Forces in the Context of KFC Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Forces in the Context of KFC - Research Paper Example There are various economic forces that have a significant impact on the business operations of KFC. This organization is greatly affected by global and national economic factors such as inflation and interest rates, cost of labor, stages of business cycle, unemployment rates and growth rates of economy. The recession factor has affected the overall income of KFC and this has resulted into making employees jobless, and some employees were hired for few hours (Ohme, Birinyi and Gupta, 2010). This was majorly due to cutting down of budget by the company. Economic forces restrict customers to spend lavishly in such fast food outlets. Government procedures and policies to certain extent provide the required guidelines for smooth functioning of business operations of an organization. There are certain political forces that affect operations of KFC and these forces encompass some legal factors (KFC, 2014). The stability of political environment, position of government in relation to market ethics, government view on religion and culture, policies of government with respect to economy, and taxation policy on incentives and tax rates are the major forces that outlines the political environment (Ohme, Birinyi and Gupta, 2010). It can be stated that these forces can have an adverse affect or prove to be beneficial for the company. There are some regulatory and legal forces which need to be taken into consideration by the organization in order to achieve their desired goals and objectives. KFC need to maintain the regulations and rules in relation to hygiene factors such as proper training of employees regarding personal hygiene, safety and food, proper usage of utensils and hygienic work environment (Ohme, Birinyi and Gupta, 2010). It even comprise of the legal environment within which a firm operates such as in United States, there has been a legislation passed related to minimum wages and more recycle requirement. Technological forces can be considered as the major drivers in context of globalization. These forces help to increase efficiency levels of production and even some of these forces can be treated as technological developments. In KFC, technology is the most vital component as this facilitates customer satisfaction at its food outlets (Ohme, Birinyi and Gupta, 2010). The organization has been able to incorporate the latest technology into the system.  

Financial Statements Essay Example for Free

Financial Statements Essay There are four basic financial statements that companies use. They begin with income statement, statement of owner’s equity, balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows. Company’s use income statements to report how much money they have made and how much they have spent over a specified period of time. The statement of owner’s equity is used to report any changes in equity from a company’s net income or net loss, as well as report changes in the owner’s investments and withdrawals over a specified period of time. The balance sheet is used to report a company’s financial position at any point in time. This statement includes information such as what types of assets and their amounts, liabilities, and equity. The statement of cash flows is the last document out of the four basic financial statements. This statement is used to report how much money a company is bringing in (receipts), and how much they are spending (payments), during a specific period of time. Any changes found in assets and liabilities on a balance sheet reflect the revenues and expenses found in the income statement, which in turn results in gains or losses for a company. The statement of cash flows reports more information concerning the cash assets that are listed on a balance sheet and a linked, but not necessarily the same, as the net income found on the company’s income statement. Financial statements are nothing but numbers on a document when they’re on their own, but together, they provide valuable and powerful information for a company to make very big decisions about how to run their company, and how to make decisions for their company in the future. The information is also valuable for investors to make wise and educated decisions for investing in companies.

Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Essay -- Aesthetic Attitude

Visit any major museum of art, at any given time, and one could find an abundance of monumental names listed on tiny plaques hanging next to even more recognizable works of art. The excitement felt by any art enthusiast when walking into these buildings of time and creation, is undeniable and especially unique. Could it be the atmosphere of the building, the presence of artwork, the people, possibly the grandeur of the space, or perhaps, could it be the spirit of the artists themselves, peering through the work they created? As onlookers peer into the artworks in front of them, there is no question as to whether or not they considered what the artwork means, where it came from and what the artist was interested in who created it. The intrigued viewer quite possibly could also want to have a conversation with that artist and ask them questions about the artwork and what it was that they were thinking about when producing it, with a goal of better understanding what they were looking at. As the viewer and after serious contemplation, would you believe you understood the artwork as the artist or artist’s society believed the work? Could you appreciate the work the same? Walter Benjamin, a well known German-Jewish Marxist literary and cultural critic, philosopher, translator and essayist introduced ideas and questions similar to these in his epic essay, â€Å"The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.† He wrote about many different ideas concerning the concept of art, writing, po litics and society. Benjamin was born in Berlin on July 15, 1892. He worked and lived in Germany for the majority of his life. He earned a Ph. D in 1919, but never held an academic career (egs.edu, 2009). â€Å"He dedicated his life’s work to writ... ... 41-46. Ebscohost. Web. 12 Nov. 2009 Luehrman M., Unrath K. â€Å"Bringing Children to Art- Bringing Art to Children.† Art Education. Jan. 2009: 41-47. Print. Peim, Nick. â€Å"Walter Benjamin in the Age of Digital Reproduction: Aura in Education: A Rereading of ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.’† Journal of Philosophy of Education 41.3 (2007): 363-380. Wilson Web. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. Stolnitz, Jerome. â€Å"One The Apparent Demise of Really High Art.† The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 43.4 (1985): 345-358. Wilson Web. Web. 15 Oct. 2009. Stolnitz, Jerome. â€Å"The Aesthetic Attitude’ in the Rise of Modern Aesthetics.†Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 36.4 (1978): 409-422. Wilson Web. Web. 15 Oct. 2009. Townsend, Chris. â€Å"Knowledge as Spectacle.† Art Monthly 322 (Dec.2008/Jan.2009): 11- 14. Wilson Web. Web. 15 Oct. 2009.

East Is East

East Is East East is East is a play by Ayub Khan-Din, first produced by Tamasha Theatre Company in co-production with the Royal Court and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. It is often cited as one of the key works to bring Asian culture to mainstream British audiences. The play is published by Nick Hern Books. Ayub Khan-Din (born 1961 in Salford, Lancashire) is a British Pakistani actor and playwright. â€Å"When I began to write East is East, I was sitting at my kitchen table pouring out my life story bit by bit.The first draft came incredibly quickly: there's writing what you know and there's writing what you've known your whole life† Given Circumstances  · Who am I? Ella Khan, 46, Irish-Catholic, housewife, works in family shop  · What time is it? Century? Year? Season? Day? Night? Early? Late? Date? 1970’s  · Where am I? UK, Salford, family house, fish and chip shop  · Who is here with me? Family (Husband, 7 children)  · What are my relationships? Husband (Geo rge) – she loves him but doesn’t agree with everything he doesChildren – she tries to protect them from George and what’s them to be happy  · What is my super-objective? Feelings? I consider Ella as the â€Å"victim† of the film. It’s easy to understand that she loves her husband, and wants to please him, but when he starts to decide too much about their children, she doesn’t know what to do anymore  · What is the obstacle? Is there more than one? She finds herself unable to stand up to George until he pushes her too far by abusing their children. Ella Khan Ella has a strong belief in freedom, fairness, family †¦ and Salford.Ella is ferociously protective of her kids. She's learnt that society is hostile to them and also that their father is not prepared to allow them the freedom she herself feels they should have. So she spends a lot of her life fighting for them or keeping things from George to protect them from his anger. I think Ella is like someone who lives under an oppressive regime – she has had to develop cunning, she is sometimes passive, sometimes aggressive and will do anything to make allies. One thing she has above George is that she sees her situation with clarity.He believes that moving to Bradford would solve their problems but Ella knows that the Pakistani community there, especially the women, will never accept her. This is why she has insisted on staying in Salford. Friendships with women are vital to her, with the affection and support they bring, and without Annie, Ella would perish. Whats the story? In EAST IS EAST, George (Om Puri), who is Pakistani, marries Ella (Linda Bassett) and they settle down in Manchester to have seven children and run a fish and chips shop.George wants his children to adopt the religion and customs of Pakistan, yet oldest son Nazir objects to an arranged marriage and bolts in the middle of the wedding ceremony, and in all the family chaos, they ha ve neglected to have their youngest son circumcised. With India at war with Pakistan, George's fear of the loss of his homeland and culture makes him even more concerned about passing on that culture to his children.They go to the mosque, grudgingly, but they feel like Brits and only one of the seven kids wants to live according to Pakistani traditions. The others want the freedom of Western culture. They may feel English, but they look Pakistani, and George fears that the culture they want will never accept them. His neighbors support a politician named Enoch Powell who is calling for repatriation of foreigners. But George and the neighbor do not know that their children are romantically involved.

My Space To Breathe

I have several Indian friends in the Los Angeles area, with whom I have shared good times and bad.   I have slept in their homes, and even been considered by their parents a genuine part of their families.   Yet I disliked the fact that Indian families can often act only the basis of emotions.   I blamed their emotionally charged natures on the Indian soap operas they watched day after day.   I disliked those Indian shows even though I had watched only two of them in my entire life.   Still, I knew that it was best not to feel negative emotions in myself. The Indian dramas that my friends’ families loved to watch daily were just slow motion pictures in my opinion.   Each moment of each drama focused on lethargic and unreal adventures in emotions.   Nothing went very far.   Crying; getting offensive about everything under the bright blue sky; and blaming one another were the themes of these shows.   I disliked them with all my heart.   And, whenever it was time for my friends’ families to watch those Indian shows, I found myself leaving their homes.   I was even uncomfortable leaving in those moments, given that my own negative emotions were obnoxious enough to seem to strangle me because I did not understand them at all. In order to understand these emotions, despite the fact that I loved my Indian â€Å"families,† I made an effort to watch â€Å"Kyunke Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thee† (2006) with my friends another time.   While watching the show this time, I was observant of my own reactions and feelings.   At the same time, I observed the others in the TV lounge watching the show with me.   Two of the aunts of my friend, Vijay, sobbed during the show.   I tried to suppress my own strange emotions at this point.   As luck would have it,  Vijay, his mom, and his dad started to laugh during the show soon after I had witnessed his sobbing aunts!   I relaxed there and then, and from that point on, the show was a breeze. Even though â€Å"Kyunke Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thee† lasts only thirty minutes each time, five days a week, I disliked it the first two times I watched it.   I had witnessed real sad emotional dramas in my Indian friends’ homes before I had watched the show, which was perhaps the main reason why I detested the emotion packed drama on television.   I believed that it was the TV drama that had taught my Indian friends to overreact to issues.   I also believed that this drama was a bad influence on me!   Obviously, I was being oversensitive at the same time as I blamed the drama for teaching oversensitivity to its viewers.   Besides, I was not thinking that it is the individual himself with the prerogative to allow conditioning of any sort.   Nobody can force us to be influenced by anything. Now I have stopped detesting the Indian shows that I previously could not digest.   I can stay in my friends’ homes as long as I please.   Apart from this, I have understood that my Indian â€Å"families† have a right to feel and believe whatever they do.   Choosing emotions over the intellect many a times is their choice and responsibility.   And if I love them, I must do so regardless of the different perspectives we have about dealing with ourselves and others.   While I imagine that I am granting my Indian friends this â€Å"space to breathe,† in actuality this space is mine to occupy.   I give up my negative emotions today – and for ever.   For sure, it was difficult to breathe in negativity. References Star Plus. (30 December 2006). â€Å"Kyunke Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thee.† TV Series.   

Free Essays on International Marketing

Chupa Chups Vending: â€Å"Choose Your Own Flavor† For the past 5 years Andrew Lewis had been employed by the confectionary company Chupa Chups S.A., based in their Barcelona headquarters as area manager responsible for commercial and marketing activity in European markets. After 6 years of marketing experience with multinational consumer goods companies Andrew Lewis left Chupa Chups due to internal reorganization. Andrew still had many good friends at the company and had been asked to stay on as a marketing director for a subsidiary but declined for personal reasons. Directly after leaving Chupa Chups Andrew was asked to join a large Catalan alcoholic beverage company. The firm is a leader in their industry and has significant international sales. The job was based in Barcelona (now his primary/only residence) and would focus on international marketing. Three weeks before he was offered the job with the beverage company, Andrew entered discussions with a small Spanish manufacturing company named Discapa. Discapa manufactures vending equipment, and had just recently introduced a new lollipop vending machine, which was marketed in collaboration with Chupa Chups. Discapa wanted Andrew to be a freelance agent heading commercialization of the lollipop machine. Chupa Chups S.A. is a Spanish confectionery company founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat. Bernat researched the fact that 2/3 of all candy was consumed by children under the age of 16. Those children were getting messy and their parents were having a difficult time giving them candy. Bernat created a universal treat comparable to, â€Å"eating a sweet with a fork.† Bernat expanded his organization internationally throughout the 1970’s with great success. By 2001 Bernat had taken Chupa Chups to some 125 countries! Two partners in Calaf, a small town outside of Barcelona, founded Discapa in 1992. The company was established to manufacture and sell vending machines. The... Free Essays on International Marketing Free Essays on International Marketing Chupa Chups Vending: â€Å"Choose Your Own Flavor† For the past 5 years Andrew Lewis had been employed by the confectionary company Chupa Chups S.A., based in their Barcelona headquarters as area manager responsible for commercial and marketing activity in European markets. After 6 years of marketing experience with multinational consumer goods companies Andrew Lewis left Chupa Chups due to internal reorganization. Andrew still had many good friends at the company and had been asked to stay on as a marketing director for a subsidiary but declined for personal reasons. Directly after leaving Chupa Chups Andrew was asked to join a large Catalan alcoholic beverage company. The firm is a leader in their industry and has significant international sales. The job was based in Barcelona (now his primary/only residence) and would focus on international marketing. Three weeks before he was offered the job with the beverage company, Andrew entered discussions with a small Spanish manufacturing company named Discapa. Discapa manufactures vending equipment, and had just recently introduced a new lollipop vending machine, which was marketed in collaboration with Chupa Chups. Discapa wanted Andrew to be a freelance agent heading commercialization of the lollipop machine. Chupa Chups S.A. is a Spanish confectionery company founded in 1958 by Enric Bernat. Bernat researched the fact that 2/3 of all candy was consumed by children under the age of 16. Those children were getting messy and their parents were having a difficult time giving them candy. Bernat created a universal treat comparable to, â€Å"eating a sweet with a fork.† Bernat expanded his organization internationally throughout the 1970’s with great success. By 2001 Bernat had taken Chupa Chups to some 125 countries! Two partners in Calaf, a small town outside of Barcelona, founded Discapa in 1992. The company was established to manufacture and sell vending machines. The...

Unbroken

Unbroken UnbrokenI wouldn't know how to describe a painting or a sonata, but I can tellsomeone how I feel, though they rarely know what I mean. Words fail me often,but nobody notices. They aren't listening anyway. One person knows me.When I talk to him I feel like a knife in a drawer, because my words have power.The possible damage would be irreparable.He and I are like a house falling apart. Our sidewalk is askew and ourmailbox is missing. It is painted pink and yellow. We love it, it's unique. Lastnight I stomped my feet through the floorboards because I wanted to feel my toesin the earth. I pushed my hands through the ceiling and kicked down the walls. Iknow he wonders why I do things like that. I just wanted to let some air in. Isaid, 'Look hon, now we can see the stars.'Mind ControlHe brushed off the debris and putme to bed. He won't sleep tonight.His thoughts stay up with the moon trying to exercise the demons in hismind. Too intelligent, too spiritual for his own peace. A shaman, unstu ck intime. A stroke of genius and a slap in the face of this world. Always restless,searching for answers. Impulsive and inspired, writing down his thoughts.Funny stories about Elvis and his followers, the Elvi, or dirty poetry. Paintinghis visions on sheets that hang from the eaves or painting me with psychedelicdesigns. It doesn't matter which. All of it makes me want him more.Some things I say to him are like sour notes played too often. I'm out oftune. He always sings along. Our waltz is better than most, I suppose. Weknow the steps by heart. The world moves...

Calvin Taylors Model of Critical and Creative Thinking

Calvin Taylor's Model of Critical and Creative Thinking The Calvin Taylor creative thinking model describes the talent areas as productive thinking, communication, planning, decision making, and forecasting. This model is best known as Talents Unlimited, a program of the National Diffusion Network of the U.S. Department of Education. The Taylor model incorporates both the critical and creative elements of thinking. Rather than a taxonomy, this is a thinking skills model that describes the essential elements of thinking, beginning with the academic talent and then incorporating the other talent areas, as described in more detail below. Productive Thinking Productivity promotes creative thinking in the Calvin Taylor model. It suggests critical and creative thinking of many ideas, varied ideas, unusual ideas, and adding to those ideas. Communication Communication has six elements which include: Give many, varied, single words to describe something.Give many, varied, single words to describe feelings.Think of many, varied things that are like another thing in a special way.Let others know that you understand how they feel.Make a network of ideas using many, varied and complete thoughts.Tell your feelings and needs without using words. Planning Planning requires that students learn to tell what they are going to plan: The materials that they will need.The steps that they will need to accomplish the task.The problems that might occur. Decision Making Decision making teaches the student to: Think of the many, varied things that could be done.Think more carefully about each alternative.Choose one alternative that they think is best.Give many, varied reasons for the choice. Forecasting Forecasting is the last of the five talents and requires students to make many, varied predictions about a situation, examining cause and effect relationships. Every element of the Calvin Taylor model is used when a child invents.

Forensic Psychology and Criminal Investigation Essay - 13

Forensic Psychology and Criminal Investigation - Essay Example Similarly, there is the availability heuristic. In this type, Tversky & Kahneman (1974) argue that a person will only use the most available or accessible information to make a decision. This is the same case with the senior officer, who does not perform further investigations to prove the BIA’s report, but is already considering the arrest of Mr. Shaw, basing on the information provided by the BIA. Therefore, in both heuristics, there is the predetermination of the offender by the senior police. This therefore, bars any efforts to conduct further investigations to prove if the suspected offender is responsible or not. This lack of intensive investigation therefore, is likely to result in wrong decision-making. There is also evidence of confirmation bias. According to Nickerson (1998) and Ask & Granhag (2005), this refers to a case building that only considers one side. In this case, the senior officer has selected the information of provided by Mr. Shaws’ neighbors and molded the facts to fit in the description provided by the BIA. Although Mr. Shaw does not have a criminal history, the senior officer emphasizes that the neighbors claim he is weird, therefore, suggesting a possibility of indulgence in crime. Nonetheless, this makes the officer to settle for Mr. Shaw as the offender, without developing a complete case. Biases and heuristics influence the decision-making investigative process negatively. Both the nonprofessionals and experienced researchers are capable of these errors and heuristics. Nonetheless, errors and heuristics in the decision-making investigative process result in fallacies, since the outcome is usually incorrect. According to Tversky and Kahneman (1974), these also result in wrong predictions and estimations. Additionally, heuristics are considered sources of predictable errors and underperformance. Heuristics and biases in investigative decision-making make the investigator to rush into

Assignment of Religion and Environment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Of Religion and Environment - Assignment Example Maya- the Maya religion developed in the west before arrival of the Spanish. They worshipped nature gods such the gods of the sun or rain. The main significance of the ballgame highlights the Mayas belief in life death and rebirth/resurrection. Sabbath- the term Sabbath is derived from the bible in the story of God’s creation in the book of genesis. He created earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. Its significance is for Christians to take rest from their busy schedules and have a day to honor God and keep it holy as written in the commandments. Dukha- the act of trying to grasp, cling, having passion or craving for something that cannot be obtained. Its significance is to ensure religion is based on experimenting all things either natural or spiritual as a meaningful unity. Catharsis- the word catharsis is derived from a Greek word kathoros meaning to purify or keeping it clean. It is used by Christians by using it in the beyond limits of ordinary experience to that free or cleanse souls. Miasma- the term miasma is a Greek mythology that means a contagious power that has another independent life of its own until a wrongdoer who sacrifices to die to help cleanse the society from getting infected by catastrophes (Patton, 2006). What is the myth of Hindu fire mare and how does Patton explain the significance of this myth in relation to environmental pollution. Hindu fare mare is the myth that fire brings images concealing immense energy; it gives a chance of survival to humans and would destroy everything in the end of time. Agni the fire goddess is present in all three worlds and helps settle disputes or act as a witness in ceremonies such as marriage.(patton, 2006) Patton explains that many cultures have made the sea sacred in believing that it can was away dirty or immoral, majorly anything contaminating. In return, the oceans and seas take in limitless amount of waste and the ecologists are slow to act (Illich,

Ancient Epic and Tragedy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ancient Epic and Tragedy - Essay Example "Illiad" names him the son of Zeus and Laodamia (the book VI). Sarpedon rises to the top in the attack of Achaean camp (book XII), perishes by hand of Patroclus. Glaucus was in the division of Sarpedon when the Trojans assaulted the Greek wall. Sarpedon addresses to the friend Glaucus in the moment, when the force and enthusiasm of battling people is already on the wane. It is necessary to notice, that the basis of epic friendship is not feelings, but actions, the display of mutual support. Friends in Homeric works - Patroclus and Achilles, Glaucus and Sarpedon - are connected, first of all, by mutual military obligations. They battle side by side, live in one tent, share a table and a bed. In order to encourage the friend and to lift his morale Sarpedon uses some arguments. First of all, he appeals to the feeling of a social duty. The matter is that the belonging to aristocracy imposes some personal obligations. Fruits of heroic honor - the glory - in antique society has not only spiritual, but also material value. It is an honor of possession of certain wealth; it is an honor and respect connected with a high social status.

Saving my best friend's life Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Saving my best friend's life - Personal Statement Example That instance triggered our desire to love scouting more. The skills and manners taught to girl scouts helped in building our self-confidence and honing our talents. It is really good to reminisce the old days while slouching on our newly vacuumed sofa and munching a fresh green apple on a Sunday afternoon. I am more of doing some reflection on the homily of Pastor Edward at the Liturgical Service this morning. "Have you done any good for others Have you become a Good Samaritan in one way or another Have you saved someone's life" he asked. I am not a super religious individual, though the questions posed by Pastor Edward hit me. Indeed, in my years of existence have I done something significant for others or am I the sole receiver of goods Was there an instance where I was able to save somebody else's life Charlotte and I often save each other from our parents' wrath whenever our adventures go overboard. "We were so worried about you! Have you forgotten you still have parents concerned about your welfare" My mom broke into these words when she discovered that I sneaked from the house for my first girl's night out. "I'm sorry ma'am, it's my fault and it will never happen again," Charlotte was quick to say. How I miss dear Charlotte. Her family had moved to Oregon since her father's job reassignment couple of years ago. Have I ever repaid her for saving me from Mommy's anger I do not recall any instance when I saved my best friend neither from any criminal, nor from wild animals when we go camping. Lo, now I remember. Four years ago on a Tuesday morning, I was feeling so down after my first heartache. Charlotte came to visit. She tried very hard to cheer me up. She prodded me to go bungee jumping with her. "It will enable you to unload you're bursting chest," she told me. "As you bungee down you can yell the hurt out loud and bury it deep into the ocean," Charlotte further urged me. The athletic spirit in me seemed to have sympathized with my hurt feelings. But Charlotte is really in the mood for some extreme outdoor fun at that time; so, she thought of going out with some of our friends. "I don't feel like going out Can you stay with me instead I insist, pleeease!" I asked her to share my anguish. So Charlotte, the best friend that she is, stayed with me the rest of that day. She decided to go home after dinner. When she left, I turned on the television set. I don't want to grow deaf with the silence of my room. I wanted to hear something. As I surf the TV channels, the evening newscast on CNN caught my attention. "Oh my God!" I gasped. The news anchor goes like, "Four were killed while thirty others got injured when a bridge East of California fell around 2 o'clock this afternoon" "Two o'clock," I thought aloud, "that is exactly the time when Charlotte would have passed through that bridge had she went bungee jumping in California today." Instinctively, I went down on my knees thanking God profusely. Early Wednesday morning, my best friend called on me. She learned about the accident in the late night news. We hugged each other tightly while tears roll down our cheeks. We attended the Church Service meaningfully on that day. "Indeed, that incident made our friendship stronger. But why did Pastor Edward's homily seem to have strung a chord in my heart" I thought, "Hey, it was July 29 when he delivered that

Public Policy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Public Policy - Research Paper Example This feeling is induced by the primary chemical agent of this drug, which is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) considers marijuana to be â€Å"a leading drug threat to the country.† However, U.S. law enforcement authorities generally regard marijuana as a lower threat than cocaine and diverted pharmaceuticals because it has least association with violent crime and property crime. Marijuana is the most readily available and widely used and abused illicit drug in the nation. Owing to its high prevalence, marijuana use has found acceptance among several adults and adolescents and a perception prevails that the drug is not harmful. Over the last few years, a tremendous growth has been witnessed in the usage, distribution and selling of marijuana in different regions of US. Usage of marijuana entails certain side effects. According to researchers, it causes problems in daily life and its us age can worsen a person's existing problems. In addition to that, declining mental and physical health, relationship problems, lower life satisfactions, less academic and career success have been reported, by heavy users of marijuana, as potential side effects. Furthermore it has also been reported that, students among marijuana users are more likely to drop out from school. In the field of work, frequently marijuana usage has been associated with side effects such as accidents, workers' compensation claims, increased absences, tardiness and low job turnover. (Drug abuse, 2012a). However, despite the illicit usage and trafficking of marijuana and the potential risks of consumption, efforts are being made to legalize the drug (White house, 2010). This has been a major public policy issue in the recent past and is a source of continuous debates taking place in the assembly. This research paper will involve a thorough analysis of the scope of this public policy concern and how it affects the public as well as the government. The p roposed policies for addressing this issue will also be discussed and suitable recommendations will be made accordingly. Scope of the public policy concern In the recent times, marijuana legalization has been the pivotal issue being discussed in the â€Å"We the People† petition site launched by White House. This website was launched with a view of providing the US citizens with a means to lobby for relevant issues. The marijuana petition has recorded more than 55,000 signatures, an astounding 20,000 more than any other issue on the website, which demonstrates the importance of the issue. Despite the relative importance of the issue, the government has refrained from responding to the marijuana petition. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) conducted in the year 2010, marijuana is the most heavily used illicit drug (17.4 million past-month users). In that particular year, 76.8 percent of current illicit drug users accounted for the usage of. Out of that, 60.1 percent users only smoked marijuana and no other drug (Ali, 2011). Adolescents and young adults are the most frequent users of marijuana. As far as 8th-graders

Saving my best friend's life Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Saving my best friend's life - Personal Statement Example That instance triggered our desire to love scouting more. The skills and manners taught to girl scouts helped in building our self-confidence and honing our talents. It is really good to reminisce the old days while slouching on our newly vacuumed sofa and munching a fresh green apple on a Sunday afternoon. I am more of doing some reflection on the homily of Pastor Edward at the Liturgical Service this morning. "Have you done any good for others Have you become a Good Samaritan in one way or another Have you saved someone's life" he asked. I am not a super religious individual, though the questions posed by Pastor Edward hit me. Indeed, in my years of existence have I done something significant for others or am I the sole receiver of goods Was there an instance where I was able to save somebody else's life Charlotte and I often save each other from our parents' wrath whenever our adventures go overboard. "We were so worried about you! Have you forgotten you still have parents concerned about your welfare" My mom broke into these words when she discovered that I sneaked from the house for my first girl's night out. "I'm sorry ma'am, it's my fault and it will never happen again," Charlotte was quick to say. How I miss dear Charlotte. Her family had moved to Oregon since her father's job reassignment couple of years ago. Have I ever repaid her for saving me from Mommy's anger I do not recall any instance when I saved my best friend neither from any criminal, nor from wild animals when we go camping. Lo, now I remember. Four years ago on a Tuesday morning, I was feeling so down after my first heartache. Charlotte came to visit. She tried very hard to cheer me up. She prodded me to go bungee jumping with her. "It will enable you to unload you're bursting chest," she told me. "As you bungee down you can yell the hurt out loud and bury it deep into the ocean," Charlotte further urged me. The athletic spirit in me seemed to have sympathized with my hurt feelings. But Charlotte is really in the mood for some extreme outdoor fun at that time; so, she thought of going out with some of our friends. "I don't feel like going out Can you stay with me instead I insist, pleeease!" I asked her to share my anguish. So Charlotte, the best friend that she is, stayed with me the rest of that day. She decided to go home after dinner. When she left, I turned on the television set. I don't want to grow deaf with the silence of my room. I wanted to hear something. As I surf the TV channels, the evening newscast on CNN caught my attention. "Oh my God!" I gasped. The news anchor goes like, "Four were killed while thirty others got injured when a bridge East of California fell around 2 o'clock this afternoon" "Two o'clock," I thought aloud, "that is exactly the time when Charlotte would have passed through that bridge had she went bungee jumping in California today." Instinctively, I went down on my knees thanking God profusely. Early Wednesday morning, my best friend called on me. She learned about the accident in the late night news. We hugged each other tightly while tears roll down our cheeks. We attended the Church Service meaningfully on that day. "Indeed, that incident made our friendship stronger. But why did Pastor Edward's homily seem to have strung a chord in my heart" I thought, "Hey, it was July 29 when he delivered that

Gender Inequality in the Workforce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gender Inequality in the Workforce - Essay Example Sexism is defined as a mindset or a belief that one sex is better or superior to another (Padavic & Reskin, 2002). It is actually discrimination based on gender. Males and females both can become the victim of sexism but usually, in workplaces, women face gender discrimination. Mostly gender discrimination is related to salaries, promotions, and recruitment. Also on a day to day situations, women encounter sexism. Â  Stereotypes are another form of popular belief about a particular group of individuals. These beliefs have no rational or logical basis but still, they are quite ubiquitous. Stereotypes can be related to genders, race, nationality or ethnicity. Any preconception about a social group without any logical and reasonable evidence can be categorized as stereotypes. They also play a role in discrimination in workplaces. Â  Both of these issues persist in workplaces today. This is mainly because of the diversity of the organizations. Today companies hire a diverse group of employees from different cultures and different genders. Because of this diversity issues like stereotypes and sexism come up regularly in organizations. Â  Females face both sexism and stereotypes. This is because of the mindset of the society regarding their kind. It was only in the 20th century when women were given the right to vote. Before them, they were considered unimportant to such an extent that their say in elections was not deemed important. Women are fighting with the same attitude even today in workplaces. The idea of female emancipation is not easy to digest for the society as a whole.

New York University Essay Example for Free

New York University Essay Bill Pope born in Bowling green, Kentucky, USA on 19th June 1952, he is a graduate from New York University with a master degree in fine art. While in university, he did many projects, he shot one of his best documentaries called â€Å"The Sixth Week† which was nominated and won the academy award for the best student documentary. After completing his study in the university, he started working on commercials and music videos for artist as Janet Jackson, Mick Jagger, Metallica Peter Gabriel, Chris Isaak and Motley Crue, among others. His best work won awards in both categories. Since then he had baged many awards which include: 1996-Independent Spirit Awards Best Cinematography, 1999-British Academy of Film and Television and Best Cinematography He developed a passion in cinema and filmmaking. He is an award winning American cinematographer, known for his work on Sam Raimis films and the Matrix trilogy. He had work with film production personalities such as Wachowski Brothers, Robert Zemeck, Editor Zach Staenberg, production designer Owen Paterson, visual-effects supervisor John Gaeta and other. Their collaboration has produced triumph works. Pope was nominated for the best cinematography for his work on Stings â€Å"We `ll be together tonight†. Pope received an MTV award for Best Cinematography. His successive film credits include Clueless (1995) and the feature-length pilot for the ABC television series Maximum Bob (1998), which was directed by former cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld. Since then he had been one of the most adored film directors of all time directing movies such as Janet Jackson: Design of the decade 1986-1996 which was produced in 1996, Bound (1996), Gridlocked (1997) and many other, many he played the role of the director of photography, these movies includes: Zero Effect (1998),Bedazzled (2000),The Matrix Reloaded (2003),Enter the Matrix (2003),The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Spider-Man 2 (2004),Team America: World Police (2004),Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006),Spider-Man 3 (2007) and the latest one which is the â€Å"The Spirit† (2008) There are element which influences pope for example, the family, Rights and The Black Power Movements as Social Sculpture, Criminality, Experimental/Popular Music, class and color-caste relations the U. S. and many others. MODE OF PRODUCTION Spider man film series are the most financially successful film. The series include the spider man 3 which was the best film financially. The Spider-Man film series which consisted of three superhero films spider -man in 2002, spider man 2 in 2004 and spider man 3 in 2007, based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, which are portrayed by Tobey Maguire. Its rights were purchased in 1985 and moved through various production companies and studios, at one point having James Cameron to direct, before being secured by Sony Pictures Entertainment. DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE Bill pope show interest in comic, fictitious and superhero films which he mostly direct. He been in the film industry almost two decade since late 1980`s to now and he seem to be strong as the time goes, he had directed a movie like We `ll be together tonight† by Sting (a bit of Classical Hollywood Studio Era), matrix (Hollywood Renaissance) and spider man-3 (Blockbuster Era). He had been a role model to many young directors would are interested in filmmaking arena. MISE EN SCENE Mise-en scene has evolved as a creative concept through the years in parallel with the evolution of film techniques and procedures. A filmmaker has to be carefully designing the composition and cinematic look of the material setting framed in the images added to their films. In cinematography affects there are mise en scene which means staging, which in French it means ‘having been put into the scene. This covers: Location, sets, props, Costumes, Lighting, and Movement within the frame and Sound. SOUND Sound is one of the main mise en scene which contributes to the quality of a cinema. Sound can be the priority aspect in a film; it goes in hand with the pictures. One cannot enjoy a film if either the sound or picture is not quality in the aspect of picture, the light comes in. The dialogue has to go well with the characters and match the time and place where the film is set. LIGHTING The lighting of a stage or plot is very essential when picture quality is concerned. It draws viewer attention to an object on the screen. Long time ago lighting in holly wood was not mean to draw attention but to eliminate darkness in the picture but today lighting is used to add effects. There are three main aspects to lighting: ? Key lighting which is used to highlight a particular object it is also called the hard light ? Fill light which light up the bordered space overall ? Backlighting it alter and bring out silhouettes and are commonly used in horror films. ? Source light create different effects ? Low-key it gives sharp contrast and deep shadows. LOCATION The fundamental planning of a location, be it anywhere is very it correspond to the characters dress. It gives a lot of information about the persons that fit in it, and even what to take place. PROPS They are parts of the sets or as tools or object used by actors. Props obtain special significance when they are used to communicate characters’ thoughts and feelings, powers and abilities in the primary themes of the film. COSTUME AND MAKE UP Costume and make up serves three fuction in a film ? It supports scenic realism to reproduces as real as possible, while clothing and facial signifies time and place of living. ? They describe parts of character or actor personality. ? They act as narrative make, their change makes someone understand and follow the story line. DIGITAL CINEMATOGRAPHY Digital technology is widely spreading in all sectors. In cinematography, the recent release is the new generation 2/3-inch 3-imager HD acquisition technology. It uses single sensor systems based on variants of the 35mm image format and can also found in market place. The promise of 4K in the NAB Digital Cinema Summit gathered global attention. They addressed issues concerning Hollywood and the global film industry’s transition to digital technology. This panel represents those creating these exciting new technologies. There are many challenge cinematographer encounter, the cinematographer need to develop a system where stereoscopic movie making is enhanced by the use of new set of creative tools in 3D image capture. REFERENCES www. nationmaster. com/encyclopedia/List-of-noted-film-director-and-cinematographer-collaborations 237k Cached Similar pages www. thedailypage. com/isthmus/article. If Spiderman Were Made in the 90s. RetroJunk. Retrieved on 2007-11-07. Leslie Simmons (2008-09-06). Two more Spider-Man films on the way, The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 2008-09-06. http://www. centres. ex. ac. uk/bill. douglas/menu. html Larry Carroll (2008-10-16). Sam Raimi Talks ‘Spider-Man’ Sequel Double-Shoot, Futures of Kirsten Dunst The Lizard, MTV Splash Page. Retrieved on 2008-10-16 http://www. discoveryfilmfestival. org. uk

Saint Gobain Glass In India

Saint Gobain Glass In India In this paper, we reflect on our efforts to undertake a research in our analysis of an organizations HCM system. The purpose of the research is to review the companys existing HCM and its working efficiency, In order to do so we created a questionnaire which consisted of both open and closed end questions to gather our feedback on the working knowledge and performance of their current system. We also conducted a telephonic interview with which helped us better understand their HR business process. COMPANY: Saint-Gobain Glass in India Leading Glass Manufacturer (India) About the company: Saint Gobain is a multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris. The head office is located on the outskirts of Paris at La Dfense.The company started by manufacturing mirrors and expanded into producing a wide spread variety of construction and high-performance materials. Saint Gobain organization operates from different geographic locations and has manufacturing plants spread worldwide; Singapore, France, U.K, India. Saint-Gobain Glass India is a 100% subsidiary of Saint Gobain France, one of the leading float glass manufacturers in the world. It manufactures and markets solar control glass, fire resistant glass and other various types of float glasses in India from its complex which is located at Sriperumbudur 40 km from Chennai, India .Saint Gobain Glass India started its venture in India in 1996 by acquiring a majority stake of Gridwell Norton. Later in 2000 it started its own glass manufacturing. Web site: www.saint-gobain.co.in ERP System the company is using: SAP (system application and products) Modules used: HR (Human Resource) FICO (finance and controlling) Logistics (PP, MM, SD, PM, QM, CS, WM) ERP Implementation partner (SAP): International Business Machines, abbreviated IBM, and nicknamed Big Blue for its official corporate colour. Old system: Before SAP, system called Timekeeper was used for Time sheet, Attendance Forms, Expense Forms, Billing, Budgeting and Forecasting, Resource Planning, Accounting Integration, Management Reporting, Project Management, Transaction/Credit Card Import, Customer Services Workbench, Professional Services Workbench, Security, Multi Company, Multi Language, Multi Currency A brief history/value of the HCM in this organization The annual revenue for Saint-Gobain Glass India Ltd. (SGGI), in 2008 was over .80 billion and they have 2, 09,180 employees working for them.Most of the skileed labours working in the manufacturing are hired on contract bases and are paid accourding to the different wage categories weekly. The company works with employees and business partners across different cultures; they conduct business transactions in different currencies and are bound to follow different government rules. And their legal compliance processes must adhere legislation and case law as well as other standards, codes of practice or other authoritative pronouncements of all the countries which they work with. They require a system which can streamline their business activities and also monitor their core business processes. After communicating with the HR Team we know that the company believes in employee satisfaction. Their management gives a lot of importance to their employees which motivates the employees and in return they get better, efficient performance from the employees. They believe that if their company can satisfy the needs of the employees it is mutually beneficial and also helps the company achieve new targets and expansion plans. It makes the management more confident in taking more risk and aggressive measures to gain the market share. Most importantly the management wanted transparency throughout the corporation to maintain its accountability to its stakeholders, financial investors and financial institutes to ensure that they demonstrate the legal compliance process is working as intended. Also accountability is from management to the local authority, to the general public and they believe that this is possible only with the help of a system which understands their business process, is stable and automated in order to reduce manual errors. NEEDS ANALYSES Before implementation of SAP in the organization they had to Return on Investment ROI Return on Investment is used by companies to measure the profitability they will earn on every investment they decide to make. It is generally calculated by taking the fiscal years income and dividing it by common stock and preferred stock equity plus long-term debt. ROI measures how effectively the firm uses its capital to generate profit; the higher and figures the higher the profitability. The return on investment formula used in Saint Gobain is Profitability = fiscal years income / common and preferred stock + long term debt. The company has not yet achieved the return of investment from implementation. Identify the ERP tool to implement: The management had to choose between implementing my SAP or a HR specific software package to replace their existing Human Resources and Payroll systems. They needed to have a clear Project goal and objective in mind before deciding and in order to prepare a clear project goal, they adopted need analysis strategy. Need analysis is the process of understanding the current business process and analyzing what changes are to be made for optimizing the existing practices in their business process (adding or changing the existing process) to achieve better, effective results. They conducted a thorough needs analysis before narrowing down on their project objectives. In order to define the project goal they gathered relevant information from all the departments which involve HR process (recruitment, payroll, administration). The information was also shared with information technology department and also from upper top management. This information was analysis to find what changes the department needs to consider and how can that be achieved and used that study to create a project goal. They were very particular that the new system which is to be implemented must produce accurate and on-time payroll data; it must be able to track employee absences, time sheet. They were looking at the system as a long term investment and they did not want a system which would need frequent updates and changes. After conducting an exhaustive research about the ERP systems they would want to implement. They concluded that SAP ERP tool was best suited for them and their business needs as it provided them with an accurate stable process and the system would be a solid one time investment. Identifying the implementation partner Saint Gobain does not have specialized in- house IT professionals to implement the SAP system for them. They had to take external support from an established IT company to make this new change possible and effective. Identifying such company to be there implementation partner was very critical for them. They got the following evaluation cleared before choosing them as a partner. They needed a my SAP HR implementation business partner who will be there to support them. A partner who can empathizes to their problem rather than sympathizes. Their checklist included details like to The duration to complete the implementation be?. What strategy and methodology do they follow? How much will this implementation cost them? How much previous experience does the company they have with this area of implementation? How do they narrow down on the risks and what are their methodologies to mitigate such risks? The background of consultants working on the project and how much of resource will they need? Do they deal with issues concerning post implementation upgrades? Do they offer the service of providing technical support post implementation? How experienced are they at the training aspect concerning H.R? What is the time duration taken by them to train? International Business Machines, abbreviated IBM, was chosen to be their implementation partner. CHANGE MANAGEMENT (http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid183_gci799426,00.html) A systematic approach was taken while dealing with change, both from an organization and individual perspective. This has different aspects which are adapting to the new change, controlling the change and effecting the change. An organization, change management meant identifying and implementing policies, procedures and technologies to deal with changes in the business environment. Creating a project team: After the project goal and implementation partner was identified they had to be very careful in making a project team. They wanted to make sure that the daily production or process is not affected because of this. Employees were expected to perform their normal jobs alongside the my SAP project to give them a chance to express their concerns. Their project team involved in my SAP HR implementation included people from different concerned departments (HR and Payroll), their key users, the functional project team members, the IT department, Line Managers and Upper Management as well as external Consultants. Moral problems related to staff reduction: After implementing the new system many employees were trained and asked to use the new system. There were many employees who were asked to resign as they were not performing with the new system and new qualified employees were hired. This created a major impact on other employees. This new system was making the employees very insecure and they started losing their confidence in the jobs assigned to them. Management had to take effective steps to encourage and maintain the moral of the employees and also make then work to reach the daily production. New management skills required the management to be trained and qualified on the new system and understand the changes the system is brought into the organization. They had to identify employees who are familiar with the business processes, quick and eager learners, good team players and having both analytical and IT literacy skills. These employees need to be identified at an early stage and properly briefed about their new responsibilities. Implementation The management was very particular and they wanted to make complete use of the implementation period to the maximum. for this they had a list of all the tasks for the implementation process, a deadline for each of the tasks, person responsible for the task, control phases and a weekly and daily Meeting Schedule when, who, where and purpose? they wanted to adopt this to ensure that the project was in control and not deviate from the business process and time. When issues are identified during implementation process and there were issues every day these issues were need to be logged on a database, accessible for all the project team members. They made sure that all the issues were logged with the date, the person responsible; system area affected and proposed solution. They also ensured that the issue database is updated with the implemented solutions for future reference. This process is still helpful for then at the time of upgrading the system and the time of internal training. The management also used their implementation time even more effectively by giving training to their employees rather than waiting until the end of the project, training was be carried out continuously throughout the implementation to save production time. During the implementation they used the project team to train the end user about the system. And during the testing stage of the implementation they involved the end user. This helped the project team identify problem areas, and also helped the end user to learn about using the system. This practice help was effective as project team members can start being productive from day one being familiar with the software end users can be given access to a sandbox client and start playing with the system Implementation phases Phase1: Master Data, Time Management, Payroll, Benefits Administration, Organizational Management and Payroll Phase 2: Personnel Development, Recruitment, Training and Events, Travel Management and Compensation Management this phase can be broken down further. Phase 3: Employee Self Service, Managers Desktop INTERGRATION The process of attaining visibility and seamless coordination between several departments, groups, organizations, systems, etc, by providing a single interface for viewing all the data within an organization, and a single set of structures and naming conventions. SAP HR is integrated with a number of SAP modules such as FI, PS, WF,etc. which enabled them to link production planning to the employees shift and absences in this case they used the data from SAP HR time management to integrate with SAP PP. The organization structure defined in OM is very important in workflow to route the responsibilities to the respective employees. The companys in house analytics tool is integrated into the SAP HR. DATA INTERGRITY When functions such as data transformation, archiving, master data storage are performed on the data, the functions must ensure that the data is same. The most important aspect of data integrity is to expose the data, the functions and the datas characteristics. Data integrity is consistent and certified data which can be reconciled. Data integrity is imposed within a database at its design stage through the use of standard rules and procedures, and is maintained through the use of error checking and validation routines. Exact duplication of the sent data at the receiving end is achieved through the use of error checking and correcting protocols. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/data-integrity.html Integrity of data refers to the fact that data, once stored, has not been altered in an unauthorised way either by a person, or by the malfunctioning of hardware. In the case of Saint Gobain India They started the operations in India as a joint collaboration with ____________. They acquired And started the production in _________. The SAP implementation was done on __________. So the company did not have any old data which needs to be transferred to the SAP HR system. Company did have few other modules like purchasing and logistics in which the old data had to be transferred to SAP system which they were successful in doing it while the implementation process. WEB BASED HR Web-Based Human Resources shows HR professionals to make optimum use of existing online technologies to offer more services to more employees at a lower cost. It offers tips on which approaches are most effective in small, medium, and large organizations and provides a framework for transforming HR from a support function to a centralized entity on which the organisation can use strategically Saint Gobain India does not use web based HR to manage its HR processes. REPORTING Human Resources reporting used in Saint Gobain Saint Gobain relies on statistics data and they conduct internal audits on regular bases. They use both standard reports provided by SAP and also have few customizes reports.The reporting is done on the organisational level. Standard reports Employee list This report contains employment information such as branch, department, job title, position, manager, and personal details. Phone book This report displays contact details for each employee, including phone number, extension, mobile phone, pager, and fax. Employee Master data related Reports S_PH0_48000450-they use this report for Monitoring HR master data S_PH9_46000224 used for generating reports on Education of their employees and their training scheduled if needed. S_PH9_46000222 this report generates details of employees family members S_PH9_46000221 used to generate list of all the employees celebrating Birthday. This report is generated on monthly bases. S_AHR_61016369 report on list of employees in the organization. This can also provide info based on employees in each department. S_AHR_61016374 this is used to generate reports on Nationalities of their employees S_PH9_46000217 used to generate report based on the Gender of employee and also Sort it by Seniority Absence report PT 90 Saint Gobain uses this report for finding the percentage of attendance and Absences of their employees Organizational Management Reports S_AHR_61016493 to view report on Organizational Structure and its assignment S_AHR_61016494 report on Organizational Structure with Positions alloted in the structure S_AHR_61016497 generate report on existing Jobs in their organization S_AHR_61016502 generate reports on existing Positions in their organization S_AHR_61016503 generate report on Staff Assignment and its relationship S_AHR_61016509 to generate the list of vacant positions in their organization Payroll Reports RPCSC000 -This transaction code is to split the employee (personnel numbers) into small sets and run payroll in parallel in the background. This way they were able to reduce the payroll runtime. RPCDTBX0 -using this report they can determine what are the wage types that are to be payed , deducted and also the date of payment. This helps them in identifying any additional payment to be given to the employees. H99_DISPLAY_PAYRESULT-this transaction code is used to get details about one employees payroll result. RPDLGA20 -this report generates a list of all the wage types available in the country HR-ABAP REPORTS With the help of ABAP they have generated few other reports for HR report from cumulate result table List of employees who have completed certain years of services in the company Petrol allowance Medical allowance ADVANTAGES Saint Gobain benefited from several advantages after the successful implementation of SAP system With their old system they had difficulty in employee retention and provide accurate, on-time paychecks. After MySAP HR (a long-term solution) MySAP HR meets those challenges offering an integrated solution that provides standard currency, regulatory, payroll, benefits, and time-management capabilities for any type of organization. SAPs HR solution supports integration with their internal analysis tools, and provides a complete picture of the organization and the market environment in which it operates (glass manufacturing). It also allows maximizing the use of the Internet to enable collaboration and shared decision-making between employees and HR managers, which saves both time and money. They were able to control the Cost of Consultants (contractors) including controlling the number of days consultants stay on the project and selecting experienced consultants, fixing the cost for the consultant. The budget costing was fixed depending on the number of days planned for each consultant with dates, rates and the type of task. By making this budget as accurate and detailed as possible and comparing the costs continually with the budgeted figures, it is actually possible to stick to the budget and maybe even save some money They think that the advantage of SAPs software is that it keeps up with the latest technologies, laws and regulations and they dont need to be replaced. Upgrades are mini projects much of it can be done in-house. Upgrades are less painful than implementations mainly because employees are already familiar with the product and much of the work can be done internally. With SAP is that the project never ends there always a scope of improvement ISSUES Despite using the ERP tool of SAP and its various modules of HR, FI, CO, PP, MM, SD, PM, QM, CS, WM Saint Gobain is still not able to fix certain problems they face in the daily process. They feel that the tool lacks accuracy in few of its functionalities like data analyzing, forecasting and date retrieving speed. They feel that the system is not having upgraded with the latest governmental rules and regulations which is extremely essential and critical to them for legal compliance The Company has to wait for the SAP LABS to update the system and state that the updates are unpredictable and they are getting charged for it. They feel that the system should be more interactive with them and do not want to depend on SAP every time they require an update. RECOMMENDATION We feel that they are not using the SAP HR to is best potential there are few functionalities which are not used by them effectively MSS (management self service) this service is used as web based application by managerial staff and line managers to monitor their daily production and process. Instead managers and management staff use workbench to do their daily monitoring. Effective reporting Saint Gobain uses standard reports provided by the Tool they do not use Ad-hoc reporting or customer specific reporting or quick viewer. Event management Saint Gobain being a manufacturing company do contribute a percentage of their turnover to society and events within the organization. They do not maintain all the records of social funding and events expenses in the SAP system. It is maintained separately. CONCLUSION

Possible Solutions to the Youth Violence Problem Essay -- Solutions Es

Possible Solutions to the Youth Violence Problem The birds are chirping, the sun is beaming down through the clouds, and you can hear the shrieks of excitement from the neighborhood park. Walking down the street, you envision raising your family on this picture-perfect street. As the vision becomes more and more detailed, however, the shot of a gun rings out from the distance. You duck behind a parked car, wondering where the bullet came from and why. Looking around, you are shocked to see a group of adolescents standing around another child, this one laying lifeless on the ground. As you rush over to help, the group scatters, and you notice all are wearing the same sign on their beanie hats. Looking down at the body, you see that there are no shoes to be had on his feet, although there are socks. When the police arrive, it is explained to you that this was an act of youth violence, and one that is common in that part of town. A child was shot to death for wearing a pair of shoes that a member of a street gang desired. This probably does not sound like your street where you live. It does not, however, mean that there are not places out in the world where this is an everyday occurrence. Youth are subjected daily to pressures from their peers, and sometimes these peers might be ones with a stronger temper. Programs have been implemented to help youth who become part of gangs or other types of violence, but have they been enough? One needs to search deeper to determine the causes, but it is the solutions to the problem that is, in the end, of most importance. On a local scene, the Corpus Christi Police Department has a gang prevention program. This program has a presentation in which members of the police... ...this type of violence is growing, there is not as much information available as other forms of violence. Programs, such as the Big Brothers/Big Sisters programs, are in place all over the world. However, the United States youth violence is an issue with no solution. It has stemmed from social and class differences from the time of the first immigrants, and has continued into our modern day society, with money and sexuality as basis for violent acts. Problems not only occur in our neighborhoods, but in those of other countries as well. In order for the problem of youth crime and violence to diminish, it is up to the above-mentioned programs, from local, all the way to a global, international level, to inform citizens and parents ways to help with the problems of the next generation. How can a solution ever be found if ignorance is blamed on behalf of society?

Psychosis Leads to Murder Essay

Throughout In Cold Blood, Truman Capote writes on the events directly before, during, and the happenings after the brutal murdering of the Clutter family in the quaint town of Holcomb, Kansas. The actions Dick Hickock and Perry Smith attracted Capote and led him to ultimately report on the entire ordeal. Throughout Capote’s masterpiece, In Cold Blood, Hickock and Smith’s deranged and psychotic actions directly correlate to a deep psychosis they both suffered for multiple years. Throughout the novel, In Cold Blood, the two murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, show instances of unwarranted anger and aggression that leads readers into believing that a serious issue with their psyches have occurred. Early in, the novel Hickock states, â€Å"I didn’t want to harm the man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat† (Capote 88). Here, the reader can clearly see Hickock contradicting himself but in in a rather frightening way. Smith also shows an instance of this as well later in the novel when he says, â€Å"I wish she’d been in that house that night. What a sweet scene!† (Capote 259). When Smith says ‘she’ in the previous, quote he is referring to his own sister. He vocalizes that he wishes his sister was among the Clutters in their house the night he and Dick killed them. This allows the reader to truly gage the depth of his psychosis by not even allowing himself to show any compassion to his own family. In Brian Conniff’s article â€Å"Psychological Accidents: In Cold Blood and Ritual Sacrifice,† he agrees with the previous thought by stating, â€Å"Hickock was the one with the ‘sexual intrest in female children’ who wants to stop, in the middle of the burglary, to rape Nancy Clutter,† a direct quote from Smith (5). Furnished from Capote’ s personal accounts, it allows the reader to see further into the extreme violence of the convicted felons. Aside from unwarranted anger and aggression, both, Hickock and Smith show a magnitude of signs that allow outsiders to infer that they, themselves, know of their mental condition and knowingly choose to ignore it. In many instances they vocalize this to each other and even to complete strangers. Shortly after the murders Smith said, â€Å"†¦The kind of psychotic rage it took to commit such a crime† (Capote 83). And Hickock mentioned, â€Å"I think there must be something seriously wrong with us to do what we did† (Capote 108). The context of these two quotes makes it quite easy to understand why readers believe that Hickock and Smith knew of their mental issues prior to the murders but both decided to ignore them. In Conniff’s article â€Å"Psychological Accidents: In Cold Blood and Ritual Sacrifice,† he agrees with the idea above by stating a written portion of an interview with Hickock done by Capote that reads, â€Å"Like all of the rest of the ‘normals,’ as Perry calls them—‘respectable people, safe and smug people’† (3). This is yet another solid acknowledgement of his insanity, which he chooses to blatantly ignore. Throughout the entire novel, Hickock and Smith both suffer seriously from psychotic delusions and emotional rants, which forces readers to perceive Hickock and Smith as mentally insane men. During one of these rants Smith exclaims, â€Å"I WANT TO CONESS!† (Capote 100). Hickock also shows multiple instances of emotional rants also. One of many comes when his sister says she will not contact him and he, overrun by emotion, states, â€Å"I wish she’d been in that house that night. What a sweet scene!† (Capote 259). And also, â€Å"I wouldn’t give a damn if this car caught fire and burned me alive† (Capote 188). Both these quotes appear while suffering severe shifts in emotions, which he could not control, thus proving his mental instability. After authorities caught the two, and while being questioned Smith stated, â€Å"It was part passion- a passion that was pathological,† meaning that he could not control himself (Capote 186). Small indications, such as these, allow readers to see deep into the psyche of Hickock and Smith, displaying disturbing images. Throughout unwarranted acts of anger and aggression, Hickock and Smith’s acknowledgement of their insanity, and the delusions and rants they experience directly correlation between their acts of horror and the deep psychosis they became trapped in late in their lives. This psychosis directly relates to why they did the terrible things they did, and why they didn’t think anything of it. This correlation becomes easily seen by allowing the reader to glance deep within the psyche of these two ruthless killers. Works Cited Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. New York: Random House, 1966. Print. Conniff, Brian. â€Å"‘Psychological Accidents’: In Cold Blood and Ritual Sacrifice.† The Midwest Quarterly: A Journal of Contemporary Thought 35.1 (Autumn 1993): 77-94. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau. Vol. 164. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.

Economic Development Programs Essay

Within my community, there are several development programs which have been established for the purposes of making the community more directly participative in economic development. Such programs include agricultural development programs, business development programs as well as higher education economic development programs. These programs will be addressed in this paper, with specific attention to the key actors/players in the programs, the short and long term goals of these programs, and also the political and economic issues they face in the process of promoting economic development in the region. Agricultural finance programs To begin with, there are special loan programs for new ranchers and farmers in this region, the most infamous one being the Aggie Bond Beginning Farmer Loan Programs. Through Aggie Board Loan Programs, the state helps the newly established farmers in the region to obtain loans for purchasing land and equipments, for breeding farm animals and for the construction of farm buildings (NCOSAFP, 2010). The main players/actors in Aggie Bond Program include the lending institutions (which are in collaboration with the state administration), state administration itself—playing the role of assisting beginner farmers and ranchers to obtain low rate interest loans which are exempt from federal income tax—and the ranchers/farmers who participate in the program. The federal government is also indirectly involved in these programs since it is the one that facilitates the provision of tax exemption on the interest income. Besides obtaining loans at reduced interest rates, the financial risks on loans solely rest with the lending institutions which have established for these purposes (NCOSAFP, 2010). The short term goals of Aggie Bond Programs are to act as the capital base for individuals or partnerships within the state who desire to engage in ranching, farming or both, but lack adequate financial resources to do so (NCOSAFP, 2010). In so doing, they provide all the necessary financial resources to individuals and transfer the credit decisions to the lending institutions. On the other hand, the long term goal of Aggie Board Programs is to facilitate economic growth and development within the state and the nation at large, through optimum utilization of the agricultural resources within the state and taking advantage of the tax-exempt provisions by the federal government. The program also aims at encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurship within the state through assisting potential entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector to unleash their potential (NCOSAFP, 2010). The key economic problem that the actors in these programs face is mostly the failure of the farmers to repay loans granted due to unproductive farm activities or catastrophes which damage the farming/ ranching establishment–especially nature catastrophes (NCOSAFP, 2010). This becomes a setback all the players involved because the farmers undergoes serious financial losses, the lender incurs bad debts, the state and the federal government loses the potential economic contribution from the entrepreneur. Political issues on the other hand arise from the Aggie bond allocations and apportionments among the lending bodies. For instance, after a serious debate on the farm bill, the maximum bond allocation was increased from $469 200 in 2009 to 470,100 this year and the actors have been involved in political discussions regarding the meager increments and how it would be equally apportioned to the lending institutions (NCOSAFP, 2010). Business financing programs The other type of economic development programs are the business financing development programs. These programs are so closely related to the Aggie Bond Programs in that they offer loans for many kinds of business businessmen in the state. However, there is a slight different from the one discussed above because this program finances both established as well as new business-people in the industry. For the new entrants, capital is provided while for the already existing business people, the required funds for activities such as expansion and boosting for those experiencing serious financial traps is availed (OK Commerce, 2010). The actors in these programs are established lending institutions and the business community. They include; Economic Development Administration, the Bureau Of Indian Affairs Loan Guaranty Fund, The Industrial Finance Authority, Capital Access Program, and the Linked Deposit Loan Programs. The short term goals of these programs is to provide short term business financing to the business community to solve short term cash problems, while the long term goals are to offer long term low interest loans to major business persons/ institutions to solve serious and long range financial issues (OK Commerce, 2010). Mostly, these programs do not face much political issues as compared to the economic issues which are tied to the unsecured loans and competition. While the unsecured loans may sometimes compel the lending institution to file cases in the legal system against errant and faulting business people, the competition from other existing lending institutions makes them too congested in the estate (OK Commerce, 2010). Higher education programs The state also has a Higher Education Economic Development Program. This program is designed in such way as to generate partnerships between businesses and higher education institutions within the state in order to nurture higher learning via State Regents’ Economic Development Grants. Nominations are made from the institutions and assessed by State Regents’ staff committee. Submissions are made just once for every partnership, and a limit of twenty five recognitions can be made annually (OK Highered, 2010). The actors in this program are basically partnering institutions, which usually pay $500 coordinated by the state regents. The money provided is used for internships for students of institutions to work in the enterprises of partnering business, faculty externships with partnering businesses, tuition waivers to partnering businesses’ staff members, and development of partnerships with supplementary equipment, supplies and materials (OK Highered, 2010). The short term and long term a goal of this program is the same: to facilitate economic development through partnering for the purposes of higher education. In so doing, the partnering members are able to assist each other in catering for the expenses of higher education to ensure that none is left out. In addition, they promote economic growth growth of the member businesses through materials and other kinds of supplies using the funds contributed by each partner (OK Highered, 2010). Just like the other economic development programs mentioned above, this program also faces a number of political and economical problems in its endeavors to accomplish goals and objectives. On the economic part, the program currently has a capacity of twenty two member universities and sometimes, the resources available from the partnership funds cannot meet all the needs of the partners: consequently, the process of assisting members cater for higher education needs has to take longer than the members desire (OK Highered, 2010). This basically, has the result of slowing down the accomplishment of goals and also sometimes results to withdraw of some impatient partners. In addition, the members have too much higher education needs such that the partnership has only to cater for a small percentage of the required amounts. In so doing, the economic goals are partially and not wholly accomplished. Politically, the program is not affected by external politics, but rather by internal politics among the members which mostly results from conflicting interests amongst the members and also in the selection of the leaders who will foresee the management of operations and finances (OK Highered, 2010). However, such issues have been solved successfully within the environs of the partnership. References NCOSAFP (2010). Types of state agricultural finance programs. Retrieved from http://www. stateagfinance. org/types. html OK Commerce (2010). Business financing programs. Retrieved from http://www. okcommerce. gov/Start-A-Business/Financing-Programs/ OK Highered (2010). Economic development grant for the partnership development program. Retrieved from http://www. okhighered. org/econ-dev/partner-recog. shtml

The day the Balloon Popped

To them, this situation didn't have a remote effect on their life, but to me, this caused my whole life to change. Even to this day, every time I am punished, I recall this soul destroying incident. But fortunately I have changed. Sorry for not introducing myself, my name is Joe Levi, I am the eldest out of three children. I am fifteen years old, very tall and sturdy like my father. I am looked up to by all my siblings and in a way, l lead them through their lives. My role model is definitely my father, part of the reason being that I am known as a miniature him. I have a big sense of responsibility in the family as I am always the first child to do or try out something new. Like every other child, I have my fears but I am much too proud to admit them. Exactly seven years ago, I experienced a day that had great significance to the rest of my life. This is an account on what happened. It was coming up to the big day. This was going to be the first time I had ever slept away from my parents. I was going to be sleeping at my Grandma's flat in the West End. To me, this was much more exciting than even a holiday. My parents had finally felt that I was responsible enough to stay away from them and be in charge of myself. I was buzzing with excitement. The closer it got, the bigger I felt. I was a balloon being blown up. I felt that I was supreme. Nothing could stand in my way. Until this incidence, I had been a plant, continuously growing upwards towards the sky. My parent's were always proud of me, academically but more importantly, they loved all my character-traits. My Grandma would be taking me into Central London, and as it was around Christmas time, it would be livelier than ever. I would be going to the Theatre late at night and afterwards, I would be going to a famous Creperie. Nothing could be more exciting. I had thoughts and feelings rushing through my body. The balloon was expanding, getting bigger and bigger. It was three days before the occasion and l had one of my closest friends over at my house. Surprisingly, the Sun was shining and it was a very warm day. So, we decided to have some fun with the sun. We got a big antique magnifine-glass out from the dining room cupboard, then stealing a piece of paper from the printer, we went out into the garden. Using the magnifine-glass, we focused the sun's rays onto the corner of the piece of paper. Suddenly, the edge of the paper started glowing red. It was fascinating. It continued to glow, but soon became a stronger colour and started spreading exuberantly. Suddenly, the first flame appeared. Wow! It was amazing what the Sun could do to a piece of paper, so far away. I found my dark hazel eyes fixed into the fire and didn't notice the whole paper bursting into flames. I screamed, my friend screamed. We poured a bucket of water over the piece of paper and put it in the bin. Before we could even open our mouths to let out a sigh or relief, the whole bin set alight. My mum came rushing down the stairs and It was as if the whole situation had combusted. I was terrified. I was frightened. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I stared at the roaring flames, taking over my life. My mum, who was only ever seen calm, went from blue to red to orange. She went into an explosive mood. After she put out the conflagration and my friend was sent home, I sat next to my inflaming mother. When I heard the punishment that I had been given, I couldn't believe my ears. The plant stopped growing, the balloon popped. I felt as if I had disintegrated into a pile of ashes. I was as hot as the sun. I still couldn't believe the cruel, deflating punishment that had been chosen. I thought to myself, what was so bad about what I did? All my friends did it. It was unfeasible to think that something I viewed as so minor, was actually so dangerous and life-threatening. My parents knew how much I was looking forward to staying at my Grandma's. Tears started pouring down my red eyes and onto my rose cheeks. I felt put down. I felt embarrassed. What would happen when my siblings found out? I thought that they may no longer look up to me. My brain was sizzling, my head was frying. I started bellowing at my evil mother but she didn't even look at me. I lay in my room, staring outside into the garden, watching all my siblings making snowmen with their friends and having fun snow fights. I started imagining what I could of be doing if I wasn't punished. I felt completely terrible. I felt as lowly as a worm. I pictured my grandma taking someone else to the theatre, having fun with another person. Anger started building up inside of me. I could feel it spreading throughout my body. It is amazing that, something which has had such a huge long-term impact on me, had been forgotten about an hour after the incident by my parents. I was as hot as hell; however they were as cool as a cucumber. To them, this situation didn't have a remote effect on their life, but to me, this caused my whole life to progress. Even to this day, every time I am punished, I recall this soul destroying incident. But fortunately I have changed. I now deflate less and less; I stay strong and carry on growing upwards towards the sky.

ABORTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ABORTION - Essay Example The wealthy were able to travel abroad or pay high fees to a local doctor willing to perform the procedure for a price. Poor women had to resort to less safe options. Prohibiting abortions does not and has never stopped them from occurring; it just acts to harm women. People opposed to legal abortions are also in the same camp that opposes programs that aid the impoverished and abused children who are the result of unwanted pregnancies. They point to ‘Christian morals’ and ‘family values’ as justification for the loss of liberty, discrimination of the poor and the increased cases of injured women. This divide of morals and concepts will never be bridged but the debate whether abortion should be legal or not is a matter for the courts. This discussion considers the legal aspects of the abortion issue. The arguments for and against are significant in a social context yet don’t really mean anything because they will not decide whether or not abortions remain safe and lawful. The Roe v. Wade case, brought before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973, resulted in the Court’s determination that women have the constitutional right to have an abortion prior to when the fetus is viable, meaning when it can survive on its own outside the woman’s womb. The decision removed any state law that restricted a woman to have an abortion or a doctor to perform an abortion during the first three months (first trimester) of a pregnancy. It also restricted abortions during the second-trimester unless a woman’s health was in danger (â€Å"Roe v. Wade†, 1997: 312). Though the case was then and is still strongly debated, the Court’s decision was correct from a constitutional context. Critics of the decision have generally made arguments based on personal moral beliefs which don’t count when the language of the Constitution is examined. Their moral arguments against the Roe decision can be quickly dismissed by weighing the

Violence in Philadelphia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Violence in Philadelphia - Research Paper Example Several organizations and centers have come into action to improve the conditions of the city by improving the morale and anger-management in the youth. These intend to improve the upcoming generations and simultaneously control the violence in Philadelphia. Apart from this, numerous pointers have also been identified by the local residents of Philadelphia through a community forum. These include law enforcement and severe penalties for those in defiance of the law. It also encourages the parental involvement in children’s lives in order to exercise control over them. Some have recognized the publicity of horrors the families of the unfortunate victims go through in order to make them realize the extent of these activities. An opinion has also arrived about controlling unwanted pregnancies by teenagers. The unwanted children have also become a factor of breeding hatred in the generations. Lastly, despite such negativity, it should not be forgotten that Philadelphia is indeed a beautiful tourist spot worth seeing and experiencing. Violence in Philadelphia: Philadelphia is a one of the largest and most populous cities of Northeastern United States, lying in the Common Wealth of Pennsylvania. It was once the capital of United States before the capital was shifted to Washington. Philadelphia is said to be enriched with cultural and traditional background, historical occurrences and symbolism. Philadelphia is known by other names as well like â€Å"Philly† and â€Å"City of Brotherly Love†. According to a source, â€Å"(Philadelphia) is the sixth most populous city in the US, fifth largest city area by population in the US, and the US’s fourth largest consumer media market† (Pennsylvania). It is believed that 1.5 million people reside in the city alone. Philadelphia has contributed immensely to the American history, serving as the grounds for American Revolution and American Independence efforts initiated by Benjamin Franklin back in the 18th century. It was once the geographic center for the thirteen American colonies. Hence Philadelphia has a rich historical background, loaded with culture, education and economic competency. Philadelphia is exclusively blessed in cases of heritage, education and business. Due to its strategic location and its historical use for revolutionary assembling, it reveals a rich and exotic heritage. The presence of technical colleges and study centers provide students with excellent learning and academic opportunities. Also, Philadelphia is known to be the most business-friendly city of the US. Tourism has recently sprung to light after the development of tourist attractions like series of hotels and preserved landmarks. However, the biggest drawback of this city of wonders is the presence of high violence activities in the city. Along with the bright elements found in the city is the presence of darker side in the form of high crime rates in the region. According to a report, Phil adelphia rates at 9th on the crime index, implying Philadelphia is safer than only 9% states if the US (Pennsylvania). The scale is measured from one to hundred, hundred being the safest region.

Erikson and Piaget in Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Erikson and Piaget in Action - Essay Example Piaget's preoperational stage and Erikson's Initiative Versus Guilt take place during the preschool years of ages three to six. Preoperational is Jean Piaget's second stage of development, which occurs during the preschool ages of three to six years. Three aspects of this stage are symbolic function, deferred imitation, and qualitative identity. "Symbolic function is the ability to use one thing as a symbol to represent something else." (Vasta et al 268). For example, the observed child used an empty laundry basket to represent driving a car. The child also used words to represent being a cat by meowing and licking hands like a cat licks paws saying, "I am a Kitty." Symbolic function develops skills used in the learning process for academic work. The teacher can develop representation by associating words with pictures to increase vocabulary, which in turn will also help increase social skills as well as academics. Deferred Imitation is when a child observes an action by someone and then imitates that action sometime in the future. For example, the caregiver of the child observed swept the floor yesterday and today the three year old is imitating her mother sweeping the floor. Deferred imitation proves not only the development of memory, but also the ability to learn by observation. Qualitative Identity is when a child knows that something does not changed even though it appears different. For example, crushing cheerios does not change them into another cereal: the cheerios are still cheerios. The sibling of the observed child ripped the three year olds' picture; the ripped picture was still her picture. However, a lack of conservation is a limitation for preschoolers in the preoperational stage. Observing the child practicing counting gave an understanding of conservation. For example, the caregiver created two rows of beads spread evenly and asked the child if they had the same number and the child answered correctly. However, when the caregiver spread one row longer then the other, the child believed that longer row had more beads than the shorter row even though both rows had the sa me number. The observed child focused only on the length of the line instead of counting the number of beads, which is an example of centration. Letting the child manipulate different objects, like clay, that can change shape and length without affecting quantity or volume can build conservation. Another cognitive skill that attribute to the academic work of preschoolers are egocentrism, class inclusion and serration. "Egocentrism is the inability to distinguish one's own beliefs from another's." (Vasta et al G-2). Children assume that a listener has all the same information that they have and this view of the world makes it difficult to understand the child when they are telling someone about their day. The caregiver of the observed child discovered difficulty when the child got hurt. The child assumed the caregiver knew how she got hurt and it took some questioning before the answer of how was give. The child was constantly referring to everything as "mine"; for example, my toys, my book, my television program. In the mind of a preschooler, the world is about them and nothing else is important. Despite the egocentric

An Analysis Based on Marks and Spencer Annual Reports Essay

An Analysis Based on Marks and Spencer Annual Reports - Essay Example In 2007, Cash inflow from continuing operating activities had been increased by '259 million. Cash inflow from continuing operation in 2008 has been decreased by '206.6 million that has reflected a higher working capital outflow. In 2007, there was reduction in cash outflow on leasehold repayments as compared to 2006 and hence it resulted to an increase in the working capital which was accounted to be '114.1 million. Non Financial Performance Marks and Spencer's stores in UK are highly sophisticated and are established in such a way that it can offer most convenient shopping to the customers. According to the latest survey' Over 21 million people visit Marks and Spencer's stores each week' is highly important in a fluctuating market where competition among groceries and other large scale retailers are fierce (Your M&S- 2008) Amenities including vehicles parking and restaurants are available at its most stores. Around 300 Marks and Spencer stores in UK are equipped with entrance cameras that can record the number of people who visit the stores. It is helpful to establish the ratios between the visits numbers and sales. The annual report details its strategies that it is changed and technologies are upgraded in order to capture customer footfall more accurately. Marks and Spencer has introduced thermal image cameras in its stores that are more sensitive in picking up flow of individuals and separating groups of people as they walk into the stores (Your M&S-2008). The annual reports also indicate that Mystery Shopping strategy is another way used by Marks and Spencer in order to evaluate the service qualities and convenient shopping... This essay stresses that Marks and Spencer’s stores in UK are highly sophisticated and are established in such a way that it can offer most convenient shopping to the customers. According to the latest survey’ Over 21 million people visit Marks and Spencer’s stores each week’ is highly important in a fluctuating market where competition among groceries and other large scale retailers are fierce (Your M&S- 2008) Amenities including vehicles parking and restaurants are available at its most stores. Around 300 Marks and Spencer stores in UK are equipped with entrance cameras that can record the number of people who visit the stores. It is helpful to establish the ratios between the visits numbers and sales. As the paper declares the annual report details its strategies that it is changed and technologies are upgraded in order to capture customer footfall more accurately. Marks and Spencer has introduced thermal image cameras in its stores that are more sensitive in picking up flow of individuals and separating groups of people as they walk into the stores. The annual reports also indicate that Mystery Shopping strategy is another way used by Marks and Spencer in order to evaluate the service qualities and convenient shopping possibilities. Each of the stores will be anonymously visited once a month by the experts. Marks and Spencer has created a broad approach towards customer orientation programs. ‘Marks and Spencer’s new manifesto campaign goes a step further by introducing powerful messages on provenance and healthy eating.