Coso and Basel

Financial Collapses and Regulations New England College of Business In an era of risky investments and failed financial institutions, additional importance is being placed on businesses implementing Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) plans. ERM is defined by the Institute of Internal Auditors (2012) as an approach designed to â€Å"identify, quantify, respond to, and monitor the consequences of potential events implemented by management. † Without an ERM plan, transparency to shareholders and internal accountability are nearly impossible to achieve.COSO and Basel are both reactive frameworks to increased regulatory changes that forced institutions to show more transparency to their financial reporting, in order to manage operational risks, mitigate the likelihood of a collapse, and ensure stability in volatile market conditions (Farnan 2004; Balin 2008); these measures increase confidence in investors. This comparative analysis of COSO and Basel seeks to indentify common measure s that are necessary to form a functional ERM plan, the most important being the accountability of management and its communication with the Board (The New Basel Accord 2003).A Comparative Analysis of ERM Guidelines: COSO I/II and Basel I/II Introduction Due to the epidemic of failed financial systems seen over the past decade, agencies and private organizations (e. g. , Securities and Exchange Commission, NICE, etc. ) have set in place guidelines for the standardization of reporting and evaluating risk in an effort to eliminate â€Å"surprise† collapses in the future (NICE Systems Ltd. 2012).Alexander Campbell, Editor, Operational Risk & Regulation, states that â€Å"regulatory approaches are changing† and requiring companies to streamline processes for monitoring internal risks at a company, such as fraud (NICE Systems Ltd. 2012). Common goals of organizing committees trying to tackle regulatory challenges are to improve communication between the board and management , increase shareholders' confidence, and most importantly, for entities to thoroughly evaluate their liquidity so that in the event of a crisis, investors' assets are secured (Bressac 2005; Decamps,Rochet, & Roger 2003). This comparative analysis of COSO and Basel identifies the standards these documents set for institutions to maintain an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) plan, as well as the affects these documents' shortcomings and constraints have on entities which apply either COSO or Basel. Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is defined by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) (2012) as an approach designed to â€Å"identify, quantify, respond to, and monitor the consequences of potential events implemented by management. It is important for all parties affiliated with an institution's ERM plan to clearly identify and understand the events that impact a company's value in order for the entity to achieve its objectives (IIA 2012). The frameworks COSO and Basel both attempt to b e reactive solutions to public events in which lack of an adequate ERM plan has contributed to a collapse of a major institution or market which had a detrimental affect on the public (Farnan 2004; Lall 2009).Both documents have been explored by many key opinion leaders in the financial industry, and while each provides a set of guidelines for developing successful ERM protocols, each also fails to be foolproof. Shaw (2006) provides the argument that â€Å"while the COSO standard was groundbreaking at the time, it was not meant to be a marking guide for controls. † Moreover, in regards to Pillar 3 of the Basel Accord which depicts methods of Value-At-Risk (VAR) calculations, Standard and Poor's noted that although these VAR methods â€Å"appear to offer mathematical precision†¦they are not a magic bullet† (Lall 2009).COSO and Basel can be seen as â€Å"a significant step forward† for the times (Saurina and Persaud 2008). Basel In 1974, the Basel Committee o f Banking Supervision (BCBS) was created (consisting of the G10 plus Luxembourg and Spain) in light of the challenges from an increasingly internationalized banking system (Lall 2009). In the 1980s, it became clear (post-Latin America Debt Crisis, 1982) that a process was needed regulate the international banking system to mitigate risk and manage losses (Lall 2009).The first Basel Accord and Basel II, referred to as â€Å"Basel,† is a method of risk management, specifically for financial institutions operating on a multi-national level, that sets minimum capital requirements (â€Å"8% of adjusted assets† (Decamps, Rochet, & Roger 2003)) that these institutions must uphold to minimize the risk of a collapse in the international banking system (Lamy 2006).Basel I, the first international accord on bank capital was established in 1988, by the BCBS (Finance & Development 2008), with the goal to â€Å"arrive at significantly more risk-sensitive capital requirements† with the primary objective in line with ensuring stability in the international banking system (Lamy 2006). In 2004, Basel II was introduced, with amendments in response to the Quantitative Impact Study, QIS 3, (published in May 2003), an increase in the amount of capital banks must set aside for â€Å"high-risk exposures,† and changes from feedback from banks on Basel I (Finance & Development 2008; Lamy 2006).The Basel framework is focused on three â€Å"pillars†: â€Å"a minimum capital adequacy requirement, supervisory review, and market discipline† (Decamps, Rochet, & Roger 2003). Basel I was highly criticized for having a â€Å"one size fits all† approach to formulating institutions' risk-weighted assets (with insensitivity to emerging countries), in addition to unrealistic capital requirements that discouraged even reasonable risk taking (Kaufman 2003). In response to these critiques, BCSB began to draft Basel II, in which the amendments to Pillar I (310 out of ~350 pages of the document (Balin 2008)) were most notable.Balin (2008) describes the â€Å"menu† of various options that Basel II encompasses for Pillar I, which allow institutions to choose the most suitable options dependent on a series of factors (i. e. , size, rating, etc. ). The minimum capital requirement pillar focuses on the least amount of capital a bank must maintain to be protected from credit, operational, and market risks (Ahmed and Khalidi 2007). In Basel II, the highly critiqued credit risk requirements were modified to decrease the â€Å"one size fits all† stigma of Basel I (Kaufman 2003).Additionally, Basel II takes into account loopholes found in Basel I that enabled banks to maintain their desired level of risk â€Å"while cosmetically assuaging to minimum capital adequacy requirements,† which was done mainly through a transfer of assets to holding companies and subsidiaries (Balin 2008). Similar to COSO framework, the first pil lar of Basel seeks to unite various types of risks into an overall evaluation of capital requirements to safeguard shareholders and investors. Pillar 2, theSupervisory Review, is meant to â€Å"insure that banks have adequate capital to support all the risks in their business† including, but not limited to, the calculations in Pillar 1 (Kaufman 2003). This Pillar clearly defines of obligations of supervisory oversight against extreme risk taking; of note in this Pillar is line 680, which states: â€Å"Supervisors are expected to evaluate how well banks are assessing their capital needs relative to their risks and to intervene, where appropriate.This interaction is intended to foster an active dialogue between banks and supervisors such that when deficiencies are identified, prompt and decisive action can be taken to reduce risk or restore capital† (The New Basel Capital Accord 2003). The four principles of Pillar 2 seek to hold the supervisors responsible for implicati ng processes, reviewing, setting expectations, and intervening when warranted in regard to management of capital risks (The New Basel Capital Accord 2003). Pillar 3 seeks to protect against changes in asset prices (market risk) (Balin 2008), which is an addition to the credit risk factors of Basel I.Using the Value-At-Risk (VAR) model, banks were able to determine the probability of a portfolio's value decreasing by more than a set amount over a given time period (Lall 2009). Critics of the VAR model, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), claim that it fails to account for â€Å"extreme market events† and assumes that the â€Å"processes generating market events were stable† (Lall 2009). COSO In July 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed with the goals of increasing investor and public confidence â€Å"in the post-Enron era† and increasing management accountability, among others (Farnan 2004).Section 404 of SOX states that effective for some lar ge companies, beginning December 31, 2004, a â€Å"separate management report on internal control effectiveness and audit by the organization's external financial statement auditor† is required (Farnan 2004). COSO's framework lays out a path for developing efficient operations and regulatory compliance methods, and has been established as the framework recommended by agencies such as the SEC for public companies to base their financial reporting on (Farnan 2004).The Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commissions (COSO) is comprised of five private organizations in the financial industry (COSO Web site 2012). The COSO organization was established in 1995 with the mission to â€Å"provide thought leadership through the development of comprehensive frameworks and guidance on enterprise risk management, internal control and fraud deterrence,† and attempts to enhance success and leadership, and minimize fraud in company reporting (COSO Web site 2012).Since its establishment, COSO has published frameworks â€Å"aimed at helping publicly traded companies cope with tough new monitoring requirements mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act† (Shaw 2006), and to help businesses manage risk, by looking at business units as an entire entity, designed to improve organizational performance and governance and to reduce the extent of fraud in organization (COSO Web site 2012).The COSO framework is a cube comprised of four (three in COSO I) company objectives perpendicular to eight (five in COSO I) factors that together form a risk assessment program for which companies can reduce risks by realizing the amount of capital needed for consequences (Bressac 2005). Similar to Basel, COSO dictates that â€Å"the board is responsible for overseeing management's design and operation of ERM† (Bressac 2005).One factor that COSO framework includes is the measurement of a company's risk appetite, â€Å"the amount of risk, on a broad level, an entity is willing to accept in pursuit of value† (Rittenberg and Martens 2012). Many objectives that management sets for their company (i. e. , increase market share, win competitive tenders) include a substantial amount of risk, and COSO's strategic decision-making framework allows managers to present the objectives in relation to appetite to the Board for approval (Rittenberg and Martens 2012).Conclusions Both COSO and Basel were drawn to effectively respond to new implications (Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Shaw 2006) and new laws capital requirements for banks (Lamy 2006), respectively), and each have principles that can help institutions manage ERM more effectively. For example, The New Basel Capital Accord (2003) clearly articulates that setting a minimum amount of available capital resources is â€Å"a vital element of the strategic planning process,† and the three pillars devise a plan to do this.Bressec (2005) claims that COSO II framework articulates a way for managers to eff ectively deal with the events that create uncertainty for entities and create responses to minimize potential losses. COSO and Basel were both released in the infancy stage and flawed. Samad-Khan (2005) observed that COSO's creditability is diminished because consequences are predicted to occur much more frequently than had been historically recorded in the past.Supporters acknowledge that Basel II has â€Å"arcane† ideas, but defend that â€Å"it's still a step in the right direction because it increases financial oversight and makes sure banks won't be doomed by crises of confidence† (Coy 2008). It is important to note that while COSO and Basel offer much protection against quantitative risk assessments, they must be coupled with the knowledge and insight of senior risk managements to be most efficient (Lall 2009; Samad-Khan 2005).Moreover, both COSO and Basel also provide constraints that limit the amount of risks institutions can endure, sometimes excessively. Pall (2009) discusses one failure in Basel II as the ability for developed-nation banks to skew their reports to their desired results, â€Å"at the expense of their smaller and emerging market competitors and, above all, systemic financial stability. † Samad-Khan (2005) emphasizes that historical data is still the most reliable way for companies to determine the probability for risk to occur.Start-ups will not have this historical data, therefore may overestimate their probability of risk using the â€Å"likelihood x impact = risk† calculation (Samad-Khan 2005) and miss out on potentially positive opportunities. Others against the provisions claim that both documents (e. g. , Basel in the Emerging markets) implement concessions that constrain potential growth by overcompensating for potential consequences and depleting lending capital for banks, which in the 1930s contributed to the Great Depression (Coy 2008). Historical events depict the need for more stringent regulato ry guidelines in this era of financial market uncertainty.The most important common factor of Basel and COSO are that each clearly states that it is management's responsibility to have a functional ERM plan in place, and be in communication with the Board about potential risks that the company faces (Bressec 2005; The New Basel Capital Accord 2003). Holding management accountable for the risks the business takes, while making sure that the Board is in agreement with management's plan creates a necessary harmony of a checks and balances system, in turn creating a â€Å"safer† landscape for shareholders and the public to place faith in. When properly executed,

Consulting Project Plan †Executive Summary Essay

My name is Lisa. I am a consultant from Hexi Consultation Firm. My expertise lies in interpersonal, training, and sales consultations. I was brought in by Mr. Joseph Wilson, your CEO, to research what he believed to be the company problem, diagnose it, and come up with a solution. First, I want to let each and everyone one know that I am here to help. I am here to help not only find out what has gone wrong but to help those who this is affecting come out of this with a better way of operating his/her department or duties, improve interpersonal relationships, insure everyone knows how to perform their job by providing him/her with the necessary material and training possible. Along the way, I want each person to who I interact with to feel free to question a statement, a recommendation, or a decision. We will be in this project together. I want everyone involved to understand this is your workplace, your home away from home, your livelihood. I am here to help improve the environment and conditions in which it operates. Upon completion of this project, I want everyone to feel that the changes made were fore the best and made this company a better place to work. How we achieve that will be by: * Creating a Communication Plan * Scheduling and conducting meeting for areas where research and change are involved. * Organize and Conduct a Feedback Meetings * Corporate and Regional * Beginning to End of Project * Devise an Implementation Plan I look forward to the opportunity to work alongside of everyone involved.

Alice walker in search of the garden Essay Example for Free

Alice walker in search of the garden Essay Alice Walker (58) , Diaspora (5) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints lice Walker’s essay, In Search of Our Mother’s Garden, talks about her search of the African American women’s suppressed talent, of the artistic skills and talents that they lost because of slavery and a forced way of life. Walker builds up her arguments from historical events as well as the collective experiences of African Americans, including her own. She uses these experiences to back up her arguments formed from recollections of various African American characters and events. Walker points out that a great part of her mother’s and grandmothers’ lives have been suppressed because of their sad, dark pasts. But all of these are not lost because somehow, these are manifested in even the smallest things that they do, and that they were also able to pass it down to the very people that they loved. Our search of our mother’s garden may end back to ourselves. Walker builds up her argument by mentioning the experiences of other people in the essay. One of them is Jean Toomer, a poet in the early 1920s. He is a man who observed that Black women are unique because they possessed intense spirituality in them, even though their bodies endure every aspect of punishment in every single day of their lives. They were in the strictest sense Saints – crazy, pitiful saints. Walker points out that without a doubt, our mothers and grandmothers belong to this type of people. By building up on the observations of Toomer, she was somehow able to show how hard it was to be a mother or a grandmother or even just a woman at that time, one reason perhaps is that they are black. The mothers and grandmothers at that time endured all of this without any hope that tomorrow will be different, be better. Because of this, they were not able to fully express themselves. They were held back by their society. Another black character that she used to build her argument is Phillis Wheatley, a Black slave girl with a precarious health. Phillis is a poet and a writer at her own right, but unfortunately, she wasn’t able to do much with it because she was a slave. She didn’t have anything for herself, worse, she didn’t even own herself. Her futile attempts for self expression would be washed up by forced labor and pregnancies. She lost her health, and eventually her life without fully expressing herself through her gift for poetry. Alice Walker used the story of Phillis to establish the understanding that indeed, African American women at that time were not allowed or didn’t have the luxury of time to exercise their gifts, to hone their talents and abilities, and use them to fully express themselves. By doing so, Walker proves that our mothers and grandmothers lived a boxed life back then, with no way to channel to them emotions and thoughts other than hard labor and forced servitude. She pointed out that we wouldn’t know if anyone of them would’ve bloomed to be poets, singers, actresses, because they never really had the chance to know what they can do. By building up her argument using these two accounts, she is also presenting very strong evidence to her claim. These accounts were personal experiences of real African American people, and these are not just isolated cases. These are shared experiences not just by these two but by all of their people. Walker can confidently say that there is a lot of Phillis Wheatley in those times, perhaps including her mother and grandmothers. This is concrete evidence because it is not fictional, it is not imaginary, or something conceived out of Walker’s creativity. Slavery, forced pregnancies, poverty, and artistic suppression were the realities during the time of our grandmothers. No one can deny this, and no one can deny the existence of Phillis or the accounts of Jean Toomer. Considering Alice Walker’s authority in her arguments, she could be considered as an expert, a reliable source of information on the topic. First off, she is an African American woman, who had her fair share of poverty in her childhood. She was born and raised by hardworking parents, who really had to work day and night to provide for their family. Also, she witnesses first hand that even though her mother may not be a poet or a novelist; she was an artist in the truest sense. Her artistic side is manifested in her gardens and the beautiful flowers that she grows. Alice Walker witnessed all of this, experienced first hand what it was like to be poor and seemingly talentless. The accounts that Alice Walker used to prove her points and back up her arguments were African American history that she was all too familiar with. It may have been shared to her by her families, or simply a collective knowledge passed down from one generation to another. She is also well-educated, a wide reader, and an artist. She often cites Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, relating a white woman’s plight to a black woman’s hardships. She emphasizes that even though she recognizes Woolf’s point about society’s unfair treatment to women of her time, Walker still believes that black women suffered the most (Walker). There is simply nothing that could compare to the artistic suppression that her mother and grandmothers experienced. In this essay, she is appealing to a general audience, with no specific race or ethnicity. I think this essay was written to highlight the African American women of her mother and grandmother’s time, who were unable to express their talents and hone it to its full potential. This essay is written to inform anyone and everyone reading it about their stories, and of her discovery of her mother’s garden. She was glad to know that it is possible for African American women to express themselves even unknowingly, that it is up to us to discover these â€Å"gardens.† She is appealing to the readers in general that even though some people like our mothers and grandmothers seem talentless or artistically inferior, it doesn’t mean that they really lack the talent. It just means that were not looking hard enough to find it. Alice Walker’s method of using personal experience and historical accounts allow her to truthfully see and say what has really happened. She doesn’t have to make up hypothetical events because she already has a basis for her arguments. Jean Toomer’s recollections and Phillis Wheatley’s experiences are enough proof of her argument. If some people would disagree with what she’s saying, she can always go back to their experiences, to how Phillis suffered without fully using her gift, or what Toomer saw in the streets in the early Twenties. But because of this, I think Walker is somehow limited to the sad and pitiful stories of the past. Well, in reality, most of the stories of African Americans were really sad and pitiful, but still, Walker failed to mention of any successful artist who rose from the ranks of slaves to write her own story. It is either this kind of story really didn’t exist at that time, or Walker just didn’t mention it, since it wasn’t the focus of her essay. Alice Walker concluded her essay by saying that Phillis Wheatley’s mother was also an artist, and that the achievements of their daughters were in some way brought about by their mothers. Her conclusion states that the mother is somehow responsible in every achievement of their daughter. Any artistic output by a person is also a product of their mother. Indeed, their children are their best creations, their very own wonderful gardens. This conclusion is related to her method because it goes back to how Phillis Wheatley’s mother was somehow responsible for her daughter’s artistic sense, and that beyond the poverty and the hardships that our mothers and grandmothers experienced during their times, they were still able to artistically express themselves through their children, their very own wonderful gardens. Alice walker in search of the garden. (2016, May 13). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Compliance with OHS and othe relevant laws Term Paper

Compliance with OHS and othe relevant laws - Term Paper Example Or is the employee responsible for her situation? On a case where an employee insists on working, the employer deems him inappropriate to perform due to his health complications. However, this employee is competent and needs the job in order to support his family. If the employer reinstates him out of compassion, then, who is liable if his condition worsens? I hereby seek your approval to present these matters to OHS specialists for more clarification. I Hope you will consider my request and thank you in advance. Yours faithfully, Signature John Doe. Enforcement notices, processes and penalties. Enforcement notices are issued to companies that do not comply with the health and safety laws, thus breaching the law. Such individuals or companies may be persecuted. The Queensland authorities implement compliance and enforcement strategies to ensure that companies and individuals comply with the laws on OHS and if they fail to, they are held accountable. These strategies mainly aim at con trolling risks at the place of work (compliance and enforcement policy, p2). ... which may lead to penalties of breach of duties which according to the OHS act, range from $920,250 for organizations and $184, 050 for individuals, (OHS) The duty of care requires that all the people at the workplace are embracing health and safety for all. The employer has a duty of ensuring that reasonable measures are taken to control risks. An employer’s duty of care applies to the employees, visitors and also contractors. This also entails manufacturers who have to ensure that the produced goods are not a risk to the health and safety of consumers, hence are required to provide directions on how their products should be used. An employee also has a duty of care which involves, ensuring health and safety for the people present at the place of work, who may be affected by his actions and omissions. Checklists for OHS inspection Locations Inspector’s comments Grading: fair, good, poor, excellent. Conditions Prescribed OHS specialist Construction department -Workers a re provided with dust masks, helmet and gloves.-(excellent) -Signs of alcohol consumption in some employees (Poor) -Favorable working conditions due to the protective gears issued.-(fair) - portrays danger to employees as they may loose focus and yield to accidents. For alcohol testing and screening on employees, LST consulting situated at 31 army street, is effective. Distribution department -Fully ventilated offices, with internal heaters in case of cold weathers.- (good) -Spacious offices Work done in shifts.-4 -Breast feeding mothers have no flexible working hours. (poor) -Motivated employees.-(good) -No sign of workload -Overtime is paid.-(fair) -interferes with the mother’s concentration. Australian breastfeeding association (ABA) An appraisal report In the construction site, it is clear that

How do Airplanes Fly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

How do Airplanes Fly - Essay Example According to the research findings air keeps speeding up as the pressure starts lowering which is the reason why a plane keeps going up as the air speed becomes stronger and faster over the top of the huge plane wings as a result of which a region of low pressure is created. As the air goes faster and a region of low pressure is created, the wings of an airplane generate lift and movement is made up through the thin air. It is no secret that humans have always remained interested in aerodynamics which is why two American men widely known as the Wright brothers managed in inventing the world’s first airplane after conducting their experiments at length using the aerodynamic principles. As mentioned before, control forms the most crucial factor when analyzing the flying process and though the Wright brothers were not the first to be involved in the experimental aircraft, still they have the honor to be the first people to invent control necessary for managing the aircraft balanc e. The concept of fixed-wing powered flight was totally impossible before the Wright brothers invented aircraft controls and made the first fully controlled, balanced, and powered flight, thus bringing a turning point in the history. The most important part of the invention undoubtedly was the three-axis control which helped immensely in lifting the airplane from the ground up into the air. The job of the three-axis control was to help the pilot in steering the jet in an appropriate manner and maintain its control in a way that the flight would remain successful and uninterrupted. Now the use of the three-axis control to steer the aircraft and maintain its equilibrium has become a standard and a firm principle in the flying process. Same goes for the fixed-wing aircraft of all other kinds where the tool of three-axis control is still used essentially. The concept of heavier-than-air human flight was totally unimaginable before the aerodynamic principles were applied practically. Mos t of the flight problems used to occur because there was no flight control in those days when engineers and researchers did not know much about exercising control over the aircraft balance. But, with explanation provided by the Wright brothers regarding the flight control options and methods, most of the flight problems got resolved as a very reliable way of pilot control was shown to the world through the three-axis control. Actually the main mistake made by earlier aeronautical engineers and flying enthusiasts was that the main emphasis was again and again laid on designing and

Performance pay at Safelite Auto Glass Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Performance pay at Safelite Auto Glass - Essay Example The proposed PPP (Performance Pay Plan) plan introduced at Safelite was initiated with the objective of increasing productivity in installation of glass units Problem arrived when it was observed that productivity in the company has become significantly low. Workers were capable of installing more but their output was not up to the mark. PPP was introduced as it can motivate workers, enhance productivity and permit the employer to differentiate among the payments to his employees. PP Plan is assumed to be an effective plan for enhancing organizational climate which was not in line with the policies of Safelite. The organizational climate determines several features of a company inclusive of responsibility, rewards, standards, flexibility, team commitment and clarity. Problems encountered in the company, are related to lower productivity and the subsequent lower sales volume. The proposed PPP is estimated to boost up the company’s morale, sales and also build long lasting relat ionship between the company and employees, partners and customers. Thus, the plan can be measured to be addressing the productivity problems encountered in the company. As evident form the case, due to implementation of PP Plan, conflict may result in between employees and managers because employees would seek for maximizing their output while managers might pay more attention towards deterioration of quality levels. Employees might pose resistance in introducing new technologies as they might feel that the new technology would have an impact on the standards of production. There might even be reduced willingness of suggesting new methods of production on the part of the employees. There can be increased complaints from the employees that machines and equipments are not properly maintained and that might arrive as a form of excuse. Experienced workers might be reluctant in helping new employees as they will have to keep high focus on their personal level of performances. All these c onsequences can lead to eminent mistrust between management and workers. Assurance of maintaining equipments all the time will be required. This might lead to increased maintenance cost for the operational department and in turn would definitely have an impact on the financial performance of the company. Solution 2 Pros and Cons of Switching from Wage-Rate to Piece-Rate Pay and Evaluation of Safelite Workers There are several advantages of piece rate system of payment that will be enjoyed by Safelite through the step that it has taken for switching from wage-rate to piece-rate system. The first advantage of piece rate system is that it encourages the efficient workers. The workers who are inclined towards working efficiently are motivated to enhance their level of performance and thus results in greater output volume for the company in turn. Through the switching decision, Safelite will be able to reduce idle time which had been an immense problem in its operation. The adopted syste m would provide incentives to workers for adopting improved method of production that will result in their improved earning as well. Safelite would be now able to determine the appropriate cost of labor per unit for submission of quotation. This system would even reduce the production cost per unit due to increased production volume. Another cost will also be reduced through this system which is supervision cost. The advantages are achievable but the switching can also result in certain disadvantages for the company. Review of the past records suggest that piece rate system is not helpful in production of quality outputs as the workers are more concerned about quantity

Organization Review of Nature Conservancy of Canada (values, ethics, Assignment

Organization Review of Nature Conservancy of Canada (values, ethics, codes of conduct,description of latest activities, impact o - Assignment Example For some decades, private industries, government or non-government organizations are becoming involved in environmental activities. All these organizations strive towards moulding human activities in alignment with environmental issues. Currently there are thousands of non-government organizations (NGOs) that work with the objective of protecting the natural environment. The power and scope of some such organizations are so large that their budgets more often exceed the national budgets of many countries on environmental issues. Some best known organizations are Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Chipko Movement, Conservation International etc (Wapner, 2). Natural Conservancy of Canada The organization selected for this paper is Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). It is a Canadian non-profit charitable environmental organization. It was established in November 1962 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012. The mission of the organization is to protect the areas of natural diversity including land, water, plants, animals, ecosystems and landscapes for the young and future generations. The organization initiates and innovates strategies and technologies to conserve the natural heritage of Canada. The website of this organization is http://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/ . The biological diversity of this planet is getting reduced at an alarming rate. This is a matter of grave concern as it threatens the quality of human life and risks the lives of future generations. The activities of NCC are â€Å"guided by the belief that society will be judged by what it creates in the present and what it conserves for the future† (â€Å"Missions and Values†). The NCC secures lands through purchase or donations and then preserves these properties for the long term. The organization procures land either through direct purchase from the private landowners like corporate and individuals, or through donations from private landowners. NCC also enters into cons ervation agreement with landowners. According to this agreement the landowners agrees to avoid doing any such activities that would be harmful to the ecological value of the land. NCC has a panel of conservation science professionals whose purpose is to formulate and execute plans and strategies for the long term protection, management and restoration of natural resources of Canada. NCC also contributes to environmental education on environmental evaluation, management concepts or proposals. NCC follows a four step procedure for conservation process. Firstly, they set priorities by identifying the land area to conserve, or by identifying species and habitats whose life and health need to be protected. Secondly, the organization develops strategies to protect and conserve the species and habitats. Thirdly, they apply these strategies either alone or with cooperation from partners. Fourthly, they assess the result of their actions. They supervise the efficiency of their strategies, an d assess whether the species and habitats are well protected and their overall health is improved (â€Å"The Conservation Process†). The NCC shares and applies various values while working across Canada. The NCC has the advantage of procuring the best available scientific consultancies regarding conservation and protection. They work in a

Information Security Management ( Study Case ) Essay

Information Security Management ( Study Case ) - Essay Example Charlie must adopt some personal strategy to make top management realize the need and significance of information technology in their firm. He must explain them the benefits of adopting information security by comparing their firm with other firms. b) The most important advice to Iris: The most important advice is to make the top management understand the need for information security. From the illustration, it is understood that Random Widget Works gives the least priority to information security. Making the management understand its importance will let the management take initiatives for framing new policies and allocating ample resources to give security to data and information. C5 a) Confidential Information Confidential Information denotes the documents that should not be shared with anyone outside the organization. Example Documents that can be classified â€Å"Confidential’ Strategic Planning Document Technical documents Information about clients Sensitive Information: Sensitive Information denotes the set of documents that require special attention and have to be prevented from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Sensitive information can be either confidential or public. However, a high level of integrity is to be maintained in case of sensitive information (chapter 5). ... These documents are issued exclusively released with the intention of giving the public some information about the company. Example Documents that can be classified â€Å"Public† Profit and loss account statement Balance sheet statement Registration details of the company b) Label scheme to associate with classification system: The security labels are a must for all documents in order to get security clearance. Any security label has the following four components. Security Policy. Classification. Categories Privacy Mark There are different labeling schemes followed by different organizations. However, for Random Widget works, the following schemes would be helpful. Confidential information: Confidential documents must be bound with white cover, with the text â€Å"CONFIDENTIAL†, stamped diagonally across the document in red color. Sensitive Information: Sensitive information has to be covered with white wrapper with the text â€Å"SENSITIVE† stamped diagonally ac ross the document in yellow color. Public Information: Public documents may or may not have stamps labeled on them. However, a green color stamp will let the user easily identify that the document could be released for public use. C6 a) Incident or Disaster? The current occurrence was just an â€Å"Incident† as per Iris’s point of view. According to our case, both Joel and Harry had saved their documents and sent ‘to the print server. There were 80% chances of recovery of data. This would have been called a â€Å"disaster†, if there were no chances of recovery of data. Had it been a disaster Iris would have delegated responsibilities to Harry and Joel. Recovery of data holds great significance in organizations as most of the data are confidential and contains secure information that can cause a disaster

Rabbi Kushner Postulates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rabbi Kushner Postulates - Essay Example According to Kushner, it can essentially therefore be perceived to be rather impossible for one to be able to effectively answer this question as attempts to try and answer it generally result in the asking of more complex questions that cause people to start doubt in God or have wavering faith (WTVI 1985). Rabbi Kushner postulates that we are probably not asking the right question as we tend to mostly concentrate on asking the question of why. Why tends to more frequently dwell on the past as opposed to trying to establish a way forward. No matter how pious one might happen to be, it is not possible to change the past and we should instead concentrate on the future. In line with this, Rabbi Kushner theorizes that the answer to a question does not necessarily have to be a response, but it can instead be in the form of an explanation. Perhaps, the answer to the question on why bad things sometimes tend to happen to good people is that there is no solution to this answer as we live in an imperfect world. Question 2: There are three key terms that Rabbi Kushner postulates as being of critical importance if one is to be able to adequately discuss the problems relating to the everyday reality of human suffering and grief and the God of the Jewish revelation. The first term is that there is a common assumption that God happens to be all powerful and absolutely nothing can ever be impossible for him to do. We think of God as being in charge of every single aspect of creation and controls everything that happens to us. The second term that Rabbi Kushner puts forth is that God’s nature is exceedingly just, kind and fair and He always gives us more than we happen to actually deserve while forever giving us the benefit of doubt by providing us with a second chance. The third term is seen to be personated by the assumption that Job was a good man since he was seen to be initially respected, healthy and extremely wealthy (Job, 614-644; WTVI 1985). It is evidently not possible for all of these three to be mutually compatible in the event that one attempts to use them in attempting to explain an encounter with a grave misfortune. This is because of the human tendency to try and shift the blame to a given individual thus disputing the third term that the individual is a good person. The other two terms can be viewed as being of a sacrilegious nature as trying to dispute them goes against all the tenets governing religion as we currently know it. Question 3: Rabbi Kushner has a unique perspective in his understanding of miracles in that he does not believe in the big miracles such as miraculously dividing the entire red sea into two or even stopping the sun at high noon. Rather, he thinks of these as being special effects. Instead, although he does believe in miracles, he chooses to believe in the small miracles such as weak people all of a sudden gaining strong characters that help them deal with situations that they would not have been able to ef fectively cope with before the change, when timid people change and portray extremely brave personalities and when the selfish change their nature and become generous. Rabbi Kushner points out that to effect such changes in people, it is imperative for one to be God as these cannot simply be achieved by camera effects as commonly happens in movies. God is the only person that can bring about exceptional qualities in individuals, qualities that these individuals did not previously happen to possess (WTVI 1985). Rabbi Kushner has

Supermarket and International Segment Essay Example for Free

Supermarket and International Segment Essay Wal-Mart in Brazil is one of the third-largest retailer companies in the world’s fifth-largest country. Wal-Mart Brazil has more than 485 supermarkets, three and Sam’s hypermarkets in different Brazilian states, including Sao Paulo, one of the busiest state in Brazil. Wal-Mart Brazil ranks as the third-largest retailer in the worlds fifth-largest country. Since entering the market in 1995 with just two supercenters and three SAMS CLUB warehouse stores, Wal-Mart Brazil has grown, mainly by acquisition, to number about 485 supermarkets and hypermarkets in more than 15 Brazilian states, including the populous economic center of Sao Paul. Wal-Mart primary product lines are Food, Clothing, Household Appliances, Electronics and Grocery Pets Etc . While brand name merchandise accounts for a majority of sales, numerous store brands not found in the United States have been developed to serve customers in the different markets in which the International segment operates. In addition, steps have been taken to develop relationships with local suppliers in each country to ensure reliable sources of quality merchandise. It operates retail stores in various formats around the world and is committed to saving people money so they can live better. We earn the trust of our customers every day by providing a broad assortment of quality merchandise and services at every day low prices while fostering a culture that rewards and embraces mutual respect, integrity and diversity. The merchandising strategy for the International segment is similar to that of our operations in the United States in terms of the breadth and scope of merchandise offered for sale. While brand name merchandise accounts for a majority of sales, numerous store brands not found in the United States have been developed to serve customers in the different markets in which the International segment operates. In addition, steps have been taken to develop relationships with local suppliers in each country to ensure reliable sources of quality merchandise The International segment competes with a variety of local, national and international chains in the supermarket, discount, department, drug, variety and specialty stores, supercenter-type stores, hypermarts, wholesale clubs, internet-based retailers and catalog businesses in each of the countries in which we operate and, in Mexico, with local, national and international restaurant chains. Our ability to offer our customers low prices on quality merchandise that offers exceptional value in the International segment determines, to a large extent, our competitive position. In our international units, our ability to operate the food departments effectively has a major impact on the segment’s competitive position in the markets where we operate. The main competitor for Wal-Mart in Brazil is Carrefour, a famous French supermarket chain, which entered the Brazilian market in 1974. Today, the chain is responsible for the operation of 39 stores spread over the country, and is fully adapted to Brazilian culture and consumption habits, therefore not being perceived by customers as a foreign company. As a matter of fact, Carrefour is known as the lowest price retailer by people of all social classes. Customers impressed by low prices and extensive product lines, besides special offers, who had to travel several miles to reach the stores, were in for a surprise. In case the products that customers were looking for had been sold out a few moments earlier, there was no provision as to when a new stock would arrive in the store. A badly planned product turnover? The fact is that they were facing an average stockout rate of 40%, while its stockout rate in the U. S. stores is no higher than 5%. Maybe this stockout rate has occurred due to various problems with suppliers, whom Wal-Mart executives expected to be capable of working in a just-in-time delivery environment.

Demand And Supply In The Cigarette Industry Economics Essay

Demand And Supply In The Cigarette Industry Economics Essay The following essay helps us know what demand and supply concept and that we are explaining with the example of cigarette industry. And we have also mentioned the factors affecting the demand and supply for cigarettes in the market. The essay also includes the income effect, impact of close substitutes and compliments, and also the price and income elasticity of the product of the industry. A cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other additives,[1] then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder (generally equal to 100  mm in length and 10  mm in diameter). Rates of cigarette vary widely. While rates of smoking have leveled off or declined in the developed nations, they continue to rise in developing nations. Fixing the price of a product is a very important factor for an organisation and the product success. Organizations look at the effective demand (demand) and effective supply (supply) of a product to set the best price to generate the maximum revenue for the organisation. If the price of the product increases or decrease then it can affect the demand of the product. As the price of a good rises less will be demanded, and if the price falls more will be demanded (Philp Galt, 2009, Lecture Notes, p: 2). The increase or decrease in price can happen due to the either external or internal or both environments of the organisation. Demand of a product or service can be defined as the amount of a particular economic good or service that a consumer or group of consumers will want to purchase at a given price over a specific period of time. The demand is usually downward sloping, since consumers will want to buy more as the price decreases. Demand for a good or service is determined by different factors other than price, such as the price of substitute goods and complementary goods. In extreme cases, demand may be completely unrelated to price, or nearly infinite at a given price (in the case of the tobacco industry) (Beardshaw, 1991). According to Philp, Dan and Galt (2009) it could be deduced that demand relative to the tobacco industry is caused by a number of aspects in which the key driver is the price of the cigarettes. As a result, for a cigarette (t) the quantity demanded (QtD) represents a function of its price (pt), individual customer (n) income levels (Y1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Yn), other forms of substitutes like electronic cigarettes and herbal cigarettes (r1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦rt-1) and other external factors (E) such as labour, raw material. Then, demand within the tobacco industry can be represented as QtD = f (pt, Y1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Yn, r1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦rt-1, E) Being consistent with this, influential demand in economics (tobacco industry) would be hard to figure the quantity demanded due to the number of determinants required to make-up the cigarette packets price and quantity, therefore, it is assumed that all factors are held constant and the market (quantity demanded) is analysed as a function of packet price. So the quantity demanded QtD = f (pt, Y1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Yn, r1à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦rt-1, E) Graphically illustrated will be Following the above figure, managers would be able to depict that the higher the price of the cigarette packets in the industry, the lower the demand for it. Consequently prices will have to move from p0 to p1 in order to increase demand from q0 to q1. Consider two extreme cases. Suppose the price of all cigarettes rises by 1 per cent. The quantity of cigarettes demanded will not affect that much. People who can easily quit smoking have already done so. In contrast, suppose the price of a particular brand of cigarettes rises by 1 per cent, all other brand prices remaining unchanged. We expect a much larger quantity response. Consumers switch from the dearer brand to other brands that also satisfy the nicotine habit. For a particular cigarette brand the demand elasticity is quite high. From the above figure it can be noted that the same $1 tax has a much larger impact on quantity when demand is more elastic than when it is inelastic. Elasticity is the responsiveness of one variable (e.g. demand) to a change in another (e.g. price). This concept is fundamental to understanding how market works. The more elastic variable is, the more responsive the market to changing circumstances (Sloman, 2005). The law of demand states that a fall in the price of a good raises the quantity demanded. The price elasticity of demand measures how much the quantity demanded responds to a change in price. (Mankiw, 1998) Cigarette consumption is totally found to be negatively related to price. As far the result of the test, surveys and the studies done before, there result says that increase in price on cigarettes are not that much affected on the demand of it. Many economists viewed that cigarette smoking is illogical and therefore not suitable for usual economic analysis. They believe that demand for cigarettes does not follow the basic law of economics including the downward-sloping demand curve. Findings on how demand for cigarettes changes as consumers income increases is inconsistent. From a number of studies it found that income has either negative effect or insignificant effect on the demand of cigarettes. As far as the government and other health concern trust are trying to stop smoking in public place and in the private work sites because it is very harmful for other who is non smoker and it is not environmental friendly (Bradford, 2003, Vol 9). Government at all levels are adopting the policies to limit smoking. Government also banned that it the customer should be above a legal age to buy the cigarettes. World health organisation survey of smoking control policies in lot of countries indicated that the mostly all the countries have adopted policies to limit smoking in public places. Although the restrictions are primarily intended to reduce non-smokers, they can also affect the smokers since the restrictions reduce the smokers opportunities to smoke or otherwise raise the cost of smoking (Reuijl Leeflang, 1985, Vol 49). Cigarettes was the one of the most advertised and promoted product in the world. But due to some controversial issues many countries restrict it. While some other countries have few restrictions, others ban advertising and promotion completely. Due to the restriction on the advertising and the promotion the demand of the cigarette industry was affected. A lot of new opportunities of the new organization to enter are hard. And the new customers or consumers are decreased. And due to this there is less increase in the quantity of the young generation. Cigarettes are been long been taxed by the government and due to this there is rise in the price in some countries. Taxes are varying from country to country and the price also. The inelastic demand off the product makes good revenue for the government. But in recent taxation has been applied to cigarettes are in order to health. Cigarette taxes in some countries such as the United States have been imposed by various levels of government, national, state and local level. Governments in nearly every country impose taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products. One of the major factors that affect the demand for any product is due to the substitutes. The more substitutes, the more elastic the demand will be. For example, if the price of petrol went up by  £0.25, consumers could replace public transport. This means that petrol is an elastic good because a raise in price will cause a large decrease in demand as consumers start travelling by the public transport more from private transport. The rise of the fuel price can affect the automobile industry. This factor is also known as the invisible hand (Adam Smith Cited in Mishan, 1993, p 91) which is affected from the variation of the other product or substitutes which affects the main product demand in the market. For the tobacco industry the invisible hand factor is not that much affected but the competition in the market within the industry is high. If the price of alcohol goes up as a whole, there will be probably a little change in the consumption of beer and other products because there are only few substitutes for alcohol. Most people are not willing to give up their enjoyment at any cost and even the alcohol is used in several medicines also so no matter what the price is the consumption of alcohol will be not affected by the substitutes. Therefore, we would say, that alcohol is an inelastic product because of its lack of substitutes. So we can say that a product is elastic in the industry but the complete industry tends to be inelastic. This is the second factor that effects the demand elasticity and it refers the total amount of a person that can be spend on a particular product or good. Like, if the price of a chocolate goes up from  £1 to  £2 and income of the customer remains the same, the amount that is available to spend on chocolate is for e.g.  £4, is now enough for only 2 rather than 4 chocolates. In other words, the customer is forced to reduce the demand of chocolate. Thus if there is an increase in price and no change in the amount of income available to spend on the product then there will be an elastic reaction in demand. But in cigarette industry it is not that much affected because of the addiction of the consumer. Time is the third factor which influences the demand elasticity. If the price of packet of cigarette goes up  £1, a smoker with a very  few available substitutes will continue buying the daily cigarettes. It means that cigarettes have inelastic demand because the changes in price will not have a great influence on the quantity demanded.   But if the customer or consumer finds that they are not capable or cannot afford to spend the increased amount then they will definitely try to quit it but in a long run. Then for that customer price elasticity of cigarettes becomes elastic in the long run. If quantity demanded is completely unaffected by a price change, then If the absolute value of the elasticity of demand is less than 1 at some point, we say that demand is inelastic at that point (Varian, 2006, P 282). You would say that demand is perfectly inelastic at that price, to reflect the fact that quantity demanded is completely unresponsive to a change in price. On a graph with price on the y-axis, perfectly inelastic demand appears as a vertical demand curve. Its slope is negative infinity, which leads to Ed = 0. Looking at the graph above, we can see that a 5 percent increase in price causes no change in quantity demanded. Therefore, Ed = 0 and demand is perfectly inelastic for the tobacco industry. Hence, manager of a cigarette company within the industry should not worry about the taxation from the government or increase in price due to the external environment due to the inelastic demand for the tobacco industry. (Source by Begg Ward, 2007) The variation in consumer demand for cigarettes with respect to income is ambiguous from a theoretical stand point. Cigarettes consumption could be a normal good for which the level of consumers demand increases with income. Alternatively, it could also be a lower good for which the consumer demand drops with income levels. In either case, the presence of such behavior gives us no guidance whatsoever with respect to the extent to which these decisions are rational. Similarly the other major factor which can be affected by the price of the cigarettes is supply. Supply for a product or a service can be defined as the quantity of a good, seller wishes to sell at each possible price. Supply of a good refers to various quantities of good which a seller is willing and able to sell at different prices in a given market, at a particular point of time, other things remaining the same. An aspect of supply which needs attention is that supply is related to scarcity. It is only the scarce good which has a supply price. On the contrary, goods which are available freely have no supply price, e.g. Air is available freely and hence, does not have a supply price (Begg et al, 2005). According to Philp, Dan and Galt (2009) supply relative to the tobacco industry is reflective of the number of competitors (m) setting the price of providing cigarettes packets as a function of the level of technology (T) determines the price (pt), cost of resources, for example, labour, taxations, substitutes, and quality within the manufacture process (F1, F2 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Fm) and other charge (w) i.e. cost of machines and salaries of work force, all add up to become determinants of the number of cigarettes packets to be supplied at each given price. It is represented as QtS = T (pt, F1, F2 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Fm, w) Identical to economics in demand, in the analysis of supply all factors are held constant and quantity is seen as a function of price; QtS = T (pt, F1, F2 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Fm, w) Graphically illustrated as; From the above figure managers can know that a investing in manufacturing the product needs a certain level of supply to overcome from they break even point, therefore higher the investment in price the more the supply. Hence cigarette manufacturing companies offer different brands for the taste e.g. long cigarettes, strong and light cigarettes. Consequently, the managers will push for a higher supply in p1 to maximize profit. If there is plenty of spare capacity of Cigarettes then a business should be able to increase its output without a rise in costs and therefore supply will be elastic in response to a change in demand. Supply Elasticity is a measure of the degree of responsiveness of quantity supplied to changes in the products own price. Elasticity of supply works similarly. If a change in price results in a big change in the amount supplied, the supply curve appears flatter and is considered elastic. Elasticity in this case would be greater than or equal to one (Lipsey Chrystal, 2004) On the other hand, if a big change in price only results in a minor change in the quantity supplied, the supply curve is steeper and its elasticity would be less than one. As we have seen that demand of cigarette is inelastic we can observe from the graph that supply of cigarette is also inelastic i.e. even a big change in price does not have major change in quantity supplied. It means that when a price increases consumers will not demand for more quantity thats why supply will also remain the same. After knowing that the demand and supply for the tobacco industry is inelastic but the competition within the industry is high. The higher price than the competitors can result less demand for the product, the lower price can increase the demand for the product. It influences managerial decision to look for the new markets where they can reduce their operational and manufacturing cost like cheap labour, as well as look for the new market so that the organisation can generate maximum revenue. This content can be found on the following page: http://www.investorwords.com/1396/demand.html Conclusion This essay completely shows us that how the demand and supply take effects into the market and how principles of demand and supply inform the managerial decision making. From this essay we come to know that the cigarette industry is not that much affected from the higher price that much and its demand in the market is almost remain same. From this essay we come to know that both the supply elasticity and demand elasticity for cigarette industry are inelastic, they are not affected by the price. From the essay we come to know that income effect is significant and positive in case of cigarette industry. Refrences Beardshaw, J, 1991, 2nd Edition, Economics, London, Pitman Publishing. Begg, David, Fisher, Stanley, Dornbusch, Rudiger, 2005, Economics, 8th Edition, Berkshire, McGraw Hill Education. Begg, David, Ward Damian, 2007, Economics for Business, 2nd Edition, Berkshire, McGraw Hill Education. Data Monitors, 2005, UK Cigarettes, Business Source Premier. Lipsey, Chrystal, 2004, 10th Edition, Economics, Ney Work, Oxford University Press. Philp, B., Wheatley, D., Galt, V. (2009). Business Economics, Unpublished Course Notes, Nottingham Trent University, pp. 9-15. Philp, B., Galt, V., 2009, Business Economics, Unpublished Course Notes, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University p 2. Mankiw, G., N., 1998, Principles of Economics, Orlando, The Dryden Press. Mishan, E., J., 1993, The Costs of Economic Growth, Revised Edition, London, Weidenfeld Nicolson, p 91. Sloman, J., 2005, The Economic Environment Of Business, Harlow Essex, Pearson Education Limited. Varian, H., R. 2006, Intermediate Micro Economics, 7th Edition, Ney York, Norton Company, p 282. Bradford, W.,D., 2003, The American Economic Review, Pregnancy And The Demand For Cigarettes. www.chowrangi.com/e-cigarette-quit-smoking-while-smoking.html Leefhang, P.,S.,H., Reuijl, J.,C., 1985, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing, Volume 49, Advertising and Industry Sales: An Empirical Study of the West German Cigarette Market.

Dominant Women in Society :: essays research papers

In the story Hunger as Ideology by Susan Bordo women are portrayed as passive and inferior to men. Bordo looks into advertisements to prove her point about how visible it is that women are how they are suppose to be dainty and quaint. In the movie â€Å"The Thomas Crown Affair† it is totally opposite; the woman in this story is independent, strong, and self-reliant. She is able to outsmart him and prove to him that she is able to survive without any help. The modern women has transformed and broken the stereotype and have made their way into society as an equal. Nowadays, advertisements depict how women should act, dress, and eat. For example in Hunger as Ideology, it show two different advertisements for Haagen-Dazs Ice cream, one with a man who just finished a half-pint smiling, the other with a woman who just took a bite from her ice cream bar. Although very discreet, the message is visible to consumers. Another example, are the sugar-free Jell-o ads, where an attractive slender woman is leaning back on a chair eating jell-o from a glass. Above the picture is a quote which says, â€Å"I’m a girl who just can’t say no. I insist on dessert†. To the side of the ad, it states, â€Å"Every woman is entitles to her just desserts. Just as long as dessert is Sugar Free Jell-O Gelatin. It’s light and fruity and fun. And it’s only calories.† This ad emphasizes on how women want dessert, but its only okay to have it if its sugar free. â€Å"The dessert you don’t have to desert† because itâ€⠄¢s sugar free. Same concept with the Wonder Light Bread, in this ad two women are side by side on a park bench one holding a carrot, the other happily smiling with a sandwich and the ad saying, â€Å" You’ll think your cheating, but you know your not†¦It’s Wonder Light bread†. These ads accentuate how its okay to eat a lot, as long as you eat â€Å"light†. Women look upon these ads and are convinced that this is how they are suppose to be, but in the Thomas Crown Affair, the message is completely opposite. Catherine Banning, is the insurance lawyer for the case against the stolen Monet painting in the â€Å"Thomas Crown Affair†. It is evident that she is a strong independent woman who needs not to rely on anyone especially a man.

History of Toyota Essay -- Toyota Automobiles Transportation Essays

History of Toyota Replica of the Toyota Model AA, the first production model of Toyota in 1936 The story of Toyota Motor Corporation began in September 1933 when Toyoda Automatic Loom created a new division devoted to the production of automobiles. Quickly thereafter, the division produced its first Type A Engine in 1934, which in turn was used for the production of the first Model A1 passenger in May 1935 and the G1 truck in August 1935. Production of the model AA passenger started in 1936. Although the Toyota Group is most well known today for its cars, it is still in the textile and still makes automatic looms (fully computerized, of course). Establishment of Toyota Motor Co. and WWII 1936 ¨C1946 Toyota Motor Co. was established as an independent company in 1937. Although the founding family name is Toyoda (ØNÃÅ'à ¯), the company name was changed to:  ¡Ã‚ ¤ Signify the separation of the founders' work life from life;  ¡Ã‚ ¤ Simplify the pronunciation, and  ¡Ã‚ ¤ Give the company an auspicious beginning. Toyota ( ¥ÃƒË†Ã‚ ¥Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ¥Ã‚ ¿) is considered luckier than Toyoda (ØNÃÅ'à ¯) in Japan, where eight is regarded as a lucky number, and eight is the number of strokes it takes to write Toyota in Katakana. During the Pacific War the company was dedicated to truck production for the Imperial Army. Because of severe shortages in Japan, military trucks were kept as simple as possible. For example, the trucks had only one headlight on the center of the hood. Fortunately for Toyota, the war ended shortly before a scheduled allied bombing run on the Toyota factories in Aichi. Start of Commercial Production 1947- Commercial passenger production started in 1947 with the model SA. In 1950 a separate sales company Toyota Motor Sales Co. was established (which lasted until July 1982). In April 1956 the Toyopet dealer chain was established. Today Toyota is one of the top manufacturers with large market shares in both the US and Europe. It has a small division, selling under the Daihatsu brand as well as a heavy vehicle division, selling under the Hino brand. Toyota is Japan's biggest company and the second largest in the world (the larger being General Motors). The company is immensely profitable, and its massive reserves dwarf those of many countries. Toyota's vehicles are generally highly regarded for their quality, proficient engineering, and value; but their designs are ... ... engines  ¡Ã‚ ¤ List of Toyota transmissions  ¡Ã‚ ¤ EPA 2004 fuel economy report (Toyota) External links Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: Category:Toyota  ¡Ã‚ ¤ Toyota Motor Corp. websites o Toyota Motor official site o Toyota USA o Scion USA (requires flash) o Lexus USA o Current Japanese Toyota lineup o Current American Toyota lineup (requires Flash) o Toyota North America 2003 Environmental Report (pdf format) o Toyota North America 2004 Environmental Report (pdf format)  ¡Ã‚ ¤ Information on Toyota's environmental protection policies Data  ¡Ã‚ ¤ Yahoo! - Toyota Motor Corporation Company Profile References  ¡Ã‚ ¤ 2005 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. Retrieved January 11, 2004 from CanadianDriver Communications, Inc. (2004) This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer) Best of the Web Some good "Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR)" pages on the web: Yahoo!finance. CNBCmoneycentral.msn.com CBS MarketWatchcbs.marketwatch.com CNN Money.cnn.com

Breast Implants Essay -- Srgumentative Persuasive

Breast Implants   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why do women get breast implants? Do the breast implants make them feel good about themselves? Breast implants are a serious threat because, there are many risks involved, there are many disorders that are possible, and there are illnesses that you could catch after the operation. According to Marian Segal, many of the women who have had breast implants don’t exactly understand what is in their body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Silicone contains organic compounds, which have the physical properties of oils,resins or rubber, and which are more stable when exposed to heat and oxygen thanordinary organic substances. This is the same stuff that goes into your body making you think that you look good ( MS Bookshelf).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many procedures that need to be followed in order to get an application for silicone inflatable breasts (MS Encarta). There are various test, experimentation, and evaluations that need to be done ("Student Handbook"). The most important ones are the; Chemical Characterization, Pharmacokinetic Studies. These are all tests that the Plastic Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery Devices Branch Division of General Restorative Devices and the Office Of Device Evaluation all require (ODE documents 6).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Chemical Characterization, is an important test. It does all of the following. If fabrication of the device involves curing of polymeric components by chemical crosslinking, then data establishing should be provided. This may be done by a various met...

Marlin Catering Essay

The working purpose and overall goal of the marketing project is to: (1) analyze Marlin Catering’s current situation; (2) determine strategies for reaching potential clientele; and (3) develop marketing tactics and an implementation plan. The marketing project opens with an analysis of the company’s current situation, including a review of its internal and external environment, which yields information regard current company strengths and weakness along with the opportunities and threats present. Marlin Catering’s primary strengths are in the areas of its staff and expertise. Its weaknesses include consumer perceptions that firm only sells Mexican food, even for catered events and the company is not well known in the area. The opportunities present include a growing marketplace. The primary threat is a large number of competing firms in the area. The marketing goal for Marlin Catering is to become a viable company in the catering business in the Fayetteville area serving both individuals and businesses with high quality food and service. The marketing strategy will begin with offering high quality food and high quality, on-time service. The distribution strategy will be to sell via direct sales and to expand via word of mouth endorsements. In the future, indirect marketing through florists and banquet halls may be pursued. The primary emphasis will be on advertising and promotion. Marlin Catering should begin a targeted advertising campaign and develop a colorful brochure that illustrates the company’s services. Personal selling and a presence trade shows should be used to enhance the image. It will be important to reach the three distinctive markets that Marlin seeks to serve. Implementation and control measures are outlined in the conclusion of this report. Current Situation Jose Hernandez and Clay Shields own Marlin Catering. They combine their experience, management expertise, and financial resources to conduct business. Jose Hernandez is also the co-owner/business manager of Marlin Catering Party Planning and Marlin Cafà ©. Clay Shields serves as the silent partner and is not involved in the daily managerial activities of the business. The Marlin Catering business was established in January 2008. The owners of Marlin Catering would like to eventually concentrate on the cafà © and catering business and discontinue the party planning business. Jose and Clay are in the process of relocating the cafà © to another facility while expanding the services of the catering business. This leaves the current cafà © as the only location to be used for the catering business. Presently, Marlin Catering carries out every aspect of the catering process. After the initial meeting with the client, Jose Hernandez prepares a menu selection including prices. The next meeting involves the contract signing and down payment. During the catering event, Marlin Catering provides the food along with servers, linens, and china. They set up the food display and clean up the venue at the conclusion of the event. Internal Environment An analysis of the current situation for Marlin Catering includes examining the company’s internal environment, external environment, competition, and customers. The mission statement was the first component examined in the internal environment. The current statement reads, â€Å"Marlin Catering is dedicated to providing service for their customer base in the local catering market in the Fayetteville, Arkansas area. Marlin Catering is committed to providing high quality and reliable services to existing and potential customers.† Though Marlin Catering is a new business with little name recognition in the catering market, the opportunity for exposure and interest is increasing. Catering is widely used for many different occasions, and the demand for this service is continuously increasing. In developing the catering business, the owners of Marlin Catering investigated the current market and current trends for catering services. According to the 2009 Economic Census, the catering market for the Fayetteville area produced $2,723,918 in sales. There are various events in need of a caterer including, but not limited to: weddings, banquets, graduation parties, engagements, showers, and political rallies. The market appears to be saturated with a wide variety of catering vendors. Despite this saturation, the owners entered the market because they believed with the right business and marketing plan they could succeed. The experiences of the owner and the operation of their current cafe creates a key competitive advantage for Marlin Catering relative to competitors The experience in food preparation and in party planning helps the company acquire customers and expand the clientele list. Also, the extensive resume of the owner gives the company a competitive edge. With regard to resources, Marlin Catering has an established facility in working condition. The current production capacity for Marlin Catering is ten major events per month. The business concentrates on high-quality production method which means the company has the opportunity to focus on the quality section of the market. Although the business is able to outsource for employees, the dependability and resourcefulness of the employees place a limit on the firm’s current operating capacity. Currently, the catering service uses the van owned by the cafà ©. In the future, a vehicle dedicated to the catering service should be purchased. Supply costs went down the second year, after the initial costs for purchasing serving equipment had been absorbed. The new cafà © will soon be finished, which means the current facility will house only the catering business. This will mean that the monthly payments on the building will be charged to the catering service along with utility expenses. External Environment Due to the recession and slow down in the United States economy, sales in catering services actually declined in 2009 in the Fayetteville area. The growth of the university and new businesses in the area should help the economy rebound quickly, including the catering business marketplace. The cost of food increased in 2008 due to the rise in fuel costs, as did costs of operating the catering vehicle. The costs remained relatively flat during 2009. Analysis of economic data for the area and fro the United States indicates a slight increase costs in the near future. The demand for catering services tends to fluctuate during the year, primarily because catering services reach peak demand for special occasions. Demand increases during holidays and during the spring and summer for weddings. The majority of weddings are held from April through July of each year. During this past year, approximately 1,000 wedding ceremonies were performed in Fayetteville and approximately 40,000 occurred in Arkansas. Additional events that utilize catering services are political parties, corporate parties and banquets, and private parties. Again, these tend to have higher concentrations during the spring and summer, and around holidays. Catering for political parties increases prior to local, state, and national elections. Catering services are culturally diversified in the types of food dishes it provides in order to meet all of the customers’ tastes & preferences. The most common requests are for: †¢ Mexican-style food  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Oriental-style food †¢ Italian-style food †¢ American-style food †¢ Seafood Social-cultural trends indicate an increasing demand for catering service. An increase in dual income households creates greater discretionary funds for catering private events. Tied closely to this is the lack of time and busy schedules. It is easier and more convenient to hire a caterer to handle the food at an event than do it yourself. This is also true for weddings. But, another opportunity is present in the wedding market. Catering is the most socially thing accepted method of serving food and any type of private preparation of food would be viewed less favorably. This includes the rehearsal dinner, which is now catered for most weddings in addition to the wedding reception. Although the economy has affected the number of catering events held by businesses, the growth in the business sector in the Fayetteville area has created a greater demand for catering services. These events vary from a recognition dinner that might have 25 guests to major corporate events that will have attendance of 1,000 individuals. Competitive Environment Marlin Catering’s main competitors are full service caterers, turnkey caterers, and general caterers. According to the 2009 Economic Census, local catering sales totaled $2,723,918, with Marlin Catering only holding a 4% market share. The catering business consists of four levels of competitors. At the top level are full service caterers who also are involved in event planning. They handle the entire event, including the food. The second level of competitors is full-service caterers who do not offer event planning services. They only care for the food and tables at the event. The third level of competitors is restaurants that also offer catering services. These restaurants tend to be limited by the types of foods served at the restaurant. The lowest, or fourth tier, are restaurants, primarily fast food operations and grocery stores, that prepare catering food trays that can be picked up by customers. Some restaurants also provide these food trays for customers who are concerned about expenses. The top tier catering services target large businesses and the high-income residents of the area. Fayetteville Planning and Catering is the market leader in this sector of the market and controls the largest market share of the catering business. Although their prices tended to be high, the company has a loyal customer base and its owners are member of the local social elite class. It was the second tier of competitors that offer food, service, and prices that are comparable to Marlin Catering. Fortunately, the location of the cafà © helped create a positive image of Marling Catering through the perception was that it was a local restaurant that was engaged in catering. Most companies and individuals did not know it was a full-service catering service and that it operated independent of the restaurant. For most catering services awareness and recognition are the keys to success. Few companies, except the large ones, spend money on marketing and advertising. This is especially true for the bottom two tiers, restaurants and grocery stores. They simply post signs in their business about the catering service. All of the companies in the first two tiers have yellow page ads or listings. Some of the higher-end restaurants also place a listing under catering to inform potential customers they do provide catering as well. A few of the companies advertise in the newspaper, especially in the spring and summer and around holidays. A select few have agreements with other types of services to generate leads, such as bridal shops, photographers, florists, and bakery shops. Customer Analysis Marlin Catering maintains a full service operation. This service offers a menu selection to customers. The customer then selects the exact menu for an event and negotiates a price per person. The company provides the china, linens, crystal, and silver for the event. Employees are responsible for the set-up and clean up of the event. Marlin Catering is also responsible for replenishing empty trays during the event. The catering service is currently operating out of the cafà © and most of the catering business thus far has been generated through the cafà ©. Sales have been made to individual customers or businesses that have either dine at the cafà © or through customers of the cafà © who have heard about the catering service. The restaurant serves primarily Mexican food, which means that most of the business has been for events featuring Mexican cuisine. A review of sales for the last 2 years shows three primary types of customers or events: individual consumer events, wedding receptions, and small business events. For the individual consumer events, the average attendance was around 15 individuals and the average charge was $280. For weddings, the average attendance was 60 with an average ticket charge of $1300. The business segment varied widely with some events for only 10 to 15 people, but others for as many as 150 and 200 individuals. The figure below shows the percentage of sales generated from each of the market segments in 2009.

Allentown Materials Corporation

The analysis of the Allentown Materials Corporation case study reveals a number of issues mostly related to the untimely death of a respected leader, the subsequent change in leadership, and also the management style of the newly appointed upper-level managers. This paradigm shift in operational management strategy is one of the root causes of the conflict between departments, absence of teamwork, and low morale. Additionally, radical changes are required to bring Allentown Materials Corporation into a new era of manufacturing and ensure their continued success in the marketplace.The willingness to change is critical in a manufacturing organization where the means of maintaining a competitive advantage change frequently. (ReVelle) The former General Manager of the Allentown Materials Corporation Joe Bennett was very authoritarian in nature, preferring to make all nearly all important decisions by himself, and no decisions at all were made without Mr. Bennett’s approval. Many o f the managers reporting to Bennett were considered political and manipulative by their employees, and as a result few were willing to challenge his operational management style.When Don Rogers took over Joe Bennett’s position as general manager the aggravating factors of a major down turn in business were already present, but the effects were not necessarily being felt throughout the organization. A revolutionary change should have been implemented under Bennett when the business shifted from primarily military applications to private sector uses, however manager’s perspective may cause them to overlook important organizational changes or respond to these changes inappropriately. Both general managers are at fault for the current situation at Allentown; Mr.Bennett for overlooking when change was required and Mr. Rogers for responding to the need for change inappropriately. The military market revolved around highly reliable and consistent components for crucial milita ry equipment; and the military was willing to pay a premium to acquire such components. In contrast the consumer and private sector market also demands high-quality products, but at the lowest cost possible. (ReVelle) The secondary consequence of this shift from military to consumer markets is an increased presence in the extremely competitive Japanese market.Japanese manufacturing firms had long since developed and implemented their own manufacturing methodologies such as Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing and Total Quality Management. Allentown Materials Corporation is essentially attempting to compete in a market that has already seen revolutionary change at the hands of new methodologies and techniques. Changes do need to be made to ensure a manufacturing organization has the competitive advantage, and selecting the appropriate change methodology is equally crucial.The Six Sigma quality management program was originally developed by Motorola in 1986 and as a business strategy focu ses on improving the quality of outputs by removing the causes of defects, unacceptable variability in the manufacturing process, and discontinuing practices that do not add value to the final output. (CIT) One method in which Six Sigma accomplishes this is though improving processes already in place or creating new processes when the existing ones fail to meet business objectives. CIT) Motorola reported over 17 billion in savings in 2006 since the start of their Six Sigma initiative, and many other manufacturing companies have also achieved success with their own implementations of Six Sigma. (CIT) These tangible effects are the results of training in quality improvement methods, rearrangement of business processes to make them more efficient, initiation of projects that improve production or save money, and improved communication between management and employees.For a company to achieve Six Sigma any single process must not produce more than 3. 4 defects per million opportunities. (CIT) This in turn means increased profit for the company and potential bonuses or incentives for employees. We can also make comparisons between Six Sigma and the different Japanese methodologies and draw a number of conclusions†¦ Six Sigma addresses half of the revolutionary change required for Allentown Materials Corporation to remain competitive in the ever-changing manufacturing marketplace.The second component of the change required involves giving the entire organization a shared vision for the future which plays strongly on the core competencies of the Allentown Materials Corporation. The strength of Allentown Materials Corporation lies with its research and development, and manufacturing divisions. Part of this change will come about as Six Sigma is adapted and implemented at the Allentown Materials Corporation.Employees at all levels of the organization will recognize the potential benefits and rewards including increased job security, new opportunities with the comp any, and better performance evaluations and pay increases. Additionally, employees will be aware that if the company is deriving benefits from Six Sigma these benefits will eventually trickle down to them. (CIT) All of the new rewards and incentives will lend themselves to a shared vision within the company. One aspect of particular importance of the Six Sigma methodology will be the effect of training and teamwork on the various divisions.When a sense of teamwork is lacking the employees have a tendency to focus on the productivity of their particular department or division and fail to realize the impact of their actions on the entire operation. (CIT) For these changes to take hold at Allentown Materials Corporation a vital member of upper management must assume the role as the change champion. Don Roger’s seems like the clear choice to take on this position due to his position with the company and the fact that he has an established history of involving people in issues wit h the company and consulting them on decisions.The change champion at Allentown will have a number of new responsibilities related to ensuring the success of Six Sigma and simultaneously being the driving force behind the entire business revolution. In order to show demonstrable commitment to the program and the new shared vision the champion will need to be heavily involved in the change process, ensuring that it moves swiftly and that the change is real and positive. Encouragement, motivation, involvement with projects, removing the barriers to project success, celebrating successes when they occur, and recognizing achievements are all ways the champion can demonstrate commitment.In the course of implementing change the change champion should consider naming a steering committee consisting of him or herself, key managers from all the functional areas including the newly separated sales and marketing functions, and a new position; training manager. The steering committee would serv e to enact the changes, but would also provide crucial feedback from lower managers and employees about the practical implications of their changes.Among the responsibilities of the steering committee would be developing a new team handbook that clearly states the policies and goals of the company and a training program emphasizing teamwork, team interaction skills, and The issues effecting Allentown Materials Corporation may very well lead to its ultimate demise. It is therefore essential for Allentown Materials Corporation to institute a fast and positive change to ensure its long term viability and retain its competitive advantages in the marketplace. Six Sigma when implemented properly by a committed change champion can usher in a new era for Allentown Materials Corporation.

Scholarship Letter Sample

Sample Scholarship Inquiry Letter This letter provides a sample format for inquiring about private student aid funds. Of course, you must first identify foundations and organizations which offer such assistance well in advance of any application deadlines. You can get help finding the names and addresses of private aid sources by conducting a scholarship search on the Internet or from a reference librarian in your public library or local school.Once you have obtained contact information you will need to customize this letter to reflect your own background and needs by replacing the bracketed boldface text below. [Your Street Address] [Your City, State and Zip] [Ms. Susan B. A. Dollar] [Director of Big Money Awards] [Lots of Money Organization] [P. O. Box 9999] [Moneytown, USA 99999-9999] Dear Ms. Dollar: I am writing to inquire about any student financial assistance that the [Lots of Money Organization] may offer to college-bound students. Enter a concise paragraph about your backgr ound and goals. Try to show how you meet the requirements of the organization’s financial assistance programs. If this is a letter to find out if the organization offers aid, write a short paragraph about how your background and ambitions coincide with the mission of the organization and might qualify you for assistance that may be offered. I would greatly appreciate information about any student financial assistance available through your organization, including how I may apply for this assistance. Information about application forms and deadlines for the [20XX-XX] academic year would also be appreciated. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at [your area code and phone number] or via e-mail at [your e-mail address]. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, [Your Name] Â © NASFAA 2008 1

Newton the Empiricist

Sir Isaac Newton’s discoveries are truly relevant in our world today. His contributions to Physics are nonetheless substantial, especially the Laws of Motion which he established. However, the debate on whether Isaac Newton was a nativist or an empiricist has aroused. Some question Newton’s way of thinking where it breaks down to the belief of being any of nativism or empiricism. Firstly, nativism is the belief which states that people’s skills are natural to them that at birth, everything they need to learn are already coded in their brains, just waiting to be explored and be utilized. Nativists believe that we have brains which are hard wired with the talents and skills. It is more on how we uncover these things that we learn the things around us. The process of acquiring knowledge is just actually relearning what has already been coded in our brains. On the other hand, Empiricism claims that we have been born with a blank slate – tabula rasa, needing to be filled up by learning. We learn through experience in this concept, unlike that of Nativism where we already have the knowledge in the brain, all we need is to gather it and add it up to our knowledge. It emphasizes greatly on experience, where perceiving with our senses play a great role when we form various ideas. This discards the notion of having innate or inborn characteristics which is presented by Nativism. The debate regarding Isaac Newton’s line of thinking arose because of the way he came up with his ideas, the brilliant laws he established which are of great use in our society today. It is not merely being able to come up with the right ideas, but people though that Isaac Newton already knows the things he supposedly has established. But it was Empiricism that Newton believed more. He was more on the philosophy of science which gives a direct association to experiences, which derives data and information by means of experiments. Isaac Newton, as a person of science, underwent every necessary step in order to affirm his ideas. He tested through experiments in order to prove the knowledge he wishes to impart to the people. Theories and hypothesis were tested and some were proven through the use of observations and reasoning (Ess, 2007). Newton has established his own programs in science which he himself used in order to remove the doubts from the hypothesis. His goal as a scientist was to uncover something certain, and not to linger into the uncertainty of things. His principles were established and were drawn from the experiments he conducted and the observations he made for these experiments. This is just a manifestation that he abides in the Empiricist English tradition, just like Francis Bacon, where he comes up with ideas conceived from extensive experimentation and observation. As a man of science, he has always backed his ideas with relevant findings from the experiments that he conducted. He is not contended by assuming something as â€Å"ideally,† instead, he strived to prove such things using his own sets of experiments. Sir Isaac Newton’s findings posed great importance in explaining various things in the human world. Even though there are still some people who question his way of thinking, it is undeniable that what he has conceived were all products of extensive research, of the scientific method which he himself has pioneered and is still being used today. Reference: Ess, D. (2007). Isaac Newton Retrieved September 25, 2007, from http://www.drury.edu/ess/philsci/newton.html      

Definition of Family paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Definition of Family paper - Essay Example On the other hand, the extended family includes all immediate relatives. Significant inclusions in this family setting are the grandparents. Grandparents in this case are on top of the family tree. In a research carried out in 1996, fourteen percent of all children lived in extended families (Friedman, Bowden and Jones, 2003. Pp. 22). Regardless of what setting families share, they remain the best setting individual posses in the society. The family is viewed as the center of all the relationship created in the social setting. According to Friedman, Bowden and Jones (2003), parents are viewed as the providers (pp. 53). The author further argues that the relationships formed in the family setting come naturally. These relationships have assurance on commitment and honor. Researches on family relationships have pointed out that families provide individuals with more than just a relationship. They also provide a unit of companionship and support. It is proven that many people believe th at the strongest bonds in life are created from family settings. An individual living without the family bond does not have required relationship bond in the society. Different families have different ways in which they bond with one another. One common way in which such moments are shared is through sharing of meals and holidays. Sharing of meals in a family setting is viewed as a way of keeping in track with everyone’s life in the family. Meal times are used to strengthen bonds in the family since people get to know about each other. The healing process during family meal times is the most inspiring healing process. In case of any problem which a family member has incurred during the day, they have a time to put it across and receive advice or solutions. The most significant way of creating strong bonds in any form of relationships is solving each other’s problems. To me this is the most important function of a family. A family should not be a unit of formal relation ship but a unit which provides guidelines to all its members. Solving problems in a family setting can be termed as the best therapy anyone can have. Apart from counseling sessions, family meal times are characterized by the sharing of memorable moments that strengthen the relationship between members. Meal times are viewed as an activity which family members carry out together. Spending time on holidays brings out the moments that have a significant impact on the strengthening of family circles. Holidays with family members provide with the best memories I hold to date. Family holidays also play major roles in strengthening the bonds in family. Family holidays produce as well comfortable environments in which people can relate more to each other. Holidays away from the normal social setting bring out the serenity and calmness one needs. This scenario is made more comfortable when one spends it with family members. A family that usually has more than two holidays annually have stron g relationships compared to other families that do not have or spend fewer holidays together. My other view on a family is the issue on proper division of labor. In the division of labor there should be an inclusion of team work. In the division of labor, fathers are usually required to take on the most challenging tasks and majority provisions to the families needs. As much this is viewed as a duty, most fathers appreciate this gesture and view it as a form of respect from other family members.