Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 13

Individual explanation - Essay Example I as far as it matters for me was exceptionally inspired by the region, so I delighted in those occasions definitely. The break in contemplates was for the most part expected to discover my quality and shortcomings and in this manner, distinguish the field that most appropriate my inclination. I had for the longest time been itching to work before going in for higher examinations. The break has for sure been the most characterizing a great time. The encounters in different regions of human association have altogether affected my point of view towards issues and factors which were until now considered of low legitimacy. In 2003, I previously worked with Ymed Sysems Inc. which showcase clinical hardware and offer clinical types of assistance. Working with the organization caused me to understand that being proficient and being a sales rep are two distinct things. To progress throughout everyday life, I expected to obtain more information. In spite of the fact that I began perusing books on various zones of business, I understood that further extent would furnish me with better information. After two years’ working with the organization, I at long last realized that financial aspects is the field for me. I am keen on knowing how and what causes business to prevail in the exceptionally serious worldwide condition. In spite of the fact that I had settled on provisional choices about my future, I selected for military assistance. The following two years in military had additionally reinforced my conviction that America is the spot to acknowledge one’s dream. I realized that America is a pla ce where there is openings and seeking after advanced education from renowned scholarly world like this training would significantly encourage in understanding my fantasies about turning into a fruitful expert in the field business the executives. Since 2008, I have been concentrating in America. I have been going to English, financial aspects, bookkeeping, and science classes, which will end up being the foundation for increasingly significant examination in Santa Barbara City College. The homeroom meetings have shown me how hypotheses are applied, all things considered, circumstances. The two years in

Finance For Business Investment Or Initial Outflow Free Sample

Question: Characterize about the Finance for Business for Investment or Initial Outflow. Answer: Section A Pay Back Period Restitution period is utilized to examine that how much time is required to recoup the underlying expense of speculation or introductory surge. On the off chance that compensation period is shorter, the undertaking is progressively attractive (Chandra, 2015). Regardless of whether in limited compensation period, the idea of time estimation of cash is relevant. Pay Back period = Initial Investment/Cash stream of per period On the off chance that income of consistently is same, at that point above recipe will apply. For instance, resource buy costing $100000 and income consistently is $25000, at that point take care of period will be 4 years ($100000/$25000). Also, on the off chance that income is distinctive in consistently, at that point limited compensation period determined. In the given undertaking required pace of return is 12% and income is diverse consistently, so limited recompense period will be determined. Estimation of devaluation: Deterioration = (cost - rescue esteem)/life of advantage = (34500000 - 5500000)/5 = 5800000 Uses for including new highlights and consumptions for showcase study both considered as starting money surge. Recompense time of the venture is 2.79 years implies cost of advantages can be recouped in 2.79 years. It is valuable for the Emu hardware to interest in assembling supplies. Productivity Index (PI) Productivity list used to distinguish the relations among cost and advantages by determined proportion. It is utilized for positioning activities. While computing benefit file, time estimation of cash is additionally relevant. It is an apparatus of account to taking choice, regardless of whether the venture will be acknowledged or not (Damodaran, 2010). The venture will be acknowledged whether gainfulness file will mutiple (1) and the task will be dismissed if benefit file falls beneath (1). Furthermore, on the off chance that, productivity list is equivalent to 1 (=1), at that point it will be circumstance of aloof methods anticipated will be acknowledged or dismissed. Gainfulness Index = Present Value of Inflow/Present Value of Outflow = 52205510.12/35,450,000 = 1.47 According to above count gainfulness record is mutiple, so the venture is worthy. Emu gadgets ought to have acknowledged the undertaking. Inward Rate of Return (IRR) It is the pace of return which is utilized to ascertain productivity of speculation. IRR is the pace of intrigue. The net present worth ought to be equivalents to zero of all incomes at inward pace of return (Gallagher Andrew, 2007). Computation of Internal Rate of Return by Trial Error strategy: IRR = 30 + (35570884.83 - $35,450,000)/(35570884.83 - 34908659.88) = 30.18254345 Interior Rate of Return of the undertaking is 30.18% on which net present worth will be zero. Net Present Value (NPV) It alludes to disparity between present estimation of money inflows and present estimation of money surges. The standards of acknowledgment the venture is net present worth (NPV) will be certain and the models of dismissal of undertaking is net present worth (NPV) will be negative. What's more, if, net present worth (NPV) is zero, it will be state of lack of interest. Equation: Net Present Value = Present Value of money Inflows Present Value of money Outflows Estimation of Net Present Value: While ascertaining present estimation of inflows, present estimation of lingering esteem/rescue (for example 5500000) likewise included (Needles, Powers Crosson, 2010). Here, net present estimation of task is $16,755,510 which is sure in this way, venture will be acknowledged. Affectability of NPV to changes in the cost of the new advanced cell Changes in income legitimately effects on NPV and income changes if there is variety in cost of item. Net present worth changes with change in the cost of the item. On the off chance that cost of the advanced cells will be builds, at that point net present worth will increments and stays positive. What's more, on the off chance that, cost of the advanced mobile phones will be diminishes then net present worth will diminishes or falls negative. In this way, it very well may be said that net present worth is exceptionally touchy with changes in the cost of the new advanced mobile phone (Moyer, McGuigan Rao, 2014). Affectability of NPV to changes in the amount sold On the off chance that selling amount of any item transforms, it straightforwardly effects on net present worth. On the off chance that selling amount of PDAs will be expands, net present worth will increments. What's more, if, selling amount of advanced cells will be diminishes, net present worth reductions. So it very well may be said that affectability of net present worth (NPV) is relies upon change in number of units sold or amount sold. Net present worth is progressively delicate with changes in the amount sold (Gill, 2015). Emu Electronics should create the new advanced mobile phone Emu Electronics ought to need to deliver the new advanced cell since it is productive according to counts made under net present worth, restitution period and gainfulness record. The recompense time of Emu Electronics is 2.79 years. In the event that Emu Electronics put resources into assembling types of gear of new advanced mobile phone, at that point they can recoup their venture cost in the time of 2.79 years. Benefit record of Emu Electronics is 1.47 which is mutiple, so new task is reasonable for them. Net present estimation of Emu Electronics is certain, so new undertaking is adequate. On the off chance that Emu Electronics loses deals on different models in light of the presentation of the new model On the off chance that Emu Electronics present new model of advanced mobile phone, it will be conveyed more particulars. So clients will like to get it. Henceforth, naturally deals of different models will be diminished. It impacts the gainfulness and net present estimation of organization. According to showcase general situation, on the off chance that any new item propelled in advertise, at that point it will be effective or not relies upon its particulars or clients need. In the event that such item is increasingly valuable or have exceptional attributes, at that point clients will want to get it since they got more fulfillment. In the event that there is no details in new item, at that point clients won't get it. Presentation of new item consistently impacts to the offer of different items. Same with Emu Electronics, they got loss of deals on different models in light of presentation of the new model. It happens in light of the fact that clients occupy to buy new model and deals diminishes of different models. Because of progress in deal, income of organization changes and it impacts legitimately to net present worth, gainfulness record and compensation period. So it influences on complete investigation of organization. Part B Cost of capital for Hubbard PC ltd 1) From the ASX site yearly report of Harvey Norman of 2015 downloaded. The yearly report of any organization shows the total cost of that organization. According to accounting report or articulation of money related situation as at 30 June 2015, on page number 59 book estimation of obligation and book estimation of value found. Book estimation of obligation included notes payable, current part of long haul obligation and long haul obligation. According to yearly report of Harvey Norman, the book estimation of obligation is $698,438,000 as at 30 June 2015 seems to be: Current part of Interest bearing credits and borrowings $408,438,000 Non-current part of Interest bearing credits and borrowings $290,000,000 Book Value of Debt $698,438,000 Book estimation of value incorporates share capital or contributed value, holds excess and held benefits. According to yearly report of Harvey Norman, the book estimation of value is $2,556,860 as at 30 June 2015 seems to be: Contributed value $380,328 Stores $113,290 Held benefits $ 2,043,463 Non-controlling interest $19,779 Book Value of Equity $2,556,860 (Source: Annual report of Harvey Norman, 2015) According to title Interest Rate Risk Management in yearly report of Harvey Norman at page number 120, breakdown of Harvey Normans long haul obligation is as per the following: (Source: Annual report of Harvey Norman, 2015) Normal loan fee (skimming) of long haul obligation is 0.47% to 5.93% given in yearly report of Harvey Norman. There is no other order of obligations according to gathering of years. 2) Latest stock cost recorded for Harvey Norman 5.18 Market estimation of value, or market capitalization 5.76B Remarkable portions of Harvey Norman 2,066,523 Latest yearly profit (pay date 01 Dec 2015) 11 penny According to yearly report profit per share 20.0 penny According to yearly report unique profit per share 14.0 penny Profit rebate model can use for this situation as all significant data are accessible. Beta for Harvey Norman 0.70 Note: All the sums given above are in Australian Dollar (AUD). (Source: aufinance.yahoo.com, 2016) Yield on government obligation is 1.86% according to Bonds interface at aufinance.yahoo.com. Cost of value for Harvey Norman by Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): Cost of value = Risk free pace of return + Premium expected for chance Cost of value = Risk free pace of return + Beta * (showcase pace of return hazard free pace of return) = 1.86% + 0.70 * (3% - 1.86%) = 0.02658 = 2.658% Here, government securities yield esteem taken as hazard free pace of return. Cost of value is financing cost of value capital (Pratt Grabowski, 2010). Under capital resource evaluating model, chance factor of capital contributed is thought of. Hazard free pace of return is a pace of government securities, which are liberated from showcase chance. Estimation of beta is taken from Harvey Normans site. Also, advertise pace of return is determined, it is appeared in reference section. 3) Business advance rate is 5.34% p.a. according to gave site of Westpac. Weighted normal expense of obligation for Harvey Norman By book esteem loads: Weighted normal expense of obligation = aggregate of weighted rate/aggregate of weight = 3.738/1 = 3.738% Here one kind of obligation (for example enthusiasm bearing advances and borrowings) accessible according to yearly report of Harvey Norman. Cost of obligation is 3.73% for both, current and non-current enthusiasm bearing advances and borrowings. So there is no uniqueness between cost of obligation and weighted normal expense of obligation. It tends to be comprehend by above estimation of weighted normal expense of capital. Weighted normal expense of obligation can't be dictated by showcase esteem premise since credits an

Guest Entry Christina Bognet

Guest Entry Christina Bognet This post is written by the beautiful and talented Christina 10, whose first choice when applying to colleges was admittedly NOT MIT, but is quite possibly the funniest (and happiest) Baker biology genius I know, as well as a poignant and accomplished blogger. Enjoy! *** Precisely one year ago today I sat drinking coffee at a Dunkin Donuts with one of my best friends, Colin, as we chatted about getting into our respective first choice schools early decision. I have a really good feeling for you, Christina, he told me. Ahhhh, I dont know. Probably not. But you…youre getting into MIT. I know it. How could they not take you? We agonized and fantasized over getting The Big Envelope (or in Colins case, The Tube) until both we and the pterodactyls in our stomachs were exhausted. The days leading up to decisions were sickeningly brutal and wonderfully exhilarating all at the same time. There would be hopeful, Im getting in! Im getting in! moments, followed by, theyll never take me, moments. It was difficult to decide whether optimism or pessimism was the better approach and neutrality seemed impossible. As much as I tried to be rational in convincing myself that things would turn out okay, at the end of the day, the facts remained: I wanted to go to School A and I needed to get in. Period. I checked the decision online, put my head in my hands and sobbed. They were not tears of joy. Flash forward one year. Im sitting in my dorm room looking out at the beautiful Boston skyline, taking a break from my 5.111 problem set. I had dinner a few hours ago with the very same Colin who was accepted to MIT on the day I was deferred from what I thought was my dream school. I have grown so much in the past year and in watching my friends and myself trudge through the college admissions process, Ive gained a lot of perspective. I dont know how it ever got to the point where I put so much emphasis on a place that seemed perfect at the age of 18, that I actually feel as though my happiness was contingent upon my acceptance into a college. I only realize now how preposterous that truly is. Two of my best friends were rejected from their first choice schools and yet are completely in love with where they ended up and roll their eyes when reminded of how much they thought they wanted to be somewhere else. As for me, I love MIT. I really do. Im lucky and blessed to be here and SO grateful my dream school deferred me. But to say I wouldnt have been happy somewhere else is unreasonable and silly. The truth is, and maybe you cant see this yet, its going to be okay. Its going to be better than okay. However, if youre anything like my old self, if you dont get the news you are hoping for on Saturday or in April, youre going to experience this crazy whirlwind of emotions. Youre going to feel sad, angry, apathetic, confused, and defeated. But somewhere in there, youre going to have this isolated moment where you think to yourself, WhatEVER. Im going to succeed anywhere. And when that feeling comes… hold on to it and never let go.

Northern Ireland - 1460 Words

Diplomacy does not happen overnight, and the true tale of hardship and bickering over Northern Ireland is proof of that. Ireland and England failed to agree on who held the power of Northern Ireland for over 30 years until the Good Friday Agreement, a form of diplomacy between the countries, took place. Before that time, many soldiers and innocent citizens of Northern Ireland lost their lives. Religious fights broke out between Catholic and Protestant residents. Political figures from countries like Wales and the United States came together to help put an end to the bitter relations of the European countries (Delaney). After many years of hard feelings and failed attempts at bringing peace to Ireland and England, the countries came†¦show more content†¦After one year, the death toll was 300, and after 10 years the number of people who had been killed from the fighting was a gruesome 1, 932 (Holland 196). Many of the victims were innocent people who were not partaking in the fights in any way. The killers of these innocent people were never caught or punished (Graham). After several years of fighting Jack Holland expressed what he was witnessing as â€Å"there has already been much crying about Northern Ireland† (Holland 1). Even the governments were aiming their weapons at each other. The Irish Republic Army killed a British soldier, creating a substantial amount of tension between the two countries (De Breadun). When the end neared, Ulster Defense Association ceased to be an armed paramilitary group. They had been responsible for many deaths over the years (Delaney). Several political figures from all parts of the world were brought together over the ordeal concerning Northern Ireland. During the early 1990s, British Prime Minister John Major worked with Ireland’s Ahern to achieve peace between them. All attempts at peace failed overall. United States President Bill Clinton worked with Ireland, Britain, and Northern Ireland to acquire th e peace they were hoping for (Graham). It was not until Tony Blair became Prime Minister that things began to fall into place. Britain’s George Mitchell held the skill and patience necessary to help Northern Ireland peace talks lead to the Good Friday Agreement.Show MoreRelatedThe Tensions Between Northern Ireland And Ireland1245 Words   |  5 Pages The Troubles was a time period of revolt and discrimination in Northern Ireland that lasted from the late 1960s until 1998, beginning with direct British involvement in Northern Ireland and formally ending with the Good Friday Agreement. However, it can be argued that the tension that persisted during The Troubles still exists today. The Troubles stemmed from the dissolution of a long period of peaceful tension between two political groups, the Nationalists and Unionists and by extension two majorRead MoreEssay on Northern Ireland1704 Words   |  7 PagesNorthern Ireland A world of hate supports many conflicts in modern society. Strings of hatred entangle all walks of life. Oftentimes, the most disheartening part of most ongoing hatred is the fact that the people involved do not even know how it began. Since 1170, nothing but hatred, intolerance, and death has surrounding the culture of Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is a land rich in tradition and pride; the same pride sustains the separation of the Protestants and the Catholics. Read MoreThe Impact of Bloody Sunday on Northern Ireland Essay1826 Words   |  8 PagesThe Impact of Bloody Sunday on Northern Ireland Bloody Sunday has made a very big impact on Irelandand events occurring there since 1972. According to Lord Widgery, the soldiers acted in self-defence, therefore it was not their fault and could not be blamed. Republicans were very annoyed by this verdict, so in 1998 a new inquiry was started called The Saville Inquiry. The inquiry has so far cost  £130m. The final cost will be in the region of  £150m. An estimatedRead MoreThe Northern Ireland Conflict1906 Words   |  8 PagesThe Northern Ireland Conflict Esteemed members of the Board, in this report I intend to convincingly show you that the borders in question absolutely need to be redrawn. The borders I speak of are those of the British oppression of Northern Ireland. For years upon years the British have possessed political control over the people of Northern Ireland. I will make it obvious to you that the strong Catholic religion throughout Northern Ireland has forced the people to oppose British controlRead MoreThe Northern Ireland Marching Season2307 Words   |  10 PagesThe Northern Ireland Marching Season The marching season is where the Protestants of Ireland celebrate William of Oranges victory in the Battle of the Boyne by marching through Northern Ireland via some Catholic areas. These marches take place in July of every year and are usually peaceful. But sometimes they are violent. There are a number of possible reasons why there is a tension between the two communities over the marches, for example land, religion, politicsRead MoreThe Arguments For And Against Northern Ireland2162 Words   |  9 PagesDiscuss the arguments for and against Northern Ireland continuing to develop event tourism. The Troubles in Northern Ireland; a time of political, social and economic unrest. A time when terrorism was all too common, and people were afraid to leave their homes. Fast forward forty years, and sixteen years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, and Northern Ireland seems to have flourished to become a well-recognised tourist destination. According to Devine and Carruthers (2014) ‘Today, eventsRead MoreTerrorism and Riots in Northern Ireland 509 Words   |  2 PagesNorthern Ireland is known for its humor, its accent, beautiful green hills, and their weather. Although Ireland seems peaceful, more violence happens in the north then you would think. There is terrorism and riots by the IRA used to prevent the British Catholics from trying to change the island of Ireland to a catholic country. All this violence started with the Act of Union over 200 years ago. In Ireland and Great Britain in 1801, the British and Irish governments passed the Act of Union, combiningRead MoreThe Problems of Northern Ireland Essay1925 Words   |  8 PagesThe Problems of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is part of Ireland which is the most western part in Europe. It is a small place with a population of 1.5 million and is no larger than Yorkshire. It has been the centre of media attention because of a conflict between the people of the province. Many people have been killed there and in the years 1968-1994 over three thousand died. Northern Ireland is ruled by the British parliament in London where as the republicRead MoreImpact Of Drugs On Northern Ireland912 Words   |  4 Pages Impacts of drugs on Northern Ireland Northern Ireland has had a long and hard history with violence and oppression. For generations the people of Ireland have been at war with them selves, this has caused lots of damage to the overall health of Ireland. The violence now is at an all time low, meaning that this is the ideal time for Ireland to look at what harm, both mental and physical, the years of violence has caused. The Irish people have always been known as drinkers of alcohol, this has beenRead MoreThe Short and Long Term Effects of the Hunger-Strikes in Northern Ireland2258 Words   |  10 PagesLong Term Effects of the Hunger-Strikes in Northern Ireland The hunger-strikes of 1980 and 1981 had highly significant consequences for Northern Ireland nationally and internationally. While at first they polarised the community, they eventually led to the beginnings of peace in Northern Ireland. Soon after Direct Rule was introduced in Northern Ireland in March 1972 Westminster created a new department, the Northern Ireland Office, which had responsibility for Irelandwhile

Influence Of Cognitive Biases On Decisions - 1142 Words

The influence of cognitive biases on decisions Society once had a conjecture that only discriminatory people used stereotypes, however, studies in unconscious bias now reveal that we all are guilty of using stereotypes, all the time, without knowing it. Finally, the antagonist of equality has been found, and it is us. With a limited perspective, we all have a bias view of the world, this is because we are only capable of hearing, seeing, and reading what is around us. A definitive version of reality is not subject to one person. Our position in society helps inform our world view, such as, our race, class, gender, religion, and culture, impacting how we view, respond and react to every experience. Often times, decision makers or not aware of their bias, which can effect the decisions being made. To begin, I will define stereotyping as it is expressed in modern society and the impact of mass media, then I will explain the process of storing stereotypes in the brain, I will give a theory of why man-kind stereotypes, and then expla in how it effects decision making. Stereotyping is one of many cognitive bias, that allows us to quickly identify strangers as friends or enemies, and with the use of stereotypes, we classify others as we interact with them, allowing us to know the proper way to respond (Lebowitz). The scientific definition of stereotyping is; an exaggerated belief, image or distorted truth about a person or group. A generalization that allows for little or noShow MoreRelatedCognitive Biases Are An Influence On An Individuals Method Of Decision Making1848 Words   |  8 PagesIt is known that cognitive biases are an influence to an individuals method of decision making. ‘Cognitive biases’ are the tendencies to think in certain and specific ways which could lead to systematic reasons to a standard of rationality or good or bad judgement. ‘Decisions’ are the acts or processes of deciding out of question or doubt, determination, making a judgement or the act for making up one’s mind to conclude to a selection of choices. ‘Conscious and controlled decisions’ are when an individualRead MoreDoes Cognitive Bias Influence The Patterns We Exist?1529 Words   |  7 Pages My knowledge question is to what extent does cognitive bias influence the patterns we see in life? Cognitive bias is defined as pattern of distortion in perception and a deviation from rational decision; irrationality Decision-making, belief and behavioral biases. If a person was to look into human sciences and mathematics as ways of knowing, he or she would determine that cognitive bias is present every time a person sees a pattern. However, they are unable toRead MoreEffective Appraisal Approaches And Its Influence On Investment Decision Making1441 Words   |  6 Pagespurchase of equipment or inventory by owner in order to improve future business. (Kahraman, 2011) Moreover, the part of decision-making acts a crucial role in business investment that depends upon the investor’s profit expectation, the availability to finance the investment and the potential cost of assets. (Virlics, 2013) However, risk and uncertainty are the basic terms to the decision-making framework. Ris k can be defined as the probability of outcomes or loss that is caused by internal or externalRead MoreEffective Appraisal Approaches And Its Influence On Investment Decision Making1419 Words   |  6 Pagespurchase of equipment or inventory by owner in order to improve future business. (Kahraman, 2011) Moreover, the part of decision-making preforms a crucial role in business investment that depends upon the investor’s profit expectation, the availability to finance the investment and the potential cost of asset. (Virlics, 2013) However, risk and uncertainty are the basic terms to the decision-making framework. Risk can be defined as the probability or threat of outcomes or loss that is caused by internalRead MoreRetrospective Analysis of Personality1043 Words   |  5 Pagesand molds them as we learn and mature. That’s it, right? Ha! The nature vs nurture debate still rages on, as scientist fight over how much of who we are is shaped by genes and how much by the env ironment. The nurture theory holds that genetic influence over abstract traits may exist; however, the environmental factors are the real origins of our behavior. This includes the use of conditioning in order to induce a new behavior to a child, or alter an unlikely behavior being shown by the child. AccordingRead MoreThe Problem Of Dealing With Biased Decision Making1387 Words   |  6 Pagesas an integral part of the organization’s selection and recruitment processes, yet when meeting someone for the first time, our initial judgments are often clouded by biases (Rockawin, 2012). The following essay will explore the problem of dealing with biased decision-making in job interviews which is defined as the cognitive biases which are flaws in judgments that occurs in particular situations as a result of flawed perception of incoming information. (Hua, 2011). The â€Å"employment interview is aRead MoreDecision Making820 Words   |  4 PagesQuestion 1: Which biases in decisi on making can be identified in the performances of both Pieterson and Gack? How can the identified biases be overcome? In general, the decision making style for manager approach decision making is toward rational and intuitive thinking. In rational thinking a person consider the problem in a rational, step-by-step and analytical way. Rational thinking person will resolve a complex and complicated problem into smaller part and then resolve them in a rational,Read More The Nature of Logic and Perception Essay698 Words   |  3 Pagesunderstand, what we do and how we think. How did we come to a certain conclusion or perception? This paper will explain the nature of logic to critical thinking. Also covered will be my own perceptual process and a description of the types of blocks that influence my views. It is the ability to hone the thinking skills necessary to become a well-rounded contributor to a society or an organization. The nature of logic to critical thinking begins at an early age. From the time one learns the difference betweenRead MoreBiological Factors Affecting Decision Making Essay736 Words   |  3 PagesBiological Factors affecting decision we made. There are many of factors influencing your decision making process either in a positive or a negative way. In addition to what is already determined by your genes, according to various sources the following biological and psychological factors play an important role. Biological factors ï‚ § Nutrition is essential for organs to develop (building material), but also to let it operate (fuel). On average, as much as 25% of all energy a human daily takes inRead MoreFrancis Simonh M. Bries (2012-24817, Ma Psychology). Psychology1704 Words   |  7 PagesHumans, with all things being equal, could not be bothered to think deeper than what can be concluded using learned shortcuts and easily accessed information. The latter heuristic processing is preferred in most situations as it does not require cognitive effort because of its automaticity yet nevertheless arriving at good-enough conclusions that would work in most instances. It is when people are motivated and have the ability to consider information more deeply that they engage in systematic processing

Why are Keralans better of than other Indians Free Essays

There are many reasons why the people in Kerala have a better standard of living than in other Indian states. Some of the reasons are to do with nature and some are to do with human decisions. The State of Kerala is good for farming. We will write a custom essay sample on Why are Keralans better of than other Indians? or any similar topic only for you Order Now There are many natural advantages, for example large amounts of precipitation, with 120-140 rainy days per year, Kerala has a wet, tropical climate, consequently making the soil incredibly fertile. The climate is very humid and wet, which is perfect to grow crops. A map of India: The government of Kerala made some unusual decisions about how to run the state. They introduced ‘land reform,’ which basically means the government give every family one hectare of land each. The government prevent the rich to own more then 10 hectares by buying the land off them, as a result everyone gets an opportunity to own something, this then gives the poor starting points to earn money, whereas in other Indian states the poor stay poor because they do not receive the level of help required. Over 1.5 million homeless families benefited from land reform. Land reform Meant Keralans could grow food on their properties for consumption (for survival) and sell it for a better standard of living. Many Keralans have stopped growing only rice and now have a greater variety of crops. Keralans now grow tapioca, ginger, banana’s and coconuts. Farmers sell less rice because the rice from the state of Tamil Nadu is significantly cheaper because the workers get paid a considerably smaller wage. Keralans want to grow more profitable crops to be able to pay for after school classes for their children. Growing one hectare of rice gets only 25, 000 rupees but growing coconuts make 50, 000 rupees. Coconut palms, as an example, have many different uses. Coconuts can be used sell or consume, (ear or drink the juices). Used to make cosmetics, fuel for cooking, the residue from making oil is used for cattle food. Coconuts are useful for making mats and ropes. Coconut leaves are used to thatch roofs. Keralans are better educated than other Indians. Keralans are given free education, I personally think this is a beneficial idea to educate the children because they are the future, the Keralans are thinking about the long-term effects of a free education whereas the other Indian states do not give education unless the citizens give money. The Keralan government provide free education, however the classes are exceptionally large, as a result the children would not get the right amount of education necessary. This is why parents work hard on farms to produce the best quality of crops. Selling as much as possible and getting the largest possible yield means more money, that way the children have a better chance of doing well academically. Well educated Keralans get the opportunity to work abroad as they get more money this way, hence, wages for farm labourers are higher in Kerala than in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, as fewer workers are available. Money is sent home from abroad, for that reason, the Keralans have money to spend, they can afford manufactured goods and this encourages new businesses to start up. New jobs means more jobs available in Kerala other than farming which is very hard and tiring. Parents do not want their children to do that. People with jobs have a better standard of living. This all leads to a developed, better state for the people of Kerala to live in. I think that the state of Kerala is more developed than other parts of India because they can afford to spend money on manufactured goods, meaning more businesses are likely to start up. Because of this new jobs are available for the children that are not very intelligent or that did badly at school. The Keralan government realise that educating children is a necessity because when they are old and ill and need a doctor it will be one of those children, so in the future everyone benefits from this. How to cite Why are Keralans better of than other Indians?, Papers

Managing Across Border International Business

Question: Discuss about theManaging Across Borderfor International Business. Answer: Introduction This report is focused on the study of outsourcing concept in international business. Outsourcing is used by many companies, as it helps to reduce cost of business by assigning work to another company or agency offering outsourcing services in specific field of business. There are various types of outsourcing projects in the international business like IT, manufacturing, sales, finance and human resource. Outsourcing plays an important role in international business. Outsourcing is helpful for the business, as it helps to pays more attention on core business objective and goals to the company. Further, this report critically evaluates the advantage and disadvantage of the outsourcing decisions in the business. Every business has to follow formal process to implement the outsourcing business decisions. Different steps of this process include strategy, selection, negotiation, implementation, management and completion. The report also focuses on challenges of outsourcing decisions and t he ways in which challenges can be mitigated. Outsourcing: Outsourcing is also called as business process outsourcing, which is used by various companies to decrease cost of business by transferring their work to outside people or supplier instead of doing it internally. It is a cost reducing strategy for the business when applied in a systematic manner. Sometimes, it can be affordable to buy products from companies as compared to produce the goods internally. Further, when business requires skills and expertise, which they do not have in their company, they transfer their work to another people or businesses to solve complete their work (Crize, 2014). In general, the term outsourcing means going out to get the source of what you require in the business. These days many businesses provide outsourcing for what companies require for serving the people. For an example: Dell buys some of computer part from another company to reduce its production cost. Outsourcing has many advantages like outsourcing allows organizations to find the experts for their specific works. A company can enjoy various advantages with outsourcing like capital improvement, wealth maximization and profit maximization. Along with this, the outsourcing business strategies are generally cheaper reducing cost and risk in business. Different Types of Outsourcing Decision in International Business Outsourcing strategy is helpful for taking quality decision-making in organizations for todays market scenario in the world. Organizations in international business are using the outsourcing contracts for different kinds of business needs on long-term basis for managing the particular department of the organization. The work of different departments in companies at international business platform is outsourced such as IT, Manufacturing, Sales, Human Resource and many more. The outsourcing firms are working on behalf of the same industry. Different types of outsourcing are taken for enhancing cost efficiency of company (Pamela et.al, 2015). The out-sourcing decisions are also taken for peripheral business activities, critical activities and strategic and problem-solving activities or core competence activities. Example of peripheral activitys outsourcing involve outsourcing of canteen, medical facilities to employees, transport facilities etc. If the company is outsourcing these activ ities, company will have enough time to contribute more focus on core objective of the company. On the other side, example of critical activities is the IT department of the company. Outsourcing of these activities will be helpful to more focus on other important departments of the company. For IT department, companies may need to outsource another firm for handling back of security data, total management facilities, internal audit and data processing of organization (Elizabeth, 2012). It is the example for critical activity outsourcing. Lastly, strategic and problem-solving activities are also outsourced by different organizations. For handling these problems, outsources firm (i.e. business consultants) appoints the person (with experience in the industry) for handling the problematic situations. Strategic problem may be related to different strategies adopted by the organization for the development of business. For example: For problem solving purpose in the organization, an outso urcing contract can be taken into action to know how it can see the issue related to the dispute between the employee and employer in organization (Douglas and Scott, 2012). For, resolve these problems company can also open a grievance handling cell as an alternative to outsourcing, but it may impose higher costs on business. What is the Role of Outsourcing Decisions in International Business? Every organization has the need to list out the reasons for taking outsourcing decision before stake-holders of company. Outsourcing decision is concerned about the subject matter and objective of the organization. Owner of the company will discuss its plan with different departments of the company and will do a cost benefit study of the outsourcing decision (Ian, 2012). Then the management will finalize the outsourcing decision based on the requirements of the organization. However, company will also coordinate with the employees of the company if they have any issues from the outsourcing decision. If the company takes wrong decision for outsourcing, then all the money and time will be wasted. Outsourcing is helpful for the organization, as it enables management if company to pays more attention of the others important operations of the company. Further, the organization decides to take the outsourcing decision for reducing the cost of the business (llan et.al, 2011). For example, the manufacturing of specific equipment of computers causes higher capital and efforts rather it can be outsourced for lesser amount. Therefore, outsourcing firm which the organization has given the contract will be responsible for manufacturing related issues for the specific equipment. It will helpful for the company to give more focus on others core competencies of the business. There are various business operations, if the organizations plan to implement these all by their own, the cost of business will be very high. Most of organizations at international level like banking firms, retail organizations, technology firms (like HP, Dell etc) outsource their customer care operations due to cost benefits. In case, the organizations set-up their own CSR department, it will cause costly to the company. At international business platform, it is not easy for a business entity to conduct recruitment operations smoothly due to differences of cultural, demographic and national backgrounds (Stephanie, 2012). In this situation, the outsourcing of HR proved to be productive to the companies. The outsourcing strategy is also helpful to MNCs to avail bus/transport services for their staff. The set-up of new transport department can be highly cost enhancer for the companies. Similarly, the outsourcing decisions are effective in the field of canteen facilities, security servi ces etc. Outsourcing is better option, because the same services are carried out in organization by experts in the field of service. Advantage of Outsourcing Decision Outsourcing project provides various advantages to both parties (i.e. company and outsourced vendors). The outsourcing has established a new form of business for major entrepreneurs. The major benefit of outsourcing to company is the cost and time saving in business. Few companies provide their work to other countries. They get their work done at a lower cost with better quality as compared to their own country (Schniederjans et al, 2015). Quality of work is high which ensures that low cost does not provide low quality in the work. Outsourcing eliminates the requirement of infrastructure and any equipment in the business. Outsourcing work provider also takes the responsibilities to develop infrastructure required for accomplishment of assigned work. Companies do not need to invest capital in training and recruiting of employees for their business. Outsourcing provider has the responsibility to hire/recruit and train candidates to complete their assigned work. One of the greatest bene fits of outsourcing is risk sharing in business. Through outsourcing a company can shift certain risk or obligations to outsourced vendor. Further, outsourced vendor also get responsibility with outsourcing work (Rothaermel, 2015). Outsourced vendor takes responsibilities to get work done at the right time with right accuracy. If the outsourced company does not complete work in that situation they also have to face loss in the business. Disadvantage of Outsourcing Decision A major disadvantage of outsourcing is that the companies have to disclose their secrets of the business with outsourced vendor. In addition to this, they have to pass other information like client information, login information, and business process (Dinu, 2015). Therefore, outsourced vendor is able to implement on provided work. Outsourcing company has always risk related to loss of reputation and secrets of his business. Along with this, companies are dependent on the outsourced vendors. If outsourced vendors service will go down or if their outsourcing project price will increase, the company will get loss or company will be closed due to lack of project. Apart from this, there is another disadvantage of outsource strategy, that the outsourced vendor shall have control on companys management. The company management has to lose control from outsourced department or operation (Prakken, 2012). But, the outsourced vendor will need to follow rules and regulations of company, to maintain infrastructure and to recruit people according to their requirement policies. When a company makes a contract with an outsourced vendor, various information and detail can be hidden. Few charges are hidden, which is not included in a contract like legal fees of a lawyer or making a contract with other countries company. An outsourced vendor provides specific work to other companies. Under this situation, the company just focuses on their work rather than customers satisfaction. In many cases, the outsourcing company does not get employees for outsourcing work due to lack understanding of organization culture. Sometime, the company hires employees, who do not have knowledge about work and culture of the company. Apart from this, it affects the performance of the business, because the company does not have fit employees according to the requirement of business or work. In that condition business entity will not get success or cannot sustain in the international as well as in local markets. What are Formal Steps of Implementation of Outsourcing Decision? The outsourcing decision has a specific process and path. A successful outsourcing decision is beneficial and costs saving for the business. It focuses on process improvement, core business, reduces time, expansion of business and cost containment (Boguslauskas and Kvedaravi?ien?, 2015). The formal process of outsourcing includes various steps, the detail of which is discussed as below: Strategy: It is the first phase, where senior level management takes decision to measure and reviewed to outsourcing project. It is the part of long-term strategy to get maximum profit and to concentrate on core competencies. This kind of decision can be for a particular project, program and operation. At this, step a strategy of outsourcing for organization is framed. Selection: Under this step, the company explores different vendors providing outsourcing service in required business segment and selects the most appropriate vendor for outsourcing work. The company requests information about the project or proposal process and finally selects the best fit project vendor. There are a various process in the selecting phase like defining the work, sourcing the vendor and selecting the vendor. Negotiation: Negotiation is a method in which two or more person settle differences. Negotiation is an approach, which is used for business deal and decision-making. Further, two phases are involved in negotiation process, viz. first negotiating the contract and second is signing the contract. Under this step of negotiation, the management of company negotiates with vendor providing outsourcing facilities with regards to different aspects of the contract. Implementation: This step involves the function of implementation on the outsourced agreement. Also, it includes generating the administrative activities which are a need for their management. The three major functions involved in the implementation steps are planning the transition, preparing the budget, and launching the program. Management: This step focuses on all activities, which are required to manage the outsourcing project and achieve the decided results. There are various activities which come in management activities such as managing the customer, managing the partnership or relationship with outsourced vendor, monitoring project, and negotiating changes in the project. Completion: It is the final phase of outsourcing, which includes close out function for the project. The two major functions of this step are completion of the contract and closing out the project. Challenges Faced by Organizations with Outsourcing Decisions Beyond benefits offered by outsourcing, there are also many challenges with the outsourcing strategy. The challenges are faced irrespective of how well the planning is made, budgeted and staffed. Culture difference at international level is challenge that is faced in the organization like work culture differences between both parties and differences between national culture, which are uncontrollable nowadays. Further, clashes in the work culture can create conflicts in the organization (Done, 2012). Results of culture difference may impact output standards, decision-making qualty, and operational techniques in the organization. On the other hand, the organization also has to face nation culture difference like understanding and language barriers. There is no another solution instead of creating a strong relationship between the employees and outsourcing vendors. Participation of client leader is important because they analyze the output. Lack of leaders participation will result in slow progress or failed project. Further, client leaders must have dialogues between the service provider and the organization. An organization expects and believes that outsourced vendor will take care of everything. Therefore, the organization keeps high expectation from the outsourced vendor (Brown and Wilson, 2012). If the outsourced vendor does not fulfill their expectation, then it can create conflict. Due to this, client can become frustrated and disappointed. On the other hand, besides the cost of outsourcing work, the client must focus on the risk, which comes with the project. Both outsourced vendor and client determine s the goals and objective of the project according to prepared strategy, which helps to face challenges of the organization. Ways/strategies to Mitigate the Challenges Use An Effective Outsourcing Model: It is very important element in implementing an outsourcing strategy, that the companies should utilize an effective outsourcing model. The use of model should be fit in organization according to their needs and opportunity to achieve objectives and goals. Further, outsourcing model can be divers, numerous and complex as the organization and outsourced vendor that utilize them (Mclvor, 2010). An outsourcing model has various variables such as contractual flexibility, distribution of responsibility, duration and scope. But main variable of outsourcing model is the distribution of responsibility between the outsourcing vendor and the company. Start Slowly, Build Gradually: Senior management of the organization should not focus on strategy on quickly to get success. Further, this decision should be decided according to successive outsourcing project. Companies should make sure and should take enough time to generate a solid foundation for their business (Blackthorn, 2015). Business firms may not think to get success/achievement by first outsourcing project. Both parties (i.e. company and outsourcing vendor) work together in outsourcing project therefore company should make a good relationship with outsourced vendor to achieve the objective and goals of the business. Count the Costs: It is also important to set-up realistic expectation, because the expectations are included in the cost of outsourcing. Senior management has to face implication to cut costs while hiring of skilled labor. The company has to add hidden cost in their actual work like the selection of a vendor, transitioning work, dealing with cultural differences, infrastructure and communication costs. Some hidden cost can be above 20-30 percent in outsourcing contract. In addition to this, company can minimize these costs with a right approach and management system. It is the best way to centralize the cost instead of distributing costs. It stimulates project to get the benefit of cost saving by reduced expenses. Understanding and Management of the Risks: It is not enough to make a list of risk that are expected to be present in the business, rather companies require to give priorities to manage risks which is based on anticipated impacts. In addition to this, if risks appear in the business, the company should act fast to execute the mitigation strategy to eliminate that particular risk. Set Realistic Expectations: After making objective and goals, the company requires revisiting objective and goals to make clear that they are realistic or not. It is important for the company to set its objectives (both business objectives and objectives behind major outsourcing decisions) realistic. They should focus on vendor selection cost, infrastructure, hidden cost, and lesson learned to measure profit. A realistic set of expectation enables companies to have more realistic picture of the growth and stability of the business. Return on investment calculation brings at one place, which helps to predict how these all variable will contribute in the business. Unrealistic expectation can spoil outsourcing work and cost which is invested in the business. Apart from this, a set of realistic expectation helps to support strategy. In simple form, return on investment shows how much an organization should invest in the business. Define Clear Objective: A successful outsourcing strategy starts with measurable objective and goals. Objective describes the reason of making a program, providing a framework of working, illuminating business value to make a decision (Boguslauskas and Kvedaravi?ien?, 2015). It also discusses that which outsourcing model should be used, what project should be outsourced. The objective states the context to analyze the degree of success or un-success chances of the strategy. Apart from this, it is also important for the organization that outsourcing is not a solution to every business problem. A strategy without any business objectives and goals may lead to ambiguous results and management planning. This way, the outsourcing decision needs to be taken with smart and intelligent discussion in organization. Conclusion From the above analysis, outsourcing occurs in the market, when a company provides work to another people or company rather than doing it internally to reduce cost of the organization. It is also cheaper in order of reducing cost and risk, and salaries. Apart from this, it also plays an important role in international business. Company follows a process to implement outsourcing project to get decided result. Outsourcing project has various advantage like risk sharing, cost advantage, saving cost of infrastructure and technology. On the other hand it also has various disadvantages like Loss of Confidentiality, Dependence on the outsourced vendor, Loss of managerial control, Hidden cost and Lack of customer focus. Companies are also facing many challenges in outsourcing project decision like Culture difference and Participation of client leader. To mitigate the challenge of outsourcing decision companies need to focus on various points like define clear objective, understand the manage ment risk, count the cost in advance , use an effective outsourcing model and Start slowly, build gradually. References Abbott,P.,Zheng,Y.,and Du,R.(2015) Collabration of learning and innovation across outsource services value network.UK: Springer. Blackthorn, D. (2015) What strategies do companies use to mitigate risks with offshore outsourcing?. [Online]. Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-strategies-do-companies-use-to-mitigate-risks-with-offshore-outsourcing (Accessed: 8 December 2016). Boguslauskas, V. and Kvedaravi?ien?, G. (2015) Strategic Outsourcing Plan and the Structure of Outsourcing Process. Engineering Economics, 58(3). Brown, D. and Wilson, S. (2012) The Black Book of Outsourcing: How to Manage the Changes, Challenges and Opportunities. USA: John Wiley Sons. Brown, D., and Wilson, S. (2012) The black book of outsourcing: How to manage changes, challenges and opportunites.UK: John Wiley and sons. Crize, T. (2014) what is outsourcing? Know all about outsourcing. USA: Createspace Independent Pub. Dinu, A. (2015) the Risks and Benefits of Outsourcing. Knowledge Horizons. Economics, 7(2), p.103. Done, V. (2012) Problems with Outsourcing And How to Overcome them. [online]. Available at: https://www.virtualdonewell.com/problems-with-outsourcing-and-overcome-them/ (Accessed: 8 December 2016). Mclvor, R. (2010) Global Service outsourcing. UK: Cambridge University Press. Morgan, J. S. (2012) The human side of outsourcing: physiology and management practices. UK: John Wiley and sons. Oshri, I., Kotlarsky, J., and Willocks, P.L. (2011) Handbook of global outsourcing and offsourcing.UK: Palgrave Macmillan. Prakken, B. (2012) Information, Organization and Information Systems Design: An Integrated Approach to Information Problems. Germany: Springer Science Business Media. Rothaermel, F. (2015) Strategic management. McGraw-Hill. Schniederjans, M., Schniederjans, A. and Schniederjans, D. (2015) Outsourcing and Insourcing in an International Context. UK: Routledge. Sparrow,E.(2012) Sucessful It outsourcing:From chossing the provider to manage the project.UK: Springer Science Business Media. Tho, I. (2012) Managing the risk of IT outsourcing. UK: Routledge.

Wrestling History Essays - Sports Rules And Regulations,

Wrestling History The forms of wrestling we know today as Greco-Roman, Folkstyle, and Freestyle found their origins in the lands on the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. These lands are where the Ancient Greeks resided, and developed the art of wrestling. The Greeks influenced the styles and skills of wrestling of today. "The sport of wrestling has been highly developed for over five thousand years, and it is believed to have begun part of the soldiers training," The Ancient Greeks and The sport of Wrestling stated. Proof of this lie on the walls of the tomb in Beni Hasan in the form of pictures. These pictures are about five thousand years old and show holds from both the standing positions and the ground positions. From that time to the present wrestling turned from military skill to a sport skill. (The Ancient Greeks and The sport of Wrestling,7-2) During this time wrestling was also developed in other cultures, like that of ancient Greeks. Wrestling to the Greeks was not only part of the soldier's training, but was also a part of everyday life. Youth did not only learn grammar, art of speech, and mathematics, but young men also went through physical training, which consist of dancing and the art of wrestling. The Greeks saw wrestling as a development of grace and an activity that demands a high skill and physical fitness. (The Ancient Greeks and The sport of Wrestling,7-3) Greek literature points out this skill of wrestling was used by gods and kings, as well as by soldiers and private citizens, in their efforts to overcome evil and brute force. Most of the heroes of Greek mythology were considered skillful wrestlers. Their view of skill most likely led to its introduction as a major sport in the Olympic Games in the year 704 B.C. (The Ancient Greeks and The sport of Wrestling,7-4) Wrestling was a major sport in most Greek festivals, including the Olympic Games. In these festivals sports other than wrestling, such as foot races, chariot-races, throwing of the discos and javelin, and boxing, were also included. These events with variations and additions made up the program of the athletic festivals of Greece through the whole history. The events of the Olympic Games survived even through the rise and the fall of the Roman Empire. "With the conquering of the Greece by the Romans, the Greek form of wrestling began to lose popularity, since, the Romans didn't have the same sense of grace and skill," stated The Ancient Greeks and The sport of Wrestling. The Romans were also not interested in brute strength and violence. (The Ancient Greeks and The sport of Wrestling,7-5) One last thing that brought the decline of Greek wrestling, is the participation of many more countries in the Olympics. This was due to The Romans allowing other countries in the Olympics. The Greek spectators became tired of seeing their local wrestling heroes being defeated by competitors from the East. The success of the Asian wrestlers and others help along the decline of Greek Wrestling. (The Ancient Greeks and The sport of Wrestling,7-5) Wrestling technique has changed very little, and many of the modern holds were derived from the sport as it was practiced in ancient Egypt, in 704, included wrestling. "Evidence that matches were increasingly being fixed and competitors rigged, however, cut short popularity of the sport, and it lay dormant for hundreds of years," stated the Concise Encyclopedia of Sports. (Concise Encyclopedia of Sports, 7-3) During the 19th century, Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling regained popular interest. Circuses and carnivals in the United States sponsored wrestling matches, and this activity led directly to the revival of wrestling. William Muldon was declared the first American Champion. Following World War I, fixed professional wrestling matches threatened to discredit wrestling, but the Federation International des Luttes Amateur founded in 1921, saved the sport. This governing body codified rules, set standards, and organized competitions for all amateur 7 freestyle and 6 Greco-Roman weight divisions, an increase from only having one weight division in the 1904 Olympics. (Concise Encyclopedia of Sports, 7-3) In the Olympic and international completions wrestlers compete against others approximately the same weight. Ten weight classifications exist from 15.8 pounds too more than 220.4 pounds. Competitors must wear tight-fitting one-piece singlets. The wrestling mat is a raised platform, 6-8 meters square. A match is scheduled for three rounds, each period lasting three minutes, with 1-minute rest periods between them. Matches are won either by pinning an opponent's shoulders to the mat and holding them for one second or by accumulating

buy custom The Tragedy of Hamlet essay

buy custom The Tragedy of Hamlet essay The tragedy of Hamlet is an enigma. At one time Hamlet should kill the king but the play portrays him as a failure since he is unable to kill him. Some people argue that Hamlet fails to revenge because his inner feelings do not permit him. He seems to be weak-willed. It could also be that the task placed on his shoulders was too heavy for him. Other critics argue that Shakespeare wanted to show tragedy of a person who is weak-willed and at the same time poorly equipped. Other critics argue that Hamlet fails to kill the king because of the obstacles he comes across as he tries to accomplish his goal. Opposition from the king and his people proves that it was difficult to kill the king at once. These critics believe that Hamlets aim was not to kill the king, but to chastise him and expose him for his guilt. Discussion Two things happen at the end of the tragedy. Hamlet kills the king alongside with four other victims. The audience gets surprised since they did not expect that to happen. Reasons of the killing are so obvious such that the audience has forgotten the initial reason for revenge. People do not hear about the death of Hamlets father in the end of the play. The king getskilled as a result of different reasons from vengeance. The tragedy, therefore, reaches its catastrophe. The kings death, however, gets overshadowed by several immediate causes and several other deaths. These killings are different from other killings that had occurred previously in the tragedy. Most of the previous deaths happened but did not get noticed. The queen also dies and people do not seem to notice. We only see Hamlet biding the farewell. Hamlets death also gets overshadowed and blurred. After his death he is no longer remembered. The tragedy can be explained by two formulas. First, we shall use the formula of the story where Hamlet avenges his fathers death by killing the king. According to the formula of the plot, Hamlet does not kill the king for that reason but for different reasons other than vengeance. This contradiction is a part of the play by Shakespeare who intended to express himself by teasing the audiences emotions. The tragedy fulfills its task set from the beginning, but it keeps on deviating. The audience realizes later that it came from a totally different direction. The reasons that prevented Hamlet from killing the king, led to the death of the king. The catastrophe gets to a point of contradiction when the play gets iinterrupted by irrational events. However, the mystery and obscurity come from the author (Shakespeare 78). Conclusion In conclusion, the plays contradiction revolves around the story, plot and the dramatis personae. These three factors develop differently. Hamlet makes feelings of the audience move to two levels. First, one can see the goal of the tragedy and secondly the digressions also arise. After the kings death, people immediately get attracted by the death of Hamlet, the protagonist. This gives the spectator the understanding of the contradictions and conflicts that existed throughout the play. Different people give different reasons for Hamlets delay or failure to act. Some say that the task given to him was tough for him to tackle. Others believe that Hamlet was a coward, with some other critics arguing that Hamlet was an imaginary person since he had died even long before the start of the play. However, we have found out that it was the authors tactic to bring out the message intended to give it to his audience. He, however, manages to kill the King at the end of the play, though he appear s to have killed him for different reasons rather than vengeance for his fathers death. Buy custom The Tragedy of Hamlet essay

Why has political participation declined over time What strategies Essay

Why has political participation declined over time What strategies would you recommend for increasing voter turnout - Essay Example The bill signed into law by Bush which tried to ease the voter registration process by allowing the registration to be carried out when people are getting their driver’s license or even joining the military did nothing to ease the declining political participation. This is so because not all people have time to go in and register even though they are going to get their driver’s license as most are nervous enough about the test to even think about registering as a voter. The other reason is that there are a group of ignorant people who are not aware about them being required to register as a voter before being allowed to vote and by the time they do, it is too late for them to register and hence they simply forego the voting process. Others are not patient enough to go register and they also fore go voting in the elections. The non-citizens make up the second largest reason why political participation continues to decline, the number one being the age. USA has over 20 million non-citizens and majority of them are over 18 years of age which is the minimum voting age. This therefore means that there are millions of people who are eligible to vote but are restricted to do so even though they reside in the US and are also governed by the same leaders they wish to vote for. There are many strategies that can be employed to increase the number of voters turning out to vote in any election in the US compared to the number of people who are allowed to vote. Some of these strategies should be based on the two main restrictions discussed above. The first of these strategies is the complete elimination of the voter registration process. During the period of elections, the election officials should use the necessary legal documents to prove the voter is a citizen and is above 18 years. All these information is available in the government database and

Problem Analysis and Project Proposal Work Sheet Research Paper

Problem Analysis and Project Proposal Work Sheet - Research Paper Example The funding on many occasions during the recessions seems to be on a difficult side for many of the small scale entrepreneurship. As a result the company often ends up not completely being successful on achieving milestones of growth and expansion they might have anticipated. 1.2 Background History that Set the Problem Calsoft group and provides outsourced product engineering services to both established companies and start ups. It was a firm set up in 1992 to provide accelerate the development of software products and reduce time to market through its high-end software engineering skills in cutting-edge technologies, proven processes, methodologies and tools. Their full life cycle services include product development, testing & QA, sustenance engineering, embedded hardware design and embedded software development (Calsoft). Since the founding of the Calsoft in 1992 the company has gone through ups and downs, and accomplished quiet many acquisitions. In 2004 the have acquired 100% stake in Webspectrum Software Ltd., Bangalore, India. They started to grow as an international concern in the year 2005 by setting up the operations in Dubai, and acquired majority holdings of Informed Decisions Corp., Alameda.CA and American HealthNet (AHN)’Omaha, Nebraska. 2006-’07 saw again more of the a cquisition of majority stakes many firms such as Acquired majority stake in Inatech Infosolutions London, UK & Bangalore, India and Aspire Communications Mysore, India & San Jose, USA.

Health and illness: Social and biological constructs

Health and illness: Social and biological constructs Define both health and illness as social and biological constructs. Examine the ways in which both constructs differ in your answer make reference to health patterns in two contrasting cultures The everyday absence of disease or illness is known as our health (Bilton et al 2002). Health is simply a biological description of our bodies, and if something is not right, then we deem ourselves ill (Bilton et al 2002). There is understood to be two views on health and illness, one being the biological and the other sociological. Biological views of our health looks at our bodies through the biomedical model of health, this is used by health professionals in the diagnoses and treatment of a disease (Bilton et al 2002). If a person is diagnosed with an illness, it can be treated by forms or medicines, therapies, such as physiotherapy, or by surgery (Bilton et al 2002). The biomedical model looks at our body in different ways and it is understood that the mind and the body can be treated differently; this is referred to as mind/body dualism. Plus the body is liked to a machine, meaning it can be repaired, the doctor being the engineer that repairs it (Nettleton 2006). Because of the ability to diagnose illnesses and recommend treatment, the health profession hold a high power status, along with the dominance of the health industry (Bilton et al 2002). Society has been entrenched with this power held by a health professional, we have become dependent on going to seek medical advice because of their experience on the understanding of being ill and letting them decide whether treatment is needed (Bilton et al 2002). Doctors comprehend that health and illness is not a shared by their patients, so education and expensive advertisements attempt to promote awareness and symptoms. The Biomedical model is criticised by socialist McKeown (1976) were he argued that improved hygiene, sanitation and nutrition have been important social improvements of health (McKeown 1976 in Parry 2010). Furthermore Illich (1975) argues that modern medicine is iatrogenic, meaning it creates rather than cures disease (Illich 1975 in Parry 2010). Marxist (1972) theories also argue that the p rominence of the medical model removes the attention away from social causes of disease (Marxist 1972 in Parry 2010, Adams et al 2002). In contrast to the biomedical model we also have the sociological model of health, it is understood that this considers the social origins and influences on disease (Bilton et al 2002). The social model of health considers the environment, social and behavioural factors into consideration. The social model has a long history, from influences such as urbanisation and industrialisation (Wainwright 2007). Likewise material deprivation plays a fundamental role in the cause of disease (Wainwright 2007). This is because the poor may be refused or not have the knowledge to access to goods and services for health. Providing clean water, good housing and an adequate food supply can contribute to a person being healthier (Wainwright 2007). It is claimed that if a person is working in a job that is strenuous then they are more likely to catch disease and become ill (Wainwright 2007). It is also understood that working class people have a higher mortality rate than those in the other classes (Wa inwright 2007, Parry 2010). This could be due to the working class living in industrialised areas or highly populated areas as the spread of disease is more common (Bilton et al 2002). Likewise work related accidents are more prone to people working in industrialised areas (Bilton et al 2002, Wainwright 2007). Health education can play a role in improving the health of people, if people can understand how leading unhealthy lifestyles can contribute to illness and disease then maybe this will turn them away from the unhealthy lifestyle (Bilton et al 2002, Parry 2010). Some forms of an unhealthy lifestyle could be smoking, eating fatty foods or lacking physical activity (Sanna 2006). The social model of health also suggests that disability is driven upon an impaired person as a result of the way society is organised (Oliver and Sapey 1999). Suggesting a person with an impairment has become unable to remain in the community due to the social and physical environment stopping them conti nuing to lead an independent life (Oliver and Sapey 1999). In comparison the culture in China have a different view on the health of the body. This is understood to be the body is in good health when it is in total harmony, this referring to the Yin and Yang (Wong 2008), factors such as the environment influence this imbalance (Wong 2008). To restore the balance, traditional remedial practises are used; an example of this is herbal tea (Wong 2008, Holtz 2008). The Chinese government have a laissez-flair policy for health care in rural areas, they also utilise a pay as you go type scheme for when a person visits a hospital or clinic (Holtz 2008, Wong 2008). People in urban areas can also have government health insurance which aims to provide more access to health care and better technologies (Holtz 2008). Currently the Chinese government have invested heavily on improving public health by modifying and enlarging disease prevention units, supply control centres and disaster relief in some of the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s major cities (Holtz 2 008). Mental health is one of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s major concerns; this is due to the rapid social and economic changes, financial losses, gambling, extramarital affairs, family violence, divorce and raises in substance abuse (Holtz 2008). Furthermore unemployment and the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor are having an effect on the Chinese populationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mental health (Holtz 2008). Mexico has a range of packages available for its residents to enable them to access health care (Holtz 2008); this includes the social security institution which provides coverage for all medical care and prescriptions (Holtz 2008). Also the social security system, which covers workers, is made up of several agencies and is funded by employers, employees and the government (Holtz 2008). Relationship failures, imbalances with food, water, air and temperature add to the causes of illness in Mexico (Holtz 2008). Clean water has been a challenge for Mexico as this is needed to prevent illness and maintaining health (Holtz 2008). It is understood by some that illness is caused as a failure to relate to god (Holtz 2008) and due to the high costs in health care in Mexico; there are spiritual and physical healers that use traditional technics (Holtz 2008). The Curanderos, are believed to be chosen by god to heal people (Holtz 2008). Yerberos specialize in using herbs and spices for treatment (Holtz 2008). Sobadors use massage therapy to try and correct muscle imbalance (Holtz 2008). Parteras are midwife like, women only, who have been trained as a birth attendant by other family members or friends this is cheaper to pay for than a physician (Holtz 2008).

Information technology in business environment Essay

The business environment is becoming increasingly competitive. Information technology is now providing business entities with basic as well as progressive business tools that will enable them to improve their financial performance, efficiency, and its use of the organisation central operational resource and staff members. Adoption of computerised system is vital to the businesses entities that want to improve their efficiency and performance by using computerised systems to facilitate their day-to-day transactions. Lots of researches were conducted to assess the critical success factors or CSFs for implementations of computerised systems, but the results were different from each other. Trough lots of researching, the nine CSFs were outlined in this paper. The interrelations between the nine CFSs were also discussed. Introduction. The business environment is becoming increasingly competitive. Market boundaries have become larger and barriers to entry have diminished. In the current turbulent economic environment today’s modern organisations must closely examine the way they currently do business not only to remain competitive and profitable but also to simply remain in business (Cameron & Philip, 2001). Information technology is now providing business entities with basic as well as progressive business tools that will enable them to improve their financial performance, efficiency, and its use of the organisation central operational resource and staff members. Adoption of computerised system is vital to the businesses entities that want to improve their efficiency and performance by using computerised systems to facilitate their day-to-day transactions. The purpose of this paper is to outline and assess the critical success factors for the adoption of computerised systems including ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) implementations by businesses entities, and then analysis the interrelations between these critical success factors. Outline of Critical Success Factors for Adoption of Computerised Systems Implementations of computerised systems including ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Implementations are usually large and complex projects. Although  the adoption of small businesses would be simple and easy, we focus on the adoptions of computerised systems by medium or large organisations here, especially ERP implementations. Because ERP systems seek to integrate all department and functions across a company onto a single enterprisewide information system that can serve all those departments’ particular needs (Considine, et.al, 2005:p290). ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems may well count as ‘the most important development in the corporate use of information technology in the 1990s’ (Davenport, 1998). The adoptions of cumputerised systems, such as ERP implementation, by large organisations often involve large groups of people and other resources, working together under considerable time pressure and the developments could not be predicted. Lots of researches were conducted to assess the critical success factors or CSFs for implementations of computerised systems, but the results were different from each other. Trough lots of researching, the CSFs could also be concluded in this paper below: No. Critical Success Factors & Rank 1 Top Management Support: A 2 Clear Goals & Objectives: A 3 Project Management: A 4 Interdepartmental Co-operation & Communication: A 5 Project Team Competence: A 6 Vendor Support: B 7 Computerised System Package Selection: B 8 Data Analysis & Conversion: C 9 Staff Training: C Although beside the CFSs stated above, there must be a lot of other CFSs affect the implementations of computerised systems, these nine CFSs listed above should be the most important ones among all the factors affecting the implementions of computerised systems. As shown in the diagram, the CFSs are numbered form one to nine and ranked from A to C. The CFSs ranked A represents the ones that are most important CFSs should be taken into consideration when we come to implementations of computerised systems. Generally, CFSs in the same rank seem to be equally important; because it’s hard to say which one is the more important than the other, that depend on what situation we faced. Analysis of Critical Success Factors for Adoption of Computerised Systems (1) Top Management Support (Rank A) If top management is not actively backing an all-pervasive project like an ERP implementation, there is little hope for it (Akkermans & Helden, 2002). This does not mean that middle management and other staff are not important, top management itself is not omnipotent in the whole project. The key is that top management is vital and other issues such as middle management are also important as well in this kind of processes. However, if top management permanently delegates its responsibilities to technical experts, the chances for project failure are high (Ewushi-Mensah & Przanyski, 1991). (2) Clear Goals & Objectives (Rank A) When people or oganisations want to do something, the goals and objectives must be clear. Because you don’t know why you have to do it without goals as well as objectives, and you can’t plan for it. This simple rule certainly applies to the implementations of computerised systems. Especially for implementation of an IT project, the first step should be identification of goals and ways to accomplish these. (3) Project Management (Rank A) As it is mentioned above, adoption of computerised system is complex, costly and time consuming. The management of such a project should be tight and careful because of the complexity. Some degree of improvisation would be needed because of some unforeseen changes would occur during the process. The performances of the employees are also important. As A.R. Elangovan and Jia Lin Xie(2000) said: managers should pay more attention to how their power is perceived by their subordinates as well as carefully examine the trade-off between short-term and long-term consequences of such perceptions to be effective. (4) Interdepartmental Co-operation & Communication (Rank A) Interdepartmental communication: Communication across different business functions and departments is one of the most important issues involved in the IT implementation literature. According to one author on IT project management, ‘communication is the oil that keeps everything working properly’ in these contexts (Schwalbe, 2000). Interdepartmental co-operation: The effectiveness of interdepartmental co-operation heavily depends on the extent of interdepartmental communication. Quality interdepartmental communication reinforces the quality of interdepartmental co-operation. Because the computerised systems seek to enable the organisation to operate as a whole, interdepartmental co-operation is vital. (5) Project Team Competence (Rank A) The ability of the project team is also important to the implementation of a computerised system. This argument is supported by considerable amount of researches. It’s really important. Effective project team could minimise the cost as well as the time consumed and ensures the implementation of project is in the correct way. (6) Vendor Support (Rank B) Most of the time, organisations do not have all the technical as well as transformational skills and knowledge for managing such a major undertaking on its own. As a result, support provided by the vender is important to aid the implementation of new system. (7) Computerised System Package Selection (Rank B) Different system packages are designed to meet different organisational requirements. For example, some packages are suited for large organisations but some are more suited for smaller ones. Selection of system package depends on what kind of organisation you have got and other organisational requirements and goals. (8) Data Analysis & Conversion (Rank C) Before use of the newly installed computerised system, the project team and the organisation have to transfer existing data from existing system to the database of the new comprised system. This refers to the process of Data Conversion. As data conversion is typically a manual operation, controls are needed to ensure that the data conversion has been accurately performed (Dhaliwal & Konsynski, 1977). Data should be tested to ensure that the process is successful, no errors incurred and no information lost. (9) Staff Training (Rank C) The desirability of computers taking account of user capabilities was pointed out by Licklider (1960)(Feeney & Hood, 1977). It’s not so important but essential for orgaisations to train their employees after installation of new computerised systems. To some extent, the performance of a new system depends on the performance of the staff within the organization (Bartol, et.al 2001:p295). Quality staff training would enable the new system to be successful and effective. Interrelations Between These Critical Success Factors. All the CFSs should not be considered in isolation, because they are interacting with each other and affecting each other as well. The relationships between these critical factors are delicate and different from each other. For example, with strong vendor support, the project team would work more effective and the project team competence would be strengthened. This is known as the virtuous cycle. But the interaction and relationship between CFS 6 and CFS 7 would be different. The vendor support should be taken into consideration when we are selecting computerised system software. Software with strong vendor support is always preferred by the organisations, but the quality of the software itself is also important. In addition, increase of CFS 4 has a considerable positive impact on all other CFSs as well as the whole process of implementation. As it is mentioned above, all the CFSs are working together and interacting with each other throughout the whole project. None of them can be considered in isolation. Interdepartmental co-operation & communication within the project team was found to be the core process for project progress. Presence and attitudes of the surrounding stakeholders, ie top management, project management, software vendor support and so on, were identified as the root causes driving performance of this core process. At the time of the crisis, simultaneous and mutually reinforcing changes in presence and attitudes of all these stakeholders enabled the transition from a vicious into a virtuous cycle of project performance (Akkermans & Helden, 2002). Conclusion. Information technology is now providing business entities with basic as well as progressive business tools that will enable them to improve their financial performance, efficiency, and its use of the organisation central operational resource and staff members. Adoption of computerised system is vital to the businesses entities that want to improve their efficiency and performance by using computerised systems to facilitate their day-to-day transactions. Lots of researches were conducted to assess the critical success factors or CSFs for implementations of computerised systems, but the  results were different from each other. Trough lots of researching, the CSFs could also be concluded, they are top management support, clear goals & objectives, project management, interdepartmental co-operation & communication, project team competence, vendor support, computerised system package selection, data analysis & conversion and staff training. All the CFSs should not be considered in isolation, because they are interacting with each other and affecting each other as well. Bibliography: Akkermans H. and Helden K. V. 2002 ‘Vicious and Virtuous Cycles in ERP Implementation: a case study of interrelations between critical success factors’, European journal of information system, no.11, pp35-46 Bartol K, Martin. D., Tein M. and Matthews G., 2001, Management, A Pacific Rim Focus, 3rd Edn, McGraw-Hill, Sydney, p295 Cameron, D. and Philip, J. ‘The Adoption and Use of Electronic Banking by SMEs in Australia: An Exploratory Study’ CollECTeR 2001. http:// www.collecter.org/collecter01/Doug_Cameron.pdf (6 May. 2005) Considine B., Razeed A., Lee M. and Collier P. 2005, Accounting Information System: understanding business process, 1st edn, John Willey & Sons Australia, Ltd, Queensland, p290 Davenport T. 1998, ‘Putting the enterprise into the enterprise system’, Harvard Business Review July-August, pp.121-131 Dhaliwal D. and Konsynski B. 1977, ‘Data integrity considerations in computer based accounting systems’, Proceedings of the 1977 annual conference Elangovan A. R. and Xie J.L. 2000, â€Å"Effects of perceived power of supervisor on subordinate work attitudes†, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol.21, no.6, pp.319-328 Ewushi-Mensah K. and Przanyski Z. H. 1991, ‘On information systems project abandonment: an exploratory study of organizationa practices’, MIS Quarterly 15, pp.67-85l Feeney R. and Hood J. 1977, ‘Adaptive man/computer interfaces: information systems which take account of user style’, ACM SIGCPR Computer Personnel, Volume 6 Issue 3-4 Schwalbe K. 2000, ‘Information Technology Project Management’, Course Technology, Cambridge MA

Marketing Research Energy Drink Market Brazil Essay

The purpose of this research was to evaluate potential opportunities of distributing new energy drink V-Fusion+Energy ® in Brazil. Having performed secondary market research, we were able to analyze economic, political, legal, cultural, and social factors that affect Brazil’s business environment. We also explored current market opportunities in Brazil and performed detailed analysis of energy drink industry in Brazil and competition. During the research we gathered secondary data published by US and Brazilian government agencies, US Commercial Service, marketing research agencies, as well as information from business news and private companies’ web sites (such as Coca-Cola, Red Bull, etc). Based on gathered information, we concluded that although there is a number of challenges in the Brazilian market that create complex business environment and obstacles for US exporters, energy drink industry in Brazil is in inception stage and thus offers a good growth potential. After selecting and defining the target market, we were able to develop proposals for international promotional strategy, to describe business and marketing challenges and to provide detailed solution alternatives. INTRODUCTION V-Fusion+Energy ® is a new energy drink made with fruit and vegetable juice and green tea extract. It is a healthy alternative to high-caffeine and high-sugar energy drinks because it contains one combined serving of vegetables and fruit, is an excellent source of B vitamins, has only 50 calories and no added sugar or artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The product currently distributed in United States (Wal-Mart and other grocery and retail stores). The purpose of this research is to explore opportunities of distributing V-Fusion+Energy ® in Brazil. We selected Brazil as a potential market because it is Latin America’s biggest economy accounting for 60% of its GDP and seventh largest economy in the world with population of about 200 million, strong domestic demand for American goods and growing middle class. With GDP growth of nearly $2. 5 trillion in 2011 according to The White House (2012), we believe this market offers excellent growth opportunities for US companies. Its middle class and consumption has grown tremendously in past decade – as per Searchlight Process (2012) 40 million people has joined middle class between 2003 and 2011 and 20 million are expected to be included by 2014. In addition, there is a clear preference for American-produced goods to domestic goods in Brazil – they demand brands for all products from high tech and apparel products of Apple and Nike to beverages of Coca Cola. The improvement in infrastructure is expected in the next 2 years as Brazil prepares for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 – it will spend billions in infrastructure development of its roads, railroads, ports, and airports. According to US Commercial Service (2011), despite signs of improvement there are a number of challenges in the Brazilian market create complex business environment and create obstacles for US exporters, such as uneven income distribution, problems in public education, disproportion of market concentration, and â€Å"grey economy† that hinders tax collection and keeps economic growth from reaching its full potential. In addition, doing business in Brazil requires understanding of local business practices such as implicit costs of doing business referred to as â€Å"Custo Brasil† – costs related to distribution, government procedures, employee benefits, and complex tax structure. Complex customs system along with high tariff barriers that increase consumer prices up to 100%, and overloaded legal system with lengthy processes is another challenge US companies are facing. As per US Commercial Service (2011), The World Bank ranks Brazil 127 out of 183 economies in the world in terms of ease of doing business. Nevertheless, if these challenges are accounted and approached with proper solutions, we believe entrance in Brazil market may be extremely profitable and beneficial for US companies in general and Campbell with its innovative product V-Fusion+Energy ® in particular. CURRENT ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND LEGAL ENVIRONMENT IN BRAZIL Economic Environment. Brazil is Latin America’s most influential country and one of the rising economic powers together with Russia, China and India (also known as BRIC nations). Almost double size the European Union (8. 5 million square kilometers), with rich in reserves of natural resources (iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium, gemstones, oil, wood, and aluminum, and 14% of the world’s renewable fresh water), and with over 300 million hectares of agricultural land in favorable climate conditions, Brazil takes a relevant position in global market. According to Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (2011), Brazil’s consistent growth from 2002 to 2009 when its real GDP almost doubled (from US$ 724 billion to US$ 1. 5 trillion), and economy’s solid performance during 2008 financial crisis followed by strong recovery (including 2010 growth of 7. 5%) contributed to countries transition from a regional to global power. Although GDP growth in Brazil slowed down (2. 7 % in 2011 vs. 7. 5% in 2010) and according to the Colitt (2012) its industrial output has contracted 3. 4 % from last year, the economy is the world’s seventh-largest and is expected to rise to fifth within the next several years. As noted by Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (2011), during the administration of former President Lula, surging exports, economic growth, and social programs helped lift tens of millions of Brazilians out of poverty. For the first time, a majority of Brazilians are now middle-class, and domestic consumption has become an important driver of Brazilian growth. President Dilma Rousseff, who took office in January 2011, has indicated her intention to continue the former president’s economic policies, including sound fiscal management, inflation control, and a floating exchange rate. Colitt (2012) states that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is implementing policies aimed to protect Brazilian industry – increasing duties on imported goods like shoes, textiles, and electronics, but not putting enough effort into fixing local infrastructure. The financial sector is secure and provides local firms with a wide range of financial products, yet interest rates remain among the highest in the world. Due to high interest rates investors that have been buying Brazilian high-yielding bonds have driven up the Real making it a very strong. This in turn, has made imports more favorable for US companies and exports more expensive for Brazil, which increased Brazil’s trade deficit to $92. 5 billion in 2011. As per The White House (2012), U. S. goods exports to Brazil have more than tripled since 2002, growing from $12. 4 billion in 2002 to $42. 9 billion in 2011 (largest categories are machinery, aircraft, and plastics). As noted by Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (2011), Brazil has one of the most advanced industrial sectors in Latin America. Accounting for roughly one-third of the GDP, Brazil’s diverse industries include automobiles and parts, machinery and equipment, textiles, shoes, cement, computers, aircraft, and consumer durables. Brazil continues to be a major world supplier of commodities and natural resources, with significant operations in lumber, iron ore, tin, other minerals, and petrochemicals. However, high inflation (7. 3% in October 2011 – above the upper limit of the government’s target of 2. 5%-6. 5%) is a cause of extremely high cost of operating the manufacturing (due to high prices of energy, raw materials and wages), which makes it very hard for Brazilian industries to be competitive in the world markets. According to Alberto Ramos, chief Latin America economist at GS, manufacturing industry is not a competitive advantage of Brazil and it should redirect its resources into fields where it is competitive, like services, agribusiness and commodities. Brazil has a diverse and sophisticated services industry, including developed telecommunications, banking, energy, commerce, and computing sectors. And most importantly, Brazil is generally open to and encourages foreign investment -it is the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America, and the United States is traditionally the top foreign investor in Brazil – United States is a major supplier with over 15% of Brazil’s imports. Political Environment. The current structure of the Brazilian government is a Federative republic with 26 states and feral district, governed by a presidential system in which the president is both head of state and head of government (elections are based on a four-year term). Brazil has become independent in September 7, 1822 and promulgated its constitution in October 5, 1988. The 1988 constitution grants broad powers to the federal government, made up of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. As summarized by Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (2011), there are 81 senators, three for each state and the Federal District, and 513 deputies. Senate terms are 8 years, staggered so that two-thirds of the upper house is up for election at one time and one-third 4 years later. Chamber terms are 4 years, with elections based on a complex system of proportional representation by states. Each state is eligible for a minimum of eight seats; the largest state delegation (Sao Paulo’s) is capped at 70 seats. This system is weighted in favor of geographically large but sparsely populated states. In Congress, fifteen political parties are represented making it common for politicians to switch parties. The largest political parties are the Workers’ party (PT), Democrats (DEM), Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB-center), Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB), Progressive Party (PP), Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), Liberal Party (PL), Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Democratic Labor Party (PDT), and the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB). Major labor union federations include the Workers’ Unitary Central, the Workers’ General Confederation (CGT), and the Forca Sindical (FS). As listed in World Guide (1997), there is a variety of labor unions and national, religious and professional associations that people in Brazil belong to: Brazil is one of the founding members of the United Nations, the G20, CPLP, Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, and Union of South American Nations. One of its main goals is to provide aid to developing countries and is estimated to be $1 Billion per year. As per Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (2011), to further increase its international profile (both politically and economically), the Rousseff administration is also seeking expanded trade ties with developing countries, as well as a strengthening of the Mercosul (Mercosur in Spanish) customs union with Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. Brazil is a charter member of the United Nations and participates in its specialized agencies. Cultural and Social Environments. The official language of Brazil is Portuguese and it is most widely used language. However you may find less common languages like Spanish, German, Italian, and Japanese. But many Brazilian executives speak English, since many of them have studied abroad in the United States or Europe. Understanding Brazilian culture, social environment and business etiquette is essential for successfully doing business in Brazil. Anybody who is doing business with Brazilians should be aware of the various cultural and structural barriers which might confront them. According to study made by University of Illinois (2010), concepts of class and status are very strong in Brazil and can determine the position a person may take in the company, which implies that Brazilians allow inequality in their companies. Although communication between high and low level employees is often informal, everyone is aware of social hierarchies. When conducting business it is important to remember that the Brazilian family (often family members working for the same company) is the foundation of their social structure and it forms the basic stability for most Brazilian people. Because of this, Brazilians need to know whom they are doing business with before they can effectively work together, so questions about person’s personal life, family, and company should be expected. Relationships are extremely important to Brazilians, by building close personnel relationships and building trust, foreign businessmen and investors will have a greater chance of success in doing business in Brazil. According to the information gathered and provided by Kwitessential (2010), although the communication is very informal, some simple rules of etiquette must be followed. Although business appointments can be scheduled on the short notice, it is best to schedule them two to three weeks in advance and confirm them in writing since it is not uncommon for appointments to be cancelled or changed at the last minute. It is important to appear on time for meeting in Sao Paulo, however, in Rio de Janeiro and other cities it is acceptable to arrive a few minutes late for a meeting. During introduction it is very important to be prepared for a lot of handshakes when saying hi and bye or a kiss in the cheeks between men and women. It is important to note that since business in Brazil is hierarchical, so decisions are made by highest ranking person which may not be always present – senior managers usually attend only initial meetings (and expect to meet someone higher ranked as well). According to study in Ethisphere (2008), people in US and Brazil differ in ethical orientation and therefore, before entering Brazil we should be aware of ethically challenging situations and establish strategies on how to deal with potential corruption ahead of time. It is important to understand Brazillian â€Å"Jeitinhio Brasileiro† way of thinking – their tendency to look for alternatives to do something that in our eyes seems improper, which rarely require bribes and is not considered corruption, but more like an alternative way of accomplishing objectives when confronting overly rigid rules. Legal Environment. Brazil is organized as a Federal Republic and its legal system is based on Roman civil code, which implies that all laws that discipline all kinds of situations are previously written and made public. Besides the Federal Constitutions, which consists of 250 articles that outline citizens’ fundamental rights and guarantees, the political and administrative organization of the Federal Republic of Brazil, the individual spheres of authority of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches, tax system and the fundamental labor rights, there main legal documents are the Codes: Civil Code, the Tax Code, the Penal Code and the Civil Procedure Code. The Civil Code comprises over 2000 articles regulating matters such as Obligations and Contracts, Businesses and Corporations, Real Estate and related property rights, and many others. The Tax Code defines the main Brazilian tax regulations, which are complemented by many Federal, State and Municipal laws. The Penal Code brings the definitions of conducts considered crimes and the punishments for anyone fitting the respective legal descriptions. Finally, the Civil Procedure Code regulates the due process of law. There is a variety of legal restrictions for foreign companies conducting business in Brazil, which pushed many companies towards partnerships with qualified agents or distributors when entering the Brazilian. First, a foreign company must obtain written permission to operate a branch in Brazil, thus joint ventures are usually more popular than independent entities. To avoid potential legal problems, US Commercial Service (2011) recommends U. S. companies have a written agreement to help exporters limit liability for product defects, protect a trademark, better ensure payments, and define warranty terms, and consult with a Brazilian law firm before signing any agreement. Taxes in Brazil are actually favorable compared to the U. S. The current corporate income tax rate is 15% regardless of the corporation’s business but with a 10% supplementary tax on the portion of net profits that exceeds R$ 20. 000,00 per month. The main stock exchange in Brazil is the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (â€Å"Bovespa†). â€Å"Securities, such as shares, commercial papers, debentures, investment fund quotas and derivatives, are traded on Bovespa. † Also, it is important to note that, according to a business survey conducted by PriceWaterhouse Coopers (2009), 70 percent of firms in Brazil report having spent at least 3 percent of revenues on bribes. Most of these bribes are to expedite procedures, special treatment or access to traditional transactions. Although nowadays many companies in Brazil, especially those that operate internationally, are fighting against corruption (for ex: companies signing Brazilian Pact for Integrity and against Corruption), and Federal agents have been effective in policing illegal behavior (which helped Brazil achieve â€Å"moderate† rating in 2009 Global Integrity Report), corruption, governmental inefficiency, legal and bureaucratic complications remain real and very sensitive issues in Brazil that cause a great frustration to the international business people. INDUSTRY AND COMPETITORS OVERVIEW. Energy Drink industry in Brazil is in inception stage and thus offers a good growth potential for a company distributing new energy drink products like V-Fusion+Energy ®. According to Russell (2012), energy drinks was the fastest growing soft drinks category in Brazil in 2010, with 33 percent growth in value term. Moreover, Brazil is still a small market for energy drinks with off-trade volume sales of 31 million liters in 2010, which corresponds to 1% of global volume. As Russell (2012) points out, new product launches with new positionings and lower price points, and increased availability, mean that the market is tipped for growth. Although some health concerns have been voiced regarding energy drink consumption, particularly when associated with alcohol, there is no indication that the category is acquiring a negative image in Brazil, Russell (2012) explains. There new trends in Brazil’s population proportion and its consumption patterns also create opportunity in energy drink industry: middle class and consumption has grown tremendously in past decade – as per Searchlight Process (2012) 40 million people has joined middle class between 2003 and 2011 and 20 million are expected to be included by 2014. As of today, out of 200 million Brazilians over 52 percent are a part of middle class, whose combined monthly family income ranges between US$600 (R$1,000) and US$2,400 (R$4,000). Moreover, according to Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of Brazil (SAE) middle class is predominantly comprised of young people less than 30 years old, with formal employment and disposable income, mostly residing in urban areas and expressing strong preference for American brands. With this in mind, according to Russel (2012), Euromonitor predicts that multinational manufacturers will start to invest more in the country to offset sluggishness in other markets. Brazil could be one of the top five markets worldwide for energy drinks, according to Euromonitor. Sales of energy drinks are predicted to grow in total volume at 14% per year on average between 2010 and 2015. The biggest challenge in energy drink industry for US exporter is the price structure due to complex customs system along with high tariff barriers that increase consumer prices up to 100%. As per US Commercial Service (2011), in some cases costs are so high that a simple calculation may indicate that US exporter’s margin will not allow them to compete with local products. Thus, some US companies work on low margins and implement efficient supply chain systems aimed to lower operation costs. Red Bull, for example, whose drink already holds lead position in Brazil’s energy drink market with 59. 6 percent volume share, is building a production plant in Brazil to remove high tariffs from its price structure and be able to increase its profit margins while lowering retail prices and increasing sales volumes. Besides Red Bull, who dominates Brazil’s energy drink market with 59. 6 percent volume share, the main competitors are US based multinational giant The Coca-Cola Co. with its product â€Å"Burn Energy† taking 11. 7% share and German Lizur Trading’s â€Å"Flash Power energy† taking 4. 8% share, and new Gladiator with no sales figures available but with promising results. According to Euromonitor International (2010), the newer brand Gladiator is one of the fastest growing soft drinks brands. As the company has massive distribution infrastructure, it can become the toughest rival in the industry in the medium term. Marketing activity and optimization of logistics and distribution channels are likely to be explored by the main players in energy drink industry over the next few years. Austrian company Red Bull has created the global market for energy drinks, and the pioneering Red Bull brand became synonymous with energy drinks for a large number of consumers, including Brazilians. According to Euromonitor International (2010), despite rising competition, Red Bull GmbH continues to comfortably lead the global energy drinks market by both volume and value. Red Bull is produced at a single facility in Austria and then distributed around the world via a network of local subsidiaries and external importers and distributors. Thus, Red Bull imports its product to Brazil through a distributor and adds high costs of duties, energy and logistics cost to its prices, which makes it unaffordable for some low-income consumers in Brazil. Also, Euromonitor International (2010) advises that the company aims to capitalize on the current consumer trend towards â€Å"natural† ingredients, and targets an older consumer group that is typically more interested in product ingredients than younger consumers. Thus, it is clear that industry leader sees opportunity in expanding its product portfolio to target health conscious consumers, which means that V-Fusion+Energy ® has a great opportunity in this market if introduced first. Coca Cola competes on Brazil’s energy drink market with Burn Energy – a new Swedish high-energy drink oriented on young population (20-24) with its stylish design and promotion associated with famous dj’s, parties in famous clubs in Brazil and music festivals. Besides the attractive image, added native Brazilian high caffeine guarana extract appeals to Brazilians. Coca Cola has very efficient distribution network in Brazil and 46 manufacturers strategically located in all regions of the country ensuring the supply of about one million points of sale. To summarize information provided on official web site of Coca-Cola in Brazil, Division Brazil is one of the four major operations of Coca-Cola performing in Brazil since 1942. Besides Coca-Cola, there are 16 independent business groups, called authorized manufacturers, in addition to the Junior Lion and Del Valle, who draw up the final product in its 46 plants and distribute them to retail outlets. This structure allows Coca-Cola to gain efficiency in manufacturing and distribution, avoid high tariffs and bureaucratic import barriers, thus minimizing costs and consumers retail prices. SELECTION AND ANALYSIS OF TARGET MARKET As we mentioned earlier, health and energy segment of beverage market has been growing strongly in Latin American countries including Brazil. Studies have shown that the change in consumer wealth and behavior has driven the health and energy markets to be viewed as the most promising segment of the beverages industry. More than two-thirds of Brazilians are concerned with their energy levels and try to manage tiredness. With the new V8+Energy people can look forward to enjoying a combined serving of vegetables and fruit with the amount of caffeine that is comparable to the leading energy drink or a cup of coffee. By targeting upper and middle class we will be able reach out to over 80 million of people living in Brazil. Huge difference between rich and poor is the direct reason why social classes have such relevance for segmenting demography in Brazil. Novias (2011) classified contemporary Brazilian society from letters A-E, as follows: 1. Educational Level †¢ Classes A and B: usually composed by those who completed higher education. The younger generations of these classes tend to be fluent in several languages. †¢ Class C: most people in this class have finished high school and there is also a significant quantity of people who completed higher education or at least have a technical level degree. †¢ Class D: people who have not finished high school. †¢ Class E: people who have not finished elementary school and illiterate people. 2. Occupation. The educational levels previously presented support the level of submission among five different classes. This employment relationship is presented as: †¢ Class A: composed by bankers, investors, business owners, major landowners and people with extraordinary skills for the industry they operate in. †¢ Class B: composed by directors and managers, politicians, judges, justices, prosecutors, well graduated professors, doctors, well qualified engineers and lawyers, etc. †¢ Class C: composed by those who provide services directly to the wealthier groups, such as teachers, managers, mechanics, electricians, nurses, etc. †¢ Class D: composed by people who provide services to Class C, such as housemaids, bartenders, bricklayers, people who work for the civil construction companies, small stores sellers, low-paid drivers, etc. †¢ Class E: composed by people who earn minimum salaries, such as cleaners, street sweepers, and also by unemployed people. Our primary target is classes A-C. Consumers in these classes are hardworking people (ages 18-35) that have proper education to know the benefits of drinking V-Fusion+Energy ® and want a smart, healthy, and effective way to gain their energy back. In terms of the geographic locations there are some regions where there is a strong dominance of classes D and E like the North, Northeast and Central-West regions in which we will not focus on. However, it is the larger cities such as Sao Paulo in which social differences are mostly visible and is where many of the upper classes are found, as well as Brasilia, capital of Brazil. Our age segmentation can vary mostly because the V-Fusion+Energy ® drink can be consumed by almost anyone at any age. Made with natural ingredients, it is healthy for any age group to drink including young teens from ages 12-19 as well as for seniors. However, our primary target is working social classes A-C that belong to 18-35 age group and teenagers who are following newest trends , interest and youthful lifestyle. PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY Introducing Acai Berry Flavor. In order to localize the product to the Brazilian people, we will introduce a new flavor of V8 Fusion Energy: Acai Berry. Acai is the most popular fruit in Brazil, and it is enjoyed throughout the year by both young and old. By creating an acai flavor, we will be able to expand our market, because our product will appeal to all Brazilians. We will also attract more customers to our target market, mostly healthy individuals who exercise regularly. Acai is one of the healthiest fruits in the world: it contains powerful antioxidants that can help defend the body against life’s stressors. It also contains anthocyanin and flavonoids, which play a key role in the body’s cell protection system, help slow down the aging process, and may promote fat loss. All these health benefits are the reason why acai is often referred to as a â€Å"super fruit† by nutritionists. Processing the acai fruit into an energy drink does require time and resources, but considering that Brazil is an upper-middle-income country with a newly, rapid industrializing economy (Keegan), we have determined that the acai strategy will be successful. Localizing our product by including something that everyone in Brazil is familiar with and enjoys will be a successful initial promotional strategy. It will define our target market, because of acai’s health benefits. It will also expand the market, since many people will buy and drink our product, simply because they enjoy the flavor of acai berry. Carnival. The Rio Carnival is the perfect place to market out V-8 Fusion Energy drink. We will be considering a couple of strategies at the Rio Carnival: 1) we will have our sales employees offer people the drink for free, and 2) we will occupy small vendors, located around the carnival and sell our product there. Free sampling will initiate the promotion of our drink. We have strong belief in the quality and taste of our product, which is why we believe that once people try it, they will be returning customers. The second strategy will be used for customers wanting to try the other great flavors of our product: Peach Mango, and Pomegranate Blueberry. This strategy will also be used as primary research. We will be closely monitoring our sales, considering factors such as: location of vendor and flavor of drink. Employees will collect the data electronically, which will be used to determine which flavor is more popular in which area. We will also have employees conduct observational surveys. They will be writing down data of approximate age of customers, as well as their facial expressions after drinking, to help determine if customers enjoyed our product. Soccer – Campeonato Brasileiro. The most popular sport in Brazil is soccer. It is so popular, that it is not even considered a sport; it’s a way of life for most Brazilians. Soccer is played everywhere: on the streets, on the beach, in parks, and in professional soccer clubs. Professional soccer players in Brazil are the most famous and recognized people in the country. This is why we plan to promote V8 Fusion Energy through professional soccer teams We will offer a contract to the professional team – Santos to place our product name on the front of their uniforms. Santos is currently the team with the best-selling jerseys and apparel in Brazil, and we would like to be associated with a popular, winning team. Research has showed that when a product is associated with a successful team, sales increase as well. We will also offer personal contracts to one or two star players from the team. They will play a key part in our advertising commercials and promotional campaigns throughout the country. Our vision is to promote V-Fusion+Energy ® as a healthy source of energy and gain strong position on energy drink market in the country, thus we see tremendous potential to market our product in the professional soccer league. Brazil does not have a specific drink associated with sports (such as Gatorade in the United States). We will use an aggressive market strategy and make our V8 Energy Fusion the official drink of Brazilian soccer possibly sports in general. Our product will be placed on the sidelines of all games. Players coming in and out of the game will drink our product for energy and hydration. Our goal is for people to associate our product with energy, success, and health, which is exactly what V8 Fusion Energy is – a healthy energy drink for success! BUSINESS AND MARKETING CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS To achieve a successful outcome in launching the V-Fusion+Energy ® product in Brazil, it is essential to highlight the barriers to entry and marketing challenges. We have identified three key areas that present a challenge; un-even income distribution, public perception and consumer education, and a foreign judicial system that includes a complex tax system and testing custom laws. First, un-even income distribution in society refers to the possession of the production factors and the price the owners get in the market. Focusing on this issue results beneficial considering we can’t put our product out there if the consumer population does not have a stable income in the different cities or areas, and the production cost are unknown . Therefore, in order to reduce production costs we can create a joint venture with a pre-existing Brazilian beverage companies. furthermore, we will focus on the local agriculture; I. e invest in local agriculture.