Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Essay

A. What is the difference between a contribution income statement and a traditional income statement? Contribution income statement is an income statement that classifies cost by behavior (fixed cost and variable cost). Traditional income statement is sometimes called the functional income statement. It is an income statement prepared in the multiple-step or single –step income statement format which conforms to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and can be used for external financial reporting. The main difference between the two is that the contribution income statement list variable costs first, followed by fixed costs. Keeping in mind that GAAP and does not permit businesses to use the contribution income statement for financial accounting – it is used only for internal decision making purposes. B. What is the difference between absorption costing and variable costing? Absorption costing is a costing method where product cost includes all the costs to acquire products and get them ready to sell regardless of whether the costs are variable or fixed. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles requires business to use absorption costing for financial accounting. Variable costing is a method of costing where only the costs to acquire products or to get them ready to sell that vary with output are treated as product costs. In other words, only variable product costs are treated as product costs. For manufactures, the difference between absorption costing and variable costing is significant. For example, when Caterpillar uses absorption costing to determine the cost of manufacturing, its product cost includes the direct material, direct labor, variable manufacturing overhead, and fixed manufacturing overhead cost incurred to make the bulldozer. These costs are added to inventory and they are not expensed as cost of goods sold until the bulldozer is sol. However, when Caterpillar uses variable costing, product cost, includes only direct material, direct labor, and variable manufacturing overhead costs. Under variable costing all of Caterpillar’s fixed manufacturing overhead cost is treated as period cost. When Caterpillar uses variable costs are added to inventory (direct material, direct labor, and variable manufacturing overhead). Under variable costing, Caterpillar expenses fixed manufacturing overhead as it is incurred just like it does other period cost such as selling and administrative expense. F. What is the contribution margin ratio and how does it differ from the contribution margin? Contribution margin is the amount remaining after all variable costs have been deducted from sales revenue. It is an important piece of information for managers, because it tells them how much of their company’s original sales dollars remain after deducting variable cost. Contribution margin ratio is the contribution margin expressed as a percentage of sales. Contribution margin ratio can be calculate by dividing the total contribution margin by total sales or by dividing the per unit contribution margin by per unit selling prices.

Cloud computing Essay

In the past a few years, the rapid advances in technology had brought us more challenges in adopting emerging technologies and pedagogies in our teaching and learning environment. As our school is committed to developing, implementing, and maintaining quality education programs, it becomes imperative to utilize updated technology to address the changing demand of students. However, the cost and time to develop the information, software, and resources is too high for us. Facing the high cost of providing computing infrastructure and software by traditional independent software vendors, I have examined the possibility of deploying a private cloud computing system in our school to help cut down our technology expense, and the implementation is feasible. Nowadays, all types of organizations are trending toward cloud computing. It reflects the ability of having access to information, software, and computing resource infrastructure without necessarily having to own them. By deploying cloud computing, it will allow students to personalize their environments in which they learn, help cut down our expense on IT management cost, and provide greater flexibility in maintaining security, reliability and compliance. Overall, the cloud computing can be a strong tool in enhancing our teaching and learning. Please allow me to discuss different aspects of cloud computing: * What is private cloud computing * How to implement private cloud computing system * What are advantages of private cloud computing What is private cloud computing Definition of cloud computing The term â€Å"cloud† implies an idea that users are able to access applications from any location in the world. Cloud computing is defined as a collection of disembodied services accessible from anywhere using any mobile device that has access to the Internet (Mondal 2009). In other words, cloud computing is an application service that is like e-mail and uses ubiquitous resources that can be shared by many students at the same time. To be more specific, in contrast to traditional computing that access data and run through software locally, cloud computing store data in a data center rather than in the client’s computer. Also, instead of installing a suite of software for each computer, cloud computing allows users to load only one web-based application that hosts all the programs the user would need for work (see figure below). Figure: How does cloud computing work Examples of cloud computing For example, someone accesses email through a web-based email service (such as Google’s Gmail) does not need to run an email program or store messages locally. Instead, both the application and the underlying data are hosted in Google’s data center. A similar distinction can be drawn between an end user running a traditional word processing application, such as Microsoft Word, and another end user using a cloud based application, such as Google Docs (Thomas 2011). Concept of private cloud computing In terms of private cloud computing, it refers as internal cloud, which is developed and provided only for a single organization. By having a private cloud, an organization will have a full control over data and security. Besides, a private cloud will provide students and staff with a flexible and agile private infrastructure to run service workloads within the administrative domain (Wang 2011). How to implement private cloud computing system Cloud service provider needed In order to run a private cloud computing system, we need to have a cloud service provider to support the network facilities. Independent software vendors supply the computer and operating system resources that can be accessed via the Internet (Katzan 2010). There are a number of software vendors that provide customized cloud service. Once the operating system of cloud computing is set up, students and faculties will share the software together and achieve significant economy of scale. Potential software vendor: Unisys One software vendor candidate is Unisys, which is a worldwide information technology company. They provide a portfolio of IT services, software, and technology that solve critical problems for clients. Also, they have a competitive advantage in specializing in helping clients secure their operations, increase the efficiency and utilization of their data centers, enhance support to their end users and constituents, and modernize their enterprise applications. In January 2012, Unisys helped California Sate University deploy a private cloud solution to streamline services to students and administrators. What are advantages of private cloud computing Decreased implementation cost Since cloud environment does not reside in a capital facility, there is a substantial saving of the time and space. Also, it provides users access only to the resources they need for a particular task. This prevents them from paying for idle computing resources. Besides, there are competing providers for this service and an organization can always shift its business to another company offering better service or lower price. In terms of statistics, we spend $6,000 per month to update software, maintain our computer lab, and pay our employees. However, implementing a cloud computing with a constructing price of $2800 will incur a cost as low as $249 per month (Hinchcliffe 2009). Increased flexibility With cloud computing, students can get access to learning tools with flexible operating platforms, and many students can obtain the same resources at the same time. Therefore, it encourages students to work collaboratively with their classmates and teachers and share their work with each other without a restriction of location. Also, cloud computing helps create a more open and responsive learning environment for students. User friendly Cloud Computing enables students to access various computing resources simply, including computing cycles, storage space, programming environments and software applications (Dothang 2010). As everything is stored on the Internet, no configuration or backup is needed. All a user needs is only a device and Internet access. Significant workload shift Cloud vendors have vast data centers full of tens of thousands of server computers, offering computing power and storage of a magnitude never available before. In other words, cloud computing promises virtually unlimited resources. Besides, it does not require the business to deal with installation, upgrade, maintenance, and staff training which eliminates a significant amount of workload.

Advertising in the 21st century.Communication and Consumer Behavior Essay

Advertising in the 21st century.Communication and Consumer Behavior - Essay Example Regardless of the fact that the key function of the advertising process is to persuade the target audience in the benefits of purchasing goods or services, the communication function of advertising is essentially wider. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to analyze the communication and customer behavior function of the advertising process from the perspective of arranging sustainable communication with the target audience, including feedback. Considering the fact that advertising can also change the overall industry approaches towards the communication process, the paper will be focused on the aspects of widening these approaches, and outlining the basic strategies of adjusting and regulating the communication with the target audience, basing on the latest communication technologies. Communicative Function of the Advertising Process First, it should be stated that in accordance with the research by Carbaugh (2008), the advertising that is based on the communication process is featur ed with five distinctive aspects: It differs from the standard communication process, as the basic function of advertising does not involve feedback, and it may be initiated without the mutual agreement of the parties. The general principle of the effective advertising is explained by the perception aspect. This means that perceptional patterns, as well as cultural codes of the target audience define whether the communication process can be initiated. For instance, a company that produces meat products will never be able to hit the vegetarian segment of the audience. The communication process approaches can be changed depending on the consumer’s involvement. The further step of the communication process is associated with the purchases. Hence, the motives that stimulate purchases, are originated by the communication process, as well as perception aspects of the target audience. Additionally, the communication process of advertising influences the customer behavior. The custom ers change their involvement into the communication process depending on the perception patterns of the advertising strategy. In accordance with the basics of the advertising theory, the communication process simplifies the customers’ movement through the customer behavior stages. (Lee and Ferguson, 2002) Therefore, this process is often regarded as a set of standardized matters, while the influence of advertisement is quite individual. The stages are given on the scheme below: While some customers pass all the stages quickly, the others may stop at any of them without passing to the final one (Person, 2010). This means that the communicative function of the advertisement process is to create and carry a message for the audience, and this message should stimulate the audience move to the final stage (â€Å"Purchase†). The leverage function of the communication is often regarded as a supplementary aspect of the allover advertisement process (Tanaka, 2010).It creates the necessary background for accelerating the customers’ understanding of the product benefits. Nevertheless, the communication itself can not be the sufficient aspect of the effective advertising; therefore, the strategy is often backed up by various images: either verbal or visual (however, they are often combined). Hence, in accordance with the basics of the advertising theory, advertising and marketing are grounded on the matters of thoughts control. (Jian-Hua and Zhi-Yun, 2010) Mass media advertisement and

Performance Management Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Performance Management Master - Essay Example The performance of an individual should be assessed after a regular interval so that the desired behavior could be maintained. This will also help the organization to satisfy the needs and the aspirations of the individual by providing him more facilities, improved working conditions and career advancement. We differ in our abilities as judges, largely because of differences in rules of judgement. No only do we judge one another but we are sensitive to the fact that others are always judging us (Ahuja, 2005, p.120). We are aware that our acceptability to others can be strongly affected by our ability to sense correctly what others think of us. The fundamental human experience of appraisal action feed - back, and reappraisal also conditions the behavior of individuals within the organization. In simple words, performance management is a systematic evaluation of the individual with respect to his performance on the job and his potential for development. Performance management is concerned with determining the differences of performance among the employees working in the organization. One important benefit of the Performance evaluation system is that it helps top management to make further judgements about the executives who judge others. The top management can get a sense from the various performance appraisals, about the various departments of the organization and also the need of executive development in the years to come. Performance management helps the supervisors to evaluate the performance and to know the potentials of their subordinates systematically and periodically. (Yvonne, 1999, p.124) Following are the benefits of performance management: (a) It helps in the correct placement of workers. (b) Performance management helps in guiding and correcting employees. (c) It helps the employees to know where they stand and consequently they try to improve their performance. (d) The performance management helps to find out the ability of the personnel. This will stimulate them to better their performance in a bid to improve their rating over others. (e) Performance management helps in designing the training programme in better way. (f) The performance management if done scientifically and systematically will prevent grievances and develop a sense of confidence

Effective Communications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Effective Communications - Essay Example All supplies of Tylenol were pulled directly off the shelves of every store in the United States. The cost to the company to accomplish this act was over $50 million dollars, yet Johnson and Johnson accomplished this with grace and humility and gained the respect of Americans in the process. After a period of time, Tylenol was replaced on store shelves complete with new, tamper-resistant packaging, telling the public loudly and clearly that the first priority of Johnson and Johnson is the safety of the public who purchased their products, thus keeping them in business. As the text states, because of the response to the incident and their overwhelming regard for human lives, Tylenol recovered an even larger share of the market and "gained credibility, public trust, and esteem." (Federal Register). Once Johnson and Johnson issued "Our Credo," they had public opinion firmly and positively on their side. Johnson and Johnson stated to consumers that their goal was to meet the needs of those who use their product, but to do so in a responsible way. They acknowledge that they have the right to make a fair profit, which, again, puts public opinion firmly in their corner. ... Another public might be considered the people such as doctors, nurses and the institutions of hospitals that regularly dispense Tylenol to their patients. This sector of the public had a grave responsibility in the face of the Tylenol tragedy, in that they had to make absolutely sure that none of the product that could possibly have been contaminated remained in their hospitals. A possible third public could be the press, who, in many cases become the most direct line to the general public. What the press is told and what they release to the general public is extremely important and akin to walking a tightrope. The internal public would be the employees and stockholders of Johnson and Johnson. The employees were put into a difficult situation in that if public opinion, fickle as it is, had gone the "other" direction; the employees of Johnson and Johnson could well have borne the brunt of public righteous indignation. It would have become rather non-politic to answer the question "Where do you work," because the employees would have been guilty by association. The stockholders, another faction of the internal public would have been seen as equally "guilty," and it is likely that rumors would have abounded concerning the culpability of the stockholders in the aftermath of tragedy. The external public, on the other hand, I would see as the consumer of Johnson and Johnson products. I'm sure every mother and father in America experienced a sense of panic and horror when they learned of the cyanide laced Tylenol capsules, thinking it could have been their child or another parents' child that fell victim to the capsules. It was

Sierra LeoneWrite about literacy rates, primary school completion rate Essay

Sierra LeoneWrite about literacy rates, primary school completion rate among females, secondary school attendance, and how girls are interested in attending school further - Essay Example From 2008 to 2012, the literacy level for female aged between 15 -24 years stood at 52% while that of the male stood at 70.5% (UNICEF, 2014). In the period between 2008 and 2012, primary education gross enrollment ratio for male was 129% while that of the females stood at 120%. In the secondary education, gender disparity was still evident. During the period, the net attendance ratio for the boy’s student was 39.9% while that of the girls stood at 33%. The statistics from the primary school indicates that there is a notable disparity in terms of girls and boys education in Sierra Leone. Key challenges facing school going girls during their adolescent stage in Sierra Leone include Another notable aspect that makes the rate of school absenteeism to be high among the 9-14 years old is lack of latrines that are separated based on the gender. According to UNICEF, Majority of schools also lack latrines as well as private areas where girls can wash themselves (Marni et al, 2012). Additionally, due to lack of sanitary cloths available for use by the girls during emergencies, girls do not feel motivated to attend the schools. UNICEF has embarked on addressing problems faced by girls in ways such

City of Atlanta Water Quality Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

City of Atlanta Water Quality Report - Essay Example Microbial contaminants can come from sewage treatment plants, livestock, and wildlife. Inorganic contaminants are salts and metals and can be naturally occurring in soil and river beds. Organic chemicals can be synthetic and volatile and are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production (http://www.atlantawatershed.org/pdf/WQR2009.pdf). They can also come from gas stations or septic systems. The EPA has strict guidelines regarding pollutants in water, the food and drug administration provides guidelines for bottled water that is sold to citizens. The main source of the Atlanta water supply is the Chattahoochee River, providing 75 % of the drinking water, processed by two water plants. Total coliform detected in the water supply was 1.4 % in 2009. The detected level of turbidity was 0.4 %, both of these are within acceptable range and likely explained as naturally occurring. Turbidity was found in 100% of samples, probably a result of runoff. Turbidity is the cloudiness of the water or unsettling of sediment. Both copper and lead were well below the threshold of the action level, which is when this contaminant would require some further treatment. Chlorine and fluoride are additives and within their respective proper ranges of detection. Organic contaminants noted were likely the byproduct of drinking water and naturally occurring. Water pollution of unacceptable adulterants do not appear to be a problem with Atlanta and they have consistently been well within limits. The Atlanta regional commission and the Metropolitan North Georgia water planning district both sponsor and collaborate for the ‘Clean Water Campaign’ which focuses on public education and the negative effects of soil runoff and water pollution (http://www.atlantaregional.com/environment/water/clean-water-campaign). It is estimated that over a thousand stream miles are in Atlanta violate state standards.

Personal Protective Equipment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Personal Protective Equipment - Case Study Example Employers are required by the law, The Occupational Safety and Health Law, to give Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to staffs, and ensure effective usage. PPE is worn to reduce or eliminate hazards at the workplace. The PPE category discussed in this paper is the face and eye protection. The new supplier of the PPE is either incompetent or was given wrong information regarding the features of eye safety equipment that the company needs (Davies, 2012). The company is likely to experience poor employee productivity and increased legal suits if adequate eye protection is not provided. The eye problem is caused by the inappropriate shade #3 lenses given to employees when cutting the 1.250" thick carbon steel. The most appropriate eye protection is shade #5, which is the most appropriate for cutting steel between 1 and 6 inches. The intense light emitted from welding operations results in serious eye damage if the employees do not have appropriate eye protection. The high intensity of radiant energy emitted from welding and cutting activities varies in terms of arc current and electrode size, and hence requires adequate eye protection equipment (Davies, 2012). In addition to the lenses, the employees should also appropriately wear related safety equipment that minimizes eye hazards; for instance, glasses that have side shields, to prevent slag chips and grinding fragment from contacting the face or eyes of the employees.

Globalization and Cultural Diversity in International Business Essay

Globalization and Cultural Diversity in International Business Negotiations - Essay Example Overall, an analysis of the various dimensions of cultural clashes and contradictions will be acknowledged. After a definitional look at globalization and the extent to which its importance has grown in the world of business, its impact on multi-cultural negotiations will briefly be assessed. Whether the business world has managed to eradicate problems created by multi-cultural business activities and how it achieves these eradications will be evaluated through examination and an example interview. This dissertation focuses on the effect of cultural differences on business negotiations, and how businesses from different cultural backgrounds seek to bridge the gaps between their cultures during business negotiations. The paper explores exactly what is meant by the term ‘culture’ and how its different facets may be measured. Then, I review intercultural communication and cultural exchange; in addition, I talk about the impact of globalization on intercultural communication. Business negotiation is under discussion; I examine the impact of culture on international business negotiations and how to analyze a negotiation process. The main problems posed by cultural differences will be ascertained from the research and discussion, and how businesses overcome these differences will be examined through an example interview (German/Italian cultural differences). The interview will involve an analysis of the cultural differences between Germans and Italians, and how the inte rviewed businesses overcome the differences in order to participate in successful negotiations. There has been a great deal of recent discussion as to whether barriers between different cultures have diminished (Nordstrà ¶m, 1991).

The Name Of The Father Essay Example for Free

The Name Of The Father Essay These are three paragraphs that i put together about the three main characters in the movie, being Gerry, Giuseppe and Joe McAndrew. It was put together to be worked into an end of year exam. Gerry Gerry was immature, even reckless in the way he lived as a young man in Belfast. While he stood on the rooftop of a house stealing scrap-metal he was stupid enough to make himself a target to the British soldiers by pretending to play his guitar with a stick, and started a riot. We saw him standing in the crowd, hurling stones at the British soldiers yelling, English Bastards, even though hes politically naà ¯ve. Even in London the pattern continued when he broke into the hookers house and stole her money, after playing with her toys. Gerry had a great love for his father and family, although we didnt often see him express it. He came to understand the true importance of his family at moments like when he was comforting his father holding the towel over his head in prison, remembering a childhood memory. We also saw when after his confrontation with Mc Andrew he put his hand on Giuseppes shoulder and offered to help with the campaign. When the police threaten to kill his father, he confesses to the bombing to save his dad. When hes in prison we saw his concern for his father when he says to Garreth Pierce, Why are you giving my father false hopes. Gerrys inner strength didnt show until he is in prison. He grows from becoming an immature young man to being a faithful and honest man much like his father. Standing up to Joe McAndrew, looking him in the eye he says, That was a good days work. Youre a real brave man, after he had torched the prison warden. Once released from prison Gerry vowed to fight on until his father is proven innocent. Joe Mc Andrew Joe Mc Andrew was a very important figure of the IRA. He was a man who followed orders and did what he had to do to execute his orders. It didnt bother him that the Conlons were wrongfully convicted as we see when he says to them, This is a war and youre one of the innocent victims. His  lifes work was based on politics as he was obsessed with driving out the English from Ireland. The Guilford Pub bombing was just one of his many doings. Mc Andrew approaches life in a fearless way. The day he strides into prison he makes a statement to all the others of his power by eating at the table, standing up for his rights. He is a power -focused person who even while in prison tries to keep the war going. We see his control in the prison at times like when he threatened the chief prisoner that if the other prisoners were mistreated hed bomb his house and kill his family. Mc Andrewss obsession with power made him become blinded by revenge. He was ultimately limited as a human being and this sometimes lead him into going to far. A time where we saw this happen was when he torched the prison warden so a new one would be assigned. He had no compassion at all, but he had a great hatred for the English. Giuseppe Giuseppe was a very kind, honest and compassionate man and he showed that in the way he took care of his family. He was a protective parent and went to any lengths to keep Gerry out of trouble. We see this when he sends him to England to start off fresh. His supportiveness shows when Gerry was in England, he offers him money to survive. He was a straightforward man who had simple aspirations in life, one of them being for him to have a stable job as a bookies clerk to support his family. Honesty was a number one priority to Giuseppe. His trademark clichà © was, Honest money goes further. Giuseppe was very persistent in everything that he did. We see this while in prison, where to get the story right he constantly keeps writing letters to Gareth Pierce even despite Gerrys disapproval. He prayed every night that he would be released from prison and reunited with his wife and family. His persistence finally lead to the truth being revealed. Giuseppe had great courage and wisdom which a llowed him to see the real good in people. He never turned his back on Gerry. When Gerry was put into prison he went to England to help him. Even while in prison we see his thought for others when he stands up to Mc Andrew saying, Dont be sorry for us, be sorry for the ones you killed.

The History Of Payless Shoesource Inc Marketing Essay

The History Of Payless Shoesource Inc Marketing Essay Payless ShoeSource Inc. is a self-serve fashion-focused low cost shoe retailer.   The company was founded in 1956 in Topeka, Kansas and has expanded significantly within the domestic and international markets to almost 4,500 stores.   On their website, the stated mission is to democratize fashion and design in footwear and accessories.   Payless seeks to compete effectively by bringing to market differentiated, trend-right merchandise before mass-market discounters and at the same time as department and specialty retailers but at a more compelling price.  [1]  Payless is a subsidiary of Collective Brands, which a holding company for three business units: Payless ShoeSource,  Collective Brands Performance  + Lifestyle Group,  and Collective Licensing International. These units function separately, but have significant business relationships especially in brand licensing for Payless. In 2009, Payless reported $2.576 billion in sales and capture a large percentage for the cost-leader footwear market.  [2]  Payless is represented in all 50 states.   Internationally, Payless has multiple locations in Central and South America, Canada, and the Caribbean.   In 2009, Payless opened stores in the Middle East and has signed agreements to franchise into Russia, the Philippines, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico and Indonesia.  [3]  Ã‚   When Payless was founded, it was based on being a low cost provider of shoes for families in a self-service format.   During the 50 years since, Payless has evolved from a low cost distributor to a low cost producer to an on-trend fashion, cost conscience producer and provider while retaining the self service format.   This evolution was a result of changing customer demands and increased retail competition.   Payless retooled their strategy when other low-cost shoe providers such as Wal-Mart and Target entered the shoe market.   This increase in competition on the cost-leader strategy forced Payless to examine their core competencies and their position in the marketplace.   As a result, the emphasis on fashion and design became a priority which is reflected in both their shoe and retail store design.  [4]  Ã‚   Over the past fifteen years, Payless has been increasing the fashion level of their products and have now repositioned themselves as an on-trend fashion outlet with trendy names at reasonable prices.   Payless has formed several partnerships with designers to create capsule collections exclusively at Payless that comprise one season; however due to the success of these designer collections Payless has been expanding these designer relationships.  [5]  Ã‚   The partnerships with designers started in 2007 with Abaetà ©, as a seasonal collection.   The success of the Abaetà © collection leads Payless to develop other partnerships with designers like Lela Rose, Alice + Olivia as well as Zack Zoe.   The most recent guest designer, Christain Siriano, has been a success due to both his design and his popularity of winning season four of Project Runway.   With the immense success of the show, there was instant name recognition and the target audience of the show is in line wit h the target market of Payless.   In fact, Christian Sirianos capsule collection contract was recently extended to be a multi-year contract to its immense success in the market.  [6]   External Analysis When looking at the external analysis for Payless ShoeSource, the general environment is composed of elements that influence the shoe industry and the companies within it. These elements group into six different environmental segments: demographic, economic, political/legal, sociocultural, technological, and global. Demographics for Payless have always played an important role in their overall strategy. Targeting women 16-49 with an income lower than $75,000 USD is their key to success.  [7]  This target market is ideal because individuals within this demographic express themselves through fashion. The economic factors for their general environment are a major downfall. With a target segment on a middle-class income, economic hardships are going to be devastating for Payless. Consumers will spend less on non-necessity goods in hard times, shoes being one of those items. The economy will also influence Payless because they compete based on lower priced fashion items to gain market share. However, since Payless is an international business, economies in other countries such as Latin America or the Middle East can offset these issues in the domestic market. International expansion is where political and legal elements can comes into play for Payless. Currently Payless has 643 international stores with plans to expand heavily in the years to come. By executing joint ventures and franchising, Payless is able to mitigate some of the political and legal risk it could encounter in foreign markets. The sociocultural environment for Payless externally is again positive. Since they are well known in the United States and Canada for keeping up with the latest trends, they can leverage this strategy worldwide. Each country is researched constantly for new trends or looks in the footwear and accessory industry. This research combined with knowledgeable local partners helps Payless with product selection to meet local demand. By researching and overcoming the sociocultural factor, Payless has gained market share each year, even in rough economic times in the United States.    When looking at the technological external environment for Payless, the company is far beyond its competition. Although Payless is based in Topeka, Kansas, all of their shoe manufacturing is completed in the Unites States and 13 other countries around the world. Their main warehouse is 807,000 square feet designed with a state of the art coordination system. These systems keep all the stores replenished with new supply at least twice a week based on style, color and size of the shoes. The global environmental factor for Payless is also a significant part of their strategy. Global factors influencing business are legal, political, social, technological and economic. Each country Payless enters, these influences will change. Moving into global markets via joint ventures or franchising helps lessen the risk for Payless because the partner understands the market and environment the store is operating in. When looking at the supplier power for Payless, 85% of their footwear comes from Chinese factories, 10% from Vietnam and the other 5% from Brazil, India, Indonesia and Thailand.  [8]  Since Payless depends on third parties to manufacture and supply their products, this could cause several problems. There could be a shortage of raw materials, inadequate manufacturing and shipping capacity of the product. In addition, the third parties price fluctuations of raw material, skilled labor as well as currency exchange risk could impact the low price strategy of Payless. Payless also has risk in transportation since it relies on third parties to transport and deliver its products. These third party relationships impact the ability to deliver footwear on time and at a low cost. The buyer power for Payless is a significant threat. Given their current fashion strategy, Payless could one day overcome buyer power, but as of now, they still compete on price and focus this incentive to benefit the consumer. With this buyer power, the threat of substitution is very high for Payless. The footwear industry is all about the latest styles, colors and looks. If Payless did not have a research team focused on implementing new products, substitution would be high for Payless. Bringing in Christian Siriano, Lela Rose and Isabel Toledo as new designers has given Payless a more upscale look at a cost effective price for the consumer. Though there are substitutions for their brands in each product category, Payless is less expensive overall. Competitive rivalry in the footwear industry is never ending. Payless has to compete with the big box stores such as DSW, Famous Footwear, J.C.  Penney, Kohls, Macys, Marshalls, Ross Stores, Target, TJ Maxx, and Wal-Mart. All of these competitors have the capability to hurt Payless in a cost leadership strategy. However, Payless competes in fashion at a lower price point. This fashion focus aligns with their target market that will buy these designer shoes with Christian Siriano, Lela Rose and Isabel Toledo.  [9]   The threat of new entry for Payless is currently small. Although Payless has many competitors in their industry, it would be almost impossible to compete with their net sales and store locations around the world. The startup costs would be high and the sourcing for factories would be time consuming. Designers would need to be experienced and willing to work with foreign factories. New competition could compete on price, but not on quality fashion footwear. Payless has a very favorable position and it should be easy to defend against new entrants. Internal Analysis Payless ShoeSource is dedicated to democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories to the world and inspiring fun fashion possibilities for the family.   We provide our customers with the style they want at a great price, and our nearly 4,500 store locations offer an engaging, easy-to-shop experience and outstanding customer service.  [10]  The current mission of Payless ShoeSource has not been long-lived in this form.   After the company experienced it is first lost in 2003, the company worked hard to turn things around.   Beyond working to increase sales and correct the inventory problems, the company revised its mission statement, vision, and company strategy in 2005.  [11]  Ã‚  The current mission has driven the company to develop strategies, which have led the company to exhibit internal strengths and prevailing weaknesses. The most obvious overlying strategy for Payless is cost leadership.   This can be determined not only by the mission statement,  [12]  but also by the name of the store.   As the mission statement states, Payless wants to provide their customers with the style they want at a great price.   Also, the title Payless gives the impression that customers will pay less when buying their shoes at Payless Shoe Source.   This name not only exhibits the goals of the company but what customers can expect by shopping at any of Payless ShoeSources 4470 locations. With the major changes made in 2005, Payless developed new strategies to expand their customer base, which would in turn lead to more sales. These strategies developed in 2005 will be focused on in this analysis as 2005 was a monumental year for strategy development and will be compared to the 2009 annual report analysis of the success of such strategies. One of these new strategies was that Payless would go forward with an offer of on-trend, differentiated products.  [13]  Ã‚  With this, it would increase its accessories and offer a larger athletic footwear section.  [14]  In the 2009 Annual Report, Payless stated that they advanced their strategy to grow beyond footwear as broader and deeper product offerings drove dramatic improvement in the accessories business at Payless ShoeSource.  [15]   Another strategy developed in 2005 was to strengthen and reposition Payless by introducing a house of brands available to the consumer at a discounted price,13 which would fall directly in line with their overlying cost leadership strategy.   This house of brands allowed customers to have access to a variety of brands within Payless, which, according to Matt Rubel, CEO of Payless, would fulfill their focus of democratizing design and fashion in footwear and accessories and their goal to inspire fun fashion possibilities for the family.   Acquiring brands like American Eagle à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢, according to Mr. Rubel, is an important step in achieving this and to our ability to connect with young consumers.   The house of brands includes American Eagleà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢, Champion ®, Airwalk ®, Spalding, and Shaquille ONeal endorsed Dunkmanà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ .  [16]   The third strategy developed in 2005 was to enhance the customer experience by hiring friendly, helpful employees to improve customer service.  [17]  The 2009 annual report confirmed that one aspect of this customer service included measuring childrens feet, which helped increase the sales of the childrens shoes segment.  [18]  Ã‚  Beyond this, there is no data shown as to how successful this strategy has been. The last change in strategy added in 2005 was to improve the efficiency of the business by introducing better technology including a POS system in order to shorten checkout time and keep better track of sales.   In addition, a logistics network would be introduced to improve the companys inventory system and also to improve flexibility in the inventory.13 As far as efficiency goes, the 2009 annual report stated that an added U.S. distribution center shorted replenishment times and lowered costs, improving the gross margin by changing how sizes were assorted and defined store clusters, improving productivity and profitability in 2009.  [19]   Beyond the 2005 strategy developments, a more recent development for Payless is its newly defined international expansion strategies as outlined in the 2009 annual report. Looking at Payless specifically, Collective Brands began franchising Payless internationally 18 months ago and predicts that it will have about 700 locations abroad within the next five years, including 300 of those in Indonesia.  [20]  Ã‚  In the 2009 annual report, it was stated that Payless opened a significant amount of stores in Columbia within the year.  [21]  Ã‚  In 2010, the store introduced a new franchising business model to expand internationally in a quick, low-risk, capital-efficient manner.  [22]  Although the strategy was introduced in 2010, the first three franchised stores opened in the Middle East in 2009.  [23]   Ownership strategy differs by geographic regions.   In North America, mainly the USA and Canada, Payless stores are company-owned.   In Central and South America, stores have been opened as joint ventures with a multitude of partners.   As stated above, franchised stores have existed thus far in the Middle East with franchising as a strategy for future expansion, mainly focused on the Middle East and Asia.  [24]   The last strategy to be assessed in this analysis is a method Payless developed just this year.   Ã‚  This strategy is to develop a recognition of the company as social responsible in order to lure in the socially conscious consumers.   Payless has teamed up with Airwalk   for The Good Shoe Project to allow shoppers to Buy-One-Give-One to a child in need where customers can buy a pair of Airwalk shoes for $19.99 and Payless will give a pair of kids shoes to a child in need through their new partner, World Vision.   Payless plans to give a minimum of 100,000 pairs of shoes to children in South America this Christmas season.  [25]   The core competencies and strengths of Payless ShoeSource exist in its store presence, financial stability, and its ability to keep prices low.   Store presence encompasses the fact that it has already established itself in all 50 states plus a growing number of international locations.  [26]  Ã‚  This presence includes 4470 stores total in 19 countries as of 2009, with 18.6% of stores abroad, or 873 total in 2009.   According to many sources, Payless can be considered one of the largest footwear retailers in the Western Hemisphere selling 140 million pairs of footwear and over 40 million accessories in the US, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, and South America in 2009.  [27]   Financially, Payless has grown its gross margin regardless of the 3.9% decrease in sales due to the recession.   This includes a 5.2% increase in gross margin in 2009, increasing the gross margin to 34.5%.   However, this is primarily due to a low gross margin in 2008 attributable to pre-tax charges of $88.2 million related to the impairment of trade names, $45.1 million due to pre-tax litigation expenses, and $13.2 million of pre-tax charges related to the tangible asset impairment and other charges.   However, the higher gross margin can also be attributed to lower product costs and higher initial mark-on prices of footwear in 2009.  [28]  Ã‚  Though all of these additional charges decreased the gross margin in 2008, a better representation of gross margin improvement is to compare to the 2007 32.6% gross margin.   From 2007 to 2009, the gross margin was improved by 1.9%, or 0.95% per year. Lastly, Payless has been rather successful in their skill to encompass a wide variety of skills including supply chain management and sourcing to keep prices low while also focusing on fashion.   This has allowed Payless to capture the market of moms and middle-class people who care about both fashion and their budget, which is considered to be a success factor of 2009 in the annual report.  [29]   The supply chain management procedures of Payless assist in keeping prices down by making the company more efficient.   This includes the strong supply chain management (SCM) system satisfying the 2005 strategy to improve inventory levels.  [30]  Ã‚  In 2009 annual report, Payless manages inventory through the use of a variety of systems and models related to planning, forecasting, pricing, and allocations to help align promotions, product flow, and pricing with customer shopping patterns.   Although the annual report does not give technical details on these systems, it is clear that the organization of Payless SCM systems have proven to increase the efficiency of the company, and improve the gross margin as previously stated.    One way it has done this on a large scale is by reducing markdowns through using intelligent SCM tools which have been able to stock stores by use of customer clusters, or customer profiles based on lifestyle, demographics, shopping behavior, and appetite for fashion.   Also, the systems keep track of seasonality and climate considerations by geography which have improved the timing of inventory distribution.   The SCM systems have the ability to track historical data to use as a precedent of stores sales volumes and categories that stores tend to sell well along with specific proportions for inventory forecasting.   The high amount of data stored in this system also involves a size assortment matrix tool. This data has reduced old product markdowns by analyzing sizes that could have been avoided in initial purchasing.  [31]  Ã‚   On a smaller scale, the supply chain management systems have provided store-level data management which allows for pricing and inventories to be adjusted on a per-store basis based.   Product pricing is performed per store in order to price products appropriately on a smaller scale rather than one corporate or regional price.   Size variations are also taken into account on a per store basis in order to produce sales forecasts for ordering inventory, optimizing gross margin dollars and reducing markdowns by giving each store individualized attention.  [32]   Another resource advantage of Payless is its sourcing capabilities.   Payless sources out 72% of production to large factories which serve as their manufacturers, consisting mainly of 26 core factories which account for 75% of Collectives footwear purchases.   These factories are given specification and performance standards and then bid for jobs on a competitive basis.  [33]  Ã‚  This network of factories allows Payless to manufacture their products at low prices with companies that they know and trust.   This is a core asset in its ability to keep prices low in its overall strategy of cost leadership. Other than supply chain management and sourcing, other factors providing key assets and skills to Payless are listed in the 2009 annual report.   These factors are the companys ability to develop fashionable, high-quality merchandise in an assortment of sizes, colors, and styles appealing to their target customers; the ability to anticipate and respond to changing customer demands in a timely manner; creating an acceptable value proposition for customers; providing an inviting, customer friendly shopping environment; and, providing effective marketing support.  [34]   Resource disadvantages, or assets and skills that are lacking at Payless, mainly include its lack of knowledge in a few key markets, its marketing resources, its financial resources, and its lack of independence.   These factors keep Payless from optimizing its ability to compete in the market of footwear and accessories. Payless lacks significant knowledge in operating in South American markets.   According to the 2009 annual report, the firm closed 26 Payless stores in Peru and Chile and were categorized as discontinued operations in the report.   The closing of these stores eliminated 200 management and administrative positions, concerning the company with its failure in these markets and the reduced employee morale based on the elimination of these positions.  [35]   Next, the report states its lack of marketing and financial resources as compared to competitors such as Wal-Mart, Target, and other department stores.   Payless is concerned in their ability to continue to compete against these low-cost retailers which provide more of a one-stop-shop for consumers and who also have much larger marketing budgets.   Beyond this, Payless lacks financial ability to withstand reduced shoe sales whereas these competitors have the ability to withstand fluctuations in the market.   High fixed costs in proportion of operating expenses cause declines in operating performance to be magnified with sales shortfalls.   Major fixed costs include leasing costs of stores, debt service expenses, and labor expenses which will all remain regardless of sales.   Labor expenses in particular remain the same as the stores generally employ minimum employees regardless of sales volume.  [36]   The last resource disadvantage to be concerned with in this analysis is the lack of independence from third parties to manufacture and distribute products.   Though this is somewhat an external concern, it is also a problem internally as the company is weak in its ability to withstand factors affecting the manufacturing line.    Overall, the internal analysis of Payless is strong in many areas, mainly its ability to follow execute its mission statement and strategies following directly in line with this mission.   A competitors analysis will get more into the analysis of Payless ShoeSources ability to compete in the footwear and accessories market on both a short and long-term basis. Comparison to Competitors   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The retail footwear and accessories industry is highly competitive. It is comprised of department stores, footwear specialty stores, discount mass-merchandisers, sporting good stores and on-line competitors. In addition, many retailers that have not carried footwear have added footwear and accessories lines to their stores.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For Payless Domestic, they compete mainly with DSW, Famous Footwear, J.C. Penney, Kohls, Macys, Marshalls, Ross Stores, Target, TJ Maxx, and Wal-Mart and they seek to compete effectively by coming into the market with differentiated, trend-right merchandise before mass-market discounters. Besides the timing of producing new merchandise, Payless also requires their trend-right merchandise to be priced below department stores and specialty retailers. In the worldwide footwear industry, Payless faces various competitive challenges from retailers and wholesalers since their financial and marketing resources are less than some competitors. Although under high pressure of increasing competitiveness, Payless still focuses on the following points as bases of enhancing their low cost on trend-fashion competitive advantage: Developing fashionable, high-quality merchandise in an assortment of sizes, colors and styles that appeal to their target consumers: For example, Dyelightsà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ is exclusively offered by Payless ShoeSource stores. It is a unique feature that sets Payless apart from the competition. The shoes are dyed to the customers specifications and are available for pick up in about 10 days at the Payless ShoeSource store or delivered to the customer for an additional shipping fee.  [37]  As previously mentioned, Payless also has strategic partnerships with designers that emphasis high fashion for under $60. With their extensive licensing Payless is also able to have a house of brands that appeals to fashion focused consumers. Ensuring product availability and optimizing supply chain effectiveness: Payless uses different systems and models to ensure timely delivered to meet customer demand, which drives sales and margin growth. The company creates targeted assortments based on localized demand and specific product lifecycles. Payless also prices their products at the store level to manage aged inventory. Payless has a global supply chain structure that integrates their design, product development and sourcing functions. Coordinated transportation is also a vital component of efficiency for Payless. They employ the just-in-time model and each distribution center only has eight days of supply for store replenishment.  [38]   High quality assurance and low price:   Payless contracts with factories that meet their specified quality and safety standards for shoe production; minimum capacity requirements; production control processes; and agree not to use forced or child labor.  [39]  Payless also provides technical design support for their direct purchasing functions. For example, Payless locates their field inspection personnel close to the factories and freight consolidation facilities that they use throughout the world. By concentrating on quality, Payless is able to reduce rework costs. Shopping environment and customer service: Payless uses a customer focused sales staff to provide attentive, product knowledgeable service. Payless also offers customers a self-selection shopping environment, which allows customers to select their shoes freely. Shoes and accessories are displayed neatly and grouped by type of shoe ensuring self-selection is easy.  [40]  Customers can seek help from trained and professional associates if they need any help. In addition, Payless executes an easy and convenient return policy even if the shoes are worn. This emphasis on cost containment through efficient supply chain management helps Payless maintain its historic low-cost position. This, when combined with its retail product selection optimization, increases profit margins. Payless is focused on the customer experience through excellent customer service and accessible on-trend fashion. Their competitors compete on cost or brand, but are unable to combine the strategies efficiently. Payless has developed a competitive advantage by leveraging their house of brands, designer partnerships, efficient supply chain, and optimized product mix. Recommendations Although Payless has made some bold and aggressive steps in recent history in order to further strengthen their position in the marketplace, we feel Payless needs to initiate changes on four unique planes. Continued and expanded efforts in pricing strategies and product differentiation, a refined domestic retail system, new strategic marketing initiatives, and a revised overseas expansion policy are all necessary for Payless to realize sustainable competitive advantages in

Essay examples --

Merced Home Products-Accounting Ethics Case Wayne A Shaker OMGT 308-001.2014,SP, Financial and Managerial Accounting Instructor: Paul H. Robinson, JD, CPA â€Æ' Most profit making companies understand conducting business within an ethical reporting framework is the proper way to report quarterly results. Often accounting managers are given opportunities to exercise judgment in financial reporting, using their knowledge about the business to improve the effectiveness of financial statements. However, accounting professionals need to perform their job tasks in accordance with laws, regulations, and technical standards while supplying information that is accurate, clear, concise, and timely. At the same time, managers need to be free from pecuniary anxieties, and disclose all relevant information that could influence an intended recipients understanding of the analyses or reports. However, when managers have incentives to produce positive results, profit management can occur while misleading those who review the company’s financial statements. In the case of Merced Home Products Inc., recently hired controller Stacy Cummins has stumbled upon an accounting procedure causing her great concern. Being a new controller, Stacy reviewed the financial statements of the Home Security division discovering profits improved each quarter until a year end climax with outstanding performance. According to the assistant controller, the standard costs had been modified by Vice President, Preston Lansing to reflect positive earnings as the fiscal year progressed. Upon further investigation, Ms. Cummins discovered the president of the Merced Home Products was aware of the reporting using questionable standards and had chosen not to bother Pres... ...ose developed by the Institute of Management Accountants ("Ima," n.d.). The guidelines for ethical behavior cover professional competence, confidentiality, personal integrity, for individuals disclosing financial information. Of course, ethical behavior in reporting is critical to establish creditability to any company to infuluence growth and outside investment. In the end, ethical conduct of the individuals reporting results is essential for maintaining a solid reputation and support continued success. References Brewer, P. C., & Garrison, R. H. (2013). Introduction to managerial accounting (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Federal Securities Laws. (2002). Retrieved April 29, 2014, from https://www.sec.gov/about/laws.shtml#sox2002 Ima. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2014, from http://www.imanet.org/resources_and_publications/EthicsCenter.aspx

Good Instructor :: essays research papers

Whether a good or bad instruction can affect the learning of students. A lot of instructors had been teaching me through out my years in school. No doubt some of the instructors are good and some of them are bad. Whether the instructor is bad or good cannot be judge by his or her education background. It is also important that they have a good way and method of treating and teaching their student. Teaching individually will be very effective, however, it will not happen in a classroom. In order to be affecting in the classroom, I think the instructor should be patient to the students, understand how people learn, be familiar with the difficulties people have with learning, then recognize these difficulties when they occur in class and know how to overcome these difficulties, and finally plan and be prepared to teach.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is hard for an instructor to teach a lot of student with different learning ability at the same time; therefore, the primary factor to teach is patient. Patient is a primary thing to be an instructor. There are a lot of student in a classroom. The instructor should know that different person has different learning ability. Some Student may learn very fast but some learn very slowly. The instructor should not expect all students get the knowledge right after he taught. Student may ask a lot of questions or need to be explained a lot of time to understand the material. The instructor should be patient to the student when dealing with different students. Knowing that there are a lot of materials from the book to cover in a school year, a well skilled instructor should always plan ahead for the lecture. Remember there are poorly skilled instructors too - most of us have had inexperienced or poor teachers. Good Instructor :: essays research papers Whether a good or bad instruction can affect the learning of students. A lot of instructors had been teaching me through out my years in school. No doubt some of the instructors are good and some of them are bad. Whether the instructor is bad or good cannot be judge by his or her education background. It is also important that they have a good way and method of treating and teaching their student. Teaching individually will be very effective, however, it will not happen in a classroom. In order to be affecting in the classroom, I think the instructor should be patient to the students, understand how people learn, be familiar with the difficulties people have with learning, then recognize these difficulties when they occur in class and know how to overcome these difficulties, and finally plan and be prepared to teach.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is hard for an instructor to teach a lot of student with different learning ability at the same time; therefore, the primary factor to teach is patient. Patient is a primary thing to be an instructor. There are a lot of student in a classroom. The instructor should know that different person has different learning ability. Some Student may learn very fast but some learn very slowly. The instructor should not expect all students get the knowledge right after he taught. Student may ask a lot of questions or need to be explained a lot of time to understand the material. The instructor should be patient to the student when dealing with different students. Knowing that there are a lot of materials from the book to cover in a school year, a well skilled instructor should always plan ahead for the lecture. Remember there are poorly skilled instructors too - most of us have had inexperienced or poor teachers.

The Bright Future of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Exploratory Essays R

The Bright Future of Genetic Engineering Imagine the major food crops - corn, wheat, rice, soybeans - which can resist diseases - and resist pests - and create their own fertilizers - and resist extremes of weather. Imagine potatoes containing more protein, and other vegetables and fruits which contain more nutrients, taste better and resist rot. Can you imagine tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes. Imagine what such food crops could mean for a world population which will double in less than 40 years. Imagine a fundamental revolution in health care - with treatments and perhaps even cures for heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, cancer and AIDS. Richard J. Mahoney, 1993 (Wekesser 30) Genetic engineering is a topic which has come under great scrutiny and debate. Since its appearance on the scientific stage in 1973 (Wekesser 23), it has been heralded as everything from the discovery of a fountain of youth to the harbinger of the death of humanity. In reality, genetic engineering is none of theses things. In simple terms, it is merely the utilization of one or more techniques for the purpose of modifying the DNA of an organism (Britannica V, 178). By modifying DNA, scientists today can eliminate some genetic diseases, they can manipulate plants and animals for increased food production and they can help protect against certain environmental hazards. Though genetic engineering is still in its infancy, its potential to benefit mankind is unprecedented. As such, it is a field that must be explored to its fullest. There are many facets to genetic engineering. The most common of these is recombinant DNA. This is a process through which the DNA of one organism is taken and combined with the DNA of another organism. The... ... Heredity: The Physical Basis of Heredity.?The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropedia. 15th ed., 1989. â€Å"Genetic Engineering.?The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Micropedia. 15th ed., 1989. McCuen, Gary E. Manipulating Life: Debating the Genetic Revolution. Hudson, Wisconsin: Gary E. McCuen Publications Inc., 1985. O’Neill, Terry, ed. Biomedical Ethics: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994. Rosenthal, Nadia. â€Å"Molecular Medicine: Tools of the Trade - Recombinant DNA.?The New England Journal of Medicine 04 August 1994: 315+. Ubell, Earl. â€Å"Should You Consider Gene TestingParade 12 January 1997: 8+. Voelker, Rebecca. â€Å"A Clone by Any Other Name Is Still an Ethical Concern.?Journal of the American Medical Association 02 February 1994: 331+. Wekesser, Carol, ed. Genetic Engineering: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994. The Bright Future of Genetic Engineering Essay -- Exploratory Essays R The Bright Future of Genetic Engineering Imagine the major food crops - corn, wheat, rice, soybeans - which can resist diseases - and resist pests - and create their own fertilizers - and resist extremes of weather. Imagine potatoes containing more protein, and other vegetables and fruits which contain more nutrients, taste better and resist rot. Can you imagine tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes. Imagine what such food crops could mean for a world population which will double in less than 40 years. Imagine a fundamental revolution in health care - with treatments and perhaps even cures for heart disease, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, cancer and AIDS. Richard J. Mahoney, 1993 (Wekesser 30) Genetic engineering is a topic which has come under great scrutiny and debate. Since its appearance on the scientific stage in 1973 (Wekesser 23), it has been heralded as everything from the discovery of a fountain of youth to the harbinger of the death of humanity. In reality, genetic engineering is none of theses things. In simple terms, it is merely the utilization of one or more techniques for the purpose of modifying the DNA of an organism (Britannica V, 178). By modifying DNA, scientists today can eliminate some genetic diseases, they can manipulate plants and animals for increased food production and they can help protect against certain environmental hazards. Though genetic engineering is still in its infancy, its potential to benefit mankind is unprecedented. As such, it is a field that must be explored to its fullest. There are many facets to genetic engineering. The most common of these is recombinant DNA. This is a process through which the DNA of one organism is taken and combined with the DNA of another organism. The... ... Heredity: The Physical Basis of Heredity.?The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropedia. 15th ed., 1989. â€Å"Genetic Engineering.?The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Micropedia. 15th ed., 1989. McCuen, Gary E. Manipulating Life: Debating the Genetic Revolution. Hudson, Wisconsin: Gary E. McCuen Publications Inc., 1985. O’Neill, Terry, ed. Biomedical Ethics: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994. Rosenthal, Nadia. â€Å"Molecular Medicine: Tools of the Trade - Recombinant DNA.?The New England Journal of Medicine 04 August 1994: 315+. Ubell, Earl. â€Å"Should You Consider Gene TestingParade 12 January 1997: 8+. Voelker, Rebecca. â€Å"A Clone by Any Other Name Is Still an Ethical Concern.?Journal of the American Medical Association 02 February 1994: 331+. Wekesser, Carol, ed. Genetic Engineering: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1994.

Effective Approaches in Leadership and Management Essay

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the nurse ratios and how management and leaders effectively incorporate theories, principles and leadership styles and qualities that are effective in providing quality leadership and management to staff. There are differences in leaders and managers, in the styles, goals and qualities that define leaders and managers. The effects of the nurse patient ratio can be seen as well as felt on multiple levels of the facility. As far as nurse managers, they are on the closest level besides bedside nurses to see the effects of ratios. Studies have shown that higher nurse patient ratios lead to higher adverse outcomes for patients, lower patient satisfaction as well as higher nurse turnover , which increases costs to the facility. The article in the Journal of Clinical Nursing (2011) investigates the relationships between nurse staffing, nursing activities and adverse patient outcomes in the acute care setting as reported by nurses in Finland and the Netherlands. The study was performed using a cross-sectional, descriptive questionnaire. The study discusses tasks performed by nurses, as well as tasks performed by LPN’s and other staff. The studies show that nurses with higher patient ratio’s have higher incidence of medication administration errors, patient falls as lower patient satisfaction. The nurse manager has direct impact on the development and implementation of tools such as the staffing matrix, acuities scores and what is the policy for staffing. The nurses should be able to go to the managers with concerns regarding staffing issues. Nursing leaders look at the bigger picture, such as patient satisfaction but are also required to look at fiscal responsibilities that the facility has, as well as community events and support projects. Leaders look to improve and promote positive changes that will benefit the community served by the facility. Nurse leaders can evaluate how the policies and procedures are working, if they need to be changes to provide better quality of care. Nurse leaders also assist in educating staff on the reasons change is necessary and the steps that can be taken to effectively implement changes. Nurse managers are there to provide direction on daily tasks, support and as a resource  to staff. Typically, nurse managers deal with day to day running of the floor and issues that arise with staff and/or patients. Managers typically see issues that arise with current policies, provide direction to staff. It is understandable how management can be pulled in opposite directions such as what is best for nursing staff and patients may not be the same as what is good for the facility. Upper management does not always seem to have a grasp on the reality of the floor, the day to day issues of providing patient care and just what is necessary to maintain patient satisfaction. The theories and principles that best describe this writers philosophy is a mix. One theory or principle does not fit. A mix of situational, servant and participative includes the theories followed. Different situations can bring out different needs. An example in my facility is, with concerns regarding financial changes occurring in healthcare, rising costs to healthcare, a poor economy and decreased reimbursments, the leaders have to look at all those aspects, and evaluate the risk vs. benefits to nurse ratios. The nurse managers have to follow the rules set forth, and try to comply with the demands from upper management. It is expected by me that nurse managers look at the reality of the floor while keeping the needs of the facility in mind. Floor nurses are the advocates for the patient, and have a unique perspective of the needs of the floor. Managing staffing, acuities and patient care while also dealing with physicians, and upper  management requires effort and active participation. Leaders need to think outside the box, look at the bigger picture and then convince everyone that the changes are necessary, needed and beneficial. Both positions require skills such as good communication, good listening, being able to lead without dictatorship or by fear. Creating a positive environment while maintaining authority is not an easy task. Creating an atmosphere conducive to change while providing high quality care and keeping everyone happy is an even more difficult task. But both of these tasks require a relationship, trust and communication between all parties or departments involved. Staffing ratios have been studied, as seen in the study regarding work satisfaction (Nursing Economics, 2012) discusses the first staffing law that went into effect in California in 2004. The study showed that nurses with a lower nurse to patient ratio had a higher job satisfaction rate, as well as better patient satisfaction. The costs associated with high nurse turnover include more than just monetary costs. The safety risks to patients can not be ignored. Nurse managers can evaluate the effectiveness of the policies as they are closest to the floor nurses and patients. Nurse managers have a different and unique experience, as do nurse leaders. Both areas require active participation with daily interaction with staff. The staff needs to feel a part of the team, respected and listened to. To have an effective unit, collaboration between all levels needs to be in place. Effective managers and effective leaders can work together to achieve goals, while providing high quality patient care. References Hinno, S., Partanen, P., & Vehvilà ¤inen-Julkunen, K. (2012). Nursing activities, nurse staffing and adverse patient outcomes as perceived by hospital nurses. Journal Of Clinical Nursing, 21(11/12), 1584-1593. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03956.x Tellez, M. (2012). Work Satisfaction Among California Registered Nurses: A Longitudinal Comparative Analysis. Nursing Economic$, 30(2), 73-81.

Essay About Multitasking

Multitasking – â€Å"the ability to do several different things at once† Nowadays, people prefer to divide people in two groups; people who masters to multitask, and those who can’t. Almost everyone place themselves in the former group, thereafter they put the rest of the people in the latter. But of course most people are lying. I personally take advantage of multitasking daily to a certain extent, yes, practically all the time – in a certain level. And my perception of multitasking is the same as http://www. google. no/ ‘s perception on what multitasking is; it’s simply to have the ability to do several different things at once.But something that should be mentioned here is that no one can really multitask. It's when we think we're multitasking; we're only jumping from one thing to another. This way of doing things is addictive and can of course eventually cause us difficulties among our ability to concentrate. With other word; it is physica lly impossible for a human to do two things at the same time. Then, I don’t mean that it is completely impossible to do two things at the same time; such as talking while walking, or smiling while dancing.No, I mean that it is impossible to multitask – to do two things at the same time – as long as the two things that should be done at the same time, requires a lot of concentration and attention to be done correct. I guess you yourself are able to distinguish between which tasks that requires a lot of concentration, and which requires less. Whether you're driving a car while talking on the phone, or if you write e-mails during meetings, it is not true that you do both at once – it's impossible. Unlike the other examples I’ve already mentioned.What you actually do when you’re doing the concentration demanding-tasks is to focus on the first one and then the other, a so-called â€Å"switch-tasking†. Because if you’re doing two con centration demanding things at once , of course your concentration is divided between to tasks at the same time – therefore the result of your actions won’t be as good as they could’ve been – if the tasks were done separately and thoroughly. It's been proven time after time over the last years: multitasking is something only computers can do.What we humans do, when we think that we’re â€Å"multitasking†, is to jump from doing one thing to another, as mentioned earlier. But let us not forget that there's one more group; those who need to multitask. I'd most probably put myself in that group – the group of people who can't concentrate and focus on one specific thing unless she or he is doing at least one more thing at the exact same time. Now, you may call it ADHD, while I would rather call it being efficient.Of course there’s possible to listen to music while you’re doing your homework – to exclude the other actio ns around you, and to increase your concentration, like I personally do. But also here, the perceptions are different. Some people find hearing music while doing homework as disturbing. I think that the perception and the results of multitasking are different from person to person, depending on whom the person concerned is and what tasks there is to be done. A day should absolutely have more hours so all tasks on the to-do-list could’ve been done!But that isn’t something we can change†¦ so I think that the only thing we can do is to make the best out of it and remember to relax now and then. Sources: http://m. theglobeandmail. com/report-on-business/careers/careers-leadership/the-lunch/eileen-mercier-its-all-about-multitasking/article2021801/? service=mobile http://www. klikk. no/kvinneguiden/helse/article761396. ece http://www. universityessays. com/example-essays/business/the-ethics-of-multitasking. php http://www. webopedia. com/TERM/M/multitasking. html http:/ /www. tinbergen. nl/discussionpapers/11044. pdf

Ballet and Giselle

Giselle is considered one of the great Romantic ballets. Romantic era was late 18th and early 19th centuries. The period mainly does not follow rational movements but rather Romantic ideas in art influence the ballets. Ballets in Romantic period focus on the conflict between man and nature where as others try to bring difference to ballets from other nations. Ballerinas stand in the forefront compared to male dancers. Giselle is one of the most popular ballerinas of the period and separate identity of the scenarist from the choreographers is distinguishing feature of Giselle as being a Romantic ballet. Both the classical version of Giselle and contemporary has the same story but different interpretations, as I will analyze them in this paper. Giselle is a peasant girl who is betrayed by love. At the beginning nobleman Albrecht introduces himself as a farmer to Giselle and she falls in love with him. However she is unaware that Albrecht is the Duke. They flirt and she completely falls in love. Another guy Hilarion who is also in love with her warns her but she cant realize anything because of her love. They dance a duet and her feelings become more powerful. Also her mother warns her that she is sensitive. After realizing Duke has a fiance she goes mad with a broken heart. Giselle takes Albrecht's sword and her death is a result of her weak heart. She becomes a ghost and the second act is called ‘white act,’ which takes place in the mental institution. The ballet deals with the powerful sources of nature. There are full of emotions and at the end love wins betrayal and death. There are similar and distinguishing features between contemporary Giselle by Matz Ele and classic Giselle. Classical ballet is combination of all ballet dances. Ballet has slow and fluid motion. There are unique motions, precise and graceful movements. Their dance style is long reminding jazz music. However, contemporary ballet is more modern. The movements are rapid, energetic and dynamic. There are sharp and expressive gestures. Giselle shows her feelings very clearly and doesn’t hide them. Her body movements reflect her happiness, anger and love obviously. For instance, in the classical one Giselle is not dancing as close as in the contemporary one. They are more formal and their dance is more elegant. In the contemporary one Giselle and Albrecht dance very close and they touch each other. In one part even Giselle hugs her love as a woman. These clear expressions are not shown in the classical Giselle. Giselle is more like an adult. She doesn’t bend down when she is sad or she doesn’t jump on Albrecht like a child. She reflects the classical period’s formal characteristics. There aren’t close relationships like touching her love and jumping on him. The music is discriminative between two versions of Giselle. Compared to classical one in contemporary ballet music is very modern. Ballerinas dance figures are compatible with the music as well. Classical dancer Giselle dances at more extreme tempos and perform more technical feats. However, in contemporary Giselle doesn’t wear ballerina shoes and she dances barefoot. Her feats move more naturally. Also her hand gestures alter. She doesn’t bow her elbows and hands in classical dance. She dances in an order without extreme gestures. In the contemporary one she does man gestures, which is different than her friends as well. Her personality differs since she behaves like a boy and a child. Also the horns are altering in both versions. The applause is not with full energy in the contemporary one. So even though they are the same plotted ballets they represent a different period’s characteristics with the music and ballets expressions. Is Giselle an ideal beauty or is she more realistic? This dilemma is more obvious in the contemporary one because there isn’t beauty, especially in the second act. Giselle is devastated after learning Albrecht has a fiance. They wear all white and there isn’t excellence. She looses her consciousness. There comes the same music with the first act where she was dancing with joy. She is completely defeated to her destiny. Her happiness falls with the disappointment, which can be seen, from the change in music, costumes and dance in both classical and contemporary one. The coerdeau ballets have geometrical shapes in both but their movements differ. In classical one there is more elegance compared to the compared to the contemporary one. In addition Giselle as being a romantic ballet do not follow rationality. Both versions have altering points when the music, movements, costumes and relationship between man and woman are compared however; they have the same plot with different interpretation.

Nurses Notes Essay

Writing stays with you throughout your entire life, though you may not believe so. Hidden in your thoughts about your future career is the idea that writing will be part of your profession. After doing extensive research, I now realize how much writing will be involved with my chosen profession, a registered nurse. Writing in nursing can range from short, concise works to long, detailed, complex works. Writing as a nurse contains nurse’s notes, documentation, written reports, health records, flowcharts, care-plans, narratives, and if desired, professional journals for publication. The position within in the field also plays a role with the amount of writing needed to be done. The head of a department takes part in a lot more writing than a nurse. A head of a department holds a variety of duties when it comes to writing such as: staff proposals, budget proposals, department operations, policies and procedures, and protocols. A nurse must be able to follow the basic writing standards: writing clear, concise, and grammatically correct sentences, use proper punctuation, and demonstrate critical thought. Nurses are also expected to learn how to present information succinctly with their work being accessible to anyone who may read it. Nurses aim to write work that can be used in both clinical aspects of discipline and research. The field of nursing requires a nurse to be able to write swiftly and accurately. Nurses must also always be prepared to define their recorded information and writing. Records must be clear, concise, complete and accurate. The clichà © that is universally known, the job is not complete until the paperwork is completed is more true in health care than in any other profession, referring to the fact that a lot of writing is done in this workforce. Types of Writing: Nursing as a profession contains many different types of writing. Nurse’s notes are records that nurses who directly care for the patient, continuously record information. This includes the patient’s symptoms, medications given, and scheduled procedures or activities. Documentation reflects the care the care the nurse has or has not provided to the patient. Documentation is the nurse’s only form of legal proof that they did or did not do something for the patient. Nurse’s look at documentation as important as the actual care they are providing for their patient. Hands-on care and documentation carries equal importance in the eyes of a registered nurse. Documentation then becomes art of the patient’s medical record after the patient is either discharged or no longer living. Written reports are needed when the care of a patient is given over to another nurse. I interviewed Sharon Doll, a registered nurse at Glendive Medical Center who states that these written reports are very rare. â€Å"It is highly unlikely that you as a registered nurse will have to give the care of your patient over to another nurse.† (Personal interview, November 23, 2012) Health records, or medical records, consist of the accumulation of nurse’s notes. The records are held on file at the hospital and are referred to when needed. Health records consist of prescriptions prescribed to the patient, x-ray results, test results, reports, blood type, allergies and other important information about the patient that the care providers may need to be aware of. Recently, health records have transferred to being electronic, taking away from the writing perspective. Assessment check-boxes go hand-in-hand with health records as well, which are the summary of the symptoms of the patient. Flowcharts simply show the process that has been taken while caring for patients. They show the sequence in which the patient has followed. This is a concise review of the patient’s history and the care that was provided. Care-plans outline the nursing care that is to be provided to the patient. It is a set of actions that the nurse will take to provide the necessary care for the patient in hopes of full recovery. A care-plan consists of three parts: definition of the problem, intervention and/or solutions, and the evaluation of success or intervention and/or solution. Many times, care-plans are set out by the doctor because the doctor is not as available as the nurse. Care-plans are usually completed day-by-day and sort of run on a schedule. Narratives are important in nursing communication and important in the aspect of capturing the patient’s history and also the treatment they received. Narratives use standard abbreviations, are not written in first person, instead they refer to themselves as â€Å"the nurse†, and finally, rely on the communication with others. Professional journals for publication are optional for nurses but are quite popular. Journals are a compiled of the nurse’s experience, clinical practices, and their theoretical approaches and/or opinions. Nurses write journals to inform their audience, primarily formed of nursing students. Nurse’s journals give other people a first-hand look at their point of view and their job. If a nurse rises to the head of a department, he/she will face more writing than that of a registered nurse. Staff proposals and budget proposals are simply directed within the department. A staff proposal consists of the duties of the staff and the expectations they are held to. Budget proposals consist of the budget throughout the department and how it will be distributed. Department operations are the operations the department can fulfill. These include the day-to-day functioning of the department. Policies and procedures review the policies by which the employees must follow and the procedures they take before handling care for a patient. Finally, protocols refer to the steps of the procedures and experiments that are conducted by the department. Reflection: Montana State University prepares students to be successful in their chosen field. MSU offers Writing 101 and also University Seminar that covers the writing aspect. I think the preparation of MSU for nursing students and writing is sufficient due to the fact that the majority of the junior year in the pre-nursing major simply consists of all nursing classes. These classes will also review all aspects of nursing, including the writing that a registered nurse will complete within the profession. Conclusion: Overall, I was unaware of all the writing that was needed in the profession of a registered nurse. I did not think that I would do more than simply taking nurse’s notes. With these findings, I am very grateful for the writing courses offered at Montana State University.

Business Management ( Organizational Behavior ) Essay

Business Management ( Organizational Behavior ) - Essay Example I would show this trait to my boss by making myself indispensable in every difficult situation and by saying â€Å"It’s difficult but it will be taken care of† rather than â€Å"no it is impossible†. Vision: It is necessary that the leader should have the exposure, industry insight and knowledge of what other industry members are doing in similar situations in other parts of the world. This is required in order to be successful and keep the edge as compared to the competitors. For this purpose, I would visit all industry events including seminars, conferences, and exhibitions all over the world in order to keep myself updated and to be able to bring the new technology being practiced successfully in other countries to my organization. Role Model: In a leadership position, one should understand, that you should have personality traits including personal values, ethics and morals and a code of conduct that the other people in the organization and the publics outside the organization including vendors, shareholders, society and government officials not only find acceptable but also such that are desired in a person on the top. In other words, it’s not only your talent and work that matters but also your moral values and ethics that will win you a place at the top by inspiring others. To show this trait, I will strictly keep my religious views to myself, but understand the beliefs of everyone else and will avoid displaying controversial behavior in public including alcoholism, public demonstration of affection and irresponsibility especially in the office and at public areas. Networking: for any organization to be successful, it is necessary that the people leading it should have the necessary contacts and presence in the social and industry circles. To demonstrate this, I will have membership and an important role in industry or trade associations, network with the relevant Government

Unit 1 Individual Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 1 Individual Project - Essay Example This encompasses the specific allocation of goods for individuals and households. For an individual, it can be as simple as choosing the activity for the day. For a business organization, it includes the setting of the price level for a product or service and finding the equilibrium quantity which can maximize the profit to be generated. Macroeconomics, on the other hand, is more comprehensive as it involves the examination of the performance of the economy as a whole. Instead of simply looking at a single business organization, this means focusing on the entire industry taking into account all industry players regardless of size or bargaining power (Cybereconomics 2008). An example of the macroeconomics is the determination of the factors which causes the increase in the Gross Domestic Production of China which has showed significant growth in the recent years. Being the vice president for sales for a reputable business organization, I am responsible for the purchasing decision for the company. At other times, I also handle the recruitment and application processing for prospective employees. These tasked have allowed me to utilize microeconomics in making my decisions. The purchase of input for the company’s operation has a lot of implication for the price of the product that we manufacture and in turn, the level of profit that we generate. Employing the skills and techniques that I have learned in microeconomics, I always make sure that I am buying inputs at the lowest possible cost which includes minimizing the cost per item, cost of ordering, and cost of handling the inventory. I make use of the economic quantity model which really helped our business organization maximize profits by the elimination of unwanted cost. The macroeconomics portion concerns my task in hiring prospective applicants. When searching for the right person for the job, I look beyond the knowledge and the skill of the candidate and also look at the people working for

Video critique Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Video critique - Assignment Example stand why these drug cartels spend large sums of money in hiring huge numbers of men and buying weapons that would help to safeguard the drugs, the reporter highlights the economic value the drugs have to the cartels. It is estimated that the drug lords amass billions of dollars every year from drug trafficking. The reporter mentions the role that the police department plays in trying to deal with gangs in the country. Police use either excessive force or are reluctant to fight the drug scourge, and this is well-detailed in the documentary. Some interviewers reveal that police are reluctant to assist in cases involving the citizens and the different gangs, and this has led to a lot of suffering to families whose relatives are innocently murdered by the gangs. One of the strengths possessed by the video is that the reporter has tried obtaining information from the key players in the drug syndicate, which is the police, citizens and some drug dealers. Going to the mountainous parts of the country where the drugs are planted with army troops is also a strength of the video as from it; an individual can tell how dangerous it is for people to access the place. Any information given by the common person is the most reliable as they represent the whole society and the reporter’s decision to interview the local people is a strength of the video. From the interviews, it is clear that the financial gain is the main reason people get into the drug syndicate. A major limitation of the video is the reporter’s choice to concentrate only on one town where the drug lord is highly respected and loved. The drug lord either buys or threatens the people of the city and this makes them become very loyal to him and his group members. It would have been better for the reporter to go to the other towns and cities that are not run financially with money got from the drug business as people may not be speaking so highly of the drug lord. It is easy for an individual to discern that

Education in developing countries Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Education in developing countries - Assignment Example This part of investment by any firm can defines any part of then organization labor ability and it is very essential for the productivity of any firm. To be noted is that not the whole world population is referred to as the working population but only that portion that is able, willing and working on agreed wage rate. In any developing country and economy work force is a necessity that is required to propel its growth. This makes human capital very essential as it is cheap and readily available in the developing countries (Becker, 1993). Q.2 Explain some of the reasons why developing countries have not realized a greater positive development impact from their higher education programs. In this context, why should the development of a solid elementary education system take precedence over an expansion of the university system in developing countries? Developing countries need a solid base for elementary education because majority of the jobs are not technical. Industries are not well developed and casual works are the basis f their economy. Higher education though needed is for the few who are only needed to supervise the majority who only require elementally education and knowledge. Developing countries can import these few university graduates but it will cost more if they were to do the same for the unskilled human work force (Becker, 1993). Therefore, elementary education should be invested for more by these countries. Like wise due to underdevelopment and poor governance productivity of these nations is poor and they heavily depend on imports thus their production is for raw materials. Q.3 In developing countries higher educational facilities have tended to expand to the point where social benefits exceed private benefits. What is the economic explanation for this? Due to poor governance and unplanned occurrences social benefits have exceeded private benefits as organizations and external investor try to compensated the void. This has diluted the gap making these organizations bend towards social benefits rather than have private motives. This has made an economic impact as there is investment in the education sector that is very essential in the growth of any economy. Furthermore, there is direct investment that is injecting money directly into the economy as well as offering employment to the citizens. These institutions also pay taxes directly to the central government and this helps in the management of the economy through government expenditures. Q 4.Explain how a better-educated population will also tend to be a healthier, and vice versa, that a healthier population will tend to be better educated. In this context, how can an increase in human capital lead to an increase in GDP? Why might it not lead to an increase in GDP? Educated populations will always be healthier as this adds to their knowledge, experience and time management. Good investment options can only be made through well thought ides and these skills require educat ion in order for them to materialize. Higher education therefore contributes to a higher GDP for the developing countries as productivity is achieved and also by them using their own citizens cutting on importation of labor. However, this may not be the case if everybody acquires higher education as majority would not fit in their job description and as earlier stated the economies