Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Case Study Example Realty can convey its decision in any manner within the validity period and it chose to initially accept the offer by a postal communication. This is a valid acceptance and is binding on Realty. The act of revocation (within the validity period) took place before the postal acceptance reached Jettison. Acceptance once made is irrevocable and binds both parties. However, under the English Law this rule is confined in its operation only to a postal acceptance. In other cases, according to Anson,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦an acceptance can be revoked at any time before acceptance is complete, provided of course, that the revocation itself is communicated before the acceptance arrives† (Law of Contract, pp.50-51, as quoted in Law of Contracts, Bajaj & Bajaj, 2005. p.28). Thus, Realty’s acceptance is legal and binding on itself. The issues involved in this case relate to a valid contract for service, genuine mistake of fact and revision of contract terms. JetKlean commenced its service in good faith according to the terms of the contract but realized that its earlier understanding of the condition of the jetskis was incorrect which led to under-valuation of the service needed. According to the law, ‘Where both parties to an agreement are under a mistake as to matter of fact essential to the agreement, the agreement is void’. This is a case of mistake of fact and JetKlean is entitled to renegotiate the service charges, which may be accepted or rejected by Jettison. With regard to the jetskis which were already serviced by JetKlean, they are entitled to proportionate payment according to the terms of the original contract. Jettison’s decision to accept the increased price is correct in the given circumstances. Glory Pieces offered to supply Hungarian made hand-blown crystal goblets at a price of $50 each. Offer was mailed on 1st April with a validity of 15 days. Since there was no specific date of validity,

Levi Strauss Essay Example for Free

Levi Strauss Essay As one attempts to assess the business ethics of Levi Strauss and Nike in this writing assignment, we are again compelled to revisit the critical distinction of conduct that is legal, yet still unethical. In both instances, Levi Strauss and Nike behaved with the parameters of legal conduct, yet few would argue that profiting from exploitive work conditions is an ethical behavior of any socially responsible organization (broad view social responsibility). Obviously, it’s very tempting to just condense this argument to the point of â€Å"bad companies boosting profits from lower labor costs via exploiting foreign workers in sweatshops†. I am going to take a much broader approach here in my assessment, as complete fairness to the two corporations here requires a bit of an indictment of the legal, regulatory, political, and socioeconomic environment that they operate in. So, let’s start there †¦ how is it that both of these large corporations are permitted (and driven) to outsource (with relative impunity) labor to countries with poor labor laws? In order to fairly assess their conduct, one must first examine the system under which they operate. How has corporate America gone down this path? Why do so many large U. S. corporations outsource labor en masse, which costs the U. S. economy so many jobs domestically? Let’s start by looking in the mirror and by that I mean you and I †¦ the U. S. consumer. Our thirst for cheap merchandise made overseas knows no limits. Do any of us look at the country of origin for goods, and if it’s non-U. S. do we even pause for a second to consider boycotting said goods due to loss of American jobs? Or boycott due to the nation of origin’s reputation for worker abuse? Of course we don’t. We want that Japanese high definition television from Wal-Mart that costs $100 less. We want the clothing from China or Indonesia that is 30% cheaper than similar brands made here. So, my first premise in this entire argument is that American consumers are NOT socially responsible in their purchasing habits. This lack of social responsibility on the demand side is a catalyst for Levi Strauss and Nike to seek cheaper labor overseas – for if they do not, their competitors assuredly will and they will be at a competitive disadvantage. Now, let’s assess the legal and regulatory environment under which both entities operate in the United States. Has Congress made it illegal to outsource labor to countries that they know are abusing their labor forces? In general, of course not. Congress maintains a blind eye to the problem, debating it over the years here and there in a politically motivated, half-hearted effort to occasionally placate certain voting segments (labor unions; displaced workers). Do they tougher their stance? Do they for one minute say to themselves, â€Å"this is really wrong, and socially irresponsible†? By inaction Congress is tacitly approving this practice, which of course is what powerful corporate lobbyists want. The profit motive has large U. S. corporations addicted to cheap labor now; Pandora’s Box has been opened and no one has the political will to attempt to close it. So let’s recap so far: we’ve indicted the U. S. consumer and our lawmakers in the legislative branch of the U. S. government (Congress) as major cultivators of the pro-outsourcing environment for which Levi Strauss and Nike must successfully operate under. Next on our list of socially irresponsible contributing parties – the judicial branch of the U.S. government. When the U. S. Supreme Court found in 2010 that the formation of so called â€Å"Super PACs† for campaign donations was legal, this gave corporations new powers under the law to, in effect, buy our government via opulent and obscene campaign spend funneled to candidates. The end result of this ruling is that corporations that profit greatly from outsourced labor are now able to pay for the elections of our Congressmen – and gee, wonder how this economic â€Å"favor† will be repaid when attempts to rein in outsourcing come up in Congress? Let’s move on to our two protagonists in this debate: Levi Strauss and Nike. Now that we’ve got the backdrop well in hand, and a reasonable person would agree that a massive systemic failure in the U. S. has allowed and promoted unchecked outsourcing of jobs, it’s time to discuss these two corporate giants and their respective behaviors here. Do these two corporations have a responsibility to monitor the conduct of the companies they do business within particular, their contractors and suppliers? As a personal believer in the broader view of corporate social  responsibility, I believe that they do. Notwithstanding the fact that all of this outsourcing is legal, and despite the mitigating factors that I’ve argued above that do alleviate these two companies of all of the blame – I still believe that they need to take the higher moral ground. Levi Strauss overall has conducted itself with far greater corporate social responsibility than Nike has, in my judgment. Strauss for many years withdrew from China due to their notoriety as a non-democratic country with abusive labor conditions. Regrettably, it had to re-enter China eventually to keep pace with competitors. Also, witness the way that Strauss treated its displaced U. S. workers as it (with some remorse) eventually had to close all its U. S. plants due to competition from outsourcers. Strauss gave generous severance and retraining dollars to the affected workers. In my estimation, Strauss has had to compromise its socially responsible corporate culture due to pressures from the warped competitive environment that was designed around them. It became a matter of survival for their corporation; their management had to adapt or risk failure and loss of the shareholders’ investments in the company. That is why I authored the overview above – I think it’s highly relevant to assessing Strauss’s conduct here. The system failed Levi Strauss – they wanted to behave under the broad definition of corporate social responsibility, but the demand for cheaper outsourced goods by consumers and the legality of outsourcing jobs (Congressional oversight failure) forced an adaptive change against their moral grain. Nike, however, is no apologist when it comes to their outsourcing. In fact, they are proud of it – even boasting that they pay outsourced workers higher than average wages for their region. To me, this is tantamount to bragging that â€Å"we don’t abuse those workers as badly as others do†. Frankly, that attitude offends my sensibilities and my personal set of ethical standards. I also deem it to be in direct conflict with the broader definition of corporate social responsibility. Lastly, I think that corporations have the obligation to take the ethical high ground and behave in a socially responsible manner (broad definition). That said, however, I do not believe that it’s a fair expectation to demand that high standard if adhering to same places the company’s very existence at risk due to systemic failures beyond their control. Levi Strauss attempted to â€Å"do the right thing†, but poor rules and oversight make competing in a broad ethical manner quite dangerous to its ultimate survival. Strauss’s example should serve as a wakeup call to U. S. consumers and our Congress: systemic change is needed, and it’s needed NOW.

Patient Transition into Hospice Care Essay -- Analysis of Care Transit

I. Introduction The patient presented in this paper is Ms. H an 83 year old African American woman that appears younger than stated age with a history of Multiple Myeloma. The patient chart was reviewed and an interview conducted. Interestingly the patient had retained every note, lab, hospital H&P and discharge summary in a file folder in her possession. Ms. H was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in April of 2008 when she was being worked up at her dentist for a toothache. X-rays performed revealed she had bone lesions in her zygomatic process and in her skull above her right eye. She was referred to Oncology Hematology Care for further work-up. A bone marrow biopsy revealed she had Multiple Myeloma. During the course of treatment the patient received Thalidomide, Revlimid, Velcade, Aredia, Zometa, and Decadron. Remission was achieved and the patient underwent stem cell transplant in February of 2009. The transplant was successful and the patient was cancer free until August of 2012 when she receiv ed news that her cancer had recurred. Current meds are Lisinopril 20 mg PO daily for HTN, Omeprazole 40 mg PO for GERD, Topamax 25 mg BID for headaches, Calcium 500 mg PO TID for osteoporosis, Zofran 4 mg every 6 hrs/prn for nausea, Vicodin 5/325mg every 4 hours/prn for pain control. Ms. H has 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren that are in their early 20’s. During the initial treatment phase Ms. H was employed part time at J.C. Penney. Once she was sent to Jewish for bone marrow transplant, she retired. She is on traditional Medicare with Medicaid due to reaching the cap on her secondary Humana plan. Ms. H is divorced but has a supportive friend Mr. P that has been at her side throughout her diagnosis and treatment. He... ... benefit. V. Analysis of Transition Admission Forms Admission forms include Consent, HIPPA Acknowledgement Form, Patient and Family Rights Statement Receipt, Permission to Bill Medicare. Forms required for hospice admission are few and concisely written to reflect the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Patients who are compromised enough to sign their own forms are usually ill enough that the number of forms needed are appreciated. Ms. H and family were amazed and happy with the need for fewer signatures to admit. References (1.)Blood. 2008 March 15; 111(6): 2962–2972. doi: 10.1182/blood-2007-10-078022 PMCID: PMC2265446 (2)ASH 50th Anniversary Review Article on Multiple Myeloma†¦(look up) (3)Publication Date: 2008-03-18Medicare Benefit Policy Manual Chapter 9 - Coverage of Hospice (4) JOURNAL OF PALLIATIVE MEDICINE Volume 9, Number 6, 2006

Revlon Ida

CORPORATE PROFILE ? ? ? ? Revlon is a worldwide cosmetics, hair color, beauty tools, fragrances, skincare, anti-per spirants/deodorants and beauty care products company. Revlon is a global color cosmetics, hair color, beauty tools, fragrances, skincare, anti-per spirant / deodorants and beauty care products company Websites featuring current product and promotional information can be reached at www. revlon. com, www. almay. com and www. mitchumman. com. The Company's brands, which are sold worldwide, include Revlon ®, Almay ®, ColorSilk ®, Mitchum ®, Charlie ®, Gatineau ® and Ultima II ®.CORPORATE PROFILE CONT†¦ Type: Public Traded as NYSE: REV Industry: Cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, personal care Founded: 1932 Founder(s): Joseph & Charles Revson, Charles Lachman Headquarters: New York City, New York, United States Key people: Alan T. Ennis, President and CEO CORPORATE PROFILE CONT†¦ Revenue: US$1. 3 billion (2009) Operating income: US$170. 8 million (2009) Net income: US$821. 20 million (2009) Total assets: US$794. 20 million (2009) Employees: 6,800 Parent: MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings: 60% (74% of votes) FMR Corp. : 20% Website: http//www. evlon. com/(US) VISION & MISSION Revlon Inc. Vision is Glamour, Excitement and innovation through High-quality Products at Affordable Prices. ? Revlon Inc. Mission is â€Å"to emerge as the leader in cosmetic and personal care throughout the world. Revlon takes pride in manufacturing the top skin care and strives to please young and older woman alike†. ? HISTORY ? ? ? ? Revlon was founded in the midst of the Great Depression, 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the â€Å"L† in the Revlon name.Starting with a single product — a new type of nail enamel — the three founders pooled their resources and developed a unique manufacturing process. Using pigments instead of dyes, Revlon developed a variety of new shades of opaque nail enamel. In 1937, Revlon started selling the polishes in department stores and drug stores. HISTORY CONT†¦ In six years, the company became a multimillion dollar organization. ? By 1940, Revlon offered an entire manicure line, and added lipstick to the collection. ? During World War II, Revlon created makeup and related products for the U.S. Army, which was honored in 1944 with the Army-Navy â€Å"E† Award for Excellence. ? By the end of the war, Revlon was listed as one of America's top five cosmetic houses. ? REVLON IN INDIA ? Revlon was the first International Color Cosmetics brand to be launched in India (1995). ? It all began in the year 1994, with formation of Modi-Revlon Pvt. Ltd. , a collaboration between Modi-Mundipharma Pvt. Ltd. (a joint venture between the Umesh K. Modi Group of India and Mundipharma Group of Switzerland) and Revlon of USA.REVLON IN INDIA CONT†¦ ? Today, Revlon is a name to reckon with in the beauty industry in India . It has added glamour and color to the lives of many a women to make them look and feel beautiful and confident. ? ? Revlon has brought to the modern Indian women the excitement and fun of experimenting with trend setting colors and innovative products. The company offers an extensive range of high quality products in different categories namely, color cosmetics, skincare, fragrances, hair care and hair colors. ? REVLON IN INDIA CONT†¦ ?Revlon in India enjoys immense consumer franchise with its world famous brands like Super Lustrousâ„ ¢, Revlon ® Nail Enamel, Colorstay ®, Street Wear ®, Revlon Absolute Câ„ ¢, Flex ®, Charlie ® , Fire & Ice ®, Colorsilk ® and many more. Modi-Revlon ceaselessly continues to introduce new products and color trends keeping in view the preferences of the Indian consumer. It draws expertise from Revlon’s state-of-the-art Research Center in Edison, New Jersey (USA) and complies with its stringent product quality standards. ? ? FAMOUS BRANDS FAMOUS BRANDS FAMOUS BRANDSTOP COMPETITORS FOR REVLON, INC. Avon Products, Inc. ? The Procter & Gamble Company ? L'Oreal SA ? SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTH ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Revlon is the major player in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and personal care products. It has long history of 75 years. Famous brand especially among the women’s. Despite of heavy debt and net losses from last few years. Product development is the main focus area for Revlon. Strong research and development. Revlon products are sold in more than 100 countries. Revlon 43 percent sales are from United States market.It has been supporting several health programs for Women. Advertising is one of the key areas for Revlon. Revlon aims to provide quality products. Distribution channels are well managed that the reason Revlon products are used in more than 100 countries of the world. SWOT ANALYSIS Weaknesses †¢ Weak financial position due to net losses and heavy debts. †¢ Cutting down number of jobs reduce employee trust on the Company. †¢ Continuous changes in the Organizational Structure may impact the performance for employees. †¢ Besides advertising other marketing areas are he weak. SWOT ANALYSIS Opportunities †¢ Revlon is currently facing financial problems so joint ventures or partnership with other players in the industry may open the doors of new opportunities. †¢ Utilize all marketing methods to promote its products; it will help to boost the sales of the company. †¢ Develop products for male segment. SWOT ANALYSIS Threats †¢ Intense competition with major players of the industry including Procter & Gamble, Unilever, L’Oreal, †¢ Rapid changes in fashion may require heavy budgets for product development & marketing.Revlon has to find some financial assistance to support its operation to sustain its position in the industry. †¢ Revlon selling its products through websites but it haven’t made efforts to develop relations with the customers through online channels. †¢ Government instability and variation in exchange rate in few countries †¢ Focused towards woman segment PRODUCTS Eye Products ? Face Products ? Lip Products ? Nail Products ? Skin Care Products ? EYE PRODUCTS FACE PRODUCTS LIP PRODUCTS NAIL PRODUCTS SKIN CARE PRODUCTS BORROWED STRATEGYIn the 1960s, Revson â€Å"Segmented Revlon Inc into different divisions, each focusing on a different market†. ? He borrowed this strategy from General Motors. ? Each division had its own target customer: ? a. b. c. d. e. f. Revlon, the largest and most popular-priced brand Princess Marcella Borghese, upscale/international Ultima II, premium Natural Wonder, juniors Moon Drops, dry skin Etherea, hypo-allergenic SALES STRATEGY Revlon's entrance into the Japanese market was typical of its international sales strategy. ? Instead of adapting its ads and using Japanese models, Revlon chose to use its basic U.S. advertising an d models. ? Japanese women loved the American look, and the sales for 1962 came to almost $164 million. ? STRATEGIC GOAL ? Strategic Goal is to profitably grow their business. 2011 was a year of many notable achievements, as they continued to execute their business strategy despite continued uncertain global economic conditions. ? From a financial perspective, they grew net sales for the second year in a row, sustained competitive operating margins, achieved their fourth consecutive year of positive free cash flow and improved their capital structure. From a marketplace perspective, they introduced innovative, high-quality, consumer-preferred products across their entire portfolio, they acquired the SinfulColors brand, and they signed two of Hollywood’s most sought-after actresses, Emma Stone and Olivia Wilde, as Global Brand Ambassadors for their Revlon brand. ? ELEMENTS OF BUSINESS STRATEGY They are focused on the five elements of their business strategy, specifically, to ? (i) build their strong brands; ? (ii) develop their organizational capability; ? (iii) drive their company to act globally; ? (iv) increase their operating profit and cash flow; and ? v) improve our capital structure. DEBT LIMITS FLEXIBILITY ? But, here's our concern†¦ Revlon's balance sheet is heavily loaded with debt, so much so that in 2007, the interest payments due exceeded its operating profit (as measured by EBIT) for that year. Even in 2009, the interest payments exceeded 60% of EBIT, making the earnings highly volatile and vulnerable to market fluctuations and interest ratesy. ? DEBT LIMITS FLEXIBILITY ? As a result, Revlon's R spending at 1. 7% of sales amounting to $24 million is dwarfed by L'Oreal's 3. 7% at $666 million. Also, given Revlon's sales at close to $1. billion compared to $24 billion for L'Oreal and $7. 9 billion for Estee Lauder leaves it with much less money to spend on marketing, a crucial factor for success in cosmetics industr ? CORPORATE CSR Overv iew of Revlon's Corporate Social Responsibility Framework ? Please find in the link below Revlon's Corporate Social Responsibility Framework (the â€Å"Revlon CSR†) which is disseminated to all of our employees worldwide. ? The Revlon CSR is monitored and overseen by two of our most senior executives – our Chief Science Officer and our Chief Administrative Officer. The Revlon CSR includes the Purpose, Standards and Measurements in each of the key areas of Safety, Social, Ethical, Regulatory and Environmental. ? CORPORATE CSR The stated purposes are as follows: ? Safety: Provide our consumers with highquality, safe and efficacious products and our valued employees with a safe workplace. ? Social: Enhance women's lives through our products and philanthropic efforts. ? Ethical: Conduct business in an ethical manner. ? Regulatory: Ensure that our products and operating facilities meet or exceed all applicable standards, globally. Environmental: Reduce the environmental imp act of our operations. ? WHAT IF REVLON FOCUSED ON COLOR COSMETICS AND PHASED OUT SKIN CARE AND/OR FRAGRANCES? Revlon is most well known for color cosmetics and commands a significant market share of over 20% in US, which itself constitutes over 18% of the global market for color cosmetics. ? Given, the company average EBITDA margin(Earnings before depreciation, impairment and amortization) for color cosmetics and moderate growth rates in excess of 3%, it would be reasonable to focus on this product segment and to further strengthen Revlon’s market share in the same. We estimate that color cosmetics constitute over 60% of Trefis price estimate of Revlon’s stock. ? CONCLUSION ? In the current scenario, there is forecast Revlon to lose share in the future across all product segments due to its inability to match the competition in marketing and R&D. ? Hence, focusing the limited funds available on a few preferred product categories presents a more viable option for the f uture

Emotional Description Of Beethovens Ninth Symphony Essays - Symphony

Emotional Description Of Beethovens Ninth Symphony Essays - Symphony Emotional Description of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony It has been called the greatest audio entity one could ever listen to; a song which can pierce the soul of even the most dedicated music-hater: Beethoven?s Ninth Symphony. Not only has it been designated thus; also, as one of the few truly divinely inspired works, one which most men can only marvel at, as they wallow in their appropriate humility. These creations, however, are definitely not the only aspects of entities beyond the scopes of men; there are far more examples, which are seen every day, but often overlooked. I was walking outside, with this song echoing in the recesses of my mind, on a dismal, overcast day in the Autumnal quarter, a day when where the streets blended with the atmosphere, when one could hardly look up without feeling the singe of the wind against one?s face. To me, these days have always conjured up images of some distant, looming storm, some silent tempest which, if not otherwise distracted will soon wreak mayhem and disaster on my environs. This day had an intense air about it, as do others of its ilk. This is most likely the fault of the storm under which it is shadowed, as though it and its inhabitants are uneasy and harrowed about the imminent predator waiting overhead to pounce. As the sky overhead swam with deeper and deeper shades of gray and hopeless black, the song in my mind was reaching some vocal crescendo in the fourth movement, a better foreteller of the gale I could not imagine. While the winds bullied and tormented the defenseless neighborhood, I started for my house. Unexpectedly, as the crescendo was losing speed, a quiet, pacific violin entered the musical fray in my brain, and the entire mood of the symphony mellowed, the winds themselves pacified, seemingly under Ludwig?s fickle dominion. Thinking the storm had passed, I continued blissfully onward to the meadows which were my destination. Again I was assaulted, this time by a different part of the symphony; not too long after the first chorale. This was the startling and almost fearful, but still uplifting, part in which the female and male vocals collided like two huge tidal waves with the power to splinter a fleet of ships with the German Alle Menschen repeated several times. Upon this onslaught of euphony, I turned from whatever I might have been thinking before, and looked at some violently twisting and rising leaves and other debris, and gazed at the playful heavens, again ominous. Annoyed with Beethoven and the cruel elements, I stood there, unmoving; indecisive, not knowing whether to turn around or pursue my present course, I felt the excited chorale still striking some unknown and inexplicable fear within me, as though some divine creature were about to strike me down in some vehemence which lies well beyond the realms of verbal description. So, as the chorus continued repeating its faithful mantra, the winds again rose up stronger than before, as twigs began to snap and fall about me; I was still, yet deeply moved. Perplexed at the whimsy antics of nature, I was about to retreat to my home, when, in the remarkable symphony, a single male vocal broke through the complicated entanglement of godly voices, and I, despite the protests of my superego, decided to continue on with some alien, renewed vigor against the gusty weather, as though I were the bearer of news about the winner of a war or some other momentous aftermath. At this, as though impressed with my display of singular determination, the wind made itself placid, laying down before me. Violins were heard, along with the driving, male voice. Suddenly, completely without warning and all at once, what seemed like throngs of angelic, female voices sang as though sent on an appeal to God on the eve of apocalypse. They continued, soon joined by male voices, and other instruments, in the most spiritual and epiphytic reverberation I?ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing, and, seemingly, all in my favor, against cruel and remorseless nature, pleading to let me pass. I, however, felt like only a petty bystander in this competition between the symphony and the elements, completely unable to comprehend, let alone justify either

Battens essays

Battens essays Battens Disease is a neurological disorder, which was discovered in 1903 by a British pediatrician. Battens Disease, also known as Spielmeyer-Vogt-Sjogre-Batten disease is the most common in a group of disorders called neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs). There are three other types of NCLs, which occur at different stages of life. The three other types of NCLs are infantile (6 months), late infantile (2-4 yrs.), and adult (before 40). A person inherits Battens when both parents give a recessive gene to the child. Battens is an autosomal recessive disease that is fatal. Battens Disease is a juvenile disease, which begins between the ages of 5-9 years, and it happens about once in every 25,000 live births. Since the disease has no outward signs the child appears normal at first. The individual develops just like a child without the disease does. Once the child reaches the age of 5-9 yrs. The symptoms start to develop. The first symptom that occurs is the deterioration of the childs vision. Other symptoms that start at the same time are problems with schoolwork, speech problems, and the onset of extreme clumsiness. After these symptoms have occurred the individual will start to have epileptic seizures. In the nest stage of the disease the individual will display gradual intellectual deterioration, and the gradual deterioration of muscles. The individual may even become demented over the coarse of the disease. All these things will happen over the coarse of 10-15 yrs. Near the end of those 10-15 years, which is also near the end of the individuals life, the person will spend much of his/her time lying down and they will be blind and unable to speak. All these symptoms of Battens and the symptoms of the other NCLs have been linked to a buildup of substances called lipopigments in the bodys tissues. Lipopigments are mainly composed of fats and proteins. When they are viewed under a...

Teaching Cinco de Mayo to Kids

Teaching Cinco de Mayo to Kids Cinco de Mayo! Its everyones favorite Mexican holiday, a chance to listen to cool music, grab some chips and salsa and maybe even speak some Spanish with friends. But whats it all about? Most folks know enough Spanish to understand that Cinco de Mayo is May fifth, so it must be a special date in history, but why do Mexicans celebrate that particular day? What is Cinco de Mayo? On Cinco de Mayo, Mexicans remember the Battle of Puebla, fought on May 5, 1862. On that day, Mexicans won an important battle against the French army, which was invading Mexico. Why Was France Invading Mexico? France had a long history of interfering in Mexicos business, dating back to the famous Pastry War of 1838. In 1862, Mexico was having big problems and owed money to other countries, mainly France. France invaded Mexico to try and get their money. Why is the Battle of Puebla So Famous? Basically, the battle is famous because the Mexicans werent supposed to win. The French army had about 6,000 soldiers and the Mexicans had only about 4,500. The French had better guns and were better trained. The French had already beaten the Mexicans a few times as they made their way to the city of Puebla, from which they planned to go to Mexico City. No one thought the Mexicans were going to win the battle†¦except maybe the Mexicans! What Happened at the Battle of Puebla? The Mexicans had made defenses around the city of Puebla. The French attacked three times, and each time they had to retreat. When the French cannons ran out of ammunition, the Mexican commander, Ignacio Zaragoza, ordered an attack. The Mexican attack forced the French to run away! The Mexicans cheered and President Benito Juarez said that May fifth would forever be a national holiday. Was That the End of the War? Unfortunately, no. The French army was driven off but not beaten. France sent a huge army of 27,000 soldiers to Mexico and this time they captured Mexico City. They put Maximilian of Austria in charge of Mexico and it was a few years before the Mexicans could kick the French out. So Cinco de Mayo isn't Mexico's Independence Day? Lots of people think so, but no. Mexico celebrates its Independence Day on September 16. Thats the day when in 1810 Father Miguel Hidalgo stood up in his church and said that the time had come for Mexico to be free from Spain. Thats how Mexicos battle for independence began. How Do Mexicans Celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Mexicans love Cinco de Mayo! Its a day that makes them feel very proud. There are parties, parades and lots of food. There are festivals with concerts and dancing. Mariachi bands are everywhere. Where Are the Best Places to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Of all the places in the world, the city of Puebla in Mexico is probably the best. After all, thats where the big battle was! Theres a huge parade and a re-enactment of the battle. There is also a mole festival. Mole, pronounced mo-lay, is a special food in Mexico. After Puebla, the best place to go for Cinco de Mayo is Los Angeles, California, where they have a big party every year. Is Cinco de Mayo a Big Deal in Mexico? It is, but September 16, Mexicos Independence Day, is a bigger holiday in most of Mexico than Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo is a bigger deal in other countries like the USA. Thats because Mexicans who live in other countries like to celebrate Cinco de Mayo and because most foreigners think its the most important Mexican holiday. Cinco de Mayo is surprisingly NOT a national holiday in Mexico, although its a local holiday in Puebla. How Can I Celebrate Cinco de Mayo? Thats easy! If you live in a city where there are a lot of Mexicans, there will be parties and festivals. If you dont, your local Mexican restaurant will probably have special food, decorations and maybe even a mariachi band! You can host a Cinco de Mayo party by getting some decorations, serving some Mexican food like chips, salsa and guacamole and playing Mexican music.

User modeling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

User modeling - Essay Example User modeling is one of the main techniques regarding assessment of user requirements, needs and features that they want in the new system. In several systems we need to embed some features those are targeted to only that particular class of the users. This report is also targeting a particular class of users to module, design, and develops the system. The user model holds the intact data and information that the system recognizes regarding the user. It is normally initialized either by means of default values or through questioning the user. After that, it is retained through the system, while the user can be capable to weigh up as well as edit their profile. User procedures and actions at a variety of abstract levels, like that task achievement, mouse clicks as well as requirements for assistance, are described through the user interface or foundation user application to the client profile. An analysis of these attributes incorporates the user profile using further models of the system to get hold of innovative or new "facts" regarding the user. This analysis is able to renovate the user profile by means of the resulting particulars or start an accomplishment in the application (Tecnodiscap, 2004). User modeling corresponds to the latest built user interface design. Equally spotlight on user requirements, as well as normally employ a wide-ranging research for the project domain. In customary user idea design, though, the effect is a particular user interface specified at system design time, while user modeling intended for adaptive edges construct a set of rules and models for building the user interface on run time. At the time of the system development, system designers model the system user individuality to be captured with the discrepancy of the user interface (Martà ­nez-Normand, 2007). In this section I will develop a user model for a particular user. Here we will assume that person facing difficulties in using a computer. Here I will create a

The effects of globalization of the labor market Essay

The effects of globalization of the labor market - Essay Example With Globalization being such a used function of the world’s economic market, there was and is an effect on the labor market. The definition of globalization is highly contentious among professionals in the field of economics and business. Globalization is a term for the process of international integration brought upon by interconnectivity of cultural aspects.1 Cultural aspects can be further defined as technology, religion, infrastructure, and manufacturing processes. There are many types of globalization; increased internet activity, international cell phones, and aviation. Labor Market is a term that will be used that means the interaction between the workers and the employers. With globalization this could mean workers in one location and employers in another. This is an important topic to discuss as globalization of the labor market has increased the living wage of many countries and is the only income that some developing countries acquire. There are many good aspects o f globalization that increases the health and education of many third world countries. However, there are aspects of globalization that have both positive and negative aspects. The globalization that most people think of the most is the usage of other countries to assist in the production or manufacturing of products for consumption or use. This is known by many currently as outsourcing. While outsourcing is not the only form of globalization, this is the one element that has become a hot topic politically due to the extent and negative elements. Outsourcing is a negative form of globalization to portions of the United States, while for others it is one of the best things that has occurred. Globalization does many things both negatively and positively to the labor market. It is an understanding of these benefits and consequences to determine if a select labor market will gain from becoming a part of the world market. What globalization can do for a developing country is to bring in technology, education, training, and science that were not previously available to the citizens. Depending on the industry brought in, an increase of available jobs and increased wages will also occur. Regardless of what occurs there will be new opportunities in many sectors for individuals otherwise not available due to education or geographical location. With every benefit comes a detriment or at least the possibility of a detriment. With regards to globalizations effect on the labor market many things could prove costly and negative. With an increase in skilled labor needs, there is a drastic decrease in unskilled or ordinary workers which could lead to an increase of foreign workers and increase unemployment among native employees.2 Another thing that technology does is decrease the overall work force needed to complete the same task. For countries with a large work force, this technology could prove highly costly to the labor market. Most employers of large industries that beli eve in globalization do not maintain a large presence in developing countries. What this means is that most of the money created by native workers is siphoned back to the employers native country, leaving the developing nation without resources to develop.3 If this market globalization comes at the heels of international grants of money or resources, the country that received the funds will have to go through a process of privatization which is highly

Three Impressionist works of art Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Three Impressionist works of art - Assignment Example This type of art used light by outlining its changing effects with time and movement. They used short strokes which were thick in painting with mixing of colors emphasizing the natural light. Impressionists founding members included Edgar Degas, Eduardo Manet, Camille Pissarro and Claude Monet among others (Dumas, 1999). Introduction Painting was the main impressionist work in Paris, France to which we are going to base our arts in three main artists (Herbert 1988). These include Clande Monet’s art on Impression, a woman with a parasol (1872), Edouard Manet’s on Olympia (1863-1865) oil in canvas and Edgar Degas on the glass of Absinthe (1876) oil in canvas. These artists can be seen as the founders of impressionism and there arts contributed a lot to the spread of impression across Europe. Their arts are among the first impressionism in the world to which they were then adopted by other artists like Giuseppe De Nittis who was an Italian, James Abbott McNeill Whistler wh o was an American among others showing how it spread across Europe (Stuart, 1993). They majorly used nature in portraying information to the people in which in this context we can see the luxury impact on women which was negative view of them as they portrayed negative behaviors on women. Similarities All of the artists are the main founders of impression. They are all believed to have contributed to the emergence as they all united during the opposing moments in showing their different types of arts. The arts are also seen to convey the message of luxury also indicating that there main objective in this type of art is to portray the culture or rather the nature of individuals in that period of time (Thomson, 2000). The three arts are seen to have portrayed the social life during that period. From Edgar’s art we are able to see the cafe with a glass of wine indicating the living standards in Paris. The glass has a drink probably alcohol which was majorly used by people of the middle and upper class status (Stuart, 1993). Edouard’s art on Olympia shows prostitute with necklace and a bracelet on the bed a servant standing next to her. Her head is on the white comfy pillow with the tucked beddings which was mainly seen in the next France by middle and upper class women. In Claude’s art on the Impression, sunrise, we can see the movement of people using a boat which is at dawn the sun portraying the upper-class (Dumas, 1999). The style used by the three artists relied on light and movement. They both use light colors to portray the brighter side and dark colors showcasing the dark side. Movement is also seen as a style used as it showed movement as we can see from Claude Monet’s art which we see a lady with an umbrella. The arts also used the technique of short strokes in painting as this was the main method used in the Impression with the mixing of colors which blended to give the outlook. They avoided the use of dark colors and mainly relied on light and vibrant colors to capture the changing effect of sunlight (Thomson, 2000). In these three types of arts we are able to see that they both tried to convey the message on the culture of the People in France during that period that is luxury. From the visual perspective, Edgar Degas’s art clearly shows how a lady who looks royal and a gentleman with a glass of Absinthe in a cafe indicating their lifestyle during leisure. The lady

Sexual Assualt in the US Prisons Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Sexual Assualt in the US Prisons - Dissertation Example This assault is perpetrated on males, females and even illegal immigrants housed in prison facilities all over the country. In order for us to understand how this abuse occurs, we need to take a close look at the US prison systems, penal laws, and statutes, evaluate the problem, and analyze the efficiency of measures taken by the government to curb sexual assaults inside US prisons. Many ordinary individuals have heard detailed stories in the media especially the newspapers about prisoners being beaten by guards with batons, fired at unnecessarily with guns or raped and abused by prison officers. (World Report 2000) Authorities have found out that the penal facilities in almost every state in America are replete with such abuse. A federal court, for instance, came to a conclusion that the rate and number of "wholly unnecessary physical aggression" committed by guards in Texas prison facilities mirrored a "culture of sadistic and malicious violence" exhibited in those facilities. Violence and other forms of harassment perpetrated by prisoners against each other are even more of an everyday occurrence. Authorities and independent groups estimated that more than 70 percent of prison inmates are assaulted and abused by their fellow inmates every year. Almost yearly, the incidences of violence and abuse in American prisons continue to escalate. Near the turn of the c entury for instance in 1998, 79 prisoners were killed and thousands more suffered severe injuries (The Corrections Yearbook 1998). The previous year of 1997, 10 percent of inmates across the states and 3 percent of inmates housed in federal facilities were reported severely injured in scuffles and brawls since they have entered prisons. The New York state prisons systems have recognized the prevalence of this problem and stated that the "extraordinary amount of crime committed in state prisons annually merely shifts the locus of criminal activity away from neighborhoods to correctional facilities† For the experts and authorities, street gangs have merely moved territories from the streets into the penal facilities.

Racial Profiling Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Racial Profiling - Assignment Example This study also reveals the role of ethical and moral concepts in suitable decision-making hence showing the importance of making suitable judgment on individual appearances in the society. Introduction A number of modern techniques have been formulated to enhance security within society. Among these methods is racial profiling. This method utilizes various stereotypes in formulating security measures that are utilized in various law enforcing agencies in the country. This method has received acceptance among many developed societies despite raising a number of moral and ethical issues within society. In this study, focus is placed on the interaction between morals, ethics, and law within society. Question one Racial profiling is a matter of both discretion and ethics. First, racial profiling is a product of freedom among individuals. This freedom enables individuals to undertake any activity they deem right. For instance, in some European countries Chinese tenants are ejected from a partments since the proprietors fear that they may infect other individuals with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Tator & Henry, 2006).This freedom of choice may be misused thus resulting to reintroduction of crimes such as racism in society. Secondly, racial profiling is an ethical issue since it employs various ethical concepts during its decision making stage. For instance, consequential theories in ethics suggest that an action is moral if the number of benefits it generates exceeds the number of shortcomings. Therefore, application of racial profiling techniques in averting crimes such as terrorism is moral (Zack, 2011). Question two According to Boss (2008), racial profiling has a number of ethical and moral dimensions. These dimensions are negative and positive dimensions. Outcomes from racial profiling help to determine whether its dimensions are positive or negative. These dimensions are evaluated using normative, consequential, and deontological and virtue ethics. Ac cording to normative ethics, an action is right or wrong based on the nature of the characters involved. For illustration, a bartender may refuse to sell alcohol to an individual of aboriginal origin based on their rude behavior when drunk. This explains the positive dimension of racial profiling. Muffler (2006) contends that racial profiling has a positive or negative dimension based on the resultant ratio of wrong and rights. Deontological ethics also argue that various choices made when executing racial profiling determine the dimensions of the technique. For instance, undertaking racial profiling to satisfy personal greed is forbidden in deontological ethics since it may result to increased crimes of hate within any society. Question three Harris (2003) contends that individuals in society place judgment on each other based on a number of reasons. These reasons include societal stereotypes, past experiences, personal behavior, and individual appearances. Societal concepts are a major determinant of people’s judgment within any setting. Among these concepts, societal stereotypes influence individual choices when passing judgments. For instance, in some societies individuals of color are viewed as inferior to the Europeans. This may influence the choices made during judgment hence creating a widespread view that individuals with a colored skin are inferior (Tator& Henry, 2006).Personal

Sexual Assualt in the US Prisons Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Sexual Assualt in the US Prisons - Dissertation Example This assault is perpetrated on males, females and even illegal immigrants housed in prison facilities all over the country. In order for us to understand how this abuse occurs, we need to take a close look at the US prison systems, penal laws, and statutes, evaluate the problem, and analyze the efficiency of measures taken by the government to curb sexual assaults inside US prisons. Many ordinary individuals have heard detailed stories in the media especially the newspapers about prisoners being beaten by guards with batons, fired at unnecessarily with guns or raped and abused by prison officers. (World Report 2000) Authorities have found out that the penal facilities in almost every state in America are replete with such abuse. A federal court, for instance, came to a conclusion that the rate and number of "wholly unnecessary physical aggression" committed by guards in Texas prison facilities mirrored a "culture of sadistic and malicious violence" exhibited in those facilities. Violence and other forms of harassment perpetrated by prisoners against each other are even more of an everyday occurrence. Authorities and independent groups estimated that more than 70 percent of prison inmates are assaulted and abused by their fellow inmates every year. Almost yearly, the incidences of violence and abuse in American prisons continue to escalate. Near the turn of the c entury for instance in 1998, 79 prisoners were killed and thousands more suffered severe injuries (The Corrections Yearbook 1998). The previous year of 1997, 10 percent of inmates across the states and 3 percent of inmates housed in federal facilities were reported severely injured in scuffles and brawls since they have entered prisons. The New York state prisons systems have recognized the prevalence of this problem and stated that the "extraordinary amount of crime committed in state prisons annually merely shifts the locus of criminal activity away from neighborhoods to correctional facilities† For the experts and authorities, street gangs have merely moved territories from the streets into the penal facilities.

Evidence-based effects of exercise on the body Research Paper

Evidence-based effects of exercise on the body - Research Paper Example There were thirty four participants, 18 females and 16 males who were divided into two groups, one group had to read for forty minutes every day for a span of two weeks, where as the other group had to exercise for forty minutes for the same time span of two weeks. The results showed there was a difference noticed in the people who were doing exercise than those who were reading. There was a significance difference noticed in the body image of participants, with no effect on body weight or shape. This study is very beneficial for exercise promotions as the findings of this research paper can help in forming a strategy in order to encourage exercise and workout programs. However, it is also argued that this study is very limited as it has not included or studied other moderators affecting forces that might affect the change in body image and/or weight. Therefore, the findings of this study has to be further studied and different outside forces have to be included and tested for the accuracy and reliability of this research (Appleton,

Why God Became Man Essay Example for Free

Why God Became Man Essay Strauss’ background of having been a teacher for several years, a great Pastor from 1939-1963, and a well-known author of the at least 19 biblical books; by far gives such a strong foundation, of his thorough knowledge of Gods purposes for and on the earth as a Man! In the article WHY GOD BECAME MAN Strauss in the onset attempts to reveal the incarnation of the person of God, not only being Son, He also was God, who became a fleshly being. Strategically, Strauss compiled his article by beginning to define and defend the incarnation to set up a foundation to examine God’s reasons for coming to us in human form. Through John 1 we see God’s reality being transformed into a man. The Word for the Old Testament people wasn’t just enough now we have the word walking among us, which now is within us. The incarnation through Strauss article is proven to show his readers the importance of why God Himself had to experience are temptations and order to really know what we as humans feel. The fall of man, in Genesis 3 can only depict but so much but it gives great detail and solidifies the quality of Gods sovereignty but His un-acceptance to sin. Therefore; the second Adam comes in the person of Jesus which is also God in demonstration on how to live but not being unaware of the human feelings. Satan is defeated forever salvation is now available according to Hebrews 2:9,14-15. Finally the process of restoration to humanity through the work of incarnation is being set into motion; and Jesus throne is now what we strive for because we have been given the invitation to sit at the right hand of the father God along with Jesus ephesians 1:20. The incarnation is and was created to have direct access to the Father, through the Father Jesus who is God; though, this can only be seen through salvation and the Holy Spirit of truth again found as read in John 14. However; throughout the article Strauss displays this on and off orthodoxy riddled with odd rhetoric and contradicting statements. He attempts to stay on topic while addressing everything from evolution to anti-Semitism. It’s hard to follow his train of thought because he is repetitively backtracking to make his premises fit his conclusions. In one breath he says that salvation is possible by merely looking at creation and in the next breath he is saying that Jesus Christ came that we can know God more. I believe God’s greatest desire is that all men would know Him, not just with lip service but with a heart of servitude, love, and commitment to His will. I believe He reveals this through Paul in Philippians 3:10 when he exclaims that oh he might know God in His resurrection and become one with God in His suffering and to be shaped in His death. Paul’s cry was a sacrificial one because He was able to grab ahold to the person of God, and all God had provided for Him on the Earth and in Heaven. So now we understand that through the incarnation God has given us through His divine power everything we need for life and godliness; therefore we have no excuse not to look to the example He set before us.

The Impact Of Extended Trading Hours Commerce Essay

The Impact Of Extended Trading Hours Commerce Essay House of Travel is a Kiwi owned and operated business, this is unique industry because their outlets and a true business partnership between local owner operators and House of Travel Holdings having 75 plus retail outlets nationwide. Their 75% of retail outlets are situated in Shopping Mall and rest of 25% are in local Business areas. Chris Paulsen, founder and managing director of House of Travel had a dream that travel could be delivered to the consumer in a different way. The company gets suggestion from their consumers to extend the working hours of their retail outlets situated in local business area the present working hours is 9am to 5 pm weekdays and 9am to 1pm on Saturday. These hours may be extended to benefit more customers but before making this changes the company has to check thoroughly that how this will work and the advantages and disadvantages besides extending the business hours, for management and employees of house of travel. He started collecting brief report from the Owner operator that How the impact of extended hours will affect you economically, financially, and environmentally (Paulsen, 2011) and we get this opportunity to do research on this topic. It is with pleasure that we submit our report on extended working hours, the implications for public policy reform, and our recommendations for your consideration. The report gives an overview of the actual and potential effects of extended working hours on individuals, families and communities based on the findings of empirical studies and the views of key stakeholders, employees and their families and peak bodies. It outlines the major approaches that have been adopted in other jurisdictions, which indicate the complexities associated with determining the most effective means of addressing extended hours. Any measure aimed at minimizing the impact of extended hours has implications for the differing needs and aspirations of employees, employers and the community. Nevertheless, the majority of the Group felt that there was a solution although it may not be one which is perfect or which satisfies everyone. Where individual members of the Group held views dissenting from the majority on specific issues, these opinions and the reasons for them have been included. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the management of House of Travel for research and executive support. Introduction 1. The working hours trend has been seen since long as 9 am to 5 p.m.in most of the areas of business in several industrialized countries we called as traditional and offices, there are limited changes for the retail business such as groceries, and supermarkets. 2. The interest in extending working hours for House of Travel in Auckland is that there customers may get more and more benefit from the extended trading hours. 3. There are examples for the overseas jurisdictions have regulated extended hours of working in order to minimize its detrimental health and social effects on workers. 4. The project was assigned to our Active Group to do the through research and submit the report that the impact of Extended hours how its work and what are the advantages and disadvantages. 5. We the student of Management Class in a Group ( Active Group )took the challenge and started the research with the help of our studies and research we will submit the report before 18th May 2011. 6. This was a challenge for us and we have to think that from where we start, so we decided in our Group meeting to distribute the work among the members of the group. The terms of reference was described for each member of the group as under. Procedures The Group is to receive and consider comment from the management and staff of House of Travel and make recommendations for extending trading hours for their outlets outside the shopping malls and to submit the feedback and recommendation that how its work and how its effect on the employee and management of company. It was a big challenge for the group to deal in this and we started working jointly on this project and started collecting data relating to this project. 1. The first and the most thing was to check that how employees will be affected as a result of extending hours relating to health and safety issue , such as fatigue. 2. To check the specific models and general structures and to provide proper guidance to the management of House of Travel on working hours and to provide evidence for serious health and safety issues. 3. To check the Retail Trading Laws for extending trading hours from the Department of Labor New Zealand, and to do proper research for the betterment of the company as well as their employees. 4. To verify that how the employees and their families will be effected by this extended trading hours and how it will impact on the health of individual employees and their families. The research Objectives The objectives of the project were identified as: To take views of entire employee one to one basis and to know their willingness of working long hours. The check the level of cost involved in extending trading hours and how it will benefit the company as well as employees. To check that how this new implementation will work and affect the health and safety of employee. Research methods The research used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative research The quantitative research comprised two employer surveys: First we had interview the employers to identify the knowledge and prevalence of extended working hours in retail outlets. The survey from three employers from different sectors and different business was conducted as under: 1. Management of House of Travel, Auckland 2. Management of Travel2000, Auckland 3. Management of M.K. Tours and Travels, Auckland Framework was set for questionnaire for the above employer and the following information was taken from them. 1. What benefit you think for extending Trading Hours? 2. How it will work e.g. roaster etc? 3. Will this affect the employee health and safety and security of organization? The response we received from the above employers shows that on 50/50 basis some of the employers and willing the ready to implement the extending trading hours rest of were was not supportive on several grounds. The qualitative research The qualitative research was conducted face to face with employees of House of Travel with giving the feedback form. Those employees willing to give the feedback from some of them were not interested but those who were interested in survey has given the feedback and which is enclosed as Appendix 1. The research was done and several websites and reports were referred to for preparing this report as under : the employers in the quantitative phase trade associations Retail Business Regulation Unions, including the Council of Trade Unions Work and Income work brokers. The respondents The feedback from employers and employees were submitted here in the qualitative research. The focus on the effect for extending hours and its amendments were discusses with the management of House of Travel verbally and explain them the procedure that if this implementation takes place there should be some specific models and rules to be referred and in light of the facts we have to give our suggestion that the extended hours and effective or not. Data analysis Quantitative The initial and follow-up survey were analyzed by our group and discussed through to differentiate reasons that to what extend the extended hours are feasible. Qualitative The notes and transcripts from the interviews were taken on and QA forms for research questions. Extensive notes were made at interviews The recorded data was analyzed with reference to the participants circumstances; findings for any one person or group were compared against those of the entire data set. Findings Structure of report: The structure of the report was submitted on the specific pattern and the collected material was thoroughly studied and present accordingly to check that the if the extended hours and implemented it will benefit both employer and employee and to check the entire aspect of extending hours. Limitations of the research Keeping in mind the current law and health and safety issues we submitted the details in our report as well as the cost incurred by the employer and also comparing the margin ratio. While submitting the report well also keep in mind the current law and the regulation of the New Zealand government as well as market trend and the area where the organization willing to extend the trading hours. 1. To present the findings of the Group appraisal relating to extending trading hours and how it will affect the employer and their employees. 2. To collect the statistical information on working hours from Auckland region and also from the various sources to analyzed working time arrangement and its effects. 3. To consult the oral interviews and written feedback from the employers and the employers for the House of Travel. 4. To meet the employees and Management of House of Travel to contribute and discuss about the effects of extended working hours on health and safety issues. 5. Oral and written submission was received through intensive fact to face discussion about employee experience of extended hours. The employees and employers were participated in the review process. 6. The Group has not investigated the merit of each employees claims but in general and keep in mind of their relative importance, but the report has been made in both written and oral submissions or in the literature reviewed. Submission Hereby submit that the oral and written interviews taken from the employer and employees of house of travel and other relevant sources; we also referred various websites, including Australian Government Website relating to extending trading hours which are also referred below with references. As per our learning we has taken keen part in looking specific models and even code of conduct for retail operation from Government as well as private organization. Our research shows that most of the employees not willing to work long hours but been on the key position they do not neglect and they have to work because the management wishes that he should work long hours. Working long hours will defiantly affect eh health for the employee who can be seen from various angles and from various points of view we think that working long hours or extending trading hours are not feasible for both the organization as well as for the employee. Even the organization has to involve in all sorts of legal steps towards employee safety, safety for their belongings and even cash handling. It is not advisable that a single person can work after hours in a hug office or retail outlets outside the shopping mall. We have some examples cited below which shows that extended hours are feasible for big companies of consumer products but it is not advisable for a small retail outlets they has to do more and more paperwork before planning to extend the trading hours. Our views and recommendation is submitted hereunder for House of Travel and we also offer our suggestion for implementing extended hours. We have included the details taken from defferent websites and reports e.g. work for dole, government website, Australian Parliament website, police website etc indicating the health and safety issue fo the employee working long hours. Results Members of the business community agree that for many companies, hours of operation are likely to continue to expand, as demands for convenience on the part of both individual and corporate customers do not appear likely to abate any time soon. But small business owners should make sure that they lay the appropriate groundwork for an expansion of operating hours before committing to it. But the business owner who takes the time to study these issues in advance will be much better equipped to handle them in an effective fashion than the owner who tackles each issue as it rears its head. (Executive, 2011) Competitive pressures-Analysts point out that simple economics have played a large part in the surge in expanded business hours for many companies. The ceaseless search for efficiencies and the high cost of adding capacity are compelling many small companies to squeeze more out of existing facilities by adding second and third shifts, said Dale Buss in a Nations Business article entitled A Wake-Up Call for Companies (Executive, 2011) It seems that that extended hours are feasible at some stage but not always, our research shows that it is expensive, risky and not at all time acceptable by the employers as well as employees But on other hand the Australian government has regulated and passes the extended hours in Parliament until 9.00 pm retailers able to open their businesses until 9pm on weekdays. However, the ALP went to the last election with a pledge to extend weeknight trading hours to 7pm. Mr Barnett made the announcement on the front steps of Parliament that, just as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry responded in the grounds nearby to what it called vested interest groups opposed to deregulation. (Sonti, 2009) A New Zealand Perspective: Why do we need to act? Whilst work-life balance is a global issue, there are specific considerations for New Zealand. In 2005 the Business Council contributed to the Department of Labours Consultative project on work-life balance. While New Zealand has a high number of part-time workers, we also have a high number of people working very long hours. New Zealanders have increased hours worked per capita by around 18% since 1970 the second fastest rate behind the US and in sharp contrast to Europe where hours have steadily decreased. We have seen the proportion of employed people who work a standard 40 hour week fall from 35% to 30% in the past 15 years with 22% people working more than 50 hours per week. On an average day, 40% of people are at work before 8am and one in four people work in the evenings. We continue to embrace a long hours culture. For many workers, cell phones, text messaging, e-mail and laptops have forced work into the home in new ways that lengthen working days and intensify work. Workers and partners in a survey by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions said that many employers held an expectation that workers were available well beyond their standard work hours. Some described being expected to have their mobiles on for long periods. This is particularly true for some part-time employees who are not necessarily in the office full-time during normal business hours. Excessive hours at work are equated with rising stress levels which affect health, fitness and personal relationships. A recent article in the British Medical Journal has reported that people who suffer from chronic stress caused by their job are more likely to develop heart disease and diabetes. Both of these are major health concerns in New Zealand. Over recent years, lower unemployment means employees are more able to make employer choices favoring organizations that offer flexible terms and conditions. However whilst large companies particularly in the service or consultancy sector have introduced initiatives to improve work-life balance, this may prove more difficult for production based organizations and SMEs. The total workforce in New Zealand approximates 2 million people10. 96% of New Zealand enterprises employ 19 or fewer people and in total account for 29% of the total workforce and contribute 27% of the countrys economy. The New Zealand manufacturing sector employs 12% of the workforce and contributes 15% of the economy. It is equally important that we find a way to ensure that these employees. (council, 2010) It seems that the Extended hours for House of travel is not feasible as stated above it will affect the work life balance of employees and also it will cost more for the company the approximately cost graph is given below showing how it will impact on organization as well as employees. Normal working hours 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturday these are the limited times which are feasible for employers and employees both to work in safe environment and also stress less working. The cost which we see for extending hours from 5pm to 9pm on Monday to Friday i.e. 4 hours daily 4 x 5 = 20 hours a week and on 1pm to 5pm on Saturday so total working hours come to 25 hours a week (Extra hours). If the outlet hire minimum 1 counter staff and 1 back support staff + 1 Security Guard to look after the staff during extended hours so 25 x 3 if suppose the pay scale for each staff is $15 an hour so the organization has to pay NZ$1125 per week to the staff + the utility bills which comes to 12% of the average ratio so as per study the organization is paying nearly NZ$ 2000 extra a week. If the company hires mobile manager then it will cost less only company has to pay the hourly charges to one mobile manager instead of opening extended trading hours of shop. An as per our survey we receive just one or two customers after hours during the extended hours so it is not feasible to cover up the cost of extended hours and it is also risky to operate the outlets after hours where all the shops closed in the market. As per New Zealand Law for employees safety comes first Thousands of people attend work daily and never experience any situation where personal safety is threatened. Whilst a workplace under responsible management may provide a reasonable level of protection, situations affecting personal safety could still occur. Employers are required under Occupational Health and Safety legislation to have policies and procedures in place to provide a safe working environment for staff. This can be achieved by undertaking a survey to assess security and potential risk situations. The information produced by a survey will identify measures necessary for ensuring staff safety and security, and form the basis of developing a work safety plan. This information, prepared by the Police Community Relations Section, in consultation with various community groups, contains a series of guidelines for both staff and management. While primarily presented with the safety of women in mind, these suggestions can equally apply to any person in the workplace. (police, 2011) Working irregular hours Some businesses may store items of considerable value or hold significant amounts of cash, which may be attractive to criminals waiting for the first employee to arrive with safe keys or access codes. Businesses should have a policy on safe entry procedures for staff arriving at work. When employees are present outside of regular business hours, plan to have at least two staff working together if possible. Make provision to escort staff to their vehicles when work has finished, or have arrangements in place to facilitate safe exit from the building and vicinity. If staff must work alone, measures to enhance safety can include: Ensuring the building can be adequately secured from the inside Keeping doors locked to prevent casual entry, if appropriate Displaying warning signs that video surveillance cameras are operating Using security grilles for staff protection if the nature of the business permits Providing staff with a remote control device that can be used to activate an audible alarm and alert a security company, if safety is threatened. If you will be finishing late: Park as near to your building as possible in an area that will be well lit at night Consider other transport options if the only parking available is at an isolated location Let someone know you will be working late Check that you are secure inside the building and that no doors or windows have been left open or unlocked When leaving the building check the immediate area outside for any people loitering, before opening the door Use the best lit route to your car and have someone walk with you if possible. (police, 2011) All the above factors are countable and considering the above factors we came to the conclusion that it is not feasible to try for extending hours for the outlets outside the shopping mall in the local business areas. Conclusion We suggest it would be reasonable to embrace the general principle of reasonable hours but to require it to be operational at the enterprise and/or industry level. That is, to permit extended hours but within a framework that requires an individual organization to present a coherent argument as to why working extended hours in a specific context does not disadvantage the community or compromise safety in the workplace. It seems that after through research the conclusion is that the extended hours are not feasible, it will simply increase cost for the company and stress for the employee referring to health and safety issues of the employee and security reasons for the employee working extra hours, even the regulation does not allow the company to work extra hours outside shopping mall i.e. in open market place where all the shops and office are closed at about 5.00 in afternoon and to work extra hours will create hindrance for management and staff both. The group came to the conclusion that instead of extra hours there is few more suggestion that if the management finds suitable can adopt the same and as per our research it is same as working extra hours or extending trading hours. The suggestion is as under: Company can provide communication equipment like laptops, mobile phone to entertain customers calling after hours and deal with them or satisfied their needs or reply their queries relating to the business and that will fulfill the need of customer as well as will not cost much more to the company. As seen from the market trend now days for e business the company itself is having Hot website which is much more advance and self-explanatory customer can use that website for their queries, or can call the mobile sales person after hours which is appointed by the company to fulfill the customer needs. The company can provide commission to the staff for working extra hours outside the office anywhere and can earn extra income or may be company can pay any additional or extra pay to the employee working after hours from their own place as per their own suitability. Recommendation: The Group takes proud to recommend the following factors for the company and request the management of House of Travel to look into it and if they think it is feasible then can be implementing. The group is available for any comments and explanation for their recommendation provided herein for the betterment of company. Normal working hours 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 1pm on Saturday these are the limited times which are feasible for employers and employees both to work in safe environment and also stress less working. The cost which we see for extending hours from 5pm to 9pm on Monday to Friday i.e. 4 hours daily 4 x 5 = 20 hours a week and on 1pm to 5pm on Saturday so total working hours come to 25 hours a week (Extra hours). If the outlet hire minimum 1 counter staff and 1 back support staff + 1 Security Guard to look after the staff during extended hours so 25 x 3 if suppose the pay scale for each staff is $15 an hour so the organization has to pay NZ$1125 per week to the staff + the utility bills which comes to 12% of the average ratio so as per study the organization is paying nearly NZ$ 2000 extra a week. If the company hires mobile manager then it will cost less only company has to pay the hourly charges to one mobile manager instead of opening extended trading hours of shop. Our Recommendation is that the company can choose the employee after consulting them that who is available to work after hours from home to attend the phone calls so the office phone can be diverted to their home phone or companys mobile phone and the customer calling after hours can be attended and entertained. The company will refer the policy which is in appendix 1 of this report and frame new policy accordingly for the employee who is working after hours, the condition of working may be discussed between the employer and employee by them self-keeping all ethical issue in mind and also the family balance life police which may not affect the employees personal life. The employee who is volunteer to work after hours can be get benefit as per the companys policy and it should be fair and equal for every employee who are willing to cooperate in this new policy. Even the company can hire a call center to work on company behalf after hours or can use the formula of telework as it seems that nowadays more and more companies throughout the world relying on telemarkers or call centers (England, 2010) Bibliography council, N. Z. (2010). Work life balance report. Auckland: New Zealand Business council. England, B. (2010, september 09). Telework New Zealand. Retrieved May 11, 2011, from www.telework.co.nz: http://www.telework.co.nz/Benefits.htm Executive, G. R. (2011). Business Hours encylopedia. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from Industries news from Inc.com: www.industries new from inc.com Paulsen, C. (2011, January 17). How the impact of extended hours. Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. police, N. Z. (2011). Safety in work place. Retrieved April 16, 2011, from www. satefy in work place/New Zealand police.co.nz: http://www.police.govt.nz/safety/workplace.html#irregularhours Sonti, C. (2009, June 16). Goverment to introduce Trading Hours legislation. Retrieved April 5, 2011, from wa.today.com: www.watoday.com.au

Lady Macbeth Is More Ruthless :: essays research papers

MACBETH ESSAY In life everyone has goals that they hope to attain and there are many ways that one can achieve these goals. To achieve what you desire you can either wait for time to take its toll, or take matters into your own hands and do what you have to do in order to fulfill your desires. You can attain your goal as long as you have ambition. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had the goal of Macbeth becoming king: to obtain this they took matters into hands and killed Duncan. In order for somebody to commit such a heinous act as murder the conspirators must be ruthless, and this is what Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were, ruthless. Lady Macbeth’s is more ruthless than her spouse and her ruthlessness is what fueled Duncan’s murder. However some may claim that this is not so and that Macbeth is more ruthless than his wife.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder is yet but fantastical, shakes so that my single state of man that function is smoldered I surmise and nothing is but what is not.† Macbeth as you can see is thinking about the witches’ prophecy of him becoming king. Macbeth knows that Duncan must be killed if he wants to acquire the throne, and the thought of Duncan’s murder is very disturbing to him. Macbeth desires to become king, but his ambition is halted when he thinks of the consequences that follow if he were to get his wish. However when Malcolm is chosen to become Prince of Cumberland Macbeth knew that if he did not take any actions then he wouldn’t be king. The reader can see that the ruthlessness that lied in Macbeth is coming out when he says â€Å"The Prince of Cumberland – that is a step On which I must fall down or else o’erleap, For in my way it lies. Despite the fact that Mac beth is a ruthless individual Lady Macbeth makes him look like a saint. After Lady Macbeth reads her husband’s letter she sees an opportunity to become queen that she probably never thought about. Lady Macbeth’s desire for her husband to become king is stronger than Macbeth’s own desire for the throne. After Lady Macbeth learns that Duncan is going to visit Inverness she begins plotting to kill him even though her husband does show hesitation to kill Duncan.

ISP †Child’s Play Essay

In life, everyone has experiences which cause them to lose sight of who they truly are. In these situations one will face challenges and discover their darkest desires and deepest temptations. In Alice Munro’s short story Child’s Play, the conflict between Verna, Marlene and Charlene is portrayed through Munro’s use of literary devices which ultimately reveals the loss of innocence experienced by the characters. This is evident in Marlene and Charlene’s life as the use of imagery exploits the drastic transformation they experience. Similarly, foreshadowing techniques display the inner turmoil the protagonists are facing. Lastly, situational irony is used to show the characters final transition from the innocent people they were to the guilty people they have become. The narrator uses imagery to give insight on Marlene and Charlene’s characters, revealing their loss of innocence. As Marlene grows up, she begins to recognize the harsh realities of the world around her. The change is evident when she describes these changes from her own perspective, â€Å"Every year when you’re a child, you become a different person. Generally it’s in the fall when you re-enter school, take your place in a higher grade, and leave behind the muddle of summer vacation. That’s when you register the change most on† (Munro 1). The use of imagery in this situation clearly shows how change is a crucial part of life and that it is unescapable. As one grows up, childhood fantasies begin to fade as darkness consumes the innocence of the world. Through continuous use of imagery, Munro describes the deterioration of the conflicted mental states of the protagonists. This struggle between right and wrong is seen when Marlene and Charlene decide to drown Verna. â€Å"Verna’s head did not break from the surface†¦ she was turning in a leisurely way, light as a jellyfish in the water. Charlene and I had our hands on her, on her rubber cap† (Munro 12). The actions of the protagonists show the battle they are facing inside. This conflict tempts them to act on their hate and disgust towards Verna, demonstrated on their struggle to decide whether to drown her or not. This struggle clouds their judgement and eventually leads them to surrender to temptations, sequentially shedding them of their innocence. As Masters Student Elisa Vancoppernolle suggests, â€Å"Verna has done nothing to enrage the narrator but  acts somewhat strangely†¦children are monstrously conventional, repelled at once by whatever is off center, out of whack, unmanageable† (Vancoppernolle, 47-48). Vancoppernolle uses this truth of difference to explain how the characters actions were committed out of pure hatred. Lastly, Munro uses imagery to display how Marlene and Charlene succumb to their cruel intentions, transforming themselves into new people. This transformation is seen through the following narration: â€Å"Our eyes did not meet as the head of Verna tried to rise above the surface†¦ like a dumpling in a stew†¦ Charlene’s eyes were wide and gleeful as I suppose mine were too. I don’t think we felt wicked, triumphing in our wickedness† (Munro 12). This imagery shows the cruelty demonstrated by Marlene and Charlene as a product of their transformation from innocent children to violent murderers. Both characters act as if they are not ashamed of what they have done, but rather proud. The use of imagery in Child’s Play, clearly demonstrates how the characters begin to lose their purity. Oftentimes, the situations one encounters is influenced by their environmental conditions they are exposed to. This becomes visible in the characters Marlene and Charlene as shown through the use of foreshadowing. Munro uses foreshadowing to express an atmosphere of tension and frailty on the day Verna and the other specials arrive at camp. Marlene describes the tense surroundings by saying, â€Å"We were living in a stage set to be dismantled and with it all the friendships, enemies, rivalries that had flourished† (Munro 6). This use of foreshadowing reflects how the camp is about to fall apart. It exposes the link between the fragility of the characters and the atmosphere. In addition, the transition of the weather from sunny to stormy represents the events that are about to unfold, symbolizing their inner rage and aggression. This change in the environment is depicted through the narration: â€Å"The clouds darkened†¦. In the air there was what some people called the smell of the storm. † (Munro 7). The change in whether refers to the events that are about to occur. Furthermore, the darkening of the clouds reflects the darkness that lives inside of the protagonists, showing their drastic transition from innocence to guilt. Critic, Charles May emphasizes how the change in environment coincides with the change inside of the girls. He suggests that at the moment the clouds darken, â€Å"Marlene and Charlene take pleasure in spying on Verna and to observe how repulsive and monstrous she is† (May, EBSCO). He reveals how it is at this moment when the camp is full of menace. Foreshadowing also shows the haunting effects that Marlene and Charlene’s actions have on those around them. The effects of their actions are seen when Marlene’s mother voices her opinion. â€Å"How sad, how awful. There should have been supervision†¦ the foibles of my distant futile state† (Munro 1). The confusion of her mother allows one to realize that something awful has happened. Her mother’s words suggest that although Marlene may be a child, she is capable of horrible things, forcing her to lose her innocence. For both Marlene and Charlene, it is evident that unexpected events cause them to question their true identities. The irony in Child’s Play portrays the transition from unbreakable bond between childhood friends, to eventually becomes a distant relationship. The end of their friendship is seen when Marlene states, â€Å"I have not kept up with Charlene. I don’t even remember how we said goodbye†¦our parents arrived and we gave ourselves over† (Munro 7-8). The termination of the girl’s friendship is contrary to what the readers expects. The breaking of this powerful bond shows how as children grow up, they become less naive to the ways of the world. Another ironic event that occurs in the story is when Marlene discovers that Charlene is sick. Marlene describes this revelation when she says, â€Å"Charlene was in Princess Margret Hospital. Her cancer had begun in the lungs and spread to the liver. She had only a short time to live† (Munro 9). This irony expresses that as one grows older, they are faced with many more tragedies. These experiences show how the word is not a place where everything is safe and perfect; it is broken just as Marlene and Charlene are corrupted. Finally, the irony depicts the shocking turn of events when the reader finally learns that the girls kill Verna. This discovery is portrayed by this narration: â€Å"I can imagine the unease starting to set in†¦That someone is missing†¦one of the specials†¦What is her name? Verna. Is that not something out there in the water? † (Munro 12). When the death of Verna is revealed, one can see just how much the girls have changed. Their evolution from children to violent criminals subsequently causes their loss of innocence. Journalist Leah Hager proposes that Marlene and Charlene â€Å"transgressed not simply against propriety, but against human life itself† (New York Times). Hager concludes that one may be more similar to Marlene and Charlene than they originally thought, as the loss of innocence is a challenge that each person must overcome. Ultimately, the use of situational irony shows how the circumstances the protagonists face lead to their final loss of innocence. In conclusion the literary devices emphasize the great differences between Marlene, Charlene and Verna causing the characters to lose their innocence as they evolve into different people as their loss of innocence shapes them into their own person. The effect of the imagery, foreshadowing and situational irony causes one to question their similarity to Marlene and Charlene; desperate to escape the prison that they have created for themselves through their hatred and loathing.

Owens & Minor case for aligning supply chain incentives Essay

Executive Summary Statement of issues: Due to the changes of business environment, O&M suffered a continuous loss on business. Instead of acting individually, customers formed buying groups and combined buying power to gain advantages in negotiating gross margin with distributor. With the increased popularity of JIT and stockless idea, customers want to shift cost and risk associated with inventory to distributor, and they also want distributor to provide better services at its own expense. Moreover, competitions from private label distributors and manufacturing distributors further squeezed profit margin of our company. Owens and Minor play a very important role in the entire SC. They are in charge of providing information to manufacturers on product flow. Their services to the hospitals include storing the inventory in their warehouse and making constant shipments based on stockless and JIT strategy, thus taking all the financial risk in inventory handling and storage. They don’t add value to the product itself, but they do add a lot of value to the SC. The nature of distribution has changed over time. The bargaining power of hospital has increased due to mergers and alliances, pressuring the distributors to reduce their margins. Upstream members of the SC have also put some pressure on O&M to take additional cost in their operations. If the ABP strategy could be successfully implemented, both distributor’s and customers’ incentives could be allied. Customers would be willing to order expensive products via distributors’ channel instead of buying directly from manufacture. Generally, customers who could reduce or simplify the activities happened through the supply chain would adopt ABP faster. Also, customers who understood and were willing to develop a sustainable relationship with distributors would adopt the ABP first. ABP was a new concept and its value had not been proven. Aggressive  implementation of new idea such as ABP might drive customers away and fed competitors. There are internal obstacles exist in the ABP implementation. Hospitals have to restructure its organizational structures to fit in ABP system. Rearranging employees and reallocating facilities would increase the distrust to ABP system. Also, a substantial amount of investment is needed for establishing the EDI system. How to overcome these obstacles and make ABP implementation smooth is a big challenge. In order to illustrate the idea of ABP more clearly, we have come up a simple pricing matrix based on ABC method. We have identified two cost drivers and separated fixed and variable costs from general cost information. However, for simplicity we have not considered the cost difference of EDI and non-EDI ordering in this simple matrix. Owens and Minor should carefully deal with its customers’ resistance to the new pricing system by making them truly understand the new system and benefits they would get after the implementation. Owens and Minor also needed to launch a pilot program before full implementation and provide help and support to its customers to insure the success of the implementation. Statement of issues Historically O&M was doing very well in the industry, however, for recent years company suffered continuous loss on business. At the end of 1995 O&M had ended with an $11 million loss due to decrease in gross margin and an increase in expense. There are many reasons that caused this result, and we are going to identify the most important ones. Healthcare industry has changed a lot since 1980. Historically, hospitals purchased healthcare products individually. However, in order to achieve economies of scale and gain more control over supply costs, hospitals joined forces with other hospitals to form large buying groups. With such combined buying powers, hospitals are much more powerful in negotiating gross margins  and service levels with distributors. Distributors are forced to cut gross margins and increase service level. A quote from O&M manager can illustrate this situation very well: â€Å"whoever had the strongest will would win the price†. Apparently, in current supply chain, the relationship between distributors and customers is not harmonious. Moreover, with the increased popularity of Just-In-Time and stockless management ideas, hospitals are reluctant to hold large inventory because they wouldn’t benefit from JIT whose primary principle is to lower inventory carrying cost by ordering when needed. Instead, they want distributors provide Just-In-Time delivery service. Also customers require special handlings such as smaller package and different products batching and these services are at distributors own costs. Distributors also experienced margin pressure from the manufacturing side because manufactures do no compromise on the already low healthcare product price. Competitions in the industry also results profit decline of O&M, especially with distributors who also produce healthcare products entered the market. Those distributors are able to offer extremely low price to customers because they are the manufactures as well. Even though O&M commits to provide better service, it lost many customers because of this. Analysis of Data Services rendered by O&M and changes in Distribution. Owens & Minor play a tremendous role in this industry’s Supply-Chain. They are in charge of providing information to manufacturers on product flow such as: market trends, buying patterns and product penetration, so that their suppliers use this valuable information in order to manage their operations and production schedules. By doing so, manufacturers are able to produce the right quantity of supplies, which in turn reduces stockouts and/or excess stock costs, in other words O&M provide the necessary tools for the upstream members to have adequate inventory production planning. As for their customers, their role is to purchase the products from the manufacturers and ship those medical supplies to their warehouse where they will store them until delivery to the hospitals. So O&M owns and manage the inventory themselves, taking all the financial risk associated with product handling, shipment and storage. â€Å"O&M’s main operational functions included receiving, put-away, order picking and shipping†. O&M don’t add value to the product itself since they just act as an intermediary to pass the products from the manufacturer directly to the hospitals, however they do add value to the Supply-Chain. They enrich the SC with the necessary information needed to avoid phenomena such as the Bullwhip Effect and they bring expertise in stockless and JIT inventory management systems, consequently lowering costs along the chain. However, it is certain that the nature of distribution, that is, the role of O&M has changed through time and not for the greater good. This change has occurred mainly with its downstream partners the hospitals. They have shifted they costs to their distributors and demanded better and faster service without any additional rewards, this is why O&M relies heavily on its logistics department to make process more efficient. This was made possible for hospitals due to their increase in power by merging or joining forces with other hospitals. Voluntary Hospitals of America member hospitals represented $1.2 billion in annual revenue to the company, meaning that O&M’s switching cost is too high. They are able to minimize their own costs by forcing distributors to hold their inventory and transport in smaller units, sending it to the nursing and surgical units instead of leaving it at the loading dock as before. Margin pressures have also been present upstream with manufacturers, which were reducing discounts even as small as 0.5%, thus lowering significantly up to 31% distributors net profits before tax. A main issue taken from this case is that incentives along the Supply-Chain are not aligned. The risks and rewards of doing business are not fairly distributed across the network. Even if the manufacturers and hospitals are better off with the cost-plus strategy, the whole SC still does not have a win-win situation and they might lose against other Supply Chains. The truth  behind this issue lies in that there is no trust in the SC, this assumption is made given that nobody wants to share critical information, which enhances Impact of Cost-Plus Pricing on the members of the Supply-Chain. On the side of the distributors O&M, engaging in a cost-plus pricing strategy means charging a 7% markup, meaning that profits lie on expensive products, which they don’t have the change to deliver cause Hospitals bypass them and deal directly with manufacturers in order to avoid the 7% increase in prices. The most important aspect to consider about this strategy is that it does not take into account the services added. In addition, this method caused the effect of Distributor giving more and better service holding more inventories, which increases carrying costs and risk of damage during storage. Distributors enforce supply-chain speed without any additional profits. On the customer’s side, cost-plus pricing implies less risk on inventory carrying cost, creating more incentive for hospitals to order frequently due to flat rate. Nevertheless, there is some unethical activities in which they can participate. They can avoid paying high costs on expensive products to their distributors by jumping them through the SC and dealing with manufacturers instead, an activity called â€Å"cherry-picking†. Finally, the manufacturer engaging in cost-plus strategy needed to handle some shipment to deliver, mainly expensive products, to hospitals. This resulted in inefficiency for both parties due to the fact that manufacturers required hospitals to buy in bulk and they did not have the space or management systems as distributors did to handle the product. Mishandling, damaging and loosing expensive items often occurred in the â€Å"cherry-picking† process. Alternative Courses of Action for O&M. Based on our five quantitative and qualitative decision criteria: cost, time, ease of implementation, customer satisfaction and future benefit for the  company, we are able to compare the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative and help us make the best decision. 1)Status Quo: The easiest option for O&M is to keep operating as they are, which is not the best alternative for them for financial reasons. They currently have customers who are not profitable for the company, customers who keep asking for higher service at the same price that would keep profit margins low as personnel costs increase. For the year of 1995 they incurred a net loss of $11.3 million, which compared to last year’s profit of $7.92 million represents a dramatic and also unstable change. Based on this data, the assumption is that the upstream and downstream partners will not change their business habits and incentives will keep unaligned and that the company will not be able to reduce costs to an extent where they can offset service costs and generate profits. O&M will keep generating loses for the company and will ultimately yield to bankruptcy. The time to implement is inexistent, since no actions are made. The cost of implementation is also inexistent; nevertheless the company’s cost on the long run will be very high because cost-plus strategy is not profitable for them. There is no ease of implementation. The customer’s benefit is high, since they don’t have to pay additional service and inventory carrying cost. The future benefit for the company is very low, might loose contract with clients because of their lack of ability to fulfill all products and keep taking all the costs. 2) Vertical Integration: Our second proposed alternative is vertical integration, which means to acquire a manufacturing plant. By using this strategy, O&M would be able to create its own healthcare product brand and reduce the purchasing price on that. Thus, O&M could offer a more competitive price to its customers and might get some recovers from the high operating costs. However, there are some problems associated with this alternative. O&M had to spend time on finding suitable acquiring target, understanding manufacturing process and integrate the manufacturing plant into the company system. Therefore, this strategy requires a relatively longer time period to get things work. On the other hand, in order to do vertical integration, O&M had to prepare a huge amount of cash. Based on the fact that O&M’s current cash flow was very tight, acquiring a manufacture  would have a big impact on company’s financial health. Implementation of this strategy would be quite diffi cult as well. Since O&M had no experience on healthcare manufacturing, it has to get familiar with the process from very beginning. Also, how to control manufacturing cost at a competitive level is a new challenge to O&M. Because O&M can create its low-cost private label products under this strategy, it has the incentive to promote private label products to hospitals. However, hospitals do not like private label products since it limits the scope of choice so under this strategy customer satisfaction level is low. In general, vertical integration is effective in reducing company’s cost on healthcare products purchasing but requires a substantial investment and long implementation period. Customer satisfaction is also low in this case. 3)Selected ABP: Another alternative that O&M could use is to use ABP system only on certain type of customers. More specifically, O&M could choose unprofitable customers to implement ABP and keep its profitable customers status quo. The time required for this alternative will not take too long, less than 6 months would be a reasonable estimation. The majority of time would be spent on the analysis of profitability of customers. The challenge of implantation this alternative is to make sure the customer profitability analysis would be done under a proper and correct result would be produced. To estimate customer satisfaction after the implementation, we needed to split our customers into two groups. Those customers determined as â€Å"profitable† to us under current cost-plus system would likely to maintain the current satisfaction level, but customers viewed as â€Å"unprofitable† would feel less satisfied since they would have to pay more after ABP implemented. The downsides of this alternative are the risk to drive some customers away and the increased complexity of our pricing system which might lead increased error rate. The good side is that O&M would benefit in the long run because of the elimination of unprofitable customers. If O&M would have all the information and could develop correct ways to conduct the analysis, this alternative would be a possible choice to lead O&M succeed. 4)ABP for all Customers: this final alternative considers implanting ABP to all customers, both profitable and non profitable. The cost of this option  is higher than â€Å"Selective ABP† previously mentioned, due to the fact that all customer base will be subject to EDI technology and connecting to all of them takes organization within the company and thus training cost by employees for both O&M and hospitals. The time to implement will be longer compared to Selective ABP; however based on our assumption that O&M will be located higher on the learning curve, their time per implementation per customer will be less the more customers they have previously served. The easiness of implementation therefore is not easy due to the large customer base dealt and new systems and training needed. However, the future benefits, not only for O&M, but also for the entire SC will be substantially improved in the sense that incentives would be aligned. Based on previous analysis on alternatives, we conclude that â€Å"ABP for all customers† is the most feasible solution that can maximise company’s profits, as well as aligning the incentives along the SC. This is important not only for the short term, but also for the long term of the entire chain. Impact of ABP on Customer Behavior. Before the implementation of ABP (activity based pricing), the current dominant form of pricing in the medical/ surgical industry was cost-plus pricing. If the ABP strategy could be successfully implemented, both distributor’s and customers’ incentives could be allied. Under ABP, the distribution fee was no longer based on the value of item but the value of service. In that way, Owen & Minor’s customers would begin to think about the real cost of various activities through the supply chain. Instead of wanting to order as less as possible per time and increasing order frequency, customers would begin to seek a way to reduce the order frequency to reduce the distribution fee charged by Owen & Minor. Also, since now the fee was not determined by product value, customers would be willing to order expensive products via distributors’ channel instead of buying in bulk directly from manufacture. So the possibility of mishandling, damaging and lost of expensive items would be reduced. From the distributor’s side, it would be more happy to provide good service because it would be paid based on the service it provided not the value of item. Of course, it’s unlikely to ask all Owen & Minor’s customer to turn to the new pricing system at the same time. Depends on the type of customers, some of them might be adopt the ABP quicker and with less resistance. Generally, customers who could reduce or simplify the activities happened through the supply chain would adopt ABP faster. First, customers willing to simplify or reduce the order frequency would be more likely to adopt the ABP. By doing that, the fee charged by distributor would be decreased. Also, those customers often ordering large amount of expensive items would adopt the ABP first. By doing that, it shits the risk of mishandling, damage and lost to the distributor. Compared with previous fee charged by item value, now they would more likely to pay less but get better service. Furthermore, those customers who understood and were willing to develop a sustainable relationship with distributors would adopt the ABP first. They understood that if distributor was losing money because of the improper pricing system, the entire supply chain would collapse someday and both of them would be hurt finally. There were also risks associated with ABP for Owens and Minor. ABP was a new concept and cost-plus pricing system was still a dominant form in the medical/ surgical industry. It was hard to convince customers adopt the new and even unproven concept. Some customers might turn to other competitors and the relationship that needs built over long time might get hurt. Proposed ABC pricing matrix In order to have a better demonstration, O&M designed a simple pricing scheme using activities-based costing. The pricing scheme is based on two major cost drivers–number of purchase orders per month and number of lines per purchase order. The number of orders was tied up to O&W’s fixed administrative costs and number of lines was tied to variable costs such as the labour handling cost of different products. This is a very primitive matrix because it only listed two cost drives and priced based on them. In reality, there should be a price for every value-adding service provided by distributor and the number of cost drives is huge. However, this simple  pricing matrix could effectively show our clients that their operating cost is associated with level of service they demand, and lower cost is achievable if they can optimize their behaviors. Because we designed this pricing matrix based on two cost drivers, costs included in matrix are directly related to number of ord ers and lines. For example, fixed order costs such as procurement, labeling, account management fees and variable costs like shipping & handling, delivery, interest cost are all included. However, some costs are not comprised in the matrix. O&M believes all costs associate with number of orders are fixed but there are variable costs incur in placing orders. Activities such as taking orders, processing and staging & processing are not free so in the future we need to include these costs in more sophisticated pricing matrix. Moreover, operating cost of an EDI system and a non-EDI system are very different. For simplicity reason we just ignore the difference and assume identical prices for both systems but actually using non-EDI system would incur more cost due to high level of manual works. We have worked out some simple examples on ABP and it shows that company’s profitability increased dramatically under ABP system. Please refer to exhibit #1 fro more details. Risks & Challenges. Although this selected alternative presents many future benefits for the company and the Supply-Chain, certain risks are involved. Risk associated with ABP for Owens and Minor. ABP was a new concept and cost-plus pricing system was still a dominant form in the medical/ surgical industry. It was hard to convince customers adopt the new and even unproven concept. Some customers might turn to other competitors and the relationship that needs built over long time might get hurt. Customer’s entire internal system such as budgeting and incentive programs are formed based on old cost-plus system, and a change in pricing structure is very time consuming. Restructure of pricing system will also affect customer’s buying personnel because their compensation was related to the percentage they negotiate with distributor, and under ABP structure that percentage disappeared Employees on the customer side might have problems understanding the system and change their behaviors to reap maximum savings. Organizational structure will be adjusted to fit ABP which means some employees will be reassigned or resigned, but this decision will have negative impact on morale and productivity. EDI system implementation requires a substantial commitment in resources. Sharing valuable information with customers can be misused at their advantage with O&M’s competitors. The main challenge will be to build mutual trust among the parties involved. Implementation Plan. The successfully have a fully implemented ABP system; we suggest the following action steps: 1.Establish ABP System within the company first and find out cost drivers (services which incur costs). Upgrade IT infrastructure to facilitate further implementation steps. 2.Analyze the benefits of SC based on ABP, benefits such as: improvement on inventory management, aligned incentives to efficiently compete with other Supply Chains, reveal hidden costs on activities, and build long-time relationships, among others. 3.Communicate to selected customers with the previous benefit analysis. 4.Initiate ABP pilot program. 5.Setting up EDI and give continuous support. 6.Adjust and upgrade ABP system based on feedbacks from pilot program 7.communicate to all customers with the success of pilot ABP system 8.Full ABP implementation. (For suggested time-line refer to exhibits.). Conclusion In general, we do see huge potential benefits on the implementation of ABP system. However, risks and challenges will emerge from this alternative and opposition will be strong on the customer side. The implementation steps provide an easy guideline to have a successful ABP system in the SC.