Chinese Manufacturer Opens Assembly Plant in Europe

When I was looking for car manufacturers that have opened up assembly plants in Eastern Europe, I stumbled upon some very interesting articles with information I haven’t heard about before. The article of Spiegel, which is a highly reputable German newspaper, is about the Chinese car manufacturer ‘’Great Wall Motors’’ which has opened an assembly plant in Bahovitsa, Bulgaria recently in 2012. When I read this, I immediately realized that this process normally is the other way around, European car manufacturers who move their assembly plants to China due to lower labor costs.But in this article it depicts upon the opening of an assembly plant in Europe by a Chinese car manufacturer. As I kept reading the article I more or less understood why the Chinese manufacturer is making this move. Great Wall Motors is not the first Chinese car manufacturing company that wanted to open up assembly plants in Europe. There were several others; however they have fai led to meet stringent European safety standards.Other Chinese carmakers are also expanding into Europe, as they are buying assembly plants of European car manufacturers to improve the quality of their cars and therefore to meet the stringent European safety standards. This is a way for those Chinese car manufacturers to make progress in quality. So first of all, why in Europe? By producing in Europe, the cars that are produced no longer have to be exported from China to Europe and thus Great Wall Motors is circumventing EU import taxes and tariffs.Therefore, the cars that are produced in Europe are meant to be sold in the European market. This saves Great Wall Motors a lot of money. But then a second question arises; where in Europe? Great Wall Motors did not choose Bulgaria as location for their assembly plants because of its geographical location, but rather for their cheap labor. Bulgaria is the poorest country in the European Union, and therefore is the most attractive location to open an assembly plant because it also has the lowest wages and taxes.However, the labor force is considered as well educated and therefore ensures high productivity levels and operational performance. Another factor that made Great Wall Motors to relocate to Europe, is the fact that wages in China for factory workers have been rising the last few years, and that other car manufacturers have been relocating their assembly plants to countries in Eastern Europe to gain a more competitive edge in the European market. At first, they plan to sell its cars in Eastern Europe and expand later on into other EU countries.Another factor they do not mention in the Article but in my opinion is also highly relevant for this topic is the EU economic crisis. Due to the economic crisis, many people have lost their jobs and therefore have less money to spend. This can be seen as another reason why Great Wall Motors went to Europe because this is a way they can market their cheaper cars to the Euro pean consumers who are very price sensitive due to the economic crisis. This is an opportunity for foreign car manufacturers in general.To conclude, the tables have turned as it used to be European car manufacturers opening up assembly plants in China, and now it is the Chinese car manufacturers opening up assembly plants in Europe. This article resembles the reasons why this change has occurred and why Great Wall Motors has moved their production to the European continent. Article http://www. spiegel. de/international/business/cheap-labor-in-bulgaria-chinese-open-first-car-plant-in-europe-a-816851. html

Cost of equity capital Essay

Introduction The rate of return that is required is employed in evaluating equity and is the least percentage in a year that is gained by investments of a company through the investors. The cost of equity is the rate of return on investments that is required by the shareholders of a company. The paper will discuss the three models which are the dividend growth, the CAPM and the arbitrage pricing theory. This will be in order to determine which one of them is the best for anticipating the rate of return required. It will also discuss the factors that influence the beta of a company in order to determine the cost of equity. The best model for estimating the required rate of return Dividend growth model is the best for estimating the required rate of return of the company because it is simple in terms of calculations. It is not complicated to apply and enables investors to calculate the growth of their stock easily. This model does not require a specialist and accurate decisions are made on time. This model enables the firms that use it to grow in a rate that is stable and their profits grow at the same level with the dividends. This ensures the investors that the company will meet up their compulsions. It is the best because it is constant as shareholders do not receive more dividends when the company increases profits more than expected. It is a way of determining the value of a share with regard to the current value of the dividends that the company expects to achieve in the future. Dividends can be described as the cash flows that are given back to the shareholders. Recommendation to the board of directors I would recommend to the board of directors that the SLP Company should use the dividend growth model because it is not complicated. It is also certain as the investors are given a fixed rate of return enabling the company to grow steadily. The model also has a basis that is logical as the investors are paid dividends according to their shares. It is also predictable and constant and that is why I would recommend it to the board of directors. Ease of use The simplicity of using the Capital Asset Pricing Model is because it has got relatively simple formulae to use. r = rF + ÃŽ ²*(rM – rF) Where r = requisite rate of return of financial assets ÃŽ ² = financial quality beta rF = risk free pace rM = required charge of return of   market portfolio The model also determines the type of index which suites the company market. For instance, if the business owner feels that the Russell 3000 best represents the business, it is necessary to use it since it is available. The model also looks for beta asset values as computed by Google, finance and yahoo finances. The simplicity of the Arbitrage Pricing Theory is the fact that the model is not restrictive in comparison to other pricing models and theories. The ease use of the divided growth is the fact that it is both easy to use and understand. Accuracy The accuracy of the Capital Asset Pricing Model is that it provides accurate and reasonable results.   By use of its formulae correctly and enough data, accuracy is achieved easily. The fact that the Arbitrage Pricing Theory includes more factors, the theory is also considered more accurate in comparison with the Capital Asset Pricing Model. Since the dividends are fixed during payment, the divided growth is also an accurate method. The method also requires reasonable accurate in order to be effective and accurate. Assumption Capital asset pricing model is based on some fundamental assumptions. For instance, it is true that the investors have similar homogeneous beliefs based on returns for they are interested in maximizing returns commencing their investors. Additionally, the assumption that most people access information on the investment opportunities is evenly practical in a market which is perfect. On the asset pricing model, the assumption that systematic risks exist is true for the environment operated in is full of risks from the external and internal sources. The risks do not have an influence on the investment’s rate of returns. Under the dividend growth model, the fact that it is a powerful and simple tool to use its application is also limited to the businesses developing at a rate which is stable. The model also tends to ignore the organizational cycles where the businesses begin and later declines. The cost of equity is an evaluation that is used in analysis which shows the rate of return that an investor requires. This involves the dividends to evaluate them and be able to take the possibility of investing in a firm. The cost of equity (E(rj) is equal to (RRF) plus beta of the security ßj   multiplied by return on market portfolio RM   minus (E(rj)= RRF  + ÃŽ ²j  (RM  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ RRF) For Nike Company the cost of equity is 0.40% + 0.9(6.50% – 0.40%) =5.89 For Sony corporation the cost of equity is 0.40% + 1.60(9.50 – 0.40) = 14.96 For McDonald’s Corporation  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the cost of equity is 0.40% + 0.40(8.50% -0.40) = 3.64 The company with higher cost of equity is McDonald’s Corporation because it has the lowest figure compared to other companies. This is because the return is too low which indicates that the cost of equity is high. The theory of finance suggests that when the possibility of investing in a company is high the cost of equity also goes high and when the possibility decreases the cost also goes down. Factors Some of the factors that influence a company beta include; the company’s tax exposure, business risk, the kind of management style, financial flexibility, the market conditions and the growth rates. These factors influence the company beta in different ways. The company’s tax exposure affects the company beta in that the debt payment’s tax is deductable. Therefore, if the origination’s tax rate is at a high position, by use of debt as a channel of financing a project for example is attractive for the deductable tax debts protects profits for the taxes. On the business risk, if the organization risk is high, the optimal arrears ratio is lower. The kind of management style lies between aggressive to constructive activities. If the management approach is aggressive, there is room for the company to become firm by the use of vital debts amounts to increase a company’s share hence development. On the other hand, if the management is constructive, it is less disposed to use the debts as a way of increasing profits. Some of the companies that acquire their finances from borrowing and debts among other methods tend to find conflicts associated with these because the growth firm revenues are not proven and are typically unstable. The market conditions are also influential on the company’s beta. For instance, if a firm has got the need to borrow money for a certain project, the fact remains that the bazaar is struggling and the investors tend to limit the access of companies to capital because of issues with, market concerns. This is likely to affect the company negatively. The financial flexibility allows organizations to raise money even in hard times. The higher financially stable a company is, the less the debts and hence fast development. Conclusion The paper has discussed the ease of the three models which include the dividend growth, CAPM and the arbitrage return theory.   It has also discussed into details the accuracy and the reality of each model in order to determine which one is the best for the company. It has shown that the dividend growth model is the best because it is easy for the company and investors to apply and calculate, it is certain and predictable, has logical basis and is constant because an increase in the earnings does not lead to increase in dividends to the investors which is very beneficial to the company. It has also discussed into details the type of factors that influence the beta of the company. The paper has also done calculations to determine the company with the highest cost of equity. It has also discussed the factors that lead to higher beta of the company. References http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gordongrowthmodel.asp http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pdfiles/valn2ed/ch13.pdf http://latrobefinancialmanagement.com/Research/Valuations/Earnings%20Growth%20and%20Stock%20Returns.pdf http://www.investopedia.com/university/concepts/concepts8.asp

Brown Girl Broownstone by Paule Marshall Essay

Paule Marshall writes about the social issues, the aspects and standards of lack persons living in America. Novels written in 1959 and it explores the black immigrants search for identity in American society. The novel wrote against the stereotypes of the black race and it was a milestone for African-American Fiction. Race and gender are discussed simultaneously as she speaks out against racism and presents her female character as being different form the stereotype The novel centres on Selina who suffers a traumatic childhood through to womanhood and has her psyche damaged by comparing herself to the white ideology of what makes a teenage girl beautiful. She feels inadequate because she does not math up to the definition of white elegance She also faces an internal struggle due to the fact that both her parents have differing ideologies. The title ‘Brownstones’ refers to the milieu in which the central characters live. The novel begins in 1939 and it opens with the last white residence leaving the brownstones and selling/renting to the Barbadian community . The house, the acquiring of such and the attitude towards the house defined the characters. The house therefore becomes a central symbol in the novel. The title of the novel signal the life of Selina the brown juxtaposes the girl is synonymous to the racial and gender issues at work in the novel. Placing the brownstones next to the girl browngirl emphasises the importance of personal development and individuality. The marshalls description of the brownstones is very telling and suggested â€Å"under the thick ivy each house had something distinctively its own these brownstones appear as if they were one house even though individuality is there.† But the novel also suggests that theses brownstones all share the same tragic fate. They are all draped in ivy as though mourning† The novel is divided into four books. Book 1 entitled A Long Day and A long Night; it sets up the basic tension between n Selina’s parents Silla and Deighton (dispute over land). The second book is titled Pastoral, Selina who is on the verge of adolescence. Selina who goes to Beryl to find a sense of freedom †¦here we find †¦. The third book title war corresponds with the world war 2 but is also significant as a symbol of the Barbadian community’s war against racism as well as the conflict between Silla and Deighton The last book title Selina concludes the novel, rev eals the attempts to come to terms with her father as well as a discovery of her true self. The final aspects of her growth are detailed in this section. It  is through the relationship with Clive that Selina realizes the numerous similarities between herself and her mother. In the novel the protagonists realizes that the mother is a fellow victim of racism rather than her enemy. Major themes in Brown Girl Broownstone 1. The Search for Identity 2. The racial issues and relationships 3. Femininity and Gender 4. The Effects of Migration/ Capitalism on the individual 5. The Relationship between the private and the Public, the Personal and the Communal, the Individual vs the Community 6. The Impact of the Environment/ Personal Setting on Personal Development 7. Sexual Awareness and Exploration 8. Nostalgia and the West Indian Condition 9. Male/ Female Relationships and Family Structural and Technical Devices Used by the Writer 1. Form- Bildungsroman, it is written predominantly in 3rd pov. , divided into four books, the use of quotations from the Barbadian community as preludes 2. Symbolism- The title brownstone houses, Deighton’s land, Barbados, the presence and absence of light is symbolic of awareness, knowledge and maturity 3. Some characters who are symbols are Suggie, Miss Thompson, Miss Mary, Beryl, the Homeowners Association 4. Structural Elements- use of West Indian Vernacular (used to show a sense of identity with their West Indian counterparts) 5. Characterization (in this novel characters are developed through relationships with other characters along with the setting and the author’s description ) 6. Plot Structure (the plot is linear and chronological allowing for the adequate development of Selina 7. Setting – New York vs. Barbados and the tension of place

Discussion board 2 org dyn Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion board 2 org dyn - Essay Example Simms et al. (1994) note that understanding organizational dynamics and human behavior helps to better develop the conceptualization of the organization’s life, which is the main goal of all theorists of organizations. Understanding human behavior within an organizational can help the leader understand the interests of his/her followers and hence effectively position them in the various labor divisions. This leads to increased productivity, besides increasing workers commitment and satisfaction. When workers are allocated in their areas of interest, they work hard leading to increased organizational performance and hence profits. This ensures that the companies are able to survive the tough economic times without major difficulties. This knowledge is also valuable in helping an organization to enjoy a competitive edge as well as well as improve it decision making. According to Shuler (2009), understanding human behavior and organizational dynamics helps a leader to build an enterprise that entails a wide analytical capability which is more important than having laboring professionals who have no sense of direction. Analytical analysis of employees’ talents at all levels provides valuable da ta that leaders can use to make decisions in the organization, thus generating good business results. A business also faces various challenges from its dynamic nature. These include profits, losses, high demand for its products, and few market and product competition among others. Therefore, understanding these dynamics and their cycle in the business can effectively help a leader to predict and plan for such changes in advance. This knowledge can be used by the leader to make decision that will maximize the benefits and minimize losses as much as possible. Such results produce good financial reports for the organization, which it can use to access financial support

European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

European Union - Essay Example inning of the year 1990 which commenced with the seeking increased reduction on the market price support, and a support for direct payments (1992, and 1999 reforms), and certain reforms which were as recent as 2003, of promoting decoupled direct payments as opposed to the coupled direct subsidies. The underlying objective of CAP reforms was: aiming to increase agricultural productivity through technological innovation, stabilizing the internal markets, ensuring availability of food supplies at reasonable prices to customers etc. The said reforms were proposed to have significant implications especially on the Alberta/Canada agriculture. However, the reforms failed to deliver the promised returns and turned out to be much less impressive since the time they were conceived, owing to such factors as: budgetary pressures, expanded membership and external pressures that led to political pressures being imposed on the Union which ultimately succumbed to such external threats and hence fail ed to deliver. Although certain liberties in terms of negotiating flexibility and export subsidies were granted to them for the Doha round of domestic support, but was too, plagued with failure owing to limited direction and restricted market access (David Coleman, Pp. 77 – 100). The Competition Policy of the EU was aimed at encouraging competition in the European countries since it would lead to lowered prices and increased choice for the European consumers. The current policy is governed by article 81of the treaty ended to be addressed by ensuring taking prompt and strict action against those business practices that discouraged or restricted competition, examine mergers to gauge their effect on reducing competition, open up competition in those areas which were previously controlled by State run monopolies, and by co-operating with other competition authorities world wide. The competition policy has been instrumental in shaping the economic and social integration of the member

Adding Customer Value to Your Financial Prganisation for Competitive Essay

Adding Customer Value to Your Financial Prganisation for Competitive Advantage - Essay Example Background Financial institutions are increasingly facing a complex environment which directly relates with the competitive environment in the industry. The current financial crisis has relatively shaken the confidence of many in the viability of financial institutions and as such doing business in such an environment is really a challenge task. One of the most important ways through which any institution including financial institutions can compete and withstand the difficult economic situations is to develop its core competencies and create competitive advantage. One of the most important ways through which it can be achieved is the delivery of customer value to the customers of our organization. This could be helpful in order to allow the bank to actually lock in the existing base of customers while at the same time ensuring that new customers are also attracted.( Bill, 2003) To create a value for the customers, an organization however, have to incur the costs in order to ensure t hat the value delivered to the customers outpaces the cost incurred on generating such value. Resultantly an organization also develops its competitive advantage in order to become relatively stronger as compared to the competition. It is critical therefore that the customer value is generated to achieve the competitive advantage. ... In order to achieve this, there are real chances that the overall customer value may decline as the increasing cost pressures as well as liquidity crunch may force many banks and financial institutions to generate new avenues to achieve profitability. For any firm, its current base of customers is considered as one of the most valuable assets to care of and as such it is critical to understand that delivering value to the customers can be one of the key drivers of growth in an economy which is on decline. It is important therefore that strategic direction must be set to ensure that the delivering value to the customers is integrated with the generation of competitive advantage for the firm.( Shirley, 2000) Financial organizations are also relatively more regulated as compared to other industries therefore working in an environment which is heavily regulated requires innovativeness and creativity to develop and market products and services which can cater to the different needs of the customers while at the same time generating the relative value for the firm also. It is therefore critical that when an organization delivers customer value, the same must also result into the increase for the firm value too. Translation of the customer value to the firm value therefore is critical for manages to ensure because once competitive advantage is generated, it is important that the same must also develop into the firm level value for the firm. Commonwealth Bank’s effort to generate customer value and subsequent generation of competitive advantage therefore must result into the increase in the value for its shareholders and investors. Generation of

Answer the Q Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answer the Q - Essay Example Due to the rise of the contemporary issues pertaining to the advancement, kinship, feminism, feminism gender and sexuality, political and legal, nature science and technology in the modern universe anthropology tend to go further beyond its historical set goals. Development of perception from critical perspective of anthropology mainly addresses issues of poverty, gaps in regard to the outlined strategy and results. This makes anthropologist to work in development thus disregard history and the lessons it might offer, reasons for driving development externally rather than having an internal basis, and reasons that make planned development fail. The prevailing distinction amidst anthropology of development and corresponding development anthropology is mainly the application of the anthropological perspectives in regard to numerous branches development studies (Haviland, Fedorak & Lee, 2008). This also takes into account the international development and the international aid as primary objects. Thus, advancement of anthropology encompasses social action in modification of the economic, technical, political and social life for particular locations in the universe. This greatly compromises the historical goals of anthropology. This is because they tend to concentrate on impoverished, formerly colonized regions. Development anthropologists have a commitment to simultaneously critique and contribute to projects and institutions that create and administer Western projects that seek to improve the economic well-being of the most marginalized, and to eliminate poverty. Kinship mainly deals with both the patterns of social relationships in numerous human cultures and corresponding patterns of social relationships in them. Thus, anthropology practically develops associated related concepts and terms entailing descent, descent groups, lineages, affines, cognates and fictive kinship. Nevertheless, kinship patterns developed by anthropology mainly

Positioning Manufacturing Plants Away from US States Essay

Positioning Manufacturing Plants Away from US States - Essay Example 4 Discussion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Abstract Several states in America, specifically the state of California, practice strict environmental compliance policies that become a burden to most manufacturing companies. The costs attributed to the improvement of environmental management and production process are very high, adding up the labor costs in the US. This theme case will explore the complexiti es of the given scenario and examine the possible management strategies by functioning as the company’s CEO. The causes and reason why American companies move their manufacturing operations to an offshore location will be determined, as well as its implication in the American work force and community. Product liability will also be the foundation of the discussion, focusing on the quality of the products to reduce product recalls and product liability lawsuits. Methods in improving the production process will also be tackled. ... This aspect is known as product liability. Heizer and Render (2011), the authors of the Operations Management book, describe this quality implication as a legislation that is implied to organizations that â€Å". . . design, produce or distribute faulty goods and services†. The organization is held liable to any form of damages or injuries that may be incurred with the use of faulty products. According to Polinsky and Shavell (2010), thousands of product liability cases are filed each year in different states in the US, as well as in federal courts. These cases include class or mass tort actions that involve thousands or millions of individuals as plaintiffs (Polinsky & Shavell, 2010). Product liability suits attract the attention of the media, especially in cases where the product being sued is a widely sold commodity that can affect a large number of consumers. This situation will also be detrimental to the company since it will create doubts from consumers and result to an abrupt decrease in product sales. In 1982, the market share of Tylenol greatly fell from 35% to 5% after incidents of death associated with ingestion of Tylenol contaminated capsules. Audi car sales were also affected during the mid-80s when reports spread that the automobile has a risk of suddenly accelerating which can cause accidents (Polinsky & Shavell, 2010). Significant effects of product liability and the strategy of outsourcing the production of goods and services will be discussed in this paper by analyzing a given theme case. The case provides a scenario wherein a CEO is faced with a challenge to suppress the effects of a product liability case associated with the allegation that one of their manufacturing plants had been involved in the improper

ASSIGNMENT 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ASSIGNMENT 1 - Essay Example Later in the 60s and 70s overhead projectors, cameras, and most importantly, television began entering classrooms. Simultaneously, with advent of technology in each era, research was being carried to gauge its feasibility. Clark, on the basis of these studies, concludes that media does not affect learning under any conditions but it is the content that is crucial. Using the analogy of a truck, Clark projected media as a medium to transfer instruction. ‘Media attributes’, ‘symbol systems’ popularly known as animations only help in packaging the learning process (Clark, 1983). The reason why the statement was considered revolutionary is that Clark’s statement changed the way instructional media research was carried out. Instructional media research later came to be perceived as a means and not as the end of educational technology. (Jones, 1999) Though Clark does make his point when he says media is just a medium but it cannot be denied that technology has a major impact on learning. For example, a power point presentation has better recall value and helps student retain information well. Besides, students are much more tech-savvy and are more interested in various interactive forms of technology (Kimble, 1999). This highlights the need for educational technology, defined through its four perspectives: media, audio-visual, computer systems, instructional systems and design and through vocational training. Forms of media like videos, projectors and computer software play an important role in improving learning but also in understanding the application of technology. However, there has to be proper instructional system, design in place to ensure that the curricular objectives are achieved. On the other it is important for teachers to undergo vocational training to keep abreast with new technology and also understand the appli cations before they use it in

Douglasian Cultural Model in Indian Context Essay Example for Free

Douglasian Cultural Model in Indian Context Essay Introduction Today’s world is being dominated by daily innovations in technology and increasing globalization which helps organizations to spread and to operate globally in a successful way. Every organisation operating at a global level is trying to improve their financial profits. The success of such organizations greatly depends on their workforce and their decision-making capabilities. Many times the ethicality of such decisions have been questioned because of the profit driven strategies of these organizations. As Nobel Prize winner economist Milton Friedman quotes, â€Å"An executive’s responsibility generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to their basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom. † The decision-making process and hence ethicality of the decisions in such organisations is greatly influenced by the culture of the workforce. Bartels (1967) was one of the first to note the importance of the role of culture in ethical decision-making. There are different studies which discuss the diversity of ethical decision-making based on different perspective for example, Vitell, Nwachukwu and Barnes, 1993 discuss the effect of culture on ethical decision-making with the help of Hofsted’s typology while Patel and Schaefer, 2009 discuss the same with the help of Douglasian Cultural Theory (CT) perspective in the Indian context. Summary Patel and Schaefer’s article discusses the impact of culture on ethical decision-making from a Douglasian Cultural Theory (CT) perspective. It explains the dynamic ethical behaviour of the individual with four solidarities of CT. The Article also discusses the business ethics in the Indian context. Authors argue that applying static conception of culture to the process of ethical decision-making in business results in several problems. The Authors propose CT as an alternative model to these static conceptions to avoid these problems. The Article says that every social system is ethically plural because of the presence of all four solidarities together. An Individual from different solidarities may have a different perception of an issue’s moral intensity which may lead to different levels of moral awareness and hence to different moral judgements. The Article explores the dynamicity and diversity of ethical decision-making in business using the CT framework within the I ndian context with examples of Amul, SEWA, Tata Steel, ONGC and Reliance. Strengths This article offers an alternative approach of CT stating the impact of culture on ethical decision-making process in business. Authors argue that applying the static conception of culture to the business ethics results in different problems like national stereotyping, focus on only national cultural aspect ignoring the other aspects and broad generalisation of culture at national level. This article strongly supports the scholars who challenge the essentialist culture approach like Hofstedian framework. Singh (1990) and Bosland (1985a) have shown that it is possible to have different scores on the four Hofstedian dimensions within the same country. Hence there is possibility of difference in ethical behaviour within the same country. The Authors also talk about the same ethical dynamicity in behaviour. The article powerfully illustrates the diversity in business ethics within Indian context using CT model. The Article talks about the different cultural patterns existing in same corporation at same time. This article supports the argument by Sathe (1985) which says that although, the term â€Å"corporate culture† is used as if organisations have a monolithic culture, most companies have more than one set of beliefs influencing the behaviour of employees. The Article also supports the Thompson’s (1997 a-c) theory who argues that same individual could be a member of different solidarities in different contexts which explains the different ethical behaviour of an individual at a different social context. Also the article studies the ethical practices of different types of companies and business entities to understand the business ethics beyond large private corporations with respect to all the four solidarities of CT. The article debates about the dynamicity of ethical decision-making by citing the examples of all the solidarities existing in different Indian corporations. Also it talks over about the historical and philosophical background for the adoption of different ethical strategies by different corporations. Weaknesses The article explains the process of ethical decision-making in business from a ‘Douglasian Cultural Theory’ perspective only. The article does not identify many other factors beyond culture that may account for differences in work behaviour across nations. Scholars like Parboteeah and Cullen (2003) have suggested the need to include noncultural factors to isolate the influence of culture on ethical behaviour. Also many scholars have talked about the other personal characteristics like education, age, gender and religion that affect the ethical decision-making but they have not put any light on this part in the article. According to Kracher, Chatterjee and Lundquist, education plays an important and positive role in one’s ethical decision-making. Also Singhapakdi et al.: JBE (1996) talk about the relationship between ethical sensitivity and age being significantly positive. Ameen, et al., (1996) suggests that ethical judgments vary according to gender, where females have historically been more ethical compared to males. According to Singhapakdi et al :JBE (2000), there is a positive relationship between religion and perception of an ethical problem. The article has not mentioned all these perspectives while considering the process of ethical decision-making. Patel and Schaefer explained the ethical behaviour in Indian business context with the help of CT and argue that as CT is not limited in its scope of application, what is true for one country should also be true for other countries. This contradicts the findings of the researchers like Tsui which states â€Å"The major contexts that may separate one nation from another include the physical, historical, political, economic, social, and cultural.† This may cause an individual from another country to behave differently in the same context compare to individual in India. My standpoint The research article applies CT model to explain the ethical decision-making process in business within Indian context which allows us to look beyond static and limited conception of national culture. The authors have explained the ethical behaviours using examples of different Indian business entities. Since India is one of the largest growing economies, this research paper will be useful in providing the insights of the ethical practices in India. In my opinion, the authors have raised valid questions about the studies that link static conceptions of the culture to the business ethics. The authors have successfully associated dynamicity in ethical behaviours with the different cultural patterns as per CT which proves the existence of all the four solidarities in every social system. Paper also gives us insights about how all the solidarities co-exist and try to dominate each other. The Authors explain it in an Indian context citing examples for each solidarity. Moreover, authors have highlighted the important fact that managers operating under different cultural patterns may perceive and attend to information about moral issues differently which results in different ethical behaviours. The article considered the very important factors of history and politics that may have influenced while discussing dynamicity of ethical behaviours within Indian context. I am of the opinion that the Douglasian cultural theory is not sufficient to judge the ethical behaviour in business. There are many other factors like education, age, gender and religion which hold a significant role in the decision-making process. The authors have failed to consider these factors. I believe the consideration of the above mentioned factors would have made this research work more reliable. Also I disagree with the authors’ argument of what is true for India should also be true for other countries since every country has a different political, economical, cultural and physical background. Conclusion Taran Patel and Anja Schaefer have criticized the static and limited conception of culture to ethical decision-making in business. They have provided the alternative approach of Douglasian cultural theory to explain the dynamicity and diversity in ethical behaviours with the help of examples from business entities in India. The Authors advocate that the managers should be sensitive to the beliefs of all the four solidarities to be more effective. The Authors also agree that more empirical and theoretical work is needed to strengthen the relationship between the cultural patterns and business ethics. References Bartels, R.: 1967, A Model for Ethics in Marketing’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Jan., 1967), pp. 20-26 Vitell S, Nwachukwu S and Barnes J. : 1993, ‘The Effects of Culture on Ethical Decision-Making: An Application of Hofstedes Typology’, Journal of Business Ethics,Vol. 12, No. 10 (Oct., 1993), pp. 753-760 Hofstede, G. 1980. (Revised in 1984). Culture’s Consequences – International Differences in Work-related Values. Sage Publications. Singh, J. 1990. Managing Culture and Work-related Values in India. Organization Studies, 11(1): 75-101 Bosland, N. 1985a.An evaluation of Replication Studies using the Values Survey Module.Institute for Research on Intercultural Cooperation, Rijks-universiteit Limburg Working Paper 85-2, Maastricht Sathe, V. (1985), Culture and Related Corporate Realities, Irwin, Homewood, IL. Thompson, M.: 1997a, ‘Rewriting the Precepts of PolicyAnalysis’, in M. Thompson and R. J. Ellis (eds.),Culture Matters: Essays in Honour of Aaron Wildavsky(Westview Press, Boulder, CO). Thompson, M.: 1997b, ‘Cultural Theory and TechnologyAssessment’, in F. Fischer and M. Hajer (eds.),Living with Nature: Environmental Discourse and Cultural Politics (Oxford University Press, Oxford). Thompson, M.: 1997c, ‘Cultural Theory and IntegratedAssessment’,Environmental Modelling and Assessment 2,139–150. Kracher, B., A. Chatterjee and A. R. Lundquist: 2002, ‘Factors Related to the Cognitive Moral Development of Business Students and Business Professionals in India and the United States: Nationality, Education, Sex and Gender’, Journal of Business Ethics 35(4), 255–268 Parboteeah, K. P., Cullen, J. B. 2003. Social institutions and work centrality: Explorations beyond national culture. Organization Science, 14(2): 137-148. Patel, T.: 2005, Using Dynamic Cultural Theories to explain the Viability of International Strategic Alliances: A Focus on Indo-French Alliances. PhD Thesis, Open University. Milton Keynes, UK. Singhapakdi, A., S. J. Vitell and K. L Kraft: 1996, ‘Moral Intensity and Ethical Decision-Making of Marketing Professionals’, Journal of Business Research 36, 245–255. Ameen, E., Guffey, D. and J. McMillan. 1996. Gender Differences in Determining the Ethical Sensitivity of Future Accounting Professionals. Journal of Business Ethics 15: 591-597. Singhapakdi, Anusorn, Janet K. Marta, Kumar C. Rallapalli, and C.P. Rao (2000), Toward an Understanding of Religiousness and Marketing Ethics: An Empirical Study, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 27, No. 4, 305-319.

Schizophrenia: Treatment, Portrayal and Stigma

Schizophrenia: Treatment, Portrayal and Stigma ABSTRACT MENTAL ILLNESS AS PORTRAYED IN THE MOVIE A BEAUTIFUL MIND Associated Signs and Symptoms of Schizophrenia The movie A Beautiful Mind is an adaptation of the book by the same name and is a biopic based on the life of Nobel Prize winning economist, John Forbes Nash, Jr. The movie portrays the symptoms and treatment for paranoid schizophrenia from which John Nash suffers. He has episodes of auditory and visual hallucinations and has frequent interactions with imaginary people. This paper attempts to present a reflective case study of the patient as presented in the movie. The patient when treated for hallucinations has certain negative reactions to the medicine, to overcome which, he avoids them, relapsing into his earlier condition. The patient mentions taking newer medications later on which also help him decide between the reality and delusion. At the end of the movie, the patient is seen to have overcome this disorder by learning to ignore his hallucinations. This paper discusses alternate treatment as well as recommendations for future mental health nursing practices. In the movie, A Beautiful Mind, the protagonist, demonstrates the classical symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. The protagonist, John Nash, suffered from schizophrenia which was only discovered at a later stage. During his college years at Princeton, Johns room-mate and best-friend was a man named Charles, who is later found out to be one of Johns hallucinations (A Beautiful Mind 2001). As time goes by, his hallucinations become more frequent and violent as he soon believes himself to be working for the US government on a top secret project to which no one, not even his wife had access to. When he started missing classes a psychiatrist was called in to look into his condition and he found the stay at the asylum unpleasant and believed it to be a Soviet plan to stop him from working on his secret governmental mission. His wife had trouble believing the psychiatrist at first as she believed her husbands story to be true and very real. But she realized the problem when she went to his c ollege to find out what he used to do during work and found magazine clippings pasted all over the room. She also discovered the unopened confidential envelopes that were supposed to be sent out to Mr. Parcher, the person who put John up to the secret mission. The story revolves around how John has to face reality when his make-belief world is so real to him. He can finally confront his reality when he realizes that Charles niece, Marcee, never grew any older than when he had first met her. With continual medication, he learns to ignore the fictional characters in his life and starts to teach again, at Princeton. He goes on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics and lives a happier life. Paranoid schizophrenia is only one of numerous categories of schizophrenia which is a chronic mental disease. People suffering from this kind of mental illness are not able to interpret reality in a normal way and are said to suffer from psychosis. Around 40 percent of schizophrenic cases are of paranoid schizophrenia. The symptoms usually start being displayed at later ages from around the ages of 25 or 30. The typical symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia include hallucinations and delusions that have no connection with reality. The ability to think and function normally is affected and though paranoid schizophrenia is a milder form of the disorder it can have lifelong ramifications and can even result in suicidal behavior and other complications. Usually the onset of the illness is marked by a sense of grandiosity and this preponderance is seen in case of delusion and/or a sense of persecution. The onset of the disease can be quite sudden and the deterioration in the condition of the patient can be quite rapid. The recognition and identification of these symptoms can be quite difficult for people with no prior experience or exposure to this situation. More perceptive relatives and friends may be able to recognize a heightened state of nervous tension, irritability, anger, jealousy and argumentative behavior (Kennard 2008). However, the good news is that with proper diagnosis and treatment patients overcome the symptoms and lead a happy life. Treatment Modalities Specific to Schizophrenia The symptoms displayed by John Nash in the film are very distinct and classic. The hallucinations of his room-mate, Charles and later that of Mr. Parcher, the US government official, and finally of Marcee show that his illness was detected at a very advanced stage where the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia needed to be treated symptomatically and with continued medication and therapy. The medications that Nash is put under are the antipsychotic drugs and insulin shock therapy. He was confined and had to be kept under constant supervision at the mental hospital. During particularly severe conditions he had to be bound and kept in solitary internment. The major part of Nashs treatment included Dr. Rosens recommendation of insulin shock therapy, which is a conventional method of treating mental illness and is now considered to be outdated and antipsychotic drugs. The insulin coma therapy and convulsive therapy have now been replaced by antipsychotic drugs that have greater efficacy and lesser adverse effects. Antipsychotic drugs are tranquilizing medicines that are used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. The first generation of anti-psychotic drugs included clozapine (Monson 2008) which acted on the receptor sites of neurotransmitter, dopamine. Clozapine is a prescription drug for advanced conditions of schizophrenia and is also sold in the market under the trademark of Clozaril and FazaClo. It is sold specifically under prescription as tablets. It reduces the heightened sensitivity by blocking dopamine and serotonin from being transmitted in the brain. Some adverse side effects of clozapine can be drowsiness, constipation, and weight gain. Sodium valproate is an anticonvulsant that is now commonly used in treating psychiatric disorders particularly in the treatment of psychosis and depression (Omranifard, Amel Amanat 2010). Some common side effects of prolonged use of these medicines are weight gain, diabetes, drowsiness, spasms and tremors (NIH 2010). Some other symptoms like tardive dyskinesia (NIH 2010) which causes twitching around the mouth region are also seen in some patients. If these symptoms are noticed in patients being treated with these medicines, the doctors intervention should be sought. Patients suffering from schizophrenia have to be on life-long treatment for this condition. In the movie, A Beautiful Mind, we also see the use of shock therapy in the form of insulin shock therapy. Nash had to undergo this kind of therapy five times a week for duration of ten weeks. In the conventional mode of treatment, it was thought that convulsions were a way to prevent occurrence of schizophrenia. Hence, this method of treatment was used on patients to induce convulsion and electroconvulsive was often used to protect the patient from personality disorders. In modern times, doctors use anesthesia and varieties of muscle-relaxants to this therapy more bearable. Intervention, Support Program and Therapy for Schizophrenia Apart from medical intervention, the patient needs to undergo behavioral therapies such as training in social skills in order to function normally in their daily lives. Support and awareness programs should be conducted for the patient as well as the family members. Support at a community level should also be given to the care-givers to cope with the situation and prevent relapses (Dawson 2010). Family members and support groups must encourage patients to follow through with their treatment and get check-ups done regularly. Basic skills that need to be reinforced with a person suffering from schizophrenia should include: Training for rehabilitation like being able to perform basic hygiene routine and being able to eat on ones own Being able to use public transport Train for a job: basic skills and communication Learn how to manage money When to take correct doses of medicines How to recognize signs of relapse and communicate with the therapist. Diagnostic Tests for Schizophrenia Current Prevalence The first step in the detection and prognosis of the clinical conditions experienced in schizophrenic and bipolar patients is through reliable diagnostic techniques such as CT scan of the brain, magnetic resonance and other imaging techniques which may help eliminate possible confusion in the diagnosis of this disease. As there are few or no medical tests available that will warn a person of an onset or prevention of this disorder, the psychiatrist must carry out a thorough evaluation of the patients family background and genetic history by interviewing the patient and the care givers. The doctor must also take into account the course the illness has taken and how long the symptoms have been prevalent, patients reaction to medication and therapy. The current prevalence of this condition at a global level stands between 0.5 and 1 percent (Bhugra 2010). However, prevalence of this disorder can be calculated only through registered cases of Schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The risk of occurrence of this disease is higher than the actual prevalence recorder statistically. Prevalence in developed countries is higher than in developing countries, partially because more cases are registered and more commonly because of the nomadic and unstable lifestyles (Saha et al 2009). There is no appreciable difference in the male and female cases of occurrence, though the migrant populations have a higher propensity for this disorder. Impact of Psychosocial Issues like Discrimination John Nash had strange mannerisms and his odd behavior put some of his students and friends off (A Beautiful Mind 2001). His constant writing of formulae on window panes and wearing his knitted hat at all times seemed out of place and caused his friends to ridicule him. The incident of his being dared to speak to an unknown girl and her slapping him for his effort caused him to become the brunt of his friends jokes. There was an incident with his teacher who was worried about Nashs performance in Princeton but that was later transformed to appreciation because of the brilliance of his project. People suffering from schizophrenia are often labeled, stereotyped (Marder 2010) and discriminated against. The common perception is that the patient is responsible for having the behavioral changed that are a part of the symptoms of the disorder. Often negative stereotypes are created and the people suffering from schizophrenia are believed to have undesirable or uncontrollable characteristics. In the film, it has been demonstrated by the absent-minded behavior of John Nash when he allows his son to nearly drown in the bath-tub while he goes off to complete his secret work. His constant delusion of being engaged in highly classified and confidential state matters caused his wife and friends distress and at certain periods to mistrust his words, when in reality he was making up stories due to his hallucinations and delusions. These stereotypes often lead to discrimination against the sufferers of schizophrenia and they are considered as social outcasts. Discrimination often takes the form of patients being rejected in society and their job applications being rejected on the basis of their mental health reports. The same has been observed in the case of letting out apartments to people with a history of schizophrenia. They are not considered socially competent and find themselves subjected to derision and not being taken seriously. The quality of their work is often scrutinized more than the average worker and that causes them additional mental trauma. Certain ethical issues that may come up during the prognosis and treatment of this disorder may come in conflict with human rights issues. For example, patients who were treated with electroconvulsive therapy were never consulted and had to endure extreme pain and terror often without reaping the benefits of being completely cured. Another significant point to be remembered in this regard is that the person suffering from schizophrenia is often driven to desperate acts like self-mutilation because the people they trust do not believe them and sometimes reject them outright. This, to my mind, adds insult to injury because the need to be heard and understood is very high in people who are confused and trying to grapple with their own demons. Role of Nurse in Treatment of Schizophrenia The role of a nurse in the treatment of schizophrenia is important as they can be effective in intervening with people suffering from schizophrenia and their families. They are trained to use interventions that have been proven to be effective. They can be administer IV injections and monitor the condition of patients so that the chances of a relapse are minimized. They can help in educating the family members, improve the familys ability to cope with the stress of having to care for a mentally ill patient and improve their communication skills. The nurse is particularly trained to observe drug compliance and manage the situation professionally in times of crisis. Nurses can also monitor the physiological condition of the patient and make educated reports to the doctor in charge of the patients treatment. For the family, the diagnosis of schizophrenia in a loved one is experienced as a disruptive event that changes the family life and affects a family member permanently and scars him/her for life. This unhappy experience mars the patients relationships with his family members and friends who begin to perceive him as a stranger who is needy and requires constant attention. The presence of a trained nurse can mitigate this situation as it is easier to confide in, trust and unburden ones grief to a third party whose perception of the situation will be more objective. Also the nurses training in this specific field can be used as a better supervisor to monitor the day-to-day progress in a patients condition. Recommendations A family member or care-giver may be emotional about it and not be able to assess the situation objectively or even adhere to drug-compliance and post recovery counseling. Nurses can also help the client to recognize hallucinations and talk about the hallucinations dispassionately. Nurses are also in the unique position of being trusted by the patients whom they can reassure by telling them that there are other patients who have similar symptoms (Nursing Care Plan 2010). A patient is more likely to receive a nurses recommendations for treatment more seriously than family members and help the patients to recover more quickly. The movie is much acclaimed and very well made as it has not used a clichà ©d approach to schizophrenia as a mental disorder and ways in which people deal with this debilitating disease (Hausman 2010). In the movie, the ending is touching but it shows how people once afflicted with this disorder will have to live with it for their lives. However, I would think that with the newer techniques of treatment and advancement in pharmacology, these kinds of disorders will be able to reduce the trauma of the patient and their families. Realistic films such as A Beautiful Mind should advertise the newer modes of treatment that will reduce the suffering of the people and allow them to lead happy lives. I would recommend that this powerful medium be used to create awareness amongst common people so that the patients of schizophrenia are not discriminated against and their disorders can be stemmed at the initial stages.

Internet Life :: Technology Computers Web Essays

Internet Life Paying bills online, reading a novel, and buying a pair of sneakers is just some of the opportunities the world wide web has only allowed us to do in the last decades. Even though these tasks simplify our lives, making it less stressful on our busy lives, it seems as though if we are losing part of culture through losing daily errands. Can you imagine one hundred years from now that you might be able to go to a tourist attraction that showed our everyday life, such as you can do now at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts? At Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, you can visit a built replica of the Pilgrims’ community and interact with Pilgrims ( or employees acting like Pilgrims) to see how life was during that time. Suppose if there was a replica of our society, would they have employees dressed up acting like they’re doing routine tasks, such as picking up the dry cleaning? Would the visitors be amazed with what we had to endure and how unfortunate we were to have such small techn ological advancements such as we are with past cultures? Even the minor errands we do every day, such as using the library, will become a click of a button away without even having to leave the house. Today you will not find a card catalog in a library, and soon, our way of gathering information will become a rare item. Our society continues looking for new technology to simplify life, and the cost becomes overwhelming when trying to keep up to date. You cannot buy a new computer and feel satisfied with it six months later due to new updates and more gadgets being made for it. Updating and manufacturing of these computer goods seem to be too quick to keep up with learning the programs also. Even as we speak, my father has owned a personal computer for about six years now, but he still does not know how to open any other program than AOL. If everything becomes digital, it seems that we would lose a grip of reality with losing sense of touch and human contact. Reading a book requires the physical process of grasping the book in your hands while turning the pages with your own fingers; Kurzweil refers to a book having value to it, because you can actually feel the source of knowledge.

History of Social Security Essay -- Government Economy Economics Essay

History of Social Security Is it time to privatize Social Security? Many believe the system will not be able to meet all its obligations by the year 2012. They say Social Security will begin paying out more in benefits than it collects in revenue. To continue meeting its obligations, the system will have to begin drawing on the surplus in the Social Security Trust Fund. However, for many years the federal government has used the trust to disguise the actual size of the federal budget deficit, borrowing money from the trust fund to pay current operating expenses and replacing the money with government bonds, essentially an IOU. Proponents for privatizing Social Security people should be allowed the freedom to invest their Social Security taxes. On the other hand contrary to the beliefs of many, there is a strong case to be made that Social Security is sound now and will continue to be sound indefinitely. The major threat to the system comes from the proposals to fix it. Privatization presents perhaps the most s erious threat to date; it would place individuals retirement savings at considerable risk, force the creation of huge government bureaucracies, and leech Social Security assets out of the system and into the coffers of brokerage and banks. In my research paper I will focus on both arguments of Social Security. Those who believe Social Security should be privatized and those who believe it would be a big mistake to privatize Social Security. Before I go into those perspectives I will focus on the inception of the Social Security System, to give the reader background information on how the system developed. The creation of a national social security system in the United States started with the Social Security Act on ... ... BIBLIOGRAPHY Baker, Dean."Privatizing Social Security: The Wall Street Fix". http://epn.org/epi/epib112.html Kotlikoff, Laurence."Rescuing Social Securtiy." Challenge Nov/Dec 1996: 22-26 Lieberman, Trudy. "Social Insecurity: The Campaign to take the System Private." The Nation 20 Jan 1997: 11-18 Mashaw, Jerry. "The Great Social Security Scare". http//epn.org/prospect/29/29mash.html Schnepper A.Jeff."Privatizing Social Security."USA Today May 1996: 25-28 Tanner, Micheal. "Privatizing Social Security: The Social Security Debate." Challenge Nov/Dec. 1996: 19-23 Tanner, Micheal. "Privatizing Social Security: A Big Boost for the Poor." http://cato.org/pubs/ssps/ssp4.html Wasow, Bernard. "Privatizing Social Security". http//epn.org/tcf/xxssec01.html Weinberger,Mark."Social Security: Facing the Facts". http://cato.org/pubs/ssps/ssp3.html

The Illuminati Essay -- Government, Masons

In a system that claims to be democratic, a question of its legitimacy remains. Does the American public really have the power that the government says that we do? Conspiracies concerning the government have always been the center of many discussions and arguments. Cases like the Kennedy assassination, to even Elvis stories have gained a lot of attention. One conspiracy that has missed the public eye is the existence of the Illuminati. The word Illuminati derives from the Latin word Illumine, which means, â€Å"To be enlightened.† (The history of the Illuminati. Myron Fagon Epic Tree Video, 1964). They feel that they are superior and possess a higher level of intellect. Their goal is create a one-world government, which is known as the â€Å"New World Order.† (Still, Willam T. New World Order: The ancient Plan of Secret Societies. Fresno, California: Expression Publishing P. 23) Their means by achieving this exists through the media and the money system. In the followi ng paragraphs I will prove the existence of the Illuminati, the part that our government in conjunction with the world governments play in the â€Å"plan;† and how the Masons tie into this conspiracy. (The history of the Illuminati. Myron Fagon Epic Tree Video, 1964) The Illuminati has existed since ancient times. The ancient Africans were part of this elite group. Through times and generations, the Illuminati has re-incarnated itself. (Debarros, Jason. Personal Interview. 4 Apr. 2000.) This reincarnation took place in 1776 by German Adam Weinsap. Adam Weishaupt was a professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt. He started the Order of the Illuminati on May 1, 1776, originally calling it the Order of â€Å"Perfectibilists.† His plan was to use the Grand Orient Lodges of Europe as a filtering mechanism through which to screen out talent and build a hierarchy of inner circles. (The history of the Illuminati. Myron Fagon Epic Tree Video, 1964) The word Illuminati was viewed as an â€Å"evil† term and was never used during the 1800’s. (The history of the Illuminati. Myron Fagon Epic Tree Video, 1964) As time went on, power was gained. What many do not know is that the Illuminati was behind this killing of the Rominovs, the Czar of Russia along with his family. (Carr, William Guy. Pawns in the game San Fransisco: Imation Publishing 1977) This occurred because the Czar learned of the Illuminati’s plan. What m... ...i? Why did the Masons give us this statue? Why is the Money system set up in the same way across the world? Why is our Nation’s capitol embedded with Masonic and Satanic symbols? And furthermore, why did the US senate not ratify the Treaty of Varona once it was brought to their attention? These are questions that everybody needs to examine. The US government has always been covering their tracks and many pieces to our historical puzzle have not fit. Now they do, and as the picture comes into focus, the American public needs to take a deep look at how society and politics work, and look beneath the surface. Works Cited: Morey,Robert. The Truth About the Masons. Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 1993 Austin, S; â€Å"The End†: Priority Records 1998 Carr, William Guy. Pawns in the game San Fransisco: Imation Publishing 1977 Cooper, William. Behold a Pale Horse. Arizona: Light Technology, 1991. The History of the Illuminati. Myron Fagon: Epic Tree Video,1964 Daubert, Joyce. Personal Interview. Oct. 1999 Still, Willam T. New World Order: The ancient Plan of Secret Societies. Fresno, California: Expression Publishing Debarros, Jason. Personal Interview. 4 Apr. 2000

Carrie Chapter Six

‘Ewen, four years,' Grayle overrode him. ‘Graduation slated June seventy-nine; next month. Tested I.Q. of a hundred and forty. Eighty-three average. Nonetheless, I see she's been accepted at Oberlin. I'd guess someone – probably you, Mr Hargensen – has been yanking some pretty long strings. Seventy-four assigned detentions. Twenty of those have been for harassment of misfit pupils, I might add. Fifth wheels, I understand that Chris's clique calls them Mortimer Snurds. They find it all quite hilarious. She skipped out on fifty-one of those assigned detentions. At Chamberlain Junior High, one suspension for putting a firecracker in a girl's shoe †¦ the note on the card says that little prank almost cost a little girl named Irma Swope two toes. The Swope girl has a harelip, I understand. I'm talking about your daughter, Mr Hargensen. Does that tell you anything?' ‘Yes,' Hargensen said, rising. A thin flush had suffused his features, ‘It tells me I'll see you in court. And when I'm done with you, you'll be lucky to get a job selling encyclopedias door to door.' Grayle also rose, angrily, and the two men faced each other across the desk ‘Let it be court, then,' Grayle said. He noted a faint flick of surprise on Hargensen's face, crossed his fingers, and went in for what he hoped would be a knockout – or at least a TKO that would save Desjardin's job and take this silk-ass son of a bitch down a notch. ‘You apparently haven't realized all the implications of in loco parentis in this matter, Mr Hargensen. The same umbrella that covers your daughter also covers Carrie White. And the minute you file for damages on the grounds of physical and verbal abuse, we will cross-file against your daughter on those same grounds for Carrie White.' Hargensen's mouth dropped open, then closed, ‘You can't get away with a cheap gimmick like that, you-‘ ‘Shyster lawyer? Is that the phrase you were looking for?' Grayle smiled grimly. ‘I believe you know your way out, Mr Hargensen. The sanctions against your daughter stand. If you care to take the matter further, that is your right.' Hargensen crossed the room stiffly, paused as if to add something, then left, barely restraining himself from the satisfaction of a hard doorslam. Grayle blew out breath. It wasn't hard to see where Chris Hargensen came by her self-willed stubbornness. A. P. Morton entered a minute later. ‘How did it go?' ‘Time'll tell, Morty,' Grayle said. Grimacing, he looked at the twisted pile of paper clips. ‘He was good for seven clips, anyway. That's some kind of record.' ‘Is he going to make it a civil matter?' ‘Don't know. It rocked him when I said we'd counter sue. ‘I bet it did.' Morton glanced at the phone on Grayle's desk. ‘It's time we let the superintendent in on this bag of garbage, isn't it?' ‘Yes,' Grayle said, picking up the phone. ‘Thank God my unemployment insurance is paid up.' ‘Me too,' Morton said loyally. From The Shadow Exploded (appendix Ill): Carrie White passed in the following short verse as a poetry assignment in the seventh grade. Mr Edwin King, who had Carrie for grade seven English, says: ‘I don't know why I saved it. She certainly doesn't stick out in my mind as a superior pupil, and this isn't a superior verse. She was very quiet and I can't remember her ever raising her hand even once in class. But something in this seemed to cry out.' Jesus watches from the wall. But his face is cold as stone. And if he loves me – As she tells me Why do I feel so all alone? The border of the paper on which this little verse is written is decorated with a great many cruciform figures which almost seem to dance †¦ Tommy was at baseball practice Monday afternoon, and Sue went down to the Kelly Fruit Company in The Centre to wait for him. Kelly's was the closest thing to a high school hangout the loosely sprawled community of Chamberlain could boast since Sheriff Doyle had closed the rec centre following a large drug bust. It was run by a morose fat man named Hubert Kelly who dyed his hair black and complained constantly that his electronic pacemaker was on the verge of electrocuting him. The place was a combination grocery, soda fountain and gas station-there Was a rusted Jenny pump out front that Hubie had never bothered to change when the company merged. He also sold beer, cheap wine, dirty books, and a wide selection of obscure cigarettes such as Mirads, King Sano, and Marvel Straights. The soda fountain was a slab of real marble, and there were four or five booths for kids unlucky enough or friendless enough to have no place to go and get drunk or stoned. An ancient pinball machine that always tilted on the third ball stuttered lights on and off in the back beside the rack of dirty books. When Sue walked in she saw Chris Hargensen immediately. She was sitting in one of the back booths. Her current amour, Billy Nolan, was looking through the latest issue of Popular Mechanix at the magazine rack. Sue didn't know what a rich, Popular girl like Chris saw in Nolan, who was like some strange time traveller from the 1950s with his greased hair, zipper-bejewelled leather jacket, and manifold-bubbling Chevrolet road machine. ‘Sue!' Chris hailed, ‘come on over!' Sue nodded and raised a hand, although dislike rose in her throat like a paper snake. Looking at Chris was like looking through a slanted doorway to a place where Carrie White crouched with hands over her head. Predictably she found her own hypocrisy (inherent in the wave and the nod) incomprehensible and sickening. Why couldn't she just cut her dead? ‘A dime root beer,' she told Hubie. Hubie had genuine draft root beer, and he served it in huge, frosted 1890s mugs. She had been looking forward to tipping a long one while she read a paper novel and waited for Tommy – in spite of the havoc the root beers raised with her complexion, she was hooked. But she wasn't surprised to find she'd lost her taste for this one. ‘How's your heart, Hubie?' she asked. ‘You kids,' Hubie said, scraping the head off Sue's beer with a table knife and filling the mug the rest of the way. ‘You don't understand nothing. I plugged in my electric razor this morning and got a hundred a ten volts right through this pacemaker. You kids don't know what that's like, am I right?' ‘I guess not.' ‘No, Christ Jesus forbid you should ever have to find out. How long can my old ticket take it? You kids'll all find out when I buy the farm and those urban renewal poops turn this place into a parking lot. That's a dime.' She pushed her dime across the marble. ‘Fifty million volts right up the old tubes,' Hubie said darkly, and stared down at the small bulge in his breast pocket. Sue went over and slid carefully into the vacant side of Chris's booth. She was looking exceptionally pretty, her black hair held by a shamrock-green band and a tight basque blouse that accentuated her firm, upthrust breasts. ‘How are you, Chris?' ‘Bitchin' good,' Chris said a little too blithely. ‘You heard the latest? I'm out of the prom. I bet that cocksucker Grayle loses his job, though.' Sue had heard the latest. Along with everyone at Ewen. ‘Daddy's suing them,' Chris went on. Over her shoulder; ‘Billeee! Come over here and say hi to Sue.' He dropped his magazine and sauntered over, thumbs booked into his side-hitched garrison belt, fingers dangling limply toward the stuffed crotch of his pegged levis. Sue felt a wave of unreality surge over her and fought an urge to put her hands to her face and giggle madly. ‘Hi, Suze,' Billy said. He slid in beside Chris and immediately began to massage her shoulder. His face was utterly blank. He might have been testing a cut of beef. ‘I think we're going to crash the prom anyway,' Chris said. ‘As a protest or something.' ‘Is that right?' Sue was frankly startled. ‘No,' Chris replied, dismissing it, ‘I don't know.' Her face suddenly twisted into in expression of fury, as abrupt and surprising as a tornado funnel. ‘That goddamned Carrie White! I wish she'd taken her goddam holy joe routine and stuff it straight up her ass!' ‘You'll get over it,' Sue said. ‘If only the rest of you had walked out with me †¦ Jesus Sue, why didn't you? We could have had them by the balls. I never figured you for an establishment pawn.' Sue felt her face grow hot. ‘I don't know about anyone else, but I wasn't being anybody's pawn. I took the punishment because I thought I earned it. We did a suck-off thing. End of statement.' ‘Bullshit. That fucking Carrie runs around saying everyone but her and her gilt-edged momma are going to bell and you can stick up for her? We should have taken those rags and stuffed them down her throat.' ‘Sure. Yeah. See you around, Chris.' She pushed out of the booth. This time it was Chris who coloured the blood slammed to her face in a sudden rush, as if a red cloud had passed over some inner sun. ‘Aren't you getting to be the Joan of Arc around here! I seem to remember you were in there pitching with the rest of us.' ‘Yes,' Sue said trembling. ‘But I stopped.' ‘Oh, aren't you just it?' Chris marvelled. ‘Oh my yes. Take your root beer with you. I'm afraid I might touch it and turn to gold.' She didn't take her root beer. She turned and half-walked, half-stumbled out. The upset inside her was very great, too great yet for either tears or anger. She was a getalong girl, and it was the first fight she had been in, physical or verbal, since grade-school pigtail pulling. And it was the first time in her life that she had actively espoused a Principle. And of course Chris had hit her in just the right place, had hit her exactly where she was most vulnerable: She way being a hypocrite, there seemed no way to avoid that, and deeply, sheathed within her and hateful, was the knowledge that one of the reasons she had gone to Miss Desjardin's hour of calisthenics and sweating runs around the gym Floor had nothing to do with nobility. She wasn't going to miss her last Spring Ball for anything. Not for anything. Tommy was nowhere in sight. She began to walk back toward the school, her stomach churning unhappily, Little Miss Sorority, Suzy Creemcheese, The Nice Girl who only does It with the boy she plans to marry – with the proper Sunday supplement coverage, of course. Two kids. Beat the living shit out of them if they show any signs of honesty; screwing, fighting, or refusing to grin each time some mythic honcho yelled frog. Spring Ball. Blue gown. Corsage kept all the afternoon in the fridge. Tommy in a white dinner jacket, cummerbund, black pants, black shoes. Parents taking photos posed by the living-room sofa with Kodak Starflashes and Polaroid Big-Shots. Crepe masking the stark gymnasium girders. Two bands: one rock, one mellow. No fifth wheels need apply. Mortimer Snurd, please keep out. Aspiring country club members and future residents of Kleen Korners only. The tears finally came and she began to run. From The Shadow Exploded (p. 60): The following excerpt is from a letter to Donna Kellogg from Christine Hargensen. The Kellogg girl moved from Chamberlain to Providence, Rhode Island, in the fall of 1978. She was apparently one of Chris Hargensen's few close friends and a confidante. The letter is postmarked May 17,1979: ‘So I'm out of the Prom and my yellow-guts father says he won't give them what they deserve. But they're not going to get away with it. I don't know what exactly I'm going to do yet but I guarantee you everyone is going to get a big fucking surprise . . .' It was the seventeenth. May seventeenth. She crossed the, day off the calendar in her room as soon as she slipped into her long white nightgown. She crossed off each day as it passed with a heavy black felt pen, and she supposed it expressed a very bad attitude toward life. She didn't really care. The only thing she really cared about was knowing that Momma was going to make her go back to school tomorrow and she would have to face all of Them. She sat down in the small Boston rocker (bought and paid for with her own money) beside the window, closed her eyes, and swept Them and all the clutter of her conscious thoughts from her mind. It was like sweeping a floor. Lift the rug of your subconscious mind and sweep all the dirt under. Good-bye. She opened her eyes. She looked at the hairbrush on her bureau. Flex. She was lifting the hairbrush. It was heavy. It was like lifting a barbell with very weak arms. Oh. Grunt. The hairbrush slid to the edge of the bureau, slid out past the point where gravity should have toppled it, and then dangled, as if on an invisible string. Carrie's eyes had closed to slits. Veins pulsed in her temples. A doctor might have been interested in what her body was doing at that instant; it made no rational sence. Respiration had fallen to sixteen breaths per minute. Blood pressure up to 190/100. Heartbeat up to 140 – higher than astronauts under the heavy g-load of lift-off. Temperature down to 94.3. Her body was burning energy that seemed to be coming from nowhere and seemed to be going nowhere. An electroencephalogram would have shown alpha waves that were no longer waves at all, but great, jagged spikes. She let the hairbrush down carefully. Good. Last night she had dropped it. Lose all your points, go to jail. She closed her eyes again and rocked. Physical functions began to revert to the norm; her respiration speeded until she was nearly panting. The rocker had a slight squeak. Wasn't annoying, though. Was soothing. Rock, rock. Clear your mind. ‘Carrie?' Her mother's voice, slightly disturbed, floated up. (she's getting interference like the radio when you turn on the blender good good) ‘Have you said your prayers, Carrie?' ‘I'm saying them,' she called back. Yes. She was saying them, all right. She looked at her small studio bed. Flex. Tremendous weight. Huge. Unbearable. The bed trembled and then the end came up perhaps three inches. It dropped with a crash. She waited, a small smile playing about her lips, for Momma to call upstairs angrily. She didn't. So Carrie got up, went to her bed. and slid between the cool sheets. Her head ached and she felt giddy, as she always did after these exercise sessions. Her heart was pounding in a fierce, scary way. She reached over, turned off the light, and lay back. No pillow. Momma didn't allow her a pillow. She thought of imps and families and witches. (am i a witch momma the devil's whore) riding through the night, souring milk, overturning butter chums, blighting crops while They huddled inside their houses with hex signs scrawled on Their doors. She closed her eyes, slept, and dreamed of huge, living stones crashing through the night, seeking out Momma, seeking out Them. They were trying to run, trying to hide. But the rock would not hide them; the dead tree gave no shelter. From My Name is Susan Snell, by Susan Snell (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986), pp. i-iv: There's one thing no one has understood about what happened in Chamberlain on Prom Night. The press hasn't understood it, the scientists at Duke University haven't understood it, David Congress hasn't understood it – although his The Shadow Exploded is probably the only half-decent book written on the subject – and certainly The White Commission, which used me as a handy scapegoat, did not understand it. This one thing is the most fundamental fact: We were kids. Carrie was seventeen, Chris Hargensen was seventeen, I was seventeen, Tommy Ross was eighteen, Billy Nolan (who spent a year repeating the ninth grade, presumably before he learned how to shoot his cuffs during examinations) was nineteen †¦ Older kids react in more socially acceptable ways than younger kids, but they still have a way of making bad decisions, of over-reacting, or underestimating. In the first section which follows this introduction I must show these tendencies in myself as well as I am able. Yet the matter which I am going to discuss is at the root of my involvement in Prom Night, and if I am to clear my name, I must begin by recalling scenes which I find particularly painful †¦ I have told this story before, most notoriously before The White Commission, which received it with incredulity. In the wake of two hundred deaths and the destruction of an entire town, it is so easy to forget one thing. We were kids. We were kids. We were kids trying to do our best †¦ ‘You must be crazy.' He blinked at her, not willing to believe that he had actually heard it. They were at his house, and the television was on but forgotten. His mother had gone over to visit Mrs Klein across the street His father was in the cellar workroom making a bird-house. Sue looked uncomfortable but determined. ‘Ifs the way I want it, Tommy.' ‘Well, it's not the way I want it. I think ifs the craziest goddam thing I ever heard. Like something you might do on a bet.' Her face tightened. ‘Oh? I thought you were the one doing the big speeches the other night. But when it comes to putting your money where your big fat mouth ‘Wait, whoa.' He was unoffended, grinning. I didn't say no, did I? Not yet, anyway.' ‘YOU ?C'

Discussion Case: Mountain Bank

At first glance, one would wonder why Mountain bank currently has fifty percent of Retail accounts within the market which are the less profitable accounts in the banking industry. Secondly one would also ask or wonder why Mountain Bank has less than 10 percent of the most profitable accounts in the market, corporate accounts. To achieve a competitive advantage Mountain Bank should implement the cost leadership strategy and the differentiation strategy. Currently Mountain Bank has a strong presence in the Retail Banking line which has proven to be the least profitable line in the industry. Their goal short term goal need to be to own a stronger presence within the more stable and profitable lines, Real Estate and Mortgage and Corporate banking. With the recent mergers and acquisitions, Mountain Bank may have the opportunity to expand and develop efficient methods that will enable them to sell its products and services at a lower price than its competitors. The decrease in the cost of its products and services will attract new customers and retain existing customers. By lowering the interest rates and cost of its products and services to a rate that smaller banks would not be able to compete with, Mountain Bank will gain the leadership of cost within the industry. The success of weeding out the competition will allow Mountain Bank to achieve its goal of obtaining a stronger presence of the most stable and profitable lines within the industry, Real Estate and Mortgage and Corporate accounts. Currently Mountain Bank provides the same four lines of banking (retail, consumer lending, real estate and mortgage and corporate banking), products and services as other banks in the industry. Differentiating its brand would allow Mountain Bank to gain a competitive advantage above its competitors. Mountain Bank would need to offer to its customer’s different and unique products and services that are not offered by its competition. This plan should restrict competitors from entering their market, or make it difficult for them to compete with them head on. The differentiation strategy may include implementing mergers with some larger corporations to obtain exclusive contract to do business with that business. The contract could encompass corporate accounts where Mountain Bank would be the sole provider of the company’s accounts for some of their benefits packages. Based on the universalistic approach and commitment strategy, what types of practices should a human resource professional recommend for Mountain Bank with respect to its tellers? The tellers are the key to the success at Mountain Bank. It is important that Mountain Bank’s human resource team focus on empowering the workers and build a stronger sense of loyalty and commitment within the tellers. Because the tellers are expected to complete some of the task as customer service it is imperative that hr encompass extensive recruiting and training within their hiring process. The tellers should have more involvement with the communication with management. Tellers should be encouraged to make suggestions about their daily responsibilities, customer service, daily goals, quotas, sales projections etc. Training programs should readily be available for those who show that they are able to handle more responsibilities. Of course compensation and appraisal systems should be measured and rewarded to those who use the training effectively on the job. These practices would foster a strong sense of cooperation between management and the tellers. Discuss the four human resource strategies (internal/cost, external cost, internal/differentiation and external/differentiation) that may be implemented within an organization. The Internal/Cost strategy combines the theories of the cost leadership strategy and emphasize on employing individuals with a long term goal of employment with the focus of reducing cost. The employer focuses on satisfying the needs of the employees while the employees work complete their various task in a manner in which to reduce cost for the employer. This is a win-win situation in which employees and employer are both satisfied. Employee satisfaction in turn reduces the likelihood of employee turnover. Mountain Bank would need to implement this strategy to ensure that not only its employees but its frontline employees, the tellers, are satisfied with their job. If they are satisfied then they have a higher chance of building a stronger bond becoming loyal longtime employees which reduces the cost to Mountain Bank in the long run. The Internal Differentiation strategy focuses on hiring and retaining long term employees that specialize in performing certain task with a combination of differentiation. This strategy emphasizes the importance of the employees. It values the employees and provides training to enhance their career within the company. This strategy compensates the employees with high wages/salaries and good benefits packages for their hard work and dedication for the company. These employees are known as the experts within the field. The External Cost strategy also known as the bargain labor strategy focuses on hiring employees with a short term goal while reducing the cost. This strategy unlike the previous two would not offer many perks to its employees. This strategy does not offer room for advancement within the company, and they do not offer training to empower employees to advance their careers. The pay rate for employees within this strategy is usually hourly wages. Employees are thought of as being easily replaced because they are not valued as much compared to the previous two strategies. This is a strategy that should not have top priority for Mountain Bank to implement. External/Differentiation strategy also focuses on hiring employees with a short term goal of employment combined with the differentiation strategy. These employees have critical skills but do not intend to remain loyal long term employees. Little to no training is provided because they are hired based on the skill set and experience they have to perform and complete a certain job/task. Employees who encourage this strategy have no long term commitments for the employees hired. The only portion of this strategy that Mountain Bank should implement is to hire employees that acquire necessary skill sets and experience to perform the job needed. Recommend a human resource strategy for Mountain Bank with respect to its tellers and support the recommendation. The case states that â€Å"bank tellers are crucial to the success of the Mountain bank because they are often times the only person that a customer may come in contact with while visiting the bank. † (Stewart 2008) The bank tellers at Mountain Bank are entry level employees and they receive a low pay. Within their daily responsibilities they are expected to cross sell and convince customers with retail accounts to open corporate accounts or obtain a mortgage from Mountain Bank. In a since, the tellers are also acting as sales reps for Mountain Bank and are not being compensated for the success if a sale is accomplished. It is stated that the employee turnover at Mountain Bank is quite high which means that the employees have a shorter average tenure than those of other companies in the same industry. Because employee turnover at Mountain Bank is quite high they should consider adopting the Internal/Cost HR Strategy: The Loyal Soldier. This strategy emphasizes hiring and retaining loyal employees who will do whatever the company asks of them. The efforts are made to satisfy the needs of employees and build a strong bond that reduces the likelihood of employee turnover. † (Stewart 2008) HR would be responsible for recruiting candidates and hiring employees (tellers) who fit th e organizational culture. Because the bank tellers complete several task, it is safe to assume that Mountain Bank expects them to do whatever the company asks of them like cross sell to existing customers to increase profits. HR will also be responsible for providing tellers with extensive training in a number of different skills. These skills will be related to the teller daily duties/responsibilities i. e. handle a wide range of banking transactions, such as cashing checks, accepting deposits and loan payments, and processing withdrawals. The tellers should also receive extensive training on customer service and sales representative skills as well because they are expected to cross sell and onvince customers with retail accounts to open corporate accounts or obtain a mortgage from Mountain Bank. The sales training crucial to the tellers because it will ensure (1) that they have accurate product knowledge, (2) they are familiar with the company’s sales procedures and (3) they know how to accurately fill out paperwork regarding the successful sale of the product. This process will help improve sales performance in the corporate accounts which are the most profitable accounts within the Mountain. Alongside finding the â€Å"right† employee, the loyal soldier strategy focuses on long term incentives and benefits for its employees. Because the tellers are paid a low wage they should be offered full time employment after a probation period. They should also be offered a benefits package which should include medical dental and the option to purchase stocks within the company. Performance appraisals/evaluations should determine the level of pay increase. This process will result in a great since of pride for the tellers and a strong bond between the employees and Mountain Bank.

Option and Major Studios

FIN 4414 – Financial Management – Spring 2009 â€Å"Arundel† Case Assignment Due: March 23, 2009 Case: â€Å"Arundel Partners: The Sequel Project,† HBS, Case # 9-292-140, Revised 12/92. Main Question: Is $2million per movie a fair price? Why or why not? Additional Questions 1. Provide a brief overview of the proposed venture. Clearly describe the relevant time line. 2. Why do the proponents of this venture believe that Arundel Partners can make money buying movie sequel rights? Why do they propose buying a portfolio of rights rather than negotiating the purchase price on a film-by-film basis? Why do they propose to purchase the sequel rights at t=0 (before the first film is released) rather than at t=1? 3. Assuming a discount rate of 12% (risk free rate of 6% and a risk premium of 6%) calculate the NPV for all the sequels. Use the expected negative costs and the expected revenues given in Table 7. 4. Using the â€Å"decision-tree† approach, calculate the per-movie value of the sequel rights to the entire portfolio of 99 movies released in 1989 by the six major studios. . Assume that a maximum of ten sequels can be made in any given year. Using the same decision-tree approach, what would you estimate to be the per-movie value of the sequel rights to the entire portfolio of 99 movies released in 1989 by the six major studios? 6. Using the Black-Scholes approach, calculate the per-movie value of the sequel rights to the entire portfolio of 99 movies released in 1989 by the six major studios. Assume once again that there is no maximum to the number of sequels that can be made in a given year). You must provide details of how you estimated the inputs to the B-S formula. a. Asset value b. Exercise price c. Volatility of asset returns d. Time to maturity e. Risk-free rate HINT: Note that the time to maturity of the options is when uncertainty is resolved not necessarily when the sequel is made. The asset value is what you will get if you exercised the option to make the sequel. Again use average values for all the sequels. Similarly use the average value of the cost to make the sequels for the exercise price. Estimating standard deviation is a little trickier. Note that you do not have past information on returns to each sequel to estimate volatility for a sequel. However, you have information on a portfolio of sequels and you know the returns to these sequels and you could use these to estimate a standard deviation based on a cross-section of returns (DO NOT USE PRICE LEVELS). Also the standard deviation should be based on all 99 sequels – that is it should be based on the entire distribution. 7. Carry out a sensitivity analysis of the value of the option to the values of the underlying asset, exercise price, and volatility. 8. What problems or disagreements would you expect Arundel and a major studio to encounter in the course of a relationship like the one described in the case? What contractual terms and provisions should Arundel insist on?

Unicef’s Efficiency in the World’s Global Struggles

UNICEF is a world-renowned organization that strives to give a voice to those who go unheard: the children of the world. UNICEF or the United Nations International Emergency Fund was originally created in 1946, following World War II, in an effort to provide assistance to the European children who faced starvation and disease. It was through these efforts that UNICEF began to present itself as one of the nations leading advocacy groups for children’s rights. Then, in 1953, UNICEF was given permanent status by the General Assembly. UNICEF made its mark by assisting the U. N.Commission on Human Rights in the creation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1959, which ensured a child’s right to shelter, education, healthcare, and protection. In 1965, UNICEF added to their ever-growing list of accolades with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 for â€Å"the promotion of brotherhood among nations. † Following this, the organization began to devote its time to promo ting proper medication and sanitation for children worldwide. These efforts included encouraging women to breastfeed their children, promoting a breast milk substitute, and helping children obtain proper vaccinations.Throughout their years of service, UNICEF has grown to serve over 190 countries and has developed focus areas to ensure child survival and development, basic education and gender equality, child protection, and HIV/AIDS prevention in children. Each country’s UNICEF office carries out the organizations missions and objectives with help from its government, with its regional offices offering assistance whenever it is needed. The head management of UNICEF and its overall administration reside in the organizations main office in New York.UNICEF has 36 National Committees, which promote the rights of children throughout the world and raises national awareness of issues related to the protection of human rights for children. The Committees also collects funds and devel ops partnerships and affiliations of UNICEF with other organizations and institutions around the world. All the work and programs of UNICEF are monitored by a 36 member Executive Board. The Executive Board ultimately controls the financial basis of the organization, and reviews its policies and procedures.The Board is elected by members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and primarily serve three terms. UNICEF focuses on making sure children survive their adolescent years and develop into young adults. This is an extremely difficult task due to all the diseases that effect children in less developed countries. While diseases such as malaria and pneumonia will kill millions and millions of young children, these diseases are preventable. Over half of the millions of children that die from these diseases are preventable.UNICEF is using its research and funding to develop low cost innovative technologies to produce vaccines and antibiotics to these developing cou ntries to ensure children can live a full and healthy life. In addition, UNICEF tries to ensure that children have access to basic education so that children can learn about these preventable diseases, along with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Just implementing organizations which channel basic information to these children can be a successful tool in ensuring that these young children live a healthier and safer life.Education is a human right which every child should be given the right to, and UNICEF is making strides toward achieving this goal. Not only does UNICEF work to facilitate children’s knowledge and learning, but it also works to develop a protective environment for children as well. Hundreds of children in the world face exploitation and are subject to violence. Whether it be exploitation from the labor force or institutions, to brutality and abuse from conflict within communities, children need some form of protection in society.Children have the right to survival and de velopment, and UNICEF advocates for protective measures in governments to provide a safe environment for children. Responses taken by UNICEF towards the fight against child protection include the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Millennium Declaration. These responses taken by UNICEF use legal systems and a given set of standards that governments must respect with regards to the human rights of its children and citizens. The governments and individuals of states cannot take away or violate the rights of its people.The Convention on the Rights of the Child is an important measure towards UNICEF’s fight against child protection. The principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are legally binding, making it unlawful if a state does not adhere to its protocols. â€Å"The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights. † Governments of states have now taken respo nsibility to guarantee and protect children’s rights.National governments are obligated to implement all the policies and standards of the convention, and must be accountable for their actions if there are cases of children’s rights being disregarded. The convention covers all the basic human rights from the right to survival and protection from violence to the right of a child to grow and develop. UNICEF makes sure that there are standards being met with regards to education, health care and other legal and social services, and that governments are committing to these efforts.UNICEF makes it clear that violence against children is not justifiable, and states must implement and uphold policies and programs to insure the safety and nonviolence among children. This reassures the binding principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which acknowledges that states have the obligation to ensure accountability in all cases of violence. The UNICEF’s worldwid e efforts and initiative to elevate the status of children and give them a voice is a detrimental part of improving the world as a whole.Children are the key to the future. The children of today are going to be tomorrow’s leaders and important figures. Also, in order to fight and reduce the conditions of poverty in the world, children should be looked upon as the first step. Poverty is the root cause of children being denied their rights as a human. Poverty leads to a less protective childhood environment, and less resources for education and health concerns. It hinders the ability of a child to grow and develop.In the end, â€Å"poverty is transmitted from one generation to the next. If there are any intentions of breaking the increasing sequence of poverty, then investments by governments and other private sectors must spent towards children’s health, education and overall development. Investing in the health and safety of the worlds youth can lead to great returns in the future. In the end, the decline of world poverty starts by implementing standards and institutions for the well being of the nations youth.The tasks and goals of UNICEF cover an enormous focus ranging from child education and equality, to child protection and development. These issues entail many programs and much funding, which is why UNICEF is closely connected to many other organizations. Other organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Food and Agricultural Organization, The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the International Labour Organization are some of the many organizations which are closely connected to UNICEF.These organizations all come together to tackle numerous issues such as disease control, better education and nutritional practices, implementing children welfare services, providing food and health to areas in the developing world and many other functions. UNICEF teams up with numerous other organizations to offer humanitarian aid and development to assist children in impoverished countries. UNICEF also works with the International Red Cross on emergency relief assignments in places like Cambodia which has experienced a domestic upheaval , as well as working to make child rights constitutional in Brazil.UNICEF partners with United Nation agencies and governments to provide support and assistance to children during emergency conditions. During the first weeks of crisis, UNICEF works to assess the situation that children and women are experiencing, provide necessary immunizations and nutrition, support mother-child feeding and monitoring, provide sanitary and safe drinking water, prevent sexual abuse and exploitation, and resume education. In order to facilitate proper assistance, UNICEF has set up an Office of Emergency Programmes (EMPOS), which coordinates UNICEF’s partnership with other agencies, and provides staff support.Within the EMPOS resides UNICEF’s Operations Cent re which serves as a 24-7 information gathering center in order supervise staff, monitor world events, and insure safety of all UNICEF members. UNICEF has successfully provided humanitarian aid and helped improve the welfare of children all around the world. For instance, UNICEF has helped keep peace in Sri Lanka while educating the youth. While Sri Lanka suffered civil war and violence for over a decade, the UNICEF helped to educate children non-violent ways to resolve conflicts and disputes by launching the Education for Conflict Resolution.UNICEF trained principles, teachers and pupils to use innovative techniques to emphasize passivity and nonviolence. In addition, UNICEF aided in achieving community-based health care in Indonesia. In 1973, Indonesia suffered from more than 10 million of its children under five years-old being undernourished. UNICEF countered this epidemic by supplying Indonesia with nutritional first aid packages for the villages, which provided scales to weigh babies as well as rehydration salts and iron supplements. A network of village health posts were formed, here mother could bring their infants for nourishment or go to meetings and receive important information regarding the health of their children. This is much like Mother Centres, which were created under UNICEF in Central and Eastern Europe. This provides woman with a social network to communicate and deal with issues such as poverty. It also provided education to girls and mothers regarding health concerns and gender discrimination. However, UNICEF has also encountered efforts that proved to be unsuccessful.For example, while providing humanitarian aid to the people of Sudan during the civil war, the agency poorly managed the aid operation. UNICEF offered aid to the Sudan people, but failed to make sure the aid was distributed to the Sudan population. As a result, corrupt officials were taking most of the aid, leaving the people and children with little to no resources. Weak m anagement of this massive relief operation led to an unsuccessful distribution of aid for the citizens of Sudan.With all the focus and aid the UNICEF provided among its universal operations, sufficient funding was a key component to its success. The budget of UNICEF was provided primarily through government contributions and donations, along with private donations from numerous interest groups. However, without U. S. involvement and funding, UNICEF would not be as successful as it is today. The United States generous contributions to UNICEF portrays the United State’s worldwide investment in children.Within the last fiscal year (2009), the United States Congress voluntarily contributed 130 million to UNICEF, which is critical to UNICEF’s budget. The U. S. fund for UNICEF consisted of just about a million individual donors along with other organizations and well-know businesses providing contributions to the fund. With the United State’s advocacy and large fundin g of UNICEF, it allows the organization improve its measures of child survival and development internationally throughout the world.Since its conception in 1946 UNICEF has consistently ranked among the world’s strongest charitable organizations. Over these past decades UNICEF has established one of the top charitable business models. In 2008 UNICEF reported total revenues at $453,900,000 yet its administrative and fundraising expenses were less than $42,000,000 thus allowing UNICEF to spend over $400,000,000 on its various international relief efforts. Unlike other charities that face administrative and technical walls, UNICEF is able to use $. 90 of every dollar raised on the world’s most desperate children.In addition to its preeminent business model UNICEF has also perfected its fundraising techniques spending only six cents per every dollar raised. As a result of its successful fundraising and financial planning UNICEF received top ratings for its efficiency and or ganization. While UNICEF maintains itself as a top charity its greatest strength lies within its ability to change. Unfortunately the disasters of the world rarely come with a warning thus requiring organizations to create effective and rapid response programs for such things as natural disasters and wars.Emergency response has become one of UNICEF’s greatest strengths and it has become a world leader in the development of newer, more effective response strategies. UNICEF has also been able to successfully change with the tide of power throughout the world’s hotspots; which tend to be the most desperate. UNICEF, because of its connection with the United Nations, has been able to maintain regional offices and treatment centers throughout Africa, the Middle East, and Southeastern Asia. Since 1946 UNICEF has been a constant light for the children of the world.It has established itself as on the top international charities. As a result of its concrete business model, effic ient fundraising, and ability to change UNICEF will undoubtedly continue to provide relief for all children in need. UNICEF’s success has also created some drawbacks that should be expected with an ever-growing organization. UNICEF’s success has led it towards a results-based management style. Results-based management can be inefficient for it only cares about the bottom line and not necessarily about the means to get the bottom line.This can lead to such inefficiencies as over-spending and a lack of precision in order to get things done quicker. In addition, due to UNICEF’s size, it has become a victim of the bureaucracy and the complexities of a large corporation. Time and money is frequently wasted on simple internal processes that become complex due to a drawn out power structure. UNICEF’s weaknesses lie within its ability to grow. Like any private or government institution UNICEF must continue to adapt and evolve to the constant changes occurring in the 21st century.While conditions are improving for children, there are still millions of children dying each day, especially in areas of the world where there is insufficient leaderships. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the worlds worst catastrophe, and some feel that UNICEF has done enough work to help the countries in Africa that are greatly effect by it. Wendy McElroy, who believes UNICEF’s focus is all wrong, contributes some of its failures to the fact that UNICEF leaders always tend to be American.This, she states, tends to result in the organization to convey and lean towards American interest. However, UNICEF’s strong organization and track record will undoubtedly aid itself in correcting its flaws in the coming years. UNICEF has agencies in more than 150 developing countries with the goal of helping children survive and reach their adolescent years. It looks to implement programs and policies to overcome the everyday obstacles that children is the world strug gle to overcome, ranging from discrimination, violence, inequality, poverty and disease.UNICEF has made fundamental strides in child survival and development with the use of low cost health programs, resulting in child deaths being reduced by 20 percent in the last three years. Also, UNICEF is â€Å"the world leader in vaccine supply and immunization,† helping to protect the world’s youth from preventable diseases. This alone has helped to prevent the deaths of more than 2 million children in the world each year. The promotion of basic education is also a detrimental aspect of UNICEF.UNICEF has helped Afghanistan build more than three thousand schools to educate more than 140,000 children. These are just a few examples of UNICEF’s policies that have helped save millions of children’s lives. However, even with UNICEF’s aid and successes, more than an estimated 9. 2 million children will die this year, many due to preventable diseases. UNICEF has tak en significant measures to shed light upon the issues that effect not only children, but many others throughout the world. This alone has brought about change to millions who suffer in the world today.Protecting the world’s youth who do not have the ability to help themselves is a key step in maintaining a bright and prosperous future, since today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders. The vision and goals of UNICEF have stayed consistent since its formation in 1946, always striving towards helping reduce hunger, increase vaccinations and treatments, and ultimately protect the rights of children. UNICEF is in no way a perfect organization, but its policies and programs have constructed a world in which children can further develop into the leaders of tomorrow.