Performance Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Performance Management - Essay Example The employees who are in lower levels than the management are disregarded. The management failed to comply with giving proper employee compensation and proper performance evaluation systems. The effort of achieving low operating expenses is often found the main reason why management is giving low compensation rate. The management's pay rate is set based on two other law firms: Melbourne-based and Sydney-based law firms. This type of political system is not good since it tries to limit the pay rate at some level, which in our study is of equal rate. This type of management is biased since it eliminates the employees' right in situations where pay rate is inversely proportional with its job functions. On the management's part it will only sound effective if the agreements between firms are followed. But the case was not, the management failed to climb up to the rate level imposed by the other two firms which led them behind in the competing market. The power to dictate market activitie s is unethical in nature. The fact that these market levels are set by business owners giving less consideration to the employees' part showed management's overuse of authority. 2-Within the case study organization, how should performance management be integrated with other management activities One of the main issues confronting management is employee management. Employees are often disregarded by some organization despite the fact that they are playing a very crucial role in the organization in achieving its goals. Employees are considered as one of the primary resources of any organization. Successful Human Resource Management is giving value to developing and motivating employees to cooperate towards achieving productive outputs. To motivate employees is to give them due respect, give them proper compensation, and maintain employment equality by avoiding discrimination in terms of rank and gender. In our case study, there are problems that the management needs to address: Equal employment opportunity, compensation, recruitment and retention. All of these are the main functions of HR department, and are all affected by systems of performance management. Performance management should be integrated with other management activities since though these activities differ from e ach other in lots of ways, but the bottom line is still the same. These are all directed towards high productivity rate, cutting down operational expenses, and maintaining competitive advantage. As stated, the firm is dominated mostly by males. In the issue of equal employment opportunity, it is biased to give female employees lowly levels in the organization. In the issue of recruitment, selection, and retention of employees, the management should consider the value of hiring employees that fits the qualifications needed for any vacant positions. The picture of a male dominated organization should be wiped out. Every individual should be given equal employment opportunity regardless of gender, age or disabilities as long as he/she is found effective and qualified for any position being applied. Employee selection system should be clear on the viewpoint of any organization to encourage new applicants, and existing employees could clearly see that the organization treats all employee s equally and considers them valuable. The compensation system of the firm is not effective. The procedure of how the compensation system work should be clear at the viewpoint of the employees. Performance appraisal is playing a very important role in determining the proper compensatio

Turbochargers to be used in commercial two wheelers Essay - 1

Turbochargers to be used in commercial two wheelers - Essay Example The first turbocharger was invented in the early 20th century by the ‘Swiss engineer Alfred Buchi’ who introduced a prototype in order to increase the power of a diesel engine. At the initial stage, turbocharger was meant to be used on airplanes which could use thinner air and fly at higher altitudes and to be used to deliver ample power for stable flight. In the engineering world turbochargers was in much attention as World War I brought the increased need for the aviation technology. The concept of turbocharging in those days was very little accepted. But, in the last few years, turbocharging has been a vital product in almost every diesel engine, with an exception being very small diesel engines. Turbochargers use in the petrol engines have also shown good boost for the power output. The first turbochargers were applicable limited to large engines such as marine engine. In the automobile industry turbocharging was firstly implemented into truck engines. In 1938, ‘Swiss Machine Works Saurer’ built turbocharged engine for trucks. In 1962, the Chevrolet Corvair Monza was the first turbo powered engine car which was introduced in United States. Poor efficiency and reliability made them to disappear from the market. In 1973, after the oil crisis step in, turbocharging was again found be acceptable in the diesel engine applications resulting an increase in the turbocharged truck engines. As a result today every engine of the truck is turbocharged. After few years, turbochargers were introduced in the motor sports mainly into Formula 1 racing. The word ‘turbo’ started to become quite popular. In those days, almost every manufacturer of automobiles implemented turbocharging in at least one of their top model with a turbocharged petrol engines. Although this engines were very powerful it still did not made an impression to take a further step because of the more fuel consumption and more importantly the delayed response named as ‘turbo lag’ was

Cognitive Therapy for Mood Disorders: Analysis

Cognitive Therapy for Mood Disorders: Analysis Cognitive therapy is a highly effective treatment for mood disorders. Discuss. As Karasu noted in 1982, there has historically been a polarization of the field of treatment of all psychological conditions; on the one hand, there is a camp which touts psychotherapy as the most effective and superior form of treatment, and on the other, there are those who champion the cause of pharmacotherapy as the most effective treatment.[1] In Karasu’s words, this separation between the two disciplines is likely to be â€Å"symptomatic of the post-Cartesian mind-body dichotomy at the core of modern medicine.† Statements about the effectiveness of the one or the other, which is often held to be thus the superior of the two, should be viewed through this lens. Before we can address the question of whether or not cognitive therapy is a highly effective treatment for mood disorders, we need to be clear about what we mean by â€Å"cognitive therapy† and â€Å"mood disorders†. Mood disorders are typically taken to cover a range of depressive disorders which include both unipolar depression and bipolar disorder, and which might range from full-blown major depression through to the display of some depressive symptoms. According to Blackburn et al., citing Beck’s (1967, 1976) cognitive theory of depression, someone who is depressed will view themselves as a â€Å"loser† and will interpret all their experiences in terms of their own inadequacies. They will anticipate that their present difficulties will continue indefinitely and, blaming themselves, they will become increasingly self-critical. As well as this negative view of the self, the world and the future, they will also make â€Å"logical systematic errors†, which will lead them to draw erroneous conclusions about their experiences. Such errors might include personalization, over-generalization, magnification and minimization. They will also have â€Å"dysfunctional basic premises† or â€Å"idiosyncratic schemas†, which help them to sieve, categorize and act upon information that they receive from their experiences of the world around them..[2] The aim of cognitive therapy is to change these negative schemas through the use of a variety of cognitive and behavioural techniques. The approach is problem-oriented and time-limited, typically lasting about 12 weeks.[1] The most frequently reported forms of cognitive therapy in the literature are cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT). Other techniques include psychoeducation, psychodynamic focal therapies and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Throughout this paper, the terms cognitive therapy and psychotherapy are used interchangeably. Among these different cognitive therapy techniques, CBT is the one most often considered in the literature, and it is widely reported to be effective, but how do we decide if something is highly effective or not? To decide how effective a treatment is, we need to consider the available evidence. What follows is not a full and systematic review of the literature, which is beyond the scope of this paper, but rather, a look at some of the available evidence to date on the subject and an outline of the key issues. In it, I propose that the evidence for the effectiveness of cognitive therapy as a treatment for depression is not unequivocal and that a more integrated approach would be more beneficial. Writing in 1981, Blackburn et al. cite a study by Rush et al. (1977), which was one of the earlier studies comparing cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy, and which showed that cognitive therapy was superior to the drug imipramine in outpatients with unipolar depression in both level of response and rate of premature treatment termination.[2] They attempted to replicate that study, but comparing a range of drugs with cognitive therapy, rather than just imipramine, and they also tested a combination of both cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy. They found cognitive therapy to be only minimally more effective than the drugs in a group of mildly to moderately depressed hospital outpatients, but significantly more so than drugs alone in general practice, both alone and in combination with drugs. In both groups, using a combination of cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy produced the greatest effect of all.[1] However, as the researchers do note, they used no objective method to assess patients’ compliance with the pharmacotherapy regimen.[2] In their study of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and assertion training (AT) groups for patients with depression and comorbid personality disorders, Ball et al. found CBT alone to produce a significant improvement in all the outcomes measured, including at follow-up.[3] However, the group that received a combination of CBT and AT showed only minimal improvement on the social competence and anxiety measures[4], and only two of the four measures that were significant immediately after the treatment were still significant at follow-up.[5] In short, the presence of a comorbid personality disorder appeared to impede the response to CBT and AT and the outcomes at follow-up.[6] Since depressed patients have high rates of comorbid personality disorders[7], these results have significant implications for the use of cognitive therapy in combination with other forms of non-pharmacotherapy for the treatment of depression. The use of a much briefer CBT protocol in this study (15 hours over five weeks), which as Ball et al. note is about half that in most studies in the CBT outcomes literature, should be noted. If briefer protocols like this can produce appreciable long-term improvements in the prognosis of depression, then this is likely to be more cost-effective than the longer protocols typically employed.[8] However, since the study was uncontrolled, there may well be other explanations for the results. Clearly more studies, particularly randomised controlled trials (RCTs), of cognitive therapy in this under-researched group are needed. In their recent review of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy treatments for mood and anxiety disorders, Otto et al. noted that in terms of acute outcomes, both CBT and pharmacological treatments have repeatedly been shown to be efficacious and in most cases to offer an approximately equal effect, though there are some suggestions that CBT is more tolerable and especially more cost-effective.[1] CBT has, however, consistently shown a strong relapse-prevention effect, in direct contrast to pharmacotherapy, which often requires ongoing treatment to prevent relapse.[2] It has been suggested that pharmacotherapy and cognitive therapy have differential effects, the former on symptom formation and affective distress, and the latter on interpersonal relations and social adjustment, each activated and sustained on a different time schedule, the pharmacological treatments sooner and over a shorter duration and the psychotherapeutic treatments later and over a longer duration.[3] There is some evidence that CBT and pharmacotherapy may produce similar limbic and cortical changes in the brain, but also that they target different primary sites.[4] There is, moreover, some evidence of complementary modes of action among patients who fail on one form of treatment but gain benefit from the other.[5] Such complementarity favours a more integrated approach to the treatment of depression that combines the beneficial effects of both pharmacotherapy and cognitive therapy, but is there any evidence that such an approach does indeed work? In their 1986 review of the evidence for the effectiveness of combined psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for the treatment of depression, Conte et al. found a combination of the two approaches to be more effective than either of the treatments alone, though the apparently additive effect was not a strong one. Conte et al. highlight a number of possible explanations for the observed effect, including the high drop-out rates in the studies they considered, making generalization difficult, the differential response to pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy dependent on whether the diagnosis was endogenous or situational, questions about whether it is either ethical or even practically possible to have a placebo in psychotherapy trials, and the low power of their own overall approach to their review.[1] Conte et al. also suggest that whilst their results might support the additive model, they might also be explained if some patients benefit more from one treatment and some more from the other. [2] The non-standard nature of diagnoses, therapies, training and experience of therapists also makes comparisons and generalizations difficult, if not impossible.[3],[4] In 1997, Thase et al. suggested that their mega-analysis comparing psychotherapy with psychotherapy-pharmacotherapy combinations provided evidence of the superiority of a combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy over psychotherapy alone for the more severely-depressed outpatients, both in terms of overall recovery rates and a shorter time to recovery.[5] However, none of the patients older than 60 received psychotherapy and none with non-recurrent depression were in the combination group.[6] The less seriously depressed patients treated with interpersonal therapy (IPT) or CBT alone achieved results comparable to those in the combination group.[7] As it is, this evidence for the effectiveness of a combined approach is ambiguous. There are further problems with this study, though. Comorbid patients were excluded[8] – and as has been noted earlier, comorbidity is typically associated with poorer outcomes – and a disproportionately large number of the patients had recurrent depression, so if the combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy is more effective in this sub-group, this will lend a skew to the picture suggesting effectiveness in all severely-depressed patients.[9] Finally, inasmuch as this is a mega-analysis, the non-standard nature of diagnoses, therapies, training and experience of therapists highlighted earlier makes generalizations very difficult, a problem noted by the authors of this study also.[1] In their 2004 review, Pampallona et al. concluded that a combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy produced a greater improvement in depression scores than pharmacotherapy alone.[2] Pampallona et al. note that the addition of psychotherapy does appear to reduce the degree of non-response and increase adherence, but they question whether this is because psychotherapy has a genuine therapeutic effect or whether it is merely enhancing compliance with the pharmacological regimen, and suggest further studies with an improved range of outcome measures, including patient satisfaction, well-being and social functioning.[3] In their 2005 review, however, Otto et al. found that acute outcome studies with depressed outpatients provided only limited support for the theory that a combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy is more efficacious than either approach alone. They did find higher rates of treatment response, but the differences were small and not statistically significant.[4] Adding psychotherapy to the acute phase of a pharmacological treatment regimen was found to offer a comparable efficacy to a long-term pharmacological regimen in helping to prevent more than one relapse.[5] Otto et al. did find that adding CBT to a pharmacological course of treatment improved medication adherence, reduced the impact of psychosocial stressors such as negative life events and anxiety comorbidity, prevented or limited the severity of prodromal episodes, and directly improved outcomes in bipolar disorder.[6] The evidence, then, for the effectiveness of cognitive therapy as a treatment for depression is not unequivocal. It does appear to improve outcomes, but it is unclear whether to a greater or approximately equivalent extent to pharmacological approaches to treatment. Whilst the evidence for adopting a combined approach is also not clear-cut, since the vast majority of people with depression experience multiple episodes over their lifetime, and are especially prone to relapses shortly after their first episode[1], and in light of both the possibly complementary mode of action of cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy and the possibly harmful effects of long-term anti-depressant use, a more effective long-term strategy might involve the integration of both approaches. This might involve a drugs-based regimen in the earlier stages of depression, to treat symptoms and affective distress, and cognitive therapy throughout, to treat the interpersonal and social dimensions of depression, enhan ce compliance to the drugs-based regimen and treat and prevent relapses. Vos et al. modeled the impact of adopting a longer-term maintenance strategy on the burden of major depression, and suggested that this could avert half the depression occurring in the five years after an episode.[2] A combined strategy would appear therefore to show some promise in reducing the quite significant disease burden placed by depression on society and improving the lives of those who suffer from it. Further robust controlled trials are clearly needed to assess the effectiveness of cognitive therapy, both alone and in combination with pharmacotherapy, as a part of an integrated long-term strategy. References Ball, J., Kearney, B., Wilhelm, K., Dewhurst-Savellis, J. Barton, B. (2000) ‘Cognitive behaviour therapy and assertion training groups for patients with depression and comorbid personality disorders’, Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy 28, 1, 71-85 Blackburn, I. M., Bishop, S., Glen, A. I. M., Whalley, L. J. Christie, J. E. (1981) ‘The Efficacy of Cognitive Therapy in Depression: A Treatment Trial Using Cognitive Therapy and Pharmacotherapy, each Alone and in Combination’, Brit J Psychiatry 139, 181-189 Conte, H., Plutchik, R., Wild, K. V. Karasu, T. (1986) ‘Combined Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy for Depression: A Systematic Analysis of the Evidence’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 43, 471-479 Karasu, T. (1982) ‘Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy: Toward an Integrative Model’, Am J Psychiatry 139, 9, 1102-1113 Klein, D. F. (2000) ‘Flawed Meta-Analyses Comparing Psychotherapy with Pharmacotherapy’, Am J Psychiatr 157, 1204-1211 Otto, M. W., Smits, J. A. J. Reese, H. E. (2005) ‘Combined psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for mood and anxiety disorders in adults: Review and analysis’, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 12, 1, 72-86 Pampallona, S., Bollini, P., Tibaldi, G., Kupelnick, B. Munizza, C. (2004) ‘Combined Pharmacotherapy and Psychological Treatment for Depression: A Systematic Review’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 61, 7, 714-719 Thase, M. E., Greenhouse, J. B., Frank, E., Reynolds, C. F., Pilkonis, P., Hurley, K., Grochocinski, V. Kupfer, D. J. (1997) ‘Treatment of Major Depression With Psychotherapy or Psychotherapy-Pharmacotherapy Combinations’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 54, 1009-1015 Vos, T., Haby, M., Barendregt, J. J., Kruijshaar, M., Corry, J. Andrews, G. (2004) ‘The Burden of Major Depression Avoidable by Longer-term Treatment Strategies’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 61, 11, 1097-1103 1 Footnotes [1] Karasu, T. (1982) ‘Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy: Toward an Integrative Model’, Am J Psychiatry 139, 9, 1102 [2] Blackburn, I. M., Bishop, S., Glen, A. I. M., Whalley, L. J. Christie, J. E. (1981) ‘The Efficacy of Cognitive Therapy in Depression: A Treatment Trial Using Cognitive Therapy and Pharmacotherapy, each Alone and in Combination’, Brit J Psychiatry 139, 181 [1] Blackburn, I. M., Bishop, S., Glen, A. I. M., Whalley, L. J. Christie, J. E. (1981) ‘The Efficacy of Cognitive Therapy in Depression: A Treatment Trial Using Cognitive Therapy and Pharmacotherapy, each Alone and in Combination’, Brit J Psychiatry 139, 181 [2] Blackburn et al., 182 [1] Blackburn, I. M., Bishop, S., Glen, A. I. M., Whalley, L. J. Christie, J. E. (1981) ‘The Efficacy of Cognitive Therapy in Depression: A Treatment Trial Using Cognitive Therapy and Pharmacotherapy, each Alone and in Combination’, Brit J Psychiatry 139, 188 [2] Blackburn et al., 188 [3] Ball, J., Kearney, B., Wilhelm, K., Dewhurst-Savellis, J. Barton, B. (2000) ‘Cognitive behaviour therapy and assertion training groups for patients with depression and comorbid personality disorders’, Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy 28, 1, 77 [4] Ball et al., 80 [5] Ball et al., 81 [6] Ball et al., 82 [7] Ball et al., 73 [8] Ball et al., 81,82 [1] Otto, M. W., Smits, J. A. J. Reese, H. E. (2005) ‘Combined psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for mood and anxiety disorders in adults: Review and analysis’, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 12, 1, 73 [2] Otto et al., 73 [3] Karasu, T. (1982) ‘Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy: Toward an Integrative Model’, Am J Psychiatry 139, 9, 1111 [4] Otto et al., 74 [5] Otto et al., 74-75 [1] Conte, H., Plutchik, R., Wild, K. V. Karasu, T. (1986) ‘Combined Psychotherapy and Pharmacotherapy for Depression: A Systematic Analysis of the Evidence’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 43, 477-478 [2] Conte et al., 478 [3] Conte et al., 478 [4] Klein, D. F. (2000) ‘Flawed Meta-Analyses Comparing Psychotherapy with Pharmacotherapy’, Am J Psychiatr 157, 1204 [5] Thase, M. E., Greenhouse, J. B., Frank, E., Reynolds, C. F., Pilkonis, P., Hurley, K., Grochocinski, V. Kupfer, D. J. (1997) ‘Treatment of Major Depression With Psychotherapy or Psychotherapy-Pharmacotherapy Combinations’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 54, 1012-1013 [6] Thase et al., 1012-1013 [7] Thase et al., 1013 [8] Thase et al., 1014 [9] Thase et al., 1014 [1] Thase, M. E., Greenhouse, J. B., Frank, E., Reynolds, C. F., Pilkonis, P., Hurley, K., Grochocinski, V. Kupfer, D. J. (1997) ‘Treatment of Major Depression With Psychotherapy or Psychotherapy-Pharmacotherapy Combinations’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 54, 1014 [2] Pampallona, S., Bollini, P., Tibaldi, G., Kupelnick, B. Munizza, C. (2004) ‘Combined Pharmacotherapy and Psychological Treatment for Depression: A Systematic Review’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 61, 7, 718 [3] Pampallona et al., 718 [4] Otto, M. W., Smits, J. A. J. Reese, H. E. (2005) ‘Combined psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for mood and anxiety disorders in adults: Review and analysis’, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 12, 1, 73 [5] Otto et al., 75 [6] Otto et al., 76 [1] Vos, T., Haby, M., Barendregt, J. J., Kruijshaar, M., Corry, J. Andrews, G. (2004) ‘The Burden of Major Depression Avoidable by Longer-term Treatment Strategies’, Arch Gen Psychiatry 61, 11, 1102 [2] Vos et al., 1101-1102

The Heart of Darkness :: essays research papers

Heart of Darkness is a novel of indescribable horrors and actions that lie outside the human mind. It describes a mans (Marlow) voyage on a west African river to find an a man named Kurtz. The actual journey truly is towards the â€Å"heart of darkness†, where it takes Marlow by evidence of European indignity towards the natives. He wants to see this land for himself, he does not quite believe in himself of what is really there. This story hints at horrors that Marlow is incapable of describing, which leaves the reader to imagine actions that are outside of normal everyday life. The voyage that Marlow has taken has been long and exhausting. It’s an adventure for him. He has experienced a great deal of confrontation with the natives, jungle dangers and savagery. There is no interest of the humans who live here and they are extremely mistreated. To them this is normal human behavior. Nothing has been done differently. Nowhere did we stop long enough to get a particular impression, but there was general sense of wonder. â€Å"It was like a weary pilgrimage amongst hints for nightmares†. This describes Marlow’s voyage to the â€Å"heart of darkness†, the literal heart of darkness: Africa. He was fully warned and well-aware of the evil he would encounter, however he chose to ignore that in effort to satisfy his curiosity. The author is also saying something about human nature. Human curiosity about an unknown place can make him cross the line of civilized human behavior and enter a world of nightmares. Marlow wanted to see it for himself, but what made it most fascinating was this land was something he had never experienced before. He knew he would be a "weary pilgrimage amongst hints for nightmares" but he wanted to prove something to himself that could remain doubtable if not seen. There is a persistence of the human instinct that pushes people to try to find the unknown and calm their deepest desires and questions. To actually see and experience the unknown are the only true ways we will believe. This adventure novel can mean a whole different thing. The â€Å"heart of darkness† can be a symbolic journey into the dark center of the heart and soul of a human revealing concealed evil. It is exploration of the inner self, reflecting the unconscious self of a human. Ironically, the truth is exposed not in terms of light, but in terms of darkness.

Continuing Case: Cory and Tisha Dumont Essay

1.Using the earnings multiple approach would result in the following life insurance calculations for Cory and Tisha. Cory’s needs= $38,000 x (1 – 0.22) x 12.46 = $369,314 Tisha’s needs= $46,000 x (1 – 0.22) x 12.46 = $447,065 Cory currently has $76,000 (2 x $38,000) of term life insurance through his employer. Consequently, Cory should consider purchasing approximately $293,000 of additional life insurance coverage. Tisha has $69,000 of term insurance through her employer, as well as a whole life policy of $50,000. She should consider purchasing an additional $328,000 of life insurance coverage ($447,065 – $119,000). While Tisha or Cory would continue to earn their salaries, if widowed, and would receive some Social Security benefits, they would experience a significant reduction in their standard of living without adequate life insurance. 2. The Dumonts, and Cory in particular, take a big risk when their life insurance is entirely in the hands of their employers. If Cory or Tisha leave their jobs, their group term coverage ends. However, they may be able to convert the group coverage to an individual policy. Since the Dumonts need additional life insurance, they should purchase individual policies to supplement the coverage they have. This will reduce the risk of later becoming uninsurable or, if they were to lose their jobs, having no life insurance at all. 3.At their stage in the life cycle, term insurance is the best option for the Dumonts. It provides the greatest amount of insurance per premium dollar. Universal and variable life policies both include cash value components, through earnings from interest or mutual funds, respectively, which increase the cost of insurance coverage. These policies also tend to have high insurance, investment and administrative expenses, which add to their cost. The option to skip the premium payment on universal life or a  variable universal life may prove too tempting, as it does for many policyholders, who subsequently let the policy lapse. The Dumonts would be well advised to purchase affordable term insurance and do their saving/investing outside of their insurance policies. 4. The life insurance policy features that should be explained to the Dumonts include: ï‚ · Type of policy: term or cash value. The Dumonts’ policies provided at work are group term insurance policies available for the duration of their employment. Tisha also has a whole life policy (cash value insurance) with $1,800 of accumulated cash value. ï‚ · Nonforfeiture clause (on Tisha’s whole life policy): options for receiving a policy’s cash value, a paid-up whole life policy with a reduced face value, or a paid-up term policy with the original policy face amount in exchange for ending the policy. The Dumonts could exercise this right if they are unable to pay the annual premiums to continue the coverage for an extended period of time. ï‚ · Beneficiary designation: persons named as primary and contingent beneficiaries to receive the death benefits from the policy. ï‚ · Coverage grace period: automatic extension, usually 30 to 31 days after a premium payme nt is due, before a policy lapses. The premium may be paid without penalty. ï‚ · Loan clause: (on Tisha’s whole life policy) describes procedures and the interest rate charged for borrowing against the policy’s cash value. ï‚ · Suicide clause: clause stating that the face amount of the policy will not be paid for a suicide death within 2 years of the purchase of a policy. ï‚ · Incontestability clause: clause stating that the insurance company cannot dispute the validity of a contract after it has been in force for a specific period, usually 2 years. ï‚ · Settlement options: section that describes alternative ways that the beneficiaries of a life insurance policy can choose to receive death benefits. ï‚ · Riders: special provisions added to a policy that either provide extra benefits or limit the insurance company’s liability. Riders attached to one or more of the Dumonts’ policies could include: guaranteed insurability, multiple indemnity, COLA, waiver of premium for disabili ty, or living benefits. 5. Life insurance is meant to provide funds to replace a breadwinner’s to protect and support dependents. Chad and Haley are dependents, not income providers. Therefore, the purchase of life insurance is unnecessary and not recommended. The Dumonts should use the money they would spend on policies for the children to increase their own coverage. The claim that Chad and Haley would always be insured is only relevant if (1) the Dumonts continue the premium payments and (2) there is a high probability, based on family health history, that Chad or Haley will contract cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. Otherwise, they will be eligible for insurance in the future and there is no need for â€Å"permanent† coverage starting at this young age. 6. As a â€Å"comprehensive major medical insurance policy,† the Dumonts’ coverage includes basic health insurance for hospital, surgical, and physician expense needs, as well as major medical expense coverage. The latter is very important to extend the basic coverage to protect the Dumonts from the financial effects of a catastrophic illness or accident. The policy has a very adequate lifetime cap of $3,000,000 per insured. The Dumonts should continually analyze the health plans from both employers to determine which offers the best overall plan. But, the annual coinsurance, stop-loss amount, and family deductible, are all standard policy features with reasonable amounts. They are currently paying annual premiums of $2,700 for the coverage, but the monthly opt out fee, from Cory’s employer, effectively reduces this by $1,020 (less the taxes paid on the increased income). Overall, their health care coverage is very cost effective, so no changes are recommended. 7.The Dumonts have four options for paying a $5,000 medical bill incurred through an auto accident, including payment by: Health insurance. Medical expense coverage with their auto insurance.  Bodily injury liability coverage on an auto policy, assuming someone else was at fault for the accident. Personal funds, or out-of-pocket. These funds would supplement the health insurance coverage, or be the only source of payment, should the Dumonts not have health insurance. Luckily, they do. Expenses for an emergency appendectomy would be covered through health  insurance and personal funds. Assuming no one else has made a claim this year, Tisha’s health insurance would pay $3,600: the $5,000 medical bill minus the $500 deductible and the $900 of co-insurance (0.20 x $4,500). Tisha would be responsible for the $1,400 of deductible and co-pay expenses because the Dumonts’ out-of-pocket expenses for the year have not yet exceeded the $5,000 stop-loss limit. 8. Advantages for the Dumonts of switching to an HMO include: regular physical examinations and preventive care, minimized paperwork, and lower costs. Tisha may be able to reduce the $225 monthly premium charged for her current coverage. Disadvantages associated with an HMO focus on concerns about quality of care stemming from the incentive system—quick, cursory services and the difficulty in receiving a referral, particularly outside the geographic region. Some fear the system does not allow for building a trusting relationship with a well-qualified physician. Restrictions on physician choices and the associated level of reimbursement vary with the HMO system: individual practice association, group practice plan, or a point-of-service plan. The Dumonts need to thoroughly comparison shop the plans; Checklist 9.2, Choosing an HMO, should be helpful. If Tisha switches to a PPO, costs and paperwork may also be reduced. Members, typically representing an employer group, receive health care at a reduced cost—with the negotiating power of the group determining the level of discount. The disadvantage of a PPO is that participants must seek medical services from participating doctors and hospitals, thereby limiting their choice of care. With a PPO, a participant can go to a non-member doctor but must pay an additional, or penalty, co-payment to do so. 9.Assuming Tisha works for an employer with 20 or more employees, she is eligible—under the federal COBRA law—to continue health insurance coverage for 18 to 36 months, depending on the reason for leaving the company. Tisha would be responsible for the full cost of coverage, but it may be less expensive than an individual policy. Although this does not apply to every â€Å"opting out† situation, the Dumonts also have the option of enrolling for Cory’s health coverage. According to the Health Insurance Portability and  Accountability Act of 1996, employees and their dependents must be allowed special enrollment rights, beyond the open-enrollment period, (1) if they declined coverage because of coverage through another plan or (2) if their family situation changes (e.g., marriage, birth, adoption). The former situation applies to the Dumonts, so if Tisha loses her family medical coverage, the Dumonts could enroll on Cory’s plan. To insure protection from preexisting condition exclusions, it would be important that the Dumonts arrange for continuous enrollment, with no breaks or lapses between policies. Should Tisha decide to become a self-employed accountant, the Dumonts would have another option besides Cory’s coverage. The household would be eligible for a high deductible health plan and a Health Savings Account (HSA). Access to a HSA is limited to the self-employed, small business owners, employers of small to medium-sized businesses that offer very limited health benefits, and those under age 65 who individually pay for health care—all of whom must have a qualified high-deductible health plan. The combination is cost effective because high-deductible plans have lower premiums and annual HSA contributions (limits apply) are an adjustment to income, so the funds are not taxed and they grow tax-deferred, and tax free, if spent according to the HSA rules. The HSA funds accumulate for paying health care costs incurred prior to meeting the annual deductible or for health care expenses not covered by the high-deductible health plan. Funds not spent remain in the account for future expenses, such as for health expenses after retirement or long-term care expenses. 10. Disability insurance policy features that Cory and Tisha should purchase include: ï‚ · Definition of disability: Tisha and Cory should look for a policy that provides coverage if they can’t perform the duties of their current occupations (i.e., accounting and retail management). ï‚ · Residual or partial payments benefits: this policy feature provides partial payments if they were disabled and unable to return to work full-time, but could return part-time. ï‚ · Benefit duration: the Dumonts should select policies that provide benefits until retirement age (e.g., 65) or for their lifetime. ï‚ · Waiting or elimination period: the Dumonts should select a realistic waiting  period (i.e. one to six months) during which they would have to â€Å"absorb† the income lost. They should consider their employer’s sick day policy (e.g., whether or not sick days can be accumulated) and emergency fund when selecting an elimination period. The longer the delay, t he lower the premium. ï‚ · Waiver of premium: this important provision waives premium payments if a policyholder becomes disabled. ï‚ · Noncancelable: this provision protects against both policy cancellation and future rate increases and guarantees that the policy is renewable. ï‚ · Rehabilitation coverage: this provision provides for employment-related educational or job-training programs. 11.The Dumont’s $25,000 HO-4 renter’s policy amount is probably sufficient given their estimated personal property value of $12,000. However, their property insurance coverage is inadequate for two major reasons: ï‚ · It lacks replacement cost coverage on personal property, which provides for the actual replacement cost of a stolen or destroyed item (e.g., stereo equipment). Currently, the $25,000 coverage is actual cash value, or coverage for the depreciated cost of property. ï‚ · It lacks a personal articles floater to increase the limit of coverage on Tisha’s $19,700 antique jewelry collection. To improve their coverage, Cory and Tisha should add a replacement cost rider and a personal articles floater to the existing HO-4 policy. Increasing the deductible could offset a premium increase. See the response to question 14 below for other cost saving ideas. 12.The Dumont’s auto insurance is inadequate because of its low liability limits. The 25/50/25 split liability and property damage limit is extremely low in relation to current medical, repair, and liability costs. The Dumonts should increase their liability limits to at least 100/300/50. Otherwise, they could be liable for judgments in excess of their current liability limits. Higher limits, such as 200/600/100, are also available. The Dumonts also have low uninsured motorist coverage limits. These, too, should be increased to a minimum of 100/300/50 to provide adequate protection against negligent drivers who carry no or inadequate liability coverage. The $20,000 of medical expense coverage is far lower than the recommended $50,000 of coverage per person. Assuming the Dumonts increase their  emergency fund or other savings, they should increase the $200 deductible amounts. 13.Cory and Tisha’s current auto insurance policy would pay $25,000 for bodily injury losses incurred by any one person hurt in the accident, a total of $50,000 for bodily injury losses incurred by all persons hurt in the accident, and $25,000 for property damage if they were judged to be at fault. In other words, these are maximum liability coverage limits. If the accident resulted in a total of $65,000 of bodily injury losses to more than one person, the Dumonts would be personally responsible for arranging payment for the remaining $15,000. However, if the $65,000 in bodily injury losses were incurred by only one individual, the Dumonts would be personally liable for $40,000. This coverage is not adequate; the Dumonts are risking their financial future in lieu of paying a slightly higher annual premium. 14.To reduce the cost of property and liability insurance, the Dumonts could: Make every effort to keep their insurance credit score high, to qualify for lower premium rates. Increase insurance deductibles (e.g., $200 to $500 or higher). ï‚ · Take advantage of multiple policy discounts (e.g., HO-4 and auto insurance with the same company). ï‚ · Pay insurance premiums less frequently (e.g., annually or semi-annually instead of monthly). ï‚ · Shop around and compare the costs of at least three insurance providers. ï‚ · Consider only high quality insurers, and possibly a direct writer. ï‚ · Install security systems or smoke detectors. ï‚ · Inquire about ANY other available discounts; these can vary significantly by company and may relate to the property (home or auto, such as fire-resistant building materials, auto passive restraints or anti-theft devices) or the characteristics of the policyholder (e.g., over age 50 or 55, noncommuter, or good student). ï‚ · Buy a car that is cheaper to insure and consider low â€Å"damageability† models; be sure to check insurance rates when auto shopping. ï‚ · Drive less (e.g., fewer miles, join a carpool) and improve driving records. ï‚ · Double check your policy to insure that all features and endorsements are included as planned; a claim could be costly that you  thought was covered, but was not because of an oversight in the policy. ï‚ · Include adequate liability insurance to avoid paying damage awards from personal assets or income. 15.When the Dumonts become homeowners, they should purchase an HO-3 policy. An HO-3 policy is the most comprehensive of available policies for homeowners because it covers losses to the structure from all perils except those that are specifically excluded. Typical excluded perils include flood, earthquake (supplemental coverage is available for both, if needed), war, and nuclear accident. Coverage on an HO-3 policy on the contents is limited to the named perils coverage provided in a broad, or HO-2 policy. The Dumonts should strongly consider adding personal property replacement cost coverage for their contents. The additional premium cost of 5 to 15 percent over the cost of a policy without this coverage is meager when compared to the increased level of reimbursement. Inflation guard and personal articles floaters—particularly for Tisha’s antique jewelry or any other items that exceed the value of the policy limits—should also be added. The minimum level of $100,000 of personal liability coverage is likely inadequate, and should be increased to $300,000 to $500,000. However, the Dumonts should review this relative to their individual situation (i.e., pets owned or other unique situations). Cory and Tisha should consult Checklist 10.2, A Checklist for Homeowner’s Insurance, when shopping. An umbrella policy extends the liability coverage of the auto and homeowner’s policies owned by the insured. An umbrella policy protects against large lawsuits and judgments associated with your home or auto. Umbrella policies do not cover activities with the intent to cause harm, activities with aircraft and some watercraft, and most business and professional activities. The latter require a separate policy. Typical limits range from $1 million to $10 million; the policy does not become effective until the limits of the underlying policies have been exhausted. As the Dumonts proceed through the life cycle and attain more wealth, they may want to consider a policy of this type. However, in the interim, a more cost effective alternative may be increasing their existing liability limits to $300,000 or $500,000.

Arthur Black

Arthur Black is a very opinionated man. In his essays about Canada, he has many short pieces about the differences between Canadians and Americans. He states how there is never anything bad said about Canada, and that Canada could even be considered a â€Å"wallflower†. In his essay Canadian Passion Not Flagging, Black talks about how the Americans wave their flag and Canadians do not. Americans have their flag everywhere; hanging inside malls, and even at the gas stations. In his essay Canada: Too Polite to Live, it says how the American Declaration of Independence demands life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.Canadians have settled for peace, order, and good government. Another difference between Americans and Canadians according to Arthur Black is that the Americans know much more about their countries history than Canadians know about theirs. Toronto is definitely not one of Arthur Black’s favourite places to be. He explains in the essay Toronto: Not Quite Rea dy for Prime Time, Black says how â€Å"it doesn’t have the easy beauty of Vancouver, or the joire de vivre of Montreal. It lacks the architectural grace of Ottawa and the mountainscape backdrop of Calgary†.Black says it feels fast, brittle, cold, and arrogant, and that it is all about money. He says how Torontonians do not look like they are having a good time, and at sporting events the fans are much quieter than other cities in Canada. Arthur Black also says how Toronto people do not really care about the meaning of things; they just want it to be productive. Black says how they think ‘The Rock’ (massive slab of Muskoka granite) is a waste of space in the downtown park. It is pointless and they would rather have something there that would make money.Toronto would not be the place Arthur would choose to live in for the rest of his life. Arthur Black would define Canada as a lot of things. He says how Canadians don’t know their own national anthem, and in the article O Cana-a-do (re, mi) Arthur talks about how if a Canadian is accused of being an American, they will fight until it is proven otherwise. Also, to be Canadian, it is almost a must to have an interest in hockey. Hockey is the one sport Canada can safely say they are the best at. People from Canada know a different level of cold than places like the USA.In the article A Samaritan with Jumper Cables, Black says how â€Å"this aint a country; this is winter. † Also in that article, he tells some stories about how polite and kind people from Canada are and how if the car spun off the road or ran out of gas, Canadians would be there to help right away. Arthur Black’s main classification of Canada is polite, and that is most likely the rest of the world’s opinion also. Your Canada Winter in Canada is much different than winter in other countries. For one, it is much longer.Winter lasts about six to eight months, and it can be unbearably cold. The day s are significantly shorter than summer, which makes it that much harder to wake up for the day at school or at work. Having to shovel the driveway isn’t Canadians favorite pastime at seven in the morning when they are going to be late for work. Also what needs to be taken into account is making sure the car is plugged in during the night. When that is forgotten in the cold days of winter, it is pretty hard to get anywhere because no car would start if it was sitting outside.The season of winter in Canada isn’t all bad though, it is very pretty at times. Waking up and looking out the window to a fresh blanket of snow is one of the greatest sights for a Canadian. Also, sitting by the fire place with it white outside, drinking a warm cup of cocoa is the best on a snowy day. Winter for Canadians also means hockey. Whether it is hockey in a rink or shinny on a frozen pond, Canadians love their hockey. For many Canadians, being active in winter is an important part of enjoy ing life.There are many other outdoor winter activities, including skiing, ice fishing, walking, skating and tobogganing, amongst others. Winter also means Christmas. Christmas is the longest break for students in school, so it is a much anticipated holiday. It seems like everyone is in a much better mood when Christmas is coming, it might be because they get to see family and they get time to put up their feet and relax. Sometimes people from other countries will ask â€Å"how do you tell people apart when they bundle themselves with a winter jacket†, but the truth is, that’s exactly how to tell people apart.People around the city get to know what jacket others have, and that becomes their identity. It sure saves a lot of time picking out an outfit to wear for the day when a winter jacket ends up covering it up anyways. The cold winter days are also a great time to catch up on the missed TV shows. In the summer, there is always something to do because the days are bri ght so long. In winter, it gets dark at around six, which leaves plenty of time to catch up on favorite TV seasons. Canadians are winter experts and know how to make it the best it can possibly be.

Diversity and Reality Television Professor Ramos Blog

Diversity and Reality Television Reality television is as American as the cheese wiz you put on your cheesesteak sandwich. It all started in the 1970s, when the Public Broadcasting Station aired a show about a family living in the Santa Barbara area (PBS). The show was meant to give the American people an idea that everyone goes though the same kind of family issues, no matter where you live, or who you are. Now today’s reality television has expanded way past just showing people that everyone’s 16 year old daughter sneaks out of the house in the middle of the night. But it is still reality, and its popularity has grown immensely. But has diversity played a part in what we, as the american people, want to see in our shows about real life? Andy Cohen once said, â€Å"Ultimately, its not my job to judge the ‘Housewives’- we dont editorialize on the show; we really leave it to the audience. We have a certain wink, which is the Bravo wink. We may linger on a shot or we may let something play out, but we leave it to you†.   Cohen is basically the father of reality television. He has single handedly started an entire series of shows about housewives that live elaborate lives around the United States. The housewives are diverse in the since of the places that they are filmed. However, the cast of housewives for each particular setting is not that diverse. All of the Orange County Housewives are white and while occasionally their will be a housewife of Latina decent, she does not last more than one season. Andy Cohen has essential created a franchise that was new to the Bravo Network, but not new at all the Music Television channel.   MTV was looking for a way to make a new show that did not cost a lot to produce, but would make lots of money. The first start to the reality television explosion began around the mid 1990s, when an inexpensive show, fell into MTV’s lap. The show would revolve around a group of young adults in the New York City area that were just living life (History). The Real World took ordinary people, and let the whole world watch as the â€Å"cast† of ordinary people took on real life issues. Because this show revolved around real people, the â€Å"cast† was very diverse and had people from all walks of life. The cast of third season The Real World San Francisco had a young Cuban American man who was openly gay, and found out he was HIV positive (Lovannone). This young man made such an impact on the american people, that after his sudden passing President Bill Clinton spoke at his very public funeral. When The Real World Los Angeles hit our tv screens, we had a lot more div erse of a cast of characters. This cast shared more personal stories, and even showed a young African American women making the hard decision of whether she should get an abortion or not. Because of shows like this, the american people were exposed to issues that they maybe did not know a whole about. So while The Real World was entertaining, it also was very informative to its many young adult fans. Reality television now a days has something for everyone. There are so many forms of reality tv, and the variety of shows out there is very diverse. If you are looking for naked people who are into survival, there is a show on Discover Channel for you. If you are looking for show about a man who is looking for the love of his life while dating eighteen other women all at the same time, ABC has a show for you. Reality Television is all around us, and many people believe that they would make â€Å"good tv†. If you think your family is messed up just watch another   family on tv trying to find another sister wife, and you might just feel better about your own problems. When reality television first hit the main stream media it really was reality. Today reality television is kind of scripted, but not the same way Grey’s Anatomy is. Producers of shows on Bravo, and TLC tend to certain situations for their â€Å"cast† to be apart of. If the producers know that two ho usewives dont particularly get along, they might have one of the wives put on a big party and invite all of the wives to sed party and just see what will go down.   There are many reality shows that have a diverse cast. But many of these diverse shows are on channels like FoodNetwork, and the Travel Channel. These channels do not make the show seem like it is reality, even though they interview real people, and go to real restaurants that are owned by real people. There are many shows on HGTV that are reality, that dont seem like they are. However, many of the host of the shows like Fixer Upper, and My Lottery Dream Home are not very diverse. But many of the clients that the hosts work with are very diverse.   Diversity is all around us. And with so much of today being influenced by our screens, both in our pockets and in our homes, the world is becoming more and more aware of diversity. The shows we watch both reality and scripted are becoming more and more diverse. With reality television becoming more and more relative to todays people, we are able to see that reality can be more than just white people, throwing drinks and flipping tables. As the world is gaining more and more awareness of social issues reality television is becoming more relevant to the millennial generation. Reality tv started way back in the 1970s with the expectation of telling a story to the American people. While todays reality shows, arent all about the story it is clear that diversity plays a huge role in what we watch, and who we want to watch.   Berman, Judy. â€Å"Trashy Reality TV Is Back, And Its Not Here to Play Nice.† Time, Time, 21 Feb. 2019, time.com/5534364/reality-tv-is-back/. This article is goes over how reality tv has started to take over our main stream tv watching. It takes a major dive into Lindsay Lohan’s new MTV show. I will be using this article in my paper as a way to show what reality tv is like now a days. I believe this article is reliable because it comes from Time Magazine. Iovannone, Jeffry J., and Jeffry J. Iovannone. â€Å"Pedro Zamora: Real World Activist.† Medium, Queer History For the People, 21 June 2018, medium.com/queer-history-for-the-people/pedro-zamora-real-world-activist-cf89c5e237ab. This article talks about the life of one of the most influential Real World cast members.This article is important to my report because it shows how important this cast member made an impact on the world, and the people who watched the show. I think this article is reliable because the author is a founder of an LGBTQ rights website. â€Å"MTVs The Real World Leaves Hollywood.† History.com, AE Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, history.com/this-day-in-history/mtvs-the-real-world-leaves-hollywood. This article talks about the start of MTV as a channel, and the show The Real World. This article is important because it talks about the start of the reality tv boom. I think this article is beneficial to my paper became it will help me understand the start to one of the most influential reality television show. pbs.org/program/american-family/ This article talks about the first reality show of its kind. The article goes over what kind of story the producers were working on showing its audience. I think this article is important because it talks about the real start of reality tv. I will be using this article as intro to my paper, while starting the conversation about reality television. Ryan, Maureen, and Maureen Ryan. â€Å"Why TV Is Finally Embracing the Realities of Race.† Variety, Variety, 20 Jan. 2017, variety.com/2016/tv/features/television-race-diversity-ratings-1201712266/. This article starts the conversation about how tv here in the US is changing. This article goes over more scripted shows, but talks about how making more diverse main stream tv, will eventually make its way to a more diverse set of reality tv show casts. I believe this article is reliable because I got it from the library database here at Crafton Hills College.

Study of Brand and Brand Valuation Methods The WritePass Journal

Study of Brand and Brand Valuation Methods Introduction Study of Brand and Brand Valuation Methods Introduction  Organisation Background  Rationale for the Chosen TopicStatement of the Problem in Valuing BrandsResearch QuestionsObjectives of the DissertationLiterature ReviewWhat Is A Brand?What is Goodwill?What is Brand Equity?The Development of Brand Valuation:Brand Valuation Methods   Research Methodology, Data Collection Methods and Data AnalysisDesk Research  ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:ReferencesManuchehr Shahrokhi, Professor of Finance, Department of Finance, Craig School of Business, California State University-Fresno, California, USABibliographyRelated Introduction A company’s brand image (Goodwill) or brand valuation plays a vital role in the modern business world. This has lead to the valuation of brands, which was quite unheard of in previous decades.   In this dissertation I attempt to analyse and understand various brand valuation methods, its merits and the way it’s represented using the different accounting policies and / or methods across the various accounting bodies worldwide.   The main objective of the dissertation is to understand various valuation model that will abide the various accounting bodies as well as satisfy the individual country’s rules and regulations. The roots of branding is evident in ancient civilisations and some study shows even before Birth of Christ and this   is evident from archaeological excavations in which we can find certain symbols or markings in pottery, coins and Arts. It was not until the 12th century trademarks were used to identify each manufacturer’s goods as well as measure their quality. In other words in the early times, brand names were not only used to distinguish between different goods which are similar but also distinguish their quality (Sudharshan, 1995). The value of a brand is indicated by how much money a company pays in order to acquire them. These may vary from brand to brand, however companies are prepared to pay a good price for top notch brands. For an example Procter and Gamble paid 2.6 times Richardson-Vicks’ book value, Nabisco sold for 3.2 times book value, and General Foods sold for 3.5 times book value (Business Week, 1995). This report will discuss the existing brand valuation methodologies and it’s significance in a company’s decision and require a sound marketing and financial view. Generally the marketing and financial approaches in this matter differ largely and today’s competitive market environment has made these two professions to work together in this regard. Brands are widely viewed as performance measures and important element decision making process. Many large corporate companies’ demands royalties from subsidiaries for using their brand name and this has made authorities such as tax and financial regulators to standardise the process of brand valuation. Brand valuation will be an important criterion to evaluate corporate performances in this century. Investors increasingly demand for greater disclosure of brand valuation and it’s the financial manager’s duty to ensure that such information’s are adequately provided with the investors. This has brought to adopt a standard brand valuation technique / method in company accounts.   Organisation Background This dissertation is not about a specific organisation brand valuation. It aims to cover many blue chip organisations accounting treatments in Brand Valuing. Mainly this study will involve understanding the accounting treatment of accounting bodies and accounting standards etc. The dominant model of branding in the twentieth century was the manufacturer as mega-advertiser. McKinsey (1994) believes that the traditional model of branding is no longer the only way, nor can it dominate in the future. According to Murphy (1990), brand is a complex phenomenon: â€Å"not only it is the actual product, but it is also the unique property of a specific owner and has been developed over time so as to embrace a set of values and attributes both tangible and intangible which meaningfully and appropriately differentiate products which are otherwise very similar.† These changes have prompted today’s business world to put a value into branding and thereby has the created the concept of Brand Equity or Goodwill of a company.   Rationale for the Chosen Topic In realisation of various valuation methods and different accounting bodies treat the Brand values in the Balance Sheet differently at large. This dissertation will answer â€Å"How companies calculate and disclose brand value in financial statements†. Weather researcher will able to identify and develop a proper Brand Valuation formula in this dissertation? Statement of the Problem in Valuing Brands Since the late 1980’s, it has become essential that a company recognises a brand as an intangible assent and as a result include them in their financial statements. The main reason for this was a wave of acquisitions that took place in that era that helped exposes the hidden value in highlys include, Nestlà © buying Rowntree, Danone purchasing Nabisco’s European business and Grand Metropolitan buying Pillsbury. However, accounting bodies throughout the world differ over how brand valuation should be done. The professional bodies have appeared uncertain as how to resolve the issue of brand valuation. It happens because of the lack of understanding and guidance over accounting treatment of brands. Much of the uncertainty associated with brands is regarding the relationship with goodwill and other intangible assets. There is real confusion about the distinction between brands and other assets such as goodwill or trademark. This difficulty leads to further problems when deciding how to measure and report them in financial statements. Research Questions In order to compile a report on Brand Valuation Methods I intent to find answers to the following research questions: What constitute Brand and Brand Equity? What are the problems in valuing a Brand? What are the available Brand Valuation methods? How does USA, UK and Indian Chartered Accounting Bodies value Brand? What is an acceptable and harmonized Brand Valuation model? Objectives of the Dissertation To understand the significance of Brands and how they have developed from time to time. To understand the Brand Equity Concept Different Valuation Methods in Valuing a Brand. To understand the Marketing and Finance perspectives of brand equity and how it will be presented and integrated, and their interrelationships in an Organisation. To analyse 4 financial accounts of large Blue Chip companies and their treatment as Intangible assets in the Accounts Literature Review What Is A Brand? â€Å"If this business were to be split up, I would be glad to take the brands, trademarks and goodwill and you could have all the bricks and mortar and I would   fare better than you†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (John Stuart, Former Chairman of Quaker Oats Ltd) This statement of John Stuart emphasise the importance of the brand. In other words a â€Å"name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition† is categorised as a Brand. Furthermore, a Brand also helps to create awareness, reputation, prominence, and more in the marketplace. What is Goodwill? Goodwill in financial statements arises when a company is purchased for more than the fair value of the identifiable assets of the company. The difference between the purchase price and the sum of the fair value of the net assets is by definition the value of the goodwill of the purchased company. The acquiring company must recognize goodwill as an asset in its financial statements and present it as a separate line item on the balance sheet, according to the current purchase accounting method. In this sense, goodwill serves as the balancing sum that allows one firm to provide accounting information regarding its purchase of another firm for a price substantially different from its book value. Goodwill can be negative, arising where the net assets at the date of acquisition, fairly valued, exceed the cost of acquisition. Negative goodwill is recognized as a liability. For example, a software company may have net assets (consisting primarily of miscellaneous equipment, and assuming no debt) valued at $1 million, but the companys overall value (including brand, customers, intellectual capital) is valued at $10 million. Anybody buying that company would book $10 million in total assets acquired, comprising $1 million physical assets, and $9 million in goodwill. Goodwill has no predetermined value prior to the acquisition; its magnitude depends on the two other variables by definition. What is Brand Equity? The goal of the brand leadership point is to create strong brands – but what is a strong brand? In Managing Brand Equity, brand equity is defined as the brand assets (or liabilities) linked to a brand’s name and symbol that add to (or subtract from) a product or service. These assets can be grouped into four dimensions: brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and brand loyalty. These four dimensions guide brand development management and measurement. Brands are a key element, along with other intangibles such as intellectual property and staff skills and commitment. Often 40-75% of a company’s assets may be attributed to brands [Goodchild and Callow, 2001] Despite the above facts the Chartered Institute of Marketing 2003 state â€Å"Brands are emotive and you can’t measure emotion.† â€Å"The financial value of a brand is not interesting on its own; it’s what we can do to grow it that makes it interesting. The process of benchmarking a brand’s value involves understanding where that brand value comes from and supporting those areas to grow the strength of the brand.† [Shailendra Kumar, Future Brand, 2001] The Development of Brand Valuation: The technical knowledge of Chartered Accountants and accounting firms in valuing business valuations and applying discount rate, depreciation rates, appropriate tax rates etc was not developed in valuing a company Brand by accounting profession until recent time. This was mainly due to the fact that financial professionals lack commercial experience and to fully appreciate and understand how brands operate from the perspective of consumers and markets and retail distribution in a competitive context. This was an essential part in valuing a brand and without understanding the real valuation process any future predictions of the same will be no use because this valuation process will be carried out only by assumptions. And as a direct consequences provide no genuine benefit to business or investors alike. Despite the above fact, brand valuation methodologies have been developed and adopted in valuing brands recently and are now viewed as important business tool.   Only now, brand valuation and intangible asset valuation are given it’s importance after being taken seriously mostly due to USA financial reporting standards requiring acquired intangibles which can be separately identified and have separate economic lives to be valued and put on the balance sheet. International accounting standards will require UK (and other countries adopting IAS’s) public companies to do the same and this will be effective from January’2005. Additionally these intangibles require annual impairment testing to make sure their values have not been diminished. If they diminish in value then a write off to the profit and loss account is required. For example under new accounting standards AOL Time warner has written off $54 billion dollars. (AOL 2007 Annual Accounts) In the UK and Australia, accounting rules require companies to write off the goodwill obtained through acquisitions. The rules have often resulted in sizeable losses for acquiring companies in the year of acquisition. This happened because under these rules, the money paid in an acquisition over and above the fair value of identifiable assets is viewed as money lost without a compensating asset being acquired. However, this principle drew protests from a lot of UK companies. Those companies protested by capitalizing their acquired brands and arguing that they were not goodwill but identifiable assets. Some of the companies have gone further by capitalizing not only â€Å"acquired† brands but also the â€Å"home-grown† brands such as Cadbury. Brand Valuation Methods There are three methods for charging price premium on a branded product a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cost Method – On this method, the current value for historical expenses when creating a brand. b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Market Method This approach looks into the transactions of brand. c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Income Method In this approach, two methods are used to calculate the premium value: Discounted Cash Flow model Excess Earnings method.   Research Methodology, Data Collection Methods and Data Analysis In order to compile this dissertation, a Case Study/Desk Research based methodology has been used. Various company financial accounts have been verified with particular attent Primary data will consist information interviews, questionnaires etc. An in depth interview with a Brand Consultant is planned and interview will be conducted with Financial and Marketing Consultants of an Organisation. Secondary data will include data collection from annual reports, books, journals, articles and websites which give us an insight of how the companies have evolved from time to time and how did the company manage to build the brand and what strategies have they used in valuing a brand.   Both quantitative and qualitative data will be using in this research. Case studies the case studies will consist of a detailed study about various companies Brand Valuation Methods and the company from its beginning stage to the stage which it has attained now from the Desk Research. Analysis:   The various valuation methods will be explore and critically analysed in order to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each methods. Further how a Brand valued during Economy Boom had valuation done in Economy Recession period especially weather the Brand has been devalued to reflect the true picture. Apart from it this section also emphasizes on how the company attained this stage and about the competitive advantage and core competencies have bought them to this level. These analyses are undertaken with the help of the secondary and primary data. Desk Research Desk Research is the name given to finding published information which can include company Annual Reports, Financial details, Experts reports, Research Reports, Market statistics or comments and information about the issues in a marketplace. (Wikipedia   15.03.2011).With the widespread adoption of the Internet, use of published information (desk research) to scope a market is becoming increasingly common as a means of carrying out Market Researches. Traditionally using desk research to find information about potential customers, competitors and intermediaries in markets has been a time intensive process, often carried out on an on-going basis to cope with the slow delivery of paper-based material. With the Internet, vast seas of information have opened up electronically making desk research a practical tool for research, particularly in dynamic markets where data is quickly out of date. In this report the internet will play a vital part especially the Google search engine and the various sources of electronic journals since this published report stand as a verification source to the researchers Primary Research and various in-depth knowledge about the subject were explored. This is one of the major disadvantages of Desktop Research. Too much of information can easily distract and deviate the Research Objectives   ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Research ethics relates to questions about how we formulate and clarify our research topic, the data collection and processing method and how we report our research findings in a moral and responsible way.   The appropriateness of a researcher’s behaviour in relation to the rights of those who become subject of their work or are affected by their work is referred to as research ethics (Saunders et al, 2007). Although all research methods have specific ethical issues associated with them, qualitative research is likely to have a greater range of ethical concerns compared to quantitative research. Most of the data that will be used in conducting this research will be quantitative data. The quantitative information’s are readily and publicly available without any form of moral or ethical intrusion.   Time Scale   TIMETABLE OF WORK               Week 1 – 2 Discussion with Supervisor about the direction and obtaining guidance Week 3 – 5 : Desk Top Research on Brand Valuation Models Week 6 – 8   Literature review on Branding and Study on IAS – Brand / Goodwill Week 9 11: Collecting Financial Data of 4 Blue Chip Company and its treatment on Balance sheet. Week 12 – 14: Organising interview with Financial controller of Large blue company’s view on Brand Valuation method. Week 15 16: Analyse the Collection of data and interview notes. Week 17 – 18 : Develop a Brand Value Model Week 19 – 21   : Finalising the Report Week 22 :   Binding and Submission of Report References Aaker, D.A. (1997), Should you take your brand to where the action is?, Harvard Business Review, . Aaker, D.A. (1996a), Measuring brand equity across products and markets, California Management Review, Vol. 38 No.3, pp.102-20. Aaker David A (1991), ‘Managing Brand Equity’, p.15, NY Free Press Allen, D. (1990), Creating value, the financial management of brands, in â€Å"Report of the committee on cost, profitability, for marketing† (Eds), Accounting Review, Supplement, Vol. 47 pp.575-615. Blackston, M. (1995), The qualitative dimension of brand equity, Journal of Advertising Research, pp.RC2. Bhattacharyya, D. K., (2003) Research Methodology, Anurag Jain for Excel Books, India. Cravens, K.S., Guilding, C. (1999), Strategic brand valuation: a cross-functional perspective, Business Horizons, Vol. 42 No.4, . Gill, H. (1995), Broad definition on brand and asset, Management Accounting Journal, . Kevin Lane Keller Strategic Brand Management (2006), 2nd Edition Kapferer, J.N. (1992), Strategic Brand Management: New Approaches to Creating and Evaluating Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York, NY., Manuchehr Shahrokhi, Professor of Finance, Department of Finance, Craig School of Business, California State University-Fresno, California, USA Mukherjee, D N (Nov –Dec, 1998), ‘Managing Intangible Assets’, Business World, p.772. Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong: Principles of Marketing, Tenth Edition, Prentice Hall Zeff and Dharan, 1997 Readings and Notes on Financial Accounting Websites Brand Management www.brand.com (April 2011) Brand Finance Plc – www.brandfinance.com (April 2011) Wikipedia – www.wikipedia.com (April 2011) Bibliography John Murphy, 1990,   â€Å"Brand Valuation† Simon, C.J., Sullivan, M.W. (1993), The measurement and determinants of brand equity: a financial approach,

Barriers For Speakers Of Other Languages English Language Essay

Barriers For Speakers Of Other Languages English Language Essay Multilingual and bilingual education programs have been increasing tremendously over the recent past. This follows the increasing diversity in modern-day classrooms in most parts of the world. Such diversity reflects the ever evolving migration patterns and the hence the increasing need to address the issue of multilingual education programs. These programs target communicative proficiency in at least more than two languages. In connection to this, research on issues of bilingual education has been growing. The popularity of these programs can be attributed to the important role played by bilingual education such as in the accomplishment of various sociopolitical goals (Holliday 21). In most US schools currently, a larger percentage of students use English as a second language. Due to such statistics, the English only philosophy of adopted by the federal government through the Structured English Immersion has been subject to great criticism. However, ESL students encounter great bar riers as they learn the English language. These barriers are either with respect to linguistic factors or cultural factors (Eugene 32). This draws from the fact that ESL learners have their culture which is so different from that of any native English speaking country as well as certain linguistic aspects based on their primary (mother tongue) language. These aspects are difficult to abandon and hence they tend to present a barrier to the effectiveness with which an ESL students learns English. This paper discuses these barriers in detail and also presents a range of strategies that can be employed to addresses such challenges. Cultural Factors One of the important cultural barriers affecting ESL education draws from the fact that most ESL programs instructors are in most cases native English speakers. This is because irrespective of the importance of having ESL education taught by teachers from the language minority groups, the government mostly has in place native speakers teachin g English to ESL learners (Eugene 47). Research has also shown that the native speakers teaching ESL education differ greatly in terms of their cultural and social economic endowments with their ESL students (Huang and Brown, 645). For instance, in US, most of the ESL program teachers are Americans who of course are culturally very different from the L2 learners. This is due to the poor performance as regards to the objective of ensuring that individuals from the minority language community(ies) are developed into being credentialed teachers through relevant training, to enhance the development of ESL education (Nasr 65). These native teachers employ socioeconomically and culturally different styles of teaching ESL education as compared to those ESL learners are used to, from their culture. This presents a lack of connection of the two cultures especially if the teacher fails to employ effective instructional approaches mean such as collaboration. This is made worse by the lack of z eal among the native teachers to learn these different cultures and become part of the ESL learning community (Zimmerman 17). In most instances, the trainers fail to reflect on how their sociocultural backgrounds impact on their perceptions of the community and therefore on how they teach.

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children Research Paper - 1

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children - Research Paper Example in Shaw et al., 2012). Equally important, the numbers of children who report second-hand smoke at home has largely increased over time. Quite surprisingly however, most of the children who report second hand smoke exposure point out that they have at least one of their parents smoking (Shaw et al., 2012). This therefore shows that there is a very close correlation between the pervasiveness of second-hand smoke exposure in children in homes and the increasing number of people who smoke. In the disadvantaged areas where smoking rates are higher than the average and the rehabilitation rates are lower, the topic of second-hand smoke exposure has become a major issue that has affected the children. To elaborate, previous researchers have found out that socio-economic status of people living in different areas has largely influenced the prevalence of people smoking due to lack of employment or sufficient income, overcrowding, poor housing or homelessness, and single parenting among others (Shaw et al., 2012). This can largely be attributed to the fact that smoking has been widely used by people as a means of virtually reducing their stress, more so when they face the mentioned economic conditions. Equally important, Shaw et al., point out that the cases of smoking in homes is more dominant among poor or low income parents (2012), and thus due to this fact, the people who come from a lower social group face the challenge of becoming addicted to smoking as compared to the people who come from higher social group. Besides, the people who reside in areas that are of lower socioeconomic status have less chances of experiencing or having a total ban on smoking in their homes relative to the individuals who reside in areas that are of high socioeconomic status. Besides, Shaw et al., contend that introduction of smoke free legislation will result to the reduction of cotinine levels among the children (2012). However, it is worth noting that Akhtar

TMA 01 (essay) Option 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

TMA 01 ( ) Option 1 - Essay Example It will focus in the various psychological processes that are involved in this learning process by relating the specific problem with how children learn and develop where theories such as behaviourism, social constructivism among others will be focused on where each theory will be focus on in detail. The paper will then relate the key points in these theories with the example of brushing teeth. Finally, it will conclude by summarizing the learning outcomes of this exercise. Context Alex’s case is being used as context to examine what processes the brain requires to undertake when it comes to learning in children. One of the Major aspects of the brain, which is crucial in teaching Alex how to brush his teeth, is memory. This is because, it is important for Alex’s mind to remember how he saw his mother brushing her teeth in order for Alex to learn how to brush his teeth. For instance, Alex’s mother congratulates him when he is able to brush his teeth. When the memo ry part of Alex’s brain associates brushing with a reward, which is in this case, is the congratulations, then it will result in Alex being able to learn how to brush his teeth by himself. This is mainly so since deep in his mind he feels that his mother will congratulate him. However, there are more processes involved in the process of Alex learning how to brush his teeth other than memory. These processes are well defined in the various theories of learning. In this case, the paper will consider social leaning theory, Behaviourism theory, social constructivism theory, and the constructivism theory. Behaviourism Between the 1920s and 1950s, behaviourism was the major paradigm that was used to understand human behaviour. It combined methodology, psychology, theory. The theory was generally based on various assumptions (Crain, 2000). The first assumption was that psychology was a form of science hence theories should be supported by data that is empirical gotten from the contr olled and careful observation and the measurement of behaviour. Thus, its goal was to predict and control. The second assumption that the theory took was that the primary concern when it came to understanding human behaviour as observable without the influence of things such as emotion or thinking. The theory was based on the assumption that the environment around them determined human behaviour thus people did not possess free will. The theory also assumed that very little difference existed between the learning process of human beings and animals. The theory assumed that the brain was born blank and that human beings assimilated behaviours because of some stimulus. This meant that any behaviour that human beings can be traced down to a specific stimulus and from the stimulus the different way in which the human would assimilate certain behaviour could be determined. Behaviourism theory was also used in philosophy. Though somehow similar , the philosophical approach of the theory s tipulated that the behaviour of human beings should be viewed as natural science where what they do can be traced to a stimulus assuming that they did not think or be emotionally influenced into perfuming the action. Edmund Fantino developed this aspect of behaviourism Social learning Theory The social learning theory is an approach to psychology in understanding the learning process in human beings. The theory stipulates that human beings learning outcomes are indeed based on the social context that they are in. This theory, relates more to children where

Online Travel Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Online Travel - Case Study Example The possibility of spreading the reach of the business overseas is made possible by the practically zero marginal cost incurred by online travel companies in extending their marketing to foreign countries. Europeans have actually been observed to travel more than their Americans counterpart, averaging four weeks of vacation annually while Asian travelers such as Chinese and Indians have posted a notable increase int heir frequency of travel due to the improved number of middle class consumers (Tracy). Subscribers of online travel have benefitted from the dominance of market economy and market system as we observe prices become competitive due to the presence of of more online travel service suppliers such as Kayak and Sidestep (Bhargava) . This leaves an experience of intense competition for the big three companies such as Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, practically showing the validity of Adam Smith's theory of self-interest- that in the pursuit of business of many, self-interest can bring important sociopoliticsal evolution and economic growth (Robert B. Ekelund Jr.) Last minute dot com resides in an industry where consumers are task-oriented and highly price conscious, with many experienced travel deal seekers searching for the best deals on air fare, hotels and car rentals with the competition being concentrated mainly in two areas-the corporate travel and the package deals(Bhargava). Currently, the way of handling the travel business have been very innovative as we see site like FlyerTal being flocked by most online travelers being consumer discussion driven, having posts from travelers helping each other, trading discount certificates and talking about customer service experiences. TravelAdvisory is also one of the most trafficked sites being due to its high rankings in a location or hotel-based keyword search (Bhargava). Obviously, the industry is taking on a different phase of competition especially as the technology develops more. The use of dot travel domain has also been introduced recently but has been used slightly with hyatt.travel and solmelia.travel as the only notable sites. Lastminute.com, on the other hand, has refused to activate a dot travel domain with the belief that the dot com domain is central to its brand (Nelson). The industry is expected to tread upward in terms of usage and sales, with the many facets of technology being adapted specifically in the marketing aspect. As one of the articles in the Harvard Business Review in Management says, "if tops management wants to find ways of improving profits and growth, it must actively participate in the development of marketing plans by challenging their underlying assumptions and by contributing alternative ideas on strategy and programs (Ames). Effect of Current Political and Economic Issues Starting in 1998, last minute.com was well managed by owners Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane-Fox, expanding its services to holidays, hotels, car hire, restaurants, theater and spa. In 2005, it was purchased by Travelocity, becoming part of Saber family of travel companies (Last Minute Network Limited). The buy-out of Saber Holdings of Lastminute.com has made its share soar from "45.4 per cent, to 153.25p, putting a value of pounds 522m on the company" (Reece). The decision by Hoberman and Lane-Fox to renounce leadership of the company was made after its financial struggle, experiencing an over-all loss of pounds

Analyzing the expected profits of two firms Assignment

Analyzing the expected profits of two firms - Assignment Example Through illustration, when the two companies decide in applying this strategy their equilibrium will be In this scenario, King Company and Babil Company both have a dominant option of advertising. No matter what Babil does, King Company will improve his promotion by advertising and vice-versa. However, something odd about the game it seems that the two companies will benefit more when they choose not to advertise. Instead of one gaining 300 and the other losing 80 and vice-versa, they could win 150 each. Therefore, the rational choice of mutual not advertising has a self-destructive flavor that is puzzling. In game theory concept the optimal outcome of the two firms is where no firm has incentives in deviating from the set advertisement strategies after the choice of the opponent is considered. Overall, no firm can receive an incremental benefit of altering actions, assuming the firms remain similar in the strategies. The Nash equilibrium will exists when no firm change their advertisement strategy, despite understanding the opponents strategy. Logically the two companies choose not to advertise and receive payoff of 150. If a person reveals the strategy of King to Babil and vice-versa, no firm will deviate from not advertising. Knowing the move of King, and do not change the behavior of the Babil, the outcome of the two companies not advertising represent the Nash

Letter from Hagar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter from Hagar - Essay Example â€Å"Pride was my wilderness, and the demon that led me there was fear. I was alone, never anything else, and never free, for I carries my chains within me, and they spread out from me and shackled all I touched†(page 292). My dear child, you are young and the fountain of youth flows upon you. Waste it not your youth on matters that will chain your heart and soul. You must know that I loved your grandfather dearly though I never really found the right way to show him how much. I could not at that time for I believed that I must maintain restraint and never allow my feelings flow as freely as a cascading waterfall. I exhort you not commit the same mistakes I did. I could have shown your grandfather the ecstasies I felt when making love. â€Å"It was not long after we wed, when first I felt my blood and vitals rise to meet his. He never knew. I never spoke aloud, and I made certain the trembling was all inner†¦ I prided myself on keeping my pride intact, like some mainden hood† (page 81). Alas, I was wrong. I could have soared to the skies and explode that a super nova in the skies and then come down from heaven to dance with the daffodils but I was too proud to do such things. I made myself believe that pride is more important than showing warmth and accepting the same like an all consuming fire that runs through your veins searing you blood until you scream not in agony but in ecstasy. Now, as I look back into the empty years where I held my feeling locked and sealed inside me, tears come welling up and spilling down my weathered cheeks unbidden. I strived to hide them but could not. I could have given more but did not. I could not bring myself to show much love and say the right word a t the right time. Like a stone angel made of hard marble, I am doubly blind. But then again, would they have reacted differently had I said and done things differently? Would they? I think not. So it is perfectly all right. Child, I want you

Online Travel Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Online Travel - Case Study Example The possibility of spreading the reach of the business overseas is made possible by the practically zero marginal cost incurred by online travel companies in extending their marketing to foreign countries. Europeans have actually been observed to travel more than their Americans counterpart, averaging four weeks of vacation annually while Asian travelers such as Chinese and Indians have posted a notable increase int heir frequency of travel due to the improved number of middle class consumers (Tracy). Subscribers of online travel have benefitted from the dominance of market economy and market system as we observe prices become competitive due to the presence of of more online travel service suppliers such as Kayak and Sidestep (Bhargava) . This leaves an experience of intense competition for the big three companies such as Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity, practically showing the validity of Adam Smith's theory of self-interest- that in the pursuit of business of many, self-interest can bring important sociopoliticsal evolution and economic growth (Robert B. Ekelund Jr.) Last minute dot com resides in an industry where consumers are task-oriented and highly price conscious, with many experienced travel deal seekers searching for the best deals on air fare, hotels and car rentals with the competition being concentrated mainly in two areas-the corporate travel and the package deals(Bhargava). Currently, the way of handling the travel business have been very innovative as we see site like FlyerTal being flocked by most online travelers being consumer discussion driven, having posts from travelers helping each other, trading discount certificates and talking about customer service experiences. TravelAdvisory is also one of the most trafficked sites being due to its high rankings in a location or hotel-based keyword search (Bhargava). Obviously, the industry is taking on a different phase of competition especially as the technology develops more. The use of dot travel domain has also been introduced recently but has been used slightly with hyatt.travel and solmelia.travel as the only notable sites. Lastminute.com, on the other hand, has refused to activate a dot travel domain with the belief that the dot com domain is central to its brand (Nelson). The industry is expected to tread upward in terms of usage and sales, with the many facets of technology being adapted specifically in the marketing aspect. As one of the articles in the Harvard Business Review in Management says, "if tops management wants to find ways of improving profits and growth, it must actively participate in the development of marketing plans by challenging their underlying assumptions and by contributing alternative ideas on strategy and programs (Ames). Effect of Current Political and Economic Issues Starting in 1998, last minute.com was well managed by owners Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane-Fox, expanding its services to holidays, hotels, car hire, restaurants, theater and spa. In 2005, it was purchased by Travelocity, becoming part of Saber family of travel companies (Last Minute Network Limited). The buy-out of Saber Holdings of Lastminute.com has made its share soar from "45.4 per cent, to 153.25p, putting a value of pounds 522m on the company" (Reece). The decision by Hoberman and Lane-Fox to renounce leadership of the company was made after its financial struggle, experiencing an over-all loss of pounds

Letter from Hagar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Letter from Hagar - Essay Example â€Å"Pride was my wilderness, and the demon that led me there was fear. I was alone, never anything else, and never free, for I carries my chains within me, and they spread out from me and shackled all I touched†(page 292). My dear child, you are young and the fountain of youth flows upon you. Waste it not your youth on matters that will chain your heart and soul. You must know that I loved your grandfather dearly though I never really found the right way to show him how much. I could not at that time for I believed that I must maintain restraint and never allow my feelings flow as freely as a cascading waterfall. I exhort you not commit the same mistakes I did. I could have shown your grandfather the ecstasies I felt when making love. â€Å"It was not long after we wed, when first I felt my blood and vitals rise to meet his. He never knew. I never spoke aloud, and I made certain the trembling was all inner†¦ I prided myself on keeping my pride intact, like some mainden hood† (page 81). Alas, I was wrong. I could have soared to the skies and explode that a super nova in the skies and then come down from heaven to dance with the daffodils but I was too proud to do such things. I made myself believe that pride is more important than showing warmth and accepting the same like an all consuming fire that runs through your veins searing you blood until you scream not in agony but in ecstasy. Now, as I look back into the empty years where I held my feeling locked and sealed inside me, tears come welling up and spilling down my weathered cheeks unbidden. I strived to hide them but could not. I could have given more but did not. I could not bring myself to show much love and say the right word a t the right time. Like a stone angel made of hard marble, I am doubly blind. But then again, would they have reacted differently had I said and done things differently? Would they? I think not. So it is perfectly all right. Child, I want you