Feast of Christ the King

November 21, 2010, is the last day for ordinary times and we will start again to our new liturgical calendar, the beginning of the advent season. We commemorate the feast of Christ our king in Villa del Sol in City of San Fernando Pampanga to be one or be united to praise and glorify Him. The main theme of the celebration is about the Reproductive Health Bill that the Church is not in favor. A prayer rally was held so that the people may be aware of the consequences when this bill will be passed. A lot of different organization joined the rally to witness the solemnity of our Lord and be one to against the said bill. And when the homily started the priest really focus about the Reproductive Health Bill and associate it with the feast of Christ the King. The Church said that it will weaken and loosen the moral fiber of the nation and it will introduce a new culture, the culture of death. Also it will have an irreversible consequence in our life. By listening and understanding the homily, the Reproductive Health Bill is not appropriate to each one of us because of the consequences like it is anti-poor and anti-life. As a Catholic, life is so important to us. We treasure it because life is not our possession, God only give it to us and He is the only one who can tell when will we going to die and what is our future. We only do what good for everyone and God will give us what we really deserve.

The Constitutions of The World

In Constitutional Identity, G. J. Jacobsohn classifies the constitutions of the world into two categories. The first category is of transformative constitutions and the second category is of preservative constitutions. While a transformative or ‘militant' constitution seeks to change the prevailing social structure, a preservative or ‘acquiescent' constitution seeks to maintain the status quo. Using Jacobsohn's classification, the Constitution of India would clearly be placed under the transformative category. This is due to the fact that the intention of the Parliament while drafting the Constitution was to bring about ‘social revolution' in the country. This claim is further substantiated by the deliberate omission of any allusion to the law on family. It was intended that matters related to family would be the domain of state to facilitate reform in the law. Thus, most changes in laws governing family, flow from the state in the form of amendments and statutes, which are enacted to transform the society into one with more progressive values. An eminent example is the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which converted Hindu Marriage from ‘sacrament' to a ‘contract'. Nonetheless, reform needs to take place with regard to the prevailing values in society and make allowance for the demands of several cultures in a diverse country like India. In pursuance of the same, Article 44 which was the demand to evolve a Uniform Civil Code, to govern the personal laws of every religion, was placed in the Constitution as a Directive Principle of State Policy. These Directive Principles are goals that the government should keep in mind while it formulates policy. Article 44 reads: â€Å"The state shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India†However, courts too have played an important role in governing society through family. Apart from upholding the law, they have also tackled grey areas, resolved conflicting situations through reconciliation of different statues on the same subject and filled the lacunae. Illegalization of unlimited polygamy for Hindus, thus was, an important example of the positive influence of courts. This was taken further when conversion for the purpose of committing bigamy was also illegalized in Sarla Mudgal v. Union of India (hereinafter, ‘Sarla Mudgal') and later upheld in Lily Thomas v. Union of India (hereinafter, ‘Lily Thomas').The Sarla Mudgal CaseThe petitioner in this case was married for some year with three children from the wedding when she found out that her husband had contracted a second marriage with another woman, after converting to Islam. Her husband converted for the sole purpose of contracting a second marriage and ensuring that the provisions of Section 494 of the Indian Penal Code were not attracted. He argued, however, that Islam allowed for limited polygamy – four wives – thus, he could marry a second time even though his first wife remained a Hindu. The court held that marriage under the personal laws of one religion (here Hinduism) could not be taken to court for dissolution under the law of another different religion (here Islam) even if one of the parties embraced another different religion. This is because such a rule would violate the rights of the first spouse. However, the second marriage would be void because this very reason – that the first marriage subsisted, even after conversion of the spouse.Facts of the Lily Thomas CaseThe Writ Petition was filed by Smt. Sushmita Ghosh who had married Shri G. C. Ghosh in 1984 in accordance with Hindu rites. G. C. Ghosh had converted to Islam in 1992 and informed his wife of the change in religion. He stated that he wanted to marry Miss Vanita Gupta and so she should agree to a divorce by mutual consent. Change in religion is an accepted ground for divorce under section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. Smt. Sushmita Ghosh did not want a divorce and got in touch with her aunt and her father to intervene on her behalf. She, her father and her relative tried to persuade her husband to not go for a divorce. However, his decision remained unchanged. He stated that his wife could either divorce by mutual consent, or she would have to put up with his second wife, Ms. Vanita Gupta. Smt. Sushmita Ghosh was thus left with no alternative but to approach the courts.PETITIONER'S ARGUMENTSConversion Not Due To FaithThe first point raised by the petitioner, Smt. Sushmita Ghosh is that her husband, Shri G. C. Ghosh, had not converted to Islam a matter of faith, but had done so solely for the purpose of taking in a second wife. While unlimited polygamy was allowed for Hindus, prior to the enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, it was abolished post 1955. However, limited polygamy is still allowed for the male followers of Islam in India and they can have up to four wives. Thus, it had become commonplace for many male members of the Hindu faith to convert to Islam for the purpose of marrying a second woman, divorcing their first wife and then re-converting back to Hinduism. The re-conversion was to ensure that property interests were not harmed. The petitioner proved this by referring to, firstly, a birth certificate of a son born to G. C. Ghosh from his second wife, wherein, his name appears as â€Å"G. C. Ghosh† and his religion is stated to be â€Å"Hindu†. Moreover, the mother's (his second wife) name appears as â€Å"Vanita Ghosh† and she too is a â€Å"Hindu†, according to the birth certificate. Secondly, the electoral roll of the constituency indicates the same, as does the respondent's visa to Bangladesh. In fact, he signed the marriage certificate issued by Mufti Mohd. Tayyeb Qasmi, is signed by him as â€Å"G. C. Ghosh†.Removal of Burden of ProofThe second contention raised was that since the judgment in Sarla Mudgal validated their case, conviction should take place without any need for proof. However, it was held that the conviction could not be made certain based on only a statement of admission made outside the court. This was because the provisions of the Indian Penal Code demanded that proof of not only the first marriage, but also the second marriage. This is still a legal obligation and admission of the marriage by the person being accused of bigamy, is not enough to constitute the requirement. The matrimonial ceremonies needed to be shown.RESPONDENT'S ARGUMENTSDifference with regard to Sarla Mudgal – Article 20(1)It was contended that the law propounded in Sarla Mudgal, would not be applicable to the present case as that case was not related to people whose marriages were solemnized before the judgment pronouncing them void was passed. Even though these marriages would be violative of the law, there could be no retrospective application. The court however, rejected this argument. It said that no new law had been introduced, but the old, existing provisions of the governing statute had been interpreted. It is a rule of law that the interpretation of a provision goes back to the date of that provision and is not, in its nature, prospective. Thus, the second marriage would be declared void and article 21 of the Constitution which states that â€Å"no person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the Act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence†, would not be affected. Violation of Article 21 and 25The other contention raised by the counsel was that the Sarla Mudgal judgement would be violative of Articles 21 and 25 of the Indian Constitution. In the case of Article 21 which states that â€Å"no person will be deprived of life or liberty except according to the procedure established by law†, the court said that this contention was misconceived. Thus, it would be premature to say that the judgement will result in deprivation of the life or liberty of either of the parties because the Sarla Mudgal judgement neither created a new law, nor changed the procedure for the prosecution.Another contention raised by the respondent was that the judgement would violate Article 25 of the Constitution, which guaranteed the right to freedom of conscience and the right to profess and propagate a religion. However, such an argument does not hold when the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, explicitly abolished polygamy in the Hindu religion and further, section 17 of the Act made void any marriages if any party had a living spouse, even after the marriage had been solemnised. Freedom guaranteed by the Constitution was to be exercised by individuals, until they encroached upon another's freedom. Moreover, if the act fitted under section 17 of the Hindu Marriage Act, its penalty was prescribed in section 494 and section 495 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The court commented on the contention raised in Sarla Mudgal that â€Å"making a Hindu Convert liable for prosecution would be against Islam†. The court found this argument to be ‘ignorant' of the nature of the religion of Islam.COURT'S DECISIONApplying Natural Justice Further, the court posed that conversion for the purpose of bigamy could not be squared with the principles of natural justice and equity. Natural justice constitutes in procedures or principles that are thought to be wrong, inherently. Here, the court agreed with the view of Justice M. C. Chagla in Robasa Khanum v. Khodadad Irani. The judges were of the opinion that if a man converted to Islam, to take in a second wife, during the subsistence of his first marriage, the effect on both wives would be undesirable. Since the law does not recognize the second marriage as valid, the status of the second wife would be that of a concubine and children born out of that marriage would be considered illegitimate. Though the first marriage will still persist legally, there would be practical problems with it. Necessity of the Uniform Civil Code The need for a Uniform Civil Code was not the primary question addressed by the judges in Lily Thomas, but it was referenced by both the judges in their separate judgments. Various cases discussing the notion of a uniform personal law were also mentioned. After a perusal of some judgments, it was commented by Justice Sahai in a separate judgment, that the Uniform Civil Code was highly desirable. However, the ‘social climate' of the society needed to be taken into account. Thus, a comprehensive Uniform Civil Code that takes into account all stakeholders and caters to everyone's interests could only be brought into existence if leaders took the responsibility of bringing about reform by changing the minds of people in their communities. Thus, the matter was assigned to the 18th Law Commission which would examine the feasibility of the Uniform Civil Code, in consonance with the Minorities Commission. The court clarified its stance on Article 44 of the Constitution, affirming that the courts had no jurisdiction whatsoever in giving direction for the implementation of a common Civil Code for personal laws. The Directive Principles of State Policy are not to be enforced by the courts because they do not create rights in favour of any person or persons. They are simply guidelines by the Constitution to the State, which is why they were included in the non-justifiable section by the Sapru Report of 1945. Arguments of the person

WK7 Research Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

WK7 Research Design - Essay Example This research extensively purposes at obtaining new knowledge of the drastic depreciation in performance of university students through significant utilization of relevant concepts. The attained results will assist in the description of the problem, development of countering alternatives and provision of knowledge and skill useful in decision-making for the university managements. Furthermore, the results will make it possible to make future performance predictions hence contributing to the possibility of controlling university performances. A research design simply includes a strategy applicable for a specific study and the plan of actively exercising the strategy. The research methodologies in use will include quantitative designs as well as qualitative designs individually thus resulting to a combination of both. Qualitative research design mainly involves techniques and measures, which do not eventually produce discrete numerical data (Creswell, 1997). Qualitative data collection incorporates such methods as direct observation by the researcher, active participation or interviews. Qualitative research illustrates relevance in this research as it aims at achieving an in depth understanding of the factors contributing to the depreciation in university students’ performance. Inclusion of arrays of interpretative techniques to describe and translate the data collected will further improve the quality of the data (Maxwell, 2007). Subsequently, after collection of data through the qualitative research design, the d ata analysis will involve; content analysis of written or recorded data as well as data drawn from the participants’ expressions and behavioral observations. On the other hand, quantitative research design utilizes techniques and measures that in turn produce discrete numerical thus quantifiable data. Hence, this design will integrate computer analysis

Employment System in Middle East Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Employment System in Middle East - Essay Example In the third section, a linkage is created between the poverty and employment. In the forth section, linkage of social welfare and employment is created and finally in the last section conclusion is given. Middle Eastern countries comprise of the following countries, i.e. Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen, Israel, Jordon, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus, Egypt, Gaza Strip and West Bank. Not all of these countries are well established but there is a good demand of employment in these countries, especially Africa and Dubai. The Growth level in this system is emerging with the passage of time but unemployment rate has not declined to a greater degree. There is still a large amount of population unemployed. This paper focuses on the linkage between the poverty and employment & social welfare and employment. The section three and four will emphasize the two concepts in detail. In 2004-2006 when all the rest of the world was going through a recession in the employment industry, some middle-eastern countries passed through the job creation phase. There was employment opportunity in these areas because the private sector showed major development. There were a lot of foreign and domestic investments made by the local and foreign companies that boosted, enhanced and created job opportunities for the unemployment class. These job opportunities catered well as not only were the demand of the young, energetic, talented and capable people met but also these unemployed workers now were provided with the platform where they could put their best efforts to achieve their potential goals. But it sad to state that apart from all the opportunities, the unemployment level in the Middle East was still very high and a major sector of the workforce still remains unemployed. Middle East is also faced with another disappointing workforce practice, i.e. discrimination has been observed in the middle-eastern countries, as women who are a foremost source still experience through a high level of unemployment rate. It has also been stated that middle-eastern women are more talented and educated than as compared to men but regardless of all the efforts made they are still lacking far behind. This discrimination is widely observed in Egypt. The Middle East is experiencing high economic growth rate and it has been stated that from 2004 to 2006, its real GDP per capita had a 4.0 percent annual increase. But despite all these growths, Middle East also suffers from 25 percent youth employment (which is the recorded as the highest among all regions). Among the employed the highest level are new job seekers of age range of 15- 24 years who account for 50 percent of the unemployment in the region. On the other hand young people with secondary and post secondary education are also faced with employment issues such as mismatching skills and long queues for

Health Care Provider Faith and Diversity Research Paper

Health Care Provider Faith and Diversity - Research Paper Example Health Care Provider Faith and Diversity The link between spirituality and patient treatment has been a substantial concern in health care. Spirituality plays a vital part in patients’ life and there exist a relationship between patient’s religious pledge and health consequences. Thus, patients prefer the healthcare providers to consider the religious factors in health care (Anandarajah & Hight, 2001). Different religious groups possess diverse belief system in terms of heath care. Thus, a health care provider must remain aware regarding diverse religious beliefs in order to provide quality medical care. A spiritual assessment is generally regarded as a practical step in integrating patients’ spirituality into health care practice. Spiritual assessment is the procedure through which health care providers can recognize the spiritual requirements of patients relating to their psychological health conditions (Hefner, 2008). Therefore this assignment deals in spiritual assessment of a patient with respect t o understanding the religious belief. The objective of the assignment is to recognize how different religion view healing and what are the factors they consider most while receiving significant health care services. In order to undertake the spiritual assessment, I employed the tool of Spirituality Scale. Spirituality Scale is a holistic tool that is intended to evaluate the opinions, perceptions, religious practices and ritual characteristics of patients.

Mission, Vision, Social Responsibility, Strategic Planning Essay

Mission, Vision, Social Responsibility, Strategic Planning - Essay Example The vision of Trader Joe’s is not provided in its website, but based on its timeline of important company events and other company information, it is perceived as supporting a sustainable future, where communities benefit from a company that promotes originality, individual choice, and cultural diversity. For instance, according to Trader Joe’s history timeline, in 1977, it introduced the first reusable canvas bag for shopping needs (Trader Joe’s, n.d.). This shows its dedication to preserving the environment through the principle of reuse. In addition, Trader Joe’s describes how it seeks to find and to sell original and hard-to-find products. This goal is stated in the â€Å"About Trader Joe’s† webpage of its company website. Trader Joe’s is focused on originality, as a way of delivering high value to its customers. As for Whole Foods, its vision is clearly stated in its company website: â€Å"Our vision of a sustainable future means our children and grandchildren will be living in a world that values human creativity, diversity, and individual choice† (Whole Foods, n.d.). The visions of these firms are similar because they want to provide a better future for the coming generations, by thinking about how their actions impact the latter. They want to support sustainable development principles and practices. Whole Foods depicts in its â€Å"Our Mission and Culture† webpage that it supports organic farming and alternative sources of energy. It also recycles and composts waste, while participating in community activities through food banks, sponsoring community events, and donating at least 5% of its net profit to non-profit organizations (Whole Foods, n.d.). Trader Joe’s also manages its effects on the environment by not sourcing GMO materials for its private label products, based on its customer updates from the company website. The vision statements of these two firms are comparable because t hey base their business proposition on the framework of sustainable development. Moreover, the two firms share the same values, except that Trader Joe’s is more pronounced on being an original retailer. They both believe in and support creativity, diversity, and individual choice. They aspire for creative ways in using diversity, as their leverage against conventional food retailers. Despite a little difference, it is clear that Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are heading toward the same direction because they see themselves as forming a better impact on their stakeholders, as they think about the future and the quality of lives in that future, unlike other companies that focus on the bottom line alone. After discussing the vision, the missions of these two firms will be described. The mission of Trader Joe's is not identified in its company website, although one source provides it: To give our customers the best food and beverage values that they can find anywhere and to provide them with the information required to make informed buying decisions. We provide these with a dedication to the highest quality of customer satisfaction delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, fun, individual pride, and company spirit (Thompson Jr., Peteraf, III Strickland, & Gamble, 2011, p. 20). As for Whole Foods, its mission is: â€Å"Our whole business is about making a difference – in the lives of our Team Members and the customers we serve,

Racism and discrimination Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Racism and discrimination - Research Paper Example Whiteness and identity issues have stood at the center of racism in Canada (Lund & Carr, 2010). Lobby groups’ advocacy against racism in Canada continues to mobilize the Canadian population against racism and discrimination. The interactions and relations among Canadians, people of color, and aboriginals cannot be described in the best words. However, the continued social, economic, and political efforts to curb racism in the country serves as a vital step towards societal unity in Canada. â€Å"Visible minority† is a common term in Canada. Colored people in Canada are referred to using the term. In fact, Canada’s legal framework also recognizes this term and further integrates it into the legal provisions relative to racism and discrimination. This comes amid persistent efforts to fight racism and discrimination in the country. Ghosh, R. (2012). Multicultural Teacher Education in Canada. In Craft, M. Teacher Education in Plural Societies: An International Review. New York: Routledge. http://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=GVMkNEH2Um8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA45 &dq=racism+in+Canada+2012&ots=SSTZjKFOzj&sig=frXz89Wk8InmiT29swSptxDxY bk&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Lund, D. & Carr, P. (2010). Exposing Privilege and Racism in the Great White North: Tackling Whiteness and Identity Issues in Canadian Education. Multicultural Perspectives, Volume 12, Issue 4, 229-234. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15210960.2010.527594 Walker, B. (2008). The History of Immigration and Racism in Canada: Essential Readings. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.

Major Oil Isssues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Major Oil Isssues - Essay Example However the supply of crude oil in the international market has been rigid. This creates the pressure on the prices of the oil. This fundamental theory of the international market as well as the economy of the world provides the explanation for the process or the trend of the fluctuation in the price of crude oil. Within the period 2004 - 2006 the capacity of the production of the global oil had not been able to keep in pace with its demand that had been increasing rapidly. The demand for oil had been on an increase more for the emerging economies of the continent of Asia, China, and also the United States of America. The demands for oil have an increase of 1.4 million barrels per day for the year 2005 as compared to 2.7 million barrels per day increase in 2004. This increased demand of oil had been accompanied by a continuous increase in the price of the same. According to the market specialists the price of oil is expected to remain jumpy and almost volatile. Moreover the price of this particular resource is expected to face a continuous rise rather than decrease. There is a high probability that the price will remain above the expected mean value of the price. (Krichene, 2006, pp 3- 4: Gautier, 2008, p 110) However predictions about the persisting trend of oil price vary among scholars. In the words of Xu, Chen and Han the main obstacle that arises in the prediction of the price of the crude oil is uncertainty. The various models along with the methods for computation that are present help to forecast the price trend in literatures. However most of the methods have not been able to predict the existing and the future variability of the prices of crude oil in the most effective way. For the betterment of the methods of computing the variations in the price econometricians have made several attempts and they have suggested different methods that are suitable for measuring and predicting the volatility. (Huynh, 2008, p 353) The paper aims at studying the expect ed trend of the oil price in the recent future with special emphasis to Australia. Peak Oil Phenomenon and Discussions around the World The past century had experienced a major growth of population but lesser instances of food shortages. The material requirements of the people had also surged. All this was achieved due to the growth of production of oil. The immense growth of oil production hugely benefited the food productions, wiped out the occurrence of famines, and made other daily human activities simpler (Hall & Day, 2009). The huge oil production made oil cheaper and the civilization moved forward based on oil-based energies. However, this also led to a huge depletion of oil reserves and ecologists predict that Peak Oil is not far away. Peak Oil is a phenomenon by which the global oil production will reach its highest stage and then it will start to fall at a very fast rate (Cork, 2010). M King Hubbert, a geologist working with Shell predicted a bell like life span of petrole um production in United States in 1956. According to Colin Campbell, the peak of discovering new fields had reached during the 1960s. He gives a fair assessment of the situation. According to him, the peak depends on the discovery of new fields, which has slowly decelerated, and the extraction rate of oils, which depends on the nature of the reservoir (Campbell, 2002). Presently the world consumes about four times the oil that is

Compulsory education Essay Example for Free

Compulsory education Essay Everyone has their own opinions on beliefs about school. Many say school is the only way for children to go, and many are against it. John Holt wrote an inspiring story called School Is Bad for Children that has an outlook on all aspects of school and why its not for children. He elaborates on all points to argue the fact that children shouldnt have to make life harder by going to school. Holt indicates certain points, but ones that stick out are the compulsory attendance policy and how it affects the child. Also, why we shouldnt have grades and exams and lastly, teachers and their poor pedagogy. The compulsory school attendance protected the childrens right to school under the parents permission; unless the parents decide to exploit their labor. Holt states that the compulsory attendance policy commands children to go to school. If children are forced to go to school than there is a better chance they wont like going. But, if the child had the option to go to school whenever they want, there us a better chance of them going; this being because school is where children meet new friends and communicate with others. And children need communication to get through life, like any other average person. Pedagogy is the art of the education and how a teacher conducts their class. Holt believes that poor pedagogy is another reason why school is bad for children. The art and styling of a teacher determines what the child will get and take out of the class. Many students are visual learners and some are auditory. Also, students are categorized between passive learners and active learners. Passive learners do what they need to, to pass the class and dont take in any of the information that is being distributed to them. But, active learners enjoy their time in class and engage in the lesson of the day. Teachers need to take it upon themselves to make the class interesting and vibrant for all students. They always said two heads are better than one. Holt feels as if children work better in groups and collaborative work. It makes everything in their school experience and life a little easier. Letting them work together and help each other out, they can help each other fix their mistakes. He explains how children are often the best teachers of other children. Letting children judge their own work gives them a sense of how much they can handle. According to Holt, if a child is corrected too many times, he will shut down and not speak at all. Correcting a student over and over again begins to make them feel like being wrong, uncertain and confused is a crime. He feels that a child should learn on his or her own but with the help of other children his age. If the child is stuck and just can’t get the answer right and needs help then that is when we lend a helping hand. Helping a child too much can also lead to them depending on someone to give them the answer. They won’t know the right answer and they’ll wait for the teacher or the expert to give them right answer. Holt has given up ideas on why the right way isn’t always the right thing to do. He wants to correct the school curriculum. He shows that education back in the day is different than education now. Although students need education, we’re going about it all wrong. Children need to learn physically and mentally and not always with the help of an expert. Children need to work together to become more advance and progress.

Kite Runner Essay Essay Example for Free

Kite Runner Essay Essay Hitler was an undoubtedly deranged man with the desire to concur a nation, who used inhumane methods to achieve his goal of a ‘perfect’ society. The proud words of Assef about him were, â€Å"Now, there was a leader. A great leader. A man with a vision.† (39-40) In the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Assef is characterized as a cruel sociopath; his character is created through Hosseini’s use of figurative language and connotative diction. Throughout the passage with Assef as a child Hosseini describes Assef with repetition. Repetition in a novel is a way to convey the point that an author is trying to make. Hosseini makes his statement about Assef very clear. He uses the words â€Å"relentless†, â€Å"ambush†, and â€Å"Savage† over and over to push the severity of Assef’s lunatic way of life. Even more words are used like â€Å"stainless steel brass knuckles† (38) and yelling out the prejudice slur, â€Å"Flat-Nose† (38), referring to the Hazara people. They were repeated because they show up later in the novel and foreshadow Amir’s journey back to Kabul. Also the author uses an epithet to describe Assef, as if he were an evil character of an old epic story. Amir proclaims him to be â€Å"Assef ‘the ear eater’† (38) and the gruesome name created a legacy from his actions. Assef’s character is also shaped by the way Hosseini uses connotative diction to support how crazy Assef is. His word choice clearly states how Assef dominates the other children in Kabul, as Amir says â€Å"blond-blue eyed towered over the other kids.† (38) Assef is a force to be reckoned with because of â€Å"his famous stainless steel brass knuckles† (38) He uses them as a way to prove his authority in the neighborhood. His obsession to be the leader is unusual and he is out of control as a child. The way Hosseini describes Assef there is no bright future for him as he is a corrupt boy with the drive to cause suffering. Assef plays the role of the antagonist in the story where he instigates all conflicts by creating turmoil in the novel, which the main character, Amir, has to overcome. His psychotic mindset leads him to become part of the unexpected climax of the story, and helps to develop the novel further in relation to all the obstacles Amir must face when dealing with his past.

Business Plan To Open A Retail Store Outlet Marketing Essay

Business Plan To Open A Retail Store Outlet Marketing Essay Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at 38,202 sq  mi (99,200  km ²) and 3rd largest by population. But close to 85 percent of the population lives in villages. Almost 58 percent of Bihar is are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India. Bihar lies mid-way between the humid West Bengal in the east and the sub humid Uttar Pradesh in the west which provides it with a transitional position in respect of climate, economy and culture. It is bounded by the country of Nepal to the north and by Jharkhand to the south. The Bihar plain is divided into two parts by the river Gangs which flows through the middle from west to east. Bihar has notified forest area of 6,764.14  km which is 7.1 percent of its geographical area. Hindi and Urdu are the official languages of the state, whilst the majority of the people speak one of the BiharI languages Angika, Bhojpuri, Magadhi or Maithili. Ancient Bihar (which consisted of Anga (East Bihar), Videha (North Bihar), Magadha (South Bihar) and Vaishali (North Bihar)) was a center of power, learning and culture in ancient and classical India. From Magadha arose Indias first greatest empire, the Maurya Empire as well as one of the worlds most widely adhered-to religions, Buddhism. Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule. Its capital Patna, earlier known as Pataliputra, was an important center of Indian civilization. Nalanda was a centre of learning established by the 5th century CE in Bihar. Today, Bihar lags behind the other Indian states in human and economic development terms, Economists and social scientists claim that this is a direct result of the skewed policies of the central government, such as the freight equalisation policy, its apathy towards Bihar, lack of Bihari sub-nationalism (resulting in no spokesperson for the state), and the Permanent Settlement of 1793 by the British East India Company. The current state government has however made significant strides in improving. Geography of Bihar Bihar is mainly a vast stretch of very fertile flat land. It is drained by the Ganges River, including northern tributaries Gandak and Koshi originating in the Nepal Himalayas and the Bagmati originating in the Kathmandu Valley that regularly flood parts of the Bihar plains. The total area covered by the state of Bihar is 94,163  km ². the state is located between 21 °-58-10 N ~ 27 °-31-15 N latitude and between 82 °-19-50 E ~ 88 °-17-40 E longitude. Its average elevation above sea level is 173  feet (53  m). The Bihar plain is divided into two unequal halves by the river Ganga which flows through the middle from west to east. Other Ganges tributaries are the Son, Budhi Gandak, Chandan, Orhani and Falgu. The Himalayas begin at foothills a short distance inside Nepal but influence Bihars landforms, climate, hydrology and culture. Central parts of Bihar have some small hills, for example the Rajgir hills. The Himalayan Mountains are to the north of Bihar, in Nepal. To t he south is the Chota Nagpur plateau, which was part of Bihar until 2000 but now is part of a separate state called Jharkhand. Bihar has notified forest area of 6,764.14  km ², which is 7.1 percent of its geographical area. Facts of Bihar Area: 38,202 sq km Population: 20645880. State code: 020 Independence: 15th August 1947 Republic day: 26th Jan 1950 INDIAN ECONOMY OVERVIEW India`s diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries, and a multitude of services. Services are the major source of economic growth, accounting for half of India`s output with less than one quarter of its labor force. About three-fifths of the work-force is in agriculture, leading the UPA government to articulate an economic reform program that includes developing basic infrastructure to improve the lives of the rural poor and boost economic performance. Government controls on foreign trade and investment have been reduced in some areas, but high tariffs (averaging 20% on non-agricultural items in 2009) and limits on foreign direct investment are still in place. The government in 2009 liberalized investment in the civil aviation, telecom, and construction sectors. Privatization of government-owned industries essentially came to a halt in 2009, and continues to generate political debate; continued social, p olitical, and economic rigidities hold back needed initiatives. The economy has posted an average growth rate of more than 7% in the decade since 1994, reducing poverty by about 10 percentage points. India achieved 7.6% GDP growth in 2009, significantly expanding manufacturing. India is capitalizing on its large numbers of well-educated people skilled in the English language to become a major exporter of software services and software workers. Despite strong growth, the World Bank and others worry about the combined state and federal budget deficit, running at approximately 9% of GDP; government borrowing has kept interest rates high. Economic deregulation would help attract additional foreign capital and lower interest rates. The huge and growing population is the fundamental social, economic, and environmental problem. INTRODUCTION TO RETAILING OF BIHAR Bihar Retail is the largest Retail Market in India in terms of population and social economic outline and Bihar s progressively rising excellence of life, a thriving wealth and customer marketplace creates it one of the newest targets for Retail section. Many big retailers first launched shops in the Indian capital. . The increasing insists for real estate by the retail brands, Retail Industry is position to develop by jump and bounce by 2010. North Bihar, South Bihar and Patna submarkets qualified maximum amount of forthcoming supply. About 19.7 million spaces are below special stages of completion. Patna and Patna submarket contains the maximum bring of beneath building stock, which will give about 5.6 million sq. ft. Organized Retail Space by the end of next year. Approximately 1.1 million sq. ft. of organized retail space has been rented this section, which is 33% higher to history section combination. Patna and Patna spectator Demand for prearranged retail space has greater than before mostly due to expansion of regional and national level retailing giants. Bihar Retail has one of the best in retail activity in the country. Taking the benefit of lack of Retail Space in Bihar, Most private builders are coming up with fresh Retail Projects in the area of south and North Bihar. In the middle of the Bihar submarkets, North and West Bihar have both proof about 10% raise, as other Bihar submarkets are fairly steady. INTRODUCTION TO MY RETAIL STORE (CONVENIENCE STORE) IN BIHAR I am going to open a convenience store in DISTRICT CENTRE near HERO HONDA show room in PATNA (BIHAR). The name of my store is SHAMAYA-FRESH. My store will sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice bars and dairy products, FMCG, home, customer durable, food, with food accounting for the bulk of business. CONVENIENCE STORE: Convenience store provides a limited variety of assortments of merchandise at a convenient location in 2000-3000square/foot stores with speedy checkout. They are the modern version of the neighborhood mom and pop grocery general store.Convienence stores enable customers to make purchase quickly without having to search through a large store and wait in long checkout line .over half the items brought are consume within 30 minutes of purchase. Due to their small size and high sales convenient stores typically received delivery every day. They offer limited assortments and variety. Milk, eggs and bread once represented the majority of the sales, but now almost all convenience stores sell gasoline, which accounts for over 66% of annual sales. The second highest selling item is cigarettes, accounting for 14% of the sale.Convienence store operators also are tailoring their merchandise assortments to cater to the need of the local market. RETAIL ENVIRONMENT OF BIHAR BIHAR has been the attractive market in India for the consecutive year, although its appeal is starting to decline, according to a survey by management consulting company AT Kearney. A combination of increased consumption and an under-developed organized retail environment has made BIHAR an attractive destination for global retailer. However, BIHARs attractiveness has dropped from 100 to 92, on a scale of 100, this year. This is because new players have entered the market and the window of opportunity will get smaller over time. There is still significant opportunity, but the new players will have to deal with more competition, shrinking margins and more expensive real market. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT OF BIHAR Bihar is Indias prosperous state with a per capita income of Rs. 11,650. The state has best infrastructural facilities available in the country. Major industries are manufacture of Sports Goods, Radio TV Parts, Plastic PVC Goods, Textiles, Chemicals, Fertilizers, Soft Drinks, Hand Machine tools, Leather Goods, Galvanizing Electroplating, and Printing etc. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates suggest that the Bihar retail sector is worth USD350 billion and is growing at over 20 percent per annum. Bihar, as compared to other states, has been relatively insulated from the global economic slowdown. This is apparent when looking at Bihars consumer confidence levels, its GDP projections for the new fiscal year, investor confidence in response to recent election results, etc. While the retail sector will benefit from positive macroeconomic and microeconomic factors, it should be noted that retailers are not resting on their laurels. Four strategies that retailers are using in this environment to increase growth and generate efficiencies are: Improving operational effectiveness: Retail Consumer companies are focused on optimizing operations, streamlining the movement of goods and increasing efficiencies. Supply Chain-Efficient sourcing practices, managing inventory turns and overall supply chain management is important measures to improve profitability. The ability to measure and manage supply chain risks is essential to the success of retail operations. Renegotiating rental rates-Retail rental rates have declined in most major urban cities by 20 to 40 per cent. As a result, several India-based retailers have embarked upon discussions to renegotiate rental agreements. Focusing on rural India-Increasing rates of industrialization, coupled with the Governments decision to waive farm loan repayments, make rural India increasingly attractive. Companies looking to enter rural India are customizing marketing messages, packaging sizes and price points to suit rural consumers. While there are challenges associated with serving rural India (such as inadequate distribution networks, misconceptions about rural Indian consumers, etc.), companies remain bullish on growth potential. Launching private labels-Indian Retail Consumer companies are increasingly launching private labels in a range of categories to appeal to value-conscious consumers. While private label products may have a no frills approach in their packaging and marketing, they aim to satisfy Indian consumers value preferences. Indias retailers view private labels as a robust value proposition and are also witnessing double-digit growth rates in the sales of these products.    Rationalizing prices offering sales/promotions-Indian apparel retailers, for example, have been reducing prices on their merchandise in order to meet consumers expectations for better-priced products and to encourage volume-based sales. Other retailers are extending sales and other attractive promotional offers to move stock, increase footfalls and drive revenue. Sales, a main characteristic in retail in western markets, are increasingly being used in India since value-conscious consumers are demanding sales and prefer to wait for promotions before buying apparel, footwear, etc.    CUSTOMER SERVICES PROVIDED BY MY CONVENIENCE STORE (SHAMAYA-FRESH) Acceptability of credit cards. Child care facility. Credit. Delivery to home. Dressing room. Extended store hours. Facilities for shoppers with special needs (physically handicapped). Parking. Special order. Each and every customer is very important to us. So according to their need and requirement me provide them better services, so that we can make good brand image of our store (SHAMAYA-fresh). BUSINESS PLAN TO OPEN A RETAIL STORE OUTLET INTRODUCTION: My store is opened in 3000 sq/ft. located at very convenient place. According to the taste and preference of my consumers we are providing them fresh products. For the store we need different materials such as: furniture, computers, printers, swapping machine, internet etc. MISSION: To build a just and sustainable, locally oriented food system for my consumers in Bihar by providing them fresh products. VISSION: To become a branded retail store in the world. OBJECTIVES: -Raising, preparing and eating a great variety of fresh, local and healthful food is one of the regions common values. -No one needs to go beyond the region for a healthful diet.   -Food consumption is possible within walking distance of its production.   -From an early age we learn experientially where and how our food is raised.   -Regional food production ranges from a few large farms to many small farms to numerous public and private gardens to potted vegetables plants in downtown city apartments.   -Food processing centers focus on local production and distribution in order to supply institutions, restaurant and grocery stores.   -Our connections to food beyond the region, while minimal, provide security in the event of food emergency, as well as opportunity to trade for foods impractical to produce regionally.   MARKETING PLAN A marketing plan is very important while opening a retail store. By seeing the following needs we had made our plan they are: -The target market- the segment towards which the retailer plans to focus its resources and retail mix. -The format which we will use to satisfy the target markets needs (nature of Merchandise and services offered, pricing policy, advertising and promotion program, Approach to store design and visual merchandising, typical location). -The bases on which we will build a sustainable competitive advantage. The competition Which is not easily copied and thus can be maintained over a long period of time. ADVERTISEMENT: Through advertisement we will be able to attract more and more consumers towards us. We can adopt sales promotion for our retail store. We will target at our ultimate consumer. Will make use of a variety of formats: premiums, coupons, contests, etc, will attract attention, will offer strong purchase incentives, and will dramatize offers, will boost sagging sales, will stimulate quick response, Short-lived. Not effective at building long-term brand preferences. PRODUCT MANAGEMENT PLAN OF MY RETAIL STORE OUTLET As our younger generation is very diet conscious so taking in consideration to this point we have thought to open a convenient retail store in DISTRICT CENTRE. It is youth meeting place with lots of crowd. The products which will be available at my store are: FRESH MILK FRESH JUICE STAPLES GROCERIES DAILY PRODUCTS HOME PRODUCTS FMCG PRODUCTS FRESH FRUITS VEGETABLES CONSUMER DURABLE PRODUCTS According to the demand of our products we will increase our product line in market. OPERATIONAL PLAN OF MY RETAIL STORE OUTLET LOCATION OF MY CONVENIENCE STORE (SHAMAYA-FRESH): Three most important things in retailing are LOCAION, LOCATION, and LOCATION only. The location which I have chosen for my store is DISTRICT CENTRE where we see huge crowd every day. We will be able to attract more and customers. We are providing fresh products to our consumers to their suitable location. Each and every thing is easily available in that locality. LAYOUT: Best method of encouraging customer exploration is to present them with a layout that facilities a specific traffic pattern. Another method of helping customer move through the store is to provide interesting design elements. KEY SUPPLIERS: we have contacts the local vendors of that area to that we can easily provide the products to our consumers. Vendors approach is the best way of supply chain efficiency in which the vendors is responsible for maintaining the retailers inventory levels in each of the store. My consumers will get fresh products on their demand at any time on demand. STORE MANAGEMENT: store management is very important in every store. The responsibility of store managers are: managing employees, controlling costs, managing presentation, and providing customer service. Managing store employees: -Recruiting and selection. -Socializing and training. -Motivating Controlling costs: -Increasing labour productivity. -Reducing maintenance and energy costs. -Reducing inventory losses MERCHANDISING MANAGEMENT: According to merchandising management we will forecast our sales and develop assortment plans indicated in very general terms. We generally use staple merchandise items are continuously sold over a year. If there is greater the fluctuation in demand, the more backup stock is needed. FINANCIAL PLAN PROJECTED BALANCE SHEET Liabilities 1st year 2nd year Assets 1st year 2nd year Capital Fixed assets: Owners capital 1,75,000 1,75,000 Furniture 20,000 20,000 Liabilities Computer 25,010 20,000 Bank loan 3,75,000 3,50,000 Website development 25,000 28,000 Net profit 192990 587968 Current assets : Creditors 323287 Inventory 12,000 55,000 Prepaid courier exp 47,000 1,00,000 Prepaid Rent 53,000 60,000 Cash in hand bank 5,30,000 11,53,256 Deferred expenses 30,980 Total liabilities 7,42,990 14,36,256 Total assets 7,42,990 14,36,256 Total liability for 1st year: 7, 42,990 Total liability for 2nd year: 14, 36,256 Total assets for 1st year: 7, 42,990 Total assets for 2nd year: 14, 36,256 Financial plan is an integrated part of a retail market strategy. We have planned how we will invest our money in opening of our retail store. We have taken loan from HDFC bank at 8% interest. Sales growth will be aggressive the first 18 months as we sharpen our merchandise assortment, size scales, and stock levels to better meet our customers requirements. We anticipate a sales increase of 45% during our second year of operation. Marketing will continue to average 9% of total sales. We will invest residual profits into reducing debt and the lost income from large cash holdings. Our store expansion, while not a necessity, will be an option if sales projections are met and/or exceeded.

black orpheus Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Love and Death in Black Orpheus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In fiction or reality being overly ambitious can cause one to yield to the evils of temptations. In Black Orpheus the myth fits into the story because it demonstrates the extremes an individual will endure to regain lost love, and relive the past. In the movie Orpheus and Eurydice both experience a case of â€Å"love at first at first sight†. They barely know each other but feel that because of Greek Mythology they were destined to love each other. When Orpheus asked Eurydice her name, and she responded he said that he knew he loved her. Another factor of love is displayed when Orpheus leaves Mira his fiancà © for Eurydice, someone who he barely knew.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, Orpheus and Eurydice become married; however these two gain unconditional love for each other like in the movie. Orpheus loves Eurydice with all his heart, and would do anything to savage their relationship. Orpheus feels as if nothing could harm them, not even death. In Black Orpheus the two of them also conquer jealousy from the town’s people. Many people didn’t encourage the love these two had built and basically wanted the love affair between them two to end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the movie Orpheus tried to protect Eurydice from anything he felt would harm her, including his fiancà © Mira, who evidentially hated her. Mira tried on numerous occasions to harm Eurydice, but Orpheus would always be their as a form of protection. Orpheus also tries to protect Eurydice from the skeleton man who symbolized â€Å"death†. Orpheus goes beyond the call of duty to comfort Eurydice because she was very frightened by his appearance. Orpheus followed Eurydice around when she became startled.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When the skeleton man finally succeeds at harming Eurydice Orpheus tries to save her by running to her rescue. However the only thing that was saved was his feelings for Eurydice and his memory. Death is represented when Orpheus electrocutes Eurydice on the cables. In the myth Orpheus tries to come to her aid several times because of the unconditional love he had for her. Once again, like in the movie â€Å"death† comes for Eurydice again. Unlike the movie, she was killed by snake bites which lead to the end of her. .. ...ause him to walk off the cliff with Eurydice in his arms, and he dies. In the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice Orpheus encounters death when the women tried to kill him by throwing a javelin and some stones. These weapons did not prevail against him because of the love he obtained for music. Death also became prominent in the myth when the women began to scream which drowned out his music and caused his death. Mainly because of Orpheus’s crave for love and his ambitious nature, he leads himself to death. When Orpheus dies, he and his long lost love are reunited once more. In the myth it is said now that they roam happy in the fields together now, sometimes he leading, sometimes she; Orpheus gazes as much as he will upon her, no longer incurring a penalty for a thoughtless glance. This Myth stresses the importance of love and moreover trusts. If Orpheus only trusted Eurydice from the start he would not have been put in that situation. This story and myth also demonstrates the extremes an individual will endure to regain lost love, and relive the past. In this World, happiness is the most important element through success. Happiness can be created through love and hard dedication.

Pride and Prejudice :: English Literature

Pride and Prejudice One of the first Novels written in English, Jane's Austen's Pride and Prejudice which has been around for about 200 years. Published in 1813 during a time when England were at war with France. Pride and Prejudice offers a story in which the upper-middle class society are the setting for the relationship of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy. In a time when Women's main aim is to find a husband against financial snobbery and class prejudice, Austen's Novel celebrates the love over class prejudice and financial snobbery. This novel was set in 1797-1815 in Longbourn, rural England. The novel is told from Elizabeth Bennet's point of view. At the time it was written, women had to get married before twenty six otherwise they would have no where to live or have to live with a relative, and not be important in the house, or asked any questions. So women had to go around trying to catch young men's attention before they got too old, this is shown in Charlotte Lucas who marries Mr. Collins who is a fool, she married for a home later on in life which overrules all over considerations. This shows how much pressure was on women to marry so they could be secure later on in life. A young gentleman called Charles Bingley has rented the manor of Netherfield Park. This gets the Bennet's girls excited who have five unmarried daughters - Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia. Mrs. Bennet is desperate to get them all married so she can live somewhere later on in life when Mr. Bennet dies. After Mr. Bennet goes to see Mr. Bingley, the Bennet's attend a ball at which Mr. Bingley is there. He is dancing with Jane and spends much of the evening dancing with her. His close friend, Mr. Darcy is less pleased with evening and proudly refuses to dance with Elizabeth. "Which do you mean?" and turning round, he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said, "She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me." These words tell us that he is proud and doesn't think that the people at the ball are worthy enough to dance with him. The rudeness with which Darcy treats Elizabeth creates a bad impression of him in her mind. An impression which will remain for half of the novel, until the truth of Darcy and

Qatar

Known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qa?ar, is an Arab emirate, in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. A strait of the Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island state of Bahrain. Qatar has been ruled as an absolute monarchy by the al-Thani family since the mid-19th century. Formerly a British protectorate noted mainly for pearling, it became independent in 1971, and has become one of the region's wealthiest states due to its enormous oil and natural gas revenues. In 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani became Emir when he seized power from his father, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, in a peaceful coup d'etat. [7] The most important positions in Qatar are held by the members of the al-Thani family, or close confidants of the al- Thani family. Beginning in 1992, Qatar has built intimate military ties with the United States, and is now the location of U. S. Central Command’s Forward Headquarters and the Combined Air Operations Center. Qatar has the world's largest per capita production and proven reserves of both oil and natural gas. In 2010, Qatar had the world's highest GDP per capita, while the economy grew by 19. 40%, the fastest in the world. The main drivers for this rapid growth are attributed to ongoing increases in production and exports of liquefied natural gas, oil, petrochemicals and related industries. Qatar has the highest human development in the Arab World after the United Arab Emirates. In 2009, Qatar was the United States’ fifth largest export market in the Middle East, trailing behind the U. A. E. , Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. With a small citizen population of less than 300,000 people, Qatar relies heavily on foreign citizens, both for its protection and generating labor demand. Qatar has attracted an estimated $100 billion in investment, with approximately $60–70 billion coming from the U. S in the energy sector. It is estimated that Qatar will invest over $120 billion in the energy sector in the next ten years

Autism and Symptoms

Autism which is a complex brain developmental complexity which usually results in disability is a disorder that occurs in children in their first years of life usually before they are three years old.   Autism affects individuals of all races the same way hence the condition has no race prevalence. This disorder is so common that it is approximated that one in every five hundred individuals suffers from it.Latest statistics carried out in the United States show that at least one million people suffer from the disorder. This disease has a high prevalent rate making it one of the common developmental complexity or disorder  Ã‚   in the country.   Despite the significantly high numbers of affected individuals, most members of the public including professionals in the different fields have no idea on what causes the disease and its effects and how they can effectively help, live and work with individuals with this disorder.In this study, the causes and symptoms of autism disorder i n affected individuals will be discussed. The research data will be collected by use of questionnaires and interviewing of the patients. The results will be discussed and limitations of the method used to collect data evaluated.IntroductionAutism is a serious complex disorder whose effects limit the potential of the affected victims. It is important to have knowledge of the causes and symptoms of this disorder so that the disorder in infants can be detected and diagnosed early enough and appropriate treatment sought soonest. Autism is a disorder that is lifelong and can occur in mild or severe forms (Landa, 2007).Individuals with mild form of the disease can live independently while those with the severe form need to be supported and supervised medically throughout their life.This disorder which is neurological tampers with the brain impairing its parts that are concerned with communication and social interaction.   This disorder is said to affect boys more than girls (USA Today, 2009). Research shows that the prevalence of the disorder is around four times more in boys than girls.It is approximated that one in every five hundred individuals suffers from this disorder whose cause has not been clearly established and makes the affected individuals to have problems in communicating both verbally and non verbally (USA Today, 2009).Causes of AutismThe specific causes of autism have not clearly been established but studies done suggest the following to be some of the possible causes of the disorder. Autism is said to be one of the disorders that genetic disorders that are genetically passed on (USA Today, 2009).This implies that children born in families that have history of the autism disorder could inherit hence develop it. Trauma to a child in their early years of life could also cause them to develop the disorder. Traumatic experiences that affect the social interactions part of the brain especially usually result to the development of this disorder; examples of such are sexual abuse or exposure of children to violence (USA Today, 2009).Viral infection such as rubella in pregnant women especially during early stages of pregnancy has also been suggested to be a possible cause of autism (Landa, 2007). ). Autism is also said to occur at higher rates in children and infants with tuberous sclerosis and Fragile X syndrome compared to the general population.   Research has also proven that the way an individual is brought up and parenting can not cause autism. The only concrete cause of the disorder is neurological differences in the brain of individuals as they develop.Symptoms of AutismAutism symptoms can be mild or very severe depending on the part of the brain that has been affected. The first symptoms of the disorder include children developing normally in the first and second years of their life and then having retardant growth and development afterwards.Infants with autism may also react abnormally to sensory stimuli such as touch, sm ell and noise (Howlin, Magiati, & Charman, 2009). This includes crying when touched normally or when they hear noises that are normal as they feel pain.This could cause them to resist being held or cuddled (Volkmar, 2005). It also involves finding normal scents as unpleasant. The disorder may cause over reaction and in other circumstances under reaction (Howlin, Magiati, & Charman, 2009). Other symptoms include the infants not being interested in their surrounding, toys, other children and objects that normally are of interest to children. The infant may also appear to be happy and comfortable playing alone.Symptoms that develop later in life as the affected infants develop include problems in communicating both verbally and non-verbally, where non-verbal communication implies that there is difficulty in use of gestures (Volkmar, 2005). They end up crying or laughing a lot for reasons that are not clear to those around them.Autism patients usually develop echolalia which refers to r epetitive behaviour in their language where words and phrases are continuously repeated without making any sensible sentence (Coleman, 2005).In other cases, these patients may develop self injurious behaviours such as hitting, biting and scratching themselves. They may also become aggressive with repeated movements of the body such as rocking of their bodies and flapping of body parts such as arms and hands. Autism patients may also extremely resist changes that are of any kind as they maintain certain established behavioural patterns a specific set environment, this causes them to develop rituals in their activities such as play (Coleman, 2005).They may also display seizures, tantrums and are unpredictable. The unpredictable symptom is very risky and dangerous for these patients as they usually have poor judgement and could pull risky stunts such as jumping off buildings without fear of harming themselves. Deafness is another symptom of this disorder (Coleman, 2005). The patients m ay not be literally deaf but do not respond to instructions.

Big Skinny

In 2010, Big Skinny CEO Kiril Alexandrov was looking to transcend from retail distribution and print advertising to the world of online marketing to achieve maximum growth. The retail sales pitch was an easy one, as Alexandrov focused on the value of the wallet and the impulsiveness of consumers (Benjamin & Kominers, 2012). Unfortunately, translating this type of sales pitch was much harder to do in the world of cyberspace. Big Skinny centered their online marketing efforts around display Ads, keyword searches, social media and relationships with online distributors and deep discounted sites such as Amazon and Groupon respectively.The expansion caused much hardship, as Big Skinny received negative feedback on the review website Yelp that stemmed from their Groupon experiment. They also faced a glitch in their online promotion that allowed 4,000 people to order free wallets from their online store. Big Skinny needs to refocus their online marketing strategy by getting rid of display A ds, refining keyword searches and severing ties with deep discounted sites. Big Skinny can create value for their product and manage their orders better by being more selective with who distributes their product and by keeping the price steady.A more seasonal approach surrounding keyword searches can create new revenue from those who are looking to make quick and impulsive purchases. Lastly, by being responsible for who distributes their products, Big Skinny can deliver their product in prompt and timely manner, which will resolve the majority of customer complaints against Big Skinny. Problem Statement Despite successful in-person sales campaigns, Big Skinny struggled to find an effective online marketing platform that would grow and connect them to their consumer base.Big Skinny also ran into glitches with their current online marketing campaigns that brought unwanted negative attention and resentment towards the company. Data Analysis When Big Skinny transcended into the world of online marketing, it had to develop a way to attract visitors to the website while attempting to convince these visitors to buy wallets. Since most of their wallets were being sold at trade shows or retail stores that centered on a straight-forward approach regarding impulse and value, the translation of this strategy to the internet proved to be a tall task.Big Skinny looked at various means of advertising such as display ads, algorithmic search, sponsored search, A/B Testing and social media. Display ads offered a two-frame animation; however, the click-through rate of general display ads in 2009 was only . 1% (Bejamin & Kominers, 2012). Algorithmic searches use algorithms that the search engine deems most relevant to the user’s query. The websites that most resemble the query appear the highest on the search engine’s list. Sponsored searches use keywords that the advertisers specify that they want to target.These are mostly sold on a â€Å"per-click† basis; however the company loses money if the clicks aren’t converted into sales. A/B testing is a marketing technique that shows different advertisements to different users to compare the response rates between the two. Lastly, social media utilizes websites such as Facebook and Twitter to try and create an interactive relationship with consumers. Alternatives 1. Big Skinny could eliminate their means of online distribution and paid online marketing, only utilizing social media and their website to conduct advertising and business transactions. 2.Big Skinny could be more selective in their selection of online distribution, while tailoring their paid sponsored searches to generate interest and sales. 3. Big Skinny could scrap their online marketing plans, with the exception of social media, and reallot their advertising money strictly on deep discounted sites like Groupon and Living Social. 4. Big Skinny could focus their efforts on expanding in more brick and mortar retail stores b y target marketing towards different demographics. They could use traditional media such as TV and radio to drive these efforts. Key Decision Criteria 1.Increase customer satisfaction and corporate image 2. Increase sales and market share 3. Improve (or at least maintain) profitability 4. Ease or speed of implantation 5. Be consistent with corporate mission or strategy 6. Within our present resources or capabilities 7. Within acceptable risk parameters 8. Minimize environmental impact 9. Maintain and build employee morale and pride Alternatives Analysis 1. By limiting their online marketing to free social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, Big Skinny can greatly reduce their marketing costs. With display advertisements only getting clicked through .1% of the time the money is essentially thrown away. Investing in A/B testing requires the hiring of a permanent person and huge overhead. Getting rid of online distributors allows Big Skinny to eliminate the 7-15% commission they p ay to Amazon and eBay while being able to manage their order load. Social Media is more than enough because 71% of social media participants say they are more likely to purchase from a brand they follow online. 91% of local searchers say they use Facebook to find local businesses online (Bennett, 2013). The cons of this are that they are missing out on a lot of potential customers by eliminating Amazon and eBay.While online paid marketing can be expensive, there is still benefit to sponsored searches. Some of the cost per conversions are profitable and by completely eliminating these searches would be throwing away potential opportunities. 2. The pros of Big Skinny being more selective with their online distributors allows for a happy customer base. There have been several negative reviews on the Yelp site regarding slow delivery and non-existent customer service. By eliminating deep discounting sites such as Groupon, Big Skinny can manage their order load and keep customers happy.B ig Skinny would also keep the revenue from the top paid sponsored searches rather than eliminating them all together. The negatives of this are that Big Skinny could miss out on a lot of revenue by not using Groupon or Living Social. They could also miss out on the repeat customers that are generated by these sites as well as missing out on the people who want to try their product without having to pay full price. 3. Instead of eliminating sites like Groupon and Living Social, Big Skinny could embrace the huge influx of customers that it brings.According to the customer satisfaction and analytics company ForeSee, 91% of customers have already or plan to conduct business with the merchant since buying the deal (Bedigian, 2013). This strategy generates a large influx of customers in a short time while attempting to generate residual income by repeat customers. The cons of this are that company’s often lose money during the initial Groupon. The product is discounted by 50% or mo re and then Groupon takes a 50% commission on the sale price, which leaves the seller receiving only 25%of the original selling price of the item (which in some cases is less than the cost of the item). Forbes has found that 1/3rd of businesses have lost money on a Groupon deal and there is no guarantee that the customers ever return to pay full price from the merchant again (Gleeson, 2012). 4. The pros of using a more traditional advertising medium such as TV or radio would bring brand recognition for Big Skinny. Big Skinny has always had success selling in retail stores because they market their products based on value and impulse.By putting the product in more retail stores, there is a greater chance people will put it in their hands and buy on impulse. Instead of targeting just one big audience, Big Skinny should advertise by target market such as Big Skinny Sport or Big Skinny Women. By doing this they could partner with big retail chains to get into more stores and generate mo re revenue the old fashioned way. The average time an American spends watching TV is 5 hours compared to just 1 hour browsing the internet, which leads for greater exposure.The cons of doing this are that TV advertising is much more expensive than online marketing (Nielsen, 1997). Another con is Tivo allows people to record their favorite shows and then fast-forward past the commercials. The last con is that TV advertising seems to be a thing of the past, as the amount spent on TV advertising was only up 4. 5% in 2011 as compared to 21. 7% via online marketing (Gleeson, 2012). Recommendations Based on the data, it is best for Big Skinny to be more selective of their online distribution, while tailoring their paid sponsored searches to generate interest and sales.In regards to online distribution, Big Skinny should keep eBay and Amazon, however, should drop deep-discount sites such as Groupon or Living Social. To offer a Groupon deal, Big Skinny is guaranteed to be taking a loss. To be eligible to offer a Groupon, Big Skinny must discount the price of their wallet by at least 50%. This turns a $20 wallet into a $10 wallet. Groupon takes a commission of 50% on the sale price, which leaves Big Skinny walking away with only $5 for every wallet sold (Bice, 2012). Essentially, they are taking a loss with every wallet they sell on Groupon.The goal of a Groupon is to try and get repeat customers; however, the people that use Groupon are bargain-hunters. They won’t return to Big Skinny, but rather, they will return to Groupon again looking for another bargain deal. By using Groupon, Big Skinny also decreases the value of their brand (Gibbard, 2011). Why would a customer pay full price for a $40 wallet when they just bought it on Groupon for $15 or $20 just a short time ago? In addition to dropping Groupon, Big Skinny needs to manage their online distribution better because of customer satisfaction issues.On the review site Yelp, Big Skinny’s wallets are o nly receiving a rating of 2. 5 out of 5 stars. A lot of the reviews include gripes about not receiving their order for 3-4 weeks or non-existent customer service (most of the negative reviews are from users who bought a Big Skinny wallet on Groupon). If the online distributor doesn’t ship your product in a timely manner, your company risks a tarnished reputation. Whether Big Skinny didn’t have enough stock to fulfill orders or whether Groupon didn’t ship the products in a timely manner, Big Skinny is taking the fall and abuse from customers.When people do research for a product they are going to see Big Skinny’s products with poor ratings. These poor ratings can scare potential customers away. Big Skinny should only use Amazon, eBay and their website to sell their wallets. This allows them to manage their inventory, not get behind on orders and make sure their product gets shipped in a timely manner. Big Skinny has excellent Amazon ratings and should cont inue to grow their product through the sterling reputation of Amazon. They should sell the product for a higher price on their website so that people are encouraged to buy through Amazon.This is a win-win for Big Skinny because if people buy through Amazon then Big Skinny doesn’t have to waste time and effort fulfilling and shipping orders. If they choose to buy direct than Big Skinny receives a larger profit on their wallets. Lastly, Big Skinny needs to tailor their sponsored keyword searches. They need to eliminate the term â€Å"leather wallet. † They don’t manufacture a true leather wallet and the cost per conversion for this keyword is a sky-high $20. 26. Big Skinny should also bid less for the term â€Å"thinnest wallet. † The cost per conversion for â€Å"thinnest wallet† also has a high cost, which is $10.53.After replacing leather wallet and lowering the bid for thinnest wallet, Big Skinny should add keywords centered on holidays. Wallets are popular gifts on occasions such as Father’s Day and Christmas. Big Skinny should add season keywords such as â€Å"Father’s Day Wallet,† â€Å"Wallet for Dad,† â€Å"Best Wallet for Gift† and â€Å"Wallet for Christmas. † This will bring seasonal shoppers into the mix who are looking to spend quickly and impulsively. Action and Implementation Plan CEO Kiril Alexandrov will be responsible for delegating the following tasks.The Director of Marketing will pull any promotions or future plans with deep discounted sites such as Groupon or Living Social. The Director of Marketing in combination with the Director of Product Management will reach out to all of those who left negative reviews on Yelp to satisfy the customer complaints and retract the negative ratings. The Director of Sales will carefully select the online distribution channels which Big Skinny will sell through. Big Skinny will only sell through Amazon, eBay and any online outlets of the retail stores that they are currently featured in.The Director of Sales will also raise the prices of wallets on the Big Skinny Website by 10-15% to create value for the product and promote customers to purchase through the select online distribution. Doing this saves Big Skinny the time it would take to fulfill and pack orders, however, if a customer decides to purchase direct, then Big Skinny recoups the 10-15% it would pay Amazon or eBay to sell and fulfill the order. This new price point will be conveyed in a message from the Director of Sales to Big Skinny’s distribution channel.

Baidu SWOT analysis Essay

Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) – Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review provides you an in-depth strategic SWOT analysis of the company’s businesses and operations. The profile has been compiled by GlobalData to bring to you a clear and an unbiased view of the company’s key strengths and weaknesses and the potential opportunities and threats. The profile helps you formulate strategies that augment your business by enabling you to understand your partners, customers and competitors better. The profile contains critical company information including: – Business description – A detailed description of the company’s operations and business divisions. – Corporate strategy – Analyst’s summarization of the company’s business strategy. – SWOT Analysis – A detailed analysis of the company’s strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. – Company history – Progression of key events associated w ith the company. – Major products and services – A list of major products, services and brands of the company. – Key competitors – A list of key competitors to the company. – Key employees – A list of the key executives of the company. – Executive biographies – A brief summary of the executives’ employment history. – Key operational heads – A list of personnel heading key departments/functions. – Important locations and subsidiaries – A list and contact details of key locations and subsidiaries of the company. – Detailed financial ratios for the past five years – The latest financial ratios derived from the annual financial statements published by the company with 5 years history. – Interim ratios for the last five interim periods – The latest financial ratios derived from the quarterly/semiannual financial statements published by the company for 5 interims history. Highlights Baidu, Inc. (Baidu), formerly Baidu.com, Inc., is a Chinese-language Internet search provider. It offers Chinese -language search engine, and focuses on  online marketing operations. The company also offers Baidu Union, a network of third-party websites and software applications. Baidu designs and delivers online marketing services to its P4P customer base, which demands Baidu’s customized online marketing solutions. The company offers its products and services through a network of computers running on customized software developed in-house. The company’s technology list includes Web Search Technology, P4P Technology, Targetizement Technology and Large-Scale Systems Technology. Baidu, Inc. Key Recent Developments Jul 26, 2012: Baidu-I2R Research Centre Officially Opens In Singapore Key benefits of buying this profile include: You get detailed information about the company and its operations to identify potential customers and suppliers. – The profile analyzes the company’s business structure, operations, major products and services, prospects, locations and subsidiaries, key executives and their biographies and key competitors. Understand and respond to your competitors’ business structure and strategies, and capitalize on their weaknesses. Stay up to date on the major developments affecting the company. – The company’s core strengths and weaknesses and areas of development or decline are analyzed and presented in the profile objectively. Recent developments in the company covered in the profile help you track important events. Equip yourself with information that enables you to sharpen your strategies and transform your operations profitably. – Opportunities that the company can explore and exploit are sized up and its growth potential assessed in the profile. Competitive and/or technological threats are highlighted. Scout for potential investments and acquisition targets, with detailed insight into the companies’ strategic, financial and operational performance. – Financial ratio presented for major public companies in the profile include the revenue trends, profitability, growth, margins and returns, liquidity and leverage, financial position and efficiency ratios. Gain key insights into the company for academic or business research. – Key elements such as  SWOT analysis, corporate strategy and financial ratios and charts are incorporated in the profile to assist your academic or business research needs. Note: Some sections may be missing if data is unavailable for the company

HSBC Culture Essay

It is necessary to underline that organizational culture plays crucial role for employees’ motivation, job commitment, productivity, and overall working atmosphere. Therefore, HSBC culture promotes believes of honesty, teamwork, and integrity. HSBC culture is based on the following principles and values: highest personal standards of integrity, truth and fair dealing, quality and competence, minimum bureaucracy, quick decision-making, group interest ahead the personal ones, sustainable development and many others. For example, from the very start of the recruitment process HSBC leadership claims that right values are the most important criterion along with excellent leadership skills and good grades. Moreover, HSBC is open to provide changes and innovations. HSBC tends to seek new approach to dealing with routines and problems, and constructive feedback is highly appreciated and encouraged. (Hargett 2007) Moreover, HSBC provides flexible working patterns, disability care and care for elderly, as well as in-house employee assistance. Therefore, employees have an opportunity to solve health and divorce problems. HSBC culture is rewarding, vibrant, stimulating, and tends to prevent arrogance and coldness in banking sphere. HSBC culture promotes professional development and training. For example, professional trainers will provides staff with necessary interpersonal skills, problem-solving and decision-making techniques, personal grooming, time and planning management, etc. From the beginning of working process all employees have free access to on-line course and professional literature. HSBC offers variety. In other words, there are many things to discover and many people to learn from. HSBC has diverse personnel. (Wig 2007) HSBC culture strongly emphasizes the role of collective management and teamwork stating that these principles are the core of future success. Nevertheless, each team member is responsible for particular tasks. The working atmosphere is friendly – people are ready to help each other. Moreover, many employees are real critical and creative thinkers – they are open to new ideas. For example, HSBC consider critical thinking the vital component of decision-making process and business as a whole. Critical thinking gives experts and employees an opportunity to develop new fresh solutions to problems. It gives the possibility to enjoy analyzing data and information and then to develop opinions and conclusions. One more positive moment is that HSBC encourages striking the right balance meaning that people have enough time for social life. The Head of HSBC Human Resources states: â€Å"The day I stop smiling coming to and going from work is the day I know I have to stop working†. (Where to Work 2002) HSBC culture is driven by understanding traditions, needs of individuals, job commitments, etc. Furthermore, the company tries to be committed to all individual needs. It is necessary to outline that women comprise large component of company’s market and the company is trying to make service available and affordable for every community. Company’s success and achievements are seen worldwide. HSBC tends to understand better local people and to provide employees with right information to offer necessary services and to reinforce brand. HSBC developed unique way f tailoring services – it can â€Å"offer an enhanced level of service than other local practitioners operating in multicultural countries and this facet, therefore, offers significant competitor advantage†, as one of the HSBC leaders says. (Wig 2007) HSBC culture is also based on the principles of gender diversity and no discriminated I observed in this filed. HSBC finds it impossible to leave women out of the equation. HSBC tries to achieve gender split 50/50, and it is a good sign of pleasant culture. According to corporate culture, women are encouraged actively to be promoted from the first managerial rung of the ladder to the next steps. HSBC developed â€Å"Women’s Development Program† to attract women to enhanced roles. Bank organization is more balanced and more adaptable to new situations. For example, HSBC proclaims cultural diversity stating that respect for every individual will promote loyalty and tolerance in employees. (Where to Work 2002) The next moment to admit is that HSBC culture is defined as confident rather than brash. Bank organization isn’t organization which tends to shout from the rooftops. The main principles of corporate culture are modesty, honesty, openness, kindness, and knowledge. The next principle is multicultural staff. For example, in London, the board managers and managers of all layers are representatives of different races and ethnical backgrounds. HSBC positions itself as the world’s local bank. HSBC tend to find the best practices and make personnel acquainted with them. HSBC culture is described by collective management and teamwork rather than individual work. Collective management is presented at all levels of bank organization. It is possible to say that thousands of bank offices are, actually, one office. No other organization can say that their workers in London are chatting with partners in New York discussing ways of handling procedures. (Wig 2007) Finally, HSBC culture represents a strong set of values and believes. It promotes the overall sense of responsibility, provides recommendations how to act in everyday life and how make everyday decision. HSBC tends to assist employees both at work and in personal life. Further, HSBC supports straightforwardness and honesty in relations with customers. HSBC fulfills all responsibilities to customers, colleagues, shareholders, wider operational communities, and shareholders. Moreover, HSBC has a long-standing commitment to education that goes back well over a hundred years. It is known that organization supports educational projects and has deep commitment to the environment. (Hargett 2007) References A Better Environment For Business. Available from [Accessed 13 November 2007] Hargett, J. (2007). HSBC Holdings to Join in Financial Write-Down Parade. Available from [Accessed 13 November 2007] HSBC Bank. (2002). Available from [Accessed 13 November 2007] Where to Work. (2002). Available from [Accessed 13 November 2007] Wig, S. (2007). HSBC Careers. Available from http://hsbc.com.sg/sg/career/mdp/testim_swati.htm

What success mean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What success mean - Essay Example An individual feels successful after he/she has achieved what he/she wanted to. But the success lasts only as long as its happiness does. A person who might have got various successes in life in the past may at a later point in time, feel as if he is the biggest loser around. The reason is that at that point in time, the person is not feeling happy. Many people that we consider successful do not think they are successful themselves because they are not happy. People generally define success in terms of money. They say that the richer a person is, the more successful he/she is. But the reality is; it takes much more than money to be successful. People can buy things with money, but they cannot buy happiness. As long as they have everything except happiness, no body is successful. If success meant being rich, all the rich men in the history of the world to date would be respected and loved, and most importantly, would have themselves lived a very happy and prosperous life. But not many rich people have all these blessings in life. A large number of the rich people are patients of depression and many even commit suicides. They have everything but one i.e. happiness. Hence, to be successful, one needs to be happy. Last but not the least, since I have a firm belief in God and the world hereafter, I believe that to be really successful means to be placed in heaven in the world hereafter. But what does one want to be placed in the heaven for? Obviously, happiness! The much we know about heaven today is all that can make one happy. In the heaven, we won’t be rich; there would be no question of money or social status whatsoever. But we would have everything we want at our disposal which would make us happy. Concluding, success is essentially a state of mind i.e. happiness. Since happiness is a state of mind that every individual feels at different points in time irrespective of the socioeconomic status, anybody

The Main Objective Of The Copyright Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Main Objective Of The Copyright Law - Essay Example All intellectual property laws have the common goal of extending and controlling exclusive privileges over the products of creative work or intellectual works , offering the creator or the owner of those exclusive privileges with a limited monopoly as regards to that property , normally for some phase of time.(Nathan & Morgan 2008 :20). Copyright safeguards â€Å"original works created by the authors† that are permanent in nature and available in a corporeal guise of expression. The permanence need not be frankly discernible, as long as it may be expressed with the help of a devise or a machine. The following works are acceptable for registration with the copyright office provided they are original and creative in nature. †¢ Literary works †¢ â€Å"Lyrics and musical works† †¢ Play or drama with or without music †¢ Choreographic or Pantomimes †¢ â€Å"Sculptural , graphic and pictographic works† †¢ Audiovisuals and motion graphics †¢ Architectural works †¢ â€Å"Sound tracks or recordings† â€Å"Creative works are safeguarded by the Copyright Act†. Creative works may be in any of the following form viz. movies, video games ,poetry , CD-ROMs, plays ,videos , sheet music ,paintings , novels , recorded music performances , sculptures ,software codes, choreography , photographs and architectural designs. There should be some creative initiatives on the side of an author so as to receive a protection under Copyright Act. The Act does not quantify how much creativity should be there. For instance, a work should be more creative than that of a telephone directory where alphabetical records of telephone numbers exist instead of a creative selection of listings. It should be noted that an author’s creative ideas are not safeguarded by the Copyright Act. Thus, copyright protection is available only for an original, fixed, and creative expression and no protection is available for just facts or ideas on which the expression is footed. For instance, there may be prot ection availed for a specific novel, computer game or song about a marriage in space under copyright act but no protection is available to the underlying conception of a marriage in a star. Thus, permitting the creators to monopolize their conception or ideas would frustrate the underlying objective of copyright law, which is mainly aimed to encourage the authors or creators to invent or create a new work. Likewise, no protection is available under copyright law for the facts which may be either historical, scientific, news of the day or biographical info. For any discovery by an author which is available in the public domain, no protection under copyright law is available. For instance, anyone is at his liberty to employ the information which is contained in a book about how human heart functions, a TV documentary of the babyhood of erstwhile President George W Bush or a journal article on the lifestyle and natural beauties of the Andaman Islands – so long as they describe t he information in their own style and words. It is to be observed that real facts are not safeguarded under the copyright law even if the author splurges a lot of effort and time in divulging things that are not known early. For instance, if an author of a book on Andaman Islands

Answers to Exam Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Answers to Exam Questions - Essay Example First, the model is simple and easy to understand as well as to implement. It should be noted that the variables in the formula can be easily accessed from public sources except the beta-coefficient which is not usually available for small and non-publicly traded business organizations. Secondly, it can be seen that the CAPM does not rely on dividends or have any assumptions on the growth of dividend which makes it applicable to companies that do not pay dividend or are not expected to experience a constant growth rate for dividends (Keown , et al. 2004). However, the CAPM is also widely criticized because it does not adequately explain the variation in stock returns. Empirical studies including the work of Black, Jensen, and Scholes reveals that low beta stocks may offer higher returns than the model would predict. CAPM will not also work for individuals which are risk averse as it assumes that investors will generally favor a stock with higher returns even if holding it entails more risks. Also, it can be seen that CAPM doesn't take into account the associated transaction costs and taxes (Capital Asset Pricing Model 2006). It should be noted that in using CAPM, companies with different debt leverage will generate different cost of capital even if they belong to the same industry. Debt leverage is reflected in the CAPM formula as the company's beta coefficient. Accordingly, higher debt leverage will yield to a higher as debt is seen a riskier source of financing. References: Capital Asset Pricing Model 2006, Retrieved 14 October 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_asset_pricing_model Keown, A., Martin, J., Petty, W., & Scott, D. 2004, Foundations of Finance, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey McCracken, M. E. 2005, CAPM, Retrieved 14 October 2006, from http://teachmefinance.com/capm.html 2. Debt leverage is the amplification of the return earned on equity when an investment or firm is financed partially through borrowed money (Walker n.d.). In order to illustrate how debt leverage works, let's look at a company who wants to buy a building as an investment which costs $1,000,000. In turn, it wishes to find customers who would want to rent the spaces. It expects to generate $15,000 per month. If the company has enough cash, it can immediately buy the building find tenants and can sell it at $1,200,000 after one year. Thus, the company will have a total gain of $380,000 from the sum of the rents and appreciation in the building's market value. This represents a 38% return on investment. However, if the company has only paid $200,000 and opted to borrow the remaining $800,000 with a mortgage rate of 12%, then the company will be paying $8,000 per month. Since interest payments are tax deductible, the company's monthly rent income of $15,000 will be more than enough to co ver the expenses. Even taking only the $200,000 appreciation of the building, the company is already able to recoup 100% of its initial investment. In the illustration above, we can see that debt leverage helps the company to maximize the gains of its