

The Concept Of Pricing This module introduces the concept of pricing and discusses its importance and significance to organisations. With a view to the relative significance of pricing on organisations profits and sales, appropriate pricing policies needs to be formulated strategically. The various pricing decisions that organisations need to make are price setting, adapting price and managing price change which is dealt in this module. Pricing Strategies Introduction This lesson discusses pricing and its importance to organisations and the various factors to be considered while formulating pricing policies: Define the concept of price Explain the factors influencing pricing decisions. Discuss the process of price setting. Explain how organisations adapt prices. Discuss the price change management policies adopted by organisations. Understanding pricing Price is the amount of money at which a product or service is offered in the market. It is the exchange rate of a product or service in terms of its monetary value. Pricing is an important decision area for an organisation. The pricing and sales volume of the product put together determines the profit for an organisation. The sales volume itself depends on the type of pricing policy adopted by the organisation. Profits too are dependent on the pricing policies. Hence organisations have to formulate pricing policies strategically. Pricing also determines the acceptance of the product in the market, one can say that it determines the products future success in the market. IKEA pricing strategy is to provide quality products at low prices to its customers. Internet advertising through Google ads, Pricing is an important aspect not only for the organization producing the product, but also for the consumers as well as the society. Price represents the value of the market offering to the consumers, it also indicates the quality of the product. Increase in price could be perceived favourably by the consumers by interpreting it as a consequence of improvement of quality. (for reference only) The factors affecting pricing policies of an organisation are: Internal Factors While making pricing policies, marketers need to take into account several factors which are the result of company decisions and actions. To a great extent these factors are controllable and alterable by the company. Internal factors are as follows: Objectives of the organisation Positioning sought by organisation through pricing Nature of product Price elasticity of the product The stage of Product life cycle of the product Usage and repurchase level of the product Cost of production Product distinctiveness and positioning Other ps of the marketing mix and their influence on the pricing Composition of product line of the firm External Factors There are a number of influencing factors which are external to the firm and cannot be controlled by the firm but will impact pricing decisions. External factors are as follows: Market structure Consumer behavior Bargaining power of consumer groups Bargaining power of major suppliers Competitors policies Government controls/regulations Other legal aspects Social considerations cartels Setting the Price The organisation has to think over several factors while setting its pricing policy. The process of setting the price is as follows: Deciding the pricing objectives: The organisation has to first of all analyse its position of offering in the market. If the organisational objectives are clearly set, setting price becomes easier. The major objectives that organisations look to pursue through pricing policy are sustenance, profit maximization, market share maximization, market skimming and quality leadership. Organisations would adopt sustenance policy, if there is too much competition and changing in trends due to changes in customer taste and preferences. Here the organisation would generally be looking to cover some variable and fixed cost of production and a marginal profit. This kind of policy is useful only in the short run, in the long run firms would have to add value to its offer or face extinction. Setting the pricing policy : (for reference only) In case the organisational objective of the firm is profit maximization, the firm will then choose that price which will give it maximum profits, cash flow or maximum rate of return on investments. For such a strategy the firm has also to take demand situation into consideration. In case where the main objective of the organisation is market share maximisation, they would generally set a low price so that market can be penetrated easily. Low pricing or penetration pricing policy is applicable in the following situations: Consumers are price sensitive There is possibility of market penetration with the help of low prices Production and distribution cost fall with higher production level and experience Competition is discouraged due to the low prices in the market Skimming price is adopted by firms to gain higher profits in the short run and is applicable in the following situations: High demand exists in the market due to product being a pioneer product Not much competition exists in the market Consumer perception is that, high price indicates quality (for reference only) Determining demand: The different prices set by organisations will lead to difference in demand for the product in the market. The demand curve shows the different quantities demanded by customers at varying prices. Universally, as demand and price of the products are inversely related, according to the law of demand at a higher price lesser the quantity demanded and at lower price higher the quantity demanded. Only in exceptional cases it can be seen that with increase in price of product, demand too increased, especially seen in cases of prestige goods such as perfumes, diamonds etc. (Fig 1.1 Demand Curve) (For reference) Figure 1.1, in the first case shows elastic demand and the second case it shows inelastic demand. Price Sensitivity: The demand curve shows the markets sensitivity to the changes in prices of the product. It shows the response of customers to changes in prices. Generally customers are more price sensitive to products that cost much such as speciality goods and those goods which are frequently such as staple goods. They are less price sensitive to goods which are brought infrequently or such products, the cost of which is insignificant to the customer. Products which would have less price sensitivity are: Distinctive products Where there very few substitutes to the products or customers are not aware of substitute products Quality comparison of substitute products are not easy The price of product is insignificant to the consumers income It is a complementary good to an earlier purchase The product is assumed to be of higher quality, prestige. It is not possible to store the product. The advent of internet has led to an increased price sensitivity in the society. Internet has made it possible for people to compare prices instantly and go for the lowest prices available. Firms have to understand the price sensitivity of their target market and accordingly formulate pricing policies. Demand estimation and forecasting is an important function to be carried out by organisations for determining the demand for their products. There are various methods that can be used to arrive at demand estimation and forecast. Where different variables of the price are identified statistical analysis can be undertaken, data for these variables collected and then analysis is done by using various statistical methods to arrive at the demand forecast. Experimentation method is another way in which demand can be estimated at various price levels. Here the prices of the products are charged differently in different markets or in the same market different prices are introduced at different times and then the result is analysed to arrive at the demand. Another method is doing customer surveys and interview to gauge the customers response to varying prices. Price elasticity of demand: Elasticity of demand is to extend the responsiveness of demand to the different prices charged. The marketer needs to have an idea of how responsive the market demands are, to various prices set by the firm. If with the change in price the demand for the product changes substantially then we can say that the demand is elastic to price. If with a change in price there in very less or no change in the demand for the product the demand would be said to be inelastic. Demand would usually be less or inelastic in the following situations: There is no competition or substitute products in the market Habits Necessity goods Where the price of product is small or insignificant to the consumer Price elasticity depends on the degree of change in prices. Elasticity would be less in case of low level price change and would be more if the price change is significant. For example consumer durables like television and washing machines, with a slight increase in their prices the demand for these product would not fall significantly but with a substantial increase in their prices the demand can come down considerably. If price elasticity differs according to the time period under consideration, in the short run the elasticity would be different than in the long run. This happens because in the short run certain determinants remain static which can be varied in the long run. For example Habits of people can be changed in the long run, competitive scenario can change in the long run. Cost estimation: Pricing policies of firms significantly depends on the cost of production and other related costs incurred by the organisation for offering the product in the market. Firms generally would charge a price which covers the production cost as well as a fair profit for the firms effort and risk. There are different types of cost related to production of a product : Fixed cost which are fixed in nature and do not vary with the level of production or sales. For example rent, interest on capital invested etc. Variable cost vary directly with the level of production of the firm. For example wages, power consumption etc. Total cost can be said as the sum total of the fixed and variable costs for the total production level. Average Cost: can be said as the total cost divided by the total number of units produced. The firm would want to charge at least a price which would cover the total production cost. To develop adequate pricing policies the management needs to know how cost varies with different levels of production. Cost of production would also change according to its production scale and experience. Over the period of time, the experience gained by organisation leads in making more effective and production scheduling policies leading to lower costs. As well as with the expansion of plant and machinery, i.e large scale production helps organisations to lessen the cost of production considerably. Organisations now a days try to adapt their offering as per the requirements of different buyers. A manufacturer may set different terms and prices for different retail chains according to their requirements. Certain retailer may not want to stock too much inventory of a particular product, in that case the delivery that has to be made to this retailer would be much frequent. On the other hand a retailer who has the stocking facility may want deliveries less frequently, accordingly the pricing and profit levels of the manufacturer would differ too. Some companies adopt target pricing, here first of all through market survey the firm arrives at the product features and design. The next step would be to determine at what price the product will be sold. On the basis of the price, a percentage is deducted as profits and the rest would be the cost of production. Hence the organisation has arrived at the cost at which production should happen and that is the target cost at which production should happen. Competitors pricing policies analysis : Competitors policies have significant effect on the firms own policies and strategies. The firm has to have a good knowledge of the competitors policies and their possible response to the firms pricing policies. In case the firm is offering product features which are exclusive and not provided by its competitors then their price should be set accordingly. If competitor provides additional features then their worth to the customers should be evaluated and subtracted from firms price. Selecting a pricing method : The various pricing methods that organisations can use as follows : Mark up Pricing : The most widely used pricing technique is to add a standard mark up to the products cost. Mark up is expressed in terms of percentage. Here, either the cost price or the sale price is taken as the base for determination of the mark up. Eg. Cost price of travel bag Rupees 2000 Mark up Rupees 400 Therefore selling price Rupees 2400 Mark up based on cost price = 500/2000 = 25% Mark up based on Selling price = 500/2400= 20.8% Mark up pricing: Example : Shopkeeper buys goods for Rupees 300/- at a wholesale rate. His cost based mark-up is 25%. Hence sale mark-up price = 100-30 = 75% or 0.75%. Therefore sales price = 300/ 0.75 = 400 While determining any pricing policy current demand, value of product perceived by customers, competition existing in the market has to be considered. Mark up price would only be useful if it brings in expected sales. Mark up price is quite is popular due to the following reasons : Determining cost is quite easy than estimating demand It is a much simpler way of pricing If all firms in industry use this pricing policy then price would be similar, leading to less intense price competition. It is believed that cost pricing is fair for both customers and producers, where customers are not exploited and producers get a fair enough return. Rate on return pricing The price is determined on the basis of a planned rate of return on investment made by the organisation. The total cost of one financial years standard production is estimated and taken as the standard cost. The mark up percentage of profit is obtained by multiplying capital turnover by estimated rate of return. Perceived value pricing : Here the valuation of the product is done on the basis of how much the customers are willing to pay, instead of considering the production and related costs. (for reference) Value pricing : Here the firm charges a fairly lower price for high quality products thereby winning loyal customer. Tesco, UK is one of the largest retailers in UK. Tescos key competence is its pricing policy. It keep its product prices low so that sales can be maximised. Lot many customers were attracted to its products due to its value added low priced products. Tesco launched the unbeatable value campaign in the 1996, it made massive reductions in its prices during this campaign. Tesco adopted a low daily low price strategy alongside its promotional programs. This stragegy stressed on regularising low prices for its customers on a regular and daily basis. Going rate Prices : Going rate pricing emphasises on market conditions. The firm adjusts its own pricing policy to the price structure existing at the industry level. This kind of pricing is usually seen in oligopolistic market structure, where the prices are mutually decided by the firms. Also in cases where costs are difficult to be determined, firms tend to follow the going rate price because it reflects the entire industries price rate. Examples would be petroleum and oil. Auction pricing or price bidding: This type of pricing methods has emerged in the recent years especially due to the growth of Internet. These kind of pricing strategy is mostly seen in electronic goods market, selling a diverse range of products and services by auctioning them through the bidding process. The important function of auction is to dispose of excess products existing with the firm. There are three major auction type pricing. These types are: Ascending bids, (English auctions) : One seller and many buyers. The seller puts up the product or auction and the buyers bid prices, the highest price is accepted. Descending bids (Dutch auctions) : One seller and many buyers or one buyer and many sellers. In this kind of auction the buyer quotes a higher price and then decreases it gradually till a bidder accepts the price. In the other case the buyers lets know his intention to buy a particular product and then the sellers bids the prices by offering lower prices. Sealed bid auctions: Here the suppliers can submit only one bid and do not know about other bids. From the submitted bids the most feasible bid is selected (for reference only) While selecting the final price, additional factors has to be considered by the firm such as : Psychological pricing : Psychological pricing a marketing practice which is based on the theory that certain kind of prices have psychological influence on customers minds. The prices are expressed as odd prices: e.g. Rs. 299.00 or Rs. 499.00. Gain and Risk sharing pricing : This type of pricing is used for pricing complex, high valued products or services. Many times buyers refrain from accepting sellers proposal due to the high risk if the promised value is not delivered. In order to provide some form of risk sharing or price protection as new drugs are adopted into formularies biopharma companies and payers are entering into agreements. Onyx/Bayers Nexavar (sorafenib) and Pfizers Sutent (sunitinib malate) both anti-cancer drugs; Novartis Aclasta (zoledronic acid), and Sanofi-Aventis/Procter Gambles Actonel (risedronate sodium), both osteoporosis drugs are some of the best known drugs. In Germany,Italy and the US, manufacturers have agreed to provide drugs free of charge if no progress is seen after the first treatment, or to recompense health plans, say for instance if bone fractures occur despite the osteoporosis therapy. While setting the final price, firm has also to consider the brand quality, advertising, company pricing policies. Firms also need to consider the distributors and agents, sales persons, competitors, suppliers response to the prices of the product. Finally, firms also need to consider the legal implications while setting their prices. Adapting the price : Organisations generally set different prices according to variations in geographical demand and costs, market segment requirements, purchase time period, order levels, frequency of delivery, guarantees and various other factors. Various price adaptation strategies are as follows: Geographical pricing: It involves the pricing of products to different customers in different locations and countries. Taking into consideration the transportation costs example shipping / cargo costs for distant customers. Also the firm needs to lower the prices of its product/s from sales promotion point of view to retain or expand its business. Considering the export of products to countries abroad where the payment from buyer becomes crucial, should he lack payment he may offer other items. This practice also recognised as countertrade. Countertrade accounts approximately up to 25 percent of current world trade. Usually this trading is done as Buyback agreements, Barter, offset and Compensation deals. Countertrade deals may become complex for example an A company in Europe sells 50 yachts to Turkey and accepts in exchange 150 Turkish made cars, which it sold to Pakistan for Rice, which in turn sold to America and achieved payment in dollars . Such deals are carried by a separate department within the organisation. Other companies may depend on barter houses or countertrade specialists. Most companies give discounts and allowances in order to receive early payments on volume purchases and off-season buying. This may lead to decreased profits, hence an assumptive price of the products needs to be worked out with planning. Marketing researchers have found that up to 35 percent of buyers in most categories are price sensitive. Higher income people are more interested in buying products with added features, customer service, quality and brand. Hence its essential for a strong brand not to get into price discounting in order to react to low price attacks. A company can gain some concessions, if a customer agrees to sign a contract for a bulk years example 3-5 years or if an order is placed in a larger quantity or if an order is placed online thus saving the company money. It is necessary to maintain and monitor all records regarding discounts such as the quantity of customers receiving discount and average discount, etc. It is essential for higher levels of management to conduct a net price analysis in order to get the real price offered. However the realised price is affected not only by discounts, also but by firms average promotional spendings, advertising spendings to retailers to back the product, thus the listed price of the product and so for the net price of the product are two ends of the same thread with couple of other expenses in between. However companies in an overcapacity tend to offer their branded products at a deep discounted rate. Firms should avoid offering discounts to retailers in the long term which in turn would decrease theirs profits in an effort to meet short term volume goals. In order to stimulate early purchase of a product firms can use several pricing techniques. Examples could be found where branded products are offered at a discounted price in order to stimulate extra purchases of other store products. This pays only if the revenue is generated by selling other products in proportion to the lower margins on the loss -leader product. In certain seasons and occasions of festive periods example every June there are back -to-back school sales and during Diwali, Christmas and New Year special prices will be established on products. In order to clear inventories without affecting the listed price, auto companies and other consumer goods companies offer cash rebates to help purchase of products during a certain period. Some auto companies offer the product with an attractive finance scheme such as zero interest rate or in case of consumer durable goods buy now and start paying after six or nine months instead of cutting its price. Equated monthly instalments may be stretched over a longer period in order to lower them, here the consumer focus is on affording to pay back in instalments rather the rate of interest. This can be in cases of auto companies and consumer durable goods etc. Often auto companies offer an attractive warranty and servicing contract in order to promote their sales. Many a times products price is listed at an artificially high price and then offered with a discount .This creates a psychological discounting in minds of consumers that they have purchased the product at a considerably lower price and have gained but in fact havent. Often in order to accommodate differences in customers, products, locations, etc firms adjust their basic price. Thus price differentiation arises where a product is sold at two or more prices without any proportional difference in costs. Customers are charged depending on their intensity of demand. Buyers would be charged at a lower rate depending on the volume of buying. In case of Museums or places of historic importance there is lower admission fee to children, foreigners, etc. A firm charges 30 Rs for adding 150 gms sugar in a Rasgulla tin pack sweet, however it charges 35 Rs for adding the same quantity of sugar for a Kala Jamun pack sweet. A firm can price the same product at two different levels based on image differences. A detergent manufacturer can put detergent in one packet, name it with an image, and price it at 50 Rs. It can put the same detergent in another packet with a different name and image and price it at 75 Rs. Soft drinks prices often differ in an A grade restaurant, vending machines or when sold in canteens or general stores. Same product is priced differently at different locations even though the cost of offering at each location is the same. A concert audience is charged variably for seating as per their preferences for different locations. Prices differ by season, day or hour etc. Electricity as an important public utility source is charged differently by time of day in United Kingdom. Restaurants and Clubs in United Kingdom charge less during happy hours. Airlines have different fares on same flight for same class for instance its economy class, which also is known as Yield Management / Revenue Management system. They have child fares, adult fares, seasonal fares etc. Extra luggage price by an airline for a single kilo differs from Dubai to London as opposed to travelling the other way back from London to Dubai. Websites have coupled up different sellers product together such as Car Insurance, Consumer durable goods, home insurance, medical insurance etc, which allows buyers to discriminate between sellers by comparing their prices. Responding to price changes : Many time organisations have to go for price cuts and increase as per the situation. Price Cuts : It is a possibility that organisation may go for price cuts due to existence of price cuts, also where even with added effort the sales have not increased or due to declining market share. Price cuts can lead to price wars in the market. Lower price can be used by firms so as to dominate market. Organisations may also have to cut down the prices in case of recession. Price Increase : Price increases are undertaken by organisations when there is cost inflation. With rise in cost of production the organisations profits lessens, hence they need to go for price increase to earn normal profits. Many times organisations increase their prices more than the increase in cost due to anticipation of further cost increase. Price increase can also happen when there is too much demand for the product and the supply is less. Price increase can be done in the following ways : Final price is not set, until the product is delivered to the customer. Generally seen in construction and heavy equipment industries. Here firm wants customers to pay current price and all or part of any cost inflation that can happen before the delivery of the product. Here the price is kept same but some elements are separated from the product and priced individually. Example in case of automobiles, accessories, other additional features come with extra cost. Discount if any, could be reduced to maintain profits. Organisation also can tackle high cost and over demand without raising prices as follows : Reducing the amount offered without increasing the prices By substituting raw materials with less expensive materials wherever possible Lessening the product features to lessen its cost Lessening product services Usage of less cost packaging Creating economy brands Reacting to changes in prices : Price changes can have a reaction from customers, competitors, distributors, suppliers and governments. Customers may perceive and respond to price cuts in different ways. Price cuts may be interpreted as lower quality product or faulty products. Price rise would generally carry some positive indications to customers. The product is considered to be of high quality and having added value when prices increased. Competitors may also respond in various ways to price changes. To contemplate competitors reaction organisations have to access their financial situation, sales scenario, market share and their objectives. In case the competitors objective is to increase market share then they will change their price in response of firms price changes. If its objective is profit motivation then it will increase its promotional activities to maintain its sales. Responding to competitors price changes : It is an important decision on how firm should react to price changes by competitors, the products could go for product augmentation having homogenous characteristics. If product augmentation is not possible then they would have to go for price cuts to counter the competitors price cuts. If price is increased by the competitor in the homogenous market, then other firms may not increase their prices until it is unavoidable. If price change happens in a heterogeneous market then the various aspects needs to be considered before responding to the price change : What is the reason for competitors price cuts is it due to over capacity of production, rise in costs of production or the intention is to increase market share. Is the price change temporary or permanent What will be the scenario if the firm does not respond to competitors price change Are other competitors going to respond to the price change and if yes how? Market leaders many a times have to face price changes from new entrants in the market or smaller competitors. There are many ways in which a market leader can respond to competitors price changes: Maintain price Market leader my decide to maintain its current price and profit due to the belief that : Too much profits will be lost if prices are decreased It would not lose too much market share It is possible to regain market share when required Maintain price and add value to its offering The product could be augmented, its services and communication improved. Reduce price : Leader may go for price cuts to match the competitors price cuts due to following reasons : As the market is price sensitive it would lose market share It would be difficult to build market share once lost Its costs reduces with higher volume in production Increase price and increase quality: The leader may decide to initiate price increase and also increase quality of product and also introduce new brands or innovative products. Introduce low priced product line : It could contemplate adding a low priced product line to

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Teaching Philosophy Statement :: School Education Teachers Essays

Teaching Philosophy Statement â€Å"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.† (Dale Carnegie) This quote best fits my views toward education. I feel that a majority of students, today, dread going to school and no longer look at it with a positive mentality. I believe this attitude toward schools is why overall grade performance has decreased and United States students rank lower when compared to students of foreign countries. I want to change all this, at least, in my classroom. I want to restore the positive energy and ambition that some students have lost in education. I want students in my classroom to thirst for new knowledge and have a productive and enjoyable time doing so. I personally believe that students, at all age levels, do their best work, and get more involved, when they are educated in an interesting, creative, and hands-on environment. My aspect towards which philosophies to use in education is eclectic. I predominately agree with the Progessivist theory because it is student centered and perceives students as individuals. I believe that these individual needs should be expressed and accommodated in the classroom. I also feel its important for the educational environment to include a democratic process, where students have a chance to voice their opinions about the material they will learn and the rules that they must follow. I feel that when students help direct their own path, that they gain more respect in the classroom and increase their drive to learn. Another factor I’m akin to about using Progressivism in the classroom is that it is experience-centered and deals with actual problems that students face in life. I agree with John Dewey’s belief that students learn more by doing because it has meaning. An additional belief that Dewey and myself consider vital is that students should learn how to apply previously learned information and skills to solve new issues. This teaches students’ critical thinking skills and problem solving methods. I also favor the Essentialist’s philosophy because it has a strong curriculum based around the traditional subjects of reading, math, and science. I think core curriculum furnishes students with a strong foundation, which they can build upon as they continue to learn.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Adolescent Peer Pressure :: Peer Pressure Essays

In schools today, most students fall under the influence of peer pressure. Peer pressure is when "friends" persuade you to do something that you do not want to do. But maybe you want to do it, and you just don't have the courage to do it and your friends talk you into it. Peer Pressure can be broken down into two areas: good peer pressure, and bad peer pressure. Bad peer pressure is being coerced into doing something that you didn't want to do because your friends said that you should. Friends have a tendency to think that they know what is best for you. They always offer their opinion whether it is wanted or not. Well, if friends are going to tell you what to do, what can you do about it? The most basic thing that you can do is to say, "No, I don't wish to do that!" or if you want to do it, say, "Yes, give me a try!" For instance, if one of your friends offered you a cigarette, you might say "No, that just doesn't interest me." But being able to say no may not be the problem; the real problem arises when your friends repeatedly ask you to do something. This is where you have to be able to say to yourself, "I made a decision and I truly feel that my decision was the correct one", and then be able to express that repeatedly to all of your friends. This seems like a difficult task, doesn't it? It takes a tremendous amount of will power to be able to stand up to the people that you know, trust, and respect ... your friends. One of the major problems with peer pressure occurs when you get sucked into something that you really didn't want to do and subsequently, become addicted to it. Usually, people get backed into a situation to try illegal drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes and more times than not, these behaviors can become habit forming. If and when someone comes up and offers you one of these substances, it is your decision whether you want to try or continue to use these substances. You should be prepared to make these decisions and to make a good decision you must be educated on that topic. For instance, say you were going to buy a stereo. You wouldn't just go out and pick the one that looked nice; you probably would go to the library and look into it.

Proposal for Improved Raw Material Tracking Program :: Business Manufacturing

Business requirements Tracking Raw Material and Work in Process: To maintain a maximum, efficient level of raw material as well as lowest costs for production is essential for the production department. o A system which can estimate and track the optimum level of raw material reduces the cost for production procedure, o It must be able to monitor the storage level of raw material and communicate with the public demand for drugs as well. o The system should also provide a shared database between ECOLI and its suppliers, to shorten the time of ordering and delivery raw material. o Since some of the raw materials are intermediate goods buy from suppliers, the system must have a capacity which can monitor the production procedures and materials suppliers use, to avoid suppliers to charge a higher price. o The system should have a historical disease database. Since lots of important chemical materials are extracted from fossil fuel, the company needs to store extra fuel in order to handle disastrous diseases (SARS, bird flu, etc.) base on past historical trends. This storage strategy can also get rid of the risk of price increasing. o Chemical raw material has very strict requirements on surrounding environment. Thus, the system must be able to sort chemical raw material by their characters (temperature, smell, chemical property), to reduce the probability of chemical inter-pollution since they have very strict requirements on surrounding environment. o The system should records all information of raw material, including the name, purchase date, opened date and expire date, to lower the turn over rate and the unnecessary waste of raw material. o The system should have a function to monitor water quality. Drugs produced with non-sterile water is defective, and must be destroyed because they may already been polluted. Suppliers Selection Suppliers should be carefully selected based on the qualities and prices of the raw material as well as their reputation. o An information system should list all contracted suppliers and their business scopes. If one of supplier couldn ¡Ã‚ ¦t deliver the raw material on time due to unexpected reasons, the company can contact alternative supplier quickly, and the whole production process won ¡Ã‚ ¦t be delayed. o The system should records all business transactions between ECOLI and its suppliers. Suppliers who had unethical records (using expensive materials to earn profit) cannot be used again. Quality Control o In order to shorten the inspection time on outputs, the system should be able to instantly summarize the inspection results of the testing sample and keep the quality controllers informed of the most updated quality of outputs.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Oedipus The King Essay

Oedipus is written as a play, there is no narrator, Sophocles explains the story line and then runs the story into playwright. I like this point of view because it can sometimes be more clear to the reader. There are many points of view in this play. That is there are many different individuals addressed this playwright. Thus there are many different points of view. I think that Oedipus generally speaks in place of a narrator, because he is the main character. I believe he expresses some of the things that Sophocles is trying to say to the audience. An example of this is when he says: â€Å"Speak out, speak to us all. I grieve for these, my people, far more that I fear for my own life.† (Sophocles, 395) I think that Sophocles is trying to get people to speak their own mind, come together, and establish a community. He is saying this through Oedipus. Oedipus goes through many changes. He goes through a state of innocence or ignorance, then through a state of denial and finally a state of acceptance and guilt. Throughout these different stages in his life, he reveals to his audience who he really is. Oedipus believing he is innocent is part of the form in this play. Oedipus has come to the throne of Thebes by solving the Riddle of the Sphinx. There is a plague upon Thebes which Oedipus desires to heal. Creon returns to the palace after his visit to the Pythian House of Phoebus, an oracle. The oracle has said that the only way to cure the illness in Thebes is to find the man whom killed Laius, the previous king of Thebes. Odeipus tries to discover the murderer and requests that the murderer come forward and promises that instead of being killed, he will be banished from Thebes. If any man comes forward with the murderer he will be rewarded and if any guilty man is found and has not confessed, the murderer will be banished from all aspects of society. Tiresias, an aged, blind prophet is brought to Oedipus to reveal the murderer. Tiresias says that Oedipus unknowingly killed Laius. Disbelieving this, Oedipus blames Creon for plotting this against him to gain the throne  of Thebes. Tiresias states his innocence and before he leaves the palace, he gives Oedipus a riddle: The murderer seemed an alien is really a native to Theban, was once poor and now is rich, is the brother of his children and the child of his wife, the heir to his father’s bed and the cause of his father’s death. The form in this part of the play, plays into the certain buildup of the plot. Now Creon comes to the palace after hearing of Oedipus’ charges against him. Oedipus questions Creon as to why Tiresias didn’t come forward when the initial investigation of Laius’ death occured. Creon says he is happy with his position in court and has no desire to take the throne from Oedipus. He tells Oedipus that for proof he can go to the oracle at Pytho and ask if Creon is telling the truth. Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife, tells him that an oracle came to Laius saying that he would die by the hand of his child. Learning this Laius has his newborn son tied at the ankles and taken away to be killed. She says that Laius was killed by robbers on his way to the oracle at Delphi at the place where three roads meet. The content of this play is that of Greek tragedy, son of Laius, king of Thebes, and his wife, Jocasta. Laius had been warned by an oracle that he was fated to be killed by his own son; he therefore abandoned Oedipus on a mountainside. The baby was rescued, however, by a shepherd and brought to the king of Corinth, who adopted him. When Oedipus is grown, he learns from the oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He fled Corinth to escape this fate, believing his foster parents to be his real parents. At a crossroad Oedipus encountered Laius(his father), and killed him. He continued on to Thebes, where the Sphinx was talking and all who could not solve her riddle. Oedipus answered it correctly and so he won the widowed queen’s hand(his mother). The prophecy was fulfilled. Two sons, Polynices and Eteocles, and two daughters, Antigone and Ismene, were born to the unwittingly incestuous pair. When a plague descended on  Thebes, an oracle declared that the only way to rid the land of its illness was to expel the murderer of Laius. Through a series of painful revelations, the king learned the truth and in an agony of horror blinded himself. His daughters, Antigone and Ismene, are left in the hands of Kreon, who proves to be a true friend of Oedipus. The content of this play regarding time is that the time wasn’t very specific, but it does say that Sophocles lived from 496-406 BC. The place on the other hand is very specific, it introduces you saying: â€Å"The royal house of Thebes. Double doors dominate the facade, a stone altar stands at the center of the stage. Many years have passed since Oedipus has solved the riddle of the Sphinx and ascended the throne of Thebes, and now a plague has struck the city. A procession of priests enters†Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Sophocles, 392) I think that this introduction leads the reader into a world of curiosity. We really don’t know what is going to happen to Oedipus, all we know is there is a plague across the town that Oedipus must do something about. This leads the reader into Oedipus’ stages of innocence or ignorance, denial and finally guilt. The content in the choice of setting affects the theme because it makes this story more believable, in a time unfamiliar to us, long ago.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Japanese Bribe Case Study

THE CASE OF THE JAPANESE BRIBE I. BACKGROUND OF THE CASE 1976: Former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka was arrested on charges of taking bribes amounting to $1. 8 Million Dollars from Lockheed Aircraft Company. Tanaka’s secretary and several other government officials were arrested together with former Prime Minister Tanaka. Takeo Miki was ousted from office on suspicion of concealing Tanaka’s dealings with Lockheed Aircraft Company. In Holland, Prince Bernhard resigned from 300 government positions held for allegedly having received $1. Million in bribes from Lockheed Aircraft Company in connection with the purchase of 138 F-104 Starfighter Jets. In Italy, Giovanni Leone, the Italian President in 1970 together with Prime Ministers Aldo Moro and Mariano Rumor were also accused of accepting bribes from Lockheed in connection with the purchase of $100 Million worth of aircraft during the late 1960s. Scandinavia, South Africa, Turkey, Greece and Nigeria were also amon g the 15 countries in which Lockheed admitted to having handed out payments and that at least $202 Million in commissions were made by the company since 1970.Lockheed started using bribes since 1958 in order to outsell Grumman Aircraft, a competitor, for the Japanese Air Force contract. As per his testimony, William Findley of Arthur Young & Co. the auditors for Lockheed, engaged the services of Yoshio Kodama to act as middleman between Lockheed and the Japanese Government in order to secure the government contract for the purchase of military aircrafts. Several bribes were made by the company to ensure the contract in its favour.In 1972, Lockheed rehired Kodama as consultant to sell its aircraft to Japan. Lockheed was in dire need to sell its aircraft owing to a series of financial disasters, cost overruns, pushing the company to the brink of bankruptcy in 1970. A controversial loan guarantee awarded the company amounting to $250 Million helped the aircraft company in averting the bankruptcy. Lockheed President, Mr. Carl Kotchian anxiously anticipated making the sales since the company has not been making its projected sales of aircraft worldwide.Mr. Kotchian believed that Japan is a largely-untapped market and if Lockheed penetrates the Japanese market, the company can generate $400 Million and thus, improve the company’s financial status and ensure the jobs of thousands of the firm’s employees. Kodama eventually succeeded in engineering a contract for Lockheed with the All Nippon Airways, beating McDonnell Douglas, its active competitor. For the sale, Kodama askes and received $9 Million as pay-off money from 1972 to 1975.Allegedly, much of the money went to then Prime Minister Tanaka and other government officials for interceding with All Nippon Airways on behalf of Lockheed Aircraft Company. Mr. Kotchian admitted full knowledge about where the money was going and that he was persuaded by the assurance that in making the payoff, Lockheed was sure to get the contract with All Nippon Airways. Subsequently, Lockheed netted $1. 3 Billion from the contract. Mr.Kotchian defended the payoff as â€Å"in keeping with Japanese business practices†, meaning that I order to do business in Japan, one has to make payoffs, further, Kotchian reiterated that the transaction did not violate any American Laws and that Lockheed needed to adjust to the existing â€Å"functioning systems† in order to be competitive and guarantee the jobs of thousands of its employees, as well as ensure continuing profitability. Otherwise, the company would be bankrupt and thousands will lose their jobs. In August 1975, after investigations conducted by the U. S.Government, Lockheed admitted to making $22 Million in secret payoffs and in subsequent Senate investigations in 1976, the deals were made public, causing Japan to cancel the billion dollar contract with Lockheed. In 1979, Lockheed pleaded guilty to concealing the bribes by writing them o ff as â€Å"marketing costs†. Lockheed was not charged with bribery since the law took effect only in 1978. Mr. Kotchian was not indicted but was forced to resign from his office while in Japan, Kodama was arrested together with Tanaka. II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 1. What were the moral and legal implications of the actions of the Lockheed management? . What is the effect of the transaction with respect to fair competition in business? III. AREAS OF CONSIDERATION 1. The need to ensure the profitability of the company. 2. The need to ensure the welfare and well-being of thousands of employees of the company. 3. The ethical and legal standpoint that binds entities in the conduct of their business. IV. ANALYSIS OF THE CASE The case revolves around several issues that confront today’s modern business practice/s; basically, every company aspires to achieve continuing growth and profitability as its major policy.Secondly, the company as an organization is augmented and comp osed by people who are performing each of their respective tasks in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the firm. In the case of Lockheed Aircraft Company, there is a dire need to rebound from near bankruptcy and the means by which it can be achieved is to get hold of the contracts for the company to build and supply aircrafts to their intended buyers. The Japanese market offers a potential target for the aircraft company, much as the other companies are likewise aware of.The airline and aircraft industry is a highly competitive industry. Each company needs to update its existing technology, requiring continuous investments in retooling and research. Such an activity requires continuous flow of funds considering the immense requirement for funding the expenditures. Should the company let up on continually improving its product and technology, the result would be disastrous for the company since competitors could easily overtake the company and its market. All of these predi caments compounded the financial woes of Lockheed Aircraft Company during the 70’s.It is under this duress that management was forced to find a means by which the company can stay afloat, make profit and support its large workforce. The decision to make extraordinary means to ensure sales was at the moment, imperative for management. Using the argument that during those days, a business sub-culture existed in Japan, that is, that the company needed to abide by the â€Å"functioning system† to get the All Nippon Air Contract. In simple terms, payoffs are needed to facilitate the sale of the company’s aircraft to the Japanese airline company.Ethically, a payoff to facilitate a contract at the expense of other competitors deviates from existing moral values that should govern the conduct of business. However, assuming that a system of patronage existed in Japan during the time; such a system constrained the management of Lockheed to use extraordinary means to go th rough channels as conduits to their intended client in order to seal the contract. Prior to investigations conducted and the subsequent admission of the company regarding the payoffs, landing the contract with All NipponAirways, did not only guarantee profits for Lockheed but also, a continuing support for its thousands of employees. V. CONCLUSION Based on the foregoing, it is established that Lockheed acted within the sphere of corporate culture prevalent of the times. From a business man’s point of view, the payoffs could indeed be classified as marketing costs since from the point of view of the company, the money that was used was partly in promotion of its product, by today’s standards. However, the crux of the problem was that those who received the payoffs were government officials who had control of the affairs of their country.As such, these officials were in a position to exert undue influence on the airline company to purchase the aircraft from Lockheed. It is this undue influence that made the act unethical and from a legal standpoint, criminal in nature since, the resulting transaction is now a case of bribery on the part of Lockheed and extortion on the part of the government officials who received the payoff. As for Mr. Kotchian, I believe that as CEO of Lockheed Aircraft Company, he acted in the best interest of the company and for everyone who are immediately involved with the company (employees, technicians, management, etc. As CEO, he is tasked with ensuring a profitable direction for the company and provide a continuing means of livelihood for all those employed by the company. Likewise, it is his duty to ensure the competitiveness of the company. VI. RECOMMENDATION Despite the arguments of utilitarianism in this case, wherein the interest of the majority is deemed primordial over the interests of the few, I/We believe that Mr. Kotchian, in behalf of the management of Lockheed Aircraft Company acted within the bounds of corpor ate culture prevalent of the time.Arguably, using ethics and morality as a gauge, I/We perceive that Lockheed and Mr. Kotchian were guilty of unfair competition as they undermined their competitors through the use undue influence instead of marketing a superior product. Although the immediate results could have benefitted all those concerned within the sphere of the company, the means by which it was achieved were tainted with fraud and the wilful distortion of facts (reporting payoffs as marketing costs), hence, providing the other stakeholders such as its investors and stockholders a false representation of the financial affairs of the company.Although, bribery was not yet classified as corporate crime prior to 1978, the act of Lockheed Aircraft Company and Mr. Kotchian should be regarded as unethical, immoral and illegal; as well as promoting unfair competition with respect to other aircraft manufacturers in the industry. The decision of the Board of Directors to force the resign ation of Mr. Kotchian as CEO of Lockheed Aircraft Company is deemed proper herein and the subsequent arrest of Mr. Kodama and former Prime Minister Tanaka is likewise appropriate under the circumstances.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Missing White Woman Syndrome Essay

Missing white woman syndrome, also known as missing pretty girl syndrome, is a tongue-in-cheek term coined by some media critics to reference a form of media hype in which excessive news coverage is devoted to a specific missing or murdered white women and girls, while virtually ignoring missing men, non-white women, or other news stories. According to these critics, reporting of these stories often lasts for several days or weeks, sometimes even months, and displaces reporting on other current events that some people consider more newsworthy, such as economics and politics. This syndrome appears to be most prevalent in U. S. media, but famous examples can also be found elsewhere in the world, e. g. the United Kingdom. The essential features of a missing person said to give rise to Missing White Woman Syndrome are sex, her race, (relative) prettiness, and age. These features are said to provoke positive discrimination in the reporting as news of the disappearance of a young white woman, and so to increase public interest in her disappearance. Missing people claims that cases which generate greatest publicity are those where missing persons are white, middle-class, female and from stable two-parent families, and where is no indication that such a missing person ran away from home. A working-class boy or an older woman is less likely to receive news coverage. Even in cases where foul play is suspected, if the victim is male, is of Afro-Caribbean or Asian descent, is a prostitute, has drug problems, is a persistent runaway, or has been in foster care, reporters are said to decide that their readership is less likely to relate to or empathize with the victim, and they reduce their coverage accordingly. The typical profile that must be fit: blonde, attractive, if possible blue-eyed, young, petite, vivacious and of a middle class or higher economic background creates the cases of MPWW which involve every local or national news to provide regular daily coverage of any and all developments, accompanied by lengthy discussions about the meaning of such developments. Speculations about evidence, suspects, motives that caused the disappearance rise and family members are called in order to offer more information and to show pictures of the victim. As the story gains momentum and begins to pick up steam like a runaway locomotive more talk shows and news media search details and turn the event into a national issue. The typical case lasts for days, weeks, months, forever and ever resulting in some families creating a website about the case, or a reward is posted, flyers and leaflets are posted all over and cover all neighborhoods. However, if we take a look at the Doe Network, which is one of the resources that handles missing adult cases, we find out that: a) there are more missing black women in the US than women of all other races combined, b) there are more missing men than women, and c) there are far, far more missing long-term missing persons than most people even dream about. Moreover, from the news you would never know that most missing Americans are men, not women, that nearly a third of the missing are black, and that even ugliness will not save a woman from becoming missing and turning up dead. [pic] Missing People Chart. [pic]http://abagond. wordpress. com/2007/12/27/the-missing-white-woman-syndrome/ The Missing White Woman Syndrome should be taken into account and treated as a huge problem, but at times some cases are emphasize more than others and thus discrimination appears. What is more, â€Å"Missing White Woman Syndrome† seems to be interjecting racism into a situation that is much more complex than simple racism, as very often the disappearance of black women is neglected or if at the same time a white woman and a black one are reported missing it is only the white one that catches the media attention and soon becomes national news. Some critics say that pretty, white damsels in distress draw viewers, whereas missing women who are black, Latino, Asian, old, fat or ugly do not. For example, in May 2004, a young black woman was missing. It was not until 14 months later that they found her body. Her aunt worked in public relations but the press was not all that interested. Yet during all those months, when she went missing cable news went on and on about other missing women who were white. So, it could be the media’s fault for not covering every subject properly, and at times this does not resume just to Missing White Woman Syndrome, but to other news as well. It is a matter of interpretation of every situation and the media tends to draw the attention upon a certain area of a subject so that it should turn the whole thing into a business as it is often considered. For example, an automobile accident that kills five people is â€Å"newsworthy†, but five separate fatalities are not. A coal mine accident that kills a dozen is covered by every media outlet, but scores of miners who die from black lung every year are ignored. It is the shocking news that get the attention, as a means of manipulating the audience. Some claim that the media offers its viewers what they want, as it is like any other market driven much the same way that demand for certain automobiles drives production. It is said that is not just pretty white women, because people are drawn to stories about â€Å"pretty† people in general. Good looking actors get more face time than not so goof looking ones. Overweight people are now the majority in the U. S. , yet â€Å"full figured† models don’t turn up in Victoria Secret magazines. A plump homely missing child will likely not draw the attention that a good looking child would. Maybe people are drawn to â€Å"attractive†, because it is what we want to be. Then when bad things happen to attractive people we feel bad because something happened to the concept of what we’d like to see ourselves as – attractive. Attractive is pleasing to the eye and to the mind, and we are drawn to the things that please us†¦ Government intervention could be the only solution, if it subsidized the news media to insure the reporting of certain events even though they may not be in demand. However, there are opponents who claim that this is a social matter and not an economic one, mainly focused on racism and the way it is still perceived in America. Missing White Woman Syndrome is spread not only in the United States, but in other countries as well and it apparently attract millions of viewers. During the last year in Romania there ahs been a continuous debate on a similar case of a missing white woman, a lawyer, whose case has been analyzed from every angle and it is still discussed. Some even say that it became a brand, as there was a TV-show that kept up with all the details of the case. In the meanwhile many other teenagers or children have gone missing but the attention is still drawn to this never-ending case that some even consider not to be true. There is also the cult of true womanhood which teaches that white women are to be rescued, therefore they are helpless and in need of protection, while black women are assumed as being â€Å"in control† of the situation. It is a matter of perception upon the entire world, thus including prejudices and mentalities that grow into racism and into different forms of seeing others of a different race or sex or social status as capable of certain things. Here we could mention the view of people on a missing black woman who is later found dead, as either a drug addict or an easy woman. The questions â€Å"How do you save a black man from drowning? You take off your foot of his head. † and â€Å"What do you get if a white man falls of a skyscraper? Who cares. † best summon the idea that it is spread worldwide not just on the Missing White Woman Syndrome, but in other cases of discrimination and also national opinion upon a certain topic. The abagond. wordpress. com refers to the missing white woman syndrome as â€Å"missing pretty girls syndrome† or â€Å"damsel in distress syndrome† and it also makes references of TV episodes where the syndrome was clearly present. That is in â€Å"Without a Trace† episode â€Å"White Balance† in which the agents investigate two cases: that of a white teenage girl and that of a black teenage boy. They must cope with the white girl’s case getting constant attention and the black boy’s getting none. The episode concludes with a No Ending, as we are told that one lives and one dies, but not which is which. In one episode of â€Å"Law and Order Criminal Intent†, the disappearance of a white girl on a school trip becomes the subject of a media frenzy, and is eventually tied to the disappearance of a local black girl. The mother of the black girl accuses the authorities of coming to her only when her daughter’s disappearance was tied up with the white girl’s. The msnbc. msn. com refers to unconscious bias stating that â€Å"Quoting those FBI statistics – its like saying ‘99percent of the nations in the world are not at war, so why are focusing on the war? ’ But Iraq is an extraordinary event involving Americans† said Mark Effron, vice president of news at MSNBC TV. â€Å"What makes news is the unexpected. † Also, ironically the site gives another quote which refers to the Missing White Woman Syndrome, that is â€Å"If you are missing, it helps to be young, white, female. † Maybe this statement should raise a question mark that can make everyone see the real meaning of this â€Å"syndrome† that does not occur only among white women, but among black or Asian women as well, thus making all of them equal in front of the world and in the media articles. CNN has often been accused of not taking into account all missing cases and of observing and broadcasting only those of white pretty women, ignoring missing black women. The news media does not only entertain viewers, but also sells newspapers and you rarely, if ever, see in the news a woman â€Å"of color† who has gone missing. The Missing White Woman Syndrome is another embodiment of racism that makes you concentrate only on a small part of the problem and thus ignore the rest as if it never exists. There are thousands of people who go missing every day, but who, for not fitting the profile do not make it to the front page or the news. Those attractive women who are reported try to create that perfect image of the world where everyone seeks the beauty and the perfection and these cases of disappearances or deaths often ruin or at least shake the confidence in these stereotypes. But it is very clear that one does not have to be young, blonde and blue-eyed in order to be abducted and moreover breaking the news does not necessarily help bring back the missing person. Here is a matter of police involvement as well and the way in which authorities do everything in their power to find whoever has gone missing. Nevertheless, it is somehow ironical how statistics show that there are more males missing than women, and yet rarely are these cases reported. The percentage of missing white women is not higher than that of black women, but we only speak about a Missing White Woman Syndrome and not about a Missing Black Woman Syndrome. There are also a lot of children gone missing and most of them are not blond, blue-eyed and yet they are those who everyone talks about and even become icons of the â€Å"syndrome†. It is a creation of a fake world where we only focus on what we want to see and not on what there really is out there. Bibliography: www. msnbc. msn. com www. tvtropes. org www. abagond. wordpress. com Monica Radu, 1st year student of American Studies.