Monday, September 30, 2019

Critical analysis of marketing ethics- corporate social responsibility Essay

Introduction Ethical conduct of marketing activities is essential for any serious business in the current globalized business environment. The issue of corporate social responsibility has been a challenge to many managers and will continue to do so in case proper mechanisms and policies are not put in place and implemented. The report gives an analysis of CSR practices and subsequently provides arguments in favour of the practice and those that do not. Long term perspective in carrying out CSR has been stressed. Sustainable CSR practices ensure that the business remains relevant in the long run, performs better and the needs of the community and environment are addressed. The impacts of CSR dimensions on the marketing mix strategy adopted by the firm have also been dealt with. The best approach to CSR has been suggested and recommendation is that the approach which resonates well with the goals of the firm must be adopted. The blue-chip company tackled in this report is Nike. Report summary It has been observed that marketing ethics still is a topic attracting vigorous debate among scholars and business practitioners. Currently, there is a corporate social responsibility movement that has been incited by a number of catalytic forces. However, these forces driving CSR in the current business setup have been propelled by serious shifts exhibited in the relationship of the market, individual and the state. Core drivers in CSR have been the ever-growing expectations from stakeholders, the ever shrinking role played by the state in businesses, levels of responsibility being put on supply chains, and the adding pressure emanating from shareholders (Amaeshi, et al., 2006, pp.4,17, 25). See more: how to write an analysis Studies that have been conducted indicate that the current public is more sensitive to CSR and thus expects much from businesses and it is therefore coming up with groups such as consumers, activists, community, employees, and shareholders so as to see to it that they are heard by corporate decision-makers. CSR could be viewed as the continuous commitment of businesses to act in a manner that is ethical and subsequently contribute to the economic development of society while trying to improve the life quality of its workforce and their families and that of the local community. The company becomes obliged to become sensitive to the demands of all stakeholders. It must be stated clearly that CSR does not imply monetary hand-outs in form of grants or donations (McWilliams & Siegel, 2000, pp.603-609). This is a myopic view of CSR that has often led to the vague argument that the business of a business entity is to do business and thus not to be concerned with issues going on in the society. This has often pitted CSR against profitability thus arguing that CSR programs will deter a firm from achieving its profitability goals. Long term views on CSR and profitability however indicate that a firm practicing CSR programs performs better than those which do not. The firm chosen for the report is Nike which deals in sports footwear and apparels. Analysis Critical Analysis of Arguments for and Against Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Friedman (2008, pp.32-33) notes that CSR is deemed to be a very comprehensive package of serious practices and programs guided by policies which are all integrated into the operations of a business entity, supply chains, and its decision making processes in the whole firm and this spins across current and past actions and the impact that the operations have on future welfare of business, society and environment in general. In this regard, CSR issues are related to community investment, governance, business ethics, human rights, market and working environment (Li & Su, 2007, pp.237-256). This eliminates the myopic view of CSR as simple charity and therefore calls upon the firm to incorporate fully the impact of its operations on stakeholders as well as the environment at the point of decision-making. Managers must thus juggle with a delicate balance that exists between the stakeholder needs, company needs to make profits and perform better, and be able to adequately reward shareholder. The argument posed for new corporate leaders is that of profit optimization being the key to success as opposed to profit maximization thus bringing a serious paradigm shift in terms of accountability to the firm’s shareholders to the social responsibility towards customers and other stakeholders in society (Chapple & Moon, 2005, pp.415-441). Given the current competitive international marketing, ethics have been singled out as playing a pivotal role since businesses have realized that they are handling human values as well as beliefs. Businesses have largely spread across geographic boundaries and the current marketers are faced with cross-cultural issues that they must deal with. Multinationals that did not notice this responsibility such as McDonald and Nestle ended up facing serious ethical problems in their marketing activities going as far as getting themselves in suits that cost them millions of dollars (Li & Su, 2007, pp.237-256). Bansal & Roth, (2000, pp.717–736) think that those who support CSR activities bring in very interesting arguments. They hold that CSR practices do enhance the firm and its brand image due to the good reputation that CSR brings on board. Companies that do CSR programs effectively have also been found to easily attract ethical sensitive employees and their retention levels are high because of the satisfaction and motivational levels that such employees do record. Such firms do report high growth rates in terms of market share and are able to easily attract new investors in their business ventures (McWilliams & Siegel, 2000, pp.603-609). Furthermore, firms with working CSR programs have experienced lower costs of operations and are thus able to report high net profit margins. These arguments for CSR practices are supported by the logic that a firm that is socially responsible does care about its customers, suppliers, employees, society, local community, and the environment as a whole. It thus becomes an approach through which a firm does recognize the wide impact that its business operations have on the society and its development and in essence ends up supporting the firm in pursuit of its business success and that it has to actively handle the social, environmental, economic, and human rights issues. This calls for sustainable development as well as good levels of corporate governance (Roux, 2007, pp.23-25). Chambers, et al., (2003, pp.112-119) argue that normative arguments do recognize the needs for CSR are mainly pillared on instrumental rationales or ethical, and those that are against CSR practices are based on property rights perspectives or institutional functions. In this regard, ethicists do argue that companies are obliged to act or behave in a manner that is socially responsible since that is something that is morally correct. Extremists in instrumental rationales would still support CSR programs even when they pose unproductive outcomes for the firm. The stand is based on the rational calculation which presupposes that CSR practices will in the long run benefit the firm in question (Sun, 2010, pp.45-47). This is enshrined in the organizational legitimization philosophy which poses that by showing responsibility, a firm will be able to proactively avoid and anticipate regulations of the government, make good use of opportunities that arise from the increased cultural, sexual, and environmental awareness, differentiate its products and services from those of its competitors who are not proactive, and would continue to benefit from privilege pursuits of economics (Mahon, 2002, pp.415-445). It assumes that the firm has a legal obligation to make maximized economic advantages that do accrue to its owners. The need for firms to protect their CSR practices is also presented since firms will not make supernormal profits from the CSR initiatives due to the entry of other firms (Visser, et al., 2008, pp.67-69). Visser, et al., (2008, pp.67-69) are of the view that the case against CSR is supported by the institutional function concept and that of property rights. This argument poses that the best vehicles for CSR are the governments, civil and religious organizations, and labour unions. They further argue that business managers do not have the necessary skills and time required to carry out CSR policies. They also hold that a business sector that is empowered should not be held responsible for its actions since it is not a governmental body that is in place through electoral processes. Thus, allowing businesses to carry out CSR practices is seen as being dangerous since this does allocates huge amounts of authority to the firms without exercising accountability (Chaudhri & Wang, 2007, pp.232–247). The property rights argument is rooted in neoclassical capitalism and its simplicity resonates with many scholars, especially those in finance. The position is that management reserves no right to carry out anything apart from that which increases the value of stockholders. Actions contrary to this are a violation of legal, moral and fiduciary responsibilities endowed to management (Visser, et al., 2008, pp.67-69). This is also supported by the competitive disadvantage theory which holds that CSR actions will impose a price on the company thus posing a competitive disadvantage when compared to other firms that are not practicing it. However, this is still viewed by many as a narrow view based on short term needs for profitability (Garriga & Mele, 2004, pp.51-74). How Different Dimensions of CSR Might Affect the Marketing Mix of NIKE There are a number of CSR dimensions that are tackled by a firm which is ethically responsible in its marketing mix and these include the physical environment, social, consumer, supply chain, and employee relations. The concept of marketing mix in this context is viewed as a theorized as well as structured way of effectively delivering and communicating product and service message to consumers in the market (Waddell, 2000, pp.323–345). The impacts posed by the CSR dimensions are based on the belief that the reputation of the company is quite vital to holding and maintaining a competitive position within the marketing place and in doing business successfully. The chart for CSR dimensions has been given in the appendix at the end of this report. These ethical issues if not well-addressed could create serious problems with consumers and make the marketing mix in place irrelevant. The marketing mix would include such things are product, price, place, promotion, physical evidence and people which are areas of marketing strategy application (Bhattacharya, et al., 2011, pp.56-58). The goal of business and marketing has been said to be profit maximization in a lawful manner. The behaviour portrayed in the marketplace must be ethical and ensure that there are societal benefits. The dimensions of CSR have been known to advance the corporate image, create and increase motivation as well as loyalty of both employees and consumers. A company which does not ensure employee development and proper compensation is likely to lose competitive advantage and this in turn affects the success of the marketing mix strategy employed by the firm such as Nike. When employees, who also constitute marketers, are empowered and well-developed, they enhance the performance of a company such as Nike. The environmental impact on businesses is huge (Secchi, 2007, pp.347-373). Companies that are known not to consider the impact their activities have on the environment lose out in the long run. The way the firm formulates its marketing mix strategy to resonate with the environmental needs will affect its long term viability. Such issues as use of green energy in its operations, use of biodegradable materials in advertisements, use of technology to safeguard the environment, and reduction of carbon emissions through carbon footprint measures could heavily impact on the success of its marketing mix. Ethically sensitive consumers will shun away from Nike if they find out that the company hold poor reputation on environmental issues (Peteraf, 1993, pp.179-191). Consumers on the other hand demand for quality products at competitive prices and the safety of these products must be guaranteed. A firm which does not take hid of these demands risks being thrown out of the market as consumers would avoid its products making its marketing mix strategies irrelevant. This is where the concept of consumer related marketing finds relevance since current consumers usually recognises CSR brands and end up supporting them (Covin & Miles, 1999, pp.47-63). Given the fact that Nike operates in the society and not in virtual settings, it is important that the social welfare of the local community be put into consideration in order to win trust, respect and loyalty, factors that enhance brand image and reputation. This also gives the company insurance in the society it operates in. it is hard to market a product of a company that does not have good brand image, has a ruined reputation and the society does not trust it or exhibits near zero loyalty levels (Baum & Wally, 2003, pp.1107-1129). Supply chain dimension in CSR for Nike must be considered since supply chains have been singled out as being at the core of business operations. The business in question such as Nike must be able to streamline its supply chain to resonate with the CSR demands. Marketing mix strategies that are employed in supply chains that are effectively handling CSR programs such as green logistics and green supplies have been found to resonate well with the consumers since the consumer is placed at the centre of these supply chains (Covin & Miles, 1999, pp.47-63). The Most Appropriate CSR Approaches to Adopt Numerous approaches to CSR have been proposed by many scholars and businesses. However, they are all defined by the size and resources bases controlled by organizations and the goals to be achieved in engaging in CSR. These approaches are initiatives based on community, getting into philanthropic activities, and developing business plans which build strong shared values. The company could adopt two approaches to the practice of CSR in the market. The first one should be coming up with community based initiatives where it supports organizations, events, as well as programs within the local community it operates in as this could pose strong positive impacts in the long run. This could subsequently create a positive brand recognition which resonates well with the community (Barney & Arikan, 2001, pp.67-78). This strategy should be done in combination with the approach of shared value. This shared value approach is a CSR initiative that focuses on building a set of shared values which do recognize the fact that long term success of the business as well as achieving a balanced social system are two concepts that are interdependent to each other. This approach is enshrined in the belief that for a business to thrive, the community in which it operates in must be healthy, educated, and governed in the most appropriate way possible (Lopez, et al., 2007, pp.285–300). In this regard, factoring in formal investments in areas of education, social well-fare, healthcare, and civil society when coming up with strategic business plans is the best avenue in creating opportunities that enhance and build social value while ensuring long term growth for the firm. Whichever approach a firm such as Nike adopts the most important consideration should be that it has to offer sustainability, win goodwill from the society, and ensure that the company meets its goals. Sustainable CSR practices work to ensure that the company avoid short term focus and looks towards profit optimization in the long run (Banerjee, et al., 2008, pp.51-79). Conclusion and Recommendations Considering the current global marketing environment, serious changes have occurred when compared to what it was decades ago. In this regard, it is imperative that firms adopt CSR practices that are sustainable. Indeed there are those who argue for CSR practices by firms and those that argue against these practices as has been established in the analysis. However, differences in opinion happen to emanate due to the aspect of time difference (Agle, et al., 1999, pp.507-525). Companies that focus on short term gains from CSR will be frustrated since this cannot be easily achieved. On the other hand, firms that seek to practice long term CSR programs that are sustainable have been reported to achieve high performance levels and have managed to justify their participation in CSR to their shareholders. In a nutshell, a serious company in today’s globalized market cannot assume the need for sustainable CSR policies that it should effectively carry out (Waddell, 2000, pp.323–345). The various dimensions of CSR such as environment, social, consumer, supply chains, and employee relations have been seen to pose serious impacts on the marketing mix strategies adopted by the firm such as Nike. Finally, it is recommended that all approaches to CSR must be considered and the best approach or a combination that fits the goals of the company be chosen as has been indicated above. References Agle BR, Mitchell RK & Sonnenfeld JA (1999). Who matters to CEOs? An investigation of stakeholder attributes and salience, corporate performance, and CEO values. The Academy Manage. J. 42(5): 507-525. Amaeshi, K, Adi, B, Ogbechie, C & Amao, O. (2006) †Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria: Western Mimicry or Indigenous Influences?†. No. 39-2006, ICCSR Research Paper Series –ISSN 1479 – 5124, The University of Nottingham, pp. 4,17, 25 Banerjee BS (2008). Corporate Social Responsibility: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Crit. Soc., 34(1): 51-79. Bansal, P. & Roth, R. (2000). â€Å"Why Companies Go Green: A model of Ecological Responsiveness†. The Academy of Management Journal 43 (4): 717–736 Barney, J.B. & Arikan, A.M. (2001). ‘The resource-based view: Origins and implications’.   In M.A. Hitt, Freeman, R.E., and Harrison, J.S. (Eds.), The Blackwell Handbook of Strategic Management. Blackwell Publishers   Ltd. Malden, MA, 67-78 Baum JR & Wally S (2003). Strategic decision speed and firm performance. Strateg. Manage. J. 24: 1107-1129 Bhattacharya, CB, Sankar Sen & Korschun D., (2011) Leveraging Corporate Social Responsibility: The Stakeholder Route to Business and Social Value, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: UK. Chambers, E., Chapple, W., Moon, J., & Sullivan, M. (2003). CSR in Asia: A seven country study of CSR website reporting. International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Nottingham University, UK. Research Paper Series No. 09-2003, 112-119 Chapple, W., & Moon, J. (2005). Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia: A seven-country study of CSR web site reporting. Business & Society, 44, 415-441 Chaudhri V. & Wang J (2007). Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility on the Internet: A Case Study of the Top 100 Information Technology Companies in India. Manag. Commun. Q., 21(2): 232–247 Covin, J.G. & Miles, M.P. (1999) ‘Corporate entrepreneurship and the pursuit of competitive advantage’. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23: 47-63 Friedman, (2008) The social responsibility of business in to increase its profits. New York Times Magazines, 13 Sept., 32-33 Garriga, E. & Mele, D. (2004) Corporate social responsibility theories: Mapping and territory. Journal of Business Ethics, 53, 51-74 Li, J. & Su C., (2007) â€Å"How face influences consumption: A comparative study of American and Chinese consumers†, International Journal of Market Research 49:2, pp.237-256. Lopez, M., Garcia, A., & Rodriguez, L. (2007). Sustainable development and corporate performance: A study based on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Journal of Business Ethics, 75, 285–300 Mahon JF (2002). Corporate reputation: a research agenda using strategy and stakeholder literature. Bus. Soc. 41: 415-445 McWilliams, A., & Siegel D. (2000) â€Å"Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: Correlation or misspecification?† Strategic Management Journal, 21 (5): 603-609 Peteraf, M.A. (1993), ‘The cornerstones of competitive advantage: A resource-based view’. Strategic Management Journal, 14, 179-191 Roux, M. (2007). â€Å"Climate conducive to corporate action: 1 All-round Country Edition†. The Australian. Canberra, A.C.T. Secchi, D. (2007). Utilitarian, managerial and relational theories of corporate social responsibility. International Journal of Management Reviews, 9, 4, 347-373. Sun, W. (2010), How to Govern Corporations So They Serve the Public Good: A Theory of Corporate Governance Emergence, New York: Edwin Mellen, ISBN 978-0-7734-3863-7 Visser, W., D. Matten, M. Pohl, & Tolhurst N. (eds.) (2008). The A to Z of Corporate Social Responsibility. Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-72395-1 Waddell, S. (2000). â€Å"New institutions for the practice of corporate citizenship: Historical Intersectoral, and Developmental Perspectives†. Business and Society Review 105: 323–345   

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Business Etiquette Essay

Business Etiquette is one of the most important skills any person can posses this days, no matter if you’re a student, or a business person or anyone else, etiquette will come in handy one way or another. When the word Business Etiquette comes to your mind, you think of thing like to burping in front of people or not disrespecting them. what is really Business Etiquette? Business Etiquette is the way a person acts or treats another Employee or customer while on the job. What this means, for example, is phone etiquette. Phone etiquette enables you to handle calls more politely and efficiently. For example let’s say right now a person calls you but your on the phone with another customer, both call are important what do you do? Well In this type of scenario you would tell the second customer that called could you please hold or you have the option also to ask them if you may call them back, but perfecting this method you can assure that your customer will have your full attention everytime you speak to them. Another Etiquette is Dinning Etiquette. The reason why this is important in a business world is because do the fact that most business deal are held over lunch, Proper Etiquette for this situation is always arrive at the door at least 10 minutes early that way you can greet your client at the door. Another this you must not forget is to not talk about any business before lunch is ordered, after lunch has been ordered you may go about your plan. The last most important thing is to pay for your client regardless of the sex and regardless if you business deal went successful or not.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Pornography and US Law Essay

In Catherine Mackinnon’s book â€Å"Only Words† she describes U. S law as a very strong indictment of a law system in conflict with itself. The book is divided and is a collection of three essays. The first one is a heavy and emotional criticism of pornography. The other two essays evaluate and compare pornography and sexual harassment with racial discrimination and abuse. She defines pornography as â€Å"explicit sexual material that subordinates women† (page 13). She argues that ‘pornography is sex’, as viewed by the American law, that only views it as a possible cause of injury, instead of an act of sexual discrimination that promotes sexual inequality. She holds that like other kinds of racial and hate speeches, it should be totally banned because it contributes heavily in the degradation, subordination and abuse of women in general. Mackinnon says even if pornography is a form of speech, this does not mean that it cannot be controlled and regulated by the government. She lashes out at the people who believe pornography and other acts of harassment and hate propaganda should be protected by law. Mackinnon argues that that pornography, harassment messages and racial speeches eventually do the same thing, which is ‘enact the abuse’. Porn, she says, lowers the dignity and self esteem of women and fuels the acts by â€Å"sexual harassers, wife beaters, child molesters, rapists and clients of prostitutes† (page 17). The first amendment promotes the problems the fourteenth amendment was supposed to fix. Mackinnon shows a society that is extremely hypocritical. Her words in the book have encompassed real abuse, directed at her as a woman; she has really tried to prove her point. Mackinnon believes that we need to change the first amendment in order to balance it out with the fourteenth amendment on issues concerning free speech and protection of equality. She is campaigning for the â€Å"new model in which free speech does not most readily protect the activities of Nazis, Klansmen and pornographers, while doing nothing for their victims† (page 32). She commended two Canadian court decisions which promoted the rights of people negatively affected by pornography and hate speeches and propaganda. Word that involve issues such as bribes, fixing of prices and segregation of facilities are treated as acts of law, but words or pictures target issues involving race and sex are not treated as acts of law, and that is why the courts end up permitting pornography in our societies. She shows how lawyers and judges have used the first amendment to justify the heinous acts of pornographers and racist individuals into political speech. She says that if words have ever been recognized as actions it is in situations concerning sexual harassment. She laments that the courts have reduced their effectiveness by overturning universities’ restraints of discriminatory and sexual speeches on campus by throwing out a complaint brought forward by a female shipyard worker who was harassed by having been shown pornography, which is a form of speech that is protected in the first amendment. In fact these words and pictures are protected by law explained as ‘the free and open exchange of ideas’, even reproduced for viewing. Mackinnon says that what the law is concerned with is not what the word does but what the consequences of the word is, the harassment, racism and hate speeches is showing the differences between the different social groups, the power one group has over another. Mackinnon through studies in workplaces, pornographers, on college campuses and others she shows these very discriminatory acts are protected by law as free speech; equality will only be seen and treated as a word. Mackinnon brings to the open many of the contradictions she has been saying in the previous essays, she says that â€Å"the law of equality and the law of freedom of speech are on a collision course in this country† (page 47). Mackinnon does a good job in showing the ignorance and shallow thinking of many defenders of pornography. The book is a passionate and eloquent plea to Americans to be able to see beyond the doctrines made normal by society, in particular concerning pornography and racial and hate speeches. She says that Americans suffer from obsession of expressive freedom to the trauma of the McCarthy era. Her arguments show that in some levels, pornography may be restricted, but it has not yet shown reason to be restricted. She later confuses by emphasizing that some of them are made from â€Å"actual child abuse and actual rape and tortures† (page 56). Certain weaknesses are evident in the book. First of all, she should have devoted more space for the definition of pornography so that it would have been applicable in law. Another weakness is the vague separation of debating and expressing intolerable ideas. These prevent from having clearly defined boundaries. What she fails to bring out in her book is the other side of free speech, the importance of free speech in an independent society like political accountability, self determination among others. Catherine Mackinnon’s views do have pros and cons. Her view that pornography should be controlled by the government I believe is a good thing. Pornography has really led to degradation of the society and this will reduce if it is controlled. To some extent it does lead to subordination of women leading to more cases of aggression towards women, it eventually ‘enacts the abuse’. Her suggestion that amendments should be made to the constitution to be able to defend those affected by pornography I believe is also a good thing. Campaigning for the new model that free speech does not protect the activities of those using the right of free speech to justify their actions is also a good idea. Some of the abuses of sexual inequality are regarded as free speech hence not seen as acts of sexual abuse. Lawyers and judges have used this to justify some of the issues affecting the society such as hate speeches, pornography and racial discrimination. Some of the cons is that she uses very few words to explain the definition of pornography, she should have taken more time define her view of pornography. I believe that pornography should be regulated and have to agree with Catherine Mackinnon. Pornography has caused serious consequences to the society in general and therefore should be controlled. The pornographers have the freedom to do a lot and they are protected by the constitution. To some extent it does lead to subordination of women, hence pornography should be controlled.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Discuss the concept of post heritage in relation to two more films Essay

Discuss the concept of post heritage in relation to two more films that you have studied - Essay Example The Duchess of Devonshire had an extravagant personal life and her political life. These films become the new significance of the heritage of the United Kingdom. The films contain contemporary political and social events that are not normal for the royal families in Europe. There were massive social and political implications of Princess Diana’s death and funeral. There was public hysteria during her funeral service that did not sit well with the public. The royal family did not want the death of Princess Diana to be a public affair, but the media could not listen to the family. The views of the royal family were a contrast to that of the then Prime Minister Tony Blair and Diana’s husband Prince Charles. The two believe the funeral of Princess Diana should be made a public affair since she was a public figure. The media naturally complicate the issues surrounding Princess Diana’s death and her funeral (Frears 2006). No one knows the official status of Diana as she had a divorce from her husband during the time of her death. The society loves controversies and spectacles. The drama is surrounding Diana’s death fit right in the popular culture of the people. The heritage film made the people challenge the knowledge they had of the past royal family to the present royal family surrounded by controversy. The experience of the movie is very significant to the present day United Kingdom regarding protocols during the death of a royal family member. Tony Blair’s fortune takes for the worst after the funeral of Princess Diana the release of the film â€Å"The Queen† coincides with his downfall and resignation afterwards. Queen Elizabeth in the film is worried about how Tony Blair is going to modernize Britain as the new Labor Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, however, promises Queen Elizabeth of respecting British’s heritage and the Royal Family order of doing things. Blair, however, goes against the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Titanic vs. Romeo and Juliet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Titanic vs. Romeo and Juliet - Essay Example Over the years, there have been comparisons between Titanic and, Romeo and Juliet. Some have ventured to say that Titanic is sadder than Romeo and Juliet, while there are others who disagree and favour the latter. This debate, although not in public has occurred in the hearts of people who have been privileged to watch both movies. But is the debate as to which movie is sadder, worth considering? Can a conclusion be made as to which one is sadder? And even if a conclusion can be made, what will be the criteria? These are some of the questions that people have had to confront. Titanic indeed is a sad movie that was based on a true event. In this movie, we see a massive Ship that was considered the biggest and most luxurious Ship of its time. Some even ventured to suggest that it was unsinkable. As we unfold the life of this great Ship, we are met with awe and wonder. It was adorned with the finest precious stones of its day. Gold was lavishly used, as if it grew from trees. The china was decorated with Gold, Silver, and other precious stones. Its audience was of the highest order, for only the richest and most famous were granted the privilege of using its vicinity. As the Ship entered its voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to New York, it treaded so smoothly that its beholders were tempted to suggest that the gods had placed a special favour upon it. The voyage was very long, and hence, the crew prepared and carried all the things that the people would need, for the Ship had to live up to its reputation of being the finest Ship that ever graced the waters of planet earth. Singing, dancing, gambling, games, and all sorts of entertainment could be seen in the vicinities of this hallowed Ship. Then it happened, that incident that forever changed the life of this Ship, and afterwards the hearts of people across the world. As the Ship was proudly gliding across the black and icy cold waters, it met its greatest challenge, an ice-berg. Some say, it was placed there by the Devil, and some say, it was placed there by God to humble the pride of man. Nonetheless, the truth was clear; the Ship was in trouble, and as a result, the people within it. It struck an ice-berg, and almost all of the people inside it perished. Hollywood producers captivated by the reaction that this incident caused, were inspired to make a movie out of it. In the movie, they inserted a sad story of two lovers. In the story, the lovers Jack and Rose were in a forbidden affair. Current norm did not allow Jack, a peasant, to get into a relationship with Rose, a daughter of a rich and famous man. And to make it worse, Rose was engaged to another man. But surprisingly, all this did not discourage Jack. He was determined to be with Rose for the rest of his life. Hence he met problems from Rose’s fiancee who suspected that Rose was falling in love with Jack. This conflict between these two men from different walks of life over the heart of this beautiful lady awoke great interest in the hearts of people across the world. People started cheering for Jack, for he was the underdog, and was also a great charmer. In all this, Rose was caught in the middle, but her heart was swaying slightly to Jacks favour. This continued until Rose was completely in love with Jack, and then it happened. The Ship, as if angry at this union, struck an ice-berg, and the scenes that followed were engraved in the hearts of the world for all time. Everybody in the Ship strived to save his own life. Small boats were searched for as if they were the very source of life. Jack realizing the situation, had only one thing in mind, save Rose and get out of there. This proved a big problem, because by this time, he had been locked downstairs. After a miraculous escape he managed to locate Rose, and together held on to the end of the Ship as it slowly descended down the deathly hallows. Finally the Ship disappeared down the water, and everybody was left fighting for dear life on the icy waters of the Atlantic. Jack, a gentleman, found a plank of wood,

Lab 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Lab 5 - Assignment Example For the debt collectors, it is revealed that they earn commissions based on the amounts they collect. Consequently, the debt collectors has been employing underhand tactics, harassment and even breaking the law, to accomplish desired targets. Some of the debt collectors have even resulted to using coercion and force in the pursuit of collecting amounts due. Some agencies have even resulted to breaking and entering personal property to recover debts due. The subsequent episodes show how a portion of the population is taking advantage of people in credit card debt through fraudulent means. Additionally, it is later revealed that credit companies, may actually be lying regarding credit card debt, repayment plans and interest rates. The credit card firms have also began selling accounts of customers in debt to collection agencies, which is illegal. That last two episodes are more advisory and reflective. They place emphasis on the fact that, in yester years, American citizens did not accrue so much date. In the last episode, viewers are advised against falling into the trap of credit card debt and for those already in debt, they should be vigilant. Indeed, credit card debt is termed as the next big crisis in America. 2) Caveat emptor is a legal principle that confers to the buyer, the responsibility of ensuring that the good/service bought, is operational and in good condition. In the legal and business sense, the credit card companies were not liable since, the parties were competent. Moreover, the credit card companies acted in good faith, since the economy was booming and they could not foretell the financial crisis (Andrews 2011). 6) As a judge, I would rule against the 30 year old because his history suggest he is mentally competent. Furthermore, the primary reason for his inability to repay the debt is financial irresponsibility and the credit crunch. 8) (A) I think

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Financing Options for Larger Purchases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financing Options for Larger Purchases - Essay Example It is like a contract between two parties written for engaging in a transaction. The selling party must fulfill all the obligations written in the contract for the transaction while the buyers must also engage themselves in the particular transaction. Different financing options have different prices depending upon the value of the asset which is to be bought or sold. Usually the values of asset are currency or bonds or it may be future contracts along with a premium package till the expiry of the contract. When the option is exercised within due time, the other party collects its premium from the buyer & deliver the asset to the buyer. If the option is not fulfilled into the due time of expiry, the contract is considered void. There are such types of options too in which the actual buyer of an asset sell it to someone else, this is known as the exchange of option. Usually, all kinds of financial options are provided by finance corporations or by investment banks. Whenever there is a contract held between two parties considering any of the financial options, the terms of the option are required to write down. It must always mention the quantity & type of asset to be purchased & at what value it is going to be sold out. The expiry date is also mentioned in the contract & also some other terms & conditions upon which the whole contract is written, like the premium amount, the interest rate etc. The options are mainly of two types, the exchange-traded options which have a set of pre-defined contracts like stock options, bond options, index options etc, & the over the counter option which is not on an exchange & is simply between two parties. There can be as many terms & conditions in the latter one as both the parties want, depending upon their particular situation & the kind of valuable asset. There are also employee stock options typically in US which are in a form of an incentive from a company to its employees (PETCHERS. 2003). Purchasing of a house or a car o r something big like these always require some time to stop & think deeply what & which kind of financial option will suit according to the current situation anyone is facing. They are a real necessity & thus cannot be avoided. On the other hand, one must look into his/her budget & the actual need for that very item. One should not get tempted from the luxurious items which are out of range & should not get over spend. The one who has the money should be the one to decide what option will better suit him/her & what will not. At what interest rate can anyone afford the installments & thus before signing over any contract the details must be well read by the purchaser. Personal finances such as house, car, large electronic appliances etc need a lot of financial planning with respect to the budget & savings & considering future financial risks. Several ways to earn right amount of financial assistance at right time include insurance policies, investments in some business or in stock ma rket, social security plans & benefits, saving accounts & consumer loans etc. When looking for financing of  large purchases, the easiest & the best way is the exchange-trade option, which is always standardized & the set of rules is pre-defined very clearly so that there would be no ambiguity remains in the contract. There can be installments procedure in which there are 3 months, 6 months or sometimes a 9 month installment can be made in order to cover the whole price of the asset. As there has been throughout computerized

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Federal emergency grant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Federal emergency grant - Essay Example The center works in liaison with the US fire administration, police, Emergency Response Institute and the Federal Emergency Management Agency among others for better preparedness (Kimmel 2006).Apparently San Marcos is prepared to respond to emergency through the many training sessions facilitated by Emergency Response Institute (ERI), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Texas State University. There is also awareness creation on the potential hazards in the area through participatory assessment of those hazards (Ashby, 2010). The school has and the community has access to hotlines in case of emergencies for immediate response. The school needs the grant to improve their preparedness by increasing the equipment required, expanding the transport system to prevent possible accidents. They also needs funds to conduct a comprehensive, strength based vulnerability assessment of the school buildings and grounds given that the district lies on the fault line. This will help us improve our mitigation plan (Burnet, 2008). Currently the fault lines have led to creation of springs which provide water to the residents and act as tourism attraction. San Marcos River as never run dry thus providing water for agricultural purpose. The Aquarena and wornderworldare spring are major tourist attraction for rearing some of the endangered aquatic species on earth. The school is collaborating with the community to develop appropriate policies and procedures in building a better team that is well prepared to respond to crisis. This way the process is integrated so as some of the resources can be shared. The school has looked at Federal Emergency Response and Crisis Management Plans Discretionary Grants legislation, regulation and administrative requirement and is certain to comply with them. The school is ready to sign the required agreements, documents and permits together with preparing a quarterly

Monday, September 23, 2019

How does online banking affect the banking industry Dissertation

How does online banking affect the banking industry - Dissertation Example Introduction of ATMs, partially alleviated the problems, and ATMs proved successful in load reduction as well as cutting transaction cost. Advent of internet provided another window of opportunities for the banks to expand their customer reach by providing limited set of internet based banking capabilities to full-fledged virtual banks. This has been extended by further proliferation of PDAs and mobile phones, wherein mobile banking is gaining its foothold as a prominent channel. This paper analyses the progress of online banking since its inception, specifically on the aspects of service quality, security and risk factors from the online banking customer perspective. Based on our study of the decade of online banking, it can be logically concluded that online banking is becoming the number one choice for today’s banking customer in all demographics. ... Occasionally, a customer would phone a bank representative of choice, for financial information (balance in account, check clearance, status of money transfer etc.). Prior to internet/web, ATMs allowed the customer a flexibility of executing certain banking transactions (mainly balance checking, cash withdrawal). Subsequent to that, some banks introduced so called PC banking, where an application installed in customer’s PC established a secured connection with an application running in the bank to perform transactions. Early in 1981, when internet became prevalent at home, some of the banks in US with a large customer base, tried introducing a few facilities to its customers, wherein the customer could perform a few activities, by signing up to additional services from its bank. Some banks charged the customer for these transactions, and these mainly included value-added services to the customer at lesser cost. (E.g. Availability of Dow Jones Retrieval/News Service at a much l esser cost provided by CitiBank). Ubiquity of internet, and customers need for mobility, banks and financial institutions were forced to adopt current technology as a basis for providing its customer, online banking services, available at the reach of the customers’ personal computers, at home, at workplace, or anywhere a customer has access to his/her bank and account. The trend continued with advent and following rapid progress in online technology, from internet banking to mobile banking. Another reason for this shift in service offering on the part of the bank is also due to the fact that customer base for banks and volume of transactions saw

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Career Plan Essay Example for Free

Career Plan Essay I have completed the career profiler. I have learned that I am conventional, enterprising, and social. I am very detail orientated. My strengths include organizing, delivering results, following instructions, coping with pressure, entrepreneurial thinking, and I am goal focused. The career profiler accurately described my strengths. My work culture results were ethical, supportive, and well resourced. I believe in fairness and respect among all people. Each person needs to be responsible for their actions and learn from them. Support is a key point to any management position. A manger needs to be able to listen to their employees and focus on their welfare. A mangers role is to make their employees successful. I believe that this course has taught me to be a charismatic leader with a democratic style of leadership. I also like a well resourced company. In order to be successful at your job the company must have the resources for you to achieve. Working for a disorganized employer is very discouraging for an employee. I have also learned my weaknesses that I need to work on to further my career. I have learned that I need to working on my leading, networking, persuading, writing, presenting, and researching. I plan to work on these areas by becoming more confident and learning new techniques to improve on these skills. During this class I have learned new techniques and leadership theories that I can build on. I plan on building on the leadership theories so that I can prepare for Management Candidate School through USAA.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Attribution Theorists And Biased Judgements

Attribution Theorists And Biased Judgements Social psychologists have studied attribution theories for several decades, and their research has produced many interesting insights. The process of assigning a cause to ones own behaviour, or that of others can be defined as attribution (Hogg, 2005). Considering that attribution is complex, many theories have been constructed to demonstrate its performance. This essay will examine the evidence that biased laypersons judgements of others are inevitable by, first of all, focusing on explaining three classic theories of attribution, then paying particular attention to biases in attribution in order to fully answer the question under investigation. Attribution theory is concerned with how individuals make sense of their environment and how this affects their cognition and behavior (x). There exist three classic views on attribution that continue to be especially influential. The first of these classic theories is Fritz Heiders (1958) theory of naive psychology where the layperson is viewed as a naive scientist who links observable behaviour to unobservable causes. Also Heider made a significant distinction between internal (dispositional) and external (situational) attributions. It was also underlined that individuals look for causes of others behaviours in order to find out their motives and give some sense of control in their lives (Hewstone, 1990). Related to Heiders theory is Jones and Davis (1965) theory of correspondent inference which is concerned with how people use information about others behaviour and its effects in order to find out their underlying dispositions and personality traits. Of particular interest is beha viour that is freely chosen, produces non-common effects (effects produced by a particular cause that could not be produced by any other apparent cause), and is low in social desirability. The last and the best known theory of attribution is Kelleys (1967) covariation model where Kelley believes that people act like scientists when they try to discover the causes of behaviour. People are interested whether others behaviour stems from internal (motives, traits) or external (social, physical world) causes, or both of them at the same time. In order to answer this question, individuals focus on three types of information that can be defined as consistence, distinctiveness and consensus (Baron, Branscombe, Byrne, 2006). Heider (1958), Davis and Jones (1965) together with Kelley (1967) have acknowledged that attribution is subject to many potential sources of bias. It has been noted that a bias occurs if the social perceiver systematically distorts (overestimates or underestimates) a procedure that is known to be correct (Fiske and Taylor, 1984). People constantly use cognitive shortcuts that are called heuristics in order to make attributions. Apart from being not always objectively correct, biases in attribution are entirely satisfactory and adaptive characteristics of everyday social perception (Ross, 1977). In terms of studying how people interpret their social worlds, social psychologists have identified 3 general biases that often affect peoples attributions and explanations. One of the most important of these biases is the fundamental attribution error, that is the tendency to explain others actions as stemming from dispositional causes even when situational causes are at present. Social psychologists have conducted numerous studies to find out the reasons that determine the occurrence of these biases (Robins et al, 1996), though the issue is still to some extent uncertain. One possibility is that when people observe another persons behaviour, they tend to focus on his or her actions and the situational behaviour tends to fade away in the background. Another explanation is that people notice such situational causes but give them insufficient weight in their attributions. An experiment conducted by Amabile, Ross and Steinmetz (2000) illustrates fundamental attribution error. In this experiment they set up a quiz show design in which they randomly assigned participants to one of two roles. First was a questioner whose task it was to prepare difficult questions for a contestant, and second was a contestant whose task it was to answer the questions prepared by the questioner. An observer watched the quiz show and then estimated the questioners and the contestants general knowledge. They found that observers thought that the questioners were far more knowledgeable than the contestants. However, everyone was assigned to conditions randomly, so it was highly unlikely that one group was more clever than the other. The most interesting thing is that observers did know that participants were randomly assigned to their roles, yet they failed to consider the impact of that knowledge in making their judgement. Fundamental attribution error is not limited only to quiz shows, its implications are far more encompassing. For example, peoples common reaction to convicted criminals are that they are terrible human beings and that is why they committed a crime. However, there can be many factors other than personal characteristics that explain why a person commits a crime. These include lack of job opportunities, the lack of positive role models in the family and neighborhood, growing up in a dysfunctional family and many others (Aronson, 2003). In addition to this, Nisbett and Ross (1980) argued that the english language allows easy description of action and actor in the same terms but it gets more complicated when using the same terms in order to describe the situation. For example, it is possible to talk about honest and generous person or honest and generous action but not a honest and generous situation. This demonstrates that linguistic factors have an important role in making attributions. People are certainly unaware of this phenomena beca use this is the way they have been taught from childhood and is something that happens without conscious thought. An equally common bias in social judgement is the actor-observer effect, in other words, the self-other effect that is really an extension of the fundamental attribution error. The actor-observer effect refers to the tendency for people to attribute others behaviour to dispositional factors and their own behaviour to situational factors (Jones Nisbett, 1972). For example, in general, students tend to explain their poor performance in exams in terms of the difficulty of the test items whereas they tend to explain others poor performance in terms of their ability and personality. There exist several explanations for actor-observer effect. Firstly, according to Jones et al (1972), the informational factors are very important as the actors have access to a much wider range of information about the factors leading to their own actions. For example, behaviour that can be expressed in a party. Secondly, actors and observers have different perspectives. The actors attention is usually focus ed on the environment. On the other hand, the observers attention is usually focused on the actor and his or her behaviour rather than the background, which is why the observer may be unaware of why the actor behaved like this. Evidence for this explanation comes from Storms (1972) experiment where he had two subjects engaged in a conversation while two observers watched it, and were instructed to monitor the behaviours of one or the other actors. Results showed that the actors were more likely to explain their behaviour in terms of the situation and the observers in terms of personality dispositions. However, this was not the only thing they found. Storm (1972) also demonstrated that when the participants were shown a video tape of their conversation from the same angle as they saw it, actor-observer bias had occurred. On the contrary, when the video tape was shown from the reverse angle, the actors saw themselves from the observers point of view and tended to attribute their behav iour in terms of dispositional factors. This is a clear example of how biases are inevitable in everyday life. In order to avoid biases, one has to see others point of view but that is not an easy task to accomplish. One more bias can be identified in relation to attributions for success and failure. The self-serving bias refers to a tendency for people to attribute internally and take credit for their successes, the self-enhancing bias, or attribute externally and deny the responsibility for their failures, the self-protecting bias. For instance, gamblers perceive their successes as based on their skill and their failures as unlucky chances (Gilovich, 1983). Kingdom (1967) provided an example of self-serving bias from the political world. He interviewed American politicians five months after the general election and asked them to describe the factors that led to their victories or defeats. Results indicated that the politicians tended to attribute successes to internal factors such as hard work, personality and reputation. On the other hand, they tended to attribute their failures to external factors, for example, lack of money, the familiar name of their opponent and state trends. It is importa nt to understand the reasons why people engage in biases. Miller and Ross (1979) suggested that the self-enhancing bias could be explained in relation to the cognition model. People in general expect to succeed rather than fail and, therefore, are more likely to make self-attributions for expected than unexpected outcomes. For example, couples estimate their contribution to housework differently. Individuals are more likely to keep track of every job they do at home such as dusting or washing the dishes but when it comes to estimating the partners contribution, not all of their work is successfully remembered. This effect could be due to differential attention and memory (Aronson, 2003). However, the cognitive perspective alone cannot explain all the examples of self-serving biases. Another explanation for self-serving biases is that people are motivated to engage themselves in attributions in order to protect their self-esteem (Greenberg, 1982). It is evident from the experiments o f Weary (1999) that self-serving bias increases when the person is highly involved in that particular behaviour and when other people are watching. Self-serving bias occurs when an individuals self is threatened or when that individual has an opportunity to achieve and maintain a positive image of the self. To conclude, people do make judgements very quickly based on minimal information. As it has been demonstrated above, the reasons humans make biases seem varied and complex and different research reflects this (Storm, 1972; Ross et al, 1979; Kingdom, 1967; Amabile et al, 2000; Jones et al, 1972). Every day people try to justify themselves and their behaviour with the help of biases such as fundamental attribution error, actor-observer effect and self-serving bias. By using heuristics, individuals interpret and distort the meaning of their actions and the world around them, and make attributions that are very adaptive but not always correct. The situations people find themselves in, the cues they face and frustrations they may experience, also all appear to have the ability to inflame an aggressive response. Attribution is an important part of human existence and, although much has been achieved to aid the understanding of this behaviour, it is for now still reasonable to conclude that attribution is indeed an inevitable and inescapable part of our lives.

Friday, September 20, 2019

strategic analysis of mcdonalds in india

strategic analysis of mcdonalds in india McDonalds vision is to be the worlds best quick service restaurant experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality, service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in every restaurant smile. Values. Our values summarized in Q.S.C V. Provide good quality, services to customer. Have cleanliness environment when customer enjoys their meal .The value of food product makes every customer is smiling. Executive Summary. This documentation is mainly about the business strategies of McDonalds in India how it applies their strategies to interact with external environment. This discussed the following Porters models to imply the companys strategies in detail; Porters Generic Strategy analysis.(Use to identify the strategies to select) Porters Value Chain analysis. (Use to identify the value chain activities to support the strategy.) As a fast food company, the rivals that it has faced in the Indian economy during the implementation the strategies they applied, and the strategy changes according to different situations reports from this document. Porters generic strategy analysis of McDonalds is mainly on its unique characteristic applied in India, companys commitment dedication driven to reach the success in the Indian market. It shows McDonalds Business strategies that took place during the banking crisis which lead to global economy recession how it affected the Indian economy. Through Porters Value Chain Analysis this document tries to highlight McDonalds primary activities support activities of their production process, applied in India. Through this analysis, it shows the factors influencing the company performance, coordination between firms in the industry their quality support services as well. Also, report tends to discuss the situation of other competitors in the industry, their performance and position in the Indian market. Finally, this report implies that low cost focus strategy can keep a company to survive in the recession. Also, it can achieve low cost focus strategy through their logistic systems, reducing food wastes and increasing effectiveness of employees. Introduction. Mc Donalds, was originated in USA (California) in 1954, and has become one of the successful fast food chains in the world. Also one of the most recognized and established brands in the world. To such a development it helps some successful business strategies which lined to its external environment (Macro environment) and the industry environment (Micro environment). This document discussed the success of McDonalds especially in India and the strategies that they followed to reach the current position. Also, this provides a discussion of an analysis of why the company selects those strategies in response to the changing external environment to reach the goals. The company was able to establish around 30,000 franchising stores in 119 countries, targeting around 47 million people each day and it generates about $ 15 billion revenues annually. In India, McDonalds is a 50-50 joint partnership business between McDonalds corporations [USA] and two Indian businessmen. It took them six years with an investment of 4 billion to build up their supply chain properly in the Indian market. Their first restaurant in India was opened in 1996 at New Delhi. By introducing differentiated menu products according to the Indian taste, improving logistics systems with better supplier relationships it began to spread all over the country rapidly. Now the company expanded in 34 cities in India by covering 132 outlets. N. Jadhav A.Shaikh 2010, Supply chain management, Perishable products (Restaurant chain)[Presentations], viewed [ 19/12/2010], http://www.slideshare.net/sunilmbsingh/mcdonalds-final (Diagram 1) Porters Generic Strategy Analysis: Porters generic strategies framework provides a major contribution to the development of the strategic management the company can achieve to their competitive advantages by differentiating their products and services from its competitors through low costs. Mc Donalds targeted their products and services by a broad target through covering most of the market places. Also, it attains competitive advantage through market segmentation using Porters differentiation focus strategy. 8.1 Differentiation strategy of McDonalds: In differentiation strategy, fast food chains need to be more selective in which products to offer more creative in their promotion strategy. McDonalds offers specialized (Regionalized) version of its menu. This leads to differentiate the products from other competitor products as well. Mc Grilled sandwiches in US Canada. Mc Chicken Premiere Zesty chicken in UK, France, Italy Belgium. To overcome their healthy issues Mc Donalds added salads other lighter options to its menu encourage people to visit more often. Product adaptation in India- Vegetarian selections, No beef or pork items, McMasala Wide variety of menu items according to the Indian menu items; Vegetable non vegetable products. Health conscious items. Local flavors. Food preferences India B. Craig K. R. Dickson, 11th December 2007, Supply chain management, Mc India ppt[Presentations], viewed [ 19/12/2010],http://www.slideshare.net/KRDickson/McIndia-Final-ppt (Diagram 2) Mc Donalds premium line: They have introduced a group of products in early 2000s. It includes McDonalds larger chicken sandwich, salad line coffee products. Grilled chicken sandwiches are targeted different demographic markets. Mc Cafes located in Australia within the McDonalds restaurant. Types of restaurants: Counter service drive through (With indoor outdoor seating in Delhi.) McDrive locations near highways offer no counter services or seating. McCafà © restaurants within the same McDonalds restaurants. (They increased sales by 60% from this strategy.) Expansion for the following locations as well; More distribution centers within 500 km radius. Satellite cities near Mumbai Delhi. Cities with tourist appeal and eating out culture. Petrol stations, railway bus stations in around Delhi. Shopping malls and movie complexes (Delhi Mumbai) Differentiating promotion programs: McDonalds focused on superior price performance during the time of economic crisis. Point of sales (POS) promotion programs. Combo meals. (Customers get more discounts through this.) Lottery for winning its products. Sampling activities to taste their products to a discount price. Internet promotions. TV and other media promotions. To differentiate with their competitors McDonalds tried to focus on its unique campaign. Im lovin it campaign to attract family. Feature artists to attract teenagers. Introduces wireless technology platform, by allowing their customers to access internet by creating an innovative environment. 8.2 Cost leadership strategy: Under Porters competitive strategies, McDonalds uses an overall low-cost leadership strategy to reduce cost increase sales. Higher profits resulting from sales through lower prices than competitors as the unit cost is lower. Mc Donalds is having a biggest market share out of completive fast food restaurants. Therefore, they increase sales by reducing price than competitors. Food Items McDonalds Subway KFC Pizza Hut Dominos Burgers Pizzas Rs 20- Rs 70 Rs 65- Rs 135 Rs 25- Rs 175 Rs 55- Rs 175 (Regular) Rs 35-Rs 140 (Regular) Combo Meals Rs 49- Rs 119 Rs 45- Rs 175 Rs 55- Rs 150 Rs 120- Rs 250 Rs 120- Rs 230 Beverages Rs 25- Rs 50 Small- 300ml Rs 35- Rs 45 Small 300ml Rs 30- Rs 55 Small 300ml Pet beverage MRP 600ml Rs 30 600 ml Deserts Rs 12-Rs 25 Rs 20- Rs50 Rs 15- Rs 65 Rs 40- Rs 60 Rs 25 100 ml Cup of Baskin Robbins (Diagram 3) Market share (worldwide): Company Stores Countries Market share McDonalds 31108 120 33.06% Burger King 11455 58 13.68% Wendys 8811 22 11.69% Hardeess 3295 15 2.78% Jack in the Box 2000 1 3.67% (Diagram 4) McDonalds India: Network competitors Company Outlets (No.) Cities Covered McDonalds 132 34 Pizza Hut 137 34 Dominos 220 42 Subway 131 32 KFC 34 09 (Diagram 5) Bruce Craig, Keith R. Dickson, International Business Management, Network competitors [Online], available at: http://www.slideshare.net/KRDickson/McIndia-Final-ppt [20/12/2010] Through adding 700-900 restaurants annually, McDonalds enter new markets through lower prices. It shows a great barrier to entry for competitors to enter the industry. Through its strong centralized authority tight control, standardized procedures McDonalds takes most an efficiency approach. Key elements of McDonalds business strategy; Adding 700-900 restaurants annually. Giving low price products, Extra offers through new menu items. Highly selective in granting franchises. Selects most convenient places to customers. Focused on limited product lines through maintaining the quality. Extensive advertising. Proper HR management through equitable wage good training. McDonalds cost leadership strategy growth strategy is based on; Adding new restaurants. Maximizing sales sales in existing restaurants. Improving profitability (globally) Success behind their business lies in the maximum of Think global, act local. They ensure that their structure fits with the international environment, but also have internal flexibility geographically. McDonalds has twice the market share of its closest competitor, Burger King. :

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Grading Scale: A Persisting Problem Among Students Essay -- Education,

Entering the classroom, sheets of white typing paper printed out sitting on the desks; starting the day off with the notification of the classroom grade can be a frightening thought. The eighteen year old, tall, and slender girl slides into her desk and prepares herself for what the paper holds for her future report card. Verbally, the teacher signals to flip over the piece of paper and look at semester grades. As the papers are being flipped, all at once negative cries shout out. This can not be right! There is something wrong! Why are there grades missing? Why is this not an A? As Aquilino states, â€Å"It’s not like they should get something they didn’t earn† (Roth 1). The teacher telling the students to settle down and sit in their seats quietly soars across the room. Worried faces, teary eyes, and trembling hands are seen in every student of the class. As the teacher thinks, who can really be blamed for a lower letter grade than wanted? There is on ly one answer, the student themselves. It is natural to slip once in a while in the classroom, but the grades permanently recorded on a grade point average never change. Since getting a bad grade can disappoint anyone, there are ways to solve this problem. As a senior these grades may have an affect on college, but in all ages the grading scale can be a problem. Whether it be the parent of a student, or the student themselves worrying about a grade in a class, there is a fix. Since more often than not, a student or parent has a problem with a student grade, however there is more than one solution for solving this grade dilemma. Nevertheless when dealing with dissatisfied grades, parents get involved. When it comes down to dealing with a final grade, the decision is betw... ... expected where students are carefree at times during school hours, but when it comes down to knowing the grading scales one must focus. There are solutions to solving problems that are sometimes fought between a teacher and a student and even between a teacher and parent. Extra credit, grading on a curve, college credits, and changing all scales to be equal are a few possible solutions to these problems. All problems in life have solutions, sometimes more than one. As shown through this paper, problems should not be stressed about, rather looked at by ways it can be improved upon. Grading scales can vary from class to class, but why worry when there are solutions to making students more educated rather than worrisome. Since more often than not a student or parent has a problem with a student grade; there is possible solutions for solving this grade dilemma.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Forensic Science Essay -- Forensics essays research papers

Forensic Science, also known as Forensics, is the application of science to law. It uses highly developed technology to uncover scientific evidence in a variety of fields. Modern forensic science has a broad range of applications. It is used in civil cases such as forgeries, fraud or negligence. The most common use of forensic science is to investigate criminal cases involving a victim, such as assault, robbery, kidnapping , rape, or murder.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Forensic science is also used in monitoring the compliance of various countries with such international agreements as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention and to learn whether a country is developing a secret nuclear weapons program. It can help law enforcement officials determine whether any laws or regulations have been violated in the marketing of foods and drinks, the manufacture of medicines, or the use of pesticides on crops. It can also determine whether drinking water meets legal purity requirements.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The medical examiner is the most important individual in an investigation of a crime involving a victim. It is the responsibility of the medical examiner to visit the crime scene, conduct an autopsy (examination of the body) in cases of death, examine the medical evidence and lab reports, study the victims history, and put all the information together in a report to be turned in to the district attorney. Medical examiners are usually physicians specializing in forensic pathology, the study of structural and functional changes in the body as a result of injury. Their training and qualifications most often include a medical degree and an apprenticeship in a medical examiners office. In the field of forensic science, there are many subspecialties. They include odontology (the study of teeth), anthropology(the study of human beings), psychiatry, biology, chemistry, physics, toxicology (the study of poisons), and pathology (the examination of body tissues and fluids). The medical examiner may call upon forensic scientists who are specialized in these fields for help in a crime investigation. Toxicology is a branch of forensic science that deals with the adverse effects of drugs and poisonous chemicals found in the home, at work or in the environment. All drugs have toxic effect but the effect is most often minor. The toxic effect of drugs... ...d, communities began requiring that coroners have specific academic training. In 1877, Massachusetts replaced the coroners office with the Office of the Medical Examiner, which was to be headed by a physician. Soon many other states followed. In 1915 New York City established a program where the medical examiner was authorized to investigate all deaths that occurred to people who appeared to be in good health, that resulted from criminal violence, accidents, or suicides. Computer technology now allows law enforcement officers o record fingerprints digitally and to transmit and receive information for quick identification. Recent developments in technology allows scientists o examine the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or genetic material of blood, hair, skin, or semen to see if they belong to the victim or the suspected criminal. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a lab can clone the DNA from a very small sample of one of those substances. Forensic science as practiced today is a field of science medicine that uses electron microscopes, lasers, ultraviolet and infrared light, advanced chemical techniques and computerized databanks to analyze and research evidence.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Current & Non Current Assets

INVENTORY – PERIODIC INVENTORY SYSTEM In a Periodic Inventory System, no effort is made to keep up – to – date records of either the inventory or the cost of goods sold. Instead, these amounts are determined only periodically __ usually at the end of each year. It is used by very small businesses having manual accounting systems. Questions 1 – 3 (Meigns & Meigns), Question 4 (Fess & Warren) Question 1:- Mach IV Audio uses periodic inventory system. One of the store’s most popular products is a minidisc car stereo system. The inventory quantities, purchases, and sales of this product for the most recent year are as follows: Number of units| Cost per unit| Total Cost| Inventory – Jan 01| 10| Rs. 299| Rs. 2990| Purchases – May 12| 15| 306| 4590| Purchases – July 09| 20| 308| 6160| Purchases – Oct 04| 8| 315| 2520| Purchases – Dec – 18| 19| 320| 6080| Goods available for sale| 72| | Rs. 22340| Units sold during the year| 51| | | Inventory| 21| | | Instructions: Compute the cost of December 31 inventory and the cost of goods sold for the above mentioned product under each of the following cost flow assumptions: a.First-in, first-out b. Last-in, first-out c. Average cost (round to the nearest rupee, except unit cost) Question 2: – Same three inventory valuation methods under periodic inventory system | Number of units| Cost per unit| Total Cost| Inventory – Jan 01| 9| Rs. 3. 00| Rs. 27. 00| Purchases 1| 12| 3. 50| 42. 00| Purchases 2| 30| 3. 80| 114. 00| Purchases 3| 40| 4. 00| 160. 00| Purchases 4| 19| 5. 00| 95. 00| Goods available for sale| 110| | Rs. 438. 00| Units sold during the year| | | | Inventory – Dec 31| 20| | |Question 3: – Same three inventory valuation methods under periodic inventory system | Number of units| Cost per unit| Total Cost| Beginning Inventory | 10| Rs. 80| Rs. 800| First Purchases (Mar. 1)| 5| 90| 450| Second Purchases (July 1) | 5| 10 0| 500| Third Purchases (Oct. 1) | 5| 120| 600| Fourth Purchases (Dec. 1) | 5| 130| 650| Goods available for sale| 30| | Rs. 3,000| Units in ending inventory| 12| | | Units sold| 18| | | Question 4: – Stewart Co. ’s beginning inventory and purchases during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, were as follows: | | Units| Unit Cost Rs. Total Cost Rs. | April 01, 2011| Inventory| 1,000| 50. 00| 50,000| April 10, 2011| Purchases| 1,200| 52. 50| 63,000| May 30, 2011| Purchases| 800| 55. 00| 44,000| Aug 26, 2011| Purchases| 2,000| 56. 00| 112,000| Oct. 15, 2011| Purchases| 1,500| 57. 00| 85,500| Dec. 31, 2011| Purchases| 700| 58. 00| 40,600| Jan. 18, 2012| Purchases| 1,350| 60. 00| 81,000| March 21, 2012| Purchases| 450| 62. 00| 27,900| Total| | 9,000| | 504,000| Stewart Co. uses the periodic inventory system, and there are 3,200 units of inventory on March 31, 2012.Determine the cost of ending inventory using the three costing methods. Practice Question (Fees & Warren) Exe r. 10-3 Page 366| Exer. 10-4 Page 366| Prob. 10-3A Pg. 369| Prob. 10-3B Pg 374| INVENTORY – PERPETUAL INVENTORY SYSTEM In a Perpetual Inventory system, merchandising transactions are recorded immediately as they occur. The system draws its name from the fact that the accounting records are kept perpetually up – to – date. This system is very easy to use. It is cost effective, & thus widely used because of the growing use of computerized accounting.Question 1: – World Class Grocery Wholesalers performed the following transactions, all on credit, and all related to a particular chocolate bar. July 01 Beginning Inventory 23 units of Rs. 4 each. July 02 Purchased 57 units of Rs. 5 each. 12 Purchased 51 units of Rs. 8 each. 13 Sold 60 units for Rs. 12 each. 18 Sold 20 units for Rs. 12 each. 22 Purchased 26 units of Rs. 9 each. 26 Sold 18 packs for Rs. 15 each. Instructions for Questions 1, 2 & 3: – a) Prepare the Inventory Subsidiary Ledger and, b) Give the journal entries to record the Purchases, the Cost Goods Sold and the Sales assuming that the wholesalers uses . First-in, First-out Method (FIFO) 2. Last-in, First-out Method (LIFO) 3. Average Cost Method Question 2: – Sohail Books deals with school books. This question is related to Credit purchases and sales of Urdu Qaida for class 1. March 04 Purchased 100 copies for Rs. 12 each. 11 Sold 35 copies for Rs. 17. 18 Purchased 80 copies for Rs. 13 each. 19 Sold 40 copies for Rs. 19 each. 27 Sold 41 copies for Rs. 20 each. Question 3: – Noman Company Inventory & Sales Data Month Ended January 31, 2010 Date| Description| Units| Unit Cost Rs. | Date| Des| Units | Unit Cost Rs. Jan 01 12 15 18 | Beg. InventoryPurchasesSalesPurchases | 50 100 50 200 | 1. 00 1. 50 2. 00 | Jan 20 22 27 30| PurchasesSalesPurchasesSales| 100150 50 80| 2. 50 4. 00| Practice Question (Fees & Warren) Exer. 10-5 Page 366| Exer. 10. 6 Page 366| Prob. 10-4A Pg. 369| Prob. 10-4B Pg 374| Practice Qu estion (Meigs & Meigs – 13th Edition) Exer. 8. 2 Page 351| Prob. 8. 1 Page 356| Prob. 8. 2 Page 356| _____________________________ Perpetual Inventory SystemInventory Subsidiary Ledger ( ) Date| Purchased| Sold| Balance| | Units| UnitCost Rs. | TotalCostRs. | Units| Unit CostRs. | TotalCostRs. | Units| UnitCostRs. | TotalCostRs. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 (Photocopies) of this page, if you don’t want to make this format 6 times in your register SUMMARY OF THE JOURNAL ENTRIES MADE IN PERPETUAL AND PERIODIC INVENTORY SYSTEM Event| Perpetual Inv. System| Periodic Inv.System| Purchasing inventory| Inventory Accounts Payable (or Cash)To record the purchase of inventory| Purchases Accounts Payable (or Cash)To record the purchase of inventory| Sale of Inventory| Accounts Receivable (or Cash) SalesTo record the sale of inventoryCost of Goods Sold InventoryTo upd ate Cost of Goods sold and inventory accounts| Accounts Receivable (or Cash) SalesTo record the sale of inventory(In the periodic inventory system, no entry is made at the time of sales to update Cost of Goods sold and inventory accounts. | Settlement of A/Payable to suppliers| Accounts Payable CashTo record payment for inventory purchased on credit| Accounts Payable CashTo record payment for inventory purchased on credit| Collection from credit customers| Cash Accounts ReceivableTo record cash collection from credit customers. | Cash Accounts ReceivableTo record cash collection from credit customers. | Income Statement of a Service Business: – Revenue – Expenses = Net Income Income Statement of a Merchandising Business Delta TradersIncome Statement For the year ended December 31, 2011 Sales Rs. 6, 000 Less: Sales Returns 1, 000 Net Sales 5, 000 Less: Cost of Goods Sold 1, 150 Gross Profit 3, 850 Less: Operating Expenses Salaries Expense Rs. 00 Utility Expense 100 Depr eciation Expense – machine 50 650 Net Income 3, 200 HOW TO CALCULATE COST OF GOODS SOLD Inventory – Jan 01 ————————-Add: Purchases ———————— Carriage Inwards —————-Less: Purchases Returns —————- Purchases Discount —————- Net Purchases ———————Cost of goods available for sale ——–Less: Inventory – Dec 31Cost of Goods Sold| 55050| Rs. 00 (100)(50)| Rs. 10004501450(300)1150| Questions 1 & 2 The data of two questions is given below. Prepare a Trading Account for the year ended Dec 31 Sales| Rs. 10, 600| | Sales| Rs. 210, 420| Sales Returns| 1, 200| | Sales Returns| 4, 900| Inventory – Jan 01| 5, 000| | Inventory – Jan 01| 9, 410| Purchases| 3, 500| | Purchases| 108, 680| Ca rriage Inwards| 500| | Carriage Inwards| 840| Purchases Returns| 400| | Purchases Returns| 3, 020| Purchases Discount| 200| | Purchases Discount| 700|Inventory – Dec 31| 2, 500| | Inventory – Dec 31| 11, 290| FORMATS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Delta Traders Income Statement For the year ended December 31, 2011 | Rs. | Rs. | Rs. | Sales | | 6, 000| | Less: Sales Returns | 700| | | Sales Discount| 300| 1, 000| | Net Sales | | | 5, 000| LESS : COST OF GOODS SOLD| | | | Inventory – Jan 01| | 1, 000| |Add: Purchases| 550| | | Carriage Inwards| 50| | | | 600| | | Less: Purchases Returns| (100)| | | Purchases Discount| (50)| | | Net Purchases| | 450| | Cost of goods available for sale| | 1, 450| | Less: Inventory – Dec 31| | (300)| 1, 150| Gross Profit| | | 3, 850| Less : Operating Expenses| | | | Salaries Expense| | 500| | Utilities Expense| | 100| | Depreciation Expense – machine| | 50| 650| Net Profit| | | 3, 200| | | | | | Delta Traders Statement of Fina ncial Position December 31, 2011AssetsCurrent Assets Cash ————————– Accounts Receivable ————- Repair Revenue Receivable ——- Inventory ————————- Supplies ————————- Prepaid Insurance —————- Total Current Assets ———–Plant Assets Land ——————————— Shop ——————————— Less: Accumulated Depreciation Machine ————————–Less: Accumulated Depreciation Total Plant Assets ————-TOTAL ASSETS ——————Liabilities & Owner’s EquityLiabilities A ccounts Payable —————- Unearned Repair Revenue ——- Total Liabilities —————Owner’s Equity Capital (Dec 31, 2011) ———— TOTAL LIABILITIES & OWNER’S EQUITY ——- | Rs. ——————————————————————————————————– ————— 5,000 2,700 3,000 1,400———————————————————————————————————| Rs. 3,700 1,000 800 300 500 1,300————- 1 0,000 2,300 1,600————————–3,2004,440 ————————————| Rs. 7, 60013,90021,500 7,640 13,860 21,500| Question 1:- The following trial balance was extracted from the books of F. Bell on December 31, 2011. Draw up his Income Statement for the year ended December 31, 2011, and a Balance Sheet as at that date Debit Rs. | Credit Rs. | Sales| | 210, 420| Purchases| 108, 680| | Inventory: Jan 1, 2011| 9, 410| | Carriage Outwards| 1, 115| | Carriage Inwards| 840| | Return Inwards| 4, 900| | Return Outwards| | 3, 720| Salaries & Wages Expense| 41, 800| | Fuel Expense| 912| | Rent Expense| 6, 800| | General Expenses| 318| | Motor Vehicle| 14, 400| | Allowance for Depreciation – motor vehicle| | 520| Fixtures & Fittings| 912| | Accounts Receivable| 23, 200| | Accounts Payable| | 13, 580| Cash| 24, 780| | Drawings| 9, 000| | Capital| | 18, 827| | 24 7, 067| 247, 067| Inventory at December 31, 2011 was Rs. 11, 290 NON – CURRENT ASSETS 1. TANGIBLE ASSETSPlant assets / Property, Plant & Equipment / Fixed Assets / Non Current Assets FIRST STAGE: – AQUISATION OF PLANT ASSETS Question 1: – Wilmet College recently purchased new computing equipment for its library. The following information refers to the purchase and installation of this equipment: 1. The list price of the equipment was $275, 000; however, Wilmet College qualified for an education discount of 25, 000. 2. Wilmet paid sales tax of $15, 000 at the date of purchase. 3. Freight charges for delivery of the equipment totaled $1, 000. 4. Installation costs related to the equipment amounted to $5, 000. 5. During installation, one of the computer terminals was accidentally damaged by a library employee. It cost the college $300 to repair this damage. 6.As soon as the computers were installed, the college paid $4, 000 to print admission brochures, featuring t he library’s new, state-of-the-art computing facilities. Instructions: – a. Compute the total cost debited to the college’s Computing Equipment account. b. Prepare a journal entry at the end of the current year to record depreciation on the computing equipment. Wilmet College will depreciate this equipment by the straight line method (half-year convention) over an estimated useful life of 5 years. Assume a zero residual value. (Meigs & Meigs – Problem 9. 1 / Page 402 For Practice: – Fees & Warren – Exercise 11-1 / Page 404 SECOND STAGE: – DEPRECIATION OF PLANT ASSETSQuestion 2: – On January 2, 2005, Jansing Corporation acquired a new machine with an estimated useful life of 5 years. The cost of the machine was $40, 000 with an estimated residual value of $5, 000. The depreciation rate per year is 40 %. a. Prepare a complete depreciation table under the two depreciation methods listed below. Assume that a full year of depreciati on was taken in 2005. 1. Straight-line 2. Declining balance method (Depreciation Rate per year is 40 %) (Meigs & Meigs – Exercise 9. 4 / Page 400) Question 3: – On August 3, 2000, Srini Construction purchased special-purpose equipment at a cost of $1, 000,000.The useful life of the equipment was estimated to be 4 years, with a residual value of $50, 000. The depreciation rate is 50 % per year & half year convention is to be used. a. Compute the depreciation expense to be recognized each calendar year for financial reporting purpose under the straight-line depreciation method. b. Compute the depreciation expense to be recognized each calendar year for financial reporting purpose under the declining balance method with the per year depreciation rate of 50 % (Meigs & Meigs – Exercise 9. 3 / Page 400) For Practice: – Fees & Warren – Exercises 11-5, 11-6 & 11-7 / Page 405 Meigs & Meigs – Problems 9. 2 & 9. 3THIRD STAGE: – DISPOSAL OF PLANT ASSETS Question 4: – During the current year, Ramirez Developers disposed of plant assets in the following transactions: Feb 10Office equipment costing Rs. 26, 000 was given to a scrap dealer at no charge. At the date of disposal, accumulated depreciation on the equipment amounted to Rs. 25, 800. Apr 01Ramirez sold land and a building to Claypool Associates for Rs. 900, 000, receiving Rs. 100, 000 cash and a five year, 9 percent note receivable for the remaining balance. Ramirez records showed the following records: Land Rs. 50, 000; Building, Rs. 550, 000; accumulated depreciation: Building (at the date of disposal), Rs. 250, 000.Aug 15 Ramirez traded-in an old truck with a new one. The old truck had costRs. 26, 000, and its accumulated depreciation amounted to Rs. 18, 000. The list price of the new truck was Rs. 39, 000, but Ramirez received a Rs. 10, 000trade-in allowance for the old truck and paid Rs. 29, 000 in cash. Ramirez includes trucks in its Vehicle account. Oct 0 1Ramirez traded in its old computer system as part of the purchase of a new system. The old system had cost Rs. 15, 000, and its accumulated depreciation amounted to Rs. 11, 000. The new computer’s list price was Rs. 8, 000. Ramirez accepted a trade-in allowance of Rs. 500 for the old computer system, paying Rs. , 500 down in cash, and issuing a 1-year, 8 percent note payable for the Rs. 6, 000 balance owed. Instructions: – Prepare journal entries to record each of the disposal transactions. (Meigs & Meigs – Problem 9. 4 / Pg 404) For Practice: – Fees & Warren – Ex. 11-12 & Ex. 11-13 Question 5: – On January 5, 2005, a machine was bought by J & P Traders at a list price of Rs. 43,000. The cost of its carriage in was Rs. 800, installation and testing charges were Rs. 4,200 Its estimated useful life is 4 years and its estimated residual value is Rs. 2, 000. Instructions: a. Calculate the cost price of the machine and give a proper journal entr y of the acquisition of the tangible asset. b.Calculate the per year depreciation expense using the straight line method. c. Prepare the depreciation schedule for all the four years. d. Give the adjusting entries to record depreciation for the last useful year. e. After its useful life, the machine was traded-in for a new machine. The new machine’s list price was Rs. 58, 000. J & P Traders accepted a trade-in allowance of Rs. 3, 000 for the old machine, paying Rs. 9, 000 down in cash, and issuing a 1-year, 8 percent note payable for the Rs. 46, 000 balance owed. 2. INTANGIBLE ASSETS Similarities between Tangible and Intangible assets 1. Plant Assets 2. Long Lived 3. Recorded at cost 4. Cost is expensed over useful life in a systematic manner.For Intangible assets, Straight line method over 40 years is followed. 5. At disposal, the book value is eliminated, gain / loss is recorded. Differences S. No| TANGIBLE ASSETS| INTANGIBLE ASSETS| 1. | Has physical existence| Has no physi cal existence| 2. | Term â€Å"Depreciation† is used. | Term â€Å"Amortization† is used. | 3. | Cost Price = list price + all other necessary expenses. | Cost Price = Purchase Price only| 4. | Depreciation period depends upon the estimated useful life. | Amortization period cannot be longer than 40 years. | 5. | Depreciation Expense-equip Accumulated Depreciation-Equip| Amortization Expense Patent|Intangible Assets are rights and privileges that result from the ownership of long lived assets that don’t possess physical substance. 1. GOODWILL * Largest Intangible asset on company’s balance sheet under the head of Intangible assets. * Recorded when transaction involves purchase of entire business. Here goodwill is the excess of cost over fair market value of net assets. (assets less liabilities) acquired. * Value of all favorable attributes that relates to a business. Includes 1. Exceptional management 2. Desirable location 3. Good customers relations 4. S killed employees 5. High quality products 6. Manufacturing efficiency 7. Weak Competition 2. PATENTS A right by the government to manufacture, use and sale of a product. * To encourage invention of a new product. * When patent is purchased from the inventor, purchase price is debited by the account title of Patents. * Are granted for 17 years (legal life). * Obsolesce may cause patent to be economically ineffective. 3. TRADE MARK / TRADE NAME * Name, symbol or distinctive design that identifies a business and a product. * Permanent exclusive right to use a trademark, brand name, commercial symbol. Is obtained by registering it with the government. * For a purchased trademark, cost is substantial and amortized over 40 years. * Is renewable. 4. FRANCHISE It is the right granted by the company to conduct a certain type of business in a specific geographical area. * Cost is quite substantial * Small cost – Amortized over a short period of 5 years. * Material cost – 40 year s. Amortization should be based on the life of the franchise. 5. COPYRIGHTS * Exclusive rights granted by the government to protect the production and sale of literary or artistic material for the life of the creator plus 50 years. NATURAL RESOURCES Examples: – Oil & Gas Reserves, gold, copper, coal mines, timber (forests), etc. As long as this asset is present in its natural environment, it is regarded as Property, Plant & Equipment.Once it is removed from its natural environment, it becomes inventory, i. e. a current asset. Question 1: – Rainbow Minerals paid Rs. 45, 000, 000 (Rs. 45 million) to acquire the Super Coal Mine, which is believed to contain 10 million tons of coal. The residual value of the mine after all of the coal is removed is estimated to be Rs. 5 million. Working: – Cost – Estimated Residual Value = Depletion Expense per ton Estimated Production In tons 45 million – 5 million = Rs. 4 Depletion Expense per ton 10 million Suppose in the first year, 2 million tons of coal was mined, the entry to record depletion would be 2010Debit (Rs) Credit (Rs) Dec 31 Inventory 8, 000, 000 Accumulated Depletion: Super Coal Mine 8, 000, 000 To record depletion of the Super Coal Mine for the year. (2, 000, 000 tons mined @ Rs. 4 per ton) Balance Sheet (extract) of Rainbow Mineral Property, Plant & Equipment Mining Properties: Super Coal Mine Rs. 45, 000, 000 Less: Accumulated Depletion 8, 000, 000 Rs. 37, 000, 000 (Meigs & Meigs, Page 389) Out of 2 million tons, 75, 000 tons of coal was sold. Record the Cost of Goods Sold.Cost of Goods Sold 300, 000 Inventory 300, 000 To record the cost of goods sold Question 2: – Salter Mining Company purchased the Northern Tier Mine for Rs. 21 million cash. The mine was estimated to contain 2. 5 million tons of copper and to have a residual value of Rs. 1 million. During the first year of mining operations at the Northern Tier Mine, 50, 000 tons of copper were mined of which 40, 00 0 tons were sold. Instructions: – a. Compute depletion expense per ton. Prepare a journal entry to record depletion during the year. b. Show how the Northern Tier Mine, and its

Monday, September 16, 2019

Dettol Marketing

Dettol Brand is strongly positioned in the market as â€Å"The best killing germs antiseptic†. It is market leader and it has strong credibility and trust, it’s a top of mind in its category and it has two value propositions: functional (protection for germs and killing wounds) and emotional (love and care from a mother taking care of her child). This emotional campaign was supported with a strong advertising campaign where a mother is shown reading a letter from her son who is in a boarding school, the mother wasn’t worried about her son because he was away from home because she felt he was safe with the protection of Dettol.The campaign helped in making emotional connection with consumers and people remembered the campaign even long after it was discontinued. Everyone knows Dettol as a brand who helps you protect your family’s hygiene and health, it was a â€Å"must-have† product for every household in United Kingdome and India. ACNielsen made a s tudy that backed this theory up stating that Dettol is in the top rank of popularity as one of the most trusted brands.But as it is strongly positioned, everyone thinks about Dettol as a synonymous of â€Å"germ killer† and â€Å"antiseptic†. When they tried to introduce several new brand extensions to the market it was very difficult to change people’s mind about seeing the brand for other purposes or uses instead of just antiseptic. Most of these brand extensions didn’t have the expected results and had very poor sales level, for example: Medicated plasters, shaving cream, talc, floor cleaner and mouthwash: they didn’t achieve the expected results in sales and market share was not significant. They found competition in those categories, brands that were already positioned in the market and Dettol couldn’t compete. The only product that was successful in sales was the soap and liquid soap, probably because these products are strongly associ ated with germ killing. It achieved 44% of value share in liquid soap.It was very difficult and maybe inappropriate to introduce all these new products extensions with the Dettol name, maybe they could have used another name because the â€Å"Dettol† brand was so associated to â€Å"antiseptic†, that it became generic among the target market. For example, it would be similar to say that â€Å"Kleenex† wants to sell shampoo. People just wouldn’t accept it and it would be very difficult to change this strong brand association to one specific concept or product.