O-Fold Essay

1. As a part of the management team, how would you handle distribution and marketing of the O-Fold? Within the text I really liked the 2nd and 3rd option of distribution, which was going an online route or advertising I travel magazines. Although the adverting in magazines option is appealing when it comes down to it I don’t think it would reach as many people as online distribution. I would chose to create a website and distribute the O-Fold product through there. Creating a website would be extremely cost effective. I believe there are even some sites you can use for free, such as weebly.com. However, this option is risky because marketing would have to be very effective in order to generate the business he is looking for. Since the cost of a website is low, he should consider advertising in travel magazines. He probably would not need large ad space, which would help with the cost. If he could get a small section in the Sky Mall magazine on aircrafts with the link to his website, that could be a rewarding starting point. Another option is advertising on other large online retail sites, such as Amazon.com who now gives consumers an option to purchase provides from other retailers by providing a link to that product on their site. 2. At what points should Alex consider bringing on additional management? What positions should he fill and in what order? Defend your answer. I am a supporter of Alex’ crawl-walk-run strategy. I think initially he should partner with his brother and begin to make the product together and sell online through a website he creates. This way he can get an idea of how he can proceed with next steps and be able to create a business plan to present to Anger investors. Once he can seal the investment funds he should bring on a sales and marketing manager. This is one of the most important positions in a company. Alex needs to have someone with experience in sales and marketing, especially not having experience himself. He’s already contemplating different options in this area; someone who has worked in this department can give him real examples of the outcomes and weigh in on the best decision for O-Fold. Next, after he gets an investment, he should go with the outsourcing route. He already had a connection to hire a barn full of employees. He will need to hire a manager to oversee the production of these employees, and also a Human Resources Manager since he will have employees. He cannot manage everything himself so a good candidate for the productions manager would be his brother since he should have a good understanding by then of how to produce the items. 3. What are some pricing strategies you would consider utilizing in order to get the O-Fold to market? Do you agree with Alex’s pricing point? I would consider giving a special price to first time customers, or a discount when purchasing more then one O-Fold at the early stages of marketing. Alex will want to be competitive and the first thing that customers probably look for is good deals. If he creates a website and is directing people there through advertising he should try to close the sale with a discount. An option would be first time users get free shipping, or $5 off shipping. Customers buying more then one could receive $5 off their second purchase. I like the 123 percent market with the outsourcing options at $12.50 However, that would only be beneficial at wholesale, so he should price his products per item at $25, and offer the discount for the first 100 customers. He does not need to advertise the part about it only being for the first 100 customers but he should price out shipping costs for 100 people or costs of giving discounts and set a budget for it.

Reflective Report

The purpose of this report is to reflect upon an aspect of my development that I have encountered throughout my time as a student in Personal and Professional Development (PPD) class conducted by lecturer Mr. Jeremy Ivan Thambirajah. I am a student here for almost a semester, and over my time here I have gained a lot than expected. Going through the PPD programme has taught me so much. It taught me how to be me. I have learned here how to write and express myself, how to think for myself and how to find answers to the things that I do not know.Most importantly, I have learned how important self esteem is when conducting a presentation. I learnt that ethics, like how we dress when conducting a presentation is very important. The lecturer has made me aware of these formal systems of organization that enable people carry out tasks in the workplace. I even find the class exercises enabled me to be more disciplined, in others words, it has taught me to manage myself properly when it comes to completing coursework given by the lecturer. On top of that, it gave me a better team working skills, thus managing others well and overall was a good exercise in time management.I can be slightly about getting my own way. Although I value myself as a good listener, I could benefit from considering other people’s opinions more carefully. Through this I can conclude here that this programme has enlightened me on the need for self-development. Even though I prefer to avoid confrontation, especially with people I know well. However, this is something that I need to overcome in order to be a successful leader. This, I realised after going through the PPD programme. I also found myself to be more confident with the work that I was assigned by the lecturer.I have learnt to be patient and to communicate effectively. Writing had always been one of my strengths, but it was challenging to take that initial step past the high school, five-paragraph essay form that constricted my ide as for so long. Moving past this form, however, has greatly opened my mind. My thoughts are now able to be more complex because I have learned to adapt a logical argument in an organized way. I have reflected on this picture and concluded that I should not forget these experiences. I still wished we had been taught about more stuffs, like how to manage stress.

The life and seal art achievement of ONE famous Qing dynasty seal Essay

The life and seal art achievement of ONE famous Qing dynasty seal artitst - Essay Example As such, one great seal artist of the Qing Dynasty was Wu Changshuo, who also doubled up as a calligrapher. Born in 1844, Wu held various positions in the Chinese society till his demise in 1927. These included being a painter, a calligrapher, a seal artist, and even a poet. He alternated between the various activities, but the major focus was on seal art. Moreover, he was majorly associated with the Hai and Zhe Schools of seal art, which grew to become some of the most famous seal art schools. Therefore, this means that he developed numerous forms of seal art during his period, consequently making him one of the most famous and successful seal artists of the time (Penn 2005, p. 56). Wu Changshuo seal art showing the physical aspects of the seal art itself. The first two are a representation of what the outcome of the seals look like, while the one above depicts the actual means for setting the seals. From the above, it can be noted that Chinese seal art was one major aspect of the societal development particularly in the Qing dynasty. This is as been illustrated by the above examples from Wu Changshuo as a famous Qing Dynasty seal artists. While there were different seal artists during the Qing Dynasty, Wu’s approach proved to be one of the most unique, since his seals were the most generally accepted seals as compared to the rest. Therefore, the historical perspective on Wu Changshuo serves the right purpose especially in relation to the aspect of ancient Chinese seal

The Effects of Competition, Predation and Disturbance Essay

The Effects of Competition, Predation and Disturbance - Essay Example The predator is the population that attacks and hunts the prey population for survival. The process of predation ultimately leads to the death of the prey in cases which are either intentionally or unintentionally and also directly or indirectly undertaken by the predator. The said process then can be defined as consumption of the prey population. There are different types of predation that are undertaken by the four types of predators namely the true predators, the grazers, the parasitoids and the parasites. The said classification is based on the type of action wherein the process of predation is completed. The process of predation can result in different effects which can either be beneficial or detrimental to the prey population, predator population and the ecosystem in general. One of the most important effects of predation is the maintenance of balance between species population by prevention of the domination of a single type of organism in a community. The said process can be attributed to the action undertaken by the predators. For that matter, predation can be beneficial to the predators. On the other hand, the prey population is the main group that can achieve the detrimental effects of the process of predation. Although this is the case, due to the interactions of the different organisms in an ecosystem as exemplified by the food web and food chain, an organism can be a prey of a larger species while at the same time a predator of a smaller species. This process of interaction is the main cause for the achievement of the ultimate balance in the ecosystem. One of the ways to better understand the predator-prey interaction is through the use of the Lotka-Volterra model.  

Gender and Sexual Violence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender and Sexual Violence - Essay Example Stotzer (p. 172) discusses that according to surveys of transsexuals, there seems to a significant number of sexual assault incidents, including rape, especially for the younger transsexuals. The most common forms of violence against transsexuals include unwanted sexual activity with about 60% of these incidents being forced intercourse (Stotzer, p. 172). These transsexuals are often victims due to their perceived non-conformity to the standards of society. The motivation for these sexual assaults includes hatred and negative attitudes towards the transgenders (Stotzer, p. 172). Victims are quick to declare that they are often victims of sexual assault or rape and mostly due to homophobia and hate. They also feel that they are often victims of sexual assault because of their gender identity, their gender expression, and their transgender status (Stotzer, p. 172). Abuse is also often carried out by various people, mostly strangers. Police officers, parents, siblings, neighbors, friend s, and other relatives are also often the perpetrators of the abuse (Stotzer, p. 173). Most acts of violence include sexual assaults, harassment, and in some cases, muggings. Unfortunately, some are carried out by persons known to the victim (Stotzer, p. 174). Some of these offenders include fathers, stepfathers, mothers, stepmothers, current spouse/partners, brother, siblings, or a former spouse or partner (Stotzer, p. 174). Other perpetrators not closely known to victims include landlords, tenants, ‘pick-ups,’ security personnel, and in some cases, service providers. Murphy (p. 7) further discusses that violence against lesbians and gays are the most apparent dangers which these individuals face. However, they are also likely to face structural violence and episodic violence. Structural violence against gay men is often caused by heteroxism which basically embodies a system that degrades homosexuals for their behavior and their identity (Murphy, p. 7). Psychological h eteroxism is often linked with individuals’ attitudes and behaviors and cultural heteroxism often refers to their societal customs and institutions, including their religion and laws (Murphy, p. 7). The cultural heteroxism is the most common cause for violence as it can also lead to discrimination against these lesbians and gays in their housing and employment. Murphy (p. 7) cites the cases of Margarethe Cammemeyer, a military veteran who was dismissed from the army after years of exemplary service to her country; also the case of Sherry Barone who faced opposition from a cemetery who refused to include the epitaph ‘life partner’ on the headstone of her deceased partner (Murphy, p. 7). More indirect incidents of discrimination are perpetuated against gays and lesbians; and those who often decide to reveal their sexuality end up being dismissed, demoted from their work or driven out of their homes. The causes of gender violence seem to stem from preconceived notio ns and assumptions of gender. Specifically, these assumptions are based on the expectations for each gender which often refer to extremely different behavior, mostly referring to dominant males and subordinate females (Perry, p. 417). Violence is considered to be a way by which males can impose their authority and dominance over women; and it seems to be expected for men to enforce such violence in order to keep women in line (Perry, p. 417).

William Wordsworth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

William Wordsworth - Essay Example The characterization of Tim O’Brien in the book, although fictitious, is important in generating a sense of relationship between the story and the reader in ways that explains a very profound side of war pertaining to truth. Through his various stories, O’Brien reflects on different perspectives of war and its associated notions of courage and bravery. In a story he tells, O’Brien feels like a coward because he supported or conformed to a stand he did not stood for. He attempted to try to escape the war by running away to Canada but inevitably decides to give in to social pressures of giving his service for the draft. A prominent emphasis is on the aspect of truth related to war. Occurrance does not entail truth and thus, everything that happens does not necessarily mean it is true. With this concept, O’Brien tries to stress on the fact that truth is independent of happenings but depends on feelings. As such, truth is far beyond the usual accepted truths that are created through social or cultural discourse. This also implies that something cannot be deemed untruthful is its existence is fictitious but rather such â€Å"story-truths† are central to capturing truth as they engender emotions. O’Brien used various stories to demonstrate how the truth of any story lies not in its accuracy of evidence but in its emotional connection with a receiver: listener or reader. Some stories that are narrated in the course of the book also include some that do not necessarily seem to be truthful in their conventional ways but they are true in the sense that they appeal to their audiences in ways that establish a connection. Tim O’Brien has intelligently employed his characterization in various different stories throughout the book so as to build an interest and a sense of reality of experiences. With his book, O’Brien has tried to create an

Communication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Communication - Research Paper Example I was with my friends, and sometimes it was awkward getting up out of the raised barstool chairs with backs in order to meet and greet people who were coming and leaving the bar and grill. For the most part, people at my table did not violate other peoples' personal space. Everyone was pretty respectful. I cannot necessarily say the same for the people sitting at the bar. When I glanced over at the bar occasionally, people were leaning on the top of the bar and having their arms folded, or they had their arms pointing the direction of other customers. I'm sure it was a cozy atmosphere for many of those folks, and friendly too, I'm just not sure everyone at the bar had the equal amount of elbow room that is nice to have when one is sitting around the tabletop of a bar. One has to kind of edge in, sit on a barstool, and make oneself comfortable. Peoples' appearances were rather varied and interesting. Some people were dressed up. Some men wore a tie, but for the most part there were no men wearing suits. All the men seemed to be dressed casually but in nice polo shirts. The women for the most part dressed nicely as well, some more than others. Not many women had excessive jewelry or accessories. Some women didn't wear any jewelry at all, which I found quite surprising, because usually on the whole, women wear jewelry of some type. One woman who was a singer in the show had her hair professionally done and wore a modicum of jewelry but nothing too extreme. Another singer in a band which performed, who also was a woman, had absolutely no jewelry on. I thought the woman with the jewelry was prettier and had more substance as an artist than the woman without any decorative ornamentation at all. The woman who wore jewelry looked like she took care of herself better. Her nails were painted and nicely manicured as well. Overall, peoples' appearances were clean-cut but not professional in any sense of the word, except for one woman I did notice who was wearing a dress. Other than that, both men and women wore casual clothing and nothing extremely fancy or overdone. Peoples' communication, both verbal and non-verbal, was congruent for the most part. The people producing the show at the bar and grill were very nervous, looking at the crowd quite a bit and analyzing how many people were at the venue. They had promoted this event (mainly for the sake of their own band being filmed by ABC later on in the evening), and the people who put on the show were worried that they weren't going to get enough of a crowd in to see the artists/musicians play. For the most part, peoples' body language and what they didn't say was very telling. Few people avoided eye contact, which is a non-verbal behavior which people do when they are lying.1 I could tell some people were nervous or bored by the way we were holding conversation. Some people were just nervous to be in social settings, and other people were trying to act interested in making conversation

Charles Dickenss Our Mutual Friend Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Charles Dickenss Our Mutual Friend - Essay Example He uses a kaleidoscope of characters to illustrate the various kinds of education, or lack of, and there is an underlying irony in his depiction of many of his middle class characters. One of the greatest contrasts Dickens' draws upon during the novel is between education and money. In the London society Dickens describes, for many, education does not matter as much as money. As mercenary Bella Wilfer exclaims at the end of Book III: 'And yet I have money always in my thoughts and my desires; and the whole life I place before myself is money, money, money, and what money can make of life!'1 Through his characterisation of individuals, such as Mr and Mrs Veneering, Dickens reveals how money can by you material possessions and social status but it cannot buy you education: Mr and Mrs Veneering were bran-new people in a bran-new house in a bran-new quarter of London. Everything about the Veneerings was spick and span new. All their furniture was new, all their friends were new, and their servants were new, their plate was new, their carriage was new, their harness was new, their horses were new, their pictures were new, they themselves were new" (OMF, 5) The Veneerin The Veneerings are described as faintly ridiculous. They epitomise the 'frenzy of Victorian commodity culture'.2 Newness is the defining feature of the Veneerings. They are associated with surfaces and their nouveau riche world which is starkly contrasted to that of the riverside, described in the novel's opening scene. (Chavez, 20) The middle classes are satirized by Dickens's description of Podsnap, his 'analogous arch-bourgeois'.3 Podsnap is defined by routines and restraints: 'Getting up at eight, shaving close at a quarter past, breakfasting at nine, going to the City at ten, coming home at half-past five and dining at seven'. (OMF, 121) Podsnap is an example of one whose wealth and arrogance separates him from the rest of society: 'He never could make out why everybody was not quite satisfied, and he felt conscious that he set a brilliant social example in being particularly well satisfied with most things, and, above all other things, with himself'. (OMF, 120) Dickens reveals that despite being well off, 'Mr Podsnap's world was not a very large world, morally; no nor even geographically'. (OMF, 121) Due to the consumerism of Victorian society, Dickens does not depict education as a means of giving the working class a chance, especially if they are only being taught to abide by an erroneous set of rules. Instead, Dickens would appear to prefer a more humanistic form of education. During a speech he gave in 1844, Dickens stated: 'If you would reward honesty, if you would give encouragement to good, if you would stimulate the idle, eradicate evil, or correct what is bad, education - comprehensive liberal education - is the one thing needful, and the one effective end'.4 Dickens uses a number of characters to illustrate this view of education. Characters such as Bella Wilfer, Silas Wegg and Eugene Wrayburn are all lacking in social and moral education. Bella is obsessed about marrying money but is reformed through her 'education' from Mr Boffin. The Boffins are humble people whose inheritance causes

GBM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

GBM - Essay Example What is known is the expected value to the distribution of Brownian motion at time =2. Therefore, the centre of the distribution is known, i.e. what the expected value of the distribution is and this will be the expected value of W2= 0. It will always be zero, regardless of what point in time we view the Brownian motion. The expectation of Brownian motion at all points on a plain at any time is 0 as per property one. Not only will the expected value at any time be 0, but also normally distributed. The peak of the normal distribution is centred at 0, meaning that the Brownian motion will be distributed as a normal variable with expected value 0 and variance t. Property three relates to the concept of property number two, i.e. the Brownian motion increment, which is the difference between the two Brownian motions (Wt - Ws). Therefore, the difference between the two Brownian motions is also normally distributed and the variance of the Brownian motion increments (Wt - Ws) is (t-s), where t stands for time and s stands for a point in time which differs from t. (t - s) is the difference in two time periods between measurements of our Brownian motion. Consequently, looking at the Brownian motion at two different points in time, the expected increment , the expectation of the difference of these two Brownian motions ( E [Wt - Ws])=0 and the variance of this difference ( Var [Wt-Ws]) = t-s. It emerges that the variance is proportional to time. Other properties of Brownian motion state that the process Wt has stationary and independent increments. What does it mean to say that the Brownian motion has stationary increments? Looking at an example of a Brownian motion at time = 0 (W0) and the same Brownian motion at time = 1 (W1) and then looking at a graph of our Brownian motion , it moves the Brownian motion increment further in time by a constant amount (a). This will be W0+a and W1+a and what this means is that

A study of gender inequality in different child custody cases Essay Example for Free

A study of gender inequality in different child custody cases Essay Gender inequality in child custody cases has been happening since custody hearings were created. Today, fathers are less likely to win custody of their children; resulting in court and legal fees that the mothers do not have to pay. Regardless of the parents living situation or income, if the mother is physically healthy enough to raise the child, she has a major advantage.   On top of everything else, men are more likely to owe increasing child support, even if they are hurt or arrested for non-payment. It’s inequality like this that has plagued the family courts forever, giving them a biased and bad name. Going back to times such as the 1970s, it is well noted that even then gender inequality was quite rampant. Not only is it now well-known and admitted, but many feel with the removal of ‘tender years’ law (feeling that women raised the children, this should be primary caregiver) that inequality was taken care of; this obviously not being the case.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Indeed, typical statutory provisions at least implicitly encourage courts to consider past parental participation. Moreover, evidence that courts continue to favor mothers in custody disputes suggests that the pre-divorce caretaking function is valued.† (Elizabeth S. Scott) Not only is this seen and documented to be the same for many states; it can get even worse for small towns and municipals as their rulings have a higher chance to be biased and go unpunished and undocumented. While there are waivers to get court fees waived, many times the court rejects these fee waivers; resulting in immense costs for fathe r. If the father wants to claim custody of his child, some places may make the father file a petition for adoption (even if he is the biological father), which cost money to file. Fees for this could range from $20 to $200; something a struggling father with legal fees could usually not easily pay. With all these legal fees the father will also have to pay for any attorney fees; and for the attorney themselves. There have been many reported cases of mothers who can not support their children, being awarded custody for supposedly other reasons; while the father who could support the child is writing off as unfit. For example, there have been several cases where homeless mothers were award full custody of their children, while the father had a stable living situation. Not only living situation wise, but women who don’t have a stable source of income are often not seen as a problem in the eyes of the court. It operates under the guidance that women can get more government aid (such as welfare) for their children; often resulting in poor treatment of children due to improper nutrition and medical care. All of this is taking place due to courts going for what they feel would be the ‘best interest’ of the child, rather than the main negatives and benefits for each parent. More often than not, more care is done when a parent informs the court they want to move out of state with the child. This usually brings about a full inspection into both parents history, so to decide the right choice and not send a child out of state with an unfit parent. Operating on this backing is wrong, and this concept should be applied to every family court case regardless of circumstances or not. However, if a father was awarded custody, and wanted to move out of state to â€Å"start fresh again† or maybe â€Å"pursue love in another are†then more often than not the court would deny the father the ability to move out of state. â€Å"Where I practice, a parent wishing to move with their child out of state has to pass a two-part test. Part One: show the court a legitimate reason to move. Part Two: show the court that the move is in the best interests of the child.† (Nancy Shannon) More often than not courts find a problem with moving the child out of the mother’s state, due to incorrect thinking that all mothers are the best fit to parent their childre n; or they need to have the ability to be in contact with their children. On top of the discrimination and work required most fathers need to do in order to get custody of their child if they fail the results could end up being crippling and life ruining.   If a father is made to pay child support, right out of the court he is already in debt. Not only are the legal fees now imposed, but he now has to pay an additional monthly fee; sometimes even surpassing the cost of their monthly rent. This leads a lot of child support payers to end up not being able to pay; resulting in their arrest. What makes the entire situation worse is that once in jail their fees do not stop. The debts continue to accrue and once they get out, it could become a vicious cycle of not being able to pay, being arrested, and then being released. Yet somehow this is not the entire story of it. If you get hurt or have a medical injury making you unable to work, your payments still do not stop. You have to make a petition to the judge with proper documentation (which could be costly to print out depending on state medical information laws) and even then a judge may decide your injury is not debilitating enough. This one event in a person’s life could result in the rest of their life being ruined. â€Å"All I was saying was, ‘Give me an opportunity instead of throwing me in jail because that just puts me further behind in child support,† Ferebee says. â€Å"Let me find work so I can earn money.’† This year, Ferebee was headed to jail a fifth time for failure to pay child support.† (Tina Griego) This could turn your life into a ‘debtors prison’ where there is no hope for escape, and once the process has started each day makes recovery more and more improbable. There should be more options available to the father that cannot pay; such as working the payment off in community service or being forced to an assigned job for a certain amount of payment until the balance is resolved. This not only means fewer people in the jails for non-violent crimes but a better chance at actually paying the debt.   Unfortunately, the standard today is to just increase the debt hoping that the person could eventually afford it. One of the most compelling arguments against gender bias in court would have to be that because women usually take care of the children more often, they should be the primary caretaker. Several well-known judges had been surveyed about this, and many have told they feel this is not bias. Most judges are not getting a direct view of the household. That is why each case needs to be verified on a person-to-person basis, rather than a gender basis (i.e. look at BOTH the mother and father for the best living situation). â€Å"Her article holds that mother preference is not a gender biased opinion if the mother was the primary caretaker of the child‟s past.   She writes that bias is often seen because â€Å"fathers   are often given more credit than mothers for doing what is expected of mothers, to penalize mothers more than fathers for extramarital affairs, and to think that a mother‟s investment in her career is selfish while a father‟s is the act of a responsible provider† (Lindsay R. Estep) This quote does wonder for speaking about the current legal system regarding gender. The court official who spoke in that quote clearly demonstrates (albeit with a bit of truth in some parts) gender bias, and fails to recognize it. There are also a few things that need to be addressed regarding the quote. When the official speaks about the mother being the primary caretaker, her assumptions are wrong. If a mother was a primary caretaker of the child (i.e. father works while the mother stays at home) that does not give her any more parental rights than the father and vice versa. One of the reason’s a divorce could be happening is due to the mother’s neglect of the child while the father was away. Going with the current logic of the court official, the neglectful mother would be given the child, due to previous caretaking. The issue is that is not just an isolated problem, many places all over experience this issue, and it’s met with no resistance. The correct part of the quote is true, a mother can work while the father stays at home and vice versa. If this was the case she would not, and should not be penalized. The problem with this all is nothing is being done. Even though the mass public outrage, and people standing up against bias, places like the Supreme Court fail to do anything to prevent further discrimination. â€Å"No case so clearly prohibits consideration of sex in custody cases. It should be noted, however, that there was a potential gender issue in Palmore that received no attention from the Supreme Court. It appears that Linda began cohabiting with Clarence before they were married.† (Katherine Bartlett) This case Is well known because it enforced and helped prove the clear gender bias of sex without marriage; regardless of if the bias was on the female â€Å"Nothing more seems to have been made of this factor, either by the trial court or on review, but some courts have since noticed that mothers who cohabit outside of marriage, tend to be penalized in ways fathers who cohabit outside of marriage are not.† (Katherine Bartlett) While women face the same gender bi as in some ways, in the ways people tend to care about (who gets the child, who pays fees, etc.) is where men get overlooked in quality. This quote is important because if it’s known and documented of a clear gender bias, why hasn’t the Supreme Court stepped in and introduced better legislation and guidelines to prevent further bias? The problem is old legislation, and the refusal to make a change. A currently former Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia was quoted as saying the constitution does not dis-allow gender bias.   While not true, a Supreme Court judge, who supposedly should be speaking for the constitution, should not help spread and promote miss-information. On top of that, he was never corrected or reprimanded.   The only consequence of that action was ‘bad press’. This quote not only helps smaller local courts continue their bias but miss-informs them that they are acting legally.   Better legislation and better education for judges need t o be passed before anything can be done. And while there are many arguments that women also face these problems (and while that may be true) the problem it’s usually the men. Women are given more chances and exceptions than the men. Several document court cases have shown that on average women are given more chances to earn money and pay it, should they be ordered to pay child support. This could either be the judge informing them of state opportunities like welfare and social security, unlike the men who usually are faced with arrest threats or an actual arrest. Another idea in the system is that the reason they are in family court is often due to the father being unfit in the first place (I.e Domestic violence, threats, abuse). This is an obvious oversight into a small population of the people.   More often than not it’s just a case of a family not working well together, and no actual abuse or crimes have taken place. On top of that, when it comes to dishing out child support, the mother will likely have t he advantage; also awarded more money â€Å"In spring 1992, about one-half (6.2 million) of the 11.5 million custodial parents were awarded child support; award rates were higher for mothers than for fathers (56 percent compared with 41 percent)† (U.S. Department of Commerce) Overall, when it comes to dealing with the family courts, men are less likely to win custody of their own children. Those who have a chance at it, are often met with extreme legal fees more so than the mother. Women are often seen as a child’s protector so in the eyes of the court they are usually seen as the fit parent right from the start. It has also been noted that men’s job status and living situation is looked into more than the women’s. This is due to the assumption that women get more government aid to assist them than men; this not being true but is still a common misconception. Inequality in the courts has been taking place ever since they have been around. The problem isn’t that they refuse to acknowledge it, the problem is it’s acknowledged and yet nothing is done about it today. Works Cited: Elizabeth S. Scott.   Pluralism, Parental Preference, and Child Custody Berkley Scholarship Law,  Ã‚   May 1992 Nancy Shannon. Custody Relocation Case Study: A Judge’s Ruling on Moving Out Of State Cordell Cordell Divorce Lawyer  Ã‚  Ã‚   May 2014 U.S. Department of Commerce. Who Receives Child Support? Economics and Statistics Administration. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS  Ã‚  Ã‚   June 1995 Tina Griego. Locking up parents for not paying child support can be a modern-day ‘debtor’s prison’  Ã‚  Ã‚   September 26, 2014 Lindsay R. Estep.   Mommy or Daddy?: Perceived Gender Bias and Court Awarded Custodial Guardianship April 27, 2011 Katherine Bartlett. Comparing race and sex discrimination in custody cases Duke Law EDU

Market analysis of instant fast food industry

Market analysis of instant fast food industry The concept of non-consumer is vanishing at a faster rate and is becoming almost non existent in the current era of consumerism. Marketers are finding new ways and techniques to rope in new set of consumers previously not looked upon seriously. The trend followed till now was that the housewives bought individual food ingredients ranging from spices, vegetables, butter/ghee, etc. and mixed it in appropriate proportions to prepare a meal. The taste of meal was primarily governed by factors such as expertise of the cook, quality of the ingredients used, cooking time followed, etc. But still one cannot be sure of how will the meal taste. This was more difficult for bachelors, working men living away from family and working women. Marketers were successful to find this gap in highly cluttered food industry. The answer was Ready-to-eat. Ready-to-eat is defined as the status of the food being ready for immediate consumption at the point of sale. It could be raw or cooked, hot or chilled, and can be consumed without further heat-treatment including re-heating.[1] [1] Centre for food safety, Government of Hong Kong These are processed foods and no further processing is required. They are safe to eat and requires few minutes to cook if it requires cooking. The basic principle behind RTE foods is Convenience for normal consumers and Diet nutrition in case of health conscious consumers. The health category of RTE foods is RTE cereals which are rich in vitamins, fibers and have less sugar content. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS United States is one of the major countries of Ready-to-eat foods producers and consumers. All major RTE foods producers with an exception of nestle belong to US. Because of such a big market, advertisers gets quickly attracted. The television advertising budget average for the food industry is 2-4 percent of sales , but the RTE foods segment attract about 13 percent of the sales as advertising budget. India is also emerging market for these products. RTE foods in the normal practice are consumed in a short span of time. The advancement of packaging technology and introduction of retorting technology in India has made these items commercially viable and long lasting i.e. high shelf life. RTE market witnessed a growth of 7% between the year 2000 and 2005. In 2009, Indian RTE foods market was estimated to be around $33.5m, registering a CAGR of approximately 15% over the last five years. RTE segment is expected to grow to a Rs. 2900 cr (US$ 604.20 mn) industry by 2015. (Source: Tata Strategic Management Group) RETORTING PROCESS The operating principle of retorting process is heating foods prone to microbial spoilage in hermetically sealed containers to extend the shelf life. Three factors responsible are : These factors must be taken into consideration while designing a retorting process. Safety is the foremost concern. The retorting process involves inactivation of microorganism that can result in spoilage and in turn affect public health. For this, the F value is the measure followed. F value is the number of minutes to destroy the organism at 250 degree Fahrenheit. Under the food safety standard, different F value has been specified for each microorganism. Over heating also affects the finished product quality. So the product and process has to be designed carefully. Quality of Retort process is determined by two factors: From microorganism side, how much heat is required to inactivate the organism. From processing side, how much heat is reaching the product. The selection of specific retort style is largely affected by following factors : Container shape and size : easier in case of cylindrical shaped Product type : formulation , ingredients , etc. Throughput required Energy Efficiency VARIOUS RTE BRANDS IN INDIA Some other players are : Gits MTR Priya foods Rajbhog Foods Inc. Rainbow Foods India Satnam Overseas Ltd. Tasty Bite, etc. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN READY-TO-EAT (RTE) AND READY-TO-COOK (RTC) Most consumers often lacks clarity to differentiate between RTE and RTC, and often refer both as RTE. But they are different. RTC products are different type of pastes and consumer adds vegetables or meat to prepare a meal/dish. On the other hand, RTE products are complete products which seldom require any preparation and are often in the frozen form/cans/packets. Out of the estimated current production of 20,000 T, about 80 percent is exported. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS AND FACTORS AFECTING FOOD SELECTION There are various factors influencing buying behavior and motivation among the consumers. In the broader sense, the most dominant factors in food selection are food availability and cultural factors. Societal Considerations With the increase in environmental awareness in the past few years, the food product composition and packaging has become a major determinant of the buying behavior. Health factor has become the primary concern for almost every consumer. This has given rise to the use of natural ingredients (i.e. it contains no additives and no artificial ingredients) and environmentally friendly packaging. Safety and Environment Quality are other food choice motivations by consumers. This is now become the competitive weapon for food marketing. Other factors linked to societal considerations and in turn shape purchase motivations are : Well Being Social relationships Enjoyment Pleasure Personal Identity Food defines the consumer personal identity and it also acts as a self-referent part. Diet change can trigger in redefining the self. Food habits change throughout the life cycle. Consumer in the adolescence stage will have different food habits than in the later stages of life. Gender differences also define the food selection habits. As per the normal understanding men are considered that they have more food than women. The figure conscious female counterpart highly influenced by the slimming industry often vary their food selection based the motivation they have to look good. Weight control (i.e. low in calories, fat and in turn control my weight) is a determinant. Men are more interested in Vitamin content and women are more concerned about the sugar content. Familiarity also kicks in while making food selection. Consumers carry these questions in mind while planning and shopping stuff : Is what I usually eat Is familiar Is like the food I ate when I was a child Convenience Another important factor in food selection is convenience. The stages of consumption process define the relevance of convenience. The most time and energy consuming step is Preparation. But the effort required in this step defines the consumer behavior and factors affecting the food selection. RTE foods producers look forward to this gap while defining their strategies. Sensory Appeal In this era of consumerism and competition, one of the main differentiator is Sensory Appeal. Every consumer want the food to smell and look nice, have a pleasant texture and should taste good. Packaging here plays an important role. In RTE foods, the physical evidence for the consumer is the packed unit. The taste is bound to be as per the standards followed by the company selling the product and is always in line with what consumer want. The difference is created in terms of the look of the packet. Price Price is one of the major motivation factor in food selection. Price factor is always considered and monitored in relative terms. Purchase motivation for RTE foods vary on the following factors: Cost of eating out v/s cost of RTE food Effort required to cook food v/s cost of convenience in RTE food Price of RTE food is determined by following factors : Product Brand Value of the company Type of Packaging Country of origin Shelf life of the product Other factors are following: Product and marketing message Availability of the product in terms of constant stock replenishment Reachability to the store stocking the product Ethical Concern: Country of origin, politically approved country. MEDIUM OF INFORMATION Retailers and food producers tap multiple mediums to highlight the offerings present at the store or under the portfolio respectively. Media RTE Food industrys advertising budget is 13% of sales which is second only to the automobile industry. The average budget for other components of the food industry is 2-4% which is much lower in comparison to RTE. Marketers have always believed that RTE foods need more advertising efforts to tap the new customers and retain old ones. Source: British Food Journal , Volume 105 , Issue 3 Advertising has been the primary weapon. The use of media personalities and cartoons in the ads has always been welcomed by the consumers. Marketers have also tried to rope in children through their ads. The basic principle behind it is to gain their loyalty at a very young stage. Also it acts as a catalyst in Impulse buying at the store level. The only disadvantage of Advertising is high cost involved. Direct mail (DM) Direct mail (DM) is another method to provide information to the consumers to assist in their food purchase. It is also referred to as Direct Marketing. Unlike Advertisements which are broadcasted and their reach is subject to the viewership ratings of the slot they were telecasted in, Direct Mail is more personalized and sent to individual consumers. Since each consumer receives a copy of the offer document customization is possible for a group of consumer with common interests. It also permits marketers to experiment with the mailers and its formats. These are generally used by hypermarkets and supermarkets to notify customers of daily, weekly or fortnightly offers. Through these direct mails the store also sends coupons and schemes to the customers catering to a particular festive seasons which are believed to be higher sale period. The new concept in direct mail being followed these days is Targeting Mailing. Marketers define the target group for the mails and then through database analysis send the mailers to only that group. This in turn has following advantages : More Direct Communication Saves cost Only Potential customers are notified and other customers are not disturbed. Disadvantages of Direct Mail : Often treated as junk or spam by the consumers Stores can only differentiate on the basis of offers and the way it is communicated through DM Internet Among the sources of information for food purchase this is the least used method because of low involvement characteristics in the food purchase. Very few consumers visit internet websites such as store websites to obtain food information. Amazon.com offers the catalogue for the RTE products. Bundled packages are sold in the combo offer. With the growth of internet and families turning to every single purchase, use of internet for food purchases is bound to grow in the coming year. Stores stacking other stuff also such as apparels and accessories, electronics, etc. along with food items, general format followed by the supermarkets and hypermarkets, use internet as a selling medium but not for food items. With the increase in competition and new strategies coming up, time is near when they start selling packed RTE foods also. Groceries or vegetables being sold as loose items will then be only food item left to stock. The benefits of e-commerce have been realized by most retailers. Illustrations from the RTE Food Industry To explain the process of Instant Food or Ready-to-eat food and the consumer behaviour, two companies have been chosen from the Indian Market. MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd. vs ITCs Kitchens of India MTR Foods Pvt. Ltd. is among the major processed food manufacturers in India and is owned by Norwegian Company M/s Orkla. Kitchens of India is an ITC brand which majorly exports various RTE food packages of specialty Indian cuisine. Marketing Mix Analysis Product MTR : Normal Day to day food varieties such as paneer, dal, etc. Portfolio comprises of 22 authentic Indian curries, gravies and rice. 100% Vegetarian offerings 100% Natural and no preservatives added ISO 22000 and HACCP Certified quality product Retorting and packaging technology from Defense Food Research Lab, Mysore. Kitchens of India: Prestigious offerings from the chefs of ITC Welcome Group Restaurants. E.g. Dal Bukhara from Bukhara Restaurant of ITC Maurya Shereton and Dal Dakshin from ITC Dakshin. Four layer packed to prevent the royal taste and smell Standards are monitored to compliance Price MTR offering are normal day to day food and is less expensive than ITCs Kitchens of India which is more expensive in comparison. Also the offerings by ITC are positioned for the target group which wants to experience the pleasure of royal palates at the comfort of their home. MTR Paneer Butter Masala 300g pack is priced at MRP of Rs. 50 On the same hand, Kitchens of India dishes start from Rs. 89 Place Both MTR and Kitchens of India mainly exports to other countries and sell through the retail setup in both India and other countries. Kitchens of India also services its customers through its website www.kitchensofindia.com . It also won the Best Website Award at the PC World Web Awards 2008. Website is the medium to promote the brand and display the recipes of various offerings. Use of classical music has been seen prominent with both the websites to portray the Indian culture. Promotion Kitchens of India promotion strategy circles around the product offering highlighting the essence Feast for the senses. The key message is bringing the royal tastes directly to consumers home without having to visit ITC Welcome group hotel. Kitchens of India promote its brand through various food exhibitions such as Anuga in Germany. These are also displayed and sold at food festivals across the ITC group hotels. MTR promote its offering on the essence Freshly cooked home meal. It targets the price sensitive consumer. Brand Analysis on the basis of factors influencing buying behavior Health MTR has positioned itself as a freshly cooked home food with modest offerings. Kitchens of India on the other hand has positioned as brand offering the royal palates matched to the same standards at the ITC Restaurants. Based on the study done among Indian consumers by Datamonitor, 50% of the consumers considered low or lowers cholesterol and low or reduced fat as a motivator during food purchase. Both brand understand this fact and mentions the health contents of the dish on the packets. Sensory Appeal MTR packaging is as per the standards do not attract the visual senses of the consumer. The product is also home cooked food offerings and smell factor is present as per the home cooked food. On the other hand Kitchens of India packaging is more lavish to support its image and price range. It has an outer paper bag like covering. Natural Content Both brand claim to be 100% natural and contains no preservatives. This is possible only because of the retorting technology used and the packaging. Consumer choices are affected by these factors. Weight Control Kitchens of India offers meals or dishes which are more lavish and specialty dishes high in oil and butter content which is de-motivator for weight conscious people. These dishes are not preferred at the daily basis. On the other hand, MTR offerings are more close to the weight conscious people. Mood Mood factor plays an important role in defining the consumer behavior. This can be specified by the rebellious behavior at the younger age to eat things different from what others in the family are having. Kitchens of India offerings promotes itself on this behaviour to compel consumers to have that royal meal once a while without even visiting any ITC hotel. MTR is not seen utilizing this behaviour characteristic in its promotion or marketing communication.

Workers And Laborers Essay -- essays research papers

Workers and Laborers There are two kinds of people in the work force. There are laborers and there are workers. The difference between these two types of people is that a worker enjoys his or her job while a laborer does not. To the laborer, his or her life is almost equivalent to a wage slave. For those laborers, there only escape is leisure time. This is essentially the opposite of their lives, a time where there is freedom and compulsion. To the worker, leisure time consist of enough rest so that they can do their jobs effectively. In the two ways that these two types of people enjoy their free time, how do we know which person spends their time better? I believe that a worker often spends his of her leisure time more productively than a laborer does.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A personal experience of this matter consisted of a friend of mine. He used to work at a local restaurant as a bus boy. To me, he was a laborer. He didn’t enjoy his job at all. Whenever he would have a day off, he would be grateful and happy. Although, he would often spend his days complaining about how horrible his job was and the fact that he had to go back to work the next day. He would find himself doing anything that would get his mind off work. Things such as drinking or smoking ended up a major past time of his. He concluded that drinking and smoking was an escape from his horrid job. The more he hated his job, the more he would go out and party in an attemp...

Personal Narrative- A Preventable Death Essay -- Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- A Preventable Death He looks at his watch and realizes that he has to leave now before he gets yelled at due to missing the 12:00 curfew. Upon my cousin Sean's arrival home, he begged his mom for an extended curfew, after all he was the star of the 19991 homecoming football game at Royalton high school, he should have been able to stay out later. After losing this fight with rather stubborn mom, and her giving him a stern "Sean I am not going over this again, it is late and I would like you to live until morning, so you need to go downstairs and get some sleep." he hung his head and went downstairs. Sean decided to be rebellious and ignore the part where his mother said to go to bed. After deciding that his mom and dad were finally asleep and wouldn't hear his truck start, he crawled out of his window and returned to the party. His parents were suddenly awoken by a loud knocking. Unfortunately it was not Sean. It was a Police Officer from their town, "Are you the parents of a mister Sean Schmidt?" "Yes," Sean's parents paused as they knew what was soon to come "we are his parents, officer, how can we help you?" "I am afraid that your son has been injured in a car accident and I need you to come to the hospital with me." "Sean is downstairs sleeping, I watched him go down there when he came home last night," Anne said and then spun around and ran downstairs, in an attempt to prove the Police Officer wrong "Allen, he is gone!" She shouted back up the stairs in disbelief and horror. They then went to the hospital hoping that they would get to hug him, hold him, and make him better. It didn't hit them until they were in the morgue identifying the body of their dead son, they were never going to be able to ho... ..., you know I'll make it home just fine' after fighting with him for about 20 minutes, I told him to leave." We both just sat there and cried. Her crying was all due to how much she missed him, and so was most of mine. The rest of my tears came from the fact that one of the biggest influences in my life killed himself for one night of fun, and free beer. I had learned after that, that no matter how much people laughed at you for being the "designated dumb ass" at all of our high school parties, that it was well worth it. If only one person had taken his keys, or stayed sober and drove Sean home, I wouldn't be writing this paper on his death, I would be writing it on how he always made us laugh when he would lip sync to all of those Ray Stevens’ songs, and how the family gatherings could never start without him. Was that one night of fun and free beer really worth it? Personal Narrative- A Preventable Death Essay -- Personal Narrative Personal Narrative- A Preventable Death He looks at his watch and realizes that he has to leave now before he gets yelled at due to missing the 12:00 curfew. Upon my cousin Sean's arrival home, he begged his mom for an extended curfew, after all he was the star of the 19991 homecoming football game at Royalton high school, he should have been able to stay out later. After losing this fight with rather stubborn mom, and her giving him a stern "Sean I am not going over this again, it is late and I would like you to live until morning, so you need to go downstairs and get some sleep." he hung his head and went downstairs. Sean decided to be rebellious and ignore the part where his mother said to go to bed. After deciding that his mom and dad were finally asleep and wouldn't hear his truck start, he crawled out of his window and returned to the party. His parents were suddenly awoken by a loud knocking. Unfortunately it was not Sean. It was a Police Officer from their town, "Are you the parents of a mister Sean Schmidt?" "Yes," Sean's parents paused as they knew what was soon to come "we are his parents, officer, how can we help you?" "I am afraid that your son has been injured in a car accident and I need you to come to the hospital with me." "Sean is downstairs sleeping, I watched him go down there when he came home last night," Anne said and then spun around and ran downstairs, in an attempt to prove the Police Officer wrong "Allen, he is gone!" She shouted back up the stairs in disbelief and horror. They then went to the hospital hoping that they would get to hug him, hold him, and make him better. It didn't hit them until they were in the morgue identifying the body of their dead son, they were never going to be able to ho... ..., you know I'll make it home just fine' after fighting with him for about 20 minutes, I told him to leave." We both just sat there and cried. Her crying was all due to how much she missed him, and so was most of mine. The rest of my tears came from the fact that one of the biggest influences in my life killed himself for one night of fun, and free beer. I had learned after that, that no matter how much people laughed at you for being the "designated dumb ass" at all of our high school parties, that it was well worth it. If only one person had taken his keys, or stayed sober and drove Sean home, I wouldn't be writing this paper on his death, I would be writing it on how he always made us laugh when he would lip sync to all of those Ray Stevens’ songs, and how the family gatherings could never start without him. Was that one night of fun and free beer really worth it?

Employee Rights & Managing Discipline

Employee Rights & Managing Discipline All corporations strive to have strong employee relations, recognizing employee rights and effectively administering discipline are two vital aspects of developing this relationship. These aspects, meticulously executed, generate increased job satisfaction amongst employees and improved performance. Identifying and observing various employee rights is an integral piece of managing discipline. Management must be cognizant of these employee rights, divided into three separate categories: statutory rights, contractual rights, and other rights (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 441).Statutory rights, particular rights protected by specific legislation are often regulated by an agency of a state or federal government. A crucial right, developed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the protection from discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, or handicap. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the federal government monitors employers to ensure that current and/or potential employees do not suffer from unfair discrimination.Protection against unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, another vital statutory right, falls under the regulation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 441). Contractual rights, granted by the law of contracts, derived from a legally binding promise created by two or more competent parties with remedies for non-compliance are another key element. Employment contracts, a classic example, clearly define the terms and conditions of employment for all involved parties.An advantage of such contracts entitles an employee to compensation if he/she is discharged for reasons other than nonperformance; this particular privilege is usually only available to individually negotiated contracts. Yet, benefits sheltered by union contracts include the right to due process and wrongful discharge remedies. Due process, the impartial investigation of discip linary actions allow members under a union contract to claim back pay and other job rights if found to have been wrongfully discharged (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 441-442).However, these contracts are rare in the work force; most individuals, commonly employed at will, grant employer and/or employee an opportunity to terminate the relationship at any time for any cause. Employee rights, neither statutory nor contractual are other rights, encompassing, the right to ethical treatment, a limited right to privacy, and a limited right to free speech. Fair and ethical treatment by an employer is a reasonable expectation of employees, thus management needs to devise a culture promoting such treatment.Developing this culture include, but not limited to, techniques, such as, developing trust, acting consistently, demonstrating integrity, and ensuring that employees are treated equitably. Incorporating some of these practices will aid organizations to avoid high turnover rates, which can be damaging to the bottom line. The limited right to privacy, another defined other right, enables employees from unreasonable and unwarranted invasions of their personal affairs. Searches of an employee’s personal workspace or listening to their conversations should be limited situations initiated by reasonable cause or acquiring prior consent.Mark Dupont and Roy Clarke, shareholders of Richards, Watson, & Gershon, outline an effective method in which a corporation can acquire consent from employees: â€Å"Cover everything. Make the policy as broad as possible to cover all types of electronic communications that occur on work equipment, including those that may be developed and implemented in the future [cell phone, e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, and so forth). The policy should be set up to evolve with the rapid pace of technology. . . Make sure the policy matches practice. . .Take care that mid-level managers do not undermine the policy with stray comments and assurances that are contrary to the policy. Make sure that the policy matches up with actual practice. If the policy intends a no-personal-use policy, do not undermine that directive with mixed messages. It is also advisable to have employees sign an acknowledgement that they have read and understand the policy, . . At the same time, make sure the policy is practical if incidental personal use is inevitable, understand the implications of such a policy, and address it (Privacy rights). Another privacy issue arises from the handling of employees’ personnel files, containing sensitive personal information. These essential files ought to be available only to a limited population of the corporation in order to protect an employee’s privacy. Individuals vigorously protect the right to free speech, a cornerstone of the U. S. Constitution; nonetheless, this is limited within the private sector. An employee publicly disagreeing with corporate strategies is to expect disciplin e. Moreover, inflammatory or abusive language insulting superiors, peers, and/or clients warrant negative onsequences (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 442-445). Successful implementation of discipline while adhering to the standards and expectations of employee rights does encounter adversity; random drug testing, whistle blowing, and the restriction of office romances consist of a few challenges management must confront (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 447). Many employees view random drug testing as a direct violation of their right to privacy, claiming the practice is an unreasonable invasion. The intent of random drug testing is to create a safer work environment by the most equitable means, but it continually meets resistance.Therefore, many private corporations have opted for other avenues to ensure workplace safety. One method utilized by private firms is pre-employment drug testing, a test given to all potential employees, as a step in the hiring process dissipates tension bet ween employee and management concerning the issue, in essence, an applicant’s failure of this drug test enables a firm the right not to extend an employment opportunity. Another alternative is probable cause drug testing, occurring when an employee engages in unsafe or suspicious behavior.Both forms of testing do not arise randomly, but transpire for a predetermined reason, alleviating the issue of invasion of privacy (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 447-449). The act of whistle blowing, an instance when an employee discloses illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices of an employer, presents another delicate situation for corporations. A whistle blowing incident requires a tempered response from a firm’s management team, compelling them to retain authority without trampling an employee’s right to free speech.Managers must refrain from behaving inappropriately and encouraging dire measures, such as, ostracizing, harassing, or firing the vocal employee. Despite a reasonable response from management, whistle blowing is still a risky endeavor and an individual should accumulate the proper documentation before going forward. Yet, such undertakings have produced valuable legislation; the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, provides protection to whistle blowers and holds offending parties accountable for their infractions (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 451-453). Administering restrictions on office romances commands another balancing act from managers.Management must determine the appropriate measures to limit the firm’s liability from sexual harassment litigation, but not infringe upon employees’ off-duty relationships and behaviors, invading their privacy. A few corporations elect to establish a no-dating policy even with this policy’s drawbacks; namely, the difficulty of enforcing the policy or being compelled to terminate a valuable employee for a violation of this policy despite no illegal activity occurring. Conversely, othe r firms encourage office romances acknowledging the benefits of a happier and more stable work force.These two scenarios are the extremes, most companies find comfort with the middle ground of neither condemning nor condoning office romances, rather accepting them as long as they do not involve a supervisor and his/her direct subordinate (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 453-454). Effectively disciplining employees while respecting their rights may be cumbersome, but two different approaches, commonly used, are a progressive style and a positive style of discipline, both consisting of the manager discussing questionable behavior with an employee (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 454).Progressive discipline, multiple interactions giving employees opportunities to correct deviant behavior before dismissal, typically addressing minor infractions comprise of three to five steps. The initial step, a verbal warning, describes the behavioral miscue and notifies the employee of possible consequ ences if the undesired behavior persists. An employee committing another infraction of the same policy within a specified period will be subjected to a written warning.This recorded documentation, entered into the employee’s personnel file, reiterates the issue and describes further repercussion if the problem continues. The severity of the situation increases with each successive step of the progressive discipline process, thus not heeding these warnings, an employee may face unpaid suspension and/or eventual discharge from a company (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 455-456). Another multiple step form of discipline, positive discipline, is similar to the progressive method without the adversarial aspect.This process encourages cooperation among managers and employees, opening a dialogue to correct deficient behaviors. The first step involves a discussion of the poor performance and a verbal solution to the problem. If this proves ineffective, the subsequent step is another c ounseling session, but the agreed upon resolution is now documented. Squandering both these opportunities still results with the employee taking time away from the work, as with progressive discipline, however, under the positive method this is paid.This approach attempts to avoid ill-mannered behavior from the offending employee upon return with hope that the performance is improved, if not, separation of employment is the final action. While the initial implementation is costly and the administering of this method is time-consuming, both, managers and employees prefer this process. The cooperative construct of counseling eliminates apprehensions regarding discipline, creating managers more apt to intervene when an issue arises, fostering better working relationships with their employees (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, and Cardy 455-457).Incorporating basic principles within the management of discipline regardless of the severity of the infraction creates uniformity and understanding. Manage ment should communicate the rules, expectations, and performance criteria to all employees clearly, thus creating a workforce knowledgeable of the policies, procedures, and consequences of their violation. All information, properly documented, enables both, management and employees, to present and/or dispute only facts.Furthermore, discipline administered quickly, consistently, and without discrimination is the most effective. Michael S. Lavenantan, attorney at the law firm of Landegger & Baron, specializing in labor & employment law suggest: â€Å"To avoid liability for harassment, discrimination, or wrongful demotion or termination, every organization should train its supervisors to follow these six non-negotiable rules of discipline. 1. Be fair. 2. Be consistent 3. Be uniform. 4. Be honest. 5. Be objective. 6. Be prepared.Following these six rules will help you minimize liability when an employee makes a claim. Educating supervisors about these rules will give them the right bal ance between authority and receptivity. The result will be low turnover and high productivity for your organization† (The Art of Employee Discipline). In conclusion, recognizing employee rights and managing discipline is a complicated task requiring the attention to numerous details, yet, done in an efficient, effective manner will generate a stronger work force prepared to succeed.Works Cited Gomez-Mejia, Luis R. , David B. Balkin, and Robert L. Cardy. Managing Human Resources. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2010. Print. Dupont, Norman, and Roy Clarke. â€Å"Privacy rights: employee use of electronic devices in the workplace. † Public Management 92. 10 (2010): 24+. Academic OneFile. Web. 30 Nov. 2010. Lavenant, M.. â€Å"THE ART OF EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINE: How to Retain Control & Increase Production. † Nonprofit World 1 Jul 2010: ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.

Drug Testing Welfare Recipients †Article Analysis Essay

Jonathon Walters author of â€Å"Should Welfare Recipients be Drug Tested?† published an article on March 13, 2012 for Governing: The State and Localities that provided readers with several points of interest when discussing drug testing welfare recipients. Walters states in his article â€Å"According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, almost two dozen states are considering bills that require drug testing those either applying for or receiving public benefits, a policy that has been cut down in the courts before because the Fourth Amendment grants that every individual â€Å"be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures.† (Should Welfare Recipients be Drug Tested? para 1.) This paragraph explains that states are having difficulty passing this bill because the government feels that it violates American’s 4th amendment. Walters brings up arguments from both a favoring side and an opposing side. Favoring sides would not want to give someone government benefits if they are using the benefits to support a drug habit and could save the government money by denying applicants. The opposing side feels that drug testing would come to a great expense to the government and rather than drug testing an individual who needs help because of their drug addiction other programs such as rehab would save money to local, state and federal governments. The author feels that both are good arguments. To further continue on the opposing side of drug testing welfare recipients; Walters explains that â€Å"Drug testing is expensive. Tests cost anywhere from $35 to $75 to administer, according to the liberal-leaning Center for Law and Public Policy. By their math, it would cost anywhere from $20,000 to $77,000 to catch one drug abuser.† (Should Welfare Recipients be Drug Tested? para. 4). On the favoring side legislators have a different calculation and use evidence that biometric screenings such as finger printing lower numbers of participation among welfare recipients. States that do not participate in finger printing have more people applying for welfare. Walters feels that this would be a â€Å"cynical† way of lowering costs. Opposing sides also feel by isolating those who are at risk, for example ex-felons may lead them down a wrong path again because applying for welfare is much harder, therefore, costing the government more money by putting them back in jail and providing them with treatment. Walters asks how will the government determine who receives welfare and how do we make sure that the wrong person doesn’t receive it? Technology will help determine that mistakes won’t be made. â€Å"The public, in general, supports providing help to those who really need it. In that regard, states and localities are developing much more precise tools — mostly thanks to improved information technology — to ensure that only those who qualify for benefits receive them (and, not incidentally, to ensure that those providing services aren’t gaming the system).† (Should Welfare Recipients be Drug Tested? para. 8). Overall, Jonathon Walters remains neutral throughout the article and provides detailed rebuttals for both opposing and favoring sides. He agreed that both sides had good arguments and in the end it would be up to America in the long run to decide what is best for its people. References Walterss, J. (2012, March 13) Should Welfare Recipients Be Drug Tested? Governing: The States and Localities. Retrieved from: http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/testing-welfare-recipients-drugs.html

Mining and its Affects on the Community

Arrandale, Tom. â€Å"Public Land Policy†. CQ Researcher Online. 17 June 1994. Rio Salado College Online.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Tom Arrandale, a CQ Researcher contributor from Albuqueque, New Mexico, uses   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  congressional hearings and senate records to provide an unbiased documentation of the raging battle over the Clinton administration’s plans to up user fees and implement stricter control in the use of public lands which yield gold, timber, and livestock feed.   In a previous report, Mary Cooper cited the opposition of residents of Washington, Oregon and northern California against stricter control and are said to be unwilling to sacrifice â€Å"jobs for owls†. Cooper, Mary H. â€Å"Cleaning Up Hazardous Wastes†. CQ Researcher Online. 23 August 1996. Rio Salado College Online. This article discusses the positive and negative aspects of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, which is more popularly known as the Superfund law which went into effect December 11, 1980, as well as the need to improve it.   She had previously identified some of the former U.S. Nuclear Weapons Plants which became Superfund sites in her earlier report entitled â€Å"Nuclear Arms Cleanup†, published in the June 24, 1994 issue of the CQ Researcher Associated essay: Text Mining and Business Ramifications Cooper, Mary H. â€Å"Water Quality†. CQ Researcher Online. 24 November 2000. Rio Salado College Online.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This article is about the success of the 1972 Clean Water Act in eliminating water pollutants coming from the most obvious point sources which are the industrial plants and sewage treatment plants.   However, Cooper contends that about forty percent of waters in the country are still polluted owing to runoffs from coal mines in the mountains, animal wastes and toxic chemicals from agricultural farms, and toxins from city street sewers.   In another article a couple of years later entitled â€Å"Bush and the Environment†, Cooper voiced the same apprehension when the Bush administration allowed companies mining for coal in the mountains of Kentucky and West Virginia to dump their rubbles into surrounding streams. Landers, Robert K. â€Å"Is America Allowing Its Past To Be Stolen?† CQ Researcher Online. 18 January 1991. Rio Salado College Online.    Landers talks about how America’s past is being lost through the mining of American Indian artifacts and discusses the merits and shortcomings of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act signed by President Bush in November 1990. In a later article in the CQ Researcher, Mary Cooper writes about the American Indians’ fear â€Å"of racism by a society that can’t come to grips with its bloody past.† Prah, Pamela M. â€Å"Coal Mining Safety†. CQ Researcher Online. 17 March 2006. Rio Salado College Online. Using extracts from a congressional forum on mine safety as well as statements of experts  and government authorities, Prah dwells on the subject of the protection of the nation’s coal miners in the aftermath of an incident in a Sago, West Virginia mine explosion which killed 12 miners.   This prompted the NIOSH, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the state of West Virginia, to co-sponsor an International Mining Health and Safety Symposium on April 20-22, 2006 in Wheeling, West Virginia.                           

Strategic Development of Management Accountant’s Role

Strategic Development on Management Accountant’s Role: The Impact on Costing and Budgeting Introduction The company’s existent state of affairs has alerted the demand for alteration and invention in the direction technics employed. Therefore, to assist inform future strategic determinations, a procedure of research and development has been initiated in order to reexamine current patterns and assess new techniques. This study addresses how the direction accounting ( MA ) function has changed within strategic determination doing context every bit good as how the usage of modern-day attacks to bing and budgeting can practically impact companies public presentation taking into history strategic direction. The altering function of MA within the context of strategic determination devising The direction comptrollers ( MA’s ) function has been traveling through alterations, consisting a diminution in the ‘scorekeeping’ function and, a corresponding addition in ‘business-consultancy’ functions ( Hopper and Scapens et al. , 2007 ) . It shows a alteration from a function as inactive manufacturers of fiscal information, to a more proactive function including active engagement in determination devising and a focal point on a broader set of information than merely entirely fiscal. Therefore, the MA’s function is altering from an administrative degree to the strategic one, i.e. from â€Å"bean counters† to â€Å"business partners† ( Paulsson, 2012 ) . Other faculty members support the altering function of MA, such as Burns and Baldvinsdottir ( 2007 ) who mention globalisation, displacements in engineering, accounting dirts, and corporate tendencies ; while Pierce and O’Dea ( 2003 ) supply a list of factors that inclu de, the grade of decentalisation of the accounting map, development of describing systems, corporate civilization, and debut of new MA tools. However, it is argued that MA’s function had expanded instead than changed ( Burns and Baldvinsdottir, 2005 ) . In fact, it is of import to retrieve the nucleus values of traditional accounting have ne'er truly disappeared ( Baldvinsdottir et al. , 2009 ) . The addition in competition and the outgrowth of more client focused markets have besides driven a alteration in MA function ( Cooper and Dart, 2009 ) . As a consequence, a downswing in gross revenues and an addition in costs could be partly due to non accommodating to those alterations fast plenty. A determination based on traditional accomplishments would non help directors in doing better strategic determinations and accordingly non viing with rivals who seem to hold developed their function. The fact that traditional MA accomplishments have merged with new 1s will add the concerns strategic success in the fast moving concern epoch ( Jarvenpaa, 2007 ) . The handiness of user friendly and analytical package has freed up infinite for the MA’s to execute more sophisticated undertakings such as strategic determination devising and develop the necessary ‘hard skills’ needed, which means going an analyst and concern spouse compared to a simple figure cruncher ( Pauls son, 2012 ) . With MA heading towards a ‘business partner’ type function ( Vaivio, 2006 ) , it has become common for direction comptrollers to be involved in countries such as strategic determination devising ( Sunarni, 2013 ) . Similarly, it is thought that by germinating the traditional function of merely supplying internal information to unifying this with external information, direction comptrollers can help directors more efficaciously when doing a strategic determination for the company ( Kidane, 2012 ) . Once a strategic determination has been made, a specific direction tool can be used to help in doing the tactical determination. In order to heighten the future economic value of the company ( Kaplan and Norton, 1996 ) the balanced scorecard ( BSC ) attack should be used, as it measures public presentation through strategic aims, which so drives betterment in merchandises and market development ( Kaplan and Norton, 1993 ) . It besides will let the company to utilize peculiar scheme to steer determinations at all degrees through communicating, and it can be used to accomplish single and company marks ( Kaplan and Norton, 1996 ) . The practical impact of modern-day attacks to bing and budgeting As a response to the challenges over environmental and internal procedure alterations within MA function, new techniques and constructs have been adopted. Those have helped MA’s to bring forth more elaborate and accurate methods, so that misdirecting signals associated with traditional methods were avoided ( Cooper and Dart, 2009 ) . However, a job associated with the debut of new attacks is that they are significantly more dearly-won to implement and run compared to traditional attacks as staff utilizing them will necessitate advanced preparation and new package will be required ; therefore, being avoided by little administrations ( Hansen et al. , 2009 ) . Although there are high costs associated with these attacks many houses have adopted these new attacks, proposing that the benefits overweigh the operating costs ( Hansen et al. , 2009 ) . An illustration of a modern-day budgeting attack would be Zero-based budgeting ( ZBB ) , which was introduced to get the better of restrictions of incremental budgeting ( Drury, 2012 ) . ZBB allows companies to prioritise and choose plans and degrees of attempt which best meet its aims ; ensuing in an intensive direction engagement in the budgeting procedure, coercing them to research options in budgetary determinations doing ( Dean and Cowen, 1979 ) . In fact, ZBB can advance efficiency as directors need to warrant their undertakings, promoting them to seek for the most efficient every bit good as cost-efficient solutions ( Rasmussen, 2003 ) . It is besides found to restrict the growing of disbursals in the company, unlike those who use traditional attacks, and to arouse the engagement of more line directors in the budget procedure ( Dean and Cowen, 1979 ) . Similarly, the company would profit by following throughput accounting as it is a step of public presentation ( Gregory et al. , 1995 ) and is a time-based costing technique which applies the theory of restraints ( Drury, 2012 ) . It would maximize the company’s ends as the technique focuses on the companies restraints ( Dean and Sharfman, 1996 ) by hiking net incomes sustainably and run intoing the company’s strategic aims ( Gregory et al. , 1995 ) . It encourages determination devising to be communicated on an organizational footing advancing a positive alteration within the administrations civilization. Although the company, by utilizing this technique, can accomplish short term net income maximization ( Dean and Sharfman, 1996 ) with a ‘short term determination horizon’ , it would non profit in the long term because long term net incomes are non sustained ( Robinson, 1990 ) . Activity based costing ( ABC ) was developed in order to battle the restrictions that the traditional technique of soaking up bing carried. This new technique will help the company in bettering strategic determination procedure by bring forthing elaborate and accurate information as it uses a greater figure of cost Centres and different types of cost drivers ; guaranting that misdirecting signals associated with traditional costing methods are avoided ( Drury, 2012 ) .Impacting the firm’s profitableness as it eliminates costs and losingss linked to unprofitable merchandises, services and clients that fail to heighten the worthiness of the house ( Drury, 2012 ) .According to Kennedy and Afflek-Graves ( 2001 ) , it provides a good footing for future hard currency flow projections, which in bend aid houses to take investings in value-added activities and increase stockholders value. Harmonizing to Chea ( 2011 ) , ABC recognises the relationships each driver has with a merchandise or activity ; therefore, bettering merchandise cost truth. This gives the direction of an administration a clear image on chances to cut down costs ( Kaplan and Norton, 2001 ) . ABC has been shown to better firms’ public presentation in market and accounting related steps as it gives directors a better apprehension of cost/resource direction ( Lambert and Sponen, 2011 ) . A survey conducted on UK houses found that the houses utilizing ABC had shown to surpass matched non-ABC houses by 27 % and that ABC adds value to houses through better cost controls and plus use ( Kennedy and Afflek-Graves, 2001 ) . It provides the company with critical information about which services make demands on which duty Centres and functional sections, assisting to place which services add value to the company ( Jabbour, 2009 ) . However, it has been reported that ABC still does incorporate major subje ctive allotments which restricts the truth of it cost information ( Cooper and Kaplan, 1992 ) . Kennedy and Afflek-Graves stated that â€Å"the end of ABC is to increase net incomes, non to obtain more accurate costs† ( 2001 ) . The development of ABB has shown to be an betterment from traditional methods by puting more realistic budgets and besides, improved designation of resource demands. It has besides helped to increase the accent and truth of budget end products ( Huynh et al. , 2003 ) . ABB has shown to be more effectual in pull offing costs as it presents a model which allows a company to calculate out the sum of resources that are required to accomplish the budgeted degree of activity ( Huynh et al. , 2013 ) . This allows them to do appropriate accommodations during the budget scene stage ( Drury, 2012 ) .This will assist the company make up one's mind what activities should be undertaken in order to run into budgeted production and gross revenues volume. ABB provides critical information in greater item which will assist steer direction comptrollers make right determinations on how much resources should be allocated to each activity, i.e. a more precise manner to project future costs ( Atkinson et al. , 2008 ) . Once this method has been adopted the company will be able to interpret its vision into scheme with determinable marks in order to make value, which includes disbursals, net income borders and productiveness addition, every bit good as cost of capital decreases ( Huynh et al. , 2013 ) . Therefore, it can be used for companies’ efficiency and effectiveness rating. However, it merely accentuate cost management’ control and be aftering intent ( Blocher et al. , 2005 ) . When a company uses ABC and ABB at the same time it normally develops an activity based operational method i.e. activity based direction ( ABM ) , which consequences on an homogenous working environment ; therefore, easing communicating and helping as an effectual theoretical account for strategic decision-making ( Huynh et al. , 2013 ) . By implementing ABM the company is utilizing a strategic cost direction system looking at cost and procedure dimensions for cost decrease ( Blocher et al. , 2005 ) . The use of ABM additions company’s profitableness and fight every bit good as improves operational control because it distinguish value-added from non-value added costs by analyzing managers’ undertaken actions on an activity based base ( Huynh et al. , 2013 ) . Decision Having exposed MA’s to new countries, specifically in the country of concern direction, is doing their function more proactive when it comes to determination devising. Therefore, words like concern and spouse are cardinal as directors and MA’s are going bonded together to do a stronger squad and heighten strategic determination devising. Strategic direction is an of import country which should be developed within this fabrication company ; therefore, BSC should be implemented as it would give the company a strategic acquisition capacity, through roll uping feedback and proving the company’s scheme before doing determinations. It is clear that the debut of modern-day attacks to bing and budgeting have significantly impacted organisations operations, particularly on the function of MA’s within context of strategic determination devising. If the company stop up by utilizing ABC system for product’ costing, it should besides build an activity based budgeting and direction for efficiency intent, as a strategic determination. Therefore, the acceptance of an activity based direction line would give directors a clear position of the companies’ consequences taking directors to run control and do strategic determinations. Contemplation This whole group work was a challenge. Everything started when we are non in our original assigned groups and we end up together after a strategic move by coachs to apportion pupils by attending. We started working under force per unit area ; we were two hebdomads behind other groups and have non worked together antecedently made it even more hard as we did non cognize how to move with each other. When get downing we agreed to work in every point increasingly together, which was decidedly non a reasonable determination as we were already late. All that issues were originating because we wanted to b democratic and allow everyone hold equal authorization in the group, which was taking to inefficiency in organisational degree, task assignment degree and deadline conformity degree. We finally noticed that, ensuing on one of the member self-entitled herself as the leader and started delegating undertakings and making deadlines. We managed to complete the work but it would be better if we had worked determined place from the started. We have learned that leading is a cardinal point for teamwork. Mentions Atkinson, A. , Kaplan, R. , Matsumura, E. and Young ( 2008 )Management AccountingPeking: Tsinghua University Press. Baldvinsdottir, G. , Burns, J. , Norreklit, k. and Scapens, R. ( 2009 ) The direction accountant’s function,Fiscal Management( July/August ) . pp. 34–35. Blocher, E. , Chen, K. , Cokins, G. and Lin, T. ( 2005 )Cost Management: A Strategic Emphasis. 3rdEd. McGraw-Hill. New York. Nathan birnbaums, J. and Baldvinsdottir, G. ( 2005 ) An institutional position of accountant’s new functions: the interplay, of contradictions and practice.The European Accounting Review. 14, ( 4 ) . pp. 725–58. Nathan birnbaums, J. and Baldvinsdottir, G. ( 2007 ) The altering function of direction comptrollers, in T. Hopper, D. Northcott and R.W. Scapens,Issues in Management Accounting3rd ed. , Pearson Education, Harlow. Chea, A. ( 2011 ) Activity-based bing system in the service sector: A strategic attack for heightening managerial determination devising and fight.International Journal of Business and Management[ online ] . 6 ( 11 ) , pp. 3-10. [ Accessed 12 March 2014 ] . Cooper, P. and Dart, E. ( 2009 ) Change in the direction accountant’s function: drivers and diverseness. School of Management. University of Bath. Working Paper Series. Dean, B. and Cowen, S. ( 1979 ) The usage of zero-base budgeting in industry: some observations ‘ .Interfaces. 9, ( 4 ) , pp. 55-60. [ Accessed 1 Mar 2014 ] . Dean, J. and Sharfman, M. ( 1996 ) Does determination procedure affair? A survey of strategic decision- doing effectivity.Academy of Management Journal[ online ] . 39, ( 2 ) , pp.368-396. [ Accessed 2 March 2014 ] . Drury, C. ( 2012 ) Management and cost accounting.8Thursdayerectile dysfunction. Andover: Cengage Learning. Gregory, M. and Neely, A. and Platts, K. ( 1995 ) Performance measuring system design.International Journal of Operations and Production Management[ online ] . 15 ( 4 ) , pp. 80-116. [ Accessed 3 March 2014 ] . Hansen, D. and Mowen, M. ( 2003 ) Cost direction: accounting and control. Peking University Press. Hansen, D. , Mowen, M. and Guan, L. ( 2009 ) Cost direction: accounting and control. 6th erectile dysfunction. United States of America: Cengage Learning. Hopper, T. , Scapens, R. and Northcott, D. ( 2007 )Issues in Management Accounting. Harlean carpenter: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Huynh, T. , Gong, G. and Huynh, H. ( 2013 ) Integration of activity-based budgeting and activity-based direction.International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences.1, ( 4 ) , pp. 181-187. Jabbour, M. ( 2009 ) The Impact Activity-based Costing as a Management Accounting Technique on Insurance Companies ‘ Performance. [ on-line ] . [ Accessed 10 March 2014 ] . Jarvenpaa, M. ( 2007 ) Making concern spouses: A instance survey on how direction accounting civilization has changed,European Accounting Review. 16, ( 1 ) , pp 99–142. Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. ( 1993 )Puting the Balanced Scorecard to Work[ online ] . Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. [ Accessed 13 February 2014 ] . Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. ( 1996 )Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System[ online ] . Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing. [ Accessed 21 February 2014 ] . Kaplan, R. and Norton, D. ( 1996 ) The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy Into Action [ online ] . Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press. [ Accessed 5 March 2014 ] . Kaplan, R.K. and Norton, D.N. ( 2001 )The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment[ online ] . United States of America: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. [ Accessed 12 March 2014 ] . Kennedy, T.K. and Afflek-Graves, J.A. ( 2001 ) The impact of activity-based bing techniques on house public presentation.Journal of Management Accounting Research[ online ] . 13, pp. 19-45. [ Accessed 10 March 2014 ] . Kidane, F. ( 2012 ) Decision Making and the Role of Management Accounting Function – A Review of Empirical Literature. Radix International Journal of Banking, Finance and Accounting. 1, ( 4 ) . Lambert, C. and Sponen, S. ( 2011 ) Roles, authorization and engagement of the direction accounting map: A Multiple Case-Study Perspective. The European Accounting Review. Neely, A.N. , Bourne, M.B. and Adams, C.A. ( 2003 ) Better budgeting or beyond budegting? .Measuring Business Excellence[ online ] . 7 ( 3 ) , pp. 22-28. [ Accessed 10 March 2014 ] . Paulsson, G. ( 2012 ) The function of direction comptrollers in new public direction.Financial Accountability & A ; Management.28, ( 4 ) , pp. 378 — 394. Pierce, B. and O’Dea, T. ( 2003 ) Management accounting information and the demands of managers-Perceptions of directors and comptrollers compared.The British Accounting Review.35, ( 4 ) , pp. 257-290. Rasmussen, N. ( 2003 )Procedure betterment for effectual budgeting and fiscal coverage. Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley. Robinson, M. ( 1990 ) Contribution border analysis: No longer relevant/ strategic cost direction: The new paradigm.Journal of Management Accounting Research 2[ online ] . 9 ( 4 ) , pp. 1-32. [ Accessed 4 March 2014 ] . Sunarni, C. ( 2013 ) Management Accounting Practices and the Role of Management Accountant: Evidence from fabricating Companies throughout Yogyakarta, Indonesia.Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research.2, ( 2 ) , pp. 616-626. Vaivio, J. ( 2006 ) â€Å"The Business Controller, Non-Financial Measurement and Tacit Knowledge† .The Finnish Journal of Business Economics. 2, pp.194-212.

Family Heritage

Family is defined by the dictionary as a â€Å"fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children, sharing the same goals, common ancestry and living under the same roof. † In modern times a family might consist of one or two parents of the opposite sex or two of the same sex as a growing number of countries and jurisdictions including the United States have lifted bans or have established some legal recognition for this type of â€Å"modern families† (J. Burkholder, ,. , & Burbank, P. 012) Regardless of how society defines the family structure or how families are composed they all care for the well-being and health of its members, taken greater efforts to develop healthy family structures, investing time to ensure each family member is provided with the necessary tools to become a productive and healthy member of society. Families have many factors in common, those factors is what makes them unique also gives healthcare providers clues to treat medical conditions affecting a particular family. A family medical history is important it should include information transmitted from generation to generation primarily from close relatives such as grandparents, parents, individuals own children, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. Knowing one’s family medical history allows taking necessary steps to potentially reduce the risk of developing a disease later on in life, even if the medical condition runs in their family; also knowing about what specific disease affects the family and how to take preventive measures, contributes to the promotion of health among family members and its recovery. Respect for each other’s beliefs is an important part of my family. The family is composed of 16 members, we practice three different religions Christian, Catholic and Judaism; religious services, birthdays and other holidays are important events for the whole family to get together. Identified three wellness and family diagnosis that can relate to my family: 1. Effective Therapeutic Regimen Management, pain under control using meditation due to poor tolerance to pain killers. Applies to my mother’s method of pain control. 2. Ineffective Health Maintenance, surgical interventions and neuropathic pain related to diabetes and uncontrolled weight. Applies to my sister’s struggle with her weight and diabetes. 3. Risk for Situational Low Self-Esteem, not feeling or seen self as beautiful related to overweight issues. Applies to my older niece and her struggle with her image and her weight.