Friday, November 29, 2019

Cadbury free essay sample

Cadbury India Ltd. is a part of the Mondelez International group of companies and is in the business of creating a delicious world producing delectable chocolate confectionaries, gum and candy products, and popular beverages and foods that include many of Indias most popular and trusted food brands. Over the years they have won customers hearts and achieved a 70 percent market share in the chocolates category in India. Their flagship brand Cadbury Dairy Milk (CDM) is considered the Gold Standard for chocolates the pure taste of CDM defines the chocolate taste for the Indian consumer. Ranked fourth among Indias most admired companies by Fortune India, in 2012, Cadbury India is a part of Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ), the global snacking and food company and a spin-off from Kraft Foods Inc. Mondelez International is the worlds largest chocolatier, biscuit baker and candy maker, and the second-largest maker of gum. Cadbury India has been in India for over 60 years, having started in 1948 as an importer of chocolates. We will write a custom essay sample on Cadbury or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Their large community extends into Indias agricultural spaces. Since 1965, Cadbury has pioneered and enhanced the development of cocoa cultivation in India. For over two decades, they have worked with the Kerala Agricultural University to undertake cocoa research and improve cocoa yields. Headquartered in Mumbai, Cadbury India has sales offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and six manufacturing facilities at Thane, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Induri (Pune), Malanpur (Gwalior) and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh). Mission and Vision Statements of Cadbury India Mission: Cadbury’s mission statement says simply: ‘Cadbury means quality’; this is our promise. Our reputation is built upon quality; our commitment to continuous improvement will ensure that our promise is delivered’. Vision: Cadbury India has defined its vision as â€Å"Life full of Cadbury and Cadbury full of life† Marketing Strategy Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Segmentation One notable form of customer segmentation that Cadbury utilizes is behavioural segmentation, which is based on actual customer decision-making processes towards Cadbury’s products. Once dividing these customers by that base, they target them by providing specific product offerings. The relevant segments are the following: The Break Segment, Impulse Segment and Take-home Segment. Break Segment This segment describes products which are normally consumed as a snatched break and often with tea or coffee. This would make up a part of a meal and usually will be used a form of dessert substitution. Some examples of products that cater to this would be the Dairy Milk range. Impulse Segment These products are most often purchased on impulse while consumers are walking buy or shopping for other household goods. They are strategically placed at eye-level or near the checkout counter so that consumers can make an unplanned purchase. Promotions are also often used to encourage consumers to purchase the chocolates. Both the Cadbury dairy milk block-size and bite-size could be purchased on impulse, depending on its packaging and its presentation. Take-home Segment This describes products that are normally purchased in supermarkets, taken home and consumed at a later stage due to its sheer quantity. Part of this segment is called the gift segment, where the consumers will take home a box of chocolates in the form of a gift for someone else. An example of this would be Cadbury’s large Dairy Milk blocks or the Cadbury Celebrations box. Targeting Unless markets are targeted with the product offerings, very few will buy the product. Therefore, Cadbury India has distinguished its product offerings to specific class of consumer groups. For example, Cadbury Temptations and Bourneville are meant for higher end consumer groups who are willing to pay more for the dark chocolates. More recently, Cadbury has introduced SILK as a product offering and targets anyone who can’t resist chocolate. Cadbury SILK is only another product item in the CDM product line. Positioning Positioning is defined as the way by which the marketers attempt to create a distinct impression in the customers mind. For kids, the word Cadbury’s is synonymous with chocolates; and the company’s many taglines resonate with the emotions of the people across segments. E. g. : â€Å"Kuch meetha ho jaye†, â€Å"the perfect expression of love†, etc. Marketing Mix PRODUCT The average company will compete for customer by conforming to his expectation consistently. But the winner will surpass them by constantly exceeding his expectation, delivering to his door step additional benefits which he would never have imagined. Cadbury’s offer such product. The wide variety products offered by the company include: Chocolate Confectionary Dairy Milk Fruit Nut 5 Star Break Perk Gems Eclairs Nutties Temptation Milk Treat Beverages Food Drinks Bourn vita Drinking chocolate Cocoa PRICE The strategy used by Cadbury’s is for matching the value that customer pays to buy the product with the expectation they have about what the production is worth to them. Cadbury’s has launched various products which cater to all customer segments. So every customer segment has different price expectation from the product. Therefore maximizing the returns involves identifying right price level for each segment, and then progressively moving through them. Dairy Milk: Rs. 15 Perk: Rs. 10 5 Star: Rs. 10 Friut and Nut: Rs. 22 Gems: Rs. 10 Break :Rs. 5 Nutties: Rs. 18 Bournvita (500 gm): Rs. 104 Drinking chocolate: Rs. 50 PLACE Cadbury’s distribution network has expanded from 1990 distributors last year to 2100 distributors and 4,50,000 retailers. Beside use of IT to improve logistics, Cadbury is also attempting to improve the distribution quality. To address the issue of product stability, it has installed visi colors at several outlets. This helps in maintaining consumption in summer when sales usually drops due to the fact that the heat affects product quality and thereby off takes. Looking at the low penetration of the chocolate, a distribution expansion would itself being incremental volume. The other reason is arch rival Nestle reaches more than a million retailers. This increase in distribution is going to be accompanied by reduction in channel costs. Cadbury’s marketing costs, at 18% of total costs, is much higher than Nestle’s 12% or even pure sugar confectionery major Parry’s 11%. The company is looking to reduce this parity level. At Cadbury, they believe that selling confectionery is it like selling soft drinks. PROMOTION Findings showed that the adults felt too conscious to be seen consuming a product actually meant for children. The strategic response addresses the emotional appeal of the brand to the child within the adult. Naturally, that produced just the value vacuum that Cadbury was looking to fill. Thereafter it was the job of the advertising to communicate customer the wonderful feeling that he could experience by re-discoursing the careful, unselfish conscious, pleasure – seeking child within him – and graft these feeling onto the Ad campaign like â€Å"Khane Walon Ko Khane Ka Bahana Chahiye† for CMD and â€Å"Thodi Si Pet Pooja – Kabhi Bhi Kahin Bhi† for Perk have been sure shot winner with the audience. Whirl with the new launched temptations with the slogan â€Å"Too Good to Share† the communication resolves around the reluctance of a person who’s got their hand on a bar of temptation to let anyone else to have a bite. As well as outdoor and radio ads, ad agencies have created communications for cinemas and even ATM machines for the brand. All ICICI’s ATM a message flashes on the screen as soon as customer inserts his ATM card. It tells the customer that this would be good time to get out of his temptation since he/she is bound to be alone. In cinemas, Cadbury has a message on-screen just before the lights are dimmed to give them a chance to get their temptations. Products like Eclairs has got potential for much wide distribution, e. g. : in small sweets that airlines, hostels, and up market retail outlet offer to guest and customers. Looking beyond traditional promotional channels, Cadbury’s has also entered promoting its products through the internet. Besides three company websites (i. e. www. cadburyindia. com, www. bournvita. com, www. cadburygift. com) that the company has launched, it has also entered into various marketing relationship with other portals, specially targeted during festivals and events such as Valentine’s Day, etc. Growth Strategy and Market Expansion Cadbury India has launched some of the very creative advertisements over the years, and these ads have been close to Indian ethos. For E. g. the ‘shubh aarambh’ Dairy Milk’s ad which relate to the Indian tradition of having some sweet before doing some important work or ‘kuch meetha ho jaye’ which associated Dairy Milk chocolates with celebratory occasions. Ads like ‘meethe mein kuch meetha ho jaye’ have got a lot of favour with the audience. These ads, in typical Cadbury style, are very heart-warming and creative. If we look through the years, we can clearly see that Cadbury is doing everything possible to maintain a strong hold on the Indian chocolate market. While it remains a dominant leader with over 70% of the market share, this has eroded over the years as competitors like Nestle, Amul and CAMPCO have made strong forays. There was a time before and during the early 90s when Cadbury’s enjoyed an even higher market share. This was the time when chocolates were very clearly positioned for children. However, with the entry of global giant Nestle, two things happened. Firstly, there was a sudden spurt of competition for Cadbury. But more importantly, the market began to grow at a faster pace. Cadbury seized this opportunity and started creating advertisements that were targeted towards the ‘kids in all of us’. This was a very smart move as they already had the children’s segment all tied up. Moreover, the children of the 90s have now grown up, and Cadbury still offers them reasons to eat Dairy Milk. Hence, while their market share has eroded by a few points, Cadbury has significantly improved its revenues in absolute terms by evolving a long term advertising plan and one that is very relevant to the Indian context. With predominantly Indian themes, special moments (remember the girl dancing on the cricket field) and soulful music, Cadbury has really managed to connect with the audience. The recent ‘meethe mein kuch meetha ho jaye’ campaign is simply a continuation of this strategy to expand the market. In conclusion, Cadbury Dairy Milk has managed to take a simple chocolate bar and create numerous associations with it over the years. It has built up different audiences over the years, and to every audience it offers a different meaning but one that is very relevant. Communication Strategy:- Cadbury was the one having 70 % market shares in chocolate industry. Out of which 30% was the Dairy Milk alone. This is because of constant re-invention of the brand bombarding communication towards the consumers consistently to maintain the top position in mind recall in confectionery segment. Dairy Milk was awarded as No. 1most trusted brand in Mumbai 2005 for the edition of Brand Equity’s most trusted Brand Survey. Dairy Milk targeted all the aspects as possible to get into the heart of all the people, ofall age groups. For this they communicated with people through different Ad’s Campaigns. Let us see few of them below: Khane walo KO Khane ka Bahana Chahiye Pappu Paas Ho Gaya Shubh Aarambh was one of successful campaigns of Dairy Milk. This means Auspicious Beginning. With this campaign they said that for whatever you start, start it with Dairy Milk and it will be successful. For this they chose the best to advertise: Amitabh Bacchhan. Marketing Channels Cadbury used different media options to communicate different campaigns and promote their products. They are: Outdoor, Television, Radio, Internet, TV Advertisements is the most popular method for Cadbury to show their new campaigns to people so that they can more and more relate it with their personal lives. They also have ground promotions in different malls. They arrange some contests also to promote their brand. Cadbury’s has also engaged the services of various celebrities including Amitabh Bachan, Preity Zinta, etc. to promote the brand. It has sponsors several events to expand its presence in markets/ areas where it has not penetrated deep enough. Competitor’s Analysis The main competitors in confectionery market are Nestle, Amul , ITC and Parle. Product Feature Nestle Amul Cadbury Market Position 2nd 3rd 1st No. of variants Many Few Many Gift Packs Yes No Yes Objective To be the world’s largest and best branded food manufacturer, whilst ensuring that the brand name Nestle is synonymous with products of the highest quality Confectioneries just happens to be a side business for Amul whose core competency lies in milk and milk products To grow the market for chocolate confectionery To increase share in the snacking sector Strategy Integrated cost leadership/differentiation Wide range of products Low cost of operators No differentiated strategy Growing the market by apt pricing strategy that will create a mass market and to have offerings in every category to widen the market Beside these, substitutes to Cadbury’s offerings include soft drink companies, ice cream companies, gift shops, etc both generic as well as branded. Marketing Environment Analysis Porters 5 forces Analysis: Cadbury free essay sample Cadbury started off in 1824 with 22 year old John Cadbury who opened his first shop in Birmingham, where he sold tea, coffee, mustard and a sideline of cocoa and drinking chocolate. In 1831, he then rented a small factory not far from his shop. He there became a manufacturer of drinking chocolate and cocoa, which set down the foundation for the Cadbury chocolate business. They then expanded and decided to build a factory in Tasmania, Australia. Since then Cadbury has continued expanding and merging with other companies for example, Kraft. In 1967, Cadbury bought MacRobertson Chocolates, which gave the company another major manufacturing base in Australia- Ringwood in Melbourne, Victoria. During 1969, Cadbury then merged with the well-known Australian brand Schweppes, which created the new name Cadbury Schweppes. Cadbury continued expanding when they acquired Red Tulip confectionary in the 1980s, which broadened their range of products especially for Easter specials. In 1995, Cadbury branched off into China and established a factory in the town of Beijing. We will write a custom essay sample on Cadbury or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page On 27th February 2009, Cadbury Schweppes Pty Ltd, the well-known confectionary and beverages business, formally separated and continued running as separate companies. Then in April of that year, Cadbury in Australia changed their name back to Cadbury Pty Ltd. A few years later in 2010, Cadbury Australia then became part of Kraft Foods. Who then later changed their name to Modelez International in the October of 2012. Level of Operations and Mechanism Cadbury are a multinational company and operate in many countries throughout the world. They are the second largest confectionary brand in the world. Their head office at the Cadbury House in London, England, and it occupies roughly 84,000 square feet inside the building. Flow Process Chart of Production of Chocolate: Research and Development In 2006, Cadbury opened up their first RD centre in Southeast Asia, seeking to drive growth in their market. In that year they spend $78 million dollars on RD expenses. Not long after that the in 2012, in Bournville a developmental kitchen and testing lab were built. This RD building will also be used for developing new products throughout Cadbury. In 2012, a lot of Cadbury’s RD money went into designing a chocolate bar that doesn’t melt even at 40-degree heat. This may coast a lot of money to research and have trial tastings, but when the outcome came good, they then opened up a whole new market to themselves as they could now sell chocolate in the warm-weather countries that lack the supply-chain infrastructure to deliver conventional chocolate to the market. Quality Assurance Cadbury monitor their production processes to ensure that all their products are produced with high quality and meet the needs of consumers needs. If they don’t view and meet consumer’s needs, the customer could loose interest if their demands are not met or acknowledged. To enforce all of this, Cadbury have supervisors who monitor the company’s machines, and also other workers and the products they are producing. Total quality management ensures that their products produce good taste to the consumer and are appealing. Also ensures that customer complaints are solved etc. Throughout the production and distribution of Cadbury chocolate (Flow chart) there are many critical control points, involving temperature and time. From the consistency of the mixture, to the temperatures when tempering and also transporting the molds, there are many times where Cadbury workers have to monitor and do regular sampling to ensure their consumers are getting the best quality and consistent chocolate bars by Cadbury. Consumer Influences Cadbury believe responding to their customer’s demands and requests will continue to keep them up in the top third of the confectionary market. Also bringing out new products and giving the consumers a variety to choose from will allow them to not get bored of Cadbury and continue to support them. Cadbury recently decreased the size of their chocolate bars but kept the same prices for all even though they lost 4 grams of chocolate as they brought out their new innovation of ‘curved bars’. But a year or so later they responded to consumers and increased it again by 10% due to all the feedback they were receiving. Impact on the Environment As one of Australia’s most loved brands, Cadbury are very committed to environmental sustainability. They have joined forces with the Red Group and Coles to recover and recycle plastic bags and their packaging to reduce the environmental impact of plastics. They have recently set up an idea of using the recycled packaging from The Natural Confectionary Company, Cadbury milk blocks, bars and share packages and other shopping bags and food packaging, and using it all to create furniture, which would then be donated to volunteer organisations in need. Between 2006-09, Cadbury took on a water efficient production process, which reduced their water consumption by 17%. In that time they also reduced their carbon emissions by 3%. Impact on the Economy In Australia, Cadbury own roughly 35% of the local confectionary market. Worldwide, Cadbury works around 35000 direct and indirect suppliers, to create their products and to ensure that all aspects of the business are running smoothly and to standard. As levels of production increased each year for Cadbury, they noticed their annual revenue was also showing significant increases. In 2008, Cadburys annual revenue was $985 million. Cadburys CEO, Todd Stitzer has an annual salary of $1,834,877, with added bonuses sometimes which boost his income up even more. In 2008, there was a strong growth in the markets for Cadbury in the Asia Pacific region. In New Zealand and Australia the revenue grew overall, which then increased competition for them. There was a good growth in all three of their categories, with chocolate being the biggest growth of 7%, candy was 5% and gum was 2%. This shows Cadbury’s dominance in the market and Australian Food Industry, which then overall increases both profits and working opportunities. A chocolate bar accounts for 42% of the total confectionary market, 26% is chocolate blocks, and 10% is boxed chocolates, which then roughly adds up to roughly two thirds of the confectionary market. For market growth to occur there needs to be population growth and competitive pricing. Consumer’s interests have to be constantly motivated which will increase sales growth in the Australian Food Industry. A wide range of confectionary is regularly imported into Australia at 5% tariff rate, and around 1999-2000 confectionary imports were as high as $213 million. Cadbury is one of the highest suppliers in Australia being 35% of the market share, making them a dominant supplier. Ingredients are imported to Australia, and then Cadbury Australia export to Singapore and the Philippines. Impact on Society Cadbury recognise and take responsibility that what is does as a business impacts on both communities and the lives of their consumers. They tend take their corporate and social responsibility seriously. Cadbury have said they offer their employees nothing but respect and cared for their welfare. Cadbury offer jobs to people all over the world and have roughly 110,000 employs working throughout the many factories they have. As a business Cadbury believe in respecting human rights and trading ethically in the way they work, not just within their little operations but also how they interact with the wider value chain. Good ethics and good business go together naturally to produce the best long-term effects for their workers and also consumers. Career Opportunities and Working Conditions Modelez are a global team of 110,000 colleagues working in 165 countries. They help create and grow some of the world’s most iconic brands such as Cadbury and Oreo biscuits. They’re a big company and every colleague maters to them. Each and every one of them have the chance to make a mark and be recognised. But Cadbury by themselves is a major global confectionary company who employ 50,000 staff worldwide. They value their people and believe in inspiring each other to achieve greater things, and making the most of ones capabilities. Cadbury offer careers across a broad range of professional fields and cater for learning and the development of skills people have to advance in their careers with them. Career opportunities include within Cadbury: Sales (including Territory Managers and Merchandisers) Supply Chain Finance Commercial/Marketing Science and Technology Payroll Administrative Human Resources Information Technology Legal Field Manager

Monday, November 25, 2019

Reaction Paper on “Immortality on Ice” Essays

Reaction Paper on â€Å"Immortality on Ice† Essays Reaction Paper on â€Å"Immortality on Ice† Essay Reaction Paper on â€Å"Immortality on Ice† Essay The movie that we watched was about reviving a person from the dead. This is said to be done in the future but they had already started researching how to use ice as a power to revive a clinically dead person. They used ice as a method to preserve a body and now they are planning on how to revive a person through the use of nanotechnology that can repair all the cells that were ruptured n the freezing process. The technology that they were referring in the movie is called Cryonics. This Cryonics would enable a man to prolong his life and at the same time be able to revive himself in certain conditions. As a technology, it also has technological system which various aspects. The first aspect is the techniques or human activity-form. In the Cryonics, it was seen on how people preserved a dead body. In Egypt, the dead people were mummified and preserved in order to reach the second life. In Cryonics, they also want to follow this ritual or activity. They want to preserved a dead body in order to revive it and not for the preparation of the afterlife. With this technology, they can prolong the life of a person or they can make people â€Å"immortal†. The technique that they will use in technology is the power of ice to preserve a dead body. Their example is a frog that was frozen to dead and was still able to revive itself when the ice melted. The second aspect of the technological system is resources, tools, or materials. In studying Cryonics and to further develop its technology, they are using dead bodies that are stored in a freezing apparatus that has liquid nitrogen to preserve a body. All the tools that they will be using are located in their laboratories. Their tools and apparatus would enable them to further study and analyze their research on how to revive a frozen dead body. The third aspect is the technological products and artifacts. In the technological system, the products that were created by different techniques were called artifacts. This can also serve as resources in some technological process. The artifacts in the Cryonics are the new life or the prolonged life that would be possessed by a human when he undergoes the technological techniques that were used in Cryonics. Although there is still o artifacts produced to the lack of technological advancement on the field but they said that in the future this technology would be present. Right now, they are piling dead bodies to be preserved so that in future they would be revived again. The fourth aspect pertains to the ends, function or valence of the technology. Man always seeks on how he can prolong his life here on earth. The function of this technology is basically to pro long and enhance the life of man and to be able to extend the limitation to another level. With this, the desire and needs of man to be â€Å"immortal† could be attained. To be with your love one forever and to defy the death are of the function of this technology. The fifth aspect is the factual knowledge. This pertains on how the technology will work and how it operates. In the Cryonics, they made use of the other organisms of animal that are capable of reviving itself after being frozen. When the body was frozen, it stops all cellular action and in turn the body was clinically dead but some animals like the frog has the capability to reanimate itself after beng frozen the has an innate mechanism that allow them to do that. In humans, we are not capable of that that why the cryonbiologists are still searching a way to be able to know how to resurrect and frozen body. With this, it plays a role in the further development of the technology. The last aspect is the social context or organization in which technologists are developed, distributed and employed. This pertains to the division of labor, where each has different task but has similar goal and same accomplishment and that is to be able to enhance the life of humans. In the institute, where Cryonics were conducted, it is composed of different people with different fields. There are programmer, cryontechnicians, cryonbiologists, engineers and many more. All of the make-up a institution that is will make â€Å"immortality of ice possible†. All of these people have different specializations but they all contribute make the technology that would enable to revived a frozen body possible. The technology is made due to interaction of different fields and this is the most important aspect of technology. Without the help of other fields the technology would not advance. In the movie, the dynamic relationship of science and technology on Cryonics is that the technology is dependent on the science. This is based on my understanding and based on what I saw in the movie. The technology that would enable to reanimate a frozen dead body in not yet feasible in the present. Although science and technology are independent the technology to revive a frozen body is still dependent to science. Without proper knowledge on how to fix all the ruptured cells on frozen body, the techniques and technology would not be able to advance. The people in the institute admit to themselves that in the present there will not be able to resurrect the frozen bodies. But they said that in the future, together with the advancement on technology, they would be able to reanimate a frozen dead body. They still need to gather more knowledge and expand research on nanotechnology to be able to make a technology that can revive a person or enhance its quality of life by extending it to the normal life expectancy of man. All they were doing today are series of research and experiment to further developed the technology they had today. I am not saying that the technology is always dependent on the science. Science and technology are mutually interdependence. The science shows the principle on technology will work and in return the technology helps the science to advance itself. An example of this is Microbiology. Without the invention of microscope, the field Microbiology, Cytology and Genetics will not be born. And absent in the advancement of either one of this will result in stagnation of the other. With the advancement of this technology, there are ethical issues that would arise from the technological system. First kind of ethical problem is the questions about how ethical values and norms apply n new technological context. This can be seen in the arising of moral concerns against the church. Reanimating a dead person defies the presence of a God, who has the power to give and take the lives of the person according to church. It also defies the law of nature. Reanimating of a dead is a mortal sin for the religious sects. This is the main ethical issue that would arise when the technology would be completed. Another kind of ethical issue that would arise is the questions concerning distributive justice and equality. With the advancement of technology in Cryonics, only a group or a class of people would benefit from this technology. Only the rich, elite and powerful will have an easy access on this technology. Since the technique would surely be expensive, not all people will be able to be brought back to life once they had died. Not all people will have equal chances to have a so called â€Å"immortal† life. Due to limited sources and facilities of the technology and the massive population of the human, only the powerful, rich and elite people would have the advantages on the technology. Thus, the questions on social justice and equality would arise due to technological innovation. The last kind of ethical issue that would arise is the question about the technology’s power to create dramatic changes. With the advancement in Cryonics and if the technology that can enhance the life of human to become â€Å"immortal† would be realistic then it would cause a greater problem to ourselves and the environment. Together with the enhancement of life, there would be decrease in the death rate of the humans. This would imply a more rapid growth in the population of the humans. With the increasing number of people and limited resources, there would be competition among people and other creatures. This would lead to an ecological imbalance. This advancement of technology would alter the world by destroying the environment to have a shelter, extinction of other organisms due to lack of habitat, and arising of wars due to completion on natural resources. Together with the advancement n technology, we the people who created it should also have limitation on what kind of technology we are making. Technology s a double edge sword that is both beneficial and detrimental at the same time. It is up to the people on how the will make used of the technology. We should not only look on the benefit we get on the technology but we should also think the consequences before it become too late to fix the problems brought by technological advancement.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Analyse a text connected with your degree subject (which is Film and Essay

Analyse a text connected with your degree subject (which is Film and TV Studies) by applying the ideas of Marx and Althusser - Essay Example what Marx has said about History in his book The holy family, or Critique of critical criticism (1844), Generic thinks it should be understood that â€Å"cinema doesnt make itself, cinema isnt made for itself, cinema is made by and for us. Films relation to the mass becomes a question of how to understand its situation as a medium capable of reaching many millions of people, potentially disparate in place and time.† (Generic. 2006). In today’s world, cinema is still one of the most influential medium to reach a large mass of people across the world. All the social, political, cultural and ideological issues which have, or could have created raves in the history of human beings are dealt from a common or unusual perspective in cinema. A section of people use this medium to express their ideas and beliefs on a particular topic which sometimes collide with the established school of thoughts, and sometimes greatly accepted. The underlying discussion on the above-mentioned b ook focuses specifically on the aspect of feminism in line with the perceptions of Karl Marx and Louis Althusser. Marx’s ideology of history being the struggle between classes is also applicable in the history of feminism. Women as a dominated class have struggled for identity and existence against the male class. They have fought for their freedom from patriarchal control, for their rights and privileges as independent human beings. Women have evolved through slavery to primitive communism- a term supposed to have introduced by Marx to indicate rights of an individual to basic resources and freedom from authoritarian rule and hierarchical social structure. The Marxist theory of feminism focuses on shattering of capitalism in order to emancipate women. The capitalist society, which largely values personal assets to demarcate the social position of an individual, is at the base of women’s oppression, according to Marxist feminism. Marx and Engel analyses that if the capitalist society, which

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Analysis of Letter to the American people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Letter to the American people - Essay Example to dissolve in religious frenzy that prompts him to submit: â€Å"(Q2) As for the second question that we (bin Laden) want to answer: What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you? (1) The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam. (Letter). Thus bin Laden is merely a religious salesman and because of this does not possess the credibility to speak for the Islamic world regarding other issues. Firstly, the charges he levels against US support of Israel seem vacant in light of certain realities. He accuses us, saying, â€Å"As for the first question: Why are we fighting and opposing you? The answer is very simple: (1) Because you attacked us and continue to attack us... You attacked us in Palestine.† (Letter) Of course by this he means through our support of Israel, Palestinians have suffered. Or does he? Many critics point out that al Qaeda has been conspicuously absent from any efforts to help the Palestinians in any way other than vocal support for suicide bombers, the satisfaction of which is reflected in his statement... "Think not of those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive with their Lord, and they are being provided for. They rejoice in what Allah has bestowed upon them from His bounty and rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are left behind (not yet martyred) that on them no fear shall come, nor shall they grieve. They rejoice in a grace and a bounty from Allah, and that Allah will not waste the reward of the believers." [Quran 3:169-171] (Letter) He attempts to prove a point, and it’s a religious one having nothing to do with the Palestinians securing their own state—a position forwarded by many American diplomats over the years and just recently given as a stated goal of the Obama administration. This goal, as it appears at the moment, comes over the objections of the new Israeli leadership. â€Å"...you attacked us in Palestine,† is a clear effort to connect the Palestinians with

Monday, November 18, 2019

How democracy caused the fall of athens greece Essay

How democracy caused the fall of athens greece - Essay Example The general standard of living became better, the poor earning more than before. The equality of rights for all, regardless of their class, was introduced. Later, great pieces of art and literature were produced. That period is called the ‘Golden Age’ of Athens. The people enjoyed being the ones helping out in creating new laws. The head went through their suggestions, so the city was ruled keeping everybody’s thoughts and wants in mind. The Athenians seemed to be happy in the way their city was governed. Several years later though, questions were raised and arguments arose regarding the democratic system. Greece produced many philosophers which are famous now like Socrates, his pupil Plato and Aristotle. They were great thinkers and had their own theories concerning the ruling of their city. Their questions and thoughts led to the rest of the general public raise their own queries until there was a general unrest. Nothing quite major, but the seeds of uncertainty were laid and one could easily imagine what the future could entail. There were several rulers who governed the state, Perciles being the most loved and greatest. But after his death, Athens did not remain to its former glory and that was partially due to the decision made by him whilst he was alive. Athens and Sparta were both powerful cities and great competitors. When the latter saw

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Strategic flexibility in interpersonal relationships.

Strategic flexibility in interpersonal relationships. REFLECTIVE PAPER How many times have you heard someone say something like this: â€Å"he just doesnt understand me† or â€Å"there has been a breakdown in communications between us†? Lack of good communication between people is a constant problem. As the author, Richard, points out in the first chapter, â€Å"The Communication Process†, communication skills are crucial to both getting the best out of people and extricating oneself from difficult situations. Nowhere is this more evident than in the personal relationships we form with family and friends. The author introduces the idea of â€Å"Strategic Flexibility† (SF), which means that a person uses every communication tool he has in order to effectively get his point across in a given situation. SF is not limited to words but expands into a whole â€Å"communication repertoire† that can include gestures, expressions, body language and tone of voice. SF is characteristic of people who are successful not only in their professions but in their personal relationships as well. The authors description of SF has six steps: anticipate circumstances; assess the factors and conditions you find yourself in; evaluate the current situation in relation to your own abilities; select the most relevant communication skills you possess; apply the first 4 steps carefully; and reassess your communication after receiving feedback. Finally, creativity is also key to communicating effectively as it allows the speaker flexibility and adaptability. In applying this model to my own life, I began to consider some of my friendships and how they have either been strengthened or weakened because of a certain style of communication between us. Some years ago I had a friend I became quite close with very quickly called Julia. She was exuberant, funny and full of drama. We not only worked together but also went to bars together, out dancing, to comedy clubs and generally palled around. Hanging out with her was full of extreme ups and downs. At one point, Julia was having a great deal of trouble getting what she needed from her immediate supervisor, Rob. Rob and I were also friends. Julias frustration with Rob and Robs frustration with Julia was beginning to affect everyone else who worked with them. I offered to speak to Rob alone on Julias behalf, thinking that hearing some of her complaints and concerns from a third party might make Rob more receptive after all, he and I got along smoothly. I took Rob out for a drink and noticed immediately how uncomfortable he was. His body language said it all he found it hard to make eye contact, was hunched over in a corner of the table and smiled nervously from time to time. He really did not want to hear any of what I had to say. I had an idea in my head of the role I wanted to play with Rob. I planned to be firm and reasonable and to avoid raising my voice or showing anything but understanding that the dynamic between him and Julia was problematic. But I thought that I could help fix it if only I could get Rob to agree to have more regular and business-like meeting with Julia where they could discuss their issues and, with luck, sort them out effectively. But what wound up happening is that although I kept my voice even, all I did was put Rob on the defensive. I never really asked him for his side of the story and just assumed that everything Julia told me was the way things really were. I had arrived with this assumption because I knew others had occasionally found Rob difficult to communicate with. He could be a bit dry and sarcastic. But he was also very driven and good at his job, which was quite demanding in a number of ways. It did not occur to me to ask him how the pressures of his job and his frustra tions with Julias work style might be affecting the outcome of the department he headed. Needless to say, nothing came out of this meeting with Rob. As I spent more time around Julia, it became obvious to me that her way of dealing with problems was to give way to emotional outbursts rather than find a clam and thought-out way of telling people including Rob and, by then me what was troubling her. I myself made the mistake of confiding in Julia at a time when I was feeling very vulnerable and she wound up throwing back what I had told her in my face. I started to learn at that moment that being more careful about how and with whom I communicated with would have a direct effect on my happiness in both my work and personal life. The way to communicate with someone who tends towards being emotional is not to meet it with the same level of emotion but rather to step back and try to diffuse the situation by giving the person a chance to vent and then thinking before responding. This way, there is a better chance that ideas can flow peacefully between the parties. I am also much more receptive to body language now. If I was trying to speak to someone who was hunched over and not meeting my eyes, I would know immediately that the style of communication I was using was making the other person uncomfortable. Using the SF tools, I would try to be more mindful of the sender-receiver mode the author writes about. I did not receive messages properly or chose to ignore them, acting only as a sender. This one-sided communication style was probably the reason my attempt at peacemaker failed. My nonverbal communication was equally lacking. I could have made Rob more at ease by leaning back in my seat instead of leaning forward as if ready to attack. I could also have given him a reassuring tap on the arm or shoulder to indicate friendship and empathy. I did not listen to the indirect feedback Rob was giving me. I did not respond to his obvious discomfort nor did I really give him a fair hearing. I think choosing a bar was not a bad idea as it was a neutr al zone for both of us, but selecting a quieter bar than the one we went to also would have been a better choice, as it is hard to stay focused when people are playing pinball next to you! By ignoring Robs side of the situation and not doing much to make him feel he was not under attack, I also did not apply the ethical standards the author outlines, such as treating opposing views with respect. I do make a concerted effort to apply many of the standards of ethical communication in my relationships now. 2. Perception Self-perception, as well as perceiving the needs of others, plays a vital role in effective communication, an idea that is discussed at length in the second chapter, â€Å"Self, Perception and Communication.† The relationship between self-image and perception of both self and of others is immensely complicated. Low self-esteem can feed into other peoples perceptions of a person through signals in their body language, tone of voice and facial expressions. These in turn, can reinforce negative self-image when other people respond to the negative signals they are receiving and send them back again to the initial communicant. Stepping outside ones comfort zone by engaging in â€Å"risk-taking† can create a fundamental threat to self-identity. As the author points out, â€Å"to take that action, or have that experience, would so violate who you are that, should you do it, you would no longer be the same person. You would be forced to see yourself as someone different.† Yet this very act of questioning identity can be enormously empowering. I grew up a fairly withdrawn child. I did not relate well to my peer group and was always more comfortable around adults or animals. I was afraid of judgment, or being teased. My grandmother had me outfitted at an expensive department store twice a year, which just created a further separation between my peers, whose parents tended to shop at Sears and local shops on an as-needed basis and me. My clothing communicated that I thought I was better than everyone else even though that image could not have been further from the truth. The author points out that â€Å"Social comparisons are pivotal to self-evaluations. They depend less on objective circumstances than on how you judge yourself in relation to others on particular attributes.† This was certainly true of my school days. Because of my distance from and fear of my classmates, I retreated into the library during most recess periods. My bookish behavior again reinforced that I was different. The fact that I did not voluntarily engage with my classmates on the playground even though a big part of me wanted to made me even more of a target for teasing. In short, every method of communication I was using, from my clothing, haircut, behavior and choice of pastimes communicated that I was a snob, even though my self-esteem was shaky and all I really wanted was to fit in. As I grew up and realized the value of a certain level of conformity, my fortunes shifted. I started to dress in the same brand jeans as the cool girls, wore the same style of shoes and makeup and made sure my hair was cut in one of the latest fashion trends. These changes told my peers that I was becoming like them. They started to treat me as a friend. Even so, I always felt a need to stand apart from the pack, to be noticed. The solution turned out to be through acting. I took up theater classes, dance and singing and performed in school plays. By pretending to be someone else on stage, I could feed that need for to be someone different while still being one of the gang. I could take risks as another persona that I could not take in my real life. After many years, I am still learning how to read people better instead of assuming they think the worst of me automatically. I have found that it is important to try to read people, to try to understand their own self-perceptions and the way they view their environment. These observations act as the feedback mentioned in the SF description. In this way, I can better react to what people are actually saying to me (rather than acting out of irrational fears) and adjust my own body language, word choice, even my dress in order to establish a rapport. This becomes very important in interviews and work situations. I have had jobs where my employer was excellent at communication and somewhere the communication was lacking. In the case of the former, I once worked for a professor who was very good at giving me work that matched my level of competence but that also helped stretch my skills set. When he gave criticism, it was also in a gentle tone of voice. He used words that were not judgmental but instead focused on showing me how I could improve my work with a few adjustments or a change of direction. An important quality Jeff had was that he was also always willing to listen to my ideas, help me develop them and would give me credit for work that was uniquely mine. Jeff was a great example of someone who had the SF concepts down pat and used them every day in his dealings with staff. Jeffs method of communication was a pivotal experience in my work life. It helped build my sense of ability and encouraged me to think for myself. Because Jeff was such a supportive boss, I also worked harder to please him and took greater pride in producing quality work. I began to learn how to argue a point effectively, and without becoming emotional. I did this by consciously separating my ideas for the project at hand from things I had been told as a child. I forced myself to listen to criticism because it was given in a gentle and well-intentioned way. Jeffs style was one of the stepping-stones in transforming not only my perceptions about my own abilities but my ability to learn and grow in a job. 3. Listening Listening is also a skill upon which I have improved, even though this has required a good deal of effort. True listening means often having to force yourself not to react, at least not immediately. Listening requires more than simply hearing what another person is saying. It involves paying attention to the use of words, body language and expressions, and also trying to put yourself in the shoes of the person speaking. The more you make an effort to understand the perspective from which they are communicating, the more I feel you are truly listening. I have found this to be especially true with family. Often, there is a lot of emotional baggage we carry around from the things our parents and siblings said to us when we were very young, a point the author makes repeatedly. The author likens our self-perception to a map: â€Å"What this means for you is simply that your perception of reality is not reality itself, but it is your own version of it—your â€Å"maps.† But these maps are not necessarily complete pictures of who we are, or of who we are capable of becoming, just like a road map does not necessarily show every tree, brook and signpost on a route. You can always use a different map or a different route to get to the same, or even a different, place. Again, the idea of flexibility in the SF concepts applies, since taking a different road can make for a pleasanter journey. This also means, however, that no two people are working from exactly the same map. Listening is therefore crucial to being able to find your way along another persons route. Keeping in mind that the way one sees the world or a particular problem may not be the same as the person you are conversing with. Preconceived notions or â€Å"perceptual filters†, as the author refers to them, can keep people from actually listening to each other. It is therefore important to try to keep both the mind as well as the ears open in order to foster communication. Conversely, shared experiences, where they arise, can also cement relationships. My siblings and I share many of the same experiences but have very different perspectives about them. I have learned a good deal about who they are as people by listening to them expand their views, and it has also influenced how I now see myself in relationship to them and our parents. Only by taking the time to listen can you find those synergies wi th other people and develop healthy and productive communication.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Importance of Early American Women Writers Essay -- Anne Bradstreet, P

  Ã‚   What could be said to early American women's writers except, thank you? The first American women's writers opened doors and laid the foundation for future women's writers and readers. Today's women raise children, supervise households, and work outside the home with every modern convenience available, and as you would expect do not find the time to write, except for a grocery list. Early American women raised children and supervised households without the modern conveniences of today and in some way made time to write the first poetry of the "New World." For example, Everette Emerson gives a picture of Anne Bradstreet a housewife who stole hours from sleep for writing gave women American writers their start (4). Different styles of writing emerged from various early American women writers in each century, there by setting a precedent for those that followed. Anne Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Abigail Adams, Hannah Foster, Susanna Rowson, and Louisa May Alcott established new forms of literary styles like poetry, letters, fiction, and novels in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Anne Bradstreet established domestic tradition in American poetry in the 17th century. Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) first book of poetry was "The Tenth Muse", with the assistance of her brother-in-law it was published in 1650. "Anne was a Puritan woman of deep spiritual faith, but her highly intelligent and well-educated mind was capable of questioning and even rebellion" (Piercy 17). During the Puritan era of Anne Bradstreet, the idea was one of community and God. According to Katherine M. Rogers, "In her "Prologue," Bradstreet acknowledged that many of her contemporaries thought a needle fitted her hand better than a pen" (Meridian 11.5.2). She rea... ... could be said to early American women's writers except, thank you? Bibliography Elbert, Sarah, ed. Louisa May Alcott on Race, Sex, and Slavery. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1997. Emerson, Everett. Major Writers of Early American Literature. London: The University of Wisconsin Press, Ltd., 1972. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Third Edition, Volume 1. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Linda Wagner-Martin and Cathy N. Davidson. The Oxford Book of Women's Writing in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Mason Jr., Julian D. The Poems of Phillis Wheatley. The University of North Carolina Press, 1966. Piercy, Josephine K. Anne Bradstreet. New York, Twayne Publishers, 1965. Rogers, Katherine M., ed. The Meridian Anthology of Early American Women Writers. New York: Meridian, 1991.   

Monday, November 11, 2019

Review & Critical Thinking: Music of the World Essay

1. What are the Hurrian songs? Why are they important? The Hurrian songs are a set of fragmentary relics as well as a nearly complete example of notated music from around 1400 BCE. They are important because it was the first piece of evidence that there was written musical pieces and these songs were played during important life events such that as marriages and royal family births. 2. What is the Natya Shastra? Why is it important? The Natya Shastra is a written discourse on the performing arts, including music, dance, stage performances, and that alike. The importance of music to ancient India is best seen through Natya Shastra. It was also important because it gave quite detailed information on the types of instruments that were used at the time and forms of music that was popular. 3. Who were troubadours? What was their music like? Troubadours were traveling poet-musicians who traveled from place to place, singing and performing for the upper class. Their music was generally monophonic and accompanied themselves with an instrument like the lyre or drums. 4. What are the modes in Western music? Describe at least one mode in Western music. There are seven different modes: Dorian, Ionian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. Dorian mode in C begins and ends on D. 5. What is polyphonic music? How does it differ from monophonic music? Polyphonic music uses two or more independent melodies; whereas monophonic music has only one independent melody. Critical Thinking Questions 1. Why did early humans develop music? What are some of the ways that they were thought to create music? Some scholars believe that music developed from natural sounds and rhythms and humans mimicked these sounds, as they are known to mimic the noises they hear. Therefore early music was likely simple sounds repeated for enjoyment and to create reactions from animals during hunting. Some of the ways they were thought to create music was through their own voices and created instruments. 2. Why is the study of  prehistoric and ancient music important? What can we learn from it? The study of prehistoric and ancient music is important because it gives us insight and understanding of where we evolved from and how we advanced in music up until this very day, and we wouldn’t know just how well we advanced if we did not study prehistoric and ancient music. From this we can learn how the musical instruments in both time periods were used and what use they may have had. 3. What roles did music play in the life of prehistoric and ancient people? Are the roles similar to or different from the roles that it plays today? In the past music was not as big of a deal as it is today. Some individuals may have used music for entertainment but the main use of music in prehistoric and ancient times was for religious reasons such that of ceremonies. The roles are different in that we use music for a multitude of reasons, whether it be to wake us up for school or aid us in sleeping; or even when we need something to cheer us up after a long and hard day or maybe something to calm us down after a heated argument. We use music today for our enjoyment as well as for our emotions. 4. What were the effects of musical notation on music, society, and composers? Music notation allows for multiple people to be able to learn to play an instrument without hearing it as well as having written documents of composers long after they have passed. It also allows a composer to create music without always having to remember it at the top of their head. 5. Describe medieval music’s relationship with the Catholic Church. How was the music influenced by the Church? The Catholic Church influenced medieval music during the Middle Ages through chanting and performances by monks but soon developed melodic sounds which were harmonized together. The Catholic Church did not use musical instruments and those who attended their performances liked the noise that was being produced by the church.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Free Essays on Book Bag Report

The Baldilares were lost and had nowhere to go. They didn’t know where they could go or what they could do about it. So they jumped into the trunk of count Olaf (their arch enemy’s) car. It was a long and tiresome drive to their destination (The Cagliari carnival). There were tons of bumpy roads that they soared down. It was very squished in the trunk of Count Olaf ( their arch enemies) car. They finally stopped and it was silent, a door of the car swung opened and then there were some foot steps and some talk about this carnival they were at. Every one was gone so the baldilares peaked through a gun shot hole in the back of the trunk to see where they were. They figured it out because there was huge sign that said, â€Å"The Cagliari Carnival† and there was tons of tents behind the sign. They also saw count Olaf and all his associates going into a Caravan. On the outside of the Caravan there was a huge eye that the baldilares have seen many times before. Like on Olaf’s tattoo on his right ankle which they have used tons of times to prove his identify to the people who were taking care of them. There was also a sign that said FREAKS on the side of a caravan. They knew the only way to get near Olaf without him knowing is to dress up as someone or something else. So they searched around the trunk looking for some disguises of freakish things. Violet and Klaus found a shirt and some pants that they could both fit into to become a two headed person. Sunny (the youngest Baldilares) found a fake beard that she wrapped around herself to become half human and half wolf. Then they got there disguises on and headed out of the car trunk and over to the caravan which Count Olaf and his asociates went into. When they got there they knocked on the door, madam lulu (the fortune teller) said, â€Å"oh do you want to audition to be freaks in our carnival, o well then come right in!† The baldilares went into the caravan and all the evil peop... Free Essays on Book Bag Report Free Essays on Book Bag Report The Baldilares were lost and had nowhere to go. They didn’t know where they could go or what they could do about it. So they jumped into the trunk of count Olaf (their arch enemy’s) car. It was a long and tiresome drive to their destination (The Cagliari carnival). There were tons of bumpy roads that they soared down. It was very squished in the trunk of Count Olaf ( their arch enemies) car. They finally stopped and it was silent, a door of the car swung opened and then there were some foot steps and some talk about this carnival they were at. Every one was gone so the baldilares peaked through a gun shot hole in the back of the trunk to see where they were. They figured it out because there was huge sign that said, â€Å"The Cagliari Carnival† and there was tons of tents behind the sign. They also saw count Olaf and all his associates going into a Caravan. On the outside of the Caravan there was a huge eye that the baldilares have seen many times before. Like on Olaf’s tattoo on his right ankle which they have used tons of times to prove his identify to the people who were taking care of them. There was also a sign that said FREAKS on the side of a caravan. They knew the only way to get near Olaf without him knowing is to dress up as someone or something else. So they searched around the trunk looking for some disguises of freakish things. Violet and Klaus found a shirt and some pants that they could both fit into to become a two headed person. Sunny (the youngest Baldilares) found a fake beard that she wrapped around herself to become half human and half wolf. Then they got there disguises on and headed out of the car trunk and over to the caravan which Count Olaf and his asociates went into. When they got there they knocked on the door, madam lulu (the fortune teller) said, â€Å"oh do you want to audition to be freaks in our carnival, o well then come right in!† The baldilares went into the caravan and all the evil peop...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Consultation For Leaders In Management - Smart Custom Writing Samples

Consultation For Leaders In Management - Smart Custom Writing Letter of CreditAssess the place of Letters of Credit in the International commercial arena What is International Finance Management? The international financial management of a trust/company is concerned with management of its funds which reflects how efficiently the company is managing its funds. The overall objective of all business is to secure funds at low cost and their effective utilisation in the business for a profit. The funds so utilised must generate an income higher than the cost of procuring them. Here it is to be noted that all companies need both long-term and short-term capital. The finance manager must therefore keep in view the needs of both long-term debt and working capital and ensure that the business enjoys an optimum level of working capital and that it does not keep too many funds blocked in inventories, book-debts, cash, etc. The capital structuring and average cost of capital for the company should also be examined.[1] Financial analysis is analysis of financial statements of a company to assess is financial health and soundness of its management. "Financial Statement analysis" involves a study of the financial statements of a company to ascertain its prevailing state of affairs and the reasons therefore. Such a Study would enable the public and investors to ascertain whether one company is more profitable than the other, and also to state the causes and factors probably responsible for this[2]. Letters of Credit In a document, the bank agrees to honor a draft drawn on the importer, provided the bill of lading and other details are in order. Obviously, the local bank will "not issue a letter of credit unless it feels the importer is creditworthy and will pay the draft. The letter of credit arrangement pretty much eliminates the exporter's risk in selling goods to an unknown importer in another country. Illustration of a Confirmed Letter The arrangement is strengthened further if a bank in the exporter's country confirms the letter of credit. A New York exporter wishes to ship goods to a Brazilian importer located in Rio de Janeiro. The im ­porter's bank in Rio regards the importer as a sound credit risk and is willing to is ­sue a letter of credit guaranteeing payment for the goods when they are received. Thus, the Rio bank substitutes its credit for that of the importer. In fact, the deal is mutually between the Rio bank and the New York exporter- the beneficiary of the letter of credit,. The exporter may wish to work through her bank, because she has little knowledge of the Rio bank. She asks her New York bank to confirm the Rio bank's letter of credit. If the New York bank is satisfied with the creditworthiness of the Rio bank, it will agree to do so. When it does, it obligates itself to honor drafts drawn in keeping with the letter of credit arrangement.[3] Thus, when the exporter ships the goods, she draws a draft in accordance with the terms of the letter of credit arrangement. She presents the draft to her New York bank and the bank pays her the amount designated, assuming all the conditions of shipment is met. As a result of this arrangement, the exporter has her money, with no worries about payment. The New York bank then forwards the draft and other documents to the Rio bank. Upon affirming that the goods have been shipped in a proper manner, the Rio bank honors the draft and pays the New York bank. In turn, it goes to the Brazilian importer and collects from him once the goods have arrived in Rio and are delivered. Trade Facilitation Rather than extending credit directly to an im ­porter, the exporter relies on one or more banks, and their creditworthiness is sub ­stituted for that of the importer. The letter itself can be either irrevocable or revoca ­ble, but drafts drawn under an irrevocable letter must be honored by the issuing bank. A revocable letter makes sure for an arrangement for pay ­ment of cash. However we cannot guarantee that the draft will be paid. Most letters of credit are irre ­vocable, and the process described assumes an irrevocable letter. The three documents described- the draft, the bill of lading, and the letter of credit- are required in most international transactions. Established procedures ex ­ist for doing business on this basis[4]. Process of the Letter of Credit transaction and the problems associated with enforcement of parties’ rights in a conflict situation.    Expansion and Contraction    Countertrading In addition to the documents used to facilitate a standard transaction, more customized means for financing trade. One method is the countertrade. Countertrade agreement is where the selling party accepts payment in the form of goods as opposed to currency. When exchange restrictions and other preclude payment in hard currencies, such as dollars and yen, it may be to accept goods instead. These goods may be produced in the country .But this need not be the case. Countertrading is nothing more than anything.-l needs to be mindful that there are risks in accepting goods in lieu of a hard facts. Quality and standardization on receipt may differ from what was there. There may be volatility in prices, if indeed a viable market exists at all. All the method involves risk, countertrade associations and consultants, together other infrastructure, have developed to facilitate this means of trade. Factoring . The factor assumes the credit risk, so the exporter is assured of being true. The typical fee is around 2 percent of the value of the overseas shipment. But receivable is collected, a cash advance is possible for upward to 90 percent a shipment's value. For such an advance, the exporter pays interest, and this is   and above the factor's fee. Most factors will not do business with an exporter . less the volume is reasonably large, say at least $2 million in annual transactions,   Also, the factor can reject certain accounts that it deems too risky For accounted are accepted, the main advantage to the exporter is the peace of mind that credit   entrusting collections to a factor with international contacts and experience. Forfeiting Forfeiting is a means of financing trade which resembles factoring. An expo who is owed money evidenced by a longer-term note, as opposed to sell the note to a financial institution at a discount. The discount reflects I length of time the note has to maturity as well as the credit risk of its drawer usually the note is for 6 months or longer and involves larger transactions. An institution would not engage in forfeiting a $9,600 note but might if it were $180,000. [5]    Expansion abroad is undertaken to go, into new markets, acquire less costly pro ­duction facilities, and secure raw materials. Foreign investment different from domestic investment, as there are a number of reasons left behind that. Taxation is different, and there are risks present in po ­litical conditions. A company faces three types of risk in its foreign operations: translation exposure, trans ­actions exposure, and economic exposure. Changes in exchange rates cause translation exposure and its change in accounting income and balance sheet statements. Transactions exposure relates to settling a particular transaction, like open account credit, at one exchange rate when the obligation was booked at another. Economic exposure has to do with the impact of changing exchange rates on the existing balance sheet of a foreign subsidiary and on the expected future repatriated cash flows. Two frameworks were presented for measuring the degree of eco ­nomic exposure. The first aggregated the indi ­vidual exposure coefficients for all balance sheet items.[6] The second measured the degree of net exposure for expected future cash flows. This was net of any natural hedge, where local cur ­rency margins adjust naturally to offset a change in exchange rates. A natural hedge de ­pends on the degree to which prices and costs are globally determined or domestically deter ­mined. A relationship can be plotted between the value of repatriated cash flows and the ex ­change rate. The direction of the line and its steepness tells us whether or not we are hurt if the foreign currency appreciates (depreciates) in value and the degree of exposure. Net expo ­sure is that which remains after any natural hedge.[7] Using several protective devices, a company can protect against any net exposure. If the expo ­sure is short-term in nature, it can adjust intercompany accounts in what is known as an operating hedge. For longer-term exposure, it can undertake a hedge by financing in differ ­ent currencies. The major sources of interna ­tional financing are commercial banks, discounted trade drafts, Eurodollar loans, and in ­ternational bonds. The last includes Eu ­robonds, foreign bonds, floating-rate notes linked to LIBOR, currency-option bonds, and multiple-currency bonds. Eventually, we can see that there are currency hedges, may include, futures contracts, forward contracts, currency swaps, cur ­rency options etc. For the first, one buys a forward contract for the exchange of one procedure for another at a specific future date and at an exchange ratio set in advance. For this protection, there is a cost that is determined by the difference in the forward and spot exchange rates. Currency futures contracts are like forward contracts in function, but there are differences in settlement and other features. Currency options afford protection against "one-sided" risk. Fi ­nally, currency swaps are an important longer-term risk-shifting device.    There are several theories provide a better understanding of the relationship be ­tween interest rates, inflation, and rate of exchange. Purchasing power parity is the idea that a basket of goods should sell at the same price internationally, after factoring into account ex ­change rates. Relative inflation has an impor ­tant influence on exchange rates and on rela ­tive interest rates. Interest-rate parity suggests that the difference between forward and spot currency exchange rates can be explained by differences in nominal interest rates between two countries. Three principal documents are involved in international trade. The draft is an order by the exporter to the importer to pay a specified amount of money either upon presentation of the draft or a certain number of days after pre ­sentation. Translation Exposure Translation exposure relates to the accounting treatment of changes in exchange rates. State ­ment of the Financial Accounting Stan ­dards Board deals with the translation of for ­eign currency changes on the balance sheet and income statement. An American company must determine a func ­tional currency for each of its foreign sub ­sidiaries under those mentioned rules, If the subsidiary is a stand-alone op ­eration that is integrated within a particular country, the functional currency may be the lo ­cal currency; otherwise, it is the dollar where high inflation occurs the functional currency must be the dol ­lar regardless of the conditions given.    The functional currency used is important because it determines the translation process. Moreover, translation gains or losses are not reflected in the income statement, but rather are recognized in owners' equity as a translation adjustment. The fact that such ad ­justments do not affect accounting income is appealing to many companies. If the functional currency is the dollar, however, this is not the case. Gains or losses are reflected in the income statement of the parent company using what is known as the temporal method. In general, the use of the dollar as the functional currency re ­sults in greater fluctuations in accounting in ­come, but in smaller fluctuations in balance sheet items than does the use of the local cur ­rency. Let us examine the differences. Differences in Methods With the dollar as the functional currency, bal ­ance sheet and income statement items are cat ­egorized as to historical exchange rates or as to current exchange rates. Cash, receivables, lia ­bilities, sales, expenses, and taxes are trans ­lated using current exchange rates[8], whereas in ­ventories, plant and equipment, equity, cost of goods sold, and depreciation are translated at the historical exchange rates existing at the time of the transactions. This differs from the situation where the local currency is used as the functional currency; here all items are translated at current exchange rates. To illustrate, a company we shall call Richmond Precision Instruments has a sub ­sidiary in the Kingdom. At the first of the year, the exchange rate is 8 to the dollar, and that rate has prevailed for many years. During the year however, it declines steadily in value to 10 to the dollar at year end. But the rate of exchange comes to 9. It shows the balance sheet and the income statement for the foreign subsidiary at the beginning and at the end of the year and the effect of the method of transla ­tion.    The oppo ­site would occur in our example if the liso in ­creased in value relative to the dollar. We see that there is substantially more change in total assets when a local functional currency is used than when a dollar functional currency is employed. In our example, sales are adjusted by the average exchange rate that prevailed during the year for both accounting methods. For column 4, local functional currency, all cost and expense items are adjusted by this exchange rate[9]. For the last column, dollar functional cur ­rency, cost of goods sold, and depreciation are translated at historical exchange rates whereas the other items are translated at the current average rate. We see that operat ­ing income and net income are larger when the local functional currency is used than when the functional currency is the dollar. For the latter method, the translation gain is factored in, so that net income agrees with the change in re ­tained earnings from 12/31/xl to 12/31/x2. W e see that this change is $845 - $750 = $95. In contrast, when the functional currency is local, the translation adjustment occurs after the in ­come figure of $111. The adjustment is that amount, - $176, that, together with net income, brings the liability and net worth part of the balance sheet into balance. This amount then is added to the sum of past translation adjust ­ments to obtain the new accumulated transla ­tion adjustment figure that appears on the bal ­ance sheet. As we assume past adjustments total zero, this item becomes - $176. Thus, the translation adjustments far in two methods are in opposite directions. Shot the liso increase in value relative to the data the effect would be the reverse of that illus ­trated: Operating income would be higher. Implications Because translation gains or losses are not re ­flected directly on the income statement; it supported operating income tends to fluctuate when the functional currency is local when it is the dollar. However, the balance sheet items is increased, o the translation of all items by the current change rate. Because many corporate fives are concerned with accounting FASB No. 52 is popular, as long as qualifies for a local functional currency ever, this accounting method also has its backs. For one thing, it distorts the sheet and the historical cost numbers over, it may cause return on asset and other measures of return to be less.    RISK MANAGEMENT AND WEALTH MAXIMISATION    Here the techniques for managing financial risks, in particular those that arise more prominently in the context of international finance are being discussed. The above discussion of the impact of risk on the value of the firm gives rise to a very important and interesting question: what should be the attitude of the firm's management regarding firm-specific risks? It appears that since these risks are diversifiable, they are not "priced" by the investors, that is, they do not affect the expected rate of return demanded by the investors- the discount rate. Why then should the firm spend resources to insure against these risks? Even if certain risks are systematic in the sense that they affect almost all firms adversely, it is not clear hedging such risks necessarily adds to shareholder value.[10] Risks can be hedged only at a cost since the party to whom the risk is transferred will demand compensation for bearing the risk. Thus, while it is true that increase in energy costs will ha ve an adverse impact on almost all firms, in an efficient market, the compensation that has to be paid for bearing this risk would just equal the increase in the value of the firm resulting from eliminating this risk; on balance the firms’ shareholders will neither rain nor los[11]e.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Risks arising out of fluctuations in exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices are pervasive, It is, they affect most firms; however they affect different firms in different ways and are therefore idiosyncratic.[12] Finally, even if the irrelevance argument is not found to be convincing, the well-known Modigliani-Miller analysis of a firm's optimal capital structure offers another argument against hedging. In a world of no taxes, no transactions costs and no information asymmetries, they demonstrated that a firm's financing policy does not matter as long as it does not affect its investment policy. If some shareholders are unhappy with the particular debt-equity structure adopted by the firm, they can achieve whatever leverage they de ­sire by trading on their own account. The same argument can be extended to hedging risks such as ex ­change rate risks. A firm which exports to the United States and has dollar receivables can hedge these with forward sales of dollars against rupees; but if its shareholders can achieve the same result on their own (by taking similar but smaller positions in the dollar-rupee forward market), hedging by the firm will add no shareholder value. If capital markets are perfect, individual investors, in particular a firm's share ­holders can replicate any financial strategy adopted by the firm. In such a world active risk management policy cannot add value. In practice, we find that firms do expend considerable amount of resources- managerial time and money- in an attempt to hedge firm-specific risks. For instance, they avoid highly risky investment projects, purchase insurance against product liability suits, enter into forward contracts in foreign ex ­change, and specific commodities and so forth. Is there a rationale for these actions? In addition to the "irrelevance of unsystematic risks" or "shareholders can do it themselves" arguments against hedging, it has also been argued that since financial markets are efficient, it makes little difference in the long run whether and what kind of risk management posture a firm adopts. This means that with efficient markets it would not matter in the long run whether a firm follows an active hedging policy, a purely passive strategy of hedging all risks at all times, or a policy of no hedging at all. Note however that the hypothesis of efficiency of financial markets is far from firmly established. If active risk management by a firm adds shareholder value it must be (i) because it alters the firm's cash flow in a way which is beneficial to the shareholders even after meeting the cost of hedging and (ii) the firm can achieve this at a lower cost than what the shareholders would have to incur if they did it on their own. This is possible in the presence of some capital market imperfections which are assumed away by the Modigliani-Miller theorem. With reference to the valuation equation, hedging can increase shareholder wealth both by influencing future cash flows and by reducing the discount rate at which these cash flows are discounted. In general it is true that the former effects stronger though there can be circumstances under which hedging can reduce the expected return investors demand from a particular firm[13]. One of the most cogent arguments for hedging by the firm has been presented by Froot et al (1994). They not only provide a rationale for hedging as such but also put forward an explanation as to why selec ­tive or discretionary hedging rather than 100 per cent hedging might be an optimal policy under certain conditions. The main thrust of their argument can be summarized as follows: Firms enhance shareholder wealth- create "corporate value"- by making good investments. "Invest ­ments" here means not only physical plant and equipment but also RD, product development, mar ­ket investments such as advertising and promotion and so forth.[14] THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL MARKET The last two decades have witnessed the emergence of a vast financial market straddling national boundaries enabling massive cross-border capital flows from those who have surplus funds and are in search d high returns to those seeking low-cost funding. The phenomenon of borrowers, including governments, one country accessing the financial markets of another is not new; what is new is the degree of mobility d capital, the global dispersal of the finance industry, and the enormous diversity of markets and inst which a firm seeking funding can tap.    THE LETTER OF CREDIT MECHANISM   In such a case, the opening bank "accepts" the draft and it becomes A Banker's Acceptance: The exporter can get immediate payment by discounting the accepted draft either with the opening bank, o with his own bank or by selling the acceptance in the market'. Financing is thus provide* by the bank which discounts the draft or by a money market investor who buys the acceptance. (With sigh drafts, the importer's bank may provide credit to the importer as a part of their ongoing business relationship). To cater to the wide variety of transactions and customers, different types of letters of credit have evolved. A Revocable L/C is issued by the issuing bank and contains a provision that the bank may amend or cancel the credit without the approval of the beneficiary. An Irrevocable L/C cannot be so amended or cancelled without the exporter's prior approval. A Confirmed, Irrevocable L/C contains an extra protection; in addition to the issuing bank's commitment, a Confirming Bank adds its own undertaking to pay provided a] conditions are met. The confirming bank (which may be but need not be the same as the advising bank will pay even if the issuing bank cannot or will not honor the exporter's draft. A Revolving L/C is use when the exporter is going to make shipments on a continuing basis and a single L/C will cover several shipments. A Transferable L/C permits the beneficiary to transfer a part or whole of the credit in favor of one or more secondary beneficiaries. This type of L/C is used by trader exporters who act as middlemen on recourse basis. The ultimate holder of the notes than presents them to the bank at which they are pay ­able, as they fall due.[15] Traditionally, Forfeiting used to be a form of fixed rate, medium-term funding, but over time Forfeiters have become very flexible and are willing to offer terms to suit the needs of their customers. Some Forfeiting houses will accept paper with maturities up to ten years while in other cases it may be as short as 180 days. The secondary market for the paper generally ranges between one and ten years, depending upon the reputation of the importer, the country to which the importer belongs and the reputation of the bank providing the guarantee. Normally Forfeiters will ensure that the importer, not the exporter bears the cost of financing. That is, the face value of the notes is such that after applying the discount, the exporter gets paid what he would normally charge for cash payment. However for competitive reasons some exporters may choose to ab ­sorb some of the financing cost to make the transaction more attractive to the importer. Charges depend on the market interest rates for the currency of the underlying contract and on the per ­ceived credit risks related to the importer, his country and the credit rating of the availing (or guaranteeing) bank. The interest cost is made up of the following components: (1)   The Forfeiter’s refinancing costs benchmarked to the cost of funds in the relevant Euromarkets seg ­ment applicable to the average life of the transaction. For a five year deal, for example, repayable by ten semi-annual equal installments, LIBOR rate applicable for 2.75 years would be used. (2)   A margin or spread for covering the political, commercial, and transfer risks attached to the availed/ guarantor. It varies from country to country, and guarantor to guarantor[16]. (3)   Some additional charges such as interest for "grace period" granted to the importer and a commit ­ment fee when necessary. The whole transaction can be processed quite fast. Many Forfeiters claim that they take no more than two days after the exporter presents all the proper documents. Buyers' Credits are a form of Eurocurrency loans designed to finance a specific transaction involving import of goods and services. The importer works out a deferred payment arrangement with the lending bank which the bank treats as a loan. [17] Traditionally, Forfeiting used to be a form of fixed rate, medium-term (one to five years) funding, but over time Forfeiters have become very flexible and are willing to offer terms to suit the needs of their customers. Some Forfeiting houses will accept paper with maturities up to ten years while in other cases it may be as short as 180 days. The secondary market for the paper generally ranges between one and ten years, depending upon the reputation of the importer, the country to which the importer belongs and the reputation of the bank providing the guarantee. Normally Forfeiters will ensure that the importer, not the exporter bears the cost of financing. That is, the face value of the notes is such that after applying the discount, the exporter gets paid what he would normally charge for cash payment. However for competitive reasons some exporters may choose to ab ­sorb some of the financing cost to make the transaction more attractive to the importer.[18] Charges depend on the market interest rates for the currency of the underlying contract and on the per ­ceived credit risks related to the importer, his country and the credit rating of the analyzing (or guaranteeing) bank. The interest cost is made up of the following components: (1)   The Forfeiter’s refinancing costs benchmarked to the cost of funds in the relevant Euromarkets seg ­ment applicable to the average life of the transaction. (2)   A margin or spread for covering the political, commercial, and transfer risks attached to the availed/ guarantor. It varies from country to country, and guarantor to guarantor. (3)   Some additional charges such as interest for "grace period" granted to the importer and a commit ­ment fee when necessary.    Bibliography A.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Articles/Books/Reports Kraus, M.W.; Keltner, D. (2008), "Signs of Socioeconomic Status Barro, Robert (1979) "On the Determination of the Public Debt", Journal of Political Economy, Vol 87, pages 940-71. Barro, Robert (1999) "Notes on Optimal Fund Management", Harvard University, May2006 Dornbusch, Rudi (2001) 'A Primer on Emerging Market Crises', MIT, January. Leong, Donna (1999) " Fund Management: Theory and Practice", HM Treasury Occasional Paper. Boushey, Heather and Weller, Christian. (2005) â€Å"What the Numbers Tell Us.† Pp 27-40. Demos. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cases Lucas, Robert and Nancy Stokey (1983) "Optimal Fiscal and Monetary Policy in an Economy without Capital", Journal of Monetary Economics 12, pp. 55-93. C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Legislation Missale, Alessandro (1997) "Managing the Public Fund: The Optimal Taxation Approach", Journal of Economic Surveys Vol 121 No.3.

Monday, November 4, 2019

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

See attached - Research Paper Example 1- Management integrity: Management integrity, or the ethical nature of personnel of authority, designs the overall tone for the company. Management integrity is communicated with all the employees through the handbooks and procedural manuals of employees. 2- Competent personnel: A company’s capability to recruit and retain proficient employees shows management’s intention to appropriately recording of accounting transactions. Additionally, the retention of workers raises the comparability of financial records from time to time. 3- Segregation of duties: The University of California at Los Angeles observes that a segregation of duties is significant to effectual internal control because it minimizes the risk of errors and wrong proceedings. A successful structure of internal control segregates authoritative, accounting and custodial functions. 4- Record maintenance: Keeping proper records gives the surety that appropriate documentation exists for all the business transa ctions. The management of records include: storing, protection and ultimately destructing tangible or electronic records. The Environmental Protection Agency highlights that an accurate records organization program minimizes operating costs of the operations, improves effectiveness and reduces the risk of process (James, 2013). SEC: The basic objective of SEC is to make sure that the security market is operating in a fair and orderly way. The professionals of security industry are forming contracts fairly with their clients, and that organizations provide general public all the necessary information about the company position through which investors could be able to make well informed investment decisions (Investor, n.d.). The SEC follows these goals by: mandating that organization reveals material business and financial information; supervising the process of the SROs; following rules with which those concerned in the buying and selling of securities should obey; and filing proceed ings or taking other enforcement activities in cases where the law has been desecrated. In spite of the lot of protections given by federal and state securities laws and SRO policy, it is essential for investors to keep in mind that they have the final accountability for their own security (SEC, n.d.). FASB: The Financial Accounting Standards Board is accountable for creating, revising, clarifying, and issuing mutually the broad principles and the specific activities that comprises acceptable financial accounting of private-sector (Tran, 2012). The FASB works through a course of the research projects, discussion memoranda, public hearings, comment letters, and proposal drafts. The FASB's eventual findings on program items are published as Statements of Financial Accounting Standards, which companies are necessary to adhere to (Dietrich, 2013). The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a one branch of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), and self-governing, nonprofit b usiness The Financial Accounting Standards Board bears accountability for making generally acceptable accounting principles (GAAP) for the private or confidential sector (FASB, n.d.). Part 3-answer: Company in that was praised for its ethical practices: Nestle company has got a huge number of employees around the globe and it is maintaining a highly ethical behavior in its all the companies around the world. Nestle provides great satisfaction to employees and their satisfaction reflects in the

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Tesco Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tesco - Research Paper Example In 1997, Tesco set out a strategy to expand its core business. This later resulted in the establishment of online marketing initiative. It also set out to diversify its products and services, in existing and new markets. This strategy helped Tesco to penetrate the newer UK markets successfully, as well as Europe, Asia, and recently, the United States of America. One of Tesco’s business strategies today is to expand its UK market. This is its biggest business and there are more growth opportunities here. From back in 1997, Tesco has wanted to be the most successful international retailer. In 1997, the international business generated 1.8% of Tesco’s profits. This later increased to 25%. If their business plans succeed in the UK, it is probable that the same will even apply to other markets. It is however worrying how the shoppers in UK have lost trust in Tesco and instead prefer to shop from their competitors. If Tesco does not win back trust in their markets, then it ri sks, more major loses, as UK has been its largest market (Duff, 2006). Tesco needs new management, marketing, and business strategies, in order to revive its UK market. The fall of UK market has been growing gradually over the last five years, probably due to the founding of newer markets in the US and parts of China. In an Economist article, an anonymous author feels that, for Tesco to compensate the costs of running the new markets, it had to readjust their business operations in the UK. This involved reducing employee numbers, and lowering prices in order to attract more shoppers. The UK market was neglected as all efforts and attention were drawn on establishing the new overseas markets. Diversification is another problem that Tesco needs to address in order to regain root in UK. Apart from running food-and-drinks stores, it runs a law firm, a bank, among others. Therefore, Tesco