City Development in Northen Virginia and Seoul Essay

City Development in Northen Virginia and Seoul - Essay Example If all the above are available and conveniently, located, then communities may live well. However, if houses are built in such a way that they are dispersed or in isolation, then chances are that local governments/ other stakeholders will have to spend huge sums on this. 2 Additionally, such poor city plans cause excessive consumption of fuel, wastage of time when getting from one point to another and limited productivity. Excess use of resources also aggravates the situation. When Cities or towns build their houses in distant locations, then tax payers will have to spend huge sums of their money in constructing access roads. However, Northern Virginia lacks some of these features. In Accomack County, a whooping eighty percent of the employees in the area work within it. Therefore, the remaining percentage has to travel to other destinations found outside it. On the other hand, thirty four percent of the workers in Prince William County work within it. The remaining workers have to go outside the county. This implies that almost seventy percent of workers in some other county have to move to another county when going to work. 3 The overall result of these changes is... Additionally, poorly built houses are more difficult to maintain because they require high costs per unit. These high costs are eventually transferred to the tax payer and he may find it difficult to ache out a living in such an area. Many administrators in Northern Virginia have made the mistake of assuming that further road construction will solve the problems however, this not necessarily true. The most viable option for Northern Virginia is introduction of smart building plans. If houses were built in convenient locations, there would be a lesser burden on the taxpayer because houses would be constructed in one area and there would be no need for excessive fuel use in transport. This also means that smart city development also prevents pollution since it will be minimizing carbon emission. 4 Northern Virginia has recorded high levels of sprawling houses because the local government has not bothered regulating private developments. This implies that houses are built haphazardly and it becomes increasingly difficult to manage their resource utility. Northern Virginia's buildings are also not functionally planned. For instance, constructions may be done in very fertile soils that are better sources of farmland. Additionally, where houses are concentrated, some of them do not have any form of buffer zones to a low fro differences in functionality. For example, a dairy farm and a town home are located near one another. Perhaps the biggest problem in Northern Virginia is the fact that the local authorities have minimal powers with regard to land use. Most of them lack the ability to plan houses in the Coty. Private developers have the ability to determine which parts will develop and which ones will not. The law specifically

Business Law (Case study) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Law ( ) - Case Study Example The management of Silver's Gymnasium is insisting on the 3 day notice period from the date of signing of the agreement for the enforcement of its termination. There are extenuating circumstances under which members may cancel membership in health clubs in the city of New York as per Section 624 under supplementary rights of cancellation. (New York Consolidated Laws). Under Section 624, Sub section 3 states that under mitigating circumstances in certain cases the clients may cancel memberships in local health clubs, notwithstanding 3 day notice period, "if the buyer becomes significantly physically disabled for a period in excess of six months, or moves his residence to a location more than twenty-five miles from a health club operated by the seller." (New York Consolidated Laws). It has also been clarified by Section 624 of the McKinney's Consolidated Law of New York- annotated, that in case any payments have been made to the seller of health services, it has to be returned forthwith to the buyer, "within fifteen days of the receipt of " communication of cancellation of contract. (New York Consolidated Laws: Additional Rights to Cancellation). This is howev... The rights of the buyer envisage that under no circumstances could the demand for payment of goods and services by the buyer exceed the contract price. (New York Consolidated Laws). In this case it is $720. ($20X12X3 years) Conclusions: In this case, it is seen that both X and his brother Y could rescind the contract of health Service provision made to Silver's Gym under the provisions of Section 624. This is because both incapacity due to health reasons for a period of 6 months, duly validated by a health care practitioner is applicable in the case of X, and the relocation of the member in a place beyond 25 miles from the present location of the gym, is applicable in case of X's brother, Y, and are validated by the provisions of the New York Laws.Further, they could also exercise their rights to have the excess contract money paid (if any) refunded to them, i.e. $ 720- $60 (services provided by gym) as per existing New York laws. In case these monies are not made available to the brothers X and Y, it is possible for them to institute legal proceedings against the management of Silver's Gym for recovering of the unused proportion of health care fees under contract. Works Cited New York Consolidated Laws: Additional Rights to Cancellation. FindLaw: For Legal Professionals. 2008. 14 Nov. 2008. . New York Consolidated Laws. FindLaw: For Legal Professionals. 2008. 14 Nov. 2008.

Mergers Of Abbey National And Santander Finance Essay

Mergers Of Abbey National And Santander Finance Essay As Watson Head (2007: 310-311) explained the terms Merger and Acquisition are used interchangeably but the differences are quite noticeable. The term Merger suggests the friendly reorganisations of assets into a new organization; the two similar sized organizations will then become one entity with both sets of existing shareholders. On the other hand, Acquisition or a Takeover suggests obtaining ones companys ordinary share capital by another one. In an acquisition the one of the organizations is larger in size and financial stability and has the dominant power over the other one. The Acquisition process is lengthy and very complicated in nature. Acquisition of any particular organization can have several motives, the acquirer may want to amplify their economies of scale, market share or to attain the financial synergy through declining the companys cost of capital. All these can be classified as: Horizontal Merger and Acquisition: Involves companies at the same stage of production in the same industry. i.e.: the acquisition of Cadbury by Kraft in 2010 Vertical Merger and Acquisition: This involves companies at different stage of production but within the same industry. The vertical integration can either be: Forward movement towards the production process, i.e: A furniture manufacturer merging with a retail furniture outlet. Backward movement towards securing the suppliers, i.e: A furniture manufacturer merging with a wood supplier. Conglomerate Merger and Acquisition: involves companies in unrelated business lines. i.e.: A clothing company acquiring a jewellery company. Trends in MA activity 2004 to 2010 in Europe Banking Industry: Figure 1: One in Five companies plans to go for large scale Acquisition in 2010 some industries expect to be even more active. Source: USB and BCG CEO/Senior Management MA survey- 2009 on 166 European Companies. As from the Figure:1 and Graph:1 , The MA trend in Retail and Insurance industries are in inclining nature, but we can observe an inclining trend in the Banking industry MA in Western Europe compared to the global trend. The Western Europe Banking sector MA shows a parallel movement with the global MA trend, suggesting that the Western Market is very susceptible to the overall market movement. The inclining nature of the MA in the Western Baking Sector (from mid 2005- mid 2009) suggests the upturn of the MA trend in the during the current recession crisis, the banks were making profits with the global trends in M&A; as these banks are also earning fees from their advisory and other services, such as; syndicated banking facilities to support leveraged bids. The trend also suggests the wave of cross-border MA with the movement of the global trend in order to expand the business. Graph 1: Trend in Global MA activity (2004-2010), compared to Eastern and Western Europe banking industry MA. Source: Bloomberg In the current recession years; with low interest rate, poor bond yields and high level of liquidity- the banking industry within the Western Europe is embracing the MA opportunity as many corporations have pushed back the bidding deals.  [1]   Table 1: MA trend from 1/01/2010 to 29/03/2010. Source: Bloomberg Acquirer Region Target Region Average Size (GBP million) Global Global 110.63M Global North America 174.94M Global Europe 79.60M Global Asia Pacific 65.29M Global Latin America Caribbean 331.65M Global Middle East Africa 106.65M North America North America 159.79M North America Europe 114.29M North America Asia Pacific 48.36M North America Latin America Caribbean 47.84M North America Middle East Africa 17.54M Europe North America 546.90M Europe Europe 65.42M Europe Asia Pacific 636.53M Europe Latin America Caribbean 1.14B Europe Middle East Africa 95.87M Asia Pacific North America 128.86M Asia Pacific Europe 41.68M Asia Pacific Asia Pacific 46.56M Asia Pacific Latin America Caribbean 180.35M Asia Pacific Middle East Africa 94.18M Latin America Caribbean North America 183.26M Latin America Caribbean Europe 455.35M Latin America Caribbean Asia Pacific 73.86M Latin America Caribbean Latin America Caribbean 506.03M Latin America Caribbean Middle East Africa 11.21M Middle East Africa North America 10.50M Middle East Africa Europe 485.98M Middle East Africa Asia Pacific 21.17M Middle East Africa Latin America Caribbean 7.62M Middle East Africa Middle East Africa 134.77M From the table above, the MA trend is inclining more towards emerging markets as the target regions; although, emerging markets are also opting for MA activities in the same or different emerging markets to expand the business. An Acquisition CASE: Abbey national PLC acquired by Banco Santander SA: Background of Abbey National PLC: The Abbey National Building Society was formed following the merger of the Abbey Road Building Society and the National Building Society in 1944  [2]  . In July 1989, Abbey became a public limited company and floated on the London Stock Exchange. With 12 million customers and assets of  £ 177 billion, it is ranked the sixth largest bank in the UK by assets and the fifth largest by deposits (with a 9% share of the market). Reflecting its origins as a building society, it is the second largest mortgage provider in the UK, with an 11% share of the market. Furthermore, with 15% of the market, at the time of acquisition, it was the third largest provider of insurance protection products and has a large distribution network with more than 700 branches (EMCC, 2008). Abbey had two main business divisions, Personal Financial Services and the Portfolio Business Unit. Background of Banco Santander Central Hispano SA: Santander is a bank that has transformed itself: from being a middle player in the Spanish banking market 20 years ago, it is now a major global bank operating in Spain, Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom and other European countries, as well as in Latin America. The group is currently the leading consumer bank in Europe and has over 10,500 branches globally (excluding those branches gained through the acquisition of Banco Real as a result of a deal with ABN AMRO). Santander is a technologically advanced bank, with an information technology platform that is regarded as a strong competitive advantage. Excluding Banco Real employees, the group currently employs approximately 130,000 people worldwide, of whom 50% are working in Latin America. There are also large numbers of employees working in the UK and Spain. (EMCC, 2008). Banco Santander was a small retail bank when it started its business in 1985, since then it initiated its local market growth through mergers and strategic alliances; and later implemented Low-scale cross-border expansion through strategic alliances and acquisitions. Gradually, the implementation of Large-scale cross border expansion took place. Chart 1: Banco Santander Acquisition Transaction Overview till January 2010. Source: Reuters Overview of the Acquisition: The objectivity of this particular acquisition/takeover was to diversify the business of Banco Santander PLC to mortgage and financial services; not to mention to explore the retail banking opportunities in the UK market. Therefore, the motive for this MA was to gain economies of scale through synergy and also to entering a new market in order to optimize their market share, hence; buying Abbey was a mean to enter into Europes second largest consumer financing market. In 2003 Abbey National PLC was pricey for Santander and in 2004, Abbey incurred losses from its entry into the money market and Santander decided to go ahead with the Acquisition plan in order to penetrate the UK market. Moreover, the secondary objective of this acquisition was to under-cut the local competition for Banco Santander with the hopes of obtaining higher profitability in the UK market. Moreover, Banco Santander already had the expertise in the retail banking and built a strategic alliance with the Royal Bank of Scotland from 1988. Therefore, Santander had already gathered banking knowledge and futuristic opportunities. As stated by Parada et al., (2009: 666-667) Acquiring Abbey National PLC would make Banco Santander the biggest bank in Europe and Latin America and dominating their business in the strong currencies- the Euro, US dollar and the Pound. The acquisition had boosted the companys operation in six segments: Retail Banking, Global Banking Markets, Corporate Banking, Private Banking, Group Infrastructure and Sold Life Businesses. After the acquisition Abbey National PLC became Santander UK PLC in January 2010.  [3]   Abbeys leadership position in the United Kingdoms mortgage lending market, together with its extensive branch network, represent for the shareholders of Banco Santander and of Abbey an opportunity to create value based on the application of the best business and technological practices of Banco Santander to Abbeys banking operations. Abbeys business heavily contributes to reinforce our pan-European franchise and provides the Group with a more balanced earnings stream.-(Emilio Botà ­n, Chairman of Banco Santander, July 2004).  [4]   Table 2: Overview of the Abbey National PLC acquisition. Source: Reuters As noted in Parada et al., (2009, 666-668) in 2004 Abbey was suffering from losses from entering in the whole-sale money market; therefore, Santander grabbed the opportunity to launch a friendly bid. Santander managed to overpower all the regulatory obstacles. Although the acquisition was initiated in 2004; but the tentative completion of this acquisition is expected to be at the end of 2010; given Abbey National PLC will be renamed as Santander UK PLC. Figure 2: The 3 steps of internationalization implemented by Santander in 2004. Source: Authors. Acquisition of Abbey National PLC Graph 2: The dimensions of Santander acquisition with its growth (2000 to 2004). Source: Bloomberg The graph above portrays the rising nature of Santander Share price after the Abbey acquisition at the end of year 2004. Defence Strategy implemented by Abbey National PLC: During the Acquisition offer, Abbey National PLC urged its rivals British banks to make counter-bid offer in order to push back the  £8.9 billion offer made by Banco Santander. Moreover Abbey spent out  £9 million worth of Legal documentation to its approximately 1.8 million shareholders in the hopes of bouncing off the Acquisition offer made by Banco Santander.  [5]   Valuation of the Acquisition: The asking price for the acquisition was  £10 billion and the sold price was  £8.9 billion. The terms of the Acquisition were based on the equity market capitalisation of the two companies over the three months prior to 23 July 2004. Based on the average closing market price for a Banco Santander Share on the Spanish stock market was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬8.70 and the average closing mid-market price for an Abbey Share on the London Stock Exchange was  £4.69 at an exchange rate of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.5054:  £1, the terms of the represent a premium of approximately 28.4 % with a value of each Abbey Share at  £6.03 or 603 pence ( taking into account the 6 pence for dividend differential, see the financing section), and the entire issued ordinary share capital of Abbey at approximately  £8.9 billion.  [6]   Financing the Acquisition Bid: The acquisition was finance through the purchase of Abbey shares and Mixed Bid offer was initially offered to precede the acquisition; where, Santander (the largest bank in North American and Spain) offered one of its own shares and 31 pence in cash for each share of London-based Abbey shareholders.  [7]  The special dividend of 25 pence will be paid along with 6 pence (31 pence in total) worth dividend differential to compensate the Abbey National shareholders; as historically the dividend payment of Banco Santander was usually lower than Abbey National Dividend payment (Table:3). Later on, in November 2004, the acquisition was carried out through an exchange of one new Santander Share for each of Abbey share. 94.6% backing support (based on the share counting only 64.8 % shareholders agreed to the acquisition deal) was received from the Abbeys shareholders in order to proceed with the takeover. The deal was worth almost  £9 billion (or à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 13.5 billion to be exact; at the time of acquisition offer the exchange rate was à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.5054 to  £1). The enlarged company would be 76%-owned by existing Santander shareholders, with the rest in the hands of Abbey shareholders.  [8]   Regulatory Framework: The acquisition took place under section 425 of UK Companies Act 1985. Moreover, Santander had to provide many paper-works and detailed plans to the European Authorities regarding the Abbey Acquisition (See Appendix, Illustration: 2). As a result of the acquisition, Abbeys remaining private shareholders became entitled to one Santander share and the shares are traded in Euros in the Madrid Stock Exchange.  [9]   Table 3: Capital Value estimated for the Abbey Shareholders, Source: http://www.vernimmen.com/ftp/sch-abbey.pdf Cultural Differences: Although, the Spanish culture and British culture vary in many ways they run business. In British Culture, organizations rely mainly on their Human Resource, whereas, Spanish Culture relies more on the technological upgrading. Abbey National PLC had about 33% back-office employees; whereas, Santander had about 6% to 10% employees as back-end personnel. Therefore, after the acquisition the employee number in Santander PLC came down to 16 thousands from 24 thousands in the UK. At the time of acquisition Santanders cost to income was 42%, whereas in UK it was on about 50% or more.  [10]   The acquisition may be affected by different tax incentives and regulations. Any change in the Spanish Banking policy will affect the Santander UK subsidiary both economically and financially. Moreover at the time of acquisition in 2004, the UK national savings rate is only 14.7% of GDP, compared with over 23% in Spain. Therefore, the spending and saving nature in the UK are very diverse than in Spain. As quoted in the Guardian (2005): Santander .. treats its Spanish shareholders to an unusually attractive range of perks, from discounted medical insurance and dental care to cut-price hams and crates of wine.  [11]  . Therefore, such treatments in the UK can be perceived as manipulative technique due to the variance in these two cultures. Performance in Share Price and Stock Market- Post Acquisition: Since Banco Santander is a Spanish bank, the shares was listed in Spanish Stock Market and the shareholders had to face exchange rate volatility since the dividend were being paid in Euros; nonetheless, the Spanish taxation issue can be quite complicated to the UK shareholders. The Abbey shareholders were given the option to sell the shares to any Spanish Organization in the UK, but Abbey shareholders who held on to their Santander shares over time have to pay tax on any dividends they get.  [12]  Banco Santander new shares after the acquisition were not admitted to the Official List or to trading on the London Stock Exchange during the post period of the acquisition.  [13]   In 2009 Santander 1.1 million new current accounts with our 25 million customers, and reported to deliver more than 30% profit in five successive years after the acquisition. Chart 2: The Overview of UK Competitors. Source: H1 09 Reports Data and BBA Abstract by HSBC Graph 3: Santander UK PLC share price performance. Source: http://www.h-l.co.uk/shares/shares-search-results/s/santander-uk-plc10-38-non-cum-stlg-pre/charts The Santander UK PLC is in the second place after Lloyds Banking Group in the Mortgage market share in UK with relatively reasonable Market share in Retail Banking (Chart: 2). Moreover, The EPS of Banco Santander has been performing quite poorly after 2005, it has declined from 0.337 in 2005 to 0.27 in 2009 (See Appendix, Illustration: 3 ). The share price of Santander UK PLC has been rising from the year 2005 (Graph: 3), partly because the dividend was 15% higher than that paid in the mid of the year 2005. As of in 2006, 25% higher dividend was paid. In 2008, Banco Santander announced its agreement to take over Alliance Leicester PLC (AL). Under the terms of the agreement Banco Santander will offer one Company share for every three AL shares. The European Commission had approved Banco Santander  £1.3 billion takeover of Alliance Leicester Plc. Moreover, in year 2008, Banco Santander had agreed to buy Bradford Bingley PLC retail deposits and branch network. Santander had agreed to pay about  £400 million to acquire 2.7 million Bradford Bingley customer savings accounts containing some  £21 billion of deposits. Therefore, Santander UK PLC is still at its growth stage in the UK Market and it is focusing more on acquiring local financial institutions. Reuters reported in October 2009 that, Banco Santander SA planes to maintain its policy of paying half its net profit in dividends in 2010. Moreover, according to the Yahoo Finance (April, 2010), Banco Santander SA has higher Dividend yield of 6.80 % and global Foreign Money Centre Banks Industry has the rate at 1.96%, which suggest a favourable investment option to the potential shareholders. The Santander Group is working towards the policy of maximizing shareholders profit. Moreover, as reported in Bloomberg, Banco Santander SA is seeking to list its UK business in London Stock Exchange listing from February 2010 in order to raise funds for possible future buy-up opportunities, the listing offering may value at more than  £15 billion. Banco Santander is looking for funds to bid for Royal Bank of Scotland PLC network of 300 branches. On the other hand, Santander UK is willing to sell 25% of its stake in order to be listed in FTSE 100 and also to pay out about  £1 billion a year in dividends to construe an attractive deal to the investors (Source: The Times). Conclusion: Although, there were many speculation against the Abbey acquisition due to its cross-border nature, but all the speculations were proven wrong. Although, this particular acquisition was the most talked about topic in the UK financial market, and many believed the acquisition would not create any value for the Abbey Shareholders. With proper understanding of the local market, Banco Santander had utilized its previous acquisition knowledge when it came to this acquisition. Banco Santander knows what its UK shareholders want and trying to live up that expectation to serve their UK shareholders. Banco Santander is seeking to expand its business in the UK. Although, till date the Abbey bank transformation is still under progress, but Banco Santander had been patient with the UK market because they know- slow and steady wins the race. Bibliography: Huws, U. OKeefe, B. 2008. Managing Change in EU Cross-Border Acquisition, Case example Santander and Abbey: Expansion Enabling access to new markets. EMCC Company Network, 1-4. Mayer-Sommer, A. P. , Sweeney, S. Walker, D.A. 2005. Effect of Bank Acquisition on Shareholder Returns. Bank Accounting and Finance, 1-7, June-July. Lausberg, C. Stahl, T. 2009. Motives and Non-Economic Reasons for Bank Mergers and Acquisitions. The Icfai University Journal of Bank Management, 8(1): 1-25.

Taser Technology Essay -- Law Enforcement Weapons

Taser Technology For years law enforcement has been searching for more effective less lethal options to apprehend suspects. One of the newest technologies available is the Taser, also known by industry standards as an electronic controlled device (ECD). The Taser uses electricity to override the central nervous system, an effect referred to as â€Å"neuro-muscular incapacitation (NMI), to cause temporary incapacitation to allow officers to gain control of a subject. Electronic controlled devices basically use high voltage, low wattage electrical charges to induce involuntary muscle contractions that cause a subject to be temporarily incapacitated. The weapon system is designed to fire two probes, or darts, that are attached to insulated wires. When the probes make contact with a person, the Taser will produce 50,000 volts of electricity, but only .0021 amps. According to Taser International, Inc. â€Å"it is not the volts that are dangerous it is the amps.† Volts are simply the rate the electricity is moving, but amps are the measure of current in the electricity. Taser International (2006) In 1993, two brothers, Rick and Tom Smith along, with Taser inventor Jack Cover, began working together on a non-lethal self-defense device. In 1994, they developed a non-firearm version of the Taser. This original Taser was known as a â€Å"stun† system, which used electricity to jam the central nervous system with electrical noise. This system used approximately five to fifteen watts of power and was more of a pain compliance device rather than overriding the central nervous system. Two serious issues occurred with these â€Å"stun† systems: The officer had to be up close to make contact with the subject; and since it was a pain compliance device... ... Batons also tear skin, break bones and require officers to get up close to subjects to apprehend them. The Taser has a more effective rate than other less lethal options with less chance of injury to all involved. References Amnesty International (2007) Amnesty International. (2007). USA: Amnesty International's concerns about Taser use: Statement to the US Justice Department inquiry into deaths in custody. doi:AMR 51/151/2007 Taser International (2006). Instructor Certification Lesson Plan (Version 13.0 ed., Rev.). Scottsdale, Arizona: Taser International. Vilke, G. M., Sloane, C., Levin, S., Neuman, T., Castillo, E., & Chan, Tc. (2008, January). Twelve-lead electrocardiogram monitoring of subjects before and after voluntary exposure to the Taser X26. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18082773?dopt=Citation Taser International (2006) Taser Technology Essay -- Law Enforcement Weapons Taser Technology For years law enforcement has been searching for more effective less lethal options to apprehend suspects. One of the newest technologies available is the Taser, also known by industry standards as an electronic controlled device (ECD). The Taser uses electricity to override the central nervous system, an effect referred to as â€Å"neuro-muscular incapacitation (NMI), to cause temporary incapacitation to allow officers to gain control of a subject. Electronic controlled devices basically use high voltage, low wattage electrical charges to induce involuntary muscle contractions that cause a subject to be temporarily incapacitated. The weapon system is designed to fire two probes, or darts, that are attached to insulated wires. When the probes make contact with a person, the Taser will produce 50,000 volts of electricity, but only .0021 amps. According to Taser International, Inc. â€Å"it is not the volts that are dangerous it is the amps.† Volts are simply the rate the electricity is moving, but amps are the measure of current in the electricity. Taser International (2006) In 1993, two brothers, Rick and Tom Smith along, with Taser inventor Jack Cover, began working together on a non-lethal self-defense device. In 1994, they developed a non-firearm version of the Taser. This original Taser was known as a â€Å"stun† system, which used electricity to jam the central nervous system with electrical noise. This system used approximately five to fifteen watts of power and was more of a pain compliance device rather than overriding the central nervous system. Two serious issues occurred with these â€Å"stun† systems: The officer had to be up close to make contact with the subject; and since it was a pain compliance device... ... Batons also tear skin, break bones and require officers to get up close to subjects to apprehend them. The Taser has a more effective rate than other less lethal options with less chance of injury to all involved. References Amnesty International (2007) Amnesty International. (2007). USA: Amnesty International's concerns about Taser use: Statement to the US Justice Department inquiry into deaths in custody. doi:AMR 51/151/2007 Taser International (2006). Instructor Certification Lesson Plan (Version 13.0 ed., Rev.). Scottsdale, Arizona: Taser International. Vilke, G. M., Sloane, C., Levin, S., Neuman, T., Castillo, E., & Chan, Tc. (2008, January). Twelve-lead electrocardiogram monitoring of subjects before and after voluntary exposure to the Taser X26. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18082773?dopt=Citation Taser International (2006)

Diversity and Multiculturalism Essay

Minority is a word describing a group representing a population smaller than the State. They are people of distinct culture, religion, language and ethnicity from the norms of the Society. Any group resembling the stated characteristics is a Minority. This description clearly emphasizes the rebuttal of Human Rights to people who are not living within the standards of the society. Group Rights or Minority Rights, in a popular manner, speaks of the Ethnic discrimination to some and a due right to others. Moreover, a conflict begins when an individual claims of his/her minority group and yet, the State does not recognize a Minority. The group rights tend to protect a certain group and reflects the other laws excluded on their existence, which for many individuals is a direct discrimination. Primarily, rights are powers to act in accordance with the existing system having values and principles approved by the society. It is a claim or title, whether legal, descriptive and moral (Sutton, 2001). The controversy exists regarding group rights on the term called Multiculturalism. This kind of group right often pertains to a member of an ethnic or religious group. Scholars perceive this kind of group right as a barrier to the actions that most ethnic groups have before there was â€Å"civilization. † It is a form of oppression because the majority opposes those traditional beliefs and pursues the so-called â€Å"equality† to such people. Group rights exist to discriminate, oppose and eliminate the traditional acts for the satisfaction of the majority. MULTICULTURALISM Multiculturalism is the opinion that all cultures, from tribesmen and modern civilization, to be equal. However, equality does not address the century old problem because of diverse conditions. Thus, multiculturalism confers with egalitarianism. The objective of multiculturalism is to obliterate the value of free, industrialized civilization, by declaring such civilization no better than the primitive tribalism. It wants to incapacitate the mind’s ability to differentiate good from evil, to differentiate life promoting to what life is negating. Some oppose this principle because they reason out that everyone has a right to moral judgment. The ideas and culture of a specific community should have recognition and respect. ISSUES ON MULTICULTURALISM Many question how the individuals would respect such minority rights if the problem remains on cultural differences. The argument of the multiculturalists’ defenders is that all cultures are equal and some factors coming from this culture are superior to the universal values. Some fruits of Enlightenment and egalitarian movements root from the cultural proponents. Colorful ethnic attire and interesting cuisine may seem interesting and attractive. Nevertheless, with the reality of women and children’s oppression worldwide, multiculturalism is increasingly a policy to maintain that oppression (Kamguian, 2005). The crimes against women become the celebration of traditional cultures and religions with the ignorance on it disadvantages. Governments of Western foundation utilized the policy of multiculturalism in the past, which encourage and uphold the demands for group rights coming from native populations, ethnic minorities or religious groups. However, these cultures have societal cultures that employ members of meaningful ways of life across the full range of human activities, including social, educational, religious, and recreational life. Because these societal cultures play an essential role in the lives of members and because these cultures face extinction, they should have special rights for protection. This accord with group rights but that is not the case with the societal norms like slavery, female genital mutilation, forced marriages, honor killing and other horrors respected by the society. These horrible practices are within the multicultural principle but it the proper action is to eradicate it. The argument begins with multiculturalism, which acts as a substitute policy to ensure a tolerant and democratized compliance in a world that conflicts between cultures eradicate such values. Moreover, the argument leads to racism and tyranny, as the dominant group want to create a universal norm. Another argument consists of the human basic need for cultural attachments. This need then should have protection from validating and protecting different cultures. The supporters of multiculturalism contrast that individual rights is sufficient enough for protection of minority cultures or their way of life that has a consequence of having special group rights and privileges such as arbitrations from Sharia in Canada and allowances fro polygamous men in France. In other cases, group rights claim to have political exclusions, govern their principles and exempt them from the general law. Often, cultures are patriarchal and many cultures claim group rights are more patriarchal than the surrounding cultures. Examples are the common gender inequalities like child marriages, forced marriages, divorce systems biased against women, polygamy and clitoridoctomy. These cases violate women and children’s individual rights of the society. This respect for cultural traditions resulted to lack of support and voices for women and children and the marginalization of progressive forces. When one observes the culture of these minority groups, they would see how oppression and repression reside within their own communities. Not all cultures are equal even though humans’ possess culture, some may be better that the other cultures and others may possess values unacceptable to the society. Indeed the very idea of equality is the product of the Enlightenment and the political and intellectual revolutions that it unleashed (Kamguian, 2005). Forcing equality means to challenge accepted practices and believing in possibility of transformation. However, permitting the differences by the dominant culture is the acceptance of the society as a whole. The â€Å"diversity† movement is not imparting knowledge to students, but promoting racism. – Michael S. Berliner Racism is a notion directing one race as superior to another race. The affirmative action viewed by some is a form of ethnic diversity, a form of politically correct disguise. The belief of racism is that one’s convictions, values and character is particularly based on anatomy or â€Å"blood† and not by judgment. This view tends to see people of different pigmentation as different from the superior pigmentation. The spread of racism causes destruction of the individual in one’s mind. This individual then clings to another race, wanting to have that belongingness because of race diversity. Proponents of diversity seem to be the true racists because they see the world through the color of lens, hair and skin. To multiculturalists, values, thinking and human identity all cling to race. Multiculturalism establishes the oppression in equality. Proponents of diversity teach the youth that people having different cultures also have different capacities resulting to recognition of separatism and glorifying a specific race. This revolutionizes â€Å"racial identity† that aims to erect an unbridgeable perception on race differences. Hence, any cooperation between races is impossible because of their differences being emphasized. ETHNICITY AND GROUP RIGHTS The Ethnic Group has group rights that defend their members who want to exercise their right to behave and enables them to act diversely from the majority. The ethnic group supports their group rights and their representatives, subsequently. It is unnecessary and undesirable to put these rights in a metaphysical entity, which bear their independent human characteristics. In addition, the right in question resorts to be a negative claim. The majority should not forbid such groups to defend their rights. In fact, for the reason that they have the utmost power in defense, they should assist the minority to respect and bear the minority rights in a positive way. However, this can apply to a situation where the ethnic group does a grave misconduct not prevented by the existing rules and regulations. Another is that the ethnic group should observe the group rights, voluntarily and autonomously. People cannot defend a right not chosen by them. Sutton defines that in order to enact such rights they must show the capacity to understand to successful claimants (Sutton, 2001, p 21). The ethnic group rights should correspond with the human rights, as it would give them the right to protect such liberties whenever the majority, which also has human rights, opposes their ethnic habits. Nonetheless, the civil liberty of individuals and ethnic group rights come from the principle of prima facie rights, which explains the liberty experienced by the ethnic group due to these rights has limitations whenever the ethnic habits impose grave suffering or serious restrictions of liberty on other human beings. In general, the obligation of the majority has a duty not to restrict freedom when they wish to observe harmless habits and if the majority’s opposition puts a grave suffering to the ethnic group, then, they have to restrict such opposition (Hayry, 2007). Ethnic minorities do not have a group right to force or coerce their members into observing duties, which are not required by the principles of liberty and the avoidance of suffering (Hayry, 2007). Individuals have three duties, the duty not to inflict harm to another individual, the duty not to restrict unreasonably the freedom of others and the duty not to breach voluntary, harmless contracts. The first duty means for the individuals to act accordingly to the rule of the group without coercing such right. The argument then is the term ethnic group coerces their right because they did not choose the term themselves but a group will not defend a right not made by them. Hence, the general implication is to coerce such freedom, which they themselves have not freely assumed. The second duty restricts any enforcement of freedom, which proves to be unnecessary to the ethnic group. The majority would see that being a member of a minority group would enforce the second duty that is false in belief that will alter the norms. Conversely, everyone has the duty to restrict or condemn habits that will impose suffering and unwarranted restrictions of freedom. In general, the second argument gives the majority the right to restrict ethnic habits given that it will impose harm to the society but it should exceed the principles of equality and fairness. Most of the majority will regard the thesis of defense concerning ethnic habits, which they find different from the norms, false. This is natural, as the dominant groups want a homogenous society supplying the best foundation for human flourishing, even if it costs the principle of liberty and avoidance of suffering. Nonetheless, the significant patterns that endow social conformity should have actions in eliminating cultural diversity (Hayry, 2007). INDIVIDUALISM VERSUS MULTICULTURALISM The principle on individualism is the individual as the primary unit of reality and the ultimate preference of value. Contrary to what other opinions say, individualism does not deny the existence of a society rather the society as a group of individuals not above those individuals. Individualism sees every person as the end of himself and there should be no sacrifice of an individual for another (Stata, 1992). The achievement of an individual credits for himself/herself and not based on the achievements of others. Even though the society believes of individualism as isolation, it does not deny the cooperation but is a theory of the conditions living and working with other people as beneficial. In general, individualism gives credit to an individual and not on the individual’s membership with a society. The probable cure for racial differences is individualism or seeing the person not because of his/her race but because of his/her abilities. The diversity movement aims to teach the following: diversity awareness, diversity training, diversity hiring and submissions and diversity accommodations, which all refer to racial preference. The proper dose on racial issues is to appreciate individually and treatment of collective merits (Locke, 2000). CONCLUSION Protection of human rights in various fields becomes depressing in the past century. Many have resulted to war, as they protect their community from discrimination and sustenance of group rights. Before group rights, many institutions protected the safety of minorities. Three major periods existed in favor of minority group rights. The first period appeared in a non-systematic protection comprising mainly of incorporation of protective clauses, particularly in favor of religious minorities. The second period existed after World War I within the framework of the League of Nations. Lastly are the developments following World War II (Lerner, 2003) on group rights. With all these developments in minorities and group rights, still the existing truth on racial discrimination is emerging. Many say of diversity as an act of racism, that employing group rights does not prove to be efficient in eradicating discrimination. Briefly, group rights is not a power rather a suppression, racial diversity and oppression hiding in equality. References Berliner, M. Diversity and Multiculturalism. 24 May 2000 14 November 2007 Sutton, P. Kinds of Rights in Country: Recognising Customary Rights as Incidents of Native Title. 2001. 14 November 2007 p. 29 National Native Title Tribunal. Hayry, H. Ethnicity and Group Rights, Individual Liberties and Immoral Obligations. 14 November 2007 Minority. 14 November 2007 Kamguian, A. Universal Rights versus Individual Rights. 6 July 2005 14 November 2007 Culture and Multiculturalism. 14 November 2007 Locke, E. Individualism – The Only Cure for Racism. 12 December 1997 14 November 2007 Lerner, N. Group Rights and Discrimination in International Law. Boston: Martinus Nihjoff Publishers, 2003.

How business works Essay

Introduction In this assignment I will be producing a case study on large/medium sided businesses, showing of how business works. My chosen company is McDonalds. The following will be including in my case study: * A description of what the business does, its aims and objectives. * A description of the purposes and activities of human resources and any other three functional areas. * A description of how effectively different areas of the business communicate. * A description of how the structure of the business is different from another organisation’s structure. * A record of my source’s information. McDonalds Restaurant OverView McDonalds is a large fast food chain of restaurants operating world wide, started in America and has outlets in other places such as, India, Cyprus. In many countries McDonald s sells variations of its food to cater for local tastes. They are also known for being multicultural because of the different cultural foods in their restaurants. Because of their huge volume of sales McDonalds has strong purchasing power with its suppliers and is therefore able to sell food very competitively. By the end of 2001 their was 1,184 restaurants in the UK alone. They had a target to get over 80 new restaurants opened by 2002, and that was achieved. By opening over 80 new restaurants they employed 4,800 new employees. ACTIVITY, AIMS & OBJECTIVES (P1, D2) Main Activity The main activity of McDonalds is selling fast food. They aim to provide a customer service, there are 1.5 million employees working for McDonald restaurants in the 119 countries, which all have the same daily activities which involves the staff in greeting, serving and helping customers with any enquiries or problems. They are the largest food service company in the world, so it’s important that all employees work together to succeed their aim. Main Aim McDonalds main aim is to provide customers with a fast food service in order to obtain a profit for its shareholders. McDonalds are committed to conducting their business with the environment in mind. McDonalds mission statement is â€Å"To be the world’s best quick service restaurant†. This is being achieved through five strategies such as; * Development: Lead the quick service restaurant market by a programme of site development profitable restaurant openings. * Our People: Achieve a competitive advantage through people who are high calibre, effective, well motivated and feel part of the McDonalds team in delivering the company’s goals. * Restaurant Excellence: Focus on consistent delivery of quality, service and cleanliness through excellence in our restaurants. * Operating Structure: Optimise restaurant performance through the selection of the most appropriate operating, management and ownership structures. * The Brand: Continue to build the relationship between McDonald’s and our customers in order to be a genuine part of the fabric of British society. Objectives McDonalds objective is to be the best’s quick service restaurant and believes and believes that this involves avoiding damage to the environment at a local and global level. The company aims to ensure that its operations today do not have an effect on the lives of future consumers. McDonald’s is involved in an ongoing programme with the aim to improve the environment, they do this by reusable packaging and recycling. Functional Areas within McDonalds (P2, M1, D2) HUMAN RESOURCES The Human Resources department concentrates on employees who work for the McDonald restaurants. Human Resources department include managing staff and their welfare, so the safety of their staff is taking very seriously, this all comes under Health and Safety. Staff have to be careful not to use computers/tills for long periods of time because they can suffer from eyestrain, tiredness or stress. McDonalds is improving communication systems by installing panic buttons for the safety against violent customers. McDonald’s employees have to work together to ensure a hazard free zone, by adhering to the health and safety regulations. McDonalds puts new employees on to a training system, to make sure if an accident happens which involves either a member of staff or a customer getting hurt, then the employee will be able to handle the situation effectively. McDonalds restaurants work to high standards, which meets and mostly exceeds the rules and regulations. The company always aims for the highest standards given in guidelines because of health and safety regulations and to expand the business. If McDonalds didn’t meet the requirements than they would be closed down by the health and safety executives. The Human Resources department contributes to McDonald’s activity by making sure: * They employ the right staff * Making sure the store is a hazard free zone These things contribute to the activity of McDonalds because without them they wouldn’t be able to achieve their aim, so it’s important that all the different department’s work together to succeed it. Recruitment, Training and Development When recruiting staff McDonalds look for people who have a positive attitude towards customers, themselves and other employees, and who are capable of delivering the highest standards of quality, service and cleanliness to our customers. Then potential employees are trained, promoted and treated on the basis of their relevant skills, talents and performance and without reference to race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age and disability. McDonalds management development curriculum takes new recruits form trainee manager to restaurant manger. They have on-the-job training and open learning development modules, backed up with courses and seminars at the company’s national and regional training centres. Hourly paid staff receive continuous on-the-job training by computer based training and other training materials. When employees complete their initial training staff members are awarded a basic certificate in food hygiene. Employees Below are the figures of the staff’s gender and age status. By the end of 2000 McDonald’s employed 49,726 members of staff: * 46, 207 restaurant crew * 2, 974 restaurant management crew * 545 office staff Health and Safety McDonalds always aims for the highest standards (and mostly exceeds), so they can achieve its aim and be the best quick service restaurant. If McDonalds didn’t meet the requirements of the health and safety act 1974 than they would be closed down by the health and safety executives. The most common hazards which occur in a work place are: 1. Leaving the work place untidy and dirty 2. Leaving floors wet and stairs 3. Leaving wires to trial across passageways 4. Frayed carpet or loose tiles 5. Equipment just left all over work surfaces 6. Too many plugs inserted into only one electric socket The human resources department has to make sure that all health and safety regulations are met. If they are not met then it can be closed down, also if the restaurant is unclean then it could loose customers and wouldn’t keep up their activity to be the best selling fast food restaurant. Customers wouldn’t want to go to a dirty restaurant, where there are a lot of hazards going on such as; wet shop floor, bins over filled, dirty tables and a unclean kitchen area. If any of these hazards occurred in any McDonalds restaurants customers could become ill or hurt, which would result in McDonalds going to court or having to closed the McDonalds restaurant down. Management training includes coping with emergency situations that could arise in a restaurant. This is because it decreases the risk of people being injured or the buildings being damaged in the McDonald restaurants. When an accident has occurred the manager then has to write out what happened and then investigate on the matter. Training is the main priority to ensure the consistency of the restaurant operation, and the highest levels of customer service and care. Every McDonalds franchisee must successfully complete a training programme which takes on average nine months to complete. Trade Union The workers are represented by union of shop, distributed and allied worker. Job Roles In Human Resources Job Roles In the Human Resources function Carmel Flatley, Human Resources Director I am the human resources director of McDonalds and I have the overall decision of anything that happens in this department. I also have to make sure that the human resources department don’t go over their budget. Paul Smith, Human Resources Manager I look after the whole HR department and staff, involved with industrial relations and trade unions negotiations, implementing the organisations HR policies. Gemma Wilson, Recruitment officer I deal with recruiting people, that’s sending out application forms, making interviews for potential employees. Potential employees don’t need to be experience in any way, because McDonalds is committed to training their staff and improving the skills of staff. Matthew Lawrence, Health and Safety Officer I deal with all health and safety matters, accident monitoring and staff welfare. That involves making sure that the shop floor is a hazard free zone for customers and clean and tidy, making sure the kitchen is clean enough to work in. I am well trained in first aid so that if any accidents happen, I will be their to help. I also have to deal with complaints and try to solve them. FINANCE The finance is one of the most important functions as they record all the money going in and out of the business, they give a budget for each other department to spend to make sure they keep their level of income and expenditure. They would regularly check the amount of money each department has spend and made to see if they are on target or not. If a department has gone over their budget then the finance dept would check to see if there is enough money to lend those more. So the purpose of the financial function therefore is to: * Keep all the financial records required by the organisation, detailing all the receipts and payments that have been made * Prepare final accounts from these records as required by law * Monitor the income and expenditure of different departments against their budgets * Provide continuous, up to date financial information for managers about business performance * Pay salaries and wages to the staff * Pay amounts owing to suppliers * Control the levels of debts owed to the company * Obtain additional finance when required, from the most appropriate source * Advise senior managers on the financial implications of major decisions These contribute to the McDonald’s activity by being apart of providing a good customer service by, paying the employees their salaries/wages, if they weren’t paid they wouldn’t be no staff or it could result in the staff withdrawing their labour. Production will cease and the employer will lose revenue. By McDonalds receiving more capital they can improve the quality of the store or products so customers would be more pleased of the in store environment or pleased of what they have purchase. It would result in consumers returning to the store because of the good service and also bringing more money to the business which will also achieve their aim which is to be the best selling fast food restaurant. Job Roles in Finance Department JOB ROLES George Mackay, Finance Director I am the finance director and I am in charge of the whole finance department. It involves information services, new product development, quality assurance and supply chain. I have to make sure a product which is purchased has the right quality that is expected from consumers, and then have to put a price to it. The most important part of the finance department is the cash flow which is the movement of cash going in and out a business. As a finance director I have to gives advice to senior managers on the overall decision on financial matters. And also as a director I have the last say with what happens within the finance department. Christopher Bateman, Financial Manager I looks after the finance function and the staff. Advising on financial resources. As a manager I have to make sure that all work as been done well. E.g. they have to monitor the income and expenditure of all departments to make sure they haven’t gone over their budget. So after the staff have checked their cash flow I then have to then go threw it to make sure nothing has been missed out. Derek, Daniels, Ledger Clerk I have to assist the chief accountant in the recording of all financial transactions. So where the money goes or comes in I have to make sure the chief accountant has recorded it all effectively. If any mistakes have been made I then have to correct the errors. Nita Negi, Credit Control Clerk As a credit control clerk, I have to assist the credit controller in checking the credit status of new customers and existing accounts, and also Reminding customers or overdue payment. PRODUCTION Production is all about the process of making something. Product life style shows the stages of a product or a range of products. If it isn’t successful it goes to decline stage. The activities of the production department are listed below: * Obtaining the resources required to produce goods or provide a service * Organising the resources to produce the goods or provide the service in the most appropriate way For the activities to be achieve they must consider the aim of the business which is to be the best selling fast food restaurant, so they have to find the best quality of food that suits them and then order it but first having to keep on target and not going over their budget by ordering expensive items or ordering to much that it all cant be produced/sold. Another thing they must consider is if the resources can be organised to achieve the aims, doing this they have to think about selling it cheaper then their competitors or having an offer like buy on get on free. They do this so it sells more because people wouldn’t to spend more they would go to the most cheapest place or giving the product an offer can be appealing to the customers. The production department contributes to McDonald’s activity by finding the right products at the right prices. When good quality products are sold at low prices it pleases customers and make them want to return, it also brings in more people as when a customer is pleased with the type of service they have receive the consumer then tells several other people, which makes then want to try it out. Job roles in Production Job Roles in Production Steven Cornway, Production Manager Responsible for the entire production function and it’s operations. What ever goes on has to be checked and authorised by me. Kim Karenga, Production Planners Plan all production to maximise machine use and staffing, taking account of customer requirements. Chris Walker, Production Controllers To check all production is going to schedule. Ted Osborne, Designers I am responsible for the actual design of the finished product. So if I don’t like the way a product has been designed I can make remendments. MARKETING The object of marketing is to make sure that the right product is made and potential customers are persuaded to buy it. Market Research can be carried out through either primary or secondary research. Primary research means asking someone on their views or opinions. A way of asking potential customers of their views or opinions is to make sure a survey, having questions about a certain item. After the survey has been completed they will then need to send out the surveys to potential customers, by either online, over the phone, by post or giving out surveys (in stores. Postal surveys don’t have much of a response as the others do as it takes more time e.g. sending it back, so when postal surveys are concerned their will usually have to be some kind of incentive offered for completing the survey, so customers would be tempted to fill it out. Secondary research is known as â€Å"desk research†. It consists to looking up facts or figures in books, magazines, computer databases, company files. So secondary research is looking at information that already exists instead of creating your own. McDonalds keeps a large amount of information on their databases about their customers and their buying patterns, also companies buy information from government statistics. Product – The amount of products the customer wants, the quality wanted, the features and the styling that are preferred, whether packaging is important, whether a guarantee or after sales service is required. Strategies – Is a long term plan for future success or development. Place – McDonalds are located on high streets or town centres. Marketing contributes to the McDonalds activity by market research (finding out what potential customers wants/needs), and improving existing products. Both of these improve the customer service, marketing contribute a lot to their activity to make McDonalds achieve their activity. All the functions work together to achieve it. The job roles of Marketing Job Roles in Marketing Matthew Howe, Marketing Director I am responsible for the overall marketing function and its aims and objectives. So if any idea’s have been thought of they have to been checked with me before anyone goes ahead and makes a change. Ethan Farah, Sales Manager As a sales manager I am responsible for overseas agents and the achievement of sales targets overseas. David Frank, Market Researchers Market researchers have to find out consumer opinions on current and proposed goods and services, if this is not done than they could bring out a product which isn’t doesn’t sell a lot and a loose the money they put in to produce the products. Advertising Manager An advertising manager is in charge of advertising and liaising with agency staff over publicity campaigns. Advertising is one of the most important things in marketing as without advertising a product will not be known so their would sell as well as products being advertised. EQUAL OPPORTUNTIES (P3, M2, D2) In a work placement an employee has rights and responsibilities. Below are the rights and responsibilities of an employee. Rights as an employee Employee’s rights How to carry it out Having safe working conditions Making sure that the area your working is a hazard free zone, if not consult your manager or the human resources area. It is also your job to take care with anything you do to prevent any hazards happening. Getting paid the fair salary/wage Depending on your age, experience and contract, employee’s get paid differently. You have to make sure that your getting a fair paid if not consult your manager. You should first read your contract because you might have signed for getting paid the amount you’re getting. Provided information concerning your rights Before starting your job you will be provided with information about the rights an employee has. (mainly in your contract) If you’re not provided with this information you are able to ask for it. Not to be discriminated on grounds of race, sex or disability If you feel that your getting treated unfairly according to your race, sex or disability your able to take up action like consulting your trade union. To be consulted over matters which will significantly affect your terms and conditions of employment If you employer decides to change something, which affects the terms and conditions on you employment and does not consult you first, you can take action upon this. Responsibilities for an employee Employee’s responsibilities How to carry it out To be ‘ready and willing to work It’s always good to be full with enthusiasm in your work because it looks good for the company and make you happier in your work To give a personal service Your contract will contain you main job roles, but it’s always good to provide your own service like putting your ideas into your work, smiling and just any other little thing. To treat others how you would like to be treated If you’re rude and dishonest than fellow staff would treat you the same. It’s important to work as a team and communicating well with other people, this can only be done if you treat people well. To work towards the objectives of the business Working towards the objectives of a business could look good on you and on the business, if the employer see’ s you are working hard than it could result in the employee being promoted. To work in good faith Working in good faith consists of being honest, if you’re honest it again can see that you’re trustworthy and could get promoted. But yet if your seen lying than you could loose your job. COMUNNICATION (P4, M3, D1, D2) Most organisations have different ways of communicating, communicating is one of the most important things in a business, because without communicating you cannot run a business effectively. They are all types of communicating, below is a list of ways of communicating within a business. * Meetings * Group discussions * Tele phone * Memo’s * Emails * Draft letters * Reports * Faxes There are two main methods of communication which are oral and written communication. Oral communication could be either face to face or the over the phone. If you can’t get threw to the person you are calling then you can leave a message which is still oral communication. Written communication could be sent by mail or transmitted electronically. This can include letters which is the most common one, text messages on mobile phones or notices on notice boards. Below are the advantages and disadvantages about oral and written communication. Oral Written Advantages 1. It’s a fast way of communicating because you don’t have to write things down. 2. It’s cheap, as if you phone someone you would have to pay for the phone call. 3. Immediate feedback, you don’t have to wait age’s for someone to reply back to you as you would in a letter. 1. Writing a message can be retained for future reference. 2. Writing a message can also be copied for other people’s uses. 3. Creates a distance between sender and recipient useful for difficult communication, e.g. bad news. Disadvantages 1. Clear Speech, you must speak very clearly so that other people can understand you, but yet when you write a letter people can just read it in their own pace. 2. Long or complex messages can be forgotten. 3. You can be easily distracted while someone talks to you, and then you could forget the whole message they just told you. 1. When writing a letter it can take time to write, while if your talking to someone its faster.] 2. Keyed in documents need to be skilled and produced quickly and accurately. 3. Delivery can take time, or could be delayed. McDonalds functional areas communicate with each other by a system called Intranet which was launched in 2000. The McDonalds intranet provides a fast and up to the minute source of information for the McDonalds restaurant management and office staff. McDonalds external communication is don’t by a system called McNews which was launched in 2000. McNews is a award wining magazine which was published monthly for all restaurant staff, then in 2002 McNews was re – launched as MDUK and is now a lively focused magazine. MDUK has activities and events from restaurants around the country. MDUK is a showcase for best practice, recognising individual’s outstanding practices and achievements, as well as highlighting internal and external awards. Apart from the Intranet and MDUK, McDonalds also has other ways of communicating within the business, they are listed below. 1. An email system operates in all offices and company – owned restaurants 2. Regular staff communication sessions are held in the offices 3. Employee satisfaction surveys for both office and restaurant staff are held annually. 4. Meetings are held monthly. 5. Memo’s – send daily An email system is to contact anyone within the business or outside the business, the email system is a fast and easier way to contact people. The email system is used by most companies and general people all over the world. Staff communication sessions are held to improve of employee’s communication skills. This is important because communicating with customers is one of the main things to do. Employee satisfaction surveys are handed out every year, so employees can write how they feel working in the McDonalds restaurants. This is a good thing to do because it’s important to keep the staff happy as it motivates the staff to work harder. Meetings are held every month to discuss the McDonalds performance. They also talk about how much they are making and see what can be improved with the money. McDonalds talks about new idea’s and try to change or promote things that is not doing so well. This is a good way of communicating as you get to talk face to face to see the expressions on each other faces and it’s faster as you don’t have to way for a reply if you do if you was writing an email. Memo’s are used daily in all of the departments. Sales manager might send a memo to human resources manager and ask if he has found a sales person. Memo’s are used daily because they are important little messages, and it’s also a fast way of sending.

Media Violence and American Youth essays

Media Violence and American Youth essays Generation Numb: Bouncing Violence off the Brains of Americas Youth Imagine a generation of young people who are shocked by nothing. Imagine a group of young people who have seen and can bear the grotesque and unnecessarily violent to the point where they consider it the norm. This is my generation, born between 1981 and 1985, which I like to call generation numb. Through movies, music, and other media my peers have been bombarded by carefully marketed, gratuitous violence, and with each viewing of such violence it becomes more and more difficult to shock us. However, the corporate media is more than happy to meet our new shock levels if a profit can be made. My generation is becoming increasingly indifferent to violent acts which should disturb us, and our sense of reality is breaking down, creating peril for my peers in the present and the future. We tolerate violence and, in the process, become more violent ourselves. The root of this desensitization lies not so much in the violence of war, which my generation did not truly begin to experience until recently, but gratuitous violence. Gratuitous violence is fighting or gore which is uncalled-for, unjustified, of without need or cause. (violence.). This violence, often appearing in movies, music, or on television, differs from the violence of war in that sectarian violence has an apparent purpose. The real violence of war or in the impoverished areas of the inner city is naturally less fantastic and less glorified than the violence of, for instance, a summer action blockbuster with huge explosions and shootouts where the good guys never seem to be shot. Violence in the real world has consequences. Violence on film and television often goes unpunished. This fantasy violence had appeared in films for decades. But in the late seventies and early eighties, the sharp increase in...

Identifying and Correcting Sentence Fragments (Test #1)

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College Waitlist What Are Your Chances of Getting In

College Waitlist What Are Your Chances of Getting In SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Getting waitlisted at a college certainly isn’t a bad thing- your application was good enough to not get rejected!- but it’s definitely an uncomfortable place to be.After all, when you’re on the college waitlist, you don’t know whether you’ll be admitted or not, and that alone is anxiety-inducing. Luckily, there are many things you can do to increase your odds of getting off a waitlist.In this article, we explain how the college waitlist works, what steps to take if you've been waitlisted, and how to raise your college waitlist chances so you can attend your dream school. What Is the College Waitlist and How Does It Work? What exactly does it mean if you’ve been waitlisted by a college or several colleges? The college waitlist is a list of applicants whom a school might or might not offer admission to.These applicants are essentially put on hold by a college and would have been admitted had space allowed.The total number of applicants offered a place on the college waitlist varies each year and at different schools. If you are offered a spot on the college waitlist, you may either accept the invitation and allow your name to be added to itor decline it right away if you'd rather not wait for an admission decision or have already decided to attend a different college. Applicants are typically only admitted off a waitlist starting after May 1,or the date by when admitted students must submit their decisions to attend the college of their choice along with the non-refundable deposit. Colleges usually begin to admit students off the waitlist if and only if they need to fill more spots in their freshman class. Essentially, once the May 1 deadline has passed, if not enough applicants have decided to attend, the school will start to admit applicants off the waitlist with the hope they’ll accept the offer. Waitlist acceptances often roll out gradually throughout May, June, July, and sometimes even Augustright before the school year starts. Of course, not everyone on the waitlist will be admitted.In fact, some colleges might admit just a few students or even none at all one year! Finally, some college waitlists rank the applicants on it. So ifyou’re ranked highly, you’re more likely to be accepted off the waitlist.Nevertheless, most colleges don't rank waitlist applicants and instead make their admissions decisions based on other factors such as what majors they want to have represented and which applicants will be most likely to attend if admitted. How lucky do you feel? What Are Your Chances of Getting Off the College Waitlist? If you’ve been waitlisted at your dream school, you’re probably wondering what exactly your odds are of getting off the waitlist and moving on to a full-blown acceptance. Your chances of getting off the college waitlist primarily depend on five factors: How many spots the school needs to fill for its freshman class. The fewer the spots there are, the less likely it is you’ll be admitted off the waitlist. In contrast, the more spots available, the more likely it is you’ll be offered a placement. What majors, locations, etc., the school wants to have represented in its freshman class. If a school didn't admit enough engineering majors, for example, it will most likely admit engineering majors off its waitlist first. How likely you are to attend the school if admitted. This factor mainly depends on how interested you are in the college and whether you've actively demonstrated your continued interest in attending (we’ll explain how you can do this in the next section). Carnegie Mellon maintains a Priority Waiting List, for example, for applicants whose first choice is CMU. How strong your overall application is, especially compared with other waitlist applicants. While this is impossible to know, if you have strong qualities such as an SAT score well above the school’s 75th percentile, then it’s likely you're a top candidate for admission. How highly ranked you are on the waitlist (if the school ranks applicants). Ultimately, how likely it is you’ll be admitted off a waitlist really depends on the particular school you’ve been waitlisted at.Very popular and selective schools get applications from thousands of qualified students each year- many of whom end up on the waitlist- making it super difficult to determine how good your odds are of being admitted. Moreover, the year you apply can have a big effect on how many applicants a college decides to admit off its waitlist.This happens because both the quality and number of applicants usually changes slightly each year, along with the specific needs of the school (for example, a school might want to admit more majors one year than it did the previous year). Let's take a look at some real-life examples. At Dartmouth, a highly selective school that's also part of the Ivy League, "the number of candidates offered admission from the wait list varies, from zero in some years to dozens in others." Similarly, here'swhat NYU says about its waitlist candidates: "The number of students- in previous years- who have been admitted from the wait list has varied widely. We were able to admit no students whatsoever from the wait list one recent year while we were able to admit hundreds of students another recent year." And here'swhat the UC system says on the topic: "The number of students who are ultimately admitted varies from year to year, campus to campus. There is no way to tell how many students, if any, will ultimately be offered admission for any particular year." As you can see, in general, there's no easy way to determine your odds of getting admitted off a college waitlist.College waitlist acceptances can vary dramatically from year to year, mainly as a result of the changing number of qualified applicants and the school's needs. Got Waitlisted? 4 Steps Everyone Must Take If you’ve been waitlisted at a college, you’ll need to take certain steps to ensure you're ultimately able to attend college without issue.Regardless of whether you choose to stay on the waitlist or not, here’s exactly what you'll need to do if you’re offered a waitlist spot. Step 1: Make a Decision About the Waitlist Do you want to stay on the college waitlist in the hopes you’ll get admitted, or would you rather decline the invitation and just go with a different college? After you’ve gotten a waitlist invitation, take time to consider whether you truly want to be on the waitlist for this school.Ask yourself the following questions: Is this your dream school? Are you comfortable with not hearing back from the school right away and feeling stuck in a sort of limbo state throughout the summer? Are you OK with potentially losing money on a non-refundable deposit to a different school if you do end up getting admitted off the waitlist? Once you’ve made your decision about whether to stay on the college waitlist, it’s time to move on to Step 2. Step 2: Officially Accept or Decline Your Waitlist Invitation If you’ve been offered a spot on the waitlist, know that you won’t be automatically added to it- you need to officially accept the invitation to confirm your spot.This usually needs to be done by a certain deadline, typically in mid-April or by May 1.Check with the school or look at your waitlist notification letter to figure out when the deadline is. If you fail to confirm your placement by this deadline, you will not be placed on the waitlist and will have indirectly declined your spot on it.If you've decided to not have your name put on the college waitlist and would rather decline your spot, be sure to notify the college of your decision by the deadline, ideally as soon as possible. Step 3: Pick a College to Attend and Submit Your Deposit Regardless of whether you’ve decided to stay on the waitlist or not, you’ll need to pick a college you’ve been admitted to that you want to attend, even if it’s not your top choice and you’re still hoping to get off the waitlist at the other school. Go through all the schools where you’ve been accepted (not waitlisted) and, for each, consider important factors, such as what kinds of majors it offers, what kinds of professors work there, what extracurriculars are available, what its campus is like, where it’s located, etc. You can do research on the schools you're considering attending by looking at their official websites, visiting their campuses, and talking to current or former students. If you’re struggling to make a decision on where you should go to college, check out our guide for tips on how to choose the best college for you. Once you’ve decided where you want to go to college- even if you’re holding out hope that you’ll get admitted off the waitlist at your top choice- it’s time to accept your offer of admission and submit your non-refundable deposit.Both your acceptance of admission and deposit must be submitted no later than the May 1 deadline. Step 4: Wait for Your Waitlist Decision After you’ve decided on a college to attend, all that’s left for you to do is wait to get your waitlist decision notification. When you hear back from a college regarding its waitlist decisions can vary considerably, from as early as May to as late as August, and there is no way of telling when you'll receive your decision (and whether it’ll be a positive or negative result!). If you do get admitted off the college waitlist, congratulations! You now have to make the decision between accepting this offer of admission and withdrawing your previous acceptance, or rejecting this offer and continuing with the other college you've agreed to attend. If you decide to accept the offer of admission, note that you will not be able to get a refund on the deposit you submitted to the other school. If you don’t get admitted off the college waitlist, not much will change.You’ll still have the other college you agreed to attend waiting for you! Want to raise your college waitlist chances? Better start looking in your backyard. How to Raise Your College Waitlist Chances: 6 Key Tips Getting waitlisted doesn’t mean sitting around and waiting (as the word implies).Rather, there are several actions you can take at this time to increase your odds of getting off the college waitlist. Here are our top six tips to help you raise your chances of securing an acceptance from the waitlist at your top-choice school. #1: Write a Letter of Interest One of the best things you can do during this time is to write a letter to the school you've been waitlisted at emphasizing your continued interest and how the school is your top choice. Remember that colleges want to admit applicants who are very likely to attend (this gives them a better "yield," as it’s called). And by confirming that you'll 100% attend the school if admitted, you are effectively increasing your odds of getting off the waitlist. (Note that this type of letter is non-binding, so you're still allowed to change your mind later on!) Your letter of interest can be an email to your admissions officer or regional dean, or even a note on your college's waitlist response form (many schools use this form or a similar form to confirm whether an applicant wants to remain on the waitlist or not). Below iswhat the Tufts undergraduate admissions blog writes about how waitlisted applicants can (and should) express their interest in the school (bold emphasis mine): "Make sure you confirm (via email or the wait list response form) your continued interest in Tufts. Maybe check in one more time with your area’s admissions counselor ...closer to May 1st, just to reiterate that if a spot is available you would take it(if that’s true, of course)." Meanwhile, Wake Forest University's admissions websitedirectly implores waitlisted applicants to send a letter of interest and an update to their regional dean (bold emphasis mine): "Email your regional admissions dean. ... This is your chance to convey your interest in attending Wake Forestwhile also describing how the final months of your senior year are progressing. In particular, we are interested in knowing more about recent academic success in the classroom." Nevertheless,some colleges specifically ask waitlisted applicants not to send any additional information, including letters.This rule can apply even if the college you’ve been waitlisted at is your top choice. For example, here’s what Stony Brook University saysapplicants can do if they've been waitlisted (bold emphasis mine): "[If you've been waitlisted]there is nothing more you can add to your application or do to increase your chances of being admittedfor the fall at this time. We encourage you to choose another college for the fall, and we will contact you if your application status changes." Virginia Tech also does not accept or encourage additional materials from waitlisted applicants (bold emphasis mine): "The only thing you can do is to be certain you can access your Application Status Page and that you select to remain on the wait list. Unfortunately, there is nothing else you can do at this time." Note: When I use the word "letter" here, I mean a letter you write to the school.Don't send any additional letters of recommendation or letters written on your behalf by counselors or teachers. These types of materials are typically ignored by colleges and, if submitted, won’t raise your odds of getting off the waitlist. The only exception to this rule is if a college specifically says it's open to accepting extra rec letters.One example is Hampshire College, whose website explicitly states that applicants who've been waitlisted may submit "a new letter of recommendation" and a letter showing the applicant's interest in the school. #2: Send Important Updates (on Accomplishments) If you’ve had any notable accomplishments since getting waitlisted, you can actually enhance your application by sharing these successes with the school that's waitlisted you.In general, these should be highly relevant accomplishments and updates. Ifyou’re not applying for a science major, it might not be that beneficial to tell the school about your successful science project, for instance. You can typically update your school on what you've been up to via either the waitlist response form (which most schools will give you online) or a letter or email (see Tip 1 for more details on how to do this). Even if you haven't had any major achievements recently, try todraw attention toany positive changes in your life, such as awards you've received, good or better grades you've gotten (more on this in Tip 3), and so on.Even just a general update might be appropriate at some schools (the school will usually state whether this is appropriate or not on their website). For example, in regard to what waitlisted applicants can do to raise their odds of getting accepted, Pomona states, "Sending a brief email update in April about what you've been up to since our last contact is entirely appropriate and welcome." What's more, some schools, such as Johns Hopkins, allow you to send an updated resume if you wish to highlight any changes to or accomplishments in your extracurricular activities. As with the letter of interest detailed above, however, some colleges will not accept additional materials or information than what you originally submitted for your application.In these cases, you won’t be able to update the school on any new achievements you have, so don’t try to send an update since it won’t have any effect on your chances of getting admitted! #3: Keep Up Your Grades Even though you’ll only have a month or two of high school left by the time you’ve been waitlisted, it’s still important to get good grades in all your classes.Many colleges allow (and encourage!) waitlisted applicants to send updates relating to any (positive) changes in their grades or GPA. This could be a major improvement to a specific grade in a class you’re taking or new grades or transcripts that have only recently been released (and that are more recent than your mid-year report). For example, Vanderbilt recommends that waitlisted applicants "consider submitting any substantially relevant new information (e.g., new grades that might be available)." You can send an updated transcript or write a brief email or letter detailing your recent grades. #4: Stay in Contact Some schools give slight preference to waitlisted applicants who make an effort to stay in contact with the school, specifically the admissions committee/officer or regional dean.This generally just means keeping in touch via email. You might occasionally send an email to notify the school/dean of any recent updates about you (see Tip 2) or to elaborate on your continued interest in the school (see Tip 1). On its official website, Franklin Marshall Collegestates that "continuing to maintain and achieve outstanding grades, as well as having occasional email contact with your Regional Dean, will supplement your interest in the College" (bold emphasis mine). #5: Retake the SAT/ACT (If Possible) In some cases, a school might be willing to accept and review new SAT/ACT scores you have that are submitted after you’ve been waitlisted. I’d advise against retaking the SAT/ACT unless you’re 100% certain the school you’ve been waitlisted at will actually look at the scores and you’ll be able to earn a higher score on the test than what you earned when you originally submitted your application. If you decide to take the SAT or ACT again, and you know for sure that your school will look at your new scores, here are possible SAT/ACT test dates to consider: SAT May 4, 2019 June 1, 2019 ACT April 13, 2019 June 8, 2019 July 13, 2019 #6: Get an Interview (If Possible) Schools don't typically allow this, but if a college is willing to interview waitlisted applicants or let them come to campus to interview, it’s worth it to take them up on this offer.Make sure you prepare for the interview and are able to answer key questionssuch as why you want to go to this school and what you hope to do with your education in the future. Yes, it's cheesy- but thinking positive will help you get through this trying time! Recap: What to Do If You Are Waitlisted at a College The college waitlist is a list of applicants who might or might not be offered admission to a particular college.Schools usually start to admit applicants off the waitlist after May 1 and will continue to admit applicants until they’ve filled their entire freshman class. How likely it is you'll be admitted off the college waitlist depends mostly on the following factors: The number of remaining spots in the freshman class What types of students schools want to admit in terms of majors, locations, etc. How likely you are to attend the school if accepted How strong your application is overall How highly ranked you are on the waitlist (if the school ranks waitlisted applicants) If you’re waitlisted at a school, there are four steps you should take in this order: Make a decision about the waitlist Officially accept or decline your waitlist invitation Pick a college to attend and submit your non-refundable deposit Wait for your waitlist decision Finally, here are six tips you can use to try to raise your chances of getting admitted off the college waitlist: Write a letter of interest Send important updates (on accomplishments) Keep up your grades and GPA Stay in contact with the school, specifically the (head of the) admissions committee Retake the SAT/ACT (if the college will for sure look at any new scores you get) Get an interview (if offered by the college) What’s Next? Maybe you didn't get waitlisted- maybe you got rejected.Trust me, I know the feeling.Get tips on how to deal with the crushing pain of college rejection- and then learn how to move on to new and better things! A super high SAT or ACT score can help you avoid getting waitlisted in the first place.Take a look at our expert guides to learn what you must do to earn a perfect SAT/ACT score. Need help applying to college?Get advice withour step-by-step guide, and don't forget to use our college acceptance calculator toestimate your chances of getting into your dream school. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.

Budgetary Control in Performance Management Essay

Budgetary Control in Performance Management - Essay Example A budget is a formal statement of financial resources that have been set aside to finance specific activities over a given time period. Through a budget, managers can be able to coordinate organizational activities with it being a point of reference. Integrative Budgetary Control Integrative organizational budgetary control is a technique in which actual results of activities are compared to those specified in a budget and corrective actions undertaken. Differences that exist between actual and planned activities in the budget result in budgetary control measures where responsibility centers are charged with the responsibility of exercising organizational control action or revising the specific budget plans. Through responsibility centers, organization managers can monitor functions of the organizations and make necessary corrections to deviation from plans (Singla, 2009, p.117). A responsibility centre is basically a functional unit in an organization being headed by a hierarchical manager charged unit performance. Responsibility centers may include expense centers, revenue centers and investments centers. Budgetary control with regards to revenue centers involves comparison of actual outputs with budget outputs to ascertain necessary control measures. ... Basically, there is no planning system that can be used successfully in performance management without having an efficient and effective control system. Budget formulation is closely attached to control aspects where executives exercise organization control through budgetary control. Integrated organizational budgetary control involves preparation of a broad variety of budgets, continuous comparison of performance plans with actual performance and budget revision in the light of existing variances. Budget revision requires that a budgetary control system should be able to provide enough flexibility scope for particular initiative and revision measures. Performance management budgetary control is therefore an important device used by executives to control organization in achieving goals and controlling costs more efficiently Budgetary control compels the management of a particular organization to think about the ideal expectations for the future and what measures should be put in plac e with regards to existing shortcomings. The control process forces individuals charged with managerial responsibility to look ahead and manage the organization towards a purpose and direction be setting out detailed plans to achieving the relevant targets. Through this, the management is able to promote communication and coordination within the organization. The process also defines clearly the areas of responsibility, as it requires managers of responsibility centers to be accountable to deviations or underachievement of budget targets. Integrative budgetary control uses a budget as a basis for appraising organizational performance at a departmental level. Organizational performance variance from planned