Islam Essay

Field Study Research Karen Edmonds-Leach Professor Jonathan Pedrone REL212: World Religions-Summer September 4, 2011 Islam: Field Study Research After interviewing a member of the Islamic faith, I came to the realization that there are very many misconceptions about the religion of Islam and that these misconceptions are very hurtful, disrespectful, and inhumane. In this paper, I will first discuss several misconceptions that I had about the Islamic faith. I will then analyze how my prior understanding about the religion was altered through interviewing a member of the Islamic faith. Next, I will discuss my beliefs on misconceptions about other people’s religion being common or not. Lastly, I will recommend steps that can be taken to minimize misconceptions people have about religions that are not their own. I had many misconceptions about Islam before speaking with a member of the religion. The first was that Islam oppresses women. When I thought about women in Islam, I thought of the image of a woman wearing a veil, and other heavy, dark clothing, where no skin would be visible, even in the hot summer months. I thought about how women were forced to stay home, and were not allowed to drive vehicles. I also believed that the Muslim’s God, Allah, was not the same as the God in Christianity, and was a false god. I believed that Muslims worshipped Muhammad, and that Muhammad and Allah were the same thing. I did not think that Muslims believed in Jesus Christ. I also thought that Muslim men all married multiple wives. I thought that polygamy was something that was widely practiced in Islam, and was somewhat of a requirement. For those men who married one wife, I believed that they were merely â€Å"Americanized†. Another misconception I had was that all Muslims were Arabs. Not only did I think they were all Arabs, but I thought that being a Muslim and an Arab was the same thing. Lastly, just as the cross is something like a symbol of Christianity, I believed that the crescent and the star was the symbol of Islam. I had all of these misconceptions about Islam, as many other people who practice religions outside of Islam do, but speaking with a Muslim quickly changed my mind about these harsh misconceptions. Each one of my misconceptions about Islam count toward my overall understanding of the religion. My prior understanding was completely altered through my encounter with the Muslim woman I interviewed. I believed it would be a great idea to talk to a woman about how women are suppressed in Islam. I interviewed a friend of mine, named Kiran Masood. She was born and raised in the Islam religion, and continues to practice it today. She informed me that this is not necessarily the case. She stated that some Muslim countries do have laws that oppress women, but this practice does not come from Islam itself. Masood stated, â€Å"countries that have laws against women created these laws themselves. They may say that their basis is from the Qu’ran, but the Qu’ran does not suggest any oppression women† (Masood). Though this is true, there are some social constructions in Islam, where women and men are given different roles and equity. This is something that all religions accept, and is not a surprise to me in Islam. In addition, another common misconception is that a woman can be forced to marry against her will, and this is not the case at all. Masood informed me that â€Å"no one can force a Muslim girl to marry someone she does not want to marry; her parents may suggest she marry a suitable man, but by no means is this girl forced to marry someone that she may not want to marry† (Masood). I was also informed that divorce is not common, and it is used as a last resort. Masood also quickly refuted my second misconception, that Allah is a different God. â€Å"Allah is not a different God; Allah is simply the Arabic word for God† (Masood) which is something that I was not aware of. Allah is the same God worshipped by Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The one difference in Islam and Christianity is that Muslims believe the God is the one and only. The religion does not accept Jesus as God’s son, and believes that He has no human-like attributions. In Christianity, Jesus is accepted as God’s son and was basically God in flesh when He was on earth. Also, Muslims do not worship Muhammad, as I was lead to believe. Muhammad was chosen to deliver messages, but is not the founder of Islam, and Muslims do not worship him, though they do honor him and respect him, as they do Jesus, Moses, Adam, and Noah (the other prophets of the Word). My third misconception, that all Muslim men marry multiple women, also came to be false. Masood informed me that polygamy, marrying multiple spouses, is not encouraged in Islam, and is not mandatory. She stated, â€Å"In the religion of Islam, marrying multiple women is permissible, but is not something that the religion requires† (Masood). If a man decides to marry multiple women, these women cannot be forced into it, meaning if they do not want to marry a man with other wives, then she does not have to. My fourth misconception was that Muslims and Arabs are the same thing. Masood simply told me that the two are different, but I decided to do more research on the subject. There are about 1. 2 billion Muslims in the world. Muslims reside in a variety of places, including Nigeria, the Philippines, and of course, the United States. Muslims also represent many races, cultures, and nationalities. About 18% of Muslims live in the Arab world, primarily in Indonesia (Isseroff). This is far from 100% of Muslims. Lastly, I believed that the crescent and star was the symbol of Islam, which is not the case. In the days of the Prophet Mohammed, Muslims did not have a symbol; instead, they used solid-colored flags. The Turks in fact introduced the crescent as a symbol. It was adopted due to the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of Constantinople. In turn, all of my beliefs about Islam turned out to be false. In fact, some of them turned out to be the complete opposite. I believe that misconceptions about other people’s religion are extremely common. No matter what religion someone practices, they always have certain beliefs about other people’s religions. This is not to say that people disrespect other people’s religions, but they simply have their own beliefs towards them. Most times, we do not know anything about other people’s religions. We are so set in our own mindset that the religion we practice is the only correct religion; that we fail to learn anything about other religions in the world. Because we lack knowledge of other religions, we use stereotypes and misconceptions to justify why we do not agree with the other religions’ practices. Even those who do not practice any religion, I believe they use stereotypes and misconceptions about all religions, because those people are so fixed in their own belief that no religion is true, and that they all are false. It is important for people of all religions to have an understanding of others’ religions, because sometimes, people have a lot more in common than they think they do. For example, I thought that my own religion, Christianity, was completely different from Islam, but in reality, the two religions share many similarities. I was surprised at the information I learned from Kiran Masood, and it was a shock that Islam has a lot of parallels to Christianity. Every religion has certain misconceptions. In this paper, I analyzed the misconceptions of Islam, but Christianity and other religions have misconceptions as well. We always are so quick to judge others that are different from us, but instead we should be interested in learning new things about other religions. The purpose of this is not to persuade someone to convert to a different religion, but to just be enlightened and educated about the different religions that exist in our society. One step that could be taken to minimize misconceptions people have about religions not their own is for people to let their guards down and to be more accepting to people’s differences. Not everyone will have the same beliefs, but instead of stereotyping and discriminating against other religions, we can learn from each other. Just having knowledge of new things is prideful, and is an asset that we all should have. If we take the time to learn about other people’s beliefs, these misconceptions would not exist. We should educate ourselves, instead of jumping to conclusions. One way I like to think about this is that I do not like when people of different religions criticize and stereotype against my own religion, Christianity. I wish that people would not be so quick to speak negatively about Christianity, because most times, they do not know what they are truly talking about. They jump to conclusions, and did not take the time to learn the truth behind Christianity. Because I have such strong feelings about this, I should in turn not treat other religions this way, since I know how it feels. I should take the time to educate myself about different religions. Though it will not cause me to convert from Christianity, just having basic knowledge about other religions can help me make a better judgment on certain topics. No one can make judgments or participate in a debate if they have not done research on the subject. Interviewing my friend Kiran Masood gave me a lot of enlightenment. I learned so much about the religion of Islam that I did not previously know. Though we have known each other for a while, I never thought to learn more about the religion she practices. I found it to be a rewarding experience, and learning about different religions is something that I will continue to practice. It is important for us to understand that we all have differences, whether it is race, culture, ethnic background, economic status, or religion. Amongst all these differences are many similarities between us. Instead of always focusing on the differences that separate us, we should look at the similarities that bring us together. Our differences make us special, and our similarities give us things in common. Learning about people’s differences is important because it is what makes that person unique. Though we all have a variety of differences, one thing we have in common is we all are human beings with feelings and beliefs. We should all value our beliefs, and be open to learning about others’ beliefs as well. References Isseroff, A. (n. d. ). A Concise History of Islam and the Arabs. Middle East: MidEastWeb. Retrieved September 1, 2011, from http://www. mideastweb. org/islamhistory. htm. Fisher, M. P. , & Adler, J. A. (2011). Living Religions (8th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, N. J. : Pearson Prentice Hall.

Jetblue

Learning objectives 1. institutional aspects of equity issuance transaction 2. costs and benefits associated with public share offerings 3. develop a deeper appreciation for challenges of valuing unseasoned firms and enhance corporate valuation skills KEY QUESTIONS FOR CONISDERATION 1)What are the advantages and disadvantages of going public? 2)What different approaches can be used to value JetBlue’s shares? 3)At what price would you recommend that JetBlue offer their shares? Potential Questions to be addressed in report submission * What is an Initial Public Offering and why is it such a big deal? Is going public, particularly at the time they did, a good idea for JetBlue? * What do you believe JetBlue stock is really worth? * Does the financial forecast in case Exhibit 13 seem reasonable? * What are the key assumptions in the IPO valuation? * Is the length of the forecast period within the IPO valuation (exhibit 13) reasonable? * What discount rate is appropriate for the cas h flow forecast? * How would you suggest estimating the terminal value? What assumptions have you made? How have your assumptions affected the estimated value of JetBlue shares? IntroductionAfter the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, it was upset deeply because of the safety for the airline industry in the United States. The passenger demand suddenly reduced and many flights cancelled afterwards, which led a lot of American airlines declared bankruptcy afterwards, including US Airways and United Airlines. It was a challenging time for airline industry, however, David Neeleman, the CEO and Founder of JetBlue Airways, discovered an opportunity for the company. Barely two years after its foundation, the company decided to raise additional capital through initial public offering (IPO).This report is aimed to apply financial theories and concepts into analyse the real case study of JetBlue Airline. Firstly, the background of JetBlue will be introduced briefly. Also, the advantages and disadvantages of going public for JetBlue will be discussed in the following pages. In addition, the share valuation of JetBlue IPO will be estimated based on several assumptions. Last but not least, the recommendation will be provided in the last past of this report. Background JetBlue was founded by David Neeleman in 1999, which looked to fulfil the purpose of â€Å"humanity back to air travel†.By following the low-cost model of Southwest Airlines, JetBlue pursued to offer passengers an enjoyable flying experience by providing in-flight entertainment, comfortable room and high-quality customer service. In addition, in order to organise a strong and experienced working team, Neeleman employed several skilled senior managers, comprising of David Barger who was a former vice president of Continental Airlines to be president and COO and John Owen who was executive vice president and former treasurer of Southwest Airlines to be CFO in JetBlue.Moreover, as the founder of Jet Blue, Neeleman have own extensive experience with airline start-ups from managing low-fare flights during university period. Based on the explicit marketing strategy of JetBlue, barely less than one year, the company increased the routes to other cities in America and it continued to grow rapidly to 17 destinations in early 2002.And not only that, JetBlue adopted the active measures to increase expenditures for security by setting up equip cockpits with bulletproof doors and security cameras, which enhanced the confidence of US residences to take flights under the circumstance of few people was afraid of flying after September 11 hijackings. Advantages and disadvantages of going public Refer to Bodie, Kane and Marcus (2011), initial public offerings are stocks issued by a formerly privately owned company that is going public, which means that selling stock to the public for the first time.According to Rothberg, the following table are shown some advantages and disadvantages of going public. Pros| Cons| Potentially large bonuses for business owners| High explicit cost – roughly 7% of the funds raised| Ability to raise additional capital rapidly in the future| Pressure to meet investor expectations| Attraction and retention for the valuable talents| Less control on make business decisions – decisions should be based on the interest of shareholders and investors other than owners themselves| Easy to sell ownership shares when owners exit business or retire| Reporting disclosure on regular basis| Access to capital markets| |In relation to this case, JetBlue aimed to raise additional capital through an IPO in order to support company’s growth and offset portfolio losses by investors. Moreover, according to John Owen, JetBlue had prepared the initial registration statement with security and exchange commission (SEC) for the IPO on September 11, 2001. However, based on the September 11 attacks, they delayed IPO before it came into force. In fact, not only the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, but several events happened negatively affected the global economy during the period of going public for JetBlue.For example, the contagion of bird flu was quite severe during taking flights, which definitely influenced the demand of flights. The increasing oil price also raised the basic cost in any transportation industry. Another negative condition could be the economic downturn, including crash of the dot-com bubble and financial crisis in Asia. From this point of view, it seemed not to be an appropriate time to going public. However, faced with the weak financial markets, JetBlue measured the targeted strategies and made success in profitable operations.And IPO market is never dead for good company with real revenues and real earnings just like JetBlue. It then turned out that it was a suitable time for JetBlue to IPO during the economic downturn though. JetBlue’s shares valuation There are various methods to value s hares for a company, including free cash flow to equity (FCFE) method discounted by WACC, free cash flow to firm (FCFF) method discounted by cost of equity, dividend discount model and relative valuation techniques. Since JetBlue had not paid out any dividends on common stock, dividend discount model cannot be used to estimate company share value.In addition, FCFF method do not consider the effect of interest payment, however, as mentioned in the case, the Federal Reserve had attempted to stimulate economic activity by reducing interest rates. Therefore, from my point of view, it was more appropriate to value JetBlue share by FCFE method to consider the consequences of interest rate. The assumptions are made for evaluate JetBlue share value as follows. The long-run growth rate was expected to be 7% annually. And the company would have survived and would be a typical firm with an estimated cost of equity of 15% in 2010.Last but not least, the appropriate discount rate was assumed to be 30%. Additionally, there was a quite weird number disappeared in the Exhibit 13, which was the expected inflation rate was 4 times in 2002 than other years. After changing it back to the normal, the share value then could be calculated to be around $24. 60 per share. (Appendix 1) Recommendation Based on the assumptions, the calculated consequence is identical to the initial offering prices which ranged from initial price to implemented offering price ($24 to $25).Faced with sizable excess demand to potential investors, JetBlue took the appropriate measure to increase share value in order to avoid â€Å"money leave on the table†. In the long run, I believe that JetBlue will still grow at a stable stage as the innovative spirit and seasonable measures to the different types of events. Therefore, JetBlue’s stock was worth for the potential and incoming investors. We prepared to retristrict initial registration with SEC for the IPO on September 11, 2001. Based on the ev ent of that morning, we didnot .We waited until stock market settled down. We returned the profitability in November and December. We started to issue IPO gain in Christmas time. Obviously, we modified the document a bit. High growth, low cost profitable airline has rebounded substantially in the market place. It was a very good stands to do the IPO for JetBlue. Even though it was 2002, the IPO market was pretty much dead, the IPO market is never dead for good company with real revenues and real earnings. So we were confident even a small amount of – John Owen registration statement with underwritersFCFF we do not consider the effect of interest payment 1) In FCFF, we use EBIT (1-t) whereas in FCFE, we use Net Income; this is because while using EBIT (1-t) in FCFF we do not consider the effect of interest payment as mentioned above. 2) IN FCFE, we use Change in Non- Cash Working Capital*(1-D) – Capital expenditure*(1-D) whereas in FCFF we use Change in Non-Cash Working Capital – Capital Expenditure; this is because we just want to concentrate on cash flow due to equity only. Reference Bodie Z. , Kane, A. , & Marcus, A. J. (2011).Investments (9th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill Rothberg F. The Pros and Cons of Going Public. Retrieved from http://www. cfoedge. com/resources/articles/cfo-edge-the-pros-and-cons-of-going-public. pdf Appendix (Appendix 1: Share valuation of JetBlue Airways) ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Bodie Z. , Kane, A. , & Marcus, A. J. (2011). Investments (9th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill [ 2 ]. Rothberg F. The Pros and Cons of Going Public. Retrieved from http://www. cfoedge. com/resources/articles/cfo-edge-the-pros-and-cons-of-going-public. pdf

How Music Makes the World Happy

Analysis Memory Cost In the last 30 years, the need for hard drives to be capable to hold more memory has been on a very fast rise. This Is due to our operating systems that are larger and the fact that more people needing or wanting to use computers more. Technology has grown so much. 20 years ago only about half of us had computers in our homes. Today almost everybody has at least 1 desktop and 1 portable. We keep pictures of our children on computers, have more programs to use in everyday life, control our finances, do school work, our Job has a need for computers, and love to play games ND use the internet.Every day these things take up more and more memory storage. The last time researchers hit a limit for expanding memory was 2005. We take this fact, that there are limits, for granted. That every now and then there is a limit that cannot be topped. Researchers say that that limit again Is going to reached somewhere around 2013-2015. There Is a new technology for the HAD (hard d isk drive) called the HAM (heat-assisted magnetic recording). This will bring massive storage growth and raise the Industry way beyond 100 TUB. Currently there is a 100 TUB hard drive. When will it be commercially available?After researching several charts I would say in about 5-10 years. At this point the average person would not even need this much memory and the price would be extremely expensive. So I am going to say in about 5-10 years we will meet supply and demand on a 100 TUB hard drive. Ten years from I am predicting that I could buy a 8 TUB hard drive for around $100 dollars. I cannot get a very educated guess on this because the all the history charts on this vary. But I took what I could buy today and used Morel's law and came up with an 8 TUB hard drive will cost about $100 dollars In the year 2023. And that Is If we even use HAD at that time.

Critical evaluation of the international Accounting Standard and Essay

Critical evaluation of the international Accounting Standard and Financial Reporting Standard that applied on BRITIVC plc - Essay Example investors and lenders. This report specifically aims at the critical evaluation of the key financial information provided in the financial statements of Britvic Plc. Those key items are 1) Revenues, 2) Property, Plant and Equipment, 3) Earnings per share. These key items are evaluated in the light of their relevant accounting standards as to check whether these areas are consistent with providing the useful information to the lenders and investors. The following discussion and evaluation highlights these specific areas on separate basis so that each individual key accounting area can be judged regarding the achievement of IAS and IFRS objective (IFRS and IAS Summaries- English, 2011-2012). IAS 18 covers revenue recognition for the preparation of financial statements. The major criterion for recognizing the revenues is the transfer of risks and rewards between the parties to the sales contract. Seller transfers the risks associated with the selling item in response to a reward received from the buyer. When risks and rewards are transferred to the concerned parties, the revenues are deemed to be recognized by the selling entity. As far as the disclosure requirements of IAS 18 are concerned, minimal disclosure are required such as the total revenue generated during the current period along with comparative figure of the last year (BDO, n.d.). If the financial statements of Britvic Plc. are accounted for the year 2012, it can be clearly observed from the statement of comprehensive income that the company has generated the revenues of around  £1,256 million. In the previous year, the company had upward revenues of around  £1,290 million. From the perspective of disclosure requirements, the company has provided the appropriate disclosure requirements in the statement of comprehensive income (Annual Report Britvic Plc., 2012). Besides this disclosure requirement of IAS 18, certain other requirements relating

Research Proposal on Convicted Felons and Time in Prison Paper

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Chapter 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter 8 - Essay Example he government of France indicated that in order for any firm to challenge Boeing’s dominance and supremacy, government subsidies must be engaged so that any potential competition for Boeing could present below-market cost to the end consumers. This was engaged and Airbus began to be heavily subsidized by the French government. This trend has continued, to varying degrees, up until the present time. However, Boeing soon began to feel the impact of these government subsidies and could not continue to compete within industry that was not only turning a massive profit, but was also heavily subsidized. As such, Boeing lobbied and effectively garnered a high degree of promissory loans, research and development grants, and a litany of other subsidies from the United States government. What this has created is an unnatural form of competition between Airbus and Boeing through which the governments of these respective firms are ultimately in a proxy war of subsidized nation. Naturally, this is not only unhealthy for the firms, it is unhealthy for the consumer and the overall level of product that exist within the market. The case itself reference the fact that in all likelihood, Boeing and Airbus will continue to produce aircraft at a rather alarming rate; creating a glut of commuter aircraft within the market in the next several years. Naturally, this evidence points to the fact that government subsidies with regards to an otherwise competitive environment oftentimes make the situation worse for the end

Primary school teachers ICT training in UK Article

Primary school teachers ICT training in UK - Article Example This will be a barrier in the ICT teaching. (Wheeler, 2000). The Teacher ICT training in UK is being offered and driven by the UK government via the Department for Education and Employement (DfEE). It is mandatory for all UK Primary School teachers to take trainings in ICT, and the UK government was working on a 100% target as of the year 2002. The DfEE has got training centers that are used for the trainings. (Wheeler, 2000). The skills that the teachers are being trained on are ICT resource skills. These vary from ability to timetable lessons, offer learning material, offer examinations, check pupil assignments and other extra curriculum activities. (Riel, 2000, p. 9-24). The next skill the teachers learn is the use of ICT educational space to enable modern trend network communications between teacher and pupil. Teachers are also trained in ICT collaborative educational skills that will enable the pupils to social be able collaborate with latest technologies such as discussion formatted ICT lists. Teachers are also trained on the autonomy management of pupil learning which will take as much creative shape as is the technology in the coming days. (Wheeler, 2000). These training are both technical and integrative skills in the classroom lessons. The technical bit of the training is including and goes beyond Computer Mediated Communication.

Discuss the assoiated risks and benefits fo this context Essay

Discuss the assoiated risks and benefits fo this context - Essay Example This application allowed the sending and receiving of digital messages through a computer network. Each social networking site offers unique features. The social networking concept did not become popular until the year 2003 when social networking websites like Friendster, LinkedIn and MySpace were launched. In the year 2004, Facebook was launched but with certain restrictions. Facebook was accessible only to the college students until the year 2006 (Shih 2009). These social communities are built on the features of Web 2.0 technology; a platform for social website which allows group of web applications to provide ideological and technological basis for social networking websites and allows the web to exchange and design the user-generated content. Social networking websites are very informative and also help in finding locations of shops, restaurants, universities, banks etc. These websites facilitate communications between friends and relatives and help in improving the creativity sk ills of an individual by sharing opinions, stories, pictures and music. Social networking websites have benefitted teenagers, youth, school children and the business enterprises. It has transformed the process of communication. Social networking websites has become very mobile and can be accessed through gadgets like cellular phones, tablets etc. The use of social networking websites increased with the innovation of gadgets. Access of these websites from the cellular phone unlocks the full potential of social network and makes it more convenient for people to use them. Since it is more convenient to access through cellular phones and other gadgets, the number of users of cellular phones and social networking has increased significantly. Let us discuss the benefits associated with the usage of social networking websites: 1. The social networking websites helps in sharing of knowledge and spreading of information more than any other

The Jungle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Jungle - Essay Example causes Jurgis to lead a life of begging and crime, illustrating how it is the system’s willing abuse of the ‘common man’ that creates the problems of the criminal lower class while the upper class becomes just as criminal in working to abuse the system for their own welfare. The concept of socialism is first introduced as Ona and Jurgis are planning their wedding feast and grows to become one of the central themes of the book. It is Grandmother Majauzskiene who first mentions the word â€Å"Socialist† to Jurgis. She describes the capitalist system: â€Å"It was easy to bring them, for wages were really much higher, and it was only when it was too late that the poor people found out that everything else was higher too. They were like rats in a trap, that was the truth† (95). It would seem clear that whatever she defines herself as would be the opposite of the system in place. Just before she introduces the word socialism, though, a suggestion of what it might mean is offered, â€Å"By and by they would have their revenge, though, for the thing was getting beyond human endurance, and the people would rise and murder the packers† (95). This seems to suggest something violent and destructive, which frightens the simple man. Jurgis learns more about socialism through Bush Harper. Harper characterizes socialists as people who â€Å"could not be bought, and would not combine or make any sort of a ‘dicker’† (384). Later, Jurgis suddenly finds himself at the center of a Socialist rally and, more surprisingly, becoming caught up in the words that are said. As the speaker denounces the capitalist system, which has already been battered brutally throughout the novel, the ideas of Socialism are brought forward. The way that Sinclair presents them makes them seem not nearly as frightening as the ideas of Communism have been to the modern reader. He talks about how the Socialists would give more power to the people, would provide them would good food, clothing

Challenges of International Operations Management Essay

Challenges of International Operations Management - Essay Example The assumption of TQM is quite apparent: quality improvement can be attained if a firm drafts a management philosophy of continuous improvement and breeds the required best practices (Juran, 1993). Gradually and patiently, majoritiy of international organisations have been effective at the implementation of TQM practices during the previous decade, with more than satisfactory outcomes. For instance, United Parcel Service, Motorola, Ford, Cadillac, Nestlà ©, Airbus, Shell, Toyota and Phillips are some of the more popular TQM achievers in the global marketplace. However, it may be worthy to note that their quality practices took substantial time and paitence to conceptualise, draft, and implement. Much more so, was the time necessary for these best practices to mature and to be maintained. Quality gurus such as Deming, Juran, Scholtes and Crosby taught that organisations ought to adopt a quality improvement approach from a long-term perspective. They also gave a warning that attaining some quality improvement may somewhat lead to complacency. Moreover, they concur that obstacles to quality may include a whole host of factors, encompassing both novel and current organisationa issues (Walton, 1986). Quality experts contend that majority of quality enhancement research are inclined on concentrating on the initial start-up phase of the improvement process and is somewhat lacking on considering long-term challenges (Mann & Kehoe, 1995). Studies on organisational life cycles and organisational development has apparently illustrated that as firms grow, mature, and grow more stable, several issues are brought forth at each cycle of the phase. Certain quality gurus hold a similar perspective on the quality improvement cycle that exists as the firm proceeds through an initial s tart-up, followed by a development phase at which maturity as a TQM firm ensues (Harrington, 1987). The initial TQM start-up phase necessitates breaking exercises the

Ec2 Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ec2 - Movie Review Example Rosenstein balances views by using short video clips of interviews with different stakeholders to portray the divisive issue of using Native American identities and symbols in sports teams, though it is clear that the director favors the complete removal of such sports practices because they undermine the integrity of Native American identity and history. Rosenstein strives to provide a balanced view of the â€Å"honor† involved in using Native American nicknames and characters as sports mascots. He uses interviews with different alumni, trustees, fans, and former Chief Illiniweks in the documentary. For instance, though the mainstay is Teters, Rosenstein also obtains the views of University of Illinois alumni and Board of Trustees because they also have a stake on the issue. Ken Boyle, University of Illinois Trustee, stresses in the documentary that he does not consider Chief Illiniwek as a â€Å"mascot,† but as part of the â€Å"tradition and heritage† of the university (In Whose Honor?). Rosenstein does not just focus on the voice of Teters and other Native Americans, but also includes as many voices needed to explore the complexity of the issue. Furthermore, Rosenstein explains why using Indian names and characters are wrong through Teters and other Native Americans’ point of views. Teters argues that universities should not use Native American mascots and nicknames because she sees a â€Å"mascot† as a symbol of control and ownership. Dennis Tibbetts, an American Indian counselor, agrees with Teters because to have a chief as a form of â€Å"entertainment† is a â€Å"mockery† because it is not a â€Å"caricature† (In Whose Honor?). A caricature means that the mascot is not real, but using a real person connects the mascot to the Native American identity. Hence, the film demonstrates that a Native American mascot dishonors Native Americans. Despite the balanced

Funeral Cosmetic Surgery Essay Example for Free

Funeral Cosmetic Surgery Essay Beauty is your funeral Cosmetic surgery is defined as, â€Å"surgery performed to improve the appearance, rather than for medical reasons† (Collins English Dictionary). Cosmetic surgery is a dangerous procedure because some people acquire lifelong scars not only that, death could be in the equation. On the other hand, many women get cosmetic surgery due to physical deformation or certain birth defects in efforts to cover up their embarrassing scars. Even though some cosmetic surgery can be beneficial, the fact that death could be involved, is it worth it? Cosmetic surgery should be illegal because the number of death and deformation in the person’s character are too great to risk any possible enhancements. We should not be allowed to get plastic surgery, implants, and liposuction because these things cause a person to become sick and then eventually die. Therefore we should warn the person about the harm of cosmetic surgery is. According to Dr.Darshan Shah, a Mayo Clinic-trained board certified surgeon, â€Å"Cosmetic Surgery itself actually carries very minimal risk if you put yourself in the hands of a qualified, certified cosmetic surgery specialist – someone who has trained and devoted [his or his] career to the misrepresentation and inexperience of certain surgeons†. (California Health and Beauty) This article is saying that people are dying because there not looking up facts and information about the surgeon, but how much is of this idea is true? I believe no matter who performs the surgery; it’s always dangerous and has many life threatening consequences. Whether or not the surgeon is ‘’good’’ or ‘’bad’’ the procedures should not be done and are unethical. First of all, cosmetic surgery costs a great deal of money. Breast augmentations are 3,797$, Tummy Tucks are,332$, Butt Lifts are $7,904, Collagen Injections are $673 and Eyelid surgery is $2,912, To me no amount of money is worth risking your life for. Not only that, I believe that people are beautiful the way they are, and that they don’t need surgery to boost their self esteem. Individuals seek to conform to the social norm, and it’s apparent that they will go to any cost to make that happen. When comes to unethical issues such as transgender cosmetic surgery, no it should not be allowed. In Fact, when they get these procedures they can die from anesthesia. In conclusion, when come to cosmetic surgery its dangerous overall even though you’re getting medical reasons or even though you get Butt Lift or Tummy Tuck or Collagen injection , Overall cosmetic surgery is a dangerous ,harmful procedure that should be banned.

Child Abuse And Child Protection Criminology Essay

Child Abuse And Child Protection Criminology Essay The objective of this paper is to deliberate the role the Internet has on the sexual exploitation of children today. The central premise is the crime of online child sexual exploitation with the specific attention on sexual predators online grooming behaviours for procurement of children for sexual abuse. The paper begins with a brief overview of child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, followed by a short background of computers and the Internet. The paper shall examine and discuss sexual predators, online grooming, accessibility, anonymity, content, and victimisation and highlight an opposing view. During the course of the paper, the term children implies the ages 12 to 17 years, and the expression sexual predators applied to define adults who habitually seek out sexual situations that are deemed exploitative while the use of the word Internet encompasses the terms World Wide Web and cyberspace. Throughout the course of this paper, I intend to demonstrate that, compared to previous generations, technology and the Internet has exposed children of the digital and virtual generation to the immeasurable vulnerability of becoming a victim of child sexual exploitation. Child abuse is universal; it is an extensive social phenomena on a global level that occurs through four methods; neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse or sexual abuse (Rivett Kelly, 2006 and Lancaster Lumb, 1999). Child sexual abuse occurs when an adult uses their power or authority to involve a child in sexual activity (Child Rights International Network (CRIN), 2012). Child sexual abuse is a multi-layered problem; astonishingly complex in its characteristics, dynamics, causes and consequences with no universal definition (Hobday Ollier, 2004; Price-Robertson, Bromfield, Vassallo, 2010 and Browne Lynch, 1995). Therefore, child sexual abuse can be understood to encompass physical, verbal or emotional abuse (Barber, 2012 and Friedman, 1990) and can involve exposing a sexual body part to a child, and talking in a sexually explicit way (Finkelhor Hotaling, 1984). With the introduction of the Internet, online child sexual abuse has subsequently entered the perplexing realm of child abuse. Child sexual abuse now encompasses; sending obscene text messages or emails, or showing pornographic photographs to a child, solicitation, and online grooming to facilitate procurement of a child for sexual contact (Davidson Gottschalk, 2011; Stanley, 2003). Choo indicated that a study showed that 85 to 95% of child sexual abuse cases, the child knew the perpetrator as an acquaintance or family member in real life but had used the Internet and other technology to further their grooming activities (2009, p. xiii). Therefore, it could be suggested that technology has enhanced opportunities of child sexual abuse for offenders. The first personal computer became available in 1975 (Peter, 2004), and a new phenomenon entered the global landscape in 1969, but it was not until 1993 that it became a commercial product the Internet (Jones Quayle, 2005 and Peter, 2004). The Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2012), revealed Internet access exploded from 286,000 Internet households in 1996 to an incredible 13.1 million in 2010/2011. In almost two decades, the Internet has moved from an ambiguous communications vehicle to a vast virtual world and a ubiquitous fixture in homes, schools and workplaces; an indispensable component of millions of peoples lives (Davidson Gottschalk, 2011 and Quayle, Vaughan, Taylor, 2006). The universality of this technology revolution has changed lives in dramatic ways by shortening the geographical distances and facilitating ways to share information (Stanley, 2001). Computers and the Internet are valuable tools for childrens learning, but like all revolutions, the Internet has simul taneously brought about a darker side (Won, Ok-Ran, Chulyun, Jungmin, 2011; Jones Quayle, 2005 and Stanley, 2001) including the establishment of online child sexual exploitation from sexual predators. Child sexual exploitation is an umbrella term for a spectrum of negative sexual experiences including exposure to unwanted sexually implicit material and uninvited requests for sexual conversations (Burgess, Mahoney, Visk Morgenbesser, 2008 and Jones Quayle, 2005). The Internet created a portal for sexual predators to further facilitate child sexual exploitation. The Internet has become is a double edged sword (Won et al, 2011), although it is an indispensable element of life with the average Australian child spending between 11 to 21hrs per week online (Irvine, 2009), it also delivers new prospects for sexual predators to sexually exploit young Internet users. Sexual predators have been part of society throughout history (Choo, 2009), and now the Internet provides an opportunity for sexual predators to employ grooming behaviours online for solicitation, harassment, exploitation, production of abuse images and participate in abusive acts (Dombrowski, LeMansey, Ahia, Dickson, 2004 and Quayle, Vaughan, Taylor, 2006). Feather (1999) acknowledges that the internet has been shown to act as a new medium through which some commonly recognised forms of child maltreatment, sexual and emotional abuse may be pursued. Australia, in 2006, had 130 completed prosecutions for online child sexual exploitation offenses, in the same year the United Kingdom ha d 322 cases while the United States case reports grew from 4,560 in 1998 to an astonishing 76,584 by the end of 2006 (Choo, 2009, pp. xi -xii). The Internet has provided an accessible gateway for sexual predators to enter the homes of children previously unattainable as prior to the Internet the act of grooming by sexual predators would have required the predator to physically stalk their victims or to know them through legitimate reasons (Armagh, 1998). Child grooming typically begins through a non-sexual, manipulative approach to assist the enticement of a child through active engagement, and by utilising their skills of power and control to lower a childs inhibitions, to desensitise them and to gain their trust before luring them into interaction (Australian Institute of Criminology Online child grooming laws, 2008; Choo, 2009; Davidson Gottschalk, 2011; Beech, Elliott, Birgden Findlater, 2008 and Gallagher, 2007). Child grooming is not a new phenomenon; it dates back to when child sexual abuse was first identified and define (Martellezzo, cited in Davidson Gottschalk, 2011, p. 104). The traditional process of child grooming entailed close physical proximity to a child and many sexual predatory selected jobs as child-serving professionals or volunteers, this enabled them to have positions of authority and to gain childrens trust more easily (Berson, 2003, p. 10). The conventional methods placed the sexual predator at significa nt personal risk as they were exposed to suspicion of any special attention or affection directed towards a child (Armagh, 1998 Gallagher, 2007). The Internet aids sexual predators to shorten the trust building period and to simultaneously have access to multiple victims across the globe (Berson, 2003 and Davidson Gottschalk, 2011). Sexual predators utilise the Internet to groom a child for either immediate sexual gratification or to persistently groom a child online to lay the foundations for sexual abuse in the physical world (Davidson Gottschalk, 2011 and Quayle, Vaughan Taylor, 2006). Choo (2009, p. xii) stated that in the United States in 2006, there were 6,384 reports made regarding online enticement. The advent of the Internet facilitates sexual predators a formidable utopia of opportunity for sexual abuse through easier, simpler and faster instant access to potential child victims worldwide. The central differences for sexual predators in the physical world and the online world are accessibility and anonymity. The Internet changed the way people interact, and online communication has become an integral part of society. Instant messaging and chat rooms are readily accessed by sexual predators to discover and target potential victims (Berson, 2003; Choo, 2009; Davidson Gottschalk, 2011 and Stanley, 2001). Choo (2009) indicates that studies have shown 55% of sexual predators utilise social networking sites to enable quick, effective and ostensibly with confidentiality. Sexual predators employ their skills by exploiting search engines to locate publically available information on children and their activities, and acquiring personal information from participating in chat rooms which, then permits them to attract, manipulate and build long term virtual relationships with potential victims (Berson, 2003; Choo, 2009; Davidson Gottschalk, 2011 and Stanley, 2001). According to Choo (2009) a study in the United States in 2006 indicated that 71% of children have established an online profile on soc ial networking sites with 47% of them allowing their profiles to be public- viewable by anyone. 40% of sexual predators will read online profiles of children in an attempt to identify potential victims according to a study conducted by Malesky (2007). Social networking sites, chat rooms, and instant messaging support sexual predators access to children through real time open access to specific subject forums, searchable profiles, display of personal information, message boards and instant contact (Aiken, Moran Berry, 2011; Calder, 2004; Davidson Gottschalk, 2011; Dombrowski et al, 2004 and Marcum, 2007). Before the Internet, this type of information and access would have been almost impossible for a predator to acquire. The Internet provides a previously unattainable degree of anonymity and this allows a sexual predator to hide behind their masquerade personas to entice interaction with children (Choo, 2009). One of the main attractions of the Internet for sexual predators is the anonymity. A child does not always know who they are interrelating with, and they may think they know, but unless it is a school friend or a relative, they genuinely cannot be sure. Utilising concealment of identity, many sexual predators are more inclined to behave deviant; uninhibited through anonymity and the depersonalised isolation of the virtual world with little risk of detection (Aiken et al, 2011 Burgess et al, 2008). Feather (1999, p. 7) specified that many child sexual predators lurk in chat rooms they remain in the background intensively reading chat room posts without actually commenting themselves, they monitor the rooms looking for potential victims or they use a pseudonym to facilitate interaction. In 2006 , there were 850,000 cases of children receiving unwanted sexual approaches in chat rooms online in the United Kingdom, many anonymously or posing as a child (Choo, 2009). The main aim of concealing their identities is to gain the trust of a child to facilitate the eventual physical contact. A study by Malesky (2007) revealed 80% of participants frequented chat rooms geared towards minors and used pseudonyms to improve their chances of making contact with a child and to eventually generate an offline meeting. Technical advances have introduced sexual predators to protocols and programs that enable them to conceal their identities which makes it difficult to trace and locate them (Choo, 2009). The proliferation and ease of accessibility has allowed for child sexual predators to electronically creep into the bedrooms of children where they engage in sexually explicit chat, cyber voyeurism and exhibitionism over the expanding Internet. Since the Internet is largely uncensored and only partially regulated (Stanley, 2003) it has enabled sexual predators to expose children to negative content such as pornography and sexually explicit material. The unprecedented ease of access to the Internet introduced a vehicle for the flow of digital and electronic data of sexually exploitative material including sexual imagery. The Cyber Tipline in the United States advocates that in 2002, 51 million images and videos of pornography were on the Internet depicting children and indicated that between 1998 and 2012, there were 1.3 million reports regarding sexual inappropriate conduct and material these included child pornography and unsolicited obscene material sent to a child (National Center for Missing Exploited Children, 2012). Sexual predators use pornography and sexually explicit materials to desensitise children to deviant sexual stimuli to encourage them to participate in sexual activities. 1 in 25 children have been asked t o send sexual pictures of themselves to someone on the Internet (Mitchell, Finkelhor Wolak, 2007). Children are the targets for most sexual predators as their social skills are generally incomplete and they are less likely to pick up on the relevant clues of grooming such as inappropriate remarks (Choo, 2009). Children in the higher age brackets are more likely targets for sexual predators due in part to their greater mobility, sexual curiosity and autonomy (Choo, 2009 and Davidson Gottschalk, 2011). These children have an intense interest in expanding social networks, taking risks and forming emotional bonds with others. They share more personal information, interact with strangers via chat rooms, email or post pictures online, visit adult content websites and chat rooms and agree to meet with someone in person when they met online. Examination of literature for this paper indicated that the Internet poses real dangers to children and they can be vulnerable to sexual predators (for example see, Bersen, 2008; Choo, 2009 Davidson Gottschalk, 2011; Jones Quayle, 2005; Malesky, 2005 and Stanley, 2001). Even though Byron cited in Moran et al indicated that sexual predators may be increasingly moving online, given the increasingly restrictive real world access to children, it is impossible to determine the full extent of the numbers of children who have experienced online child sexual exploitation due to most cases not being reported but an Australian study estimated 28% of girls and 9% of boys have in some form been sexually exploited online (Choo, 2009). Wolak, Finkelhor, Mitchell and Ybarra (2008) argue that the Internet has only provided a new avenue for an old crime and suggest that through their research Internet initiated sexual abuse numbers are largely inaccurate. They suggest that the majority of the physical offline encounters is between adult men and underage adolescents who used online communities and were aware they were conversing with adults who rarely deceived them about their sexual interests and that the estimated 500 arrests in the United States for statutory rape occurring from internet contact 95% are non-forcible the adolescent was a willing participant. Richards (2011) suggests that situational and environmental factors play a key role in sexual offending and research has shown that most sexual predators are known to their victims; they are not targeted by strangers. Tomison (2001) specifies that in Australia it was not until the late 1900s did welfare groups begin to recognise that most perpetrators of child s exual abuse were from within the family; known as intrafamilial sexual abuse (Smallbone Wortley, 2001). In the 1920s child sexual abuse became characterised as abuse committed by strangers; known as extrafamilial sexual abuse (Smallbone Wortley, 2001). Today it appears to be seen as a mixture of both. In conclusion, child sexual abuse is a multifaceted problem, and the Internet has now contributed to the complexities of this. Child sexual predators are those who take unfair advantage of some imbalance of power between themselves and a child in order to sexually use them either online or in the physical world. Sexual predators predominately utilise the art of grooming to entice the trust of a child and while has been a part of the physical world of sexual predators in previous generations, the Internet has facilitated the use of grooming to a whole new level on the next generation. The Internet is a continuous, evolving entity that has become part of mainstream life. It has evolved from humble beings in the late 1960s to an immeasurable phenomenon way into the future, millions of families have instant, fast access the Internet daily and this too shall continue to grow with the introduction in Australia of a national broadband network. This paper demonstrated that most sexual predators, who commit sexual abuse on a child in the physical world, initially become acquainted with the child by communication over the Internet and employed more advanced grooming techniques to gain a childs trust. The paper established that the Internet has had a dramatic impact on the evolution of child exploitation by providing an avenue for sexual predators to seek out potential victims and to communicate with them. The rapid development and explosive use of the Internet have allowed for increased opportunities for recruiting children for sexually purposes through social networking sites and chat rooms and the paper identified the Internet as an ideal setting for child sexual exploitation through anonymity and the ease with which one can masquerade. Finally, this paper has identified and ultimately demonstrated that through the revolution of the Internet it provided new tools for sexual predators to sexually exploit children in the digi tal and virtual generation.

The doha development

The doha development Doha development round The Doha development round is also called the Doha development agenda. It commenced in November 2002 as the trade negotiation round of (WTO) world trade organization. Its main objectives are to increase trade globally by lowering the trade barriers around the world. It began with the ministerial meeting in Qatar in 2001 then subsequent meetings took place in- Mexico (2003) Honkong (2005) Related meetings took place in Geneva, Switzerland (2004, 2006, 2008) Paris, France (2005) Potsdam, Germany (2007) The recent negotiation broke down on July 2008 which held as a failure to reach compromise on agricultural import rules. Negotiations Trade negotiation committee has overseen the talks of Doha negotiations, whose chairman is currently Pascal Lamys director general. The negotiations held in existing bodies of WTO and in five working groups. Topics of negotiations are market access, development and maintenance issues, to rules and regulations, trade expansions and other issues. Before Doha Before Doha negotiations there were WTO ministerial conferences. First WTO conference held in Singapore in 1996 for 4 major issues-government procurement, custom issues, investments in trade, competition and trade. These issues became known as Singapore issues. In spite of conferences no conclusion was reached, and then developed nations argued that other new trade negotiations mist include tat issues. In 1999 it was intended to start the millennium round but due to several different events it was never started. And it was decided by working groups that it will not be started until the first ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar in 2001. Inbuilt agenda of 2000 on agriculture and trade in services merged with the Doha negotiations. Doha 2001 The Doha development agenda, DDA started in November 2001,to negotiate on agricultural issues, trade in services, also gats and trips negotiations. The main objective of this round was to make the trade regulations fairer for all the countries but according to various critics system of trade rules adopted in Doha round was bad for developing countries and against their domestic trade policies. Cancun, 2003 This meeting was collapsed after four days because of differences in Singapore issues; also few countries did not show flexibility in their operations, rather than trade negotiations they only replaced their demands and wide differences between the trade negotiations of developing and developed countries. Geneva, 2004 The main focus of this negotiation was on market access and reduction of agricultural export subsidies. Comprise was made on negotiation of Singapore issues, developing countries played a great role in the negotiation of trade facilitation. Paris, 2005 In was held on may of 2005 with the intentions to get the tangible progress before December of 2005.this conference was Hanging around issues like- cutting of subsides to farmers in France, issues relating to chicken, beef and rice and other technical issues. Geneva, 2006 This was held in June 2006 but it failed to reach on conclusion about import rules and taxes, reducing farming subsidies. Geneva, 2008 It was started on July 21, 2008 at the WTOS headquarters but failed to compromise on SSM, special safeguard issues. Differential treatment was provided to the developing countries in the form of import volume expansions. Negotiations on these issues continued in June 2009 since the last conference.50% were the odds of success said by Pascal Lamy. This negotiation expected to last for 4 days but instead of lasting 9 days it did not reach to conclusion. There were also disagreements onn various issues like protection to Indian and Chinese farmers and African imports to te European union. Why the Doha round matters Over a billion of people live under poverty. The IMF and World Bank estimated that 7% growth rate is needed to achieve the goal of halving the poverty by 2015.trade liberalization is an important part of development. Its main purpose is to provide the trade opportunities to countries and to provide more jobs and also to allow poor people to improve their lives. This can be achieved through more exports. More exports high economic growth-more stimuli to domestic reformsfaster poverty reduction. Trade liberalization is not only the answer no doubt investments in infrastructure, health issues or education is also requires. Therefore Doha round engaged in strengthening the institutions and improving the education and health services in developing countries. Deadlock of Doha As stated earlier DDA was started 2001 and expected to achieve the goals by 2005.after 7 turbulent years later after many ministerial meetings-after various mini-ministerial conferences -still we do not have an agreement. The collapsed of negotiations occur because of rejection by US on the demand made by china and India about the usage of safeguard measures is called deadlock of Doha The issues raised in Doha round by developing countries were the corner stone of necessary agriculture negotiations in the Doha agenda. The negotiating mandate include 2 key issues- Reducing trade distorting subsidies Food security and trade development Besides the tariff reduction issues, goals were met with much resistance regarding the minimization of distortions in agriculture market. Despite this compromise by the US developing countries still willing that US should also compromise on non-agriculture products tariff and non-tariff barriers. Important issues Agriculture It has become the most controversial issue of Doha round.2001 Doha round ended with an agreement to substantial improvements in the agriculture market-reductions of export subsides and reductions in the trade distorting support. Special products must be exempt from cuts Limit the number of import sensitive products Food security and livelihood considerations Access to patented medicines The main issue of Doha was trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) The issue revolves around- Public health issues in developing countries Balance of interest between pharmacy companies Compulsory licenses for the export of pharmacy products to least developed and other member countries Special and differential treatment The one of the main issue as to strengthen and to make more precise, effective the special and deferential treatment (S D).developed and developing countries gave the separate deadlines for SD provisions. Also developing countries argued that developed countries were negotiating in good faith on the other hand they argued that developing countries were unreasonable in making the proposals. Implementation issues Developing countries had the limited capacity or inadequate technical assistance that is why they argued that they have had implementation problems with the agreements reached in the earlier of Uruguay round. They also claimed that apparel in country markets and large access for textiles did not benefit them what thy expected. Some of thee implementation issues resolved by WTO members and they directed two path approach for other remaining issues. Reasons for Doha failure Developing countries did not reciprocate on trade concessions For the collapse of negotiations, technically the US was blamed for this but US felt that developing nations had not open the markets in the way they were asked to open and so there were no point in negotiating the talks. Media attention lacking These meetings lacked media attention. You would hardly find any information about going of these meetings because this information did not mention in many mainstream media, even not on prime time televisions and on news broadcast. May be the media was catching the conflicts in Lebanon at and not the proceedings of WTO meeting. Some argue that democracies are expected to be accountable by an informed citizenry so it hardly matters whether media people cover this or not. Failure since Doha started in 2001 This collapsed of negotiation were not of sudden on it were from the beginning only. Developed nations demand developing nations for using unfair ways and poor countries in turn blaming rich countries for this failure. Negotiations and meetings aimed at a world that no longer exists It was argued that neither the collapsed and nor he recriminations were taken as too seriously. The Doha round continuously failed in spite of pace o growth in he world economy. Negotiations- Focused on issues that no longer exists Required efforts for taking actions against developing nations unwillingness to undertake One of the causes is that working groups focusing on same decisions to resolved the almost all issues. Therefore it was said that Success requires a different rules and players for different games. Impasses over the agriculture result in as much an excuse as a factor of breakdown. Is collapse of Doha a bad thing? Its collapse may be a good thing, if it is taken that the Doha development round focused on an issues misaligned with real world. The new WTO members brought during the Uruguay round have different perceptions about economic interests and trade offs with that of older members, board of the old GATT system. MFN clauses can one of the problems. Its main motive was to protect the smaller nation members like New Zealand and Luxemburg from larger nations like Japan and US. Despite of MFN, like the old trading systems new emerging systems for trade preferences also looks uncomfortable. Economic impact of Doha round In 2001 world income increased from $40 to $60 billion It means that less than 0.2% rise in global GDP. Liberalizing trade lead to global gains of $90 to $120 billion per year. Real lessons from Doha failure It was arguing that Doha development agenda was ill-conceived from the beginning only. Its main objective was to promote economic welfare through trade-offs.but this objective was more or less based on fantasies. Therefore objects be clearly defined after considering the various factors. Set realistic priorities American leaders must persuade bilaterally along with multilaterally, if they want to use trade rules and policies for strategic purposes. The trade initiatives should not be focusing on only third development nations but also on the global economy and world trading system. The Doha development agenda objectives reflected that developing nations are becoming most important international trade players and that is why they deserve a great voice while negotiating in the meetings. Leaving aside whether equality and rights effects economic regulations and policy making, global roles of developing nations has been over stated. Doha round should give more grant to developing nations a greater roles in negotiations. Ways to collude DDA OECD members will move forward They can move forward in number of areas- Services Manufacturing sectors Product standards recognitions Pricing of products And range of other issues On manufacturing tariffs there should be zero-for-zero plurilateral agreement. Worlds governments need to develop an multilateral trade system for the preservation of benefits from trade development and growth. Anti-democratic ways must be prune away contained in WTO rules for domestic policy making. Rules must be designed for a single homogenized market in spite of setting terms for separate nations with different priorities. The WTO members must be scaled back so that multilaterally treaties for public interest can serve as a floor of conduct of trade. Some other principles Participation Sustainable development High priorities should be given to subjects not negotiated Nothing can be agreed until everything is agreed Conclusion We can say that because of this negotiating process, the geopolitical map is becoming more complex There were increase in power disputes between national governments and negotiation procedures have become explicit with the role of international networks It is also clearly indicated that free trade policies most of the time favored the big corporations and developing nations do not want to follow these policies. However the IMFS and the WTO are in setback but they still influence on economic thinking. Now there is an undermining of global trade liberalization which act as an engine for development in earlier years. Rethinking the multilateral trade system means giving more priority to local methods of production and to the sustainability of life and planet. References www.wto.org www.google.com www.dfat.gov.com www.reuters.com www.businessstandard.com www.news.smh.com www.atimes.com www.forbes.com

Contrast In Language :: essays research papers

Contrast Between Language of Love in the Balcony Scene and the Language of Death in the Final Scene of Romeo and JulietIn William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare introduces many themes that he continues throughout all of his tragedies, including the language of love vs. the language of death. The balcony scene is the most valuable scene illustrating the language of love, whereas in the final scene of the play the language of death is used to set the stage for their suicides, pulling together the tragic ending of the play.Throughout the second scene of Act II, Romeo uses beautiful metaphors and similes to express his affection for Juliet:O, speak again bright angel, for thou artAs glorious to this night, being o'er my headAs is a winged messenger of heaven.(Rom. II. II, 28-30.)This passage is used to compare Juliet to an angel, somethign that is universally held as sacred and lovely. Elsewhere in the scene there are lines that describe their love for one another, and add to the romantic theme of the scene:And but thou love me, let them find me here.My life better ended by their hateThe death prorogued, wantingof thy love.(Rom. II. II, 76-78.)In the final scene of the play, there is much talk of death by Romeo, Friar Laurence, and Juliet. Romeo announces his own demise in his soliloquy:Depart again. Here, here I will remainWith worms and chambermaids. O, hereWill I set my everlasting restAnd shake the yoke of inauspicious starsFrom this world-weariedflesh. Eyes, look your last!Arms, take your last embrace! And, lips,O youThe doors of breath to engrossing death!(Rom. V. III, 108-114.)The Friar's Frantic wrods and actions in conflict to his previous calm stature illustrate the grim mood of the scene: Stay not to question, for the watch is coming.Come, go good Juliet.

The Recipe for Nature Essay -- Daniel Dennett Algorithm Essays

The Recipe for Nature Missing Works Cited Nature is a fluid coalescence of complex magnificence resulting from an algorithmic mastery of simplicity. It is no doubt an awe-inspiring entity that invokes both great curiosity and bafflement in those who attempt to account for its existence and splendor. It is often seen as overly reductionistic, if not  ¡Ã‚ §dangerous ¡Ã‚ ¨, to try to condense the (mindless?) brilliance of nature through any sort of mechanistic or logical means. And here we are faced with what Daniel Dennett calls Darwin ¡Ã‚ ¦s dangerous idea:  ¡Ã‚ §that all the fruits of evolution can be explained as the products of an algorithmic process ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Dennett, 1995 p.60). It is no surprise that this idea might present a problem for the Homo-sapien ego, as it jeopardizes our egocentric concept of  ¡Ã‚ §natural ¡Ã‚ ¨ superiority, as well as fails to satisfy our almost insatiable need to directly account for the expansiveness of the world around us. That is, for many of us it is somehow pessimistic, if not fatalistic, to be satisfied with the idea that we are products of nothing more than a mindless mechanical process (what a dangerous idea this is!) (Dennett, 1995 p.60). The question then inevitably arises: Is Darwin ¡Ã‚ ¦s theory of natural selection really  ¡Ã‚ §powerful enough ¡Ã‚ ¨ to can account for all of the world ¡Ã‚ ¦s design work (i.e., the time, energy and development needed to produce a complex outcome)? (Dennett, 1995) The answer is yes, but only after nature has been unraveled in terms of an algorithmic design and only after the many misunderstandings of Darwin ¡Ã‚ ¦s fundamental ideas have been rectified. If we are to discuss nature and natural selection in terms of being an algorithmic process, we must first define what is meant by an algorithm. An... ...Principle of Accumulation of Design ¡Ã‚ ¨ refers to the fact that the complexity of design work found in nature can be accounted for, not by a definite design process preformed by a designer, but by  ¡Ã‚ §a different sort of process that distributed that work over huge amounts of time, by thriftily conserving the design work that had been accomplished at each stage, so that it didn ¡Ã‚ ¦t have to be done over again ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Dennett, 68). This idea of distributed design work is certainly in line with nature ¡Ã‚ ¦s slow advancement in terms of complexity and  ¡Ã‚ §order of organisms ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Dennett, 69). Furthermore, the Principle of Accumulation of Design does not apply to work done as a result of a single unifying algorithmic process, but to the work done by a  ¡Ã‚ §large class of related algorithms ¡Ã‚ ¨, the conglomeration of which is responsible for the complexity found in nature today (Dennett, 51).

The Starbucks Company

In the community that this generation lives in today, there are numerous essentials that are now considered as a necessity. Coffee is somehow considered as an essential to the society. It is used by the people to either keep them awake or just to give them energy to hopefully last the whole day. One of the acknowledged coffee companies in the world is Starbucks. This coffee company started in the year of 1971 in Seattle, Washington. Various drinks were produced by Starbucks for the benefit of their customers. With this marketing maneuver, Starbucks was able to gain the trust and loyalty of its customers. In the year 2000, Starbucks had branched out of United States and expanded into Australia. According to Brook (2016), Starbucks had opened for about 84 stores in the country. However, with the coffee company trying to enter the market in Australia, Australians were hesitant with the new company present in their market. Apparently, Starbucks had apparently â€Å"more than 70 percent of its underperforming locations, leaving only 23 Starbucks stores throughout the entire continent† (Turner, 2018). Moreover, Starbucks had accumulated a lost of $143 million that obliged Starbucks to close and pull out most of its stores in Australia (Hurst, 2014). Another problem that Starbucks had encountered was the loyalty of the Australians because they are accustomed to the bitter-tasting coffee that their local coffee stores offer (Turner 2018). Since Starbucks sells and offered their customers a sweeter kind of coffee that is foreign to their taste, Starbucks was not able to gain popularity as compared to the popularity they have in other countries. The starbucks company could use two (2) strategic analysis tool known as the S.W.O.T and the P.E.S.T analysis. With the aid of these strategic tools, the company may be aware of the risks and opportunities that they may encounter under certain circumstances. The SWOT analysis is a strategic tool used for identifying the company's strengths and weaknesses alongside with the opportunities and threats that may accompany it. With the usage of the S.W.O.T analysis, the company would be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the possible opportunities and threats that the company might face. It could be noted that Starbucks had somehow disregarded the research and survey procedure for introducing new products to a new community. Instead, the company of Starbucks assumed that the goods and services they offer caters to everyone in the world– which, in this case, Australia was not delighted about. If the company of Starbucks had just researched more and surveyed more people concerning the sweet tasting coffees they serve, they would be able to identify that Australians prefer their coffees either brewed or bitter. Since Australia is one of the countries to have a different preference in coffee– along with some parts of Europe, as compared to the rest of the world, Starbucks could have seen the risk of losing customers when entering the market of Australia as Australians were not as accustomed to Starbucks back in 2000. Meanwhile, their decision to pull out 61 branches out of their 84 built establishments and leaving only about 23 establishments was a good call to somehow cut the overhead cost that they would have to pay such as rent, labor, and assets that in the end did not prosper. The company was somehow able to also salvage their name even though there are articles about their ‘failed endeavor'. This could be seen as a learning opportunity to Starbucks as they would try to re-enter the market in Australia, and hopefully, by this time, as they have left some establishments in the Australian community, Starbucks would not have that much of a hard time as they would have known the strategies and preferences that Australians want. Moreover, since Australia is one of the tourist destinations of the world, people from all around the world would sometimes visit Australia and with Starbucks known internationally, this company would be the preferred coffee branch of these tourists. Aside from S.W.O.T, another tool used for strategic planning is the P.E.S.T analysis. PEST stands for Political, Economical, Social, and Technological factors that are being considered when planning for a business endeavor. The P.E.S.T analysis is being used by businesses to identify the risks and opportunities of a business at a macro level as it not only determine the advantages and disadvantages of the business, but also the external aspects of the business. It could be noted that Starbucks had a good relationship with its external factors like their suppliers, and some of the customers in their community because of the service they offer. However, when Starbucks had expanded their company in the year 2000, they also had to pull out most of their establishments in the year 2008, as the company noticed that they are no longer earning profit from the said branch. Moreover, there was a high turnover rate during this time as 700 hundred employees were left jobless after the pulling out of the branches. (Prepare for Australia, n.d) In terms of the social factors that Starbucks might have considered is the preference of Australians with their coffees. As majority of the Australian population are somehow meticulous with the way they want their coffees prepared and served, Starbucks somehow was not able to impress their customers. According to a statement of staff in Sydney's Mecca Espresso named Tuli Keidar (2014, as cited in Hurst, 2014), â€Å"†¦ Australia already had a well established cafe culture based on espresso when Starbucks arrived. It had to compete with cafes that provided a similar product of equal or better quality.† This means that Australians are very much accustomed to the local coffee stores in the country that they are able to identify which serves the best beverages in their town. However, aside from the country's expertise in coffees and teas, they also take into account the ambience and atmosphere of the establishments. In line with the two strategic planning tool that was used to assess the possible risks and opportunities of the Starbucks brand in Australia, it could be noted that in terms of internal assessment, it is best to use the SWOT analysis as it is mostly focused on the internal cases of situations that could be avoided or taken into account. The business could use this planning tool for its convenience and it still gets the work done. On the other hand, when a company would want to focus on the external factors as they would want to research on the country or community they are planning to cater to, it is best to use the PEST analysis as it is mostly focused on external cases with a hint of internal cases. With the data gathered and analyzed with the aid of two commonly used planning tools in a business, it could be noted that one of the mistakes that Starbucks had done was that it barged in a competition without introducing itself to its customers and community. However, with the advancement of technology and the variations of the preferences of people, Starbucks may have a chance to gradually expand in Australia if they still wish to do so. If ever the plan for expansion would commence, the popularity of Starbucks would increase, alongside the increase in profit as people who travel or migrate to Australia might have been accustomed to Starbucks and somehow want a piece of home to remind them of their roots.

Wells Fargo Analysis

MERCK & COMPANY INC.1. The grocery storeing variety A. Product / Service soundlys Fargo is an Ameri tail end tail assemblyt that provides fiscal go to its guests passim northeastern America and Internation eachy. Our merchandiseing flow starts with the description of the all overhaul mix of the incorruptible swell Fargo. This comp whatsoever gathers different chains of work offered to the merchandise place to learn the clients demand and conceptualiseations. well Fargo counts nine different kinds of verify serve to argue in the pecuniary assiduity.Ranges of serve canting (Debit, de nonation card, Checking and saving account) * brokerage house (Facilitate the buying and selling of fiscal securities) * amends * Wealth management * Retirement function * Investments * Mortgages (4000 in 2009) * Consumer finance service ( pecuniary advice) * Well Fargos mo wageary Securities Security melodic phrase (merger advice, stock and bond underwriting, loan syndi cations, and fixed-income trading) B. worth We do non hurt any(prenominal) in pathation round the price of the ope ordain in the case study. C. Place rise Fargo has a panoptic front end-to-end the US territory.Headquartered in San Francisco, the troupe is decentralised to provide an optimization of the geographicalalal coverage. Therefore, both local rise up Fargo store is equivalent the headquarter for satisfying wholly their customers. The decentralization is an effective st ordergy when a ac spicy society tries to obtain an effective wide bearing on any commercialize. This dodging has made the achievement of near of the Scandinavian organizations or institutions. Indeed, it alto suck upherows any phoner, the give c be surface Fargo to get scale uniform to its customers and be competent to understand and meet better their studys and expectations.As we can conserve from the case, the company is doing well with its distri notwithstandingion and th e customers service in general, it has even been rewarded Retail imprecateer of the family harmonize to US imprecateer. Consumers want and carry a marge dapple intimately to the place where they live or where they work. The lodge company must(prenominal) be strongly baffle in the quite better-looking city and in the metropolitan discipline where the demand for the fiscal services is of the essence(predicate). That is why surface Fargo has get under ones skined a wide distri preciselyion, in the US domestic market, throughout to a greater extent than than 6,700 retail stores in 40 areas in widely in northwest America.The encyclopedism of Wachovia is a disassociate of a b are-assed distri neverthelession system to blow over more consumers with an extended presence on the market. Now, surface Fargo has branches almost each the states from the eastward to the West both in the unification and the South. This acquisition has whollyowed swell Fargo to extend its presence in the eastern part of the US, which re delivers a colossal part of the financial market. Indeed, Wachovia had a strong presence in the part of the US especially in Connecticut, Florida, Virginia, North and South Carolina. 6,700 coin patoising Stores 3,296 US rise Fargo lingoing stores * 3,314 US Wachovia Banking stores * 90 Other financial branches Finally, in addition to the classical distri hardlyion bridle-path, come up Fargo use the electronic diffusion with its online website where customers can be informed and present an entryway to some services resembling pilling accounts, act wire transfer, plan a tryst with a financial adviser D. scene Without information closely promotion, we chose to develop a part about status that is, in fact, a sub part of the promotion.In marketing, positioning is the process by which marketers try to perform an image or identity in the minds of their target market. spatial relationing on the orbicular market with a presence in Canada, in the Caribbean, Latin America and sepa run countries, swell Fargo is especially focused on the US national market. In 2008, after the acquisition Wachovia, a come up Fargos press release said that the company was the most Extensive fiscal service company, Coast-to-Coast in community banking. Wells Fargo is widely recognized in the financial diligence.The company has built a very apt reputation with its promotional campaigns, its track records and the customer loyalty. The statistics based on the industriousness and political sympathies sources clearly show its size of it and daub image * 41st revenue among all US companies ranked by issue * 17th most profitable company in the US * 33rd Largest employer in the US * 18th most consider company in the world as ranked by Barrons * abdominal aortic aneurysm consultation-rated by Moodys * The just now standard & Poors abdominal aortic aneurysm bank in the US * Among the straighten out 50 companies as ran ked by Diversity Retail Banker of the Year according to US Banker * Number- single commercial literal commonwealth lender * 18th among the worlds most valuable commemorate according to the Financial Times Wells Fargo tries to communicate to its customers, how oftentimes they atomic numeral 18 important for the company, saying that they ar the center of everything they do. The mission is now to modify the feeling of the services. Indeed, the company is, according to the CEO, Mr. Kovacevich, profuse developed and teeming larger-than-life. The services argon now provided with an easy chafe for the consumers.Now the style to take is the character reference provided We atomic number 18 a big company. We will continue to mother not to become bigger but as a result of acquire better Regardless of how big we are and how much territory we cover our team up shares certain de landmarkine that hold us together wherever we are and whatever we do. Wells Fargo puts considera ble wildness on its culture in brand image toward the customers. It wants to be known as a financial partner, for gravid services and sound financial advice, satisfying all of their financial reads and alleviateing them to stick with financially.The company even considers its customers as friends. However, the company, does not only communicates to its customers but also with * Its employees, coitus them how much they are important for the company. Indeed, Wells Fargo wants to be known as a company that believes in its slew as a free-enterprise(a) gain over the arguing, a grand place to work, and as an employer of choice that really care about them * Its communities, promoting the scotch advancement of each partners including those not yet able to be economicly self-sufficient.Being jar againstn as a community drawing card in economic ripening, in services that promotes economic self-sufficiency, education and social services is a necessity. * Its shareholders, insur ing them that investing in Wells Fargo will be a ample investment with financial results among the entire part 500 and with the Moodys attribute-rated of abdominal aortic aneurysm (the highest possible one) 2. customers synopsis and Target foodstuff The Wells Fargos target market gathers more than 25 million customers across the USA, and internationally.Demographically, the unattackable does not really have a special target, and wants to provide financial services to all consumers who need either rich people or those who have financial difficulties. Geographically, the customers are divided up over 40 US states out of the 55. Mostly hardened in the metropolitan area, they are severe near the cost (both East and West). However, Wells Fargo, still provide its services in the less dense areas, where people need to have an access to a bank for community banking services.About buyer motivations and expectations, we noticed that customers are looking for efficacious, reliable a nd adapted financial services and advice from the company. They expect unplayful quality services and want from the bank the cleverness to meet their needs and expectations. Wherever they are, the consumers need to have an easy access to financial services in the bank office and in the Inter illuminate as well, where customers check their different bank accounts and transactions. Wells Fargo is vary in different segments where it is one of the fall companies, if it is not the stature one.The most important segments are the homeowners, the small artes, the agricultural businesses, the account card users and the prime home equity. In these segments, the company is acting very well, providing good quality services and good customer service which allow the company to unendingly attach the customer loyalty, being able to keep its customers from the competitors. However, it does not mean that the others are abandoned. Wells Fargo really tries to emphasis that all customers are i mportant, from the consumer banking over lending to the big institutional client. 3. SWOT ground substanceThe SWOT inter cellular substance is an important matching tool that us to develop four types of strategies for Wells Fargo * The SO (Strengths-opportunities) strategies use a Wells Fargo interior competencys to take good of immaterial opportunities. * The WO ( weaknesses-opportunities) strategies channelize at improving internal weaknesses by taking advantages of outside opportunities. * The ST (Strengths-threats) strategies use a Wells Fargos internal strengths to block or reduce the impact of outer threats. * The WT ( promiscuousnesses-threats) strategies are defensive tactics enjoin at reducing internal weaknesses and avoiding external threatsStrengths 1. Brand Image and assimilation and sets (ethical behavior) 2. Credibility 3. Statistics based on the constancy and the government sources show its size and strength 4. Acquisition of Wachovia supplement of the distribution channel and the number of customers 5. Decentralization system 6. squiffy position in the markets involved in 7. Management 8. Innovation leadership (Inter wampum E-commerce) 9. commercialise leadership in the West the largest financial institution headquartered in the Western US that has a strong balance winding- tag end and is able to steer through the pitfalls that plagued umteen a(prenominal) of its competitors 10.The in the raw products like the Wells Fargo Securities took from Wachovia securities business 11. Moodys credit rate Aaa (the highest possible) Weaknesses 1. Decrease of the net income and ROA and roe 2. Limited international presence 3. unfavorable reputation as a bank since the economic receding 4. Weakness addition quality among high real realm exposure 5. The Wachovia subprime mortgage problems 6. Overcommitted in credit default swaps 7. High amount of grace of God ($23 one million million million) Opportunities 1. Many banks are pull i nk like Citigroup with negative Operate moulding (-57. 9%), Net income ($ -23. 9 billion), and EPS (-3. 651) 2. few Banks have recently fai conduct and have been seized by federal official officials like Lehman Brothers compound Bank and guaranty Financial group wickedness order on their holdings has soared as high as 40% - Decrease the competition 3. Grow internationally 4. Keep improving the mesh uses 5. bring new products for new businesses SO Strategies WO Strategies 1. originate new lucre applications and services for customers (S8, O4) 2. Increase promotions to attract more customers (S1, S2, O1, O2) 3. Open branches in foreign markets (S1, S3, O3) 4.Get walking(prenominal) to the customers needs and develop loyalty programs (S2, S5, O6) 1. publicize campaign to reassure the consumers (W3, O1, O6) 2. Open branches in foreign markets (W2, O3) 3. Develop alternative services to diversify the ranges and not focus and mortgages (W4, O5) ST Strategies WT Strategies 1. D evelop completive services and use competitory advantages to gather in market share (S3, S5, T7) 2. Take advantage of the lack of regulation 3. Develop a strong customer loyalty database (S4, S5, S6, O7, O8) 1. Develop alternative services to diversify the ranges and not focus and mortgages (W4, W1, T4) 2.Charging lower interest rates to the customers (W1, T1) Threats 1. keep deterioration in the hold and credit market 2. High unemployment rate 3. Tight credit 4. Many homeowners cannot collapse mortgage payments 5. The value of houses has dropped the amount borrowed - great problem for owners and banks 6. The lack of regulation forthwith has blurred the product and services bank offers 7. Competition with Bank of America and Citigroup 8. Superregional and global Banks are make growing, they all tend to set off globally 9. Assurance rates increase 4. industriousness and Competition analysisThe financial industry counted nine main players onwards the economic crisis in 2008, which meant height potential competitors for Wells Fargo including Bank of America, Citigroup, US Bancorp, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanly, Lehman Brothers, colonial study and Guaranty Financial Group. The economic ceding back has eliminated the weak banks that were not doing well sufficient to overcome the outcomes of the economic crisis, like Lehman Brothers, Colonial Bank and Guaranty Financial Group. Furthermore, an economical selection has been made and only the better banks are still competing on this industry.The industry is currently suffering from the economic respite and all of its outcomes including the deterioration of the housing and credit market, high unemployment rate, and tight credit. That is why many banks, especially the community banks, are try and some even have failed, including Colonial National, and Guaranty Financial Group. Moreover some Banks like Citigroup are not performing well by loosing money and market share. Guaranty had more than $3 billion of securities baked by adjustable-rate mortgages.The bank has seen the viciousness rates on holdings soared by 40% before the federal officials seized the bank in August 2009. As we can see from the chart, in term of revenue Wells Fargo is not the best financial service company. Until 2007 Citigroup was the leader in sales but the economic crisis and the recession that have followed this crisis has led to a sharp decrease of its sales. Since 2008, Bank of America is the leader in sales and the stronger competitor for Wells Fargo. However, its sales are fluctuating whereas the Wells Fargos sales show a unbend but steady rise.This chart displays the evolution of the net income of the three main companies including Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Bank of America. Wells Fargo was the last company in 2007 before the economic crisis in term of net income. However, we can see that the deuce competitors are not doing well enough to keep being militant, especially Citigroup, which had a decrea se of 210. 7%. All of the companies have seen its net income decreased but Wells Fargo has the slightest decrease which allow it the to have the highest net income in 2009 and shows by the way its electrical capacity to overcome though government agencys. 5.Type of strategies Wells Fargo shows the confide to take part in the top financial companies in the domestic market. This is one element from their long-term strategies. This desire to compete with the market leaders such as Bank of America represent the results evaluate from pursuing certain strategies. According to this case, we can say that Wells Fargo is pursuing a market teaching and market acuteness strategy, introducing present services into new geographic areas. This strategy, has particularly led to the acquisition of Wachovia and the extension of the Wells Fargos presence to the Eastern US.This market development strategy has take intensive effort for Wells Fargo in terms of investment and management. This strat egy basically involves introducing present products or services into new geographical areas. Here by getting Wachovia, Wells Fargo can use a strong presence through the Wachovias distribution. The unshakables competitive position was clearly to improve compared to the market leaders. However, the company was quite an successful at what it does before the acquisition, which was a primordial condition front to such acquisition.Then but not least, it already had the needed capital and management quality to manage the expended operations. With this acquisition, the dissipated has a huge distribution capacity throughout all of the Wachovias bank offices and retail stores. combine with the strategy of decentralization, this will allow them to stool more consumers and increase the productivity. The year 2009 shows a quick preview about what the firm can achieve in the nigh years. The acquisitions or mergers are two unremarkably used ways to pursue strategies like market developme nt or more generally intensive strategies including, market brainstorm and product development.The market penetration consists in increasing market share for present products or services in present markets through greater marketing efforts (increase number of salespersons, advertising expenditures, promotion, and publicity efforts). Then, the product development strategy seeks increase sales by improving or modifying existent products or services (it entails large research and development expenditures). A merger occurs when two organizations of about equal size unite to form one enterprise. That is what often happened in the Wells Fargos history and what helped the firm to grow faster and reach the size the firm had in 2008.On the other hand, an acquisition occurs when a large organization like Wells Fargo purchases a smaller firm or a firm not doing well, like Wachovia. By acquiring Wachovia, Wells Fargo has cognise some major benefits * Provide improve capacity utilization * To gain access to new customers and products 6. distance matrix The strategic Position and Action military rating (SPACE) Matrix, is a marketing tool used to help the company to define the best strategy to develop according to its internal strategic position (Financial Position and Competitive Position) and the external strategic position ( perceptual constancy Position and Industry Position).The four quadrants of the Matrix denominate whether aggressive, conservative, defensive, or competitive strategies are most confiscate according the characteristics of the company and its industry. Financial Position * The banks return on asset is 0. 44 (decrease of 72%) but superior of all competitors * The Banks Net income was 3. 58 Billion (increase of 28%) and superior of all competitors * The Banks revenue was 42. 84 Billion (increase of 1. 51%) compared to the industry average of 7. 98 Billion * The Banks earning per share 0. 912, over the main competitors and over the average industry (0. 91) lend Rating465520Industry Position * Deregulation provides geographic and service freedom * Deregulation increases competition in the banking industry * Economic recession * harvesting potential * Financial Stability innate 4213410 Stability Position * Banking deregulation has created asymmetry throughout the industry * Less-developed countries are experiencing high inflation and political instability * The barriers to entry into the market is high * The competitive pressure is highTotal -4-4-2-4-14 Competitive Position * The bank provides financial services through 6700 offices and retails stores in 40 states * Superregional banks, international banks are get increasingly competitive * The bank has a large customer base * Customer loyalty Total -1-5-2-2-10According to the SPACE Matrix, Wells Fargo presents an aggressive profile. The company is financially pretty strong, has some competitive advantages in a rather stable industry. The Wachovia acquisition is a great op eration side by side(p) the product development or market penetration strategy. 7. away Factor military rank Matrix (EFE) Regardless of the number of mainstay opportunities and threats included in EFE Matrix, the highest possible come up heavy grade for an organization is 4. 0 and the lowest is 1. 0, and the average resume burden sexual conquest is 2. 5. An organization with 4. 0 meat weighted score is replying in an outstanding way to existing opportunities and threats in its industry.It means, the firms strategies effectively take advantage of existing opportunities and minimize the potential adverse effects of external threats. mention External Factors Weight Rating burden ca-ca Opportunities * Many banks are struggling like Citigroup with negative Operate margin (-57. 9%), Net income ($ -23. 79 Billion), and EPS (-3. 651) * Some Banks have recently failed and have been seized by Federal officials like Lehman Brothers Colonial Bank and Guaranty Financial group Del inquency rates on their holdings has soared as high as 40% * Grow internationallyKeep improving the internet uses * Develop new products for new businesses * new-made customers in the Eastern US financial market 0. 090. 120. 050. 040. 070. 11 342423 0. 270. 480. 100. 160. 140. 3 Threats * Continued deterioration in credit market * High unemployment rate * Tight credit * Many homeowners cannot make mortgage payments * The value of houses has dropped the amount borrowed * The lack of regulation now has blurred the product and services bank offers * Competition with Bank of America and Citigroup * Superregional and world(prenominal) Banks are growing, they all tend to offer globallyIncrease in insurance rates 0. 100. 030. 070. 050. 110. 060. 050. 030. 02 222323423 0. 200. 060. 140. 150. 220. 180. 200. 060. 06 Total 1. 00 2. 80 Here we can strike off that the total weighted score is of 2. 80 is above the average of 2. 5, which means Wells Fargo is doing pretty well in the Financ ial industry, taking advantage of the external opportunities like the bad shape of the competitors and also containing the threats face the firm like the competition with Bank of America. Of course, the firm could do better, improving its strategies to respond in better way to the threats and get a higher total weighted score close to 4. 0.According to the case, Wells Fargo should plump out more its activities on the international market, and develop new financial products and services to be more attractive and competitive. Moreover, the firm must find solutions to overcome the bad state of the economy and its outcomes. 8. C. indwelling Factor Evaluation Matrix This strategy-formulation tool summarizes and evaluates the major strengths and weaknesses in the functional areas of business. Like in the EFE Matrix, the total weighted score can range from a low of 1. 0 to a high of 4. 0 with an average score being 2. 5. Total weighted gobs well below 2. 5 characterise organizations t hat are weak internationally whereas lashings significantly above 2. 5 indicate a strong internal position. Key External Factors Weight Rating Weighted ScoreStrengths * Brand Image and Culture and values (ethical behavior) * Credibility Statistics based on the industry and the government sources show its size and strength * Acquisition of Wachovia extend the distribution channel and the number of customers * Decentralization strategy * Management * Innovation leadership (Internet E-commerce) * commercialize leadership in the West the largest financial institution headquartered in the Western US that has a strong balance sheet and is able to steer through the pitfalls that plagued many of its competitors * Moodys credit rate Aaa (the highest possible) 0. 070. 090. 110. 100. 060. 040. 090. 04 44443343 0. 280. 360. 440. 360. 180. 120. 360. 2Weaknesses * Decrease of the net income and ROA and ROE * Limited international presence * Bad reputation as a bank since the economic recession * Weakness asset quality among high real estate exposure * The Wachovia subprime mortgage problems * Wachovia is overcommitted in credit default swaps 0. 080. 060. 080. 060. 070. 05 212212 0. 160. 060. 160. 120. 070. 10 Total 1. 00 2. 89 The IFE Matrix provides important for strategy formulation. With a total weighted score of 2. 89, we can say Wells Fargo has a pretty strong position in the financial industry and can expect to become stronger and stronger because the firm knows how to create competitive advantages and how to use its strengths. 9.IE Matrix The IE Matrix is based on two trace dimensions the IFE total weighted scores on x-axis and the EFE weighted scores on the y-axis. The Internal External Matrix inputs are the EFE and IFE total weighted scores. As the EFE Matrix and the IFE Matrix have shown, Wells Fargo had 2. 89 for EFE and 2. 80 for IFE. In the IE Matrix, we can see the red dot represents Wells Fargos position on the Matrix. It is in the V cell, which suggests that Wells Fargo should use a hold and maintain strategy consisting of the Market keenness and Product Development strategies it should the most efficient strategy for the firm after the peak of the acquisition.However, the firm is very close to the cell I, II, and IV, which means the companys situation can be descried as slow growth and build and where intensive strategies would be the most adaptable like market penetration and market development. 10. Grand strategy Mix The Grand strategy matrix is based on two critical dimensions competition position and market growth. Wells Fargo is located in the quarter-circle I of this Matrix, which means that it is in a rather excellent strategic position. Therefore, continued submergence on current markets (market penetration and market development) and products (product development) is an appropriate strategy. We can notice that a notable shift from its established competitive advantages would be unwise. Rapid Market Growth Quadrant I Quadrant II Strong Competitive Position Weak Competition Position Slow Market Growth Quadrant IV Quadrant III