Activity Based Management (ABM) Essay

Activity based management (ABM) is a method of identifying and evaluating activities that a business performs using activity based costing (ABC) to carry out a value chain analysis or a re-engineering initiative to improve strategic and operational decisions in an organization. ABM can be divided into operational and strategic. Operational ABM is about â€Å"doing thing right†, using ABC information to improve efficiency. Those activities which add value to remain in business can be identified and improved. Activities that don’t add value such as scheduling, moving, waiting, inspecting and storing are the ones that need to be reduced to cut costs without reducing product value. Strategic ABM is about â€Å"doing the right things†, using ABC information, to decide which products to develop and which activities to be used. This also can be used for customer profitability analysis, identifying which customer are the most profitable and focusing on them more. Activity based costing (ABC) is a costing methodology that identifies activities in an organizations and assign the cost of each activity with resources to all products and services according to the actual consumption by each. This model assigns more indirect cost which is overhead into direct cost compared to conventional costing. ABM is also a process of using information from activity-based costing to analyse activities, cost drivers and performance so that customer value and profitability are improved. The aim of ABC models is to estimate the cost elements of entire product activities and services. It may help to inform a company’s decision either identify and eliminate those product and services that are unprofitable and lower the prices of those that are overpriced or identify, eliminate production or service processes that are ineffective and allocate processing concepts that lead to the very same product at a better yield which customer valued. Customer value is the value a customer places on particular features of a product. It also addresses the vertical view on the activity-based costing model. 2. 0 USES AND BENEFITS of ABM 2. 1 The Uses of ABM Accounting Based management (ABM) refers to the entire set of actions that can be take on a better information basis with activity-based cost information. Organizations implement ABM for different reasons. They believe that ABM can help them make a better decision, improve performance, and earn money on asset deployed. Some of specific uses of ABM in organization today include attribute analysis, strategic decision makings, benchmarking, operations analysis, and profitability/pricing analysis and process improvements. Attributes analysis classifies and combines cost and performance data into manageable, controllable clusters. ABC/ABM system cause many different attributes for a specific cost. Data attributes allow a company to perform analysis on many different dimensions of a management problem using the same basic warehouse of data. Some common forms of attributes analysis are value analysis, which utilizes information collected about business processes and examines various attributes of the process. For example are diversity, capacity, and complexity. This is to identify candidates for improvement efforts, time variability analysis, which seeks to understand variances in the time needed to complete an activity or provide a service and to develop ways to reduce these variances. Cost of quality, which is a management reporting technique that identifies and measures quality costs within an organization using four basic categories: prevention, detection, internal failure, and external failure. Strategic analysis explores various ways a company can create and sustain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Emphasizing long long-term objectives and challenges, strategic analysis seeks to impact future costs and improve future profitability by clarifying the cost of various cost objects such as products, customers, and channels. Strategic analysis emphasizes future opportunities and challenges, using a combination of both physical and financial measures to explore the impact of alternative strategic positions. Ways in which ABM supports strategic analysis include strategic planning, consolidation of operations analysis, acquisition analysis; and analysis of revenue and profitability growth potential. Benchmarking is a methodology that identifies an activity as the standard, or benchmark, by which a similar activity will be judged. It is used to assist managers in identifying a process or technique to increase the effectiveness or efficiency of an activity. ABM supports different types of benchmarking, including internal benchmarking, industry/competitive benchmarking; and best-in-class benchmarking. Operations analysis seeks to identify, measure, and improve current performance of key processes and operations within a firm. Areas where ABM is useful include â€Å"what-if† analysis, project management, creation and use of activity-based performance Measures, capacity management, constraint analysis; and process-based costing. Profitability/pricing analysis is a key area for any company. ABM assists a company in analysing the costs and benefits of products and processes in both the â€Å"as is† and post improvement â€Å"to be† scenarios. ABM also supports prelaunch analysis and improvement of product profitability. Areas in which ABM has proven useful in adopting organizations include product/service profitability analysis, business process reengineering, distribution channel profitability analysis, market segment profitability analysis; and target and life-cycle costing. Process improvement lies at the heart of modern management techniques. Focused on identifying the causes of variation, waste, and inefficiency, process improvement includes both incremental and quantum change efforts that seek to increase the value created per resources consumed by an organization. Uses being made of ABM for process improvement include business process modelling, total quality initiatives, business process reengineering; and analysis of outsourcing and shared service. The Pennzoil Production and Exploration Company (PEPCO) used ABM as a key measurement tool to identify costs by process and to support its reengineering efforts. To keep pace with lower crude and natural gas prices and slowing North American operation, PEPCO needed to find ways to reengineer existing processes to streamline and improve efficiency. ABM provided the data for PEPCO to change the cost structure of its exploration and production efforts. It achieved this by determining what resources were actually required to support its properties based on current operation. In addition, the reengineering link enabled the company to consider those same properties and determine how it could best meet its economic objectives with fewer resources through a variety of operations improvement analyses. 2. 2 BENEFIT OF ACCOUNTING BASED MANAGEMENT (ABM) ABM is used to support a broad array of management initiatives to help organizations create more value for their customers while reducing the cost of operations. Benefits derived from ABM’s use include identification of redundant costs, analysis of value-added and non-value-added costs, quantification of the costs of quality by element; and identification of customer-focused activities. Other benefits include analysis of the cost of complexity; identification of process costs and support of process analysis, measurement of the impact of reengineering efforts, better understanding of cost drivers, evaluation of manufacturing flexibility investments; and activity-based budgeting. 3. 0 ABM IMPLEMENTATION PHASES A holistic approach to ABM implementation is important to ensure that all benefit derive from the use of ABM is sustained. The implementation of Activity Based Management (ABM) consist of seven (7) step that is planning, activity analysis, activity/ product costing, documenting results, data gathering and analysis, developing a data collection and reporting system, and achieving full integration. The first step is planning. The planning phase focuses on identifying the purpose, objective, and expectations for each specific elements of the ABM total implementation. The detailed project plan should be develop which include a time line with assign responsibilities for task completion, clear definition of resources required to complete each stage of the implementation, the selection of specific individual to complete the work, and a precise denotation of the data collection methods to be employed. The second step is analyzing activities. Analysis activities include several key steps which is catalogue of specific activities and business processes, definition of outputs and output measures, value-added analysis, identification of cost drivers, and detailed specification of activity performance. The third is costing activities, product and services. Activity analysis provides basic information for constructing the ABC cost system. Developing the ABC estimates is the most mechanical part of any ABM implementation. This phase focus on identify and documenting cost tracing methodologies and core assumptions, the costing phase ties the financial reporting system to the newly developed activity and process structures of the ABM system. The development or choice of a specific software system to export, import, and accept the data used to generate the activity-based estimates is important to ensure that work can be completed at time. The other step is documenting result. The work completed, significant results, recommendations, and conclusions should all be included in the documented records of the project. This documentation serves as a crucial bridge between planning and operating an ABM system. The time spent recording past result and detailed requiring future actions serve to reinforce the learning process, communicate and access progress, and adjust the detailed implementation plans to accommodate unforeseen problems and concerns. Next is gathering and analysing data. During the planning stages of the implementations, emphasis is placed on gathering information and data to document the purpose, expectations and objective of the initiatives. Data gathering takes on more importance as the key to understanding the existing knowledge based in the organizations. To complete the activities/ product costing step, information about the consumption of resources by activities needs to be collected and analyzed. The next step is developing an on-going data collection and reporting system. The development of a cost-effective, efficient data collection and reporting system is the final aspect of a holistic ABM implementation. The information gathered during implementation provides a static snapshot of the activities, and their resource usage, at one particular point in time. There are two major stages in implementing the ongoing ABM information and reporting system that is establishing the basic data collection and analysis procedures and ongoing system maintenance. The last stage is achieving full integration. Integrating ABM with existing management practices is necessary in order to achieve its full benefits. The full integration of ABM within the fabric of the organization’s other information and management systems is complete when people in the organization embrace activity management, take ownership, and internalize it as a better way of doing business and making decisions. 4. 0 COMMON ABM PITFALLS AND SOLUTIONS Many problems may occur during the life of the project and beyond. Knowledge of these pitfalls helps an implementation team develop methods to avoid them and to deal effectively with problems as they occur. Each stage of the implementation process brings with it its own unique challenges as the following discussion suggests. Firstly is the problem during planning. During the planning phases a number of distinctive pitfalls and problem can plague the implementation efforts, including the lack of senior management responsibilities and commitment, failure to gain complete agreement on implementation objectives and lack of understanding on the kinds of financial, operational, and strategic information the organization expects. However this problem can be resolve through some ways. Among the solutions that can be applied to deal with the common pitfalls of the planning phases is by expose through senior management the potential benefits of ABM Implementation that can be done through acknowledgement of the company who already experiencing in dealing with ABM. Second is by link the initiative to key business objectives and clearly articulate how the ABM project will deliver improvement in that area. Next is during the analyzing activities. While analyzing activities, the structure of the project and the implication of its scope begin to be felt. Among the common pitfalls in this phases is the number of activities for which detail information must be gathered seems overwhelming, appear to be no significant activities, and lastly the failure to communicate to employees behind the project and its question leads to the potential for negative feelings and defense behaviors. Among the specific ways the pitfalls of the activity analysis phases can be addressed include information on how activities interrelated instead of detail data on individual task, involved employees in the selection of activities and cost drivers. Costing activities/ product and services is also one of the common pitfalls. The costing activities/ product and service phases on ABM implementation may be mechanism but it do have it own unique challenges and potential pitfalls such as activity drivers does not adequately reflect the consumption rate and pattern of their respected activities, capacity, or potential of the resources in the worksite supports work, is not defined and responsibilities and controllability of the costs is not clearly identified. Some approach that have been used in successfully ABM implementation include reconciling ABM data to the financial accounting system, avoiding allocating cost when they cannot be assigns accurately; using total cost in decision-making and process improvements efforts; and using practices capacity to assign costs to cost objects. Next is analysing data and documenting results. At this point in the ABM implementation, new information becomes available to managers at all levels of the organization. It consists of the actual information that brings with it its own unique challenges and pitfalls including managers do not take any action on the ABM information. For example, some parties are adversely affected by the ABM information and a high degree of disbelief in the new number develops. Some ways these pitfalls can be manage and require managers to justify inaction as well as actions on ABM information. This is to ensure that a large number of people are receiving and using the information, and holdings feedback sessions to gather criticisms, concepts and problems with the ABM system from affected managers. Developing ongoing data collections and reporting system is also one of the problem. While the need to create effectiveness, efficient data collection and reporting systems is essential to any ABM report. It is also a stage that having its own potential pitfalls, including no provision is made for the results updating of the ABM information, reports do not continued the information managers need or want, and unnecessary accounting terminology is used in the reports. Some ways in which an ABM implementation can plan for and overcome these data and reporting pitfalls are minimize the efforts required to reconcile data and balance report, as well as to update and maintain the system, develop and written plan for how the system will affect decision makings. Moreover, what the decisions are, how the system will help in making them, whose responsibilities they are and when they will be made will use graphic and summary future as the ordinary report, providing detailed information in an appendix or query format, and use innovative data display and users interfaces. Report that are difficult to understand are not going to be used but somehow the report that is easily readable and understand. If the report arrives not at the right time also having a little value. Furthermore is achieving full integrations. Full integration of ABM information with the existing data and reporting structure of the organization signal a mature implementation. Somehow it still having a unique challenges which can lead to the disaster in order to achieve the objectives in ABM which consist of no formal system exists for documenting suggestion for improvement in the ABM system and no one has taken ownership for the system in decision makings. Among the approach that can be used when pitfalls are plaguing a company seeking full integration. This is to ensure that system design specifications take into account technique such as benchmarking and target costing, and also transferring ownership of the system to line management. 5. 0 Conclusion After many years of experiments, successes, failures, and learning, ABM systems are proving they are here to stay. Much more than another form of accounting, ABM in best-practice firms lies at the heart of the decision-support process. Integrating ABM within the total information and management control system of the organization can lead to quantum improvements as vital links between operations and strategy, processes and customers, value and cost are defined, measured, and understood. Achieving the results requires an organization to understand and address the common pitfalls and barriers in order to success at every stage of implementation. Whether during planning, activity analysis, costing, documentation, data gathering and analysis, development of the data collection and reporting system, or achieving full integration, the ABM system must include and draw on the insights of the people who will use it. When the people using the system take ownership, the implementation is a success. Successful implementation of ABM will not look the same in every organization or follow the same path. Tailored to the unique strategy, structure, capabilities, and needs of the firm, ABM is a universally useful concept and system that can take on a multitude of shapes and uses. ABM data should meet the needs of the company’s decision makers and support their efforts to create value for all stakeholders. REFERENCES 1. Kim Langfield Smith, Helen Thorne, Ronald W. Hilton (2012), Management Accounting, 6th Edition, Mc Graw Hill. 2. CIMA July 2002, Technical Briefing – Latest Trend in Corporate Performance Measurement. 3. Drury, C. (2008), Management and Cost Accounting, 7th Edition, Chapter 21 & 22, Thomson Publishing. 4. Eldenburg, Brooks, Oliver, Vesty, Wolcott (2005), Contemporary Management Accounting. 5. www. cimaglobal. com 6. Isa, C. R. , Keong, T. Y. (2008) JIT Manufacturing And Purchasing Practices And Business Performance: An Exploratory Study, Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Journal, Vol 3(1).

Alex Ferguson – Autocratic Leadership Style

Leadership Styles: Autocratic Leadership Style This is the type of leadership exhibits by dictators. A leader exerts high levels of power over his or her followers. An autocratic leader gives his or her idea which the team must follow. He or she has no time for deliberations on others ideas before chosing one. In autocracy, time wasting in long deliberations is reduced but most followers will not like being treated as bench warmers without having anything to contribute. For leading unskilled workers who do not have any skill about a job, this leadership style is appropriate.Charismatic Leadership Style This is the type of leadership in which the leader lead through encouragement and enthusiasm. A charismatic leader builds power around himself or herself which draws followers around him or her. Charismatic leaders wield so much power about their team that team success always depends on them. They control too much influence on their team. Bureaucratic Leadership Style Bureaucratic lead ers are principled and lead by instructions. They write instructions and expect workers and followers to follow these.It is good for works requiring rules like using machineries but not good for management and skilled staff because it delimits their initiatives. Influential Leadership Style An influential leader delibrates with his team members and followers and use thir contributions to make decisions. Where he or she has a clear road map on the way he or she wants to go, an influential leader will still brain-storm with his or her team member and help the team to come out with his or her idea as collective team decision. He or she is a good moderator nd effective talker. He or she communicates with the team and highlights what needs to be done. He or she rely on his or her team support for performance of the task. He or she develops the team members by delegating tasks and allowing members to air their opinions. This type of leadership is appropriate for managing people with skill and education but not people who do not have ideas about the tasks. Laissez-Faire Leadership Style This is free style leadership style in which the leader gives adequate authority to the team members to decide on their own.Laissez-Faire is a French word meaning individualistic. A Laissez-Faire leader does not encourage team work, but allows the team members to work individually. It is good to manage skilled workers and where everybody knows his or her role, for example, a University Departmental staff, but it may put a leader out of control if care is not taken. Participatory Leadership Style This is a type of leadership in which the leader shows examples by participating with his or her team members and showing them what to do so that they can carry out the task on their own in future.It asumes that all team members except the leader do not know the task. It encourages teamwork and ensures that all team members are aware of the task ahead. It is a good way of fostering collaborati on. Most skilled workers will not fancy participatory leader because he or she shows thinks that he or she knows all. Service-Oriented Leadership Style It is a type of leadership style in which the leader moderates all team members to reach decision. He is at the back watching proceedings and only comes out with what the team has ageed.It is a form of democracy except that the leader does not influence decision making. The leader only supply the team members with enough information and background for them to deliberate. It is a good way of leadership where the leader does not have knowledge about the technicalities of what is being decided. For example as a chairman of a committee in which he or she does not have knowledge of how things work. It may expose a leader as a novice if he or she does not manage the situation well. Managerial Leadership StyleA managerial leader is only interested in making sure that the job is done. He or she is only concern about the welfare of his or her team in as much as they can do the job. His or her team is measured by its performance. A managerial leader sees all his or her team members as tools for job performance and dispensable. He may be influential or autocratic depending on situation. He is a result-oriented leader. He puts the structure in place for team members to work and satisfy their requirements as far as they are getting results.He does not want to understand why there may be failure and does not give room for second trial. Transactional Leadership Style This is the type of leadership in which rewards are measured by performance. This leadership style believes fingers are not equal and deals with individuals team members according to their performance. Good performances are rewarded while poor performances are punished. Transactional leadership does not consider his or her surbodinates as members of his or her team but as workers who must be managed to get works done. His or her tool is â€Å"carrot and caneâ₠¬ .If works is going on fine, he or she can use award to motivate good work or fines to punish bad work. Transformational Leadership Style A transformational leader is a delegator of tasks and inspires his or her team to share in his or her vision and the objectives. This is a true leader who motivates and care for his or her team. He or she wants to achieve results through his or her team and take time to understand the conditions of all the team members. He or she is visible by the team members and show more interest in the team than in the task ahead.He or she is a good communicator and naturally influence the team. The team members work not only to get paid but for the transformational leader to succeed. The transformational leader sees all his or her team members as potentials and lead by examples. He or she supervises the ideas of his or her team members. This style is good for managing big organisations and large groups like a state. The team members know what the transforma tional leader requires from them and are ready to work without him. There is no leadership style that canbot be used to manage people in order to meet goals.After finding his or her leadership style, a leader should realise that human beings are different from each other in the way they think, see. feel and reason. Leaders should therefore, understand that everybody will require different kind of leadership style to be managed for results. While some people will require transformational leadership style, others will require influential or managerial leadership styles. Leadership Styles of Selected Successful Team Managers Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in British football history – winning more than 30 trophies during his time in charge of the Reds.Yet despite more than two decades at the Manchester United's helm, he remains focused on increasing that tally, bringing yet more silverware to Old Trafford. The Reds boss enjoyed a playing career north of the Eng land border that saw him take in spells with Queens Park, St. Johnstone, Dunfermline, Glasgow Rangers Falkirk and Ayrshire United. But it is not for his playing of the game that Sir Alex was to become a success. Following a spell out of the game he moved into coaching, taking up the role of manager of East Stirlingshire, St Mirren then Aberdeen. It was his time at Pittodrie where he earned his reputation as a top coach.He broke the Glasgow dominance of Scottish football to lead Aberdeen to three Scottish titles, four Scottish cups, one League Cup and one Europeans Cup Winners' Cup. Following the sacking of Ron Atkinsons as manager of Manchester United, the Old Trafford hierachy moed quickly for his services. They got their man on 6 November 1986. Ferguson inherited a dispirited team of underachievers who had consitently, to their supporters failed to break Liverpool dominance to their supporters discontent. Ferguson motivates his team by listening to their needs and is ready to prov ide for them.He sees them as his sons and call everyone of his palyer â€Å"son†. He sees them as the greatest asset of his team and is reay to solve their personal problems as a manager. Ferguson does not allow inter team rivalry and has a good system of conflict resolution. All his team members, sees him as a father and not only as a tea manager. Sir Alex Ferguson is an Influential leader, approachable and humorous. In December 2009, he said the secret of his success is a scruffy old red Wakes wooly hat he nicked off Ryan Giggs (one of his team members) way back in Novemeber 1996 before playing against a team in Turkey.He creates atmosphere of friendliness in his camp and abhor segregation or the existence of unhealthy rivalry in his team. Ferguson said; â€Å"The only time Ryan has ever let himself down is letting me steal his Welsh bunnet. He is never going to get it back, because it is lucky for me. I have always worn it. I pinched it off him when we were in Turkey befo re a game against Ferneberche. At the time, I just thought it would look better on me than him†. He does not do sentimentality when it comes to naming his team. He believes whoever plays for the team is the best choice at the particular time.

Case Study of the Exploitation of Financial Regulation by Deutsche Bank

Case Study of the Exploitation of Financial Regulation by Deutsche Bank Creative accounting is used to make a company seem to be performing well than it actually is. This scheme is applied especially where accounting figures do not look attractive or appealing to the investors, current and potential. This creativity is perpetuated by the senior management through support of directors making it difficult to detect where there are no proper fraud investigations are done. In the case of Deutsche Bank, its former executives are accused of obstructing regulators from looking into loss cover up in an investment dubbed Alexandria. The deals were a major cover up as alleged during a financial crisis that sae Monte Paschi in great troubles. The investigation carried out brought into attention massive losses that Monte Paschi had been misrepresented between 2008 and 2012. My agreement to this is based on the following: â€Å"The fraud first came to light in January 2013, when Bloomberg News reported that Monte Paschi used the transaction with Deutsche Bank, dubbed Santorini, to mask losses from an earlier derivative contract. The world’s oldest bank restated its accounts and has since been forced to tap investors to replenish capital amid a slump in its shares. It’s now attempting to convince investors to buy billions of bad loans before a fresh stock sale.† It is possible that the findings by the regulator are accurate since they are able to bring out a proper investigation on the matter presented to it. The bank was even required to account for differences in its carrying value on the stake at San Paulo bank and the amount they paid for the shares to have a stake there. The use of revaluation reserve to increase par value was not the right thing to do to absorb losses. This is because revaluation reserve per se is not counting towards Tier one capital. This was just a scheme to maintain its core capital as required by the regulator in the industry. Santorini Investment was also a bad move meant to serve a special purpose, to do an equity swap. The bank controlled a huge stake in this business where it had majority shares for controlling its Interest-Santorini was majority owned (51%) by Deutsche Bank – Monte Paschi controlled 49%. They used some amount that were proceeds in the sale of San Paolo to Deutsche in financing Monte Paschi’s shares in Santorini investment. Monte Paschi was taking shelter in reducing exposure of its share from constant price fluctuations. â€Å"Typically, in such a deal, there is either a floating rate or a fixed rate of interest paid over the life of the swap to the entity to which the shares were sold (in this case Deutsche) based on the notional amount of the shares traded (so 785 million euros here). When the swap matures, the original seller of the shares (Monte Paschi here) will receive the difference between the price of the shares when the swap was originated and the price of the shares at maturity. Obviously, if the shares rise over time the original seller makes a profit on the swap (minus any interest payments made along the way). Of course the stock could go up or down over the life of the transaction so there is a very real possibility that the original seller of the shares will have to make a payment at maturity in addition to the interest payments made along the way. Note also that if the stock drops over the course of the deal, the original seller may be forced to post collateral to the buyer of the shares.† It is therefore was a scheme that should have been controlled before it got too late to save the shareholder

TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE PROJECT (NY) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE PROJECT (NY) - Essay Example Construction of the bridges commenced in 1929. The total cost of constructing the bridge was announced to be more than $60 million, exceeding that of the Hoover Dam. The bridge was officially opened on July 11, 1936. Triborough Bridge Project is officially referred to as Robert F. Kennedy Bridge. The bridge carries 8 lanes of 278 I-278 and 6 lanes of NY 900G. The bridge is designed as a suspension, lift and truss bridge. The total length of the bridge comprises of three spans: 2,780 feet, 770 feet and 1,600 feet through Queens, Manhattan, and Bronx respectively. Constructors used both hand tools and specialised tools and equipment for constructing the complex bridge. Similarly, both specialised engineers and unskilled manpower was critical for the project completion. Among the methods that were used for constructing the bridge include balanced cantilever, incremental launching, advanced shoring, and heavy lifting. If the bridge was to be built, the constructors would consider building the roofing for protecting pedestrians and cyclists from hot sunshine and

Ecology is Good Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ecology is Good Business - Essay Example With the obvious realism of coming global ecological crisis, there have been many efforts that have been made for moral revolution which would look into probability of incorporating ecological values in the world especially in the global business culture. This has been expressed through many efforts like the green thinking that seeks to transform the world to go green and reverse the trend of environmental pollution. The call for concept of sustainable development has informed us that this world does not belong to us but rather it belongs to the coming generation. Moral transformation that leads to sustainable development has been supported by many efforts. This paper will look closely at ecology as a good business practice that is vital to the concept of sustainable development. (Brown 1996, p. 1) The concept of good ecology as equal to good business can be argued on many front depending on the issue at hand. For some issues, good ecology can turn to be bad business but on many issues, good ecology is good business. Good ecology means development both technologically and socially that is conscious of the world we are living in and the issues that are currently locking the world especially the issue of environment. Every time we mention about ecology, we cannot avoid the issue of the environment simply because it is what composes the planet. Environment is anything that surrounds us from forests, people, infrastructure, soil, and other natural and manmade features. The issue of ecology in the modern days has taken the turn of environment laws fighting to reverse the trend of a polluted landscape which is taking toll on the communities inhabiting these landscapes. Good ecological practices have been seen as those practices which care about the environment where we are living in. Unfortunately, the issue of environment has been so much politicized which has made it difficult for the world to tackle

Gaining Consent from Patients with Stroke Article

Gaining Consent from Patients with Stroke - Article Example There have been arguments as to whether these approaches meet the needs of these patients, since care approaches based on the current guidelines have shown deterioration of the quality of life of these patients significantly, mainly due to the loss of autonomy of these patients. This concept of loss of autonomy stands prominent since many patients with stroke lose their capabilities of communication, and in this scenario, maintenance of ethical standards in nursing care become extremely problematic. Since stroke may be associated with impairments, seeking consents from these patients in the area of care is not only an ethical requirement. Consent implies patient's participation and grants autonomy to the patient. Cohen (1991) commented that care delivered with inappropriate or inadequate consent bears the risk of inadequacy of care provision and support, and this becomes more intense in patients with stroke who are dependent and who may have perceived deterioration of mental capacity and impairment of communication due to stroke. Explanation of treatment, care, and seeking their permission to proceed with the care delivery process also ensures understanding of the individual with stroke which cannot be offered by just medical, cognitive, and functional assessments. Consent also reflects a person's thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires about his care. Conformity with the consent procedure allows the care processes to be responsive, flexible, person-centered, and need oriented (Keady et al. 1995). As far as nursing in neurosciences is concerned, the concept of gaining consent is applicable both for acute hospital setting and the rehabilitation setting. It is well known from the available researches that the stroke patients consider their experiences with the available rehabilitation services as less than adequate since they rarely include patients' autonomous choices. Although there are ample literature on the topic of patient autonomy, literatures examining the consent procedure in stroke patients fail to examine the issue of validity of gaining consent by neuroscience nurses adequately and beyond doubt. This clout is further aggravated by the fact that three basic ethical concepts of autonomy implied in the process of gaining consent, namely, self-governance, self-realisation, and actual autonomy are devoid of empiric evidence, although philosophical and theoretical discussions are available. Whatever empiric evidence is available mainly centre around permanent residents of nursing homes, where in reality neuroscience nurses deliver care. It is important to note that consent is related to self-determination, which is affected during or after stroke when the patient needs rehabilitation. Thus making choices about own treatment and making decisions about own health and treatment is put to test in a consent procedure, which may even include the choice of the therapist. In a patient with stroke, independence is grossly affected, and this may affect the consent in the true sense of the term. As indicated by Doyal (1997) had commented that informed consent may not be necessary in unconscious or semi-conscious patients, which often is the case in case of patients with stroke. Mangset et al. (2008) defined

China's economic impact on Bolivia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

China's economic impact on Bolivia - Essay Example Bolivia is Latin America’s poorest nation, while China is considered by many to be the second richest nation in the world. It is not considered unusual for China to exert its economical might in ensuring that it gets more profit from its trade relations with a poorer nation; moreover, the level of counterfeit China-made products flooding Bolivia’s market have made the trade arrangement a weight that is hurting the Bolivian markets. Policies in China that do not Curb Counterfeiting The competition brought by counterfeit Chinese products has served to impoverish the Bolivian economy whose products are hardly able to compete in the local economy, let alone the international market. The production of counterfeit products is nothing new. Every nation on earth has companies or firms that produce counterfeit products. Moreover, most nations do not product them at the rate and quantity that China does. This is made worse by the fact that the export rules used by the Chinese government actually support the export of counterfeit products. China has always had huge local, individual, and state streams of revenue that come from knock-off products. In order to comply with the newly instituted rules of the World Trade Organization, China made alterations to its foreign trade rules in 2003 so as to do away with the control that government-owned trading corporations had on all exports. Prior to this, all of the country’s exports had to go through state-owned firms.This means that counterfeit product firms had to pass through state-approved brokers and distributors to allow their fake goods into the international market.... There are other factors that contributed to the explosion of counterfeiting practice in China. These include the ease of technology transfer, and relaxed foreign trade regulations. There are also local factors such as the lack of enforcement of the law when Chinese companies produce counterfeits, an economic explosion experienced in small communities, and the existence of organized crime syndicates that deal in the counterfeits (Zhonghua Press 29). Organized crime syndicates play a major role in ensuring that counterfeit products reach international markets. The presence of the internet has also served to further develop the production of counterfeit products. Many people today, particularly those who have extra money to spend on secondary needs, often shop on the internet. Counterfeit products usually sell for much less than authentic products. This means that consumers from different parts of the globe can elect to purchase cheap products from China through the internet. This fact alone has been one of the main reasons for the explosion of the counterfeiting industry in China. In a sense, China’s advantage lies in the fact that its production sector is quite colossal and is also highly mechanized. China’s currency is also undervalued in relation to the dollar and it has readily available access to cheap labor. This makes China much stronger than a nation such as Bolivia whose manufacturing sector is much smaller in size. Bolivia also experiences political unrest on a much more common basis than China and its trade deficit with China keeps growing. This makes it easy for Chinese counterfeit products to flood the Bolivian market. However, it

Financial Analysis of Genivar Engineering Essay

Financial Analysis of Genivar Engineering - Essay Example The net earnings and comprehensive income for the year was recorded at $25.8 million, an increase of 68.8%. Genivar serves several market segments and generates revenues from building, municipal infrastructure, transportation, industrial, power and environment segments. The building segment recorded revenues of approximately $109 million or around 28% of the company's total revenues. The municipal infrastructure recorded revenues of approximately $109 million or around 28% of the total revenues. The transportation segment recorded revenues of approximately $85 million or around 22% of the total revenues. The industrial and power sector recorded revenues of approximately $58 million or around 15% of the total revenues. The environment segment recorded revenues of approximately $27 million or around 7% of the total revenues. Genivar has increased its profitability in FY2008. The gross profit margin of the company is 41.8% of the total revenues in 2008 as compared to 39.1% in 2007 and 37.3% in 2006. The gross profit margin reflects the percentage of sales dollars that is available to pay for fixed costs of the company and to add for profit. The net profit margin is 6.7% of the total revenues in 2008 as compared to 5.9% in 2007 and 5.8% in 2006. ... The return on equity of Genivar is at 14.2% of the total shareholders' equity in 2008 as compared to 5.9% in 2007 and 2.8% in 2006. This reflects that the company has increased its efficiency in terms with how the company employs its capital from shareholders' equity. It shows that how much the shareholders gets or return of their investments. The company's return on assets is at 6.0% of the total assets in 2008 as compared to 5.9% in 2007 and 2.5% in 2006. This showed that the company earned 6.0 cents on each dollar tied up in the business. It reflects that the company has increased its efficiency in how they allocate and manages its resources. Liquidity Genivar has experienced a decrease in liquidity in 2008. The current ratio of the company is at 1.47 times in 2008 as compared to 1.8 times in 2007 and 1.53 times in 2006. The quick ratio of the company is 1.07 times in 2008 as compared to 1.36 times in 2007 and 1.16 times in 2006. This is due to a 26.3% increase in total current liabilities for 2008 as compared to 2007. This means that Genivar has difficulty of reducing its current assets for cash in order to meet maturing obligations. The company relies instead on operating income and outside financing in order to stay liquid. The collection period has slightly increased in 2008 at 109 days as compared to 106 days in 2007. However, the company has decreased its collection period from 2006 which is at 171 days. This showed that in 2007 and 2008, Genivar has fairly managed its accounts receivables for the past three years. The collection period is comparable to industry standards of similar industries. Solvency Genivar is relatively solvent for the past three years. This shows that the

Oil and Gas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Oil and Gas - Essay Example This could be described by a comparative analysis between a China, a developing economy and Russia, a developed economy. Diamond Theory The management of the global completions by the oil capitals can be explained with the management theory and the international competitiveness of Countries also called the ‘Diamond Theory’. The Diamond theory was advanced by Porter in 1990 to explain the competitive advantages of nations (Woolsey and Korin, 2008). The main focus of the theory was to find why some countries are more successful in particular industries than others. Four classes of country attributes were identified by Porter, which were called the National Diamond. These attributes provide the conditions underlying for the determination of the nation competitive advantage of a nation. These are the company strategy, structure and rivalry, related and support industries, demand conditions and factor conditions. Government policy and chance are two other factors that donâ₠¬â„¢t create lasting competitive advantages but support and complement the system of national competitiveness (Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen shire Council, 2001). The role of government as a stakeholder seeks to strengthen local capabilities for innovation in China and Russia using the Diamond Theory- The success of government in the Oil and Gas industry in Russia and China can be explained by Diamond Theory. Four classes of country attributes providing the conditions underlying for the determination of the nation competitive advantage of a nation were identified by Porter, also called the National Diamond are: 1. The company strategy-The Chinese government took the decision to restructure the petroleum and petrochemical industry in 1998 using the upstream and downstream principles of integration. As a result Foundation of CNPC and Sinopec took place. The merger of CNOOC Limited with CNOOC, PetroChina Company Limited with CNPC, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation to Sinopec, were successfully founded. A crucial role is played by the Oil and gas industry in the political and economic development of Russia. Russia’s energy sector accounts for approximately 66% of its exports. The GDP contribution of the oil and gas sector is 30% of its GDP and 50% of the revenue generated from Federal Budgets. (Feng, Lianyong and et al. 2013) 2. The structure and rivalry- On the basis of launch of four exploration fields including, marine, overseas, eastern and western regions, oil reserves and output steadily increased in China. A high level annual increase of 100 million tons was seen from proven Chinese oil geological reserves. In the beginning of the 21st century, a major challenge was presented to the Russian Government due to the dramatic increase in the value of oil and gas resources of Russia, greater state intervention in the economy and increased budgetary revenues were followed by the increased prices of the resources. With the increased dependency on t he energy sector in Russia as a result of the economic crisis of 2008-2009, the state-capitalist model was developed. (Sharples, 2012) 3. The

See the attachment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

See the attachment - Essay Example The accounting information that is mainly used includes trends of prices, cash flow, market share and firms available resources. 2 (A) Define Sense-making This refers to the process whereby individuals provide a meaning to a particular event or experience. This process is attributed to the existence of cognitive gap where individuals encounter out of making sense from any observed data or information. According to Kauer (2008) in his investigation underlying individual sense-making provides that sense-making is basically an approach of thinking involving assumptions, conceptual frameworks, methodologies and substantive propositions (Kauer, 2008). This process in real life is considered a capability in the corporate world because of its importance in the leadership of dynamic and complex situations. The general activities underlying sense-making include collection of relevant, valid and reliable data, conversations and actions recommended. 2 (B) Describe the context of sense-making in strategic management accounting It is notable that there are theories which have provided evidence that strategic management accounting is vital in developing sense-making process. ... Among the core management accounting roles is to control and manage the organization budget. This involves sense-making processes activities such as knowing the budget, project funding and the current costing of the project. The sense-making activities ensure that there is accuracy in the analysis as well as the collection of organization values and operating costs. Strategic management accounting involves assigning of costs outside the budget. In regard to this aspect of strategic management accounting sense-making process is incorporated in bringing the whole picture where all the expenses and cost are pre-determined by the underlying managers. The sense-making activities under this include market analysis follow up, customer service costs and expenses. Strategic management accounting has notably adopted sense-making process in conducting competitor’s analysis and comparison (Hoque, 2006). Sense-making process integrated in the management accounting process offers an avenue where other businesses costs, revenues and profitability are examined within the same industry. According to Tor Hernes, (2012) this is attributed to organization products and services costs constantly changing because of the dynamism, market forces and other organizational factors (Tor Hernes, 2012). Sense-making activities among the strategic management manager will ensure that measures are put in place for the company to enhance its cost management in comparison with their competitors. This can also be linked with the company enhancing profitability and consolidating its market share. Finally sense-making activities in the context of strategic management accounting regard organization

Virgin Islands Essay Example for Free

Virgin Islands Essay Virgin Islands in United States were previously known as Danish West Indies. They are situated about fifty miles from east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. About 108,612 citizens are living mainly on Saint John, Saint Croix, Saint Thomas and Water Islands. Total land area covered by the territory is 133. 73 square miles which is approximately 346. 4 km2. Before their acquirement by U. S these islands were owned by the Kingdom of Denmark which ruled since 1754. Secretary of the country, namely William H. Seward, wanted to protect their naval bases for the safety of U. S interest in Caribbean during the Civil War. They prepared themselves to control the main naval routes from Central and Latin America which is the first authorized gateway to Denmark. Due to the internal dilemma faced by Demark and declined economy of the islands, Danish officials negotiated with the minister of the United States that directed to an agreement of purchasing it for $7. 5 million in 1867. Though, Danish authorities had a favorable plebiscite and a prompt ratification but still they failed to secure their Congress and public opinion. As a result, they were defeated due to a natural disaster in Saint John which led to purchase Alaska by President Andrew Johnson. On the other hand, opinion by the citizen of Denmark was in favor to the expansion by foreigners. The treaty was however faded away in the Senate and was ultimately rejected in 1869. To purchase the islands, Secretary of State John Hay showed efforts in 1902 who thought that Germans were planning out to acquire naval bases of the Caribbean Sea. Although, Danish government was not willing to surrender their islands and were hoping to get benefit from the impending canal namely isthmian. Due to German expansionism, secretary of State Robert reopened the negotiation and as a result a treaty was signed in 1916 where all the approvals were replaced in 1917. About twenty five million dollars were transferred after the favorable negotiations in 1917. Saint Thomas and Water Island were also developed during World War II as a defense base. After the authorities were transferred from the department of navy, the islands were handed over to the office of insular affairs in 1931 where it stayed till 1971. As an unincorporated land of United States, these islands were given limited form of independency due to Organic Act of 1936. After the Revised Organic Act was published in 1954, the degree of self-governance became even more enhanced. (Statens Arkiver) Economy of these islands is mostly based on tourism with almost 2. 6 million tourists each year which account 80% of GDP and services. However, its agriculture sect is smaller than manufacturing sects which consist of electronics, textiles, refining of petroleum and pharmaceuticals. Petroleum refineries in Saint Croix are the largest all over the globe. Islands do get damaged due to storms and other natural disaster but the partnership for trading purpose is solely the mainland of the United States and Puerto Rico helps to renovate the islands. Still government is working to expand their private sector, tourism and protection of the environment. (The World FactBook, 2008). The islands are situated amid the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. They are about fifty miles east from Puerto Rico and sixty miles west from Caribbean Islands. Basically, Virgin Islands are located at the top of the curve of Caribbean Islands where it starts from Florida to South America. Virgin Islands in United States consist of four major islands and fifty smaller cays and islands. Islands are placed at the peak of submerged mountains that rise from some hundred feet over the sea and ocean floors. Virgin Islands consist of mountains, sea cliffs, tiny streams, forests, and beautiful sand beaches. (Virgin Islands Vacation Guide Community, 2008) Following is the deep analysis of major islands located in Virgin Island Saint Croix Saint Croix is one of the largest Virgin Island in the United States as it was once roofed by sugar cane. This striking island does not have visitors like Saint Thomas and Saint John has but it however consist of a port of vacation. Saint Croix is almost covered with 84 square miles land. It is far away from Saint Thomas almost 40 miles from south. This Caribbean island has a dramatic history and vast cultivation of sugar cane. Several flags have fluttered over the land of Saint Croix but the predominant influence was of Danish which ruled for about 250 years. There are a number of sceneries throughout the island such as lush rain forest towards northwest and palm beaches that is connected to clean aquamarine water at east end. Though, southern location of island is covered with industries which include more than hundred sugar mills. Nonetheless, roads of the island need to get repaired. A number of roads are unmarked and tourist might get lost some where on the island. A park that covers 850 acres of the land with the water surface of 1. 5 miles to the northern coast of Saint Croix is located. Buck Island is a part of that park even since 1948 which consist of wonderful snorkeling. A number of historical exhibits are found in Fort Frederik which is located in Frederiksted, constructed in 1760 and was renovated back in 1840’s. A number of historians argue that Fort Frederik was one of the first fort where the salute ceremony to the flag of United States was held in 1776. It is also been said that Governor General Peter von Scholten liberated the Dutch slaves at Fort Frederik in 1848. Conversely, one of the best fort in Saint Croix is Fort Christiansvaern, located in Christiansted. Saint Thomas Saint Thomas is another major island of Virgin Islands which is likely to be called as cruise ship on the Caribbean Sea. This island consists of natural beauty and it also has one of the finest weather in West Indies. Tourism in this island plays role of a king. People love to visit Saint Thomas as they can gain foreign culture experience. Virgin Islands including Saint Thomas have all the components from tropical paradise to exotic wild life. As a part of the United States, it is easy to visit Saint Thomas and other Virgin Islands. A number of fast food restaurants are also located in Saint Thomas plus traveling from United States is not complex due to the protection given by American government. Name of Virgin Islands were given after a famous explorer namely Christopher Columbus. In 1492, Christopher Columbus gave a name to the group of islands therefore Las Once Mil Virgenes in the respect of Saint Ursula’s martyred maidens as believed by Christians. The United States however purchased it share for Virgin Islands in 1916 from Denmark. Every Virgin Island has its own personality and scenery. (Linda Garrison, 2008) Saint Johns Saint John is the smallest of the Virgin Islands that covers 20 square miles of the land. Two third of Saint John is covered by national park. Saint John consists of over 5,000 residents. The island is a domicile of a number of ethnic backdrop that play its own role in Saint John’s through the celebration, music and other cultural rituals. The island itself ensures the magnificent and unique beauty of its nature park particularly by its historical insight. Hiking is the mostly done on this island therefore trip is incomplete without it. Laurance Rockfeller purchased a portion of Saint Johns in 1950’s with a thought of enjoying the natural world. However, there are many other places in Saint Johns that are dotted around the island such as Annaberg Plantation, a sugar mill established in the 18th century, which is located at the north end and Catherineberg Ruins sugar mill which was considered to be the head quarters of Saint John where salves were trained to become a tribal soldier. Weather in Saint John is considered to be tropical with about thirty degrees Celsius. The hot sunny weather keeps winter months hot however humidity is lesser than in summer. Conclusion When Virgin Islands were transferred to United Stated from Denmark, a history was ended but another began. This transfer was however been awaited by the native people of Virgin Islands hoping for the development of Virgin Islands. Involvement of United States is considered to be a formula for the development of economic and social ills of which people were suffering in Virgin Islands. However, the concept of islands to be a military base rather than a state that consist of natural resources is developed by the United States for the favor of people.It was also determine to the changes in policies and attitude of the United States in future years. Bibliography 1) The World FactBook. Virgin Islands. November 6, 2008. Central Intelligence Agency. November 18, 2008 https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/vq. html#Geo 2) Statens Arkiver. Virgin Islands History. Danish National Archives. November 18, 2008 http://www. virgin-islands-history. dk/eng/default. asp 3) Linda Garrison. St. Thomas in the U. S. Virgin Islands (USVI) – Cruise Lines’ Favorite Virgin. 2008. Cruises. November 18, 2008 http://cruises. about. com/cs/caribbeanports/a/stthomas_2. htm 4) Linda Garrison. St. Croix in the U. S Virgin Islands – Things to do with a Day in Port. 2008. Cruises. November 18, 2008 http://cruises. about. com/cs/caribbeanports/a/stcroix. htm 5) Virgin Islands Vacation Guide Community. Virgin Islands Geography. 2008. Virgin Islands Now. November 19, 2008 http://www. vinow. com/general_usvi/geography/ 6) CaribbeanWay. St. John USVI. Luxury Villa Rentals and Sales. November 19, 2008 http://st-john. caribbeanway. com/general-info. asp

Social Networking Gone Bad Essay Example for Free

Social Networking Gone Bad Essay Have you even thought about how different society would be without social networking web sites? Many of the social networking web sites today play a huge role with the way we interact with one another in our everyday lives, which include most relationships. Using a social networking web site has many negative effects on relationship. Building insecurity, advertising personal information, and building social media moods are some of the many ways relationship are negatively impacted. First and foremost, many people are building up insecurities in their relationships due to these social networking web sites. The thought of what another person is doing on these web sites or who they are interacting with are affecting the trust bond between relationships which are causing the insecurities. For example, if a couple have had pervious issues with one person going behind another’s and speaking to their ex or person of opposite sex, then the thought of being easily connected with people through these sites can really build up the insecurity in the other persons mind and make them think that their partner is being unfaithful. Since it is so easy for someone to go on their phones and open the internet and begin speaking to people half way around the world. Not only can this destroy a relationship but it can also be unhealthy, causing anxiety and depression. The web being a public place, may not be the best place to be advertising personal information such as phone number, email address, or even photos. Some spouses and significant other may become bothered by the information streamed onto these sites and could possibly anger the person and potentially ruin a relationship. Have a phone number or email address on the sites can cause a person from the opposite sex or even their ex to try and get in contact with them, and that right there can really cause some major issues in someone’s relationship. It could even lead to someone getting harmed physically out of anger, when people out their relationships and personal life on the internet, nothing is secure nor private. Therefore eople are allowing others to have access in their relationship, by making it easier for people to express their opinion or do malicious things to sabotage it Not only can this destruct a love relationship but inappropriate information can ruin a relationship with someones job or business. In addition, as part of any social network experience, becoming networked and involved with each other is what keeps these sites going. Unfortunately, â€Å"a downside of social media relationships is that we’re potentially subject to emotional contagion effects, as illustrated in research by John Cacioppo, a researcher at the University of Chicago†(Jain, Dr.  R, 2010). In other words people with bad thoughts, ideas, or moods can transmit them to other people without ever having any face to face contact with the person. So basically if you have been following someone on one of these social networks and every time you are logged on, that certain someone is just posting negative comments and ideas, chances are that the very person reading this over and over again will begin to adapt these negative thoughts and ideas and then reflect a negative mood towards other people in their own real life, and the people they love. Which ultimately begin to take a toll on a relationship, because if one person is constantly upset the other is going to look at themselves first and feel like they are not wanted anymore. Even though social networking web sites might seem like the most amazing gift of technology, its adverse impact can ruin your strongest relationship and at the end leave you with countless regrets. Online friends, self-centered attention-seeking, short attention spans, distraction, and loss of privacy are what these social networks web sites engage you in, and not having control of it can have a negative impact on you and on your relationships. So be for you consider signing up for one of these social networks web sites or signing back on to an existing account, ask yourself if you are ready to deal with the negative effects the these sites have to offer. Also keep in mind there may be a possibility of ruining any types of relationships you are currently in or at least have an effect on them.

Sales Of Coca Cola Products In Hyderabad

Sales Of Coca Cola Products In Hyderabad This project has been undertaken to do a detailed analysis of the Retail Outlets. The company aimed that coke, its branded soft drinks, would stand for the highest level of Quality Quantity and an enhanced customer experience. The project aims to do a gap analysis of these retail outlets and find the difference between the actual and the expected performance. The difference in their performance level is measured by visiting these outlets to observe and check the level of services delivered to the customer there. The project also tries to find out the attitude of the dealers of the outlets towards this initiative of the company. It aims to find their motivation level and their satisfaction from the company and how this affects the sales. Customers present at the outlets are also surveyed to find their satisfaction level and their expectations from the company. The survey would also help to understand the behaviour of the customers. An analysis of the sales figures of the outlets is done to see if there has been any change in the sales. The sales figures of every month in different cities of Hyderabad are compared to see if there is any difference between them. The findings from the study would provide the company with insights into areas that need to be improved. Recommendations would be given for further strengthening the proposition in the city of Hyderabad. INTRODUCTION 800px-Coca-Cola_logo Open happiness. Introduction: The purpose of the study is to provide qualitative inputs to the organization about strengthening its proposition in the city of Hyderabad. The project aims to do a gap analysis between the actual performance of the Retail outlets and the expected performance by the company. It also aims to evaluate if the brand has helped increase its sales figures and the customer satisfaction level. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to give the company a detailed report on the current performance level of the retail outlets and the gap between the actual and the expected performance of these outlets. By identifying the gaps the company would get an insight on areas which can be improved upon. Scope: The report would be useful to the company to: Find the gap between the actual performance and the performance expected by the company in the functioning of the outlets in the city of Hyderabad. Find the dealers perception towards the initiative of the company and his satisfaction level from the company. Analyze the sales figures of the retail outlets before and after the implementation of the concept RED and compare these figures with that of the normal retail outlets to see if there is any significant difference between the two figures. Find the satisfaction level of the customers from the outlets and compare this satisfaction level with that of the customers at the normal retail outlets to see if there is any significant difference. Summarize the findings and give recommendations to the company to improve the proposition of outlets. Limitations: The project had some obvious limitations: It was difficult to make customers understand the questionnaire and fill it. They generally used to be in a hurry and hence did not like to fill the questionnaire. In measuring the customer service level by observation method it often so happened that the customer service level would improve in the presence of the observer than on routine days. Hyderabad is a big city and it is difficult to survey all the customers from every outlet of the city. The sample size for this research was small owing to limitations of time and cost. Methodology: The project was completed in three phases: The first phase involved the source of data about HCCBPL was its website, internet, articles and companys unpublished resources. Competitors study was also done using the internet and articles etc. Second phase involved the survey and observation study. The Outlets in the city were visited. Survey was conducted over the dealers. Also, observations were made to give ratings on the customer service level, infrastructure etc. in order to do the gap analysis. Finally the third phase involved analyzing the results and coming up with the findings and recommendations. Research design: The research is exploratory in nature with the following characteristics: To provide insights and understandings on an aspect. Sample is small Research method is flexible Data collection: The research involved both primary and secondary data collection. Primary data: The primary data (i.e., related to analysis part) was collected from the customers by the Performa designated for the purpose given by the Company. Secondary date: The secondary data was collected from the companys brochures, manuals and journals and also from the websites of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. Questionnaire development and pre-testing: A properly designed questionnaire can tap the necessary information from the respondents. In framing a questionnaire the researcher must ensure that the questions are designed to draw information that will fulfil research objective. Also the researcher must make sure of the target population for the same. A questionnaire can contain both open and close ended questions. Close ended questions give respondents a finite set of specified responses to choose from. Our questionnaire contains structured questions i.e. which have a specified number of responses .We used Likert rating scale for responses that requires the respondent to indicate a degree of agreement or disagreement with each of series of statement about the stimulus objects. We used a rating scale of 1 to 5 in which 1stands for strongly disagree and 5 stands for strongly agree. There were also questions which elicited qualitative responses. The questions wording were kept simple and easy to understand. Pre-testing refers to testing the questionnaire on a small sample of respondents selected on a convenient basis that is not too divergent from the actual respondent. It includes testing all aspects of questionnaire starting from the question content to question sequence. Pre- testing enables the researcher to revise the questionnaire by identifying the flaws and eliminating any ambiguous questions. We will go for pre-testing on 30 respondents. Sampling Technique: Sampling is done to select a target audience for the purpose of determining the characteristic of the whole population. There are two basic approaches to sampling, i.e. probability and non-probability. In our research we have used non-probability sampling which involves the selection of units based on factors other than random chances. Cluster sampling, Convenience sampling, quota sampling, judgment sampling and snowball sampling are few examples of non-probability sampling. Sample Size Dealers Surveyed: 100 Consumers Surveyed: 25 Theoretical Framework: The word MARKET is derived from the Latin word MARCATUS which means MERCHANDISE (Buy Sell products for profit) place where business is conducted. It is usually used to refer a place where actual buying and selling takes place. If we look at this definition in more detail Marketing is a management responsibility and should not be solely left to junior members of staff. Marketing requires co-ordination, planning, implementation of campaigns and a competent manager(s) with the appropriate skills to ensure success. Marketing objectives, goals and targets have to be monitored and met, competitor strategies analysed, anticipated and exceeded. Through effective use of market and marketing research an organisation should be able to identify the needs and wants of the customer and try to delivers benefits that will enhance or add to the customers lifestyle, while at the same time ensuring that the satisfaction of these needs results in a healthy turnover for the organization. The American Marketing Association (AMA) states, Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individuals and organizational objectives. A market-focused, or customer-focused, organization first determines what its potential customer desire, and then builds the product or service. Marketing theory and practice is justified in the belief that customers use a product/service because they have a need, or because a product/service provides a perceived benefit. Two major factors of marketing are the recruitment of new customers (acquisition) and the retention and expansion of relationships with existing customers (base management). Once a marketer has converted the prospective buyer, base management marketing takes over. The process for base management shifts the marketer to building a relationship, nurturing the links, enhancing the benefits that sold the buyer in the first place, and improving the product/service continuously to protect the business from competitive encroachments. Marketing methods are informed by many of the social sciences, particularly psychology, sociology, and economics. Anthropology is also a small, but growing, influence. Market research underpins these activities. Through advertising, it is also related to many of the creative arts. For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of the four Ps must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers in the target market. Trying to convince a market segment to buy something they dont want is extremely expensive and seldom successful. Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for it. Marketers hope that this process will give them a sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing management is the practical application of this process. The offer is also an important addition to the 4Ps theory. Within most organizations, the activities encompassed by the marketing function are led by a Vice President or Director of Marketing. A growing number of organizations, especially large US companies, have a Chief Marketing Officer position, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer. Two Levels of Marketing: Strategic Marketing attempts to determine how an organization competes against its competitors in a market place. In particular, it aims at generating a competitive advantage relative to its competitors. Operational Marketing executes marketing functions to attract and keep customers and to maximize the value derived for them, as well as to satisfy the customer with prompt services and meeting the customer expectations. Operational Marketing includes the determination of the marketing mix. Four Ps: Marketing mix: In popular usage, marketing is the promotion of products, especially advertising and branding. However, in professional usage the term has a wider meaning which recognizes that marketing is customer centred. Products are often developed to meet the desires of groups of customers or even, in some cases, for specific customers. E. Jerome McCarthy divided marketing into four general sets of activities. His typology has become so universally recognized that his four activity sets, the Four Ps, have passed into the language. The four Ps are: Product: The product aspects of marketing deal with the specifications of the actual goods or services, and how it relates to the end-users needs and wants. The scope of a product generally includes supporting elements such as warranties, guarantees, and support. Pricing: This refers to the process of setting a price for a product, including discounts. The price need not be monetary it can simply be what is exchanged for the product or services, e.g. time, energy, psychology or attention. Promotion: This includes advertising, sales promotion, publicity, and personal selling, and refers to the various methods of promoting the product, brand, or company. Placement or distribution: This refers to how the product gets to the customer; for example, point of sale placement or retailing. This fourth P has also sometimes been called Place, referring to the channel by which a product or services is sold (e.g. online vs. retail), which geographic region or industry, to which segment (young adults, families, business people), etc. Marketing Mix The Four P Components of the Marketing Mix Target Market PRODUCT PRICE PROMOTION PLACE Product Variety Quality Design Features Brand Name Packaging Sizes Services Warranties List Price Discounts Allowances Payment Period Credit terms Sales Promotion Advertising Sales force Public relations Direct Marketing Channels Coverage Assortments Locations Inventory Transport These four elements are often referred to as the marketing mix. A marketer can use these variables to craft a marketing plan. The four Ps model is most useful when marketing low value consumer products. Industrial products, services, high value consumer products require adjustments to this model. Services marketing must account for the unique nature of services. Industrial or B2B marketing must account for the long term contractual agreements that are typical in supply chain transactions. Relationship marketing attempts to do this by looking at marketing from a long term relationship perspective rather than individual transactions. As a counter to this, Morgan, in Riding the Waves of Change (Jossey-Bass, 1988), adds Perhaps the most significant criticism of the 4 Ps approach, which you should be aware of, is that it unconsciously emphasizes the inside-out view (looking from the company outwards), whereas the essence of marketing should be the outside-in approach. Even so, having made this important caveat, the 4 Ps offer a memorable and quite workable guide to the major categories of marketing activity, as well as a framework within which these can be used. Promotional mix. 1. Advertising: Any paid presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Examples: Print ads, radio, television, billboard, direct mail, brochures and catalogs, signs, in-store displays, posters, motion pictures, Web pages, banner ads, and emails. 2. Sales promotion: Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. Sales-stimulation achieved through contests, demonstrations, discounts, exhibitions or trade shows, games, giveaways, point-of-sale displays and merchandising, special offers, etc. 3. Personal Selling: As the name implies, this form of promotion involves personal contact between company representatives and those who have a role in purchase decisions. Face-to-face communication between buyer and seller Examples: Sales presentations, sales meetings, sales training and incentive programs for intermediary salespeople, samples, and telemarketing. Can be face-to-face or via telephone. 4. Publicity: The communication of a product, brand or business by placing information about it in the media without paying for the time or media space directly. Otherwise known as public relations or PR Examples: Newspaper and magazine articles/reports, TVs and radio presentations, charitable contributions, speeches, issue advertising, and seminars. 5. Direct marketing: Direct communications with carefully targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships. That is Contacting and influencing carefully chosen prospects with means such as telemarketing and direct mail advertising. FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS: The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) business is built on two pillars Brand and Distribution. The comprehensive conceptual coverage of these and other key marketing concepts are as follows: 1. Branding 2. Valuation of Brands 3. Distribution 4. Marketing 5. Market Research 6. Market Segmentation and Positioning 7. Advertising and Promotions INDUSTRY PROFILE INDIAN FMCG INDUSTRY MARKET TRENDS: The latest figures of industrial growths how a continuous strong growth in durable consumer products, as well as of consumer non-durable. There has been a slowing down in production of automobiles but that is after record increase in the last year. As far as Indian Vs foreign companies are concerned there appears to be a continuous decline of Indian owned brands in national consumer markets. Foreign brands are growing in dominance as foreign owners adapt to Indian consumer preferences, market realities, and change management styles accordingly. The lack of strong pre-emptive action by Indian consumer product companies, that was obvious throughout the 1990s continued in the last two years as well. It almost looks as if many of them are tired of trying to compete and prefer to sell out, pocket the gains and move to something else. RURAL MARKETS: Rural markets have shown fast growth when special small pack sizes are available, and more so in the case of necessity and emerging products, while lifestyle products shown good growth even in standard packs. The developed ones stated with good infrastructure (Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamilnadu) show faster penetration growth than the developing states and even more so for lifestyle products, larger pack sizes are bought in developed than in developing states, as also a large proportion of premium products. Products designed for the rural consumers and taking account of their cultural diversity, lifestyle, standard of living, disposable income, consumption pattern, and communication facilities appear to be key elements in a rural marketing strategy. FOREIGN AND INDIAN: The swadeshi (National) argument, put graphically many years ago as computers chips and not potato chips was primarily directed at the entry of foreign companies into consumer goods. This argument expected that Indian brands would be unable to compete with foreign brands who would take over FMCG markets. In fact Indian brands have declined in national markets and Indian companies have diminishing presence in consumer product markets in India. The national markets are being taken over by foreign brands and foreign companies. This is across the whole spectrum of products with a few rare exceptions. FRANCHISING: There are other service areas where we are now seeing tremendous growth. Many can be labelled under the head franchising. Franchising is now taking off in India. It has already shown spectacular growth in education, particularly in information technology, but many others coming into franchising include for pathology laboratories; entertainment including game parlour, bowling alleys, amusement parks, pool parlours, multiplex cinema theatres etc; specialized food services epitomized by Sub-way sandwich and salads bars, star bucks with coffee cafes. Personal grooming and fitness centres are yet another fast growing franchising area. It is estimated that in franchising, every new franchisee will create new jobs. We can expect franchising to be major source of new employment. RETAIL TRADE: The forthcoming revolution in retail trading in India is also important part of the dramatic changes that are taking place in Indian consumer markets. They are part of the change in life styles that the young and confident new Indian is bringing out and he/she comes to maturity. There is a revolution taking place in clothing for men, women and children. There is an abundance of new entrants with their brands into the market, which within two years have become a major element of the total market and are growing rapidly. Shopping malls are other areas of major new activity. CONCLUSION: There is a revolution taking place in distribution with the entry in the metros as well as smaller cities and towns, of self service stores, super markets, shopping malls, departmental stores, chains stores, and information technology related ones. But that does not mean that morn and pop stores will die. What will certainly happen is that many will become spruced up. At the same time, direct selling by mail order, and door-to-door, will see tremendous growth. Already, a recent entrant kike Amway has crossed Rs 100 crores in turnover and is expecting faster growth, especially as they prepare to tap rural and mass markets. Foreign brands are likely to dominate most Indian consumer products. Indian brands that are in niche markets have a better chance of surviving and growing. Indian business has to overcome their history of past short term thinking modes. SOFT DRINK SECTOR OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION: The term soft drink refers to all types of non-alcoholic and carbonated sweetened, flavoured beverages etc. They are all artificially sweetened. The soft drink industry has undergone many changes with changing consumer needs, wants and also changing Government policies. This formed the basis for different innovations in packaging such as bottles, cans, tetra packs and pet bottles in a variety of flavours. RESTROSPECTION OF INDIAN SOFT DRINK INDUSTRY: The soft drinks market till early 1990 were in the hands of domestic players like Campa, Thums Up, Limca etc, but with the opening of the economy and liberalization of economic policies, many foreign multinationals started ventures in India by buying over competitors, the two American Cola giants have cleared up the arena and are backing all their power behind the Indian Franchise of their global girdling brands. While Pepsi which scores over Coke but this difference is fast decreasing (courtesy huge ad spending by both the players). Pepsi entered Indian market in 1991 and Coke re-entered (after they were sent away in 1977, by then central Government) in 1993. Pepsi has been targeting its products towards the youth and it has struck the right chord with the market, and the sales have been doing well by sticking to this youth bandwagon. Coke on the other hand, struggled initially in the market. In the span 7 years of its operations in the country, it has changed its CEO four times but finally they seem to have started understanding the pulse of the Indian consumers. The soft drink market in India is growing at the rate of 10% every year. With growing urbanization and the younger generation, which had liking for non-conventional foods and beverages, there is a good possibility that the per capita consumption will go up. This sector can be understood in more detail by the following points. Background Segmentation Consumer habits and practices Market players and market share Major players and market share Distribution Network Manufacturing process Retailers perception. MARKET CHARACTERISTICS: The soft drink market is highly skewed in terms of place of consumption, in terms of regional distribution and soft drink flavours as well as in terms of SKUs. While 80% of the consumption is impulse based outside home, 20% comes from consumption at home. This trend is slowly changing with increase in occasion led sales. Changing lifestyle, increasing urbanization and impact of liberalization has slowly and gradually started moving the market from impulse led to occasion led home refrigeration led consumption. The market preference is highly regional based. While Cola drinks have main markets in metro cities and northern states UP, Punjab, Haryana etc, Orange flavoured drinks are popular in southern states. Sodas too are sold largely in southern states besides sale through bars. Western markets have preference towards mango-flavoured drinks. PROBLEMS SPECIFIC TO INDIAN SOFT DRINK INDUSTRY: The government of India has considered the soft drink as non essential. As a result, the government perception levied heavy excise duty on the bottled soft drink. Today soft drink costs Rs.9 to Rs.55 based on the quality to the customers. However, in a country like India where 40% of the population exists below poverty line, consumers cannot afford such price. As a result the trading activity of the soft drinks is concentrated in and around major towns and cities where the purchasing power of the people and standard of living is high. Growth rate of this industry in India is also not encouraging. In fact, date from the Ministry of Food Processing shows that growth rate in the soft drink market was the minimum in 1996. Changes in technology and consumer taste brought about many changes in the Indian soft drink industry from the time of introduction of soft drink in India till today. COMPANY PROFILE COCA-COLA John Styth Pemberton first introduced the refreshing taste of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia in the year 1886. 2% of all beverages consumed each day (including water) are coca-cola and that percentage is growing. Operated 200+ countries, 55000 direct man power, 400 brands, 4 out of the INDIAS top 5 soft drink brands. 75% of the coke revenue coming from outside of US Coke entered India in 1954 and turns backs in 1977.Re-entered in the year 1993 to refresh Indian consumers. 126 years in business.49 consecutive years with increased dividends. 3500+ Beverages and 139600 worldwide employees. Mission, Vision Values: The world is changing all around us. To continue to thrive as a business over the next ten years and beyond, we must look ahead, understand the trends and forces that will shape our business in the future and move swiftly to prepare for whats to come. We must get ready for tomorrow today. Thats what our 2020 Vision is all about. It creates a long-term destination for our business and provides us with a Roadmap for winning together with our bottling partners. Mission: To refresh the world To inspire moments of optimism and happiness To create value and make a difference. Vision: People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy peoples desires and needs. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization. Values: Leadership: The courage to shape a better future Collaboration: Leverage collective genius Integrity: Be real Accountability: If it is to be, its up to me Passion: Committed in heart and mind Diversity: As inclusive as our brands Quality: What we do, we do well Business Model: PITA is a profit Creation Model .By implementing PITA Model, we can increase profit of our Customer as well as companys. P stands for Population I stand for Incidence T stands for Transaction A stands for Average Profit POPULATION: The population can be defined as the shoppers or consumers in given universe or can be defined as number of footfalls in given outlet where Coca-Cola products are available. The main purpose of RED is to attract the population or to increase the footfalls in an outlet where Coca-Cola products are present. As described the main purpose of RED is to increase the footfalls in an outlet so to make it happen following steps are taken, which are described below. Following are the few activation standards that are taken outside the outlet. Cooler at the entrance Standee, Sign at the entrance Combo Boards at the entrance INCIDENCE: Incidence can be described as the percentage of population that buys our product. For an incidence to occur, we do some in shop activation which helps us to increase the percentage of people to buy our products. Incidence mostly plays with the Impulse of the consumer who is getting into the outlet. Following few steps have to be taken to increase the incidence. Cooler in Prime Position Cooler Pure and Clean Rack Display Shelf Display Combo Boards Table Activation Counter Top Display TRANSACTION: Transaction can be described as amount in volume brought per transaction. Suppose a consumer goes into the shop for his personnel consumption by looking and by getting attracted towards the large PET bottles, he / she might go for the large PET bottles. So to increase the transaction size per consumer a few steps have to be taken as follows. Rack display Cooler top Display 300 ML instead of 200 ML 600 ML and 1.5 Lit PET availability Cooler in Prime Position AVERAGE PROFIT: This can be described as the amount of profit in value per transaction. Placing higher Margin pack like Mobile PET, 1.5 Lit, Cans, Maaza 250 ML, Maaza 600 ML, Maaza 1.2 Lit, we can increase the average profit , because the margins on these packs is higher than the RGBs. This can be better understood by the following table: Coca-cola Company is divided into two parts. They are as follows: The main objective of the project is to increase sales of coca-cola products. SALES S- Serve with smile A- Attitude L- lovable by others (outlet) E-efficient (20/80) S-seldom fails In most FMCG, 73% of purchasing decisions are impulsive. Better product assortment wills impulse better product purchase. As the merchandise is more the sales will be increased Coca-cola has two types of Operations. They are as follows: COBO : Company Owned Business Operations. 1. DSD: Direct Sales Distribution. 2. INDIRECT: It is sub divided into 3 parts. AMC: Area Marketing Contractor. ANCHOR MILK POINT FOBO : Franchise Owned Business Operations. The main activity of FOBO is SGA (Sales Generating Asset) CDE (Cool Drinks Equipment) COBO helps FOBO in supp

Children and Culture Essay -- Culture Cultural Racial Essays

Children and Culture As children we are automatically taught to be open-minded. We are taught not to stare at people which teaches us not to be disrespectful to one another. Also we are taught to respect and be kind to everyone regardless. As kids we are still untouched by he worlds ways of thinking and if we unattached our self’s from someone that’s of a different race it’s because we can't relate to them and we sill don't know how to handle ourselves in different situations. I believe it's still an unknown fact how some people grow up and become adults who want nothing to do with anyone that isn’t like them. In one of our discussions in my RHT class Kathaleen Mayan wrote about a set of Asian triplets that weren't very out going, and very shy to the other children. She said "kids aren't cruel like they are when they’re older so none of the kids would make fun of them or make comments or anything like that to them when they tried to say something, they just didn't interact with them very much, because they couldn't communicate very well†. When I read this I just started to wonder what it is that makes use become the type of people that go out of their way to make sure other people know they're are different and don't fit in. What part of our growing up do we learn this trait, and is it nurture or nature? I was born in Zerka, a small city in Jordan. My family and I moved to the United States when I was about four years old. After 14 years of living here and regardless on the numbers of trips to the Middle East I consider America to be my home. I love it here and don't see my self ever living anywhere else. I love how there are so many open-minded people and so many different religions and cultures interlocked. Yet reg... ...e about how he wanted to keep America as a English/European country and stick to those languages, I responded to that saying â€Å"just like how he wants to keep his culture and upraising alive, we want the very same thing†. There is always going to be Thomas Brays that have to be deal with, its just part of growing up in a foreign country. Regardless of the racism, hate, and discrimination, and regardless how much words really do hurt I see my self-lucky to have the chance to be able to write about the way I feel. Not all teenagers around the world have the chance to express their feelings on muliticulturesiam or any other issue, their forced to believe what their parents believe. Whenever I get upset with how closed minded some people are I just remind my self that at lest I the chance to do something about it, and I don’t have to just sit and take it.

Analysing Blessing and An Old Woman` Essay -- Poetry Imtiaz Dharker Ar

Analysing Blessing and An Old Woman Poetry from other Cultures Question 2 Culture means the beliefs, traditions, and customs of people within a society. Fundamental aspects of a culture are faith, values, and history. People that share a culture also share its beliefs and ways of life, which are different to others. Poetry is an effective way of describing and exploring a culture, and events within it, because certain aspects can be expressed with vivid descriptions, and imagery that would be unsuitable in other types of text. Some cultures have also used poetry as a form of storytelling, describing events that happened to their ancestors, or even themselves. Poems can be concise and leave some details to the imagination of the reader, therefore they are easier to remember, and remain in the readers mind for longer, which makes them more memorable. --------------------------------------------------------------------- The two poems that I have chosen are 'Blessing' by Imtiaz Dharker and 'An Old Woman' written by Arun Kolatkar. I selected these poems because they are both set in poor, third-world countries, and the people within their communities value so strongly items that are take for granted in developed countries. In 'An Old Woman', a beggar woman is trying desperately to get 'a fifty paise coin', which is equivalent to less than 1 pence, off a tourist. This amount of money is frequently, and carelessly dropped on the floor without a second glance, in countries such as our own, yet in India an elderly woman needs this to survive. In 'Blessing' water is highly valued, and every drop is precious because their community is so short of such a substance. However, people in our, more developed, comm... ...tent and happy with the life that they live. However, in 'An Old Woman' this impression is not given. The beggar does not appear to be content with her way of life and is worn and tired as a result of it. I think her discontentment is conveyed in line 20-21 "bullet holes she has for eyes". I believe this, because she has to hide her true feelings from the outside to prevent anyone knowing what she really feels, and therefor her eyes seem to just glaze over and hold no feelings. I think she does this so that she can concentrate on trying to earn a living to stay alive, in doing this though, all her feelings are trapped inside and she is unable to overcome them. In doing this, it appears that she has no feelings and is completely isolated from the rest of the community. This is illustrated in line 29-30 "round the shatter-proof crone who stands alone".