The current Shipbuilding market in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The current Shipbuilding market in China - Essay Example The chief products of the Chinese ship manufacturing consist of large sized carriers and oil tankers. China has 70 shipyards that have the capacity to erect ocean gliding vessels. CSSC and CSIC are the main (Schuster, A M.H 2000).ship constructing giants. By 2005, the ship manufacturing authority; COSTICN announced ambitious schemes for the evolution of the Chinese ship designing industry that, the industry is scheduled to control twenty five percent of the bazaar share in 2010 and ultimately five years later, the projection that China would dominate as the world’s ship constructing nation with respect to tonnages. The contemplations anticipated 24 millions DWT; the analogous control of 35% of the market share. CSSC, the largest shipbuilding category, have committed $ 3.5 billion to enhance a modern shipping base in Chanxing isle of Shanghai. After the accomplishment of CSSC, Changxing would emerge as the leading ship building company world over. Future projections hold the ax iom of thinking that by 2015, three large ship construction centers of the Chinese shipbuilding industry are to be constructed. (Schuster, A M.H 2000). The shipping industry in china is a fundamental monetary domain for China’s very existence. For quite along time, the industry has been the main foreign exchange earner for China. China ship construction entry into the international market commenced in 1978. The industry has proved successful for the last 26 years. On the fourth year of the 21st century, China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was at 1.65 trillions, and as such it was positioned number seven globally, (Hutchins, J.G.B 1941). If rating is anything to go by, then China is the only developing country to feature among the top ten nations globally, in terms of GDP. For the last 25 years, the Chinese economy has maintained a high growth tempo, which is relatively at 9.4 percent per annum. With the impeccable statistics, it is therefore true that China is the

Internet gambling Essay Example for Free

Internet gambling Essay Gambling online is growing exponentially, without the protection of reliable regulatory structures that ensure age and identity verification, the integrity/fairness of the games, or that responsible gaming features are included on a site. In a poorly regulated Internet environment, this study investigates gambling on twenty online sites. Content analysis was utilised to evaluate whether the sample displayed responsible gambling features. In the absence of established, agreed, regulatory evaluation criteria, the researchers constructed their own, based on examples of good practice on available websites and following the recommendations of the Gambling Review Report 2001 and the Gambling Act 2005. The primary findings suggest that most online gambling sites are responsible and most show elements of good practice, which is of interest given the unregulated environment and absence of policing. While some features are derived from conventional gambling policies and regulatory influences, some are unique to the special ethical risks of gambling on line. Web designers and commissioning organisations appear to have anticipated social criticisms by incorporating guards against unethical outcomes before regulatory controls have been imposed. As the impossibility of regulating/controlling the Internet is a common cliche in many commentators’ analysis, this self regulation and willingness to refrain from taking revenue from vulnerable punters, is intriguing. The authors recommend further research to establish an accurate picture, including the size and characteristics of the UK online gambling market. Secondly, to study and compare online gambling with more traditional forms of gambling in terms of underage and problem gambling. More studies need to investigate which forms of responsible gambling are most effective in reducing underage and problem gambling. Lastly, the response of the industry to legislation and micro regulation would be a guide for policy makers and responsible industry practitioners. Introduction Since the increased popularity of Internet access into homes and workplaces in the early nineties, Internet gambling opportunities have expanded at a surprisingly swift pace and more people are gambling online (Wood, Williams and Lawton, 2007). The unregulated nature and uncontrollability of the Internet, with low or no tax gambling, have created a perfect environment for the proliferation of gambling (Crist and Yeager, 1998). Anyone, anytime, anywhere with a computer, a connection, and a credit card can gamble at hundreds of different online gambling websites. Recent statistics state there are as many as 2,500 gambling websites currently operating; consisting of 1,083 online casinos, 592 sports and race-books, 532 poker rooms, 224 online bingo sites, 49 skill game sites, 30 betting exchanges, 25 lottery sites and 17 backgammon sites (Casino City, 2006). Gamcare (2008) state that the number of Internet gambling websites is approximately 3,000. By 12 September 2007, the Gambling Commission had received only 146 applications for operating licences that include provision for online gambling, a minute proportion of the 2,500 sites worldwide. Internet gambling revenues in a single year were $651 million in 1998, more than double the estimated $300 million from 1997 (Sinclair,1999). Further, the global Internet gambling industry is forecast to grow from about $9,000 million in 2004 to $25,000 million in 2010 (European Commission, 2006). If the estimated figures are accurate, then the importance of Internet gambling will continue to rise. Gambling presents a large set of negative social consequences and online gambling has its own challenges beyond those of gambling in general; introducing many new potential problems and rekindling many old ones (Griffiths,1999). Internet and land based casinos have problems detecting and deterring addicted gamblers. Even with the opportunity presented to physically verify age in conventional gambling outlets, no gambling jurisdiction is 100% effective in keeping out underage gambling (Gambling Online Magazine, 2004). It is feared that the anonymity offered by the Internet will exacerbate this problem. Computer-based systems allow gamblers to self-exclude or establish loss limits and may stand a better chance of being effective than the current systems in most conventional casinos. Whilst a determined gambler can move from site to site, reports of players’ activities can be made readily available with contact details for bodies that aim to assist those with problem gambling issues. However, offline and online operators other than those regulated in the UK, do not collect information about a customer’s financial situation, spending or habits, for both practical and protection of privacy reasons. A person who has developed a problem must identify it themselves and take their own constructive steps to deal with it. Operators only train staff to help those who believe they have a problem and approach customer services. Presently there is no comprehensive research or definitive standard as to how to identify someone who has developed a gambling problem. The prevailing view is that it is the minority of players who develop gambling problems. The current regulatory response to this issue is influenced by this perspective (EGBA, 2007). The Growth of Internet Gambling Several factors have contributed to the growth of online gambling. †¢ Internet access has increased globally and technologies that drive the Internet have improved. Confidence in conducting financial transactions online has increased and some governments have licensed online operators within their borders. †¢ The personal computer extends the range of choice. Land-based casinos dictate which games are available to players. Online gambling lets players move through cyberspace to play the games they prefer. †¢ The Internet provides the highest level of anonymity for conducting gambling. The more pervasive concern has been that the Internet attracts people away from person-to-person contact, fostering alienation and real-world disconnection (Boase, 2006). †¢ The costs of establishing online sites are considerably less than those of land-based gambling operations. Flatt (1998) has estimated as little as $135,000. Problem Gambling The ability to gamble anonymously provides problem gamblers with a safe haven without physical scrutiny or surveillance (Scharf and Corrin, 2002). Problem gambling is categorised as an addiction. A severe disorder characterised by obsessive thoughts of gambling, a loss of control, often involving lying and stealing in order to recover gambling losses. As well as other negative consequences (Netemeyer,1998). Specific to Internet Gambling is the role that technology contributes to alteration in gambling habits (Griffiths, 1999). There are no regulated opening times, as exercised by terrestrial operations. It has been argued that there is an ‘exodus from reality’, in the sense that gambling online does not involve ‘real cash’. A gambler may lose control as he or she cannot see a money balance and does not suffer a physical loss. Online gambling loses the social aspect of gambling creating the disadvantage that there are no friends or peers to discourage a gambler from going too far (Griffiths, 1999). Underage Gambling. There is a high priority of protecting children from online gambling, considered more addictive than conventional forms of gambling, because of young people’s familiarity with and access to computer-based technologies (Conway and Koehler, 2000). They have a perception of control resulting from their skills honed playing PlayStation or interactive video games, and may have a false sense of security boosted by their fluency (Mackay, 2004). Another concern is that underage gamblers have easy access to sites and to forms of gambling, from which they otherwise would be excluded by conventional outlets. Many sites offer a ‘demo’ mode, i.e. play without wagering money. It is suspected that ‘demo’ games may give very good odds. Adolescents who are successful on these games could develop a habit which continues when they reach adulthood and are legally permitted to gamble for money, when the odds are no longer so favourable (Mackay, 2004). Regulation Gambling in its various forms is often seen as a deeply-rooted trait of the human activity, which although a source of gratification for many and not innately immoral, can cause harm to individuals. Gambling has long been subject to regulation by governments, reflecting moral, religious and political mores. A pragmatic motivation for such regulation is to generate revenue, which might result in a conflict of interest in regulatory regimes, as the industry grows. The objective of regulation can vary from protecting consumers by ensuring the probity and integrity of the gambling operators and the purging of fraud and abuse of criminal activities, such as money laundering, to reduction of the social cost of problem gambling. There is a gap in the literature concerning the efficacy of regulation. Regulation of online gambling is a comparatively new phenomenon and it is too early to measure its effectiveness. There are debates about appropriate licensing frameworks, legal and technical standards for operators and cover issues, such as protection of customer funds, continuous and repetitive play and intervention to tackle problem gambling. Methodology Content analysis, adopted for this study, has been defined as a systematic, replicable technique for compressing many words of text into fewer content categories based on explicit rules of coding (Krippendorff, 1980). Content analysis has four key advantages: †¢ it is unobtrusive †¢ it is flexible and applicable to unstructured materials †¢ it is context sensitive. †¢ it can be applied to large amounts of data. The lack of research applying content analysis to websites is partially a result of the complexity of Internet information, in particular; the definition of a website, the unit of analysis and the method of sampling. A major problem in conducting Internet content analysis is related to defining the term ‘website. ’ With a large volume of information on a website, it becomes unworkable to analyse the whole website. Therefore, parts of the website, the units of analysis, must be chosen for evaluation. In addition to size, websites differ in purpose, structure and content, therefore selecting a unit of analysis consistently across all samples is highly problematic (Ha and James, 1998). Coding an entire website is difficult and can introduce bias based on size. Selecting the unit of analysis is not an easy task as the volume of data can overwhelm the researcher. In this study the first step was to decide on the sample. The sample consisted of the top twenty most popular online gambling sites visited in Britain, according to: †¢ www. gambling. com, †¢ www. cam-orl. co. uk. Internet-betting-online. html and †¢ www. ukcasinoguide.org. uk . The sites were accessed and coded during a period of three days, in February 2006. The term website was applied on a general level, defined as a collection of pages or files linked together and available online. The unit of analysis was the homepage, plus drill downs. The study attempted to limit the analysis to the homepage. However, it was decided that the content available on a homepage was too limited and did not necessarily reflect the breadth and scope of content available on the whole website. The study experimented with gambling sites. A commonality of approaches indicated prima facie industry norms. The study observed evidence of good practice. The content of the websites was evaluated by characteristics providing factual information and of responsible gambling. The coding template was based on possible features associated with each of the two categories and was used to record the content of each website, within the unit of analysis. Ratings were based on how difficult it was to locate information. More drill downs meant the information was harder to find and scored a lower rating. It was believed that the more easily located and extensive the information, the more an online gambling operator was committed to responsible gambling. Reliability and Validity The reliability of a study involving content analysis refers to the stability and reproducibility of the results (Stemler, 2001). Stability requires researchers to code the data consistently. According to Weber (1990), concerns regarding reliability often stem from the ambiguity of word meanings, category definitions, or other coding rules. The validity of a study involving content analysis is determined by the extent to which the definitions (included in the tool) reflect the sub-categories. The validity of categories is enhanced by the inclusion of many words to arrive at the same judgment. For example, the words gambling and betting were considered interchangeable. One of the primary reasons to conduct content analysis is to collect objective information. Therefore, the study ensured that the procedure was clearly laid out and defined. It was consistently applied to the sample. The following three steps were taken to enhance the reliability and validity of the study’s findings and to ensure that the information gathered was objective. First, to enhance the reliability of the results, after the tool was applied to the website, the coder re-coded the website on the same day to ensure accuracy. Second, the coding scheme was tested to ensure the suitability of the categories and the overall reliability of the tool. It was important that the list of variables was exhaustive and mutually exclusive in order to avoid any confusion. Lastly, to improve the validity of the results, the definitions were reviewed and expanded to ensure that there was an exhaustive list of words for each sub-category where applicable. For example, for the sub-category ‘Addiction Help,’ words such as ‘problem gambling,’ ‘concerns about gambling,’ were included in the coding guidelines to broaden the category, allowing the coder to capture the data. Findings Considering the large amount of data collected, only the criteria of responsible gambling were analysed intensively. These are illustrated in Table 1. The key areas of concern, underage gambling and problem gambling are expanded in Tables 2 and 3 respectively. Sample characteristics Security Online gambling security is as good as most other e-commerce sites. There are no reported any security-related fraud (Turner, 2002). Online gambling sites know that cheating their customers is bad for business and therefore tend to be honest. The market is so competitive that the reputation of market leaders is paramount. Players are likely to switch to rival sites if practices are questionable. Payment systems are critical to the success of any online business and online gambling operators have their own particular challenges to face. The integrity of systems must be assured. [pic] Table 1 Voluntary Initiatives Systems must be secure from hackers and crackers, from both outside and from within. There are readily available codes to ensure security such as the use of encryption and digital signatures. These technologies are already in use. All sites accessed displayed secure transaction information. The ‘dot com boom’ followed by the ‘dot com crash’ has had Internet gambling casualties. Several Internet gambling operators have gone bankrupt. For example Netbetsports and Luvbet folded owing their customers money (Barker, 2007). These firms had a relatively high profile within the industry. Luvbet was one of the first bookmakers to promote an Internet site offering tax free betting. Netbetsports offered Internet customers high bet limits and tax free betting, when UK tax rates were still nine per cent. Internet gambling is expanding in ever-changing and unregulated websites (Hartman, 2007; Holahan, 2006). It is uncertain whether as an unintended consequence of domestic regulation; risk taking clients might be challenged to gamble with unscrupulous vendors. This could represent an extra excitement factor, perhaps generating worse personal consequences, than in an unregulated environment. Responsible gambling The concern with responsible gambling is the rationale of this study. It was intended to measure how online sites recognise that gambling can cause problems for customers and to investigate and record the measures to offer checks. The websites were evaluated according to how helpful responsible gambling information was. The study found no consistency in the responsible gambling information. British legislation requires mandatory procedures promoting socially responsible gambling. This should be clear and prominent on their homepage, if it is to be effective. Eleven sites displayed responsible features on the home page or easily accessible links. Most of the remaining sites contained these features, but access was difficult, hence their lower rating. Fair Gaming and Independent Audits Fair gaming refers to sites operating honestly and responsibly, ensuring monetary deposit safety and winning bets paid in a timely manner. Fifty-five per cent of sites accessed contained information stating that they were independently audited. Independent audits confirm the percentage of payouts of games, review the output and validity of the software, that it consistently produces random results and fair outcomes of games. For example Price Coopers Waterhouse at www. roxypalace. com. The Gambling Review Report (2001) recommends that online gambling software systems must be random-operated and tested by the Gambling Commission. Online sites must make payments only to the credit card used to make deposits or by cheque to the player. The study looked for evidence of these recommended features. Security and honesty of transactions are as important to the supplier as the customer. A bad reputation for online gambling sites could be commercially crippling (Griffiths, 2003). Therefore the responsible features recorded here do have an economic payoff. Ethical Statement An ethical code was a key criterion to be assessed when visiting each site. Only one ‘ethical code’ which covered policies on compliance and data protection, measures restricting minors and the risks of compulsive gambling, was observed. This might be seen as a ‘narrow’ interpretation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) focussing on legal/rule based elements. Legal safeguards are problematic, since any Internet relationship questions which law should be complied with. Smeaton and Griffiths (2004) found two-thirds of the sites they visited displayed no evidence of social responsibility and concluded that social responsibility was a low priority for online sites. Problem Gambling Social responsibility can be evidenced by attempts to offer services in a way that does not encourage repetitive play or by supporting a client with a problem. Sixty per cent of the websites provided problem gambling information. InterCasino UK |Ethics drill down finds the website is committed to detecting and reducing compulsive gambling with |Med | | |procedures including monthly deposit limits and analysis of gambling patterns (this information was not | | | |verifable for the study). | | |Coral Casino |Link to GamCare and facilities for daily/weekly deposit limits, self exclusion periods and access to customer|High | | |accounts. | | |Platinum Play Casino |Link to gambling support agencies and facilities for self-assessment tests, daily/weekly deposit limits, self|High | | |exclusion periods, access to customer accounts and filtering programmes. | | |Spin Palace Casino |Link to gambling support agencies and facility self exclusion periods. |Med | |City Club Casino |Link to a statement of encouraging sensible gambling and link to Gamblers Anonymous. |Low | |Roxy Palace Online Casino |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | |32 Vegas Red |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | |Victor Chandler |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |Crazy Vegas Casino |Link to gambling support agencies and facilities for self-assessment tests, daily/weekly deposit limits, self|High | | |exclusion periods and filtering programmes. | | |English Harbour |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | |Casino Tropez |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |Vegas Red Casino |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |Ruby Fortune Casino |Link to gambling support agencies and facilities for self-assessment tests, daily/weekly deposit limits, self|High | | |exclusion periods, access to customer accounts and filtering programmes. | | |Eurobet Casino |Link to GamCare and facilities for daily/weekly deposit limits, self exclusion periods and access to customer|Med | | |accounts. | | |UK Casino Club |About Us link leads to a Responsible Gaming Policy which offers a self-assessment test, cooling off |Med | | |periods and exclusion options. | | |Golden Riviera |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | |William Hill Casino |Link to GamCare and facilities for daily/weekly deposit limits, self exclusion periods and access to customer|Med | | |accounts. | | |Hammers Casino |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |King Solomons Casino |No link or message to be found. |Nil | |www. 888. com |Link to Gamblers Anonymous website. |Low | Table 3 Problem Gambling Information UK legislation requires training of gambling operators’ employees to identify problems and to have procedures to sensitively deal with these. Fifteen sites had problem gambling information. Five linked to the Gamblers Anonymous website. Four sites offered assessment tests. It was not within the parameters of this study, to determine if online gambling sites follow up on tests, when a result indicated a problem. Three of the sites accessed provided information relating to filtering programmes, which can block underage users. These could be found through links to other sites and there was a free trial download facility available. Self-exclusion and Deposit Limits A player who feels that he or she is losing control of play and requires help in restricting access to online gambling were served by eight sites in this study that provided the facility for self-exclusion. This option was never located on the homepage and accessed only through drill downs. The study could not determine if applications were processed immediately or if self-exclusion from one site meant exclusion from multiple sites. It was unclear if these schemes required the gambler to undergo counseling assessments prior to re-admission, or if after the self-exclusion period had lapsed; the player automatically was included again. The study was also not able to clarify if players who request self-exclusion were given information about problem gambling counseling services. Computer-based systems can allow gamblers to self-exclude or establish loss limits and may stand a better chance of being effective than the current systems in most conventional casinos today. Whilst a determined gambler can move from site to site, reports of a player’s activities can be made readily available, with contact details for bodies that aim to assist those with problem gambling issues. Internet gambling operators are equipped to collect adequate data and information to be able to identify patterns of problem gambling (DCMS, 2006). There is the technological ability for operators to collect enough data to be able to identify patterns of problem gambling. This is a requirement of the 2005 Act. However, this is a prescription only for operators with a British licence and the position of the European Gambling and Betting Association (EGBA, 2007) is that it is extremely difficult to monitor and identify when someone has begun to gamble irresponsibly. Therefore according to EGBA, offline and online gambling operators should not collect information about a customer’s financial situation, spending or habits, for both practical and privacy issues. Operators that act on this aim to establish a responsible reputation and may see it as a competitive advantage factor. Yet they may infringe the principle of privacy. An issue for regulators is whether to acquire the power to compel operators to intervene in the event of identifying a problem gambler. The technical provisions in Britain for socially responsible Internet gambling have been drafted and are in the process are being applied. Assessment of the effectiveness of regulations in curbing problem gambling has yet to be done. Some sites permit customers to limit the amount of money that they are able to deposit into their account on both a daily and/or a weekly basis. It was noted that amounts may be revised downwards at any time, but increases are implemented after twenty-four hours. The online gambling operators are unable to override limits set by customers. Some sites allow access to a player’s full history of transactions, withdrawals and deposits. The Gambling Review Report (2001) recommends online sites should be required to set up facilities that enable players to set maximum stakes, limits and to self-ban. Protection of Underage Gamblers In order to ensure child safety online sites were evaluated for identity verification and exclusion facilities, such as the use of filtering software. The Gambling Review Report (2001) offers guidelines to ensure that identification standards are comparable to those of off-line casinos. It asserts that all players who register to play online should be properly identified before they are permitted to play. Age Verification Most sites studied required a prospective gambler to only complete a registration form in order to play. These sites rely on the player to disclose their correct age and do not verify the accuracy of the information. Underage gamblers can use their parents’ credit cards or even their own to register and set up accounts (Schroeder and Versch, 1998). The Gambling Review Report (2001) recommends that players who register online should be properly identified, before they are permitted to play. All sites displayed an age warning on their homepage. 32 Vegas Red alone stated it had taken steps to ensure that their site did not attract young people and used software that stops the underage from joining. Smeaton and Griffiths (2004) have investigated underage gambling and found poor standards of verification. The concern is that many sites are not employing identity verifications systems to check the age of players and therefore allow underage play. Verification systems work by searching available government and financial databases, to find evidence to support the personal information supplied by the player. For example, credit ratings or inclusion on the electoral roll can verify that the player is of the required age. However such searching again might threaten individual privacy. InterCasino UK |Logo displayed on homepage. Ethics drill down reveals site requires customers to declare that |Low | | |they are of legal age. | | |Coral Casino |Logo linked to statement that the company reserves the right to request proof of age. |Med | |Platinum Play Casino |Logo linked to statement defining the customer as adult and sane as per laws of country of |Med | | |residence. | | |Spin Palace Casino |Logo linked to statement relying on responsible parenting. |Med | |City Club Casino |Terms of Use drill down states customer must be adult as per country of residence. |Low | |Roxy Palace Online Casino |Terms Conditions drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |32 Vegas Red |About Us drill down leads to Responsible Gaming drill down stating it is illegal for anyone |High | | |under 18 to open an account or to play and that they have taken steps to ensure that the website| | | |does not attract young people and our website uses software that stops under 18s joining (this | | | |could not be verified by the study). Also requests responsible parenting. | | |Victor Chandler |Logo linked to statement defining the customer as adult as per laws of country of residence. |Med | |Crazy Vegas Casino |Logo linked to statement relying on responsible parenting. |Med | |English Harbour |Terms Conditions drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |Casino Tropez |Terms of Use drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |Vegas Red Casino |Terms of Use drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |Ruby Fortune Casino |Logo linked to statement relying on responsible parenting. |Med | |Eurobet Casino |Logo linked to statement stating the company reserves the right to request proof of age. |Med | |UK Casino Club |Responsible Gaming drill down leads to downloadable Children Protection Software and urges |High | | |responsible parenting. | | |Golden Riviera |Terms Conditions drill down states customer must be of legal age. |Low | |William Hill Casino |Responsible Gaming drill down leads to statement that the company reserves the right to request|Med | | |proof of age. | | |Hammers Casino |Terms of Use drill down states customer must be adult as per country of residence. |Low | |King Solomons Casino |Logo linked to statement defining the customer as adult and sane as per laws of country of |Low | | |residence. | | |www. 888. com |Link leads to statement that it is illegal for anyone under 18 to play and that they have taken |High | | |steps to discourage and track young people (this could not be verified by the study). Website | | | |recommends software supporting responsible parenting. | | Table 2 Age Verification Telephone Betting The Gambling Review Report (2001) states that aspects of online gambling should be more heavily regulated than conventional gambling. However, the Internet’s characteristics make it more difficult to regulate. This study looked for evidence of telephone betting and considered implications of this facility. The three sites that offer the player the facility of telephone betting have a UK High Street presence. It could be argued that the reason why these organisations have added online sites to their operations is to expand opportunities. Using the BCG Matrix, the shops could be considered ‘cash cows,’ well-established with high market share. The new online sites could be ‘stars. ’ The prospect of growth is exciting as are the opportunities (McDonald, 2002). Land-based operators provide an online presence, giving extra services for the player, the anonymity of play compared to their shops, higher levels of usibility, and possibly even more security, simply to grow their businesses, rather than to offer player protection in this feature (Johnson, 1997). Ultimately this criterion failed to help evaluate the concept of responsible on line gambling, given the ‘virtual’ existence of most sites. Technical Support All sites provide ‘24-7’ telephone and technical support, with free numbers, player-to-technician online chatroom and email support. Every channel of communication is available to guarantee full access for a player. This measure is clearly very important to the site operators and customers. The sites are very competent in not losing customers through technical problems and offer very many points of contact. Yet the same form of in house supportive ‘counseling’ service is not offered to problem gamblers. Licenses It is not illegal for British residents to gamble online, nor is it illegal for overseas operators to offer online gambling to British residents. However, the Gambling Act 2005 requires an operator to obtain a licence if they site any piece of equipment, for example a database, presentation device, or determining device in the UK, regardless of whether other devices are outside the country (DCMS, 2005). Gibraltar |Canada |Caribbean |UK |Unknown | |5 |7 |6 |1 |1 |. Table 4 Sources of Licenses As an example the City Club Casino is licensed by the Island of Curacao, but displays US and UK freefone numbers, in prominent positions on their website, which may mislead the player into thinking that the site is American or British. Another disingenuous feature is when ‘UK’ appears.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Well, this is it. These are the only seniors who were able to survive the culminating exhibition. If I had known that there would be this many open seats, I would have invited my third cousins from Norway. You know, it's funny. As I look around at the familiar faces in the student section, I am reminded about something. Our class, particularly the girls, have been very fashion-conscious over the last four years. Some even seem to be in competition with one another. Well girls, here we are on the most important day of your high school careers, and you're all wearing the same thing. The guys, on the other hand, could care less. I know for a fact that a couple of you aren't wearing anything underneath your tailored tarps. For those who know me, it's common knowledge that I don't shy away ...

What Really Happened in World War 1 and 2 :: essays research papers

The definition of a world war is "a war engaged in by all or most of the principal nations of the world." The First World War was a unique even, because such thing has never happened before in history. Today it is still a topic discussed in details. The causes of the First World War are many, among which the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Other causes were the alliance systems and the nationalism . During the years before the war, a "system of secret alliances" was formed in Europe. The whole point for creating these alliances was maintaining peace throughout Europe. Everybody thought that if countries join forces together, there will be no point for a country to declare war on another. Should this happen, however, both countries will be protected from their allies. This "perfect" on first sight system did not really work well. In fact this is how the war started. Austria - Hungary declared war on Serbia, but both countries had other nations protected World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars, so how was it that America had to yet again fight in what is considered our world?s second war? Throughout time fuel kept on being added to the fire and America found themselves in what is now called World War II. It seems funny to say that the very thing that ended World War I actually caused the second World War. The Treaty Of Versailles marked the end of World War I but not all countries were satisfied with this. The Germans thought it was unbalanced and unfair to them. Hitler detested the treaty by creating a military and occupying its surrounding neighbors, including Austria-Hungary. Germany continued to take over Czechloslovokia due to its strength in minerals. England and France watched as all this was happening becoming more and more angry. Then England and France decided to declare war if Hitler took over Poland. Another thing that sparked the beginning of World War II was something called militarism. Countries figured that if they provided themselves with a strong military that it would solve their economic problems. Germany started to develop an air force along with a fleet of submarines called U-Boats and battle ships. Along with this, Germany blamed the jewish people for the economic problems there. What Really Happened in World War 1 and 2 :: essays research papers The definition of a world war is "a war engaged in by all or most of the principal nations of the world." The First World War was a unique even, because such thing has never happened before in history. Today it is still a topic discussed in details. The causes of the First World War are many, among which the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Other causes were the alliance systems and the nationalism . During the years before the war, a "system of secret alliances" was formed in Europe. The whole point for creating these alliances was maintaining peace throughout Europe. Everybody thought that if countries join forces together, there will be no point for a country to declare war on another. Should this happen, however, both countries will be protected from their allies. This "perfect" on first sight system did not really work well. In fact this is how the war started. Austria - Hungary declared war on Serbia, but both countries had other nations protected World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars, so how was it that America had to yet again fight in what is considered our world?s second war? Throughout time fuel kept on being added to the fire and America found themselves in what is now called World War II. It seems funny to say that the very thing that ended World War I actually caused the second World War. The Treaty Of Versailles marked the end of World War I but not all countries were satisfied with this. The Germans thought it was unbalanced and unfair to them. Hitler detested the treaty by creating a military and occupying its surrounding neighbors, including Austria-Hungary. Germany continued to take over Czechloslovokia due to its strength in minerals. England and France watched as all this was happening becoming more and more angry. Then England and France decided to declare war if Hitler took over Poland. Another thing that sparked the beginning of World War II was something called militarism. Countries figured that if they provided themselves with a strong military that it would solve their economic problems. Germany started to develop an air force along with a fleet of submarines called U-Boats and battle ships. Along with this, Germany blamed the jewish people for the economic problems there.

Concepts of Competencies to the Jobs Essay

1.How relevant are the concepts of competencies to the jobs in a chicken-processing plant? 1.How relevant are the concepts of competencies to the jobs in a chicken-processing plant? hirsagar had been with Horizon for over twenty years. Starting off as a substitute mill-hand in the paint shop at one of the company’s manufacturing facilities, he had been made permanent on the job five years later. He had no formal education. He felt this was a handicap, but he made up for it with a willingness to learn and a certain enthusiasm on the job. He was soon marked by the works manager as someone to watch out for. Simultaneously, Kshirsagar also came to the attention of the president of the Horizon Employees’ Union who drafted him into union activities. Even while he got promoted twice during the period to become the head colour mixer last year, Kshirsagar had gradually moved up the union hierarchy and had been thrice elected secretary of the union. Labour-management relations at Horizon were not always cordial. This was largely because the company had not been recording a consistently good performance. There were frequent cuts in production every year because of go-slows and strikes by workmen—most of them related to wage hikes and bonus payments. With a view to ensuring a better understanding on the part of labour, the problems of company management, the Horizon board, led by chairman and managing director Aninash Chaturvedi, began to toy with idea of taking on a workman on the board. What started off as a hesitant move snowballed, after a series of brainstorming sessions with executives and meetings with the union leaders, into a situation in which Kshirsagar found himself catapulted to the Horizon board as work-man-director. It was an untested ground for the company. But the novelty of it all excited both the management and the labour force. The board members—all functional heads went out of their way to make Kshirsagar comfortable and the latter also responded quite well. He got used to the ambience of the boardroom and the sense of power it conveyed. Significantly, he was soon at home with the perspectives of top management and began to see each issue from both sides. It was smooth going until the union presented a week before the monthly board meeting, its charter of demands, one of which was a 30 per cent across-the board hike in wages.

Zara and Its International Expansion Essays

Zara and Its International Expansion Essays Zara and Its International Expansion Paper Zara and Its International Expansion Paper Zara is one of the largest and the most internationalized retailers that Inditex Group owns. Inditex Group is based in Spain, which is a global specialty retailer that designs, manufactures, and sells apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men and children around the world. Zara’s history The founder of Zara, Amancio Ortega, opened the first Zara store in 1975 in a central street in La Caruna, Spain. It was first featured as low-priced look-alike products of popular, higher-end clothing fashions. The first store proved to be a success, hence Inditex Group started to open more Zara stores in Spain.In order to reduce the lead time and also react to new trends in a faster way, Ortega decided to change the design, manufacturing and distribution process during the 1980’s. This is what Ortega called â€Å"instant fashion†. The company made their improvements by the use of information technologies and using a group of designers instead of individuals. The core concept of Zara is they sell â€Å"medium quality fashion clothing at affordable prices†, and the vertical integration and quick-response are also keys to Zara’s business model.Zara started to expand internationally in late 1980’s. The first Zara store outside Spain was opened in Portugal in 1988. Then they entered New York in 1989 and in Paris in 1990. The expansion of Zara stores keeps growing, and until now, it presents in seventy three countries, with 1,341 stores in prime locations of major cities. Business environment The apparel market is a consumer-driven industry, and globalization and new technologies have allowed consumers to have more access to fashion.Due to these reasons, consumer tastes are changing rapidly, competition is fierce, and companies are evolving to meet these demand. There are two types of considerations for Zara to successfully enter into the international market- internal factors and external factors, as will be explained in detail later in this paper in the section of international strategy. Market Structure for Clothing Industry ZARA is in a monopolistic competitive market. There are many competitors in this industry such as GAP and HM. The clothing industry is facing high ressure of reducing costs as they try to have a lower price than their competitors, and aggressive price wars, initiated by competitors working to improve their supply chain management, have slowly removed less efficient makers out of the business. Due to the global financial crisis, the clothing industry slowed down in profit growth from the beginning of 2008, and because of this huge negative impact to the global economy, there are downward pressures on price for clothing makers. The worldwide sluggish economy has decreased the demand since previous affordable prices may not be affordable now.Company such as Old Navy has been able to take over some of Zara’s market shares by offering lower prices. Competitors Gap, HM, and Benetton are considered three closest comparable international competitors. Zara is relatively more fashionable than all three competitors, and prices are less than Gap and Benetton but higher than HM. Among these three competitors, HM is considered the most closest competitor to Zara with some similarities and some differences. HM differs from Zara in the way they outsource all of their productions and spend more money on advertising, while Zara does little outsourcing and virtually does no advertising.Also, Zara sells only trendy products and not trying to produce â€Å"classic† clothes which would always be in style while HM does produce some â€Å"classic† clothes in addition to trendy products. The similarities are they both are European based companies, are fashion forward at low price retailers, and both have a strong international expansion strategy. Strategy and Core Competency Zara uses a combination of cost leadership strategy and product differ entiation strategy to support its business model’s core concept of selling the latest style, medium quality fashion clothing at affordable prices.This is achieved through its core competencies of a vertical integration, a vast range of products, and a unique instant fashion system, creating speed and flexibility to the market that provides the chain with a competitive advantage over traditional retailers in the industry. Vertical Integration Since the global apparel industry is high-labor intensive, most retailers and manufacturers seek to lower costs by outsourcing productions to developing countries with cheap labor.However, instead of relying on outsourcing and offshoring, Zara owns great control of its factories, stores, and distribution network because it believes it can minimize the time to market by carefully coordinate the entire production process. The company’s employees make about 50% of its finished garments, with a majority of them being the most time and fashion sensitive products, in any of its 20 fully owned factories, 18 of them clustered around its headquarters. Zara has a centralized distribution facility in Spain, it is cost-effective and time efficient as the distribution center is close to the factory.Also, for Zara the distribution center is a place where products are moved rather than stored, and products shipped to farther destinations or of larger quantities are shipped by air. As a result, not only inventory cost is decreased but the delivery speed is increased. In contrast, most large fashion manufacturers rely on low cost manufacturing in Asia or South America but have to pay higher inventory costs and it takes longer time for the products to move to market. Product Variation By owning its in-house production, Zara is also very flexible in the variety, amount, and frequency of the new styles they produce.Instead of creating a few styles with mass quantity, Zara uses the style greater than quantity concept, launching n ew collections in increasingly shorter cycles, as it produces approximately 1000 new styles per month while producing in small batches. This creates a rapid product turnover and an environment of scarcity and exclusivity, prompting the customers to buy the product now in case it is gone tomorrow and visit the stores frequently, as said by the Toronto store manager of Zara â€Å"We receive shipments on Tuesday and Saturday, which means that we have different items in the store at least twice a week.While each shipment replenishes items that sell well, each also includes new items. That’s why our customers come in often. † On average, Zara’s customers return to the store 17 times a year, compared to 3 times a year of most of the competitors. The vast range of styles also enables Zara to cope with the changing customers’ demand and to sell more items at its full price. Instant Fashion The instant fashion system, another core competency of Zara, permits Zara to respond to the demand of its consumer better than its competitors.Compared to the conventional idea of spring and autumn clothing collections, Zara is in favor of â€Å"live collectionsâ€Å" that can be designed, manufactured, distributed, and sold almost as quickly as its customers’ fleeting tastes. Instead of predicting the trend for the next season, Zara’s designers react to what they see in the current fashion, identifying and catching a winning fashion trend while the competitors are struggling to catch up. Zara is able to do this because it has a vertical integrated supply chain that reduces lead time as explained above.While it takes 60 to 90 days in order to design and deliver a new fashion style in a traditional value chain, it only takes 12 to 15 days for Zara. The fast fashion system also depends on the constant exchange of information throughout every part of Zaras supply chain. To speed the information flow of consumer desires to their designers, Zar a has teams in the manufacturing environment responsible for attending high-fashion fairs and exhibitions to provide the designers with the latest trends. Research on market and travels to the universities and clubs around the world are also conducted throughout the season.On the other hand, in the retail environment Zara’s managers and sales associates are responsible for providing sales analysis, product life cycles, and store trends to aid the designers. This communication system is further accelerated by the IT software for stores to report directly to the production centers and designers in Spain. For example store managers use PDA to check on the latest clothes designs and place their orders in accordance with the demand they observe in stores, while all salespeople are equipped with wireless handheld organizers that let them punch in trends, customer comments and orders.Value Chain Zara has a vertical integrated supply chain owning control of all of its retailing, desi gning, and manufacturing operations. As mentioned above, unlike most of its competitors that outsource their production to factories around the world, Zara has approximately 80% of its production carried out in Europe, with its various business elements such as the design and production centers in close proximity to each other, around its headquarter in La Coruna, Spain. Purchases: Zara purchases materials from external suppliers.It has purchasing offices in Barcelona and Hong Kong which gives Zara the competitive advantage towards the cost of goods sold as it can purchase from the region with lower prices. About half of the fabrics are purchased in grey to allow for flexibility in manufacturing a variety of colors and patterns, and by owning Comditel, a subsidiary to Inditex responsible for dyeing, patterning, and finishing the fabrics, Zara can always provide the necessary fabrics to the new styles of its products.As explained by Jose Maria Castella, Inditex’s executive, â €Å"We have the ability to scrap an entire production line if it is not selling. We can dye collection in new colors and we can create a new fashion line in days. † Design and manufacture: There is one design center for each of the women’s, men’s, and children’s lines with separate design, sales, and procurement and production-planning staffs. Though it is more expensive to operate three channels, the information flow for each channel is fast and direct, making the overall supply chain more effective.The designers work their designs on a computer system called CAD while communicating with the store managers to receive feedback. Once the patterns are finalized, they are made available to the computers that would guide the high tech cutting tools in the factory. Zara’s factories are heavily automated, specialized by garment type, and focused on the capital-intensive parts of the production process. Inditex owns 20 factories for internal manufacture t hat apply the just-in-time production system, making the production process fully under its control.Assembly: The assembly of the cut pieces is done by a network of small workshops that are not owned by Zara. They are provided a set of easy instructions to follow for the purpose of quickly sewing up the pieces and provide a constant stream to Zara’s garment finishing and packing facilities. Distribution: All garments, both internally and externally made, go into Zaras distribution centers in La Coruna or smaller satellite centers in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico to be distributed. Since Zara stores around the world receive new products regularly, Zara’s distribution center s a place for moving the products rather than for storage, therefore no style sits around very long at head office as products are shipped to stores within 48 hours. As mentioned before, this significantly reduces inventory cost and risk. Marketing: Zaea relies heavily on word-of-mouth to market its p roducts to deliver its brand image of high fashion, reasonable quality goods, and rapidly changing product lines instead of using the ordinary retail marketing practices. Zara spends 0-. % on advertisement investment as compared to traditional retailers of 3-4% , because instead of spending on collaborating with big-name designers and advertising campaigns, the money saved is spent on purchasing prime real estate locations around the world, for example Fifth Avenue, Tokyo’s Ginza, and Rome’s Via Condotti. Great emphasis is also placed on the store’s interior design and image by having frequent refurbishing of store layouts and common window display for all of its global stores, as shown as exhibit 1, that position Zara with a prestigious and elegant image.Service: Zara has been growing by looking to its customers for innovations. Instead of viewing the employees as costs, Zara’s in-store staff is young and very sensitive to fashion who serves as trend spo tters. Through providing services to the customers, Zara’s employees can understand the constantly changing demand of the customers and transfer this information to the designers to find better way to meet the needs of the customers. IT: The most important support activity in Zara’s value chain is the information and communication technology, which provides speed to the market and exists in every stage of the chain, as shown in exhibit 2.In the upstream supply chain, IT is needed for managing the inventory of supplies, design specifications, and trim specifications. In the downstream supply chain, it is used for managing distribution and collecting information on consumer needs. International Business For international companies, globalization radically influences their production and business model. More importantly, it provides growth opportunities for them to enter foreign markets and thus gain larger market share and increase revenue.Also, it has forced global comp anies to improve and upgrade themselves through increasingly fierce market competition. Zara has been taking advantage of the globalization to expand its global footprints all around the world. As of August 2009, there are totally 1,560 Zara stores around the world. About 80% of its stores are located in Europe. In North America, there are only 60 stores. In Asia, there are about 91 stores . Currently Zara is still planning to aggressively plot its global expansion though at a slower pace than before mainly due to the global economic slowdown.More new stores are set to open mostly between Europe and Asia . International Strategy To establish such globally diversified presence, the highly successful international strategy Zara has been implementing a strategy with a mixture of standardization and customization. There are three steps associated with Zara’s international strategy: market selection, marketing entry, and marketing approach. Market selection: there are many key con siderations involved like labor cost and productivity, distribution cost, shipment cost of raw materials.Characteristics or behavior of consumers, for example the people in France are more fashionable and quality oriented while the people in Germany are more price sensitive, and income per capita are also important considerations. By carefully considering these elements and following a systematic procedure to insure extensive market testing before expanding its operations, Zara so far hasnt retreated from any selected markets. Market entry: the related considerations include economics factors, government regulations, and entry barriers.More specifically, the economic factors include macroeconomic factors such as tax, political condition, and export tariff, and the microeconomic factors which include local competitors, demand, and location of stores. Zara adopted three modes of market entry- joint venture, franchise, and company-owned stores that depended on local factors. However, Z ara would always make sure it has the most control to its stores no matter what forms they take. Marketing approach: Zara customizes its marketing approach according to the unique conditions of each country.For products, the local stores would place order on products that reflect the local preferences and trends. For price, different pricing strategies are used for each country, for example prices in Italy and France are higher because the people there are less price sensitive but are fashion oriented while prices in Germany is lower as it is more price sensitive. For placement, Zara stresses on efficient distribution and ensures all the stores are located in the best locations. Offshoring and Outsourcing By definition, offshoring means outsource their works to another foreign country.In global apparel industry, the general trend for global fashion retailers is to totally offshore their manufacturing to tens of thousands of small apparel makers in developing countries and mainly foc us on design and marketing. However, counter-intuitively Zara is taking a different path. It still produces some of its products by itself. 50% of the Zara’s products are manufactured by factories fully owned by it in Spain, 26% in the rest of Europe, and 24% in Asian and African countries and the rest of the world.Only long shelf life clothes like T-shirts are mostly offshored to Asia and Turkey. Due to international expansion, Zara may consider more production out of Spain or Europe in the future, as the high transportation cost from Spain to other far foreign markets like Asia and North America is still a big concern especially when oil prices continue to remain high. Zara has purchasing offices in Beijing, Barcelona, and Hong Kong. Zara also purchases clothing materials from numerous suppliers in Spain, India, Morocco, and the Far East.Under Zara’s inter-connected network, suppliers are coordinated with Zara’s sales projection. Therefore, Zara’s produ ction demand can be quickly met on time. Problems Encountered in International Expansion As Zara continues its ambitious global expansion, there are still some problems that exist. One major problem is the increase of transportation cost and time for Zara as the company is expanding globally while trying to retain a centralized distribution system. In order to meet the global demand, Zara has been increasing its production through outsourcing and offshoring at a higher level.However, this raises the transportation cost and time since all of the products have to go through the distribution center in La Coruna or smaller satellite centers in Brazil and Mexico before being sent to different stores around the world. As a result, international customers have to pay higher prices to bear the transportation cost, as this goes against Zara’s principle of providing quality and fashion at a low price. Also, increasing outsourcing and offshoring means less control, which s one of the fu ndamental factors in achieving a successful vertical integrated value chain. Another problem regarding Zara’s global expansion is related to the North American market. North America is a highly competitive and vast market, with people living in different parts having different profiles and thus different fashion needs. Moreover, consumers in North America are price sensitive and less trendy. Many fashion retailers there are simply competing on price and discount which is not Zara’s favorite marketing strategy.Also, it is quite difficult to grow business in the North America without advertising. As earlier mentioned, Zara rarely advertises. These problems cause Zara to still not have a major presence in North American. Conclusion Trading higher production cost for competitive competency, Zara has been a successful retailer in the apparel industry; it also has been doing fairly well in expanding globally. It has been able to penetrate foreign markets by producing trendy clothes that satisfy most of the customers around the world with low prices.Zara however can still raise its global market shares by expanding more in North America. To do this, Zara has to conduct more research on North American markets. Another way to increase global market shares is to develop a second central distribution center or production center, perferably in the Americas, which will not only allow Zara to deliver goods in a faster manner, but the close proximity to the American market will also allow them to effectively interpret the particular American fashion.Zara has been increasing its production through outsourcing and offshoring to meet the global demand; they have to also be careful on these outsourcing and offshoring activities since they may have less control. Zara has to make sure that they keep their core competencies in order to maintain its competitiveness in the highly competitive clothing industry.BIBLIORGAPHY CUC, Tripa, Strategy and Systainable Competitive Advantage- The Case of Zara Fashion Chain, Oradea University, Volume VI, 2007, p. 2522 Craig A. , Jones C. , Nieto M. ZARA: Fashion Follower, Industry Leader(4/2/2004) Craig, Jones, Nieto, Zara: Fashion Follower, Industry Leader, Philadelphia University, 2004 Mukherjee, Sujit, Janmeja, Mohata, Rani, Shinde, Supply Chain Practices of Zara, Institute of Management Technology, 2009, p. 12 mbanerds. com/images/3/3b/ZARA. doc enotes. com/company-histories/industria-de-diseno-textil-s mbanerds. com/images/3/3b/ZARA. doc inditex. com/en/who_we_are/concepts/zara, INDITEX Group website banerds. com/images/3/3b/ZARA. doc, csus. edu/indiv/w/wilsonm/MBA%20209_sp%2007/scm/Zara_CASE. doc http://drillingfordiamonds. com/blog/2008/05/30/react-rather-than-predict/ http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Zara_(clothing) chinapost. com. tw/business/company-focus/2009/03/26/201780/Zara-owner. htm http://freepresentationslides. blogspot. com/2008/09/zara-case-study. html tx. ncsu. edu/jtatm/volume5issue 1/Zara_fashion. htm businessweek. com/magazine/content/06_36/b3999063. htm

Every Company Is a Publishing Company

Every Company Is a Publishing Company Every Company Is a Publishing Company Every Company Is a Publishing Company By Mark Nichol A recent Wall Street Journal article that beamed a spotlight on sophomoric speaking and grammar gaffes in the workplace covered the issue fairly thoroughly but left unsaid some pertinent points. The article discussed the epidemic of informality in critical corporate settings such as staff meetings and in-person communication with clients: What do you do when employees seem ignorant of expectations for adopting the appropriate linguistic register in these contexts, using chatting vernacular (â€Å"You guys, like, cut it out!†) when a moderate degree of formality (â€Å"Please, let’s just have one person talk at a time†) or even a sober formality (â€Å"I wish to remind you to raise your hand if you wish to be called on to comment†) may be expected? It also discusses disturbingly colloquial correspondence, or that which is rife with typographical errors and poor grammar. The answer, for some companies, is to require employees to have one or more colleagues review letters and emails before they are sent out. Others hire consultants to train workers to become better writers. But both strategies have their weaknesses: Two or three heads are not necessarily better than one, especially if they are empty when it comes to writing skills. And writing workshops can only accomplish so much unless they are intensive and extensive and expensive. A combination of these approaches is best but still won’t produce flawless results, and many businesses are not willing or able to invest in the effort. Is this issue such a big deal? It depends on who you ask. This word nerd says, â€Å"Hell, yeah!† (or, depending on the pertinent linguistic register, â€Å"Indubitably.†). What does every enterprise have in common, besides selling a product, a service, or an idea? The answer: communication. All businesses must connect with current and prospective customers or clients, and partners, through transmission of language (usually at least primarily written language). Even if the only text the recipient sees is a business card, an invoice, or an email, the company’s reputation is on the line on every line. What’s the ideal solution? Every business publishes information (and, believe it or not, clients and customers notice poor and careless writing, even if they don’t recognize specific errors). So, treat your business like a publishing company, and institute an editorial process. At my last job before I began the current freelancing phase of my editing and writing career, I was responsible for the presentation of all content on the website of a prestigious educational foundation. Therefore, I considered it of paramount importance that the content be of outstanding quality. In addition to editing the journalistic content, I insisted on editing all marketing and advertising copy, I vetted job postings, I even pored through the site’s terms of use. Eventually, this comprehensive quality control became onerous and I delegated some responsibilities, but visitors had to work hard to find errors on that site. If you work at a sizeable company and you have responsibility for or are otherwise involved in the generation of business-to-business, business-to-client/customer, or even internal content, I urge you to consider or recommend designating the resident grammar geek, or a hiring a staff or contract editor, to serve as the conduit for at least the most significant communications or correspondence. Of course, only the smallest enterprises can monitor all messaging, and even then, requiring inspection of all email messages seems repressive. But the solution discussed above, perhaps combined with workshops and one-on-one consultation conducted by the designated editor, will have a significant positive impact on the quality of your company’s communications. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Types of RhymeOne Sheep, Two Sheep, One Fish, Two Fish . . .While vs. Whilst

African-American History and Women Timeline 1990-1999

African-American History and Women Timeline 1990-1999 More of the  Timeline:  1980 - 1989  /  2000 - 1990 Sharon Pratt Kelly elected mayor of Washington, DC, the first African-American mayor of a major American city Roselyn Payne Epps became the first woman president of the American Medical Association Debbye Turner became third African American Miss America Sarah Vaughan died (singer) 1991 Clarence Thomas nominated for a seat on the US Supreme Court; Anita Hill, who had worked for Thomas in the federal government, testified about repeated sexual harassment, bringing the issue of sexual harassment to public attention (Thomas was confirmed as Justice) Marjorie Vincent became fourth African American Miss America 1992 (August 3) Jackie Joyner-Kersee became the first woman to win two Olympic heptathlons (September 12) Mae Jemison, astronaut, became the first African-American woman in space (November 3) Carol Moseley Braun elected to the US Senate, the first African-American woman to hold that office   (November 17)  Ã‚  Audre Lorde  died (poet, essayist, educator)   Rita Dove named the US Poet Laureate. 1993 Rita Dove became the first African American poet laureate   Toni Morrison  became the first  African-American  winner of the  Nobel Prize for Literature. (September 7) Joycelyn Elders became the first African American and first woman US Surgeon General (April 8) Marian Anderson died (singer) 1994 Kimberly Aiken became fifth African American Miss America 1995 (June 12) Supreme Court, in Adarand v. Pena, called for strict scrutiny before establishing any federal affirmative action requirements Ruth J. Simmons installed as president of Smith College in 1995. becoming the first African-American president of one of the Seven Sisters 1996 1997 (June 23) Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, died of burns sustained in a June 1 fire in her home 1998 DNA evidence was used to test the theory that Thomas Jefferson fathered the children of a woman he enslaved, Sally Hemings most concluded that the DNA and other evidence confirmed the theory (September 21) track and field great Florence Griffith-Joyner died (athlete; first African-American to win four medals in one Olympics; sister-in-law of Jackie Joyner-Kersee) (September 26) Betty Carter died (jazz singer) 1999 (November 4) Daisy Bates died (civil rights activist) More of the Timeline:  1980 - 1989 / 2000 -

Education in the Middle East in the Last 20 Years Essay

Education in the Middle East in the Last 20 Years - Essay Example Poor governance, political revolutions, poor traditional laws, and high poverty levels have had negative reflections on attitudes towards education, especially for the girl child. However, the reform movements have seen significant changes in the people’s perception of education. The governments are increasingly investing in education as they seek aid from international agencies and industrialized nations. Thus, despite the difficulties that are experienced in the most of the Middle East countries, there have been significant improvements in education in these countries, especially in the last two decades. The level of literacy, especially for women, has improved dramatically with women having more access to institutions of higher learning. Education improving in the Middle East in the last 20 years Introduction Education has been considered as one of the fundamental human rights that are necessary for development in a given society. Every individual in the society has the rig ht to access quality education owing to the benefits that education has to the individual and to the society. Education contributes towards all aspects of development in the society. It provides individuals with the basic knowledge and skills that are appropriate for the development of a career. It provides the medium through which different talents can be identified that are beneficial to the society (Behrman & Stacey, 1997, p.11). Education improves an individual’s general understanding of life as well as how to relate to others morally and responsibly in the society. Through education, one is able to understand his or her fundamental rights and freedom in the society, and the necessary steps to be taken when such rights are infringed. The fights for democratic forms of government that are experienced in different parts of the world can be easily won if the citizens are more educated. The education in the Middle East has been low as compared to the other parts of the world like the West. In many regions in the Middle East, education was not taken seriously by the public as well as the government. It was considered a luxury and its access was limited to few individuals (Editorials, 2005, para.3). The restrictions were extreme on the female children. The political oppression, traditional beliefs, and high levels of poverty greatly contributed to this situation. The Middle East Countries include the Arab nations in South Asia and North Africa like Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Armenia, and Bahrain among several others. The countries have certain similarities and differences in terms of the system of government, economic activities, and the religious culture. All these countries exhibit the Arab–Muslim relations. Most of these countries and the neighboring countries of North Africa that form the Greater Middle East have experienced civil wars resulting from poor forms of governance as well as terrorist attacks. The North African Ara b nations have experienced rebel movements that have seen most of their long-term leaders hoisted unceremoniously. Similar revolutions continue to be witnessed in the Middle East countries like Syria and Yemen.

Criminal Identification Procedures in the 21st Century Research Paper - 1

Criminal Identification Procedures in the 21st Century - Research Paper Example In the nascent stage of criminal identification, the law enforcement agencies and institutions relied on raw techniques like anthropometry that relied on the dimensions of varied body parts like cheek width and arm span for identifying criminals (Stern, 2001). However, the cause of justice soon realized that criminal identification happened to be a pivotal legal step and hence needs to be based on more reliable techniques (Stern, 2001). Hence, fingerprinting eventually evolved to be a more specialized method of criminal identification. However, this technique also has its limitations. Many a times the distorted or smudged fingerprints picked up from a crime scene do not totally corroborate with the intact fingerprints taken by a technician under ideal conditions (Stern, 2001). However, doubts are now being raised on the credibility of finger printing in the light of the techniques used to gather fingerprints from the crime scenes not being that perfect (Stern, 2001). Yet, there is mu ch to hope in the sense that in the 21st century, science has facilitated law with varied more accurate criminal identification techniques like DNA analysis, biometrics, palmprint technique, which are more accurate and authentic. In that context it is heartening to mention that DNA analysis has emerged as being a highly reliable procedure in the arena of criminal identification. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid, simply speaking happens to be a blueprint of any individual’s body that all humans carry in the cells of their body (Snow, 2005, p. 124). The DNA of a suspect could by easily recovered from hair, skin cells, body fluids like blood and semen and also any trace of any tissue left by a suspect at a crime scene (Snow, 2005, p. 124). Scientific studies have proven beyond doubt that the DNA of every individual happens to be unique and unlike the smudged or tampered fingerprints collected from a crime scene, the DNA of a suspect in no way gets altered under

Friendships Through Networking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Friendships Through Networking - Essay Example He is also satirical in his explanation, he supports the social network is good for reconnecting with old friends, which to I also supports this opinion. He also openly admits by the fact that he is Facebook member and he is hooked up in it. He comes out openly and true to himself, yet he is careful not to be termed as a loser in the end. Social networks have messaging functions, which is a good tool if the email had not been discovered. Even though, these sites are not merely for connecting and reconnecting, the act as means of re-branding. The old people are worried in the point that there could be no more privacy in this case. But, yet they should not be sharing things that they do not want other people to know. This is because we are allowing other people to write whatever they want in our walls. If we don’t like we can always erase. Stein refers the privacy in real life something being very hard; he further says that such privacy in life would have had the bathrooms in Mi nnesota airport empty. Other people term the social network a way of rebranding ourselves. This is because we misuse the network and at times, we are so addicted in it than anything else is. We are sometimes too blunt and think that our friends will check out whatever we post immediately (Levene 240). In some instances, through research I notice some views from other sources that teenagers who use Facebook more frequently have developed narcissistic behaviors, while young kids show some sign of psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive kind of tendencies. Frequent use of media and the technologies has had a negative impact on health of all children whose age is below 10 and those between ten and twenty. This makes them more likely be prone to anxiety, depression and to some extend psychological disorders. The extent would even put them at risk of developing future health problems. For those who are just working, if they use more of their time on t he social network, they would really concentrate on their work. They would frequently be use most of their work time chatting with friends. The use of social networks like Facebook would also distract learning and negatively affect the student’s time. Studies have shown that primary school, secondary school and college students who checked Facebook once during the 20-minute study time achieved a lower marks and lower grades in the end. In his book, Stein gives some examples of benefits of using social network as a tool of connecting and getting in touch with old friends. He has chosen to visit the opposite in brief; he had to show without being biased as a writer. In my own research and the study carried out, we notice that there are also benefits of the social networking. The fact that communicating and the need to travel has been made easy, there are also some huge benefits. The youths who spent some time on Facebook have shown some kind of empathy of their online friends w hom they have never met. The Facebook has helped some youths to socialize in all aspects. This can of media is also applicable for those who have large screen computers to those who have a small screen phones. The features are the same and most people can access online friends. Social networking has compelled teaching in some certain ways. The students engage themselves in the network and learn. In some certain cases, parents may feel unsecure about

Object Database Management System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Object Database Management System - Essay Example There are two most important factors that lead users to implement object database technology. Firstly, relational databases turn out to be cumbersome to use with composite data. Secondly, data is usually operated by application software written using object-oriented programming languages such as C++, Java, Delphi and C#, and the code required translating between this demonstration of the data and the tuples of a relational database can be dreary to write, and prolonged to execute. This variance between the models used to represent information in the application programs and the database is sometimes referred to as an impedance variance. Now a day Client-Server applications that depends on a database on the server as a data store while servicing requests from multiple clients are quite ordinary. The majority of these applications use a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) because their data store while using an object oriented programming language for development. The "impedance mismatch" caused as a result of having to map objects to tables and vice versa has long been accepted as an essential performance penalty. Object-oriented databases are designed to work well with object-oriented programming languages such Java, C#, and C++. ODBMS used exactly the same model as object-oriented programming languages. Object database management systems added the notion of persistence to object programming languages. The early commercial products were integrated with various languages: GemStone (Smalltalk), Gbase (Lisp), and Vbase. (COP). COP was the C Object Processor, a proprietary language based on C that pre-dated C++. For much of the 1990s, C++ dominated the commercial object database management market. Vendors added Java in the late 1990s and more recently, C#. (Object database - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia) Theory We now introduce some basic concept of general system theory. This is essentially a way of understanding a system in terms of those components and characteristics that are common to all systems. We use the term system here in a very specific sense; although one that has much broader application than just computer systems. In everyday speech people may refer to the legal system, a tropical storm system, the system of parliamentary democracy, an eco-system, a system for winning at roulette, a computer system in someone's office, a system for shelving books in a library, a system-build house and many more. Some of these certainly meet our definition of a system and others do not. Probably the only thing that they all have in common is that they have some kind of organization. But in general systems theory, a system is rather more than just anything that shows a degree of organization. Characteristics of a system A system exists in an environment. A system is separated from its environment by some kind of boundary. Systems have inputs and outputs. They receive inputs from their environment and send outputs into their environment. Systems have interfaces. An interface allows communication between two systems. A system may have sub-system. A sub-system is also a system, and may have further sub- systems of its own. Systems that endure have a control mechanism. System control relies on feedback (and sometimes feed-forward). These comprise information about the system's operations or its

Staff Training and Prevention of Violence in mental Health Care Units Research Paper

Staff Training and Prevention of Violence in mental Health Care Units - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that the growing number of violence in the health care industry has evoked a variety of responses and those health care professionals who work in mental health care units are most vulnerable to workplace violence. There are a large number of studies that focus on the physical assault or verbal violence shown towards mental healthcare workers including nurses, physicians, psychologists and social workers. These studies emphasize the growing need to implement effective strategies to prevent and manage violence and aggression in the mental healthcare setting. While there have been many strategies implemented to manage and prevent violence in the mental health care units, the significance of effective staff education and training has been stressed by many researchers. However, there have not been many authentic studies that unearthed how far staff training contributes to the prevention of violence in the mental health care industry. In this res pect, the U.S. Department of Labor identifies â€Å"lack of staff training in recognizing and managing escalating hostile and assaultive behavior† as a crippling factor in preventing violence in acute health care units. There are also studies that have highlighted the need to offer staff in-service training to the mental health care professionals. The growing statistics on violence towards the health care professionals in mental and psychiatric units is quite alarming and shocking. In this respect, Adams and Whittington (1995) conducted a remarkable study among a sample group of hospital based nurses and community mental health nurses. The results of the study showed that 29% of the target population experienced verbal aggression over a 10 week period; 44% of the incidents involved threats and the rest consisted of abuses (Adams & Whittington, 1995, p. 171). These shocking statistics point towards the need to offer timely staff training to the mental health care professionals . Duxbury and Whittington (2005) have successfully brought out the staff and patient perspectives on violence in mental and psychiatric health care units. The researchers undertook a survey among a sample of 80 patients and 82 health care professionals (3 ward managers, 10 charge nurses, 35 staff nurses and 32 nursing assistants) from three inpatient mental healthcare wards. The mental illnesses of the patients varied from chronic schizophrenia to depressive disorders. The results of the study showed that the patients regarded ‘environmental conditions and poor communication’ as the two significant factors behind aggressive behavior whereas the nurses identified that the patients’ mental illness was the root cause for the violence; however, both the groups were thoroughly dissatisfied with the ‘restrictive and under-resourced provision that leads to interpersonal tensions’ (Duxbury & Whittington, 2005, p. 469). The study also showed that both the pat ients as well as the nurses were also dissatisfied with the way violence and aggression has been managed. The researchers identified staff training in the use of fundamental therapeutic communication skills as the potential solution to this interpersonal tension. The adverse effects of patient violence on the mental health care workers are many and varied. Patient violence on mental health care professionals not only leads to staff sickness and absenteeism but also to various psychological and mental distresses. Whatever may be the underlying causes for violence, â€Å"a major consequence for individuals affected directly or indirectly by violence is often psychological pain, whether depression, anxiety, isolation, trauma or other reactions

Object Database Management System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Object Database Management System - Essay Example There are two most important factors that lead users to implement object database technology. Firstly, relational databases turn out to be cumbersome to use with composite data. Secondly, data is usually operated by application software written using object-oriented programming languages such as C++, Java, Delphi and C#, and the code required translating between this demonstration of the data and the tuples of a relational database can be dreary to write, and prolonged to execute. This variance between the models used to represent information in the application programs and the database is sometimes referred to as an impedance variance. Now a day Client-Server applications that depends on a database on the server as a data store while servicing requests from multiple clients are quite ordinary. The majority of these applications use a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) because their data store while using an object oriented programming language for development. The "impedance mismatch" caused as a result of having to map objects to tables and vice versa has long been accepted as an essential performance penalty. Object-oriented databases are designed to work well with object-oriented programming languages such Java, C#, and C++. ODBMS used exactly the same model as object-oriented programming languages. Object database management systems added the notion of persistence to object programming languages. The early commercial products were integrated with various languages: GemStone (Smalltalk), Gbase (Lisp), and Vbase. (COP). COP was the C Object Processor, a proprietary language based on C that pre-dated C++. For much of the 1990s, C++ dominated the commercial object database management market. Vendors added Java in the late 1990s and more recently, C#. (Object database - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia) Theory We now introduce some basic concept of general system theory. This is essentially a way of understanding a system in terms of those components and characteristics that are common to all systems. We use the term system here in a very specific sense; although one that has much broader application than just computer systems. In everyday speech people may refer to the legal system, a tropical storm system, the system of parliamentary democracy, an eco-system, a system for winning at roulette, a computer system in someone's office, a system for shelving books in a library, a system-build house and many more. Some of these certainly meet our definition of a system and others do not. Probably the only thing that they all have in common is that they have some kind of organization. But in general systems theory, a system is rather more than just anything that shows a degree of organization. Characteristics of a system A system exists in an environment. A system is separated from its environment by some kind of boundary. Systems have inputs and outputs. They receive inputs from their environment and send outputs into their environment. Systems have interfaces. An interface allows communication between two systems. A system may have sub-system. A sub-system is also a system, and may have further sub- systems of its own. Systems that endure have a control mechanism. System control relies on feedback (and sometimes feed-forward). These comprise information about the system's operations or its

Rally Round the Trade Name Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rally Round the Trade Name - Essay Example Despite the fact that Gabby’s surname is Rally, it is not lawful for her to use it for her piazza business in the same jurisdiction as occupied by Rally motors. This is because, for one, a trade name is given under two different laws; common law and trade name registration law according to Tatum (2010). Under common law, an individual who first uses a certain trade name in a particular region for a particular purpose has exclusive rights for that name in the particular areas for that specific purpose. As a result, Gabby is not supposed to use her surname in conjunction with her business in the region. Doing this amounts to violating the law and infringing on trade name rights. According to intellectual property law, it is illegal to infringe on a trade name whether one posses the name or not. The issue of trade name protection goes beyond zones of reputation, expansion, and marketing despite being the first to be used in the region. Since Rally is linked with both pizza and motors, it is not a big conflict as it would happen if Gabby had decided to name her car dealership business as Rally Used Cars. It is unlawful for a similar business owner to possess two confusing names for his/ her business. Therefore, there is no problem with Rally’s association with pizza if only she does not use her name confusingly. This is because using this name does not imply that people might confuse pizza with cars. However, when two business uses the same trade name in a similar market region this can lead to a lot of confusion. The truth that Herman started utilizing the name Rally around forty years ago, protects him under both trade name registration law and the under the common law. He is also protected by the fact that he started using the trade name in the region first, before Gabby.

Enron, the smartest guys in the room Essay Example for Free

Enron, the smartest guys in the room Essay Enron was one of the biggest scandal of all time in the stock market. The three main guys leading the pack was Ken Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, and Andy Fastow. The company was not making profit so they decided to do future value accounting. This was shown to shareholders so they can spend money and invest in Enron. The future value accounting just shows a list of future profit that was predicted. What actually happened? Why it can happen again? What can be done to prevent it? and What is now being dont to prevent it? These are the question that will be answered and explained. What actually happened? Andy Fastow was the one who created several smaller companies that would hide the losses Enron had made. Enron showed that they were making great increases in the stock market and others wanted a piece of that. They even convinced their own employees to buy stocks. Enron wanted to hide their scandal so bad that they paid investment company to fire the employee that had any concerns. Enron was behind the California Energy Crisis and made billions off the state. They had the power plants shut down and resold energy for much higher and made outrageous profit. Their company got so big within a short amount of time, but so did their losses. It was getting much harder for them to hide the scandal as their company progresses. A writer at Forbes magazine was the one who started the collapse of Enron. She released an article and what Enron was truly doing and it went downhill from there. Jeffrey Skilling bailed on the company and sold all his stocks and left Ken Lay and Andy Fastow to run the company. Enron eventually collapsed and all the employee lost everything. Jeffrey Skilling and Andy Fastow were sent to prison for the scandal and Ken Lay passed away after the trials. The main thing that can be done to prevent another Enron scandal is the involvement of the investors themselves. The stockholders need to know about everything and anything that goes on in the company they are investing to the best of their abilities. Management and the Board members also play a very big role in avoiding another Enron. They are the one to keep track of the funds coming in and out of the company. Calpers are the current members that watch over the investors money and make sure everything is where theyre suppose to be. Regulators are also important in having strict regulations for companies, but lenient enough so there is room for competition. The Enron Scandal can happen again if a company is using the future value of accounting, but with the new check and order that is set up, it is very unlikely it will happen. These new check and order are very strict and precise on company so that they can prevent another major scandal. Audit committees have the right to access the companys financial statements and have the company cooperate with them at all times. The reason why Enron got away with their scandal for so long was because they had their own audit committee checking up on them. There is no way to completely prevent another scandal, but a scandal as big as Enron will surely not happen again. In the end, check and balance comes in to play to keep any company from pulling a scandal as big as Enron. Because there was a loose leash over the company, Enron took advantage of that to the max and scammed every investor for their money. Now the lesson has been learned and companies are being regulated and watched for the best of the investors.

The Body Shop: Corporate Governance

The Body Shop: Corporate Governance Management System Corporate Governance The management system and governance of each and every organisation is accountable for the maintenance of the organisation’s strength and survival in the stiff competition in the business world. The role of the governance imposed by the organisation as a whole should always be open minded for the occurrences of changes in order to adjust and cope with the tremendous development that are happening in the internal and external environment of the organisation. With the constantly changing environment, many people especially those in the working organisation find themselves normally adapting. This is because change can bring many improvement and development in different aspects of competency. In many ways, change can make work easier, pave the way for future innovations or generally improve people’s lives. Similarly, change has been adapted by various work organisations for varied reasons. Important changes in the understanding and management of corporate governance and its impacts on businesses have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that corporate governance and its impacts on businesses can be conceptualised from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to cope up. It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive environment for learning and training as an integral component of corporate governance have served effectively in implementing organisational change strategies for transformation. At present, this philosophical shift has extended to various settings, including multinational companies and organisations. Directors here have recognised that some employees do not have the skills and behavioural repertoires necessary to cope with the many expectations and challenges of corporate governance. Hence, these employees m ay have the tendency to remain contented with their mediocre performances as their alternative way of mitigating these expectations. Corporate governance pertains to the set of policies that are established in order to make influence in the manner in which an organisation or company is managed, governed or operated. The execution of corporate governance leads to the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to satisfy a firms customers, employees, and management. It also focuses on the careful management of the processes involved in the relationships among all the stakeholders involved (Bhattacharya, 2000). More often than not, small companies dont really have the capabilities to implement corporate governance. Instead, these companies engage in activities that various schools of management typically associate with the implementation of corporate governance. These activities include the establishment of rules, policies for decision-making, monitoring and evaluation. However, corporate governance deals with all operations done within companies and organisations. Activities such as the management of responsibilities, the control of operations, logistics and evaluations are often related with corporate governance. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, corporate governance includes the analysis and management of internal processes. The Body Shop will be the model business entity that will be used in this research based on their history in corporate governance. Company Background A known British chain of cosmetic stores called â€Å"Body Shop† which is found almost all over the world shows tremendous success in previous years is also the company The Body Shop International plc. Actually, The Body Shop agreed to a  £652 million takeover offer by a French cosmetics group LOrà ©al on 17 March 2006. The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick, distinguished for selling its own line of products not tested on animals, and produced in an ecologically sustainable approach (wikipedia, 2006). The Body Shop aims for sustainable growth as a broad market leader in cosmetics as well as for segment leadership. In both cases, the brands of The Body Shop will play a crucial part. The Body Shop is able to establish its broad leadership usually by merging with other strong cosmetics companies and their products, which are then combined into a new, larger company. Offering training to its employees, improving the company operations, and the introduction of new beauty products and technologies then reinforces the positions of the various products of The Body Shop. This practically results in economies of scale that is able to create a distribution network for both its local and international products. If a market is already in the control of other companies, The Body Shop devotes its attention towards the development of a premium segment with its various beauty products. Discussions Any business organisation fundamentally exists because it has certain responsibilities to fulfil for the people in the community as well as the various entities comprising it. The organisation has its human entity ranging from the staff, to the managers, board of directors, stakeholders, suppliers and so forth. All these groups have their own set of functions that contribute to the determination of the business goals, the delivery mechanisms of goods and services, and the operational patterns within the organisation. Furthermore, business organisations are part of the larger society where the markets and consumers are targeted and derived. The complexity of the internal and external surroundings of the business necessitates crucial deliberations and decisions in order to ensure the effective and continuous affairs of the organisation. The overall management of the internal and external affairs of the organisation is what basically forms corporate governance. Basic Definitions 1) Corporate Governance pertains to the set of policies that are established in order to make influence in the manner in which an organisation or company is managed, governed or operated (Bhattacharya, 2000). 2) Company Performance can be measured in terms of the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to acquire the essential goods or services at the best possible total cost of ownership, leading to the overall satisfaction of a firms customers, employees, and management (Booms, 1981). Role of Executive Directors Executive directors have the primary role to make specific identifications of all the possible sources of evaluation information which includes company performance. This is because aside from the observations of the immediate supervisors, company performance evaluation information can still come from a variety of other sources, including the employees, subordinates, and work products (Einsestat, 2001). For example, whenever The Body Shop utilises company performance information from individuals other than the immediate supervisor, the management informs the employees of the possible sources at the start of the company performance cycle, where they receive their company performance plans. In addition, these executive directors are the people who develop their company’s performance plans. The plans are signed by the employees and then passed on to the management for approval. They make sure that company performance plans are complete and adequate before signing the forms (Gonzalez, 2003). Executive directors also discuss the company performance plans with the employees in a clear and organised manner. Generally, discussions are conducted within 30 days of the start of the company performance cycle. Role of Non-executive Directors Non-executive directors document their company’s performance and provide feedback to the executive directors from time to time throughout the company performance cycle. Documentation normally occurs in the form of memos, and these are retained in the non-executive directors’ confidential files. Actually, these directors also have the authority to determine substandard or unacceptable company performance (Galpin et al. 2002). They normally address minor or marginal company performance issues through company performance counselling and coaching. The Body Shop’s Corporate Governance It can be said that the company has a very good framework that has been established in order to deal with different corporate matters. In fact, there is usually a properly structured program that is further reinforced by company policies and other procedures for the proper guidance of the directors in their daily duties. Consequently, the company has a clear reference guide to its business operations and corporate governance. The Board of Directors which oversee the businesses and the decision-making routines as well as the financial aspect of things, keeps watch. In addition, this includes the maintenance of the standards with regards to corporate governance in the corporation’s different sectors. The Board is made up of ten directors; two are executive while six are non-executive. Because of this, there is a fair division of responsibilities and other tasks among them. And while the non-executive directors are independent from the others, they are still able to contribute their experience and knowledge during Board discussions. Without a doubt, The Board is in-charge of caring for the company’s operations, assets, and its shareholders. All-in-all, the board aims to work with these factors in the hopes of maximising performance. Because of this, it is The Board that is responsible for the finalisation of budgets and strategic plans. And in order to ensure the firm’s competent operations, The Board conducts a monthly review of the company’s businesses in relation to its financial movements. Furthermore, there is a company law that obliges The Board of Directors to carefully prepare each year, a financial report that would have to be accurate and reliable reflecting the true state of the company. All things considered, The Board of Directors is the one that is responsible for the proper safekeeping of accounting statements and to ensure that these records are precise and truthful. In addition, the board is in-charge of guarding the company’s other assets as well as making the necessary steps in order to prevent complications such as fraud and other types of risks. Aside from the board of directors, the company also has other committees as part of their corporate governance. Just like the board, other committees have a well-established reference guide which also discusses their duties and their scope of authority within the corporation. Composed typically of independent directors who are non-executive, the remuneration committee handles the outline for the company’s remuneration policy which would eventually be reviewed by the board. Moreover, this group is also responsible for the various remuneration packages that are given to executive directors. On the other hand, there is also a nomination committee which is also made up of mostly non-executive directors. The responsibility of this group is to recommend to The Board on which people should be appointed as directors. There is also a group known as the audit committee. Compared to the other two, the members of this committee is purely composed of non-executive directors. This group’s duty is to make proper recommendations with regards to the company’s accounting policies as well as overseeing financial control within the corporation (Sternberg, 1998). For this reason, the committee usually receives and reviews financial reports and other statements delivered to them. Then, they make a comprehensive report before they submit it to The Board. Of course, there is also the group’s evaluation of the risks involved which has always been done to assist with the company’s next business move, and have further control of the corporation’s different operations. Apparently, The Body Shop has a clear code of ethics and all employees must affirm their acceptance of this code. The code of ethics includes a conflict of interest policy to ensure that key corporate decisions are made by individuals who do not have a financial interest in the outcome separate from their interest as company officials. The company also actively monitors compliance with the law and the global financial policies and practices over critical areas. These areas include internal controls, financial accounting and reporting, fiduciary accountability and safeguarding of our corporate assets. A major factor involved in the improvement of The Body Shop involves the establishment and utilisation of company performance measures or indicators that in turn measure their customer’s satisfaction. These measures or indicators are measurable characteristics of products and services that the company typically utilises in order to study and improve company performance. The indicators that will be chosen should be able to represent the essential factors that are crucial to the improvement of operational and financial performance. Through the analysis of accurate information brought about by the tracking processes, the measures or indicators themselves can possibly be analysed and improved to support such goals. Effects of Governance to The Body Shop’s Business Ethics and Purpose The Board has been able to attain complete control of all matters regarding the company. Their self-perseverance and obligation to their duties and finally, their obedience to the company laws all contribute to the development of the corporation. As such, The Board constantly believes that all the data pertaining to financial information and other facts regarding to their operations that are currently being used is reliable. The Board’s authority is clearly recognised within the company. And because of this, it is able to have a solid grip on the corporation’s actual operations, stakeholders and its financial concerns. Needless to say, because of the corporation’s proper structure and its commitment to the stakeholders and to the community as well, the board of directors has proven that it can efficiently handle both its ethical and legal responsibilities. Furthermore, the company is currently maintaining good relations and open communications with its investors. As a matter of fact, shareholders are regularly invited by the corporation whenever there are gatherings to discuss trade updates. Moreover, whenever there is an annual general meeting, investors get the chance to meet The Board members themselves. And of course, for private investors, they can also access the company’s website for various shareholder services. Undoubtedly, the company has good consideration for all of its stakeholders; past, present and future. There definitely seems to be a very well planned framework in the firm’s corporate division. It has good policies and procedures with regards to financial matters and operational concerns. Its procedure of assessing the different kinds of situations that come up is certainly a good move on their part. Not to mention, they have maintained good relations with their stakeholders. And finally, The Boardâ€⠄¢s authority is unsurpassed. Clearly, these facts prove the strength of the company’s corporate governance structure. The weakness on this case however, is the fact that it cannot always be assured that there are no losses or other errors which may result from mistakes and inconsistencies by one of the committees or employees involved. In addition, having diverse populations, there can be a possibility of having internal problems between members who have different culture and beliefs. In addition, some problems occur in terms of giving value to the companies’ shareholders. There are times that the shareholder is not given the enough information about the status of the company, specifically that shareholder which have a small part in the business. This happens when the board of directors does not give value to their shareholders. Other negative aspects include the imperfection of financial reporting procedures which may definitely result in ineffective corporate governance. Why it is of interest to diverse stakeholder groups? The occurrence of corporate governance systems within diverse stakeholder groups reflects the growing difficulty in the management of organisations that require the effective use of valuable resources such as money, materials, equipments, and people. And there is no exception to these. This is the reason why corporate governance systems are being implemented within diverse stakeholder groups in order for them to determine the most effective ways to coordinate these resources through the application of analytical methods derived from fields of studies (Jobber, 1998). Through this process, group management problems are solved in different ways and alternative solutions are then relayed to the group’s management. The management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with their goals. More often than not, corporate governance systems are concerned with complicated issues such as top-level strategy, resource allocation, designing of production facilities and systems, pricing and the analysis of large databases. For example, the company governance strategies of Heineken are focused mainly on driving the growth of its brands and improving the company’s financial performance. These company governance strategies have also helped them secure significant acquisitions and partnerships. And more importantly, these campaigns have led to the release of the potentials of the company’s employees, thus building a quality performance- based culture. On the other hand, Alliance Boots, Europe’s leading pharmacy-led health and beauty group came into being with the merger of Alliance UniChem and Boots Group.  The merger recognises and strengthens the existing strategies of both entities by combining complementary businesses and strengths to create an international force in pharmacy-led  health and beauty while maintaining the Company’s commitment to the independent pharmacists through enhanced wholesale distribution and retail services. The company’s ultimate aim is to deliver products that make people look and feel their best. In order to do so, the company values performance and continuously strives to fulfil promises to shareholders through setting high standards of practice that are recognised by all internal and external stakeholders. It intends to lead the pharmacy and beauty industries with its products while demonstrating expertise in conceptualising, marketing, selling and distributing its brands (c ited in the Alliance Boots website 2006). From these examples, we may say that corporate governance should set a proper example of good intent, and provide for those lower in corporate hierarchies the clear message that it is â€Å"do as I do† as well as â€Å"do as I say† (Francis, 2000). Middle and lower management find it hard to be ethical when it seems that the top of the corporate hierarchy have no commitment. The message of sincerity will always filter down, and no amount of deception will foster the view that a board is ethical when it plainly is not. Additionally, the commitment to ethical corporate governance by a board will enhance the prospects of an ethical infrastructure within the organisation. That ethical infrastructure is a manifestation of the commitment, a means of preventing and resolving ethical problems, and an impressive demonstration of sincerity. Conclusion As a person with knowledge of corporate governance systems, the author has always brought up to his superiors the viability of strategy formation regarding the analysis of this topic and at times fails to understand the reasons or logic behind certain strategic implementations imposed on it. By delving into this project paper, the author intended to have better insights into how corporate governance systems are thought up, formulated and then imparted down into the subsidiaries of the company or organisation. The author hoped to have an in-depth understanding as to how the corporate governance systems of companies and organisations are able to compete effectively and profitably in this era of internationalisation where competition is extremely intense. In order to reinforce the learning objectives, two key focal issues were focused upon i.e. innovation and diversity. Innovation was discussed with regard to corporate governance systems of companies and organisations where they were renowned for their developmental capabilities to constantly innovate. Diversity came under strategic thinking and formation as the author considered the diverse culture, political climate, economic surroundings, social environment, technological settings, government policies and legal systems in order to better understand the issues being discussed. The results of the analysis carried out on the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop indicated very significant effects, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop could still be expected to improve faster than average. The review of the capabilities and resources of the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop revealed very little inconsistencies regarding its strategies. This is coherent with their traditional inside-out approach. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes imperative now for The Body Shop. The analysis among the cosmetics industry environment as well as the corporate governance systems of The Body Shop and their capabilities revealed certain gaps, most of which are biased towards the industry environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options to secure the competitiveness of The Body Shop. Also, The Body Shop has to find a balance between adherence to internal forces within the management and to the changing forces of the environment in order to implement such strategic options. References: Allianceboots 2006, Alliance Boots Website and location of Annual Report 2005, Available at: http://www.allianceboots.com, Accessed: November 2006. Bhattacharya, C. B. 2000, Relationship Marketing in Mass Markets, Handbook of Relationship Marketing, Thousand Oaks: Sage. Booms, B. H. 1981, Marketing Strategies and Organisation Structures for Service Firms, in Marketing of Services, J. H. Donnelly and W. R. George, Eds. Chicago: American Marketing Association. Eisenstat, R. A. 2001, Organisational Dynamics, pp. 6-14. Francis, R. 2000, Ethics and Corporate Governance: An Australian Handbook. Sydney, N.S.W.: University of New South Wales Press. Galpin, T, and Murray, P. 2002 HR Magazine, issue # 5, pp. 16-20. Gonzalez, M. 2003, Journal of Business Strategy, issue # 5, pp. 9-11. Grà ¶nroos, C. 1994, From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing, Management Decision, 32 (2), Jobber, D. 1998, Principles and Practice of Marketing (2nd ed.). London: McGraw-Hill Publishing. Sternberg, E. 1998, Corporate governance: accountability in the marketplace. London: The Institute of Economic Affairs. The Body Shop 2006, Available at: http://www.thebodyshopinternational.com/. Retrieved: December 7, 2006. Wikipedia 2006, The Body Shop, Available at:www.wikipedia.com, Accessed: November 2006. APPENDIX The Body Shop’s Corporate Government The Board of Directors and management of The Body Shop believe that sound principles of corporate governance are critical to obtaining and retaining the trust and respect of stockholders, employees, other stakeholders and the public. The board serves at the discretion of stockholders and works to represent their interests by enhancing business strategies and practices for the creation of long term stockholder value. Governance Summary The board consists of three standing committees: Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee; A majority of board members are independent of the company and its management; The Audit Committee of the board has established policies consistent with the newly enacted corporate reform laws for auditor independence; The independent members of the board meet regularly without the presence of management; The charters of our board committees clearly establish their respective roles and responsibilities; The company has a clear code of ethics and all employees must affirm their acceptance of this code. The code of ethics includes a conflict of interest policy to ensure that key corporate decisions are made by individuals who do not have a financial interest in the outcome separate from their interest as company officials; The company actively monitors compliance with the law and the global financial policies and practices over critical areas. These areas include internal controls, financial accounting and reporting, fiduciary accountability and safeguarding of our corporate assets.