Assignment Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Assignment - Research Proposal Example Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries are the most rare injuries.(1- JM) Most suspected knee disorders become diagnosed first through conventional radiographs (X-rays). These radiographs are effective in demonstrating fractures because the show bones and joint spaces. Their sensitivity to soft tissue conditions remains low except in conditions where the tissues contain mush calcium or fat. X-rays are also relatively insensitive to destruction of medullary bone and loss of cartilage as well. The basic examination consists of lateral and ante posterior (AP) projections of the knee.(Carmen MartÄ ±Ã‚ ´n-Herva ´s) Radiographs and CTs remain effective modalities for post-operative imaging following ACL reconstruction. CTs, however, depict femoral tunnel in more accurate manner than radiographs. The radiation dosage however, is almost double that of the radiographs and this should be effective considered when utilizing CTs over radiographs ( Anagha et al). Plain radiographs provide limited assistance in dealing with sports related injuries. They can only be indicated in circumstances where there is significant impact injury. Positive findings are however, occasionally demonstrated in ACL disruptions, where there is depression of the lateral femoral notch, and segond fracture. Computed Tomography (CT) provides effective analysis for categorizing fracture of the tibia plateau. Ultrasound imaging is utilized minimally together with magnetic resonance imaging when analyzing many knee injuries. Ultrasound becomes reliable in assessment of quadriceps and patellar tendons, when symptoms of injury are located within the anterior joint, and are focal. Ultrasound easily identifies collateral ligaments. Injuries to these ligaments are however associated with derangement and MRI becomes essential in demonstrating the full spectrum of the injury (12- EUGENE G). MRI utilizes high soft tissue contrast and multiplanar capability in

Why Not To Carry A Gun Essay Example for Free

Why Not To Carry A Gun Essay Too often do we hear about people accidentally shooting their family members, and parents committing a family massacre. Even when people buy guns for the best of reasons, somewhere down the road, it goes terribly wrong. Guns cause nothing but harm, and should only be used by policemen. Guns being used by regular people have caused guns to fall into the wrong hands, be used against its owner, give a false sense of confidence, and be used against the wrong person, therefore I refuse to contribute to the problem. When being attacked a gun could easily fall into the hands of the attacker. In the story, A Peaceful Woman Explains Why She Carries A Gun written by Linda A. Hasselstrom, the main character talks about making men get off of her property by the sight of a pistol. She also says that one of the guys was so close to her that he was a few inches away from her face. In present times if someone of more strength is that close to you, it is just too easy to wrestle a gun away from someone. Then next thing you know, you are begging for you rlife. Pulling a gun on your attacker is just too risky. When the gun is turned against its owner, the situation usually turns fatal. There are just too many cases of owners being killed by their own weapons. This reasoning once again applies to A Peaceful Woman It seems that the main character almost purposely gets herself into these situations, to try and prove the pwer of her gun, which seems to be a popular thing among may people. One too many times this power gets turned on the owner, because the owner was cocky, and let their guard down, and in the end there goes another life. When a person has a gun in their hands, it gives them a false sense of confidence. When a person has a gun in their hand they feel that they have all the power. There have been many cases where a person shoots and kills someone just for saying something mean or being connected to an enemy. For example, a close friend of mine in high school, had a friend who was pregnant by her gang member boyfriend. One day she was in front of her house, when someone from a rival gang, drove by and shot her. Needless to  say, she did not live. Tragedies like this happen all the time because it is so easy for anybody to get their hands on a gun. It seems many times that guns are used against the wrong people, such as friends and loved ones. A prime example, is the mistake that my fiancee made almost eight years ago when he was only 18 years old. Him and his best friend were at his uncles house for a get together. While he was downstairs his friend was upstairs playing around with a gun. When his friend, found a bullet, he decided to play russian roulette, not only with his life, but the life of my fiancee as well. When my fiancee entered the room, his friend pulled the trigger, but it was an empty shot, although his friend was not so lucky. His friend gave him the gun, and he wound up killing his friend. My fiancee went to jail for a year and was on probation for five years. The gun caused nothing but problems. No one should be allowed to carry a gun, but they are, so I am taking a stand by refusing to carry one. I have seen and heard too many tragedies to ever be entised by a gun. I may be one of the few people who feel this way, but it keeps me alive, and thats what matters.

Johnson and Johnson Global Business

Johnson and Johnson Global Business In this report, we are using Johnson Johnson as the company for our strategic global business solutions project report. Introduction is formed as the brief background of Johnson Johnson. The focus of this report will be placed on JJs subsidiary Johnson Johnson, Group of Consumer Companies, Inc. Johnson Johnson. We will be focusing and relating this report on the baby product line of Johnson Johnson. The strategic initiatives of Johnson Johnsons skills, strategy, staff, structure, system and shared values will be discussed and examined in this report. We looked into their company functions so as to better understand them to enable effective decision makings. A political economic analysis is conducted to provide global risk insights for Johnson Johnson that is beneficial to JJ manage those risks as potential and risk. In relation to Johnson Johnson `s baby care products, Porter`s forces model is used to analyze the competitive advantage of the firm. One of the key understandings is that the middle-high rivalry is present with less number of competitors on Baby Care product line from competitor like California Baby, Simple. SWOT analysis show that Johnson Johnson holds strong competitive advantages after comparing its pros and cons despite of a few disadvantages of global standardization strategy. The growth strategy of Johnson Johnson will be selected based on both internal a nd external environment factor for the three years plan. These diagnoses are in reference to the SWOT analysis based on the company resources assets, intellectual property, and people. Lastly, the modes of entry will be affected by the several internal factors in this report. It comprises of internal requirement, technology know-how, management know-how as well as pressure for cost reduction. The recommendation part would provide several suggestions for the improvement of Johnson Johnson through the organization structure and Human Resource Management. Introduction We have chosen to work on Johnson and Johnson (JJ) for our strategic global business solutions project report for it is a global American pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. With more than 250 subsidiary companies located in 57 countries around the world and having its products sold in over 175 countries, JJ is a listed company evident with its listing among Fortune 500 and registering its stock with NASDAQ (NYSE: JNJ). With a diverse range of products sold in global markets, JJ adopted the business strategy of global standardization whereby there is limited customization needed for its products for focus is placed on having customers recognise and identify JJ as a household brand. Focus of this report will be placed on JJs subsidiary Johnson Johnson, Group of Consumer Companies, Inc. Strategic Initiative of Johnson Johnson Skills As Johnson Johnson is a global manufacturer with many subsidiaries on a global scale, JJ would hire its employees through a stringent process of selection and focus on ones performance. This implies that JJ recruits people of experience and ability with a global mindset hires third-country national (TCN), indicating that recruitment of people is mainly dependent on being consistent with JJs organizational structure. Strategy With the objective of market growth and maximizing profits in order to be responsible to their stockholders, JJ adopted the business strategy of global standardization. Choice of global standardization strategy is because JJs focus is placed on lowering costs and that there is limited need for customization of products for it generally the same other than slight changes in the products packaging. Staff The employees of JJ can be said to be well motivated to work for JJ has provided their staff with many incentives ranging from personal to performance benefits (i.e. annual incentive bonus, long-term incentive awards, and severance benefits). As JJ have high expectations on their employees, JJ sends their staff on regular employee training that clocks an average of 8 hours or more yearly (i.e. leadership development and management education in fields like finance and marketing). JJ also makes sure that their employees are motivated by giving them the right to voice ones opinion on company issues through JJs Credo survey. Structure JJs organizational structure is dictated by its corporate strategy. JJ initially adopted a decentralized approach to management but in the early 1900s, changed it to a more standardized approach for JJs top executives noticed that their subsidiaries are not well-positioned on a global platform to serve customers directly. The change in corporate management allowed JJ to mitigate limitations posed by the decentralization approach. One instance would be JJ having categorized all subsidiaries into three categories namely, consumer, pharmaceutical and professional. The chairman of each category is given the responsibility of identifying opportunities for leveraging services and expertise across companies in every market and the franchise managers assigned the responsibility of coordinating cross-company sales of a family of products (e.g. baby care products in US, France, Australia). The centralized management approach benefits JJ for it gives JJs top management a better view of its glob al operations and are able to effectively manage and integrate its global operations. This led to the success of JJ in being globally effective in terms of operations for cost of production is lowered in terms of reducing redundancies and duplications during the processing and manufacturing process. Systems In the business of health care, Johnson Johnson is inspired and united by a common purpose: to care for the health and well-being of the people they serve around the world. Caring drives the people of Johnson Johnson in their aim to make the world a better and healthier place through everything that they do. It is core to their business strategy and initiatives, the programs and partnerships which they build, the positions that they take on public policy issues, and their care for the environment. As the company moves forward, it continues to push the innovation envelope as coordinated activities under the centralized control, infusing superior technology and ingenuity into every product they make and every project which the company undertakes. The procedure of the JJ functions as a system in which build from within organization, as 95% of their people start at entry level and then progress and prosper throughout the organization. This not only creates many wonderful opportunities to grow and advance, it creates a special camaraderie among fellow JJers, many of whom came up through the ranks together. Johnson Johnson came up with this credo which speaks about their mission statements, views and their pledges to the customers and society. Robert Wood Johnson, former chairman from 1932 to 1963 and a member of the Companys founding family, crafted Our Credo himself in 1943, just before Johnson Johnson became a publicly traded company. This was long before anyone ever heard the term corporate social responsibility. WILLIAMC.WELDON is the chairman, Board of Directors, and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Johnson. He takes pride in the organization work procedures and describe their operation of their day-to-day work is about their response to the unmet needs of their patients and customers and also their response to the needs of their colleagues; their response to supporting the global communities in which they live and work; finally, their response to the call for research and innovation in health care. Style The parent company of Johnson Johnson which is Procter Gamble (PG) has been pioneering products in nearly 50 different categories and their baby product line will be the function in which this report will be focusing on. As the company moves forward, it continues to push the innovation envelope every day, infusing superior technology and ingenuity into every product they make and every project which the company undertakes. The procedure of the JJ functions as a system in which build from within organization, as 95% of their people start at entry level and then progress and prosper throughout the organization. This not only creates many wonderful opportunities to grow and advance, it creates a special camaraderie among fellow JJers, many of whom came up through the ranks together. This also explains why their hiring process is so rigorous. JJ `s system is as such that they are not just offering a job, they expect you to grow into one of their future leaders. From day one youll help develop or support exciting brands you know while working on projects that have a direct impact on their global, $61.9 billion sales in 2009. Shared Values Johnson Johnson`s management style of helping to shape and define what health and well-being means in everyday lives. Their products, services, ideas and giving now touch the lives of at least one billion people every day. They credit their strength and endurance to a consistent approach to managing their business, and to the character of their people. They are guided in everything they do by their Credo, a management document authored more than 60 years ago by Robert Wood Johnson, former chairman from 1932 to 1963, and by four strategic principles. Their company style is deeply rooted in their Credo and deeply in filtered into their employees and leaders. Johnson Johnson `s system is such that their overarching philosophy which guides their business is their Credo, a deeply held set of values that have served as the strategic and moral compass for generations of Johnson Johnson leaders and employees. Above all, their Credo challenges them to put the needs and well-being of the people they serve first. It also speaks to the responsibilities they have to their employees, to the communities in which we live and work and the world community, and to our shareholders. They believe their Credo is a blueprint for long-term growth and sustainability thats as relevant today as when it was written. The company behavioral style is that their values embodied in their Credo guide the actions of the people of the Johnson Johnson Family of Companies at all levels and in all parts of the world. They have done so for more than 60 years. These Credo values extend to their accounting and financial reporting responsibilities. Their management is responsible for timely, accurate, reliable and objective financial statements and related information. As such: They maintain a well-designed system of internal accounting controls. They encourage strong and effective corporate governance from their Board of Directors. They continuously review their business results and strategic choices. They focus on financial stewardship. Synergistic teams All of the above of Johnson Johnson `s skills, strategy, staff, structure, system, staff and shared value formed together and worked in cohesively to form a synergistic team of workforce that oversee the entire operation from sourcing materials ,production lines ,manufacturing to research and development (RD). It is seen as that a synergy is the energy or force created by the working together of various parts or processes. In Johnson Johnson, the baby care products are the result of synergy and quality reassurance as promise by the company. External Environment Environment cannot be controlled; therefore we should analyze the environment first then indicate the strategy that also reflects the organization structure subsequently. Political Economy Analysis The political economy of a nation defines the forms of interdependence amongst the political, economic, and legal systems, and also reflects they interact and influence each other. Political systems The system of government in a nation defined as political system which divided the 200 plus world entities into 2 dimensions that include the degree of collectivism versus individualism and the degree of democracy versus totalitarianism. More practically, individuals would be tied together to achieve the common or collective goals in the high context country, like South Korea, Japan, those people focus on the benefits of society and long-term relationship; individualism means democratic political systems and free market economies like Americans have free rights to vote in election. Myanmar, North Korea act as the totalitarianism that government absolutely controlled by one person or political party. Whereas, China exist the grey area that it has been a move toward greater individual free market economies, but the government is still a totalitarian dictatorship. If the political systems are high stable, the company would be decentralized; otherwise, the company would concentrate in the low stable situation. Although the political systems in say Japan (i.e. change in 3 prime ministers since 2007) is relatively unstable as compared to that of other Asian countries like Singapore, the Japanese government is more open in terms of local market entrance of multinational companies. Economic systems In market economy, production is determined by the interaction of demand and supply; besides, the government encourages free and fair competition between private producers, the representatives of governments like the Great Britain, US and France. The objective of command economy is the good of society; all businesses are state owned in command economy, such as Thailand, South Korea, and Indonesia. India is the typical example of mixed economy in which certain sectors of the economy are left to private ownership and free market mechanisms while other sectors have state significant ownership and government planning. The company would decentralize in the consistent economy system or concentrate in the inconsistent economy system. Legal systems For a business that operates globally, understanding the different legal systems play an important role of the process. Legal aspects help to facilitate business operations so therefore it is very crucial and a necessity for international business operators to have an understanding of the different legal systems around the world. Companies must take into consideration the legal structures of the country in which they operate in. Globalization breaks down barriers between nations and bring nation together in a global platform. But increasing investment among nations also makes it more difficult for those in different cultures to understand the rules of other countries. It is important to follow the legal system of the country in which business is conducted or the government has the right to have legal actions taken should laws be not comply. International Business Laws Businesses operate in a world in which the laws of different governments and judicial systems might conflict as they originated from different cultures. It is therefore necessary to have a basic knowledge of the legal system and also understand how does business law impacts commerce in the companys own country and overseas. The impacts of international business on business law facilitate the inclusion of standards in their company regulations or operations that address these tricky and complex issues. Social cultural environment According to Geert Hofstede Cultural Theory, the global social culture roughly classify as 4 dimensions which considered as costs. Individualism versus Collectivism The individualism and individual achievement is common in the Western Countries, both positive and negative implementation in individualism. The positive side is showed in competition between individuals rather than collective groups and the person get pay-for-performance motivation to compete within organization especially in the dynamism of US economy that encouraged person to take chances and tried new things with unique ideas (i.e. Steve Jobs). However, the individualists just focus task-based, they cannot develop a strong and long-term relationship with others which is the advantage of collectivism. US, Canada Australia is the classical individualist representatives that are different from Asia (i.e. South Korea, China) act as collectivists. Power Distance The degree of acceptance of hierarchy or inequality exists among the organization, the higher power distance (i.e. Japan, Vietnam) reflect in the decision making by the seniorities and reward as the status, position and experiences; in contrast, the decision making and authority took by the task representative and pay-for-performance reward represented in low power distance culture like Denmark and UK. Uncertainty Avoidance The degree of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguous situation, the low uncertainty avoidance reflects the high risk taker and adaptability of new things (i.e. Australia, Singapore); the high uncertainty displayed the low tolerance for uncertainty issues like France and Italy, those countries need the structured organization or rules to obey so that French and Italians are difficult to overcome the culture shock when they sent as expatriate managers. Masculinity versus Femininity Whether the differences of work in gender roles accepted in society, Japan and China should be masculine society; the jobs of gender are distinct and form a male dominant society and person more focus on financial and material possessions. On the other hand, gender roles are overlapping in the femininity country, such as Thailand and Finland, people in those countries focus more on quality of life. Therefore, in the femininity countries, the purchasing power of lifestyle is relatively high which point out an appealing way to Johnson Johnson develop. Overall analysis Those external environments provide global risk insights for Johnson Johnson that is beneficial to JJ manage those risks as potential and risk to take advantage of the relative international business strategy to form and adapt organization structure in the long-term. Competitive Advantages Posters Five Forces Degree of Rivalry The middle-high rivalry is present with less number of competitors on Baby Care product line, like California Baby, Simple; but Johnson Johnson is dominant in the Baby Care industry and the economies of scale so that the firm reflects less intense competition. The cost of competitive advantage and promotions are relatively high, like the advertising and discounts; additionally, JJ has over hundreds history and good image of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) result them remain competitive rather than leave the industry. Next, the high rate of growth display the middle-high competitive situation overall in the industry. Threat of new entrants The threats of new entrants should be low despite of low barriers of entry in the lights of low costs of set-up. The brand equity of JJ is relatively high and it has great impacts in the industry so that a large number of suppliers prefer to sign contracts with it rather than the new entrants that benefit for enhancing suppliers brand and engaging more profits, Lafes Body Care is an example of new entrant who launch a new baby care product line in recent years. In addition to the switching costs for customers, customers are keen on the brand with quality guarantee using for baby or not the less discrepancy of prices. Threat of substitutes Some baby care products from say Pigeon Corporation and Drapolene are suggested by doctors (i.e. responsible to babies), but lack in brand awareness recognized by customers as renowned brands and those products are not easier to buy or package of those products are not portable for customers to bring; compared with them, Johnson Johnson baby care products differ from they could be bought in almost of all supermarkets under the world-wide distribution channels and be convenient to carry about. Hence, threats of substitutes should be low. Power of Buyers There are a lot of alternatives for customers contribute to the high bargaining power of customers, especially for the price-sensitive customers, who are prefer to the high-quality products with the lower costs in the traditional theory research. However, JJs Baby Care products are considered as the essential healthy pharmacy products for baby by an amount of loyal customers. All in all, the bargaining power of customers should be low-to-middle as its healthy baby brand image formed in customers mind around the world, even the adult females prefer to but baby products to care their skins. Power of Suppliers There are thousands of suppliers to provide the materials, goods and services that allow JJ Family of Companies to manufacture products, supply offices and other facilities to service customers around the world. JJ committed to working with small and diverse suppliers in terms of their abilities to support its long-run growth objectives and add value to its business through providing the innovative solutions to their marketing, manufacturing and RD efforts. Even though the various inputs from the suppliers, the competitive situations also exist among suppliers and large amount of substitute inputs contribute to the low power of suppliers. Financial environment Analysis on JJs operation results is essential for it allows its stakeholders to gain an insight on how JJ is performing on the global platform and whether the management strategy employed needs to be consistent or changed according to future market projections. Looking at JJs net sales figures in the last 5 years (Appendix 1), gathered from JJs 2009 annual report, we see a generally consistent growth in its net sales. Though there is a dip in worldwide sales figure of 2.9% ($61.9 billion) from 2008, this can be accounted with JJs spending on research and development ($7 billion) as well as acquisitions and collaborations. Although this will cause a reduction in JJs sales margin, it will benefit the organization in the long-run whereby profits will be reaped upon returns on investment. Currently, JJ is expanding its operations in the BRIC countries (i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, and China) as well as other fast-developing markets. This should be a continued project of JJ for at least the next 3 years to maximize its profits and increase its global market share. This is inline with JJs organizational vision drive superior business results and sustainable competitive advantage. Internal Environment Value Chain JJs corporate vision, to maximise the global power of diversity and inclusion to drive superior business results and sustainable competitive advantage is in line with its corporate objective of profit and growth. Both JJs vision and focus has direct implication on its corporate structure. This is reflected upon the process within JJs value-chain. In terms of JJs organizational structure, Human resource management (HRM) plays a vital role in the direct success of JJ as an organization for it is the people, most valued asset, that contribute to achieving the goals and objectives of JJ. At present, JJ hires experienced and capable leaders to bring the organization to greater heights and JJ does not stop there. JJ provides all top executives in training which include leadership development and management education in fields like finance and marketing. JJ prioritizes on the professional development of every employee for JJ believe that they are capable in developing leaders within the organization by exposing them to diverse fields and giving employees heavier responsibilities to assess their ability. As mentioned above where staff motivation is important, we as consultants believe that JJ should continue to train their employees and appraise the performance of employees in the next three years. This is so that JJ would be able to make better use of their employees capabilities and talents and this will benefit the organization in the long-run when employees are loyal to JJ. Focusing on JJs consumer goods of baby products, the in-bound logistics ties in with operations before linking with outbound logistics, sales marketing and finally, providing businesses and consumers with service. JJs in-bound logistics would include the purchasing of raw materials needed for the manufacturing of baby products and storing the raw materials in various designated warehouses. Operations will then occur whereby factory employees would have to work along a production belt with the help of machines and maintain quality checks as well as bottling of baby products. JJ would then distribute the ready products into containers for shipment, in allocated warehouses or directly to retailers and distributors. To aid JJs employees in convenient dispersal of information to sales staff, they have made use of MultiAid to resolve all marketing resource management needs. This increases JJs operational efficiency and gives the organization a head start on asset management for product ima ge, captured data and distribution to retail trade communities is readily accessible to employees with one click on the computer system. With regards to sales and marketing, JJ advertises by relating consumers with real-life scenario whereby a mother bathes her baby with JJs baby products and having the statement of products for the ones you love. There are two types of service provided by JJ business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C). JJ provides its business partners and suppliers with business opportunities. This means that the degree of success experienced by JJ has direct impact and will benefit companies that do business with JJ. Consumers of JJ are exposed to gathering useful and relevant information when having purchased JJ baby products for JJ has formed a website (i.e.BabyCentre.com) and a online Baby Care Library to increase the closeness in customer interaction. SWOT Analysis Strengths (Internal) Weaknesses (Internal) Abundant financial resources Strong brand name Proprietary technology Respected brand image Wide product lines Economies of scale Committed employees Superior product quality Better marketing skills Good distribution skills Low customization Lack of flexibility Opportunities (External) Threats (External) Opening of foreign markets Rapid market growth Brand switching Demographic shifts Low barriers to entry Economic downturn Introduction of new substitutes products Rival firms adopting new strategies Strengths Johnson Johnson is a well-known healthcare brand which ranks No. 1 within the industry under one decade of its historical development with a wide variety of skincare products and superior product quality. Abundant financial resources are exploited by the RD department to employ the committed staff for creating and even innovating the hygiene products through proprietary technology and build up the respected brand image. Besides, it focus on product leadership excel at product development and professional skills so that it can offer customers the best products in the industry. As the facts show that, JJ expanded internationally around the world, like Asia (Singapore, China) that triggered by the better marketing skills. Additionally, the good world-wide distribution skills due to its global standardization strategy that allow JJ to generate great market shares by cost reduction that come from economies of scale and fast product development what based on stable relationship with local distribution agents and its respected brand image as well as superior product like baby care mainly. Weaknesses Global standardization is the main international business strategy to control cost but this also is its drawback that results in the low customization. In addition to the world-wide product structure, the managers lack of flexibility to face the challenge of changes in local markets. Opportunities In order to bring along the development of local economy, most of countries welcomes the international companies introduce their products to diversify the local economy. The increasing attentions of baby nurturance and its brand image prompt customers to purchase its products and grow rapidly in the global new markets. There is an opportunity to generate more market shares and enhance its brand image in the long-term in the lights of the rise in global demographic population reach to 7 billion that data collected from statistics of 2011, China and India act as the representatives; moreover, the superior product quality of JJ is the critical to attract customers switching from other brands. Threats JJ faces the threats of the low barriers to entry due to the low cost of set-up, and the proprietary product differences will be difficult to protect when the barriers are reduced so that the customers would switch to other brands more possibly. Another threat reflected by the economic downturn, JJ is difficult to manage the exchange rate risk under the global standardization strategy. Most important, JJ would be forced to stay at the passive threat that the customers would be attracted by its competitors and sales would be declined if rivalries adopting the new strategies. Outcome of SWOT Matrix Generally, Johnson Johnson holds strong competitive advantages after compare its pros and cons despite of few disadvantages of global standardization strategy. In another angle, JJ is able to switch the threats to opportunities in the lights of its calculus-based capability and resources. Growth Strategies adopted by Johnson Johnson There are both internal and external environments to be carefully evaluated when planning for a three years growth strategy plan for Johnson Johnson as what happen externally and internally will affect the company. These diagnoses are in reference to the SWOT analysis based on the company resources assets, intellectual property, and people. With careful consideration and by selecting market penetration growth strategy for a three year period, it will help them to gain more market shares through promotion and advertising from their strong marketing teams. Before planned the growth strategies, the firm should generate a lot of information about if the company is selling new, existing or emerging products in a new or existing market. From the diagnosis of the Porter`s model, understanding that the threats of new entrants are low and also credited to the high brand equity of Johnson Johnson, market penetration growth strategy defined by Ansoff is selected in the lights of situation that involves neither new markets nor new products, are forced to grow through this growth strategy. It is a strategy that is designed to give the business a greater percentage of market shares. Market penetration occurs when a company enters/penetrates a market with current products. This type of strategy usually seeks to gain a compet

Women and Advertisements Essay examples -- Beauty Media Essays Adverti

Women and Advertisements The average American is exposed to hundreds of advertisements per day. Advertisements targeted toward females have an enormous effect on women's thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, and actions. Most of the time, women don't even realize these advertisements are formulating self-image issues. These ideals surround them daily and they become naturalized to the ads. Advertising creates an entire worldview persuading women to emulate the images they see all around them. In order to create a market for their products, companies constantly prey upon women's self esteem, to feel like they aren't good enough just the way they are. This makes women constantly feel stressed out about their appearance (Moore). Advertising has a negative effect on women's body image, health, and self-esteem. Advertising creates a mythical dream world where there are no problems, everyone is beautiful, and has money to spare. Advertisements depict the way in which people think women and men are â€Å"supposed to be† (Cortese 52). Women are shown all these images as role models, which are unattainable. Females are not able to be happy with their bodies because everyday in the media they are told that they are not beautiful. The average American woman is 5 feet tall and weighs 142 pounds. When is the last time you saw a women meeting these qualifications in any advertisement? The truth is most people don't have the genetic potential to be the idealized shape and size in our culture (â€Å"Every†). Women are doomed from the beginning. The media favors one women's body type; the tall blonde with perfect, tan skin and long, beautiful hair. Because the images of women in advertisements are unattainable, it keeps them purchasing new products in their quest to be like the models they see (Moore). The actual women in these advertisements can't even match up to the image of themselves in real life. They are almost computer-generated women like in the movie Simone. Indeed, with the technology we have now, advertisers can transform a product into perfection, at the same time, misleading the consumer into seeing it as â€Å"real†, and thus permanently providing impossible standards (Ingham). More and more women are becoming dissatisfied with themselves trying to be this fantasy person created by the men in our society. This distorted view of reality, portrayed by advertisemen... ...m, corporations will do anything to make a buck, including forcing women and girls to suffer health problems, low self-esteem, depression, and the adoption of subservient roles in society. Socialism would lay the basis for women's liberation. Advertising would no longer suffocate and distort women's sense of self-worth. A society based on equality and mutual respect would finally eliminate the second-class status women have held for thousands of years (Moore). If a women can't be happy with her body than she is not able to teach her children that their bodies are beautiful. Children are taught that fat is unlikable. They assume that all fat people eat all the time, are dirty, lazy, stupid, cheaters, and other negative images. Advertisers need to take into consideration the changing roles and sizes of women in society. Society is starting to accept other cultures, religions, and races, but they still don't accept people that don't have fit the â€Å"normal† body size. Beaut y is in the eye of the beholder, but if advertisements helped reinforce the many different definitions of beauty it would decrease the number of women who have poor body image, low-self esteem, and health problems.

Case Study: Evolution Psychology Essay

1) Application questions†¦ 1. One way evolutionary psychology can answer Dylan’s promiscuity is that it has become a learned behavior that he has never had to correct/change. The study states that he has been promiscuous since high school and he sees no reason to change his ways. 2. To explain Dylan’s typical womanly interests being of mostly the same physical attributes, has to do with is innate drive for successful reproduction. His attractions to an athletic blonde of medium height, is what Dylan believes the best fit to produce healthy children. Even though Dylan shows no concern after the fact of having children, evolutionary psychology suggests that it is Dylan’s cognitive drive to find these types of women. 3. Such as Dylan’s evolutionary drive for an attractive partner to reproduce with, the women he agrees with dating have some of the same drives for success with their partners to reproduce with. They may know of his wealth and great looks which may be some deciding factors for their choice of a mate. It isn’t until later that the women find out the not so attractive attributes of a man in Dylan’s position. 4. Dylan most likely takes his dates out for a tennis match, to test their physicality and athleticism. He may not want to base his decision on a mate just off of looks; he wants to know if they are strong enough to bring him strong offspring. We look at human evolution to justify this type of occurrence, even if it is a cognitive (subconscious approach) to determining a mate. 5. As we see in nature, many male species do not care for the offspring after birth. That job is left to the mothers and this can explain Dylan’s feelings towards his own children. He feels he found a mate for a reason, to have strong children that they can look after. He does not feel it is his part to raise the children, once he has found a suitable mate, his job is  done. 6. Dylan does not use birth control, because he feels it is the female’s duty to keep herself from becoming pregnant if she does not want to be pregnant. Same goes for std’s , in the relationship , if the woman has chosen Dylan he believes she has made the choice to trust him. Dylan would use protection if he did not trust that the woman he chose to be was clean or not suitable for reproduction. He made a choice and so did the woman, he believes she has thought about all issues that may arise and that is why she is not worried about protection (in Dylan’s eyes).

Anne Frank Goes Into Hiding, 1942

Anne Frank Goes Into Hiding, 1942 Anne Frank Goes Into Hiding (1942): Thirteen-year-old Anne Frank had been writing in her red-and-white-checkered diary for less than a month when her sister, Margot, received a call-up notice around 3 p.m. on July 5, 1942. Although the Frank family had planned to go into hiding on July 16, 1942, they decided to leave immediately so that Margot would not have to be deported to a work camp. Many final arrangements needed to be made and a few extra bundles of supplies and clothes needed to be taken to the Secret Annex ahead of their arrival. They spent the afternoon packing but then had to remain quiet and seem normal around their upstairs renter until he finally went to bed. Around 11 p.m., Miep and Jan Gies arrived to take some of the packed supplies to the Secret Annex. At 5:30 a.m. on July 6, 1942, Anne Frank awoke for the last time in her bed at their apartment. The Frank family dressed in numerous layers so as to take a few extra garments with them without having to cause suspicion on the streets by carrying a suitcase. They left food on the counter, stripped the beds, and left a note giving instructions about who would take care of their cat. Margot was the first to leave the apartment; she left on her bike. The rest of the Frank family left on foot at 7:30 a.m. Anne had been told that there was a hiding place but not its location until the day of the actual move. The Frank family arrived safely at the Secret Annex, located in Otto Franks business at 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. Seven days later (July 13, 1942), the van Pels family (the van Daans in the published diary) arrived at the Secret Annex. On November 16, 1942, Friedrich Fritz Pfeffer (called Albert Dussel in the diary) became the last one to arrive. The eight people hiding in the Secret Annex in Amsterdam never left their hiding place until the fateful day of August 4, 1944 when they were discovered and arrested. See full article: Anne Frank

How to Generate a Unique ID in PHP

How to Generate a Unique ID in PHP A unique user ID can be created in PHP using the uniqid () function. This function has two parameters  you can set. The first is the prefix, which is what will be appended to the beginning of each ID. The second is more_entropy. If this is false or not specified, it will return 13 characters; if its  true, 23 characters will be returned. Examples For Creating a Unique ID Below are examples of creating a unique user ID, but each are a little different. The first creates a normal unique ID while the second shows how to make a longer ID. The third example creates an ID with a random number as the prefix while the last line can be used to encrypt the username before storing it. //creates a unique id with the about prefix $a uniqid(about); echo $a; echo br; //creates a longer unique id with the about prefix $b uniqid (about, true); Echo $b; echo br; //creates a unique ID with a random number as a prefix - more secure than a static prefix $c uniqid (rand (),true); echo $c; echo br; //this md5 encrypts the username from above, so its ready to be stored in your database $md5c md5($c); echo $md5c; ?

3 Types of Scare Quotes

3 Types of Scare Quotes 3 Types of Scare Quotes 3 Types of Scare Quotes By Mark Nichol Framing a word or phrase in scare quotes, or quotation marks used for emphasis, can be an effective tool for signaling editorial distance- that is, subtly and succinctly clarifying that the word or phrase is not of the writer’s choosing or that it is euphemistic or otherwise specious or spurious. However, too often, scare quotes are gratuitous or redundant, as shown in the examples below: 1. They must look to the senior management to help them acquire this â€Å"big picture† view. This sentence features gratuitous use of scare quotes- gratuitous, because the writer seems to mistakenly assume that any idiom, no matter how quotidian, must be enclosed in quotation marks to signal that the meaning is not literal. The marks are unnecessary with most established idiom: â€Å"They must look to the senior management to help them acquire this big-picture view.† 2. The guidelines set forth the separate responsibilities for management and so-called â€Å"front-line† units. Here, the scare quotes are redundant. The quotation marks serve to inform the reader that the writer did not generate a word or phrase; rather, he or she is merely reporting a usage that someone else employed. But so-called signals this fact to the reader, so it is superfluous to use scare quotes as well. When such redundancy occurs, the writer (or editor) should opt to delete the scare quotes and retain so-called: â€Å"The guidelines set forth the separate responsibilities for management and so-called front-line units.† 3. That same budget funded quote-unquote â€Å"crisis pregnancy centers.† Using the phrase quote-unquote in speech is understandable, because scare quotes are not visible in speech- another approach is to use air quotes, hand gestures that suggest quotation marks- but in writing, doing so is an intrusive alternative to so-called: â€Å"That same budget funded so-called crisis pregnancy centers.† (In this case, however, because the writer is criticizing the use of the euphemistic phrase â€Å"crisis pregnancy centers† for a type of facility associated with deceptive advertising and misleading information, use of scare quotes in lieu of so-called is also appropriate.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Homograph Examples50 Idioms About Roads and PathsMankind vs. Humankind

Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

Final Exam - Essay Example Tyrants consolidate powers that they use in ruling the masses to accept what they impose. One of the characters that prove that Pericles was not a tyrant is his approach of doing things. For instance, he was able to use the majority of the people in the assembly to pass resolutions that restricted Areopagus when his main political challenger was away in Sparta. The resolutions were not meant to benefit him but were for the good of the citizens. He managed to pass legislation that gave people powers and created institutions where citizens would have the rights of voting and to contest for political positions (History World 12). Therefore, he managed to overcome tyrant’s characters by widening the democratic space for citizens. Secondly, Pericles was a changed leader once he took over leadership. He was willing to give back to the people hence attracted more citizens who came to his support. This is also evidenced when King of Sparta, Archidamus, asked Thucydides whether he was a better fighter than Pericles. He answered that Pericles was better because he can convince the audience that he has won in cases where he is defeated. He was also above reproach by citizens since he was clean from corruption (History World 15). The character he displays does not portray one who is a tyrant, but an individual who consults with others in doing things. In other instances, Thucydides had admired the leadership style of Pericles where he acknowledges that Athen was in the name of democracy with first citizens governing it. Through this comment, he acknowledges the charismatic leadership style which Pericles showed where he was able to convince and manipulate. Similarly, there is no accusation labeled against Pericles, but instead his opponent focuses on his integrity (History World 16). Lastly, Pericles was not carried away by people; instead, he provided guidance to the people. He acted as a public charismatic figure and as an advocate on the advisors proposals.

Politics, the Role of Good Governance Assignment

Politics, the Role of Good Governance - Assignment Example The discussion focuses on the role of democracy in influencing the overall development of low-income countries. It also precisely outlines the performance of these countries after their independence and acceptance of a democratic system. There are various forms of governance system such as monarchy, dictatorship and democratic practiced by different nations around the world. However, since last few decades’, democratic form of governance systems has gained tremendous popularity and is widely favored by both people and experts, especially in low-income or developing countries. Most of the nations around the world have either already transformed their governance system into a democracy, or they are observed as endeavoring to transfer their governance system into a democratic structure. One of the best definitions for the term was given by U.S. President Mr. Abraham Lincoln, which states democracy as â€Å"government of the people, by the people and for the people†. It should be noted in this regard that the word ‘democracy’ primarily focuses on the people and not on the government2. The world is now more democratic than it was ever before. After the independence of many Asian and African nations, countries have adopted a democratic system of government in the face of intense poverty and relentless social as well as economic apprehensions. Nonetheless, democratization in low-income countries has resulted in positive outcomes in several fronts, especially in achieving universal primary education and eliminating gender disparities in access of basic education. The democratization in low-income countries has indeed helped them to reduce child mortality rate and a poverty rate that was likely being faced by many developing countries before democratization.  The spread of democratization along with the integration of world economy through globalization process and the dramatic technology revolution have accumulatively contributed in an increased potential of the low-income countries for improving the lifestyle of the citizens ensuring greater human freedom and well- being.

Industrial Relations Negotiations and Commercial Negotiations Research Paper

Industrial Relations Negotiations and Commercial Negotiations - Research Paper Example A negotiation process cannot be successful if both parties only look after their own benefits and do not come towards a win-win situation in which both the parties benefit from the negotiation process. Negotiation, in general, is of two types that are industrial negotiation and commercial negotiation. These two types of negotiation are different from each other in terms of their focus and the parties to the negotiation. Negotiation as a process also differs in different cultures. In the course of this essay first negotiation as a concept is defined and then the process involved in negotiation are taken into account. After this part differences of the negotiation in two types of a setting are discussed. In the end, the effect of culture and other elements that are specific to countries on the negotiation process is discussed. The effect of culture on negotiation is important to note in view of the concept that when people of different cultures sit to negotiation this is the most impor tant factor that has to be taken into consideration. According to the authors, Frow, Marginson and Ogden negotiation means discussion or agreements between two parties for making an acceptable and joint decision. Sometimes in this process, legal documents and rules are involved. In this process, people settle their differences. The authors say that the interests of parties are solved by making effective negotiation. The conflict also arises in the process of negotiating any matter. Two main elements are involved in the negotiation. One is constructive compromise and another one is purposeful persuasion. The main purpose of negotiation is to make an agreement by solving debates. Various factors of the parties are taken into consideration for establishing an agreement. Effective negotiation provides several advantages to all the parties involved in the process. As per these authors by discussing and solving different issues, best possible

Ethics Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ethics Paper - Essay Example While some may regard this as a victory, there are three reasons why ethics does not support the law in the instance in which this nine year old child is returned to her parents after so many years, and there are two schools of ethics, Ends Based and Care based that one might use to solve such a dilemma. The first reason why ethics does not support the law in this particular situation is that problems with attachment can develop if a child is suddenly uprooted from a family that she regards as her own and is placed with people she is unfamiliar with, even if they are her biological parents. This girl has been with her foster parents all of these years, has formed a bond with them, and they have played a major role in her social and emotional development. Now, she is uprooted, and she must go to people she has never met in her entire life to pick up where she left off. Research shows that it is quite traumatic to a child to be uprooted from a comforting environment, where attachments are formed, to be placed in one that is completely unfamiliar. For instance a journal article titled "Expressed emotions, early caregiver-child interaction, and disorders" talks about the importance of attachment and how it is the framework of the child's development.

Open Table - Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Open Table - - Case Study Example Another reason is that the closest competitors such as MenuPages.com are limited in their services in that though they offer access to restaurant menus and reviews, the visitors to their site cannot make reservations and MenuPages site covers only eight U.S cities. OpenTable has also partnered with onetime competitor Urbanspoon, enabling it to acquire Urbanspoon’s reservation management system, Rezbook, thus becoming Urbanspoon’s reservation provider. Apart from that OpenTable is committed to shrewd technological investments such as mobile Web site, mobile applications that work on just about every Smartphone platform. It has introduced an iPad app that fully integrates with the ERB software and GPS enables mobile uses to locate and make reservations at nearby venues. A new addition has also enabled users to pay for meals with a credit card directly from its apps. 2. The following characteristics of restaurant market make it difficult for a reservation system to work; Foremost restaurant booking systems require a fully secure reservation and cancellation functionalities that should come with confirmation of e-mail. This particular feature is real time and ensures that you are keeping abreast with developments as they take place real time.Secondly,some user interface are difficult to use for the online visitors, making them to be not user friendly to any potential customer who may want to use them.Thirdly,the fact that while in the market of restaurant reservation system online, you require a system that is web based as compared to the one that is installed or rather upgraded on a physical machine makes it difficult for a reservation system to work. 3. OpenTable’s market is susceptible to network effects which means that the more people use it, the more utility the system delivers, which made OpenTable’s growth to continually provide diners with expanded choices. More diners have thus

Supply Chain Management and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Supply Chain Management and Technology - Essay Example Today with the down fall in economy and the increase in the costs the companies are planning to have a strong and an effective supply chain in their bottom line. The reason is that the implementation of a strong supply chain at the bottom will ensure that the cost is decreased along the production line and the management is effective. However these decreases in the costs and effective management will ensure that the efficiency of the firm gets increases and the profitability and the return on the investment increases. Implementation of Enterprise resource planning in an organization works best in conjunction with a supply chain management system. ERP systems involve a multitude of business activities, including customer service and production planning that are not a part of supply chains (de Burca, Fynes, & Marshall, 2005). The success of supply chain management system lies in the hands of the technology. It can be only successful with the implementation of web- based software and through proper communication. Before the internet the supply chain could not function appropriately the reason is that the collaboration with the other firms was less efficient. The process of feed backs, updates and other important business functions used to take a lot of time. The process of transferring knowledge was all done manually which took time. Collaboration with global partners used to be a challenge for the organizations. But with the introduction of internet and new communication technologies that include email, fax etc. the communication and knowledge and information transfer issue was completely resolved. One of the biggest advantages that the technology has offered to supply chain is the ease of collaboration no matter how distant the customer, the supplier or any other organization is. This helped in developing good relationships at both ends of the supply chain which includes the customers as well as the suppliers. The companies can now also remain updated with their competitors' activities. For example a supplier of consumer goods may be linked up through internet to one of the distributors. In this way whenever the inventory goes down the order will be placed automatically. in this way, the distributor never has to worry about running out of a product and disappointing customers and the supplier doesn't have to worry about maintaining a large inventory in expectation of demand. Systems have also been made to send out multiple requests at a single time. Collaborating this way makes better use of existing resources and paves the way for a larger profit margin on all sides of the eq uation (Chow, 2006). The Importance of Technology Technology today has made both outsourcing and off shoring much easier tasks than they were initially. In a very strong supply chain and a very elaborative business it is sometimes considered good to outsource certain business functions. This helps in saving upon a lot of costs at times. Technology today like internet and some systems have made the task of outsourcing much easier. For outsourcing a task

Ethics Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ethics Paper - Essay Example While some may regard this as a victory, there are three reasons why ethics does not support the law in the instance in which this nine year old child is returned to her parents after so many years, and there are two schools of ethics, Ends Based and Care based that one might use to solve such a dilemma. The first reason why ethics does not support the law in this particular situation is that problems with attachment can develop if a child is suddenly uprooted from a family that she regards as her own and is placed with people she is unfamiliar with, even if they are her biological parents. This girl has been with her foster parents all of these years, has formed a bond with them, and they have played a major role in her social and emotional development. Now, she is uprooted, and she must go to people she has never met in her entire life to pick up where she left off. Research shows that it is quite traumatic to a child to be uprooted from a comforting environment, where attachments are formed, to be placed in one that is completely unfamiliar. For instance a journal article titled "Expressed emotions, early caregiver-child interaction, and disorders" talks about the importance of attachment and how it is the framework of the child's development.

Supply Chain Management and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Supply Chain Management and Technology - Essay Example Today with the down fall in economy and the increase in the costs the companies are planning to have a strong and an effective supply chain in their bottom line. The reason is that the implementation of a strong supply chain at the bottom will ensure that the cost is decreased along the production line and the management is effective. However these decreases in the costs and effective management will ensure that the efficiency of the firm gets increases and the profitability and the return on the investment increases. Implementation of Enterprise resource planning in an organization works best in conjunction with a supply chain management system. ERP systems involve a multitude of business activities, including customer service and production planning that are not a part of supply chains (de Burca, Fynes, & Marshall, 2005). The success of supply chain management system lies in the hands of the technology. It can be only successful with the implementation of web- based software and through proper communication. Before the internet the supply chain could not function appropriately the reason is that the collaboration with the other firms was less efficient. The process of feed backs, updates and other important business functions used to take a lot of time. The process of transferring knowledge was all done manually which took time. Collaboration with global partners used to be a challenge for the organizations. But with the introduction of internet and new communication technologies that include email, fax etc. the communication and knowledge and information transfer issue was completely resolved. One of the biggest advantages that the technology has offered to supply chain is the ease of collaboration no matter how distant the customer, the supplier or any other organization is. This helped in developing good relationships at both ends of the supply chain which includes the customers as well as the suppliers. The companies can now also remain updated with their competitors' activities. For example a supplier of consumer goods may be linked up through internet to one of the distributors. In this way whenever the inventory goes down the order will be placed automatically. in this way, the distributor never has to worry about running out of a product and disappointing customers and the supplier doesn't have to worry about maintaining a large inventory in expectation of demand. Systems have also been made to send out multiple requests at a single time. Collaborating this way makes better use of existing resources and paves the way for a larger profit margin on all sides of the eq uation (Chow, 2006). The Importance of Technology Technology today has made both outsourcing and off shoring much easier tasks than they were initially. In a very strong supply chain and a very elaborative business it is sometimes considered good to outsource certain business functions. This helps in saving upon a lot of costs at times. Technology today like internet and some systems have made the task of outsourcing much easier. For outsourcing a task

Legitimacy Theory Essay Example for Free

Legitimacy Theory Essay â€Å"Legitimacy is a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions† (Suchman, 1995, p. 574, emphasis in original) Legitimacy theory has become one of the most cited theories within the social and environmental accounting area. Yet there remains deep scepticism amongst many researchers that it offers any real insight into the voluntary disclosures of corporations. This brief paper outlines responses to two specific concerns identified in the literature. It will eventually form part of a much larger project addressing a range of issues associated with legitimacy theory. First, the paper brings some of the more recent developments in the management and ethical literature on legitimacy and corporations to the accounting table. Second, there are contributions to the theory that have already been made by accounting researchers that are yet to be fully recognised. The author believes that legitimacy theory does offer a powerful mechanism for understanding voluntary social and environmental disclosures made by corporations, and that this understanding would provide a vehicle for engaging in critical public debate. The problem for legitimacy theory in contributing to our understanding of accounting disclosure specifically, and as a theory in general, is that the term has on occasion been used fairly loosely. This is not a problem of the theory itself, and the observation could be equally applied to a range of theories in a range of disciplines (see for example Caudill (1997) on the abuse of Evolutionary Theory). Failure to adequately specify the theory has been identified by Suchman (1995, p. 572, emphasis in original), who observed that â€Å"Many researchers employ the term legitimacy, but few define it†. Hybels (1995, p. 241) comments that â€Å"As the tradesmen [sic] of social science have groped to build elaborate theoretical structures with which to shelter their careers and  disciplines, legitimation has been a blind man’s hammer.† This paper begins to address these issues. Not One Theory but Two (at least) An important issue which needs to be acknowledged is that there are in fact two major classes of legitimacy theory. These are graphically presented in Figure 1 below. The ‘macro-theory’ of legitimation, known as Institutional Legitimacy Theory, deals with how organisational structures as a whole (capitalism for example, or government) have gained acceptance from society at large. â€Å"Within this tradition, legitimacy and institutionalization are virtually synonymous. Both phenomena empower organizations primarily by making them seem natural and meaningful† (Suchman, 1995, p. 576, emphasis in original). In terms of accounting research, given the time frames involved and questions generally being considered, the current business environment, including the capitalist structure, democratic government, etc. are generally taken as a given, a static context within which the research is situated. This assumption would, however, need to be carefully considered for a longitudinal study of any significant length. Figure 1: Layers of Legitimacy Theory INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL GOVERNMENT RELIGION SOCIETY CAPITALISM ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL (IN THIS CASE: COMPANY LTD BY SHARE) Establishment Defence Extension Maintenance From the Moral to the Measurable One layer down from the Institutional Level is what in Figure 1 is called the â€Å"Organisational Level† (sometimes referred to as Strategic Legitimacy Theory). â€Å"Underlying organizational legitimacy is a process, legitimation, by which an organization seeks approval (or avoidance of sanction) from groups in society† (Kaplan and Ruland, 1991, p. 370). It is from this level  that most accounting research tends to draw its understanding of legitimacy. Mathews (1993, p. 350) provides a good definition of legitimacy at this level: Organisations seek to establish congruence between the social values associated with or implied by their activities and the norms of acceptable behaviour in the larger social system in which they are a part. In so far as these two value systems are congruent we can speak of organisational legitimacy. When an actual or potential disparity exists between the two value systems there will exist a threat to organisational legitimacy. At its simplest, within the Organisational view â€Å"legitimacy [is] an operational resource that organizations extract often competitively from their cultural environments and that they employ in pursuit of their goals† (Suchman, 1995, p. 575 6, emphasis in original). Legitimacy, just like money, is a resource a business requires in order to operate. Certain actions and events increase that legitimacy, and others decrease it. Low legitimacy will have particularly dire consequences for an organisation, which could ultimately lead to the forfeiture of their right to operate. Although we can describe a firm as being legitimate, and conceive of ‘amounts’ of legitimacy, it becomes a very subjective exercise to try and directly measure legitimacy. Although it has concrete consequences, legitimacy itself is an abstract concept, given reality by multiple actors in the social environment. For a researcher to try and directly establish, or even rank, the legitimacy of various organisations would seem to be a necessarily subjective undertaking, preferencing the researcher’s own views. As Hybels (1995, p. 243) argues, â€Å"I reject this view because it is based on a conflation of the roles of observer and participant in social science†. As an alternative, rather than trying to subjectively measure a firm’s legitimacy directly it can instead be inferred from the fact that being legitimate â€Å"enables organizations to attract resources necessary for survival (e.g., scarce materials, patronage, political approval)† (Hearit, 1995, p. 2). Hybels (1995, p. 243) develops this in some detail: Legitimacy often has been conceptualized as simply one of many resources that organizations must obtain from their environments. But rather than viewing legitimacy as something that is exchanged among institutions, legitimacy is better conceived as both part of the context for exchange and  a by-product of exchange. Legitimacy itself has no material form. It exists only as a symbolic representation of the collective evaluation of an institution, as evidenced to both observers and participants perhaps most convincingly by the flow of resources. †¦ resources must have symbolic import to function as value in social exchange. But legitimacy is a higher-order representation of that symbolism – a representation of representations. Hybels (1995, p. 243) argues that good models in legitimacy theory must examine the relevant stakeholders, and how â€Å"Each influences the flow of resources crucial to the organizations’ establishment, growth, and survival, either through direct control or by the communication of good will†. He identifies (p. 244) four critical organisational stakeholders, each of which control a number of resources. These are summarised in Table 1 below. Table 1: Critical Organisational Stakeholder STAKEHOLDER RESOURCES CONTROLLED Contracts, grants, legislation, regulation, tax (Note that the (1) The state last three of these could be either a ‘negative’ or ‘positive’ depending on the implementation) (2) The public (3) The financial community (4) The media Few ‘direct resources’; however, can substantially influence the decisions of stakeholders (2) (3) (if not (1)) Patronage (as customer), support (as community interest), labour Investment The last of these has received considerable attention. The power of the media has been noted by a number of researchers, including Patten (2002, p. 153), who states â€Å"that while increased media attention can certainly lead to the potential for increased pressures from any of the three sources [dissatisfaction of public; new or proposed political action; increased regulatory oversight], increases in pressure can  also arise, particularly with respect to regulatory oversight.† See also Deegan et al. (2000, 2002). Companies try to manage their legitimacy because it â€Å"helps to ensure the continued inflow of capital, labour and customers necessary for viability†¦ It also forestalls regulatory activities by the state that might occur in the absence of legitimacy and pre-empts product boycotts or other disruptive actions by external parties By mitigating these potential problems, organizational legitimacy provides managers with a degree of autonomy to decide how and where business will be conducted† (Neu  et al., 1998, p. 265). Researchers need to move away from trying to directly assess legitimacy, and instead focus on measuring it in terms of the resources relevant stakeholders provide. â€Å"Rather than engage in the further development of entirely abstract constructions of the legitimation process†¦ researchers should investigate the flow of resources from organizational constituencies as well as the pattern and content of communications† (Hybels, 1995, p. 244). But Wait†¦ There’s More As shown in Figure 1 Organisational Legitimacy Theory suggests that a firm may be in one of four phases with regard to its legitimacy. These phases are outlined below, some examples of industries/firms that might be considered to be operating in each of these phases are included (further research needs to be undertaken in this area). Establishing Legitimacy. (E.g. Stem Cell based bio-tech). This first phase represents the early stages of a firm’s development and tends to revolve around issues of competence, particularly financial, but the organisation must be aware of â€Å"socially constructed standards of quality and desirability as well as perform in accordance with accepted standards of professionalism† (Hearit, 1995, p. 2). Maintaining Legitimacy. (The majority of organisations). This is the phase that most firms would generally expect to be operating in, where their â€Å"activities include: (1) ongoing role performance and symbolic assurances that all is well, and (2) attempts to anticipate and prevent or forestall potential challenges to legitimacy† (Ashford and Gibbs, 1990, p. 183). However the maintenance of legitimacy is not as easy as it may at first appear. Legitimacy is a dynamic construct. â€Å"Community expectations are not considered static, but rather, change across time thereby requiring organisations to be responsive to the environment in which they operate. An organisation could, accepting this view, lose its legitimacy even if it has not changed its activities from activities which were previously deemed acceptable (legitimate)† (Deegan et al., 2002, p. 319 20). Extending Legitimacy. (E.g. Alternative Health Providers). There may come a point where an organisation enters new markets or changes the way it relates to its current market. This can give rise to a need to extend  legitimacy which is â€Å"apt to be intense and proactive as management attempts to win the confidence and support of wary potential constituents† (Ashford and Gibbs, 1990, p. 180). Defending Legitimacy. (E.g. Uranium Mining). Legitimacy may be threatened by an incident (internal or external), and therefore require defence. â€Å"Legitimation activities tend to be intense and reactive as management attempts to counter the threat† (Ashford and Gibbs, 1990, p. 183). Even barring a major incident it is likely in the Western Capitalist system that almost every corporation will regularly need to defend its legitimacy, by the mere fact that â€Å"corporations must fulfil both a competence and community requirement to realize legitimacy†¦ Satisfaction of stockholder interests often occurs at the expense of community concerns (e.g., the despoiling of the environment, the use of labour) while, conversely, responsibility to the larger community often occurs at the expense of the stockholder† (Hearit, 1995, p. 3). It is this last phase that has tended to be the main focus of accounting researchers. It also provides us with the clearest opportunity to examine the crucial link between legitimacy and resources. Lindblom (1994), a key paper cited by many Social and Environmental Accounting researchers, also seems relevant specifically to this phase only. An example of work in this area is Deegan et al.’s (2000) study of five major incidents (including the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Bhopal Disaster) which provided a context to examine the annual reports of related (in industrial terms) Australian firms to see if there had been a significant change in their social or environmental reporting. They concluded: The results of this study are consistent with legitimacy theory and show that companies do appear to change their disclosure policies around the time of major company and industry related social events. †¦ These results highlight the strategic nature of voluntary social disclosures and are consistent with a view that management considers that annual report social disclosures are a useful device to reduce the effects upon a corporation of events that are perceived to be unfavourable to a corporation’s image (Deegan et al., 2000, p. 127). The Diagnosis Needs Refinement This is where the traditional legitimacy model stops. However my own  research, into the tobacco industry, Tilling (2004), and that of other researchers, including experimental research undertaken by O’Donovan (2002), suggest a further development of the Organisational Legitimacy Level, as depicted in Figure 2 below. Added to the model is the possibility that a firm may not successfully (or may be unable to) defend the threat to its legitimacy and actually start to lose legitimacy. Figure 2: Refinement of the Organisational Level of Legitimacy Theory Establishment Loss Defence Disestablishment Extension Maintenance In this model the defence phase is usually entered by an organisation after some form of one-off ‘incident’ or ‘accident’ which threatens its legitimacy. This phase could be characterised as being ‘acute’, it can be serious, some times even fatal, but usually, with proper management, the organisation can maintain, or at least recover, its legitimacy. However should there be an ongoing series of events, indicative of a systemic issue, e.g. the nuclear power industry, or a single event with permanent consequences which cannot be effectively managed, e.g. realisation that the organisation’s product is not safe such as the tobacco industry, an organisation is likely to have its legitimacy eroded over a period of time (the ‘loss’ phase), which can be characterised as ‘chronic’. The issue can be difficult to manage, and generally leads to declining legitimacy, however the loss may be managed and slowed over a long period of time, or significant change could lead to reestablishment of legitimacy. The ‘loss’ phase is most likely to be preceded by sustained media and NGO scrutiny, and accompanied by increasing government regulation, monitoring and possibly taxation. Within this phase there are likely to be periods where the company will increase its voluntary social and environmental disclosure in an effort to meet specific threats (such as to postpone or defeat proposed regulations) or to communicate systemic corporate change  (similar to the defence phase). However, with each new restriction average total disclosure can be expected to decrease. This idea is alluded to by O’Donovan (2002) who argues, based on experimental evidence, that the lower the perceived legitimacy of the organisation, the less likely it is to bother providing social and environmental disclosure. Watch This Space Legitimacy theory offers researchers, and the wider public, a way to critically unpack corporate disclosures. However the understanding and study of the theory must become more sophisticated, drawing on developments both within the accounting literature and beyond. Only then will the full potential of legitimacy theory for examining a wide range of disclosures be fully realised. Areas that would provide useful insights include at the moment the asbestos industry (as it goes through the disestablisment phase), brothels (as they become much more legitimate within the Australian context), and the forestry industry (as it tries to defend its legitimacy), to name but a few. The knowledge gained will then be used to provide better and more useful information to inform decision making by stakeholders. In this way society is empowered to have greater control and oversight over the way resources are allocated. References: Ashford, B. E. and B. W. Gibbs (1990) â€Å"The Double-Edge of Organizational Legitimation†, Organization Science, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 177 194. Caudill, E. (1997) Darwinian Myths: The Legends and Misuses of a Theory, Knoxville, University of Tennessee Press. Deegan, C., M. Rankin and J. Tobin (2002) â€Å"An Examination of the Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosures of BHP from 1983-1997: A Test of Legitimacy Theory†, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 312 343. Deegan, C., M. Rankin and P. Voght (2000) â€Å"Firms’ Disclosure Reactions to Major Social Incidents: Australian Evidence†, Accounting Forum, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 101 130. Hearit, K. M. (1995) â€Å"‘Mistakes Were Made’: Organizations, Apologia, and Crises of Social Legitimacy†, Communication Studies, Vol. 46, No. 1-2, pp. 1 17. Hybels, R. C. (1995) â€Å"On Legitimacy, Legitimation, and Organizations: A Critical Review and Integrative Theoretical Model†, Academy of Management  Journal, Special Issue: Best Papers Proceedings, 1995, pp. 241 245. Kaplan, S. E. and R. G. Ruland (1991) â€Å"Positive Theory, Rationality and Accounting Regulation†, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 361 374. Lindblom, C. K. (1994), â€Å"The Implications of Organizational Legitimacy for Corporate Social Performance and Disclosure†, Critical Perspectives on Accounting Conference, New York. Mathews, M. R. (1993) Socially Responsible Accounting, UK, Chapman Hall. Neu, D., H. Warsame and K. Pedwell (1998) â€Å"Managing Public Impressions: Environmental Disclosures in Annual Reports†, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 265 282. O’Donovan, G. (2002) â€Å"Environmental Disclosures in the Annual Report: Extending the Applicability and Predictive Power of Legitimacy Theory†, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 344 371. Patten, D. M. (2002) â€Å"Media Exposure, Public Policy Pressure, and Environmental Disclosure: An Examination of the Impact of Tri Data Availability†, Accounting Forum, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 152 171. Suchman, M. C. (1995) â€Å"Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches†, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 571 610. Tilling, M. (2004), â€Å"Communication at the Edge: Voluntary Social and Environmental Reporting in the Annual Report of a Legitimacy Threatened Corporation†. APIRA Conference Proceedings, Singapore, July.

Beauty Beast Nature

Beauty Beast Nature Beauty and the Beast Romantic writers could be the Disney writers of â€Å"Beauty and the Beast.† Their â€Å"beauty† shows in their love of nature and their will to preserve it; the â€Å"beast† is not the writer but their audience. The readers were monsters in the writers eyes because of their lack of love and appreciation for Gods great creation, Mother Nature. William Wordsworths works, such as â€Å"The World Is Too Much with Us† and â€Å"Nutting,† show his love for nature and his will to protect it; he uses word play and creative approaches to show the deep appreciation he has for the beauty of nature. William Wordsworths â€Å"The World Is Too Much with Us† paints the perfect â€Å"beauty and the beast† portrait. New York comes to mind after reading this work. The world is too much with us; late and soon,†¦ The first line depicts everyone rushing to work because they are â€Å"late† and they also want everything as fast or as â€Å"soon† as they can get it. People have become very impatient and ignore or take out their anger on those around them. In this case nature has become abused and neglected. Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; Everyone wants to spend their hard earned money; however, they cannot spare ten minutes to take a walk through Central Park and reconnect with nature. The great appreciation of nature that our ancestors had is being lost. Our great power has been tossed aside or â€Å"wasted† as Wordsworth has put it. Line four: We have given our hearts away,†¦ shows how human have lost their love for nature. Wordsworth wishes we still had a dependant love for the earth. Humans once relied so much on the earth that they would never think to destroy it. Now our minds are focused on more materialistic things. †¦we are out of tune; It moves us not.—Great God! Our world is like an old piano playing out of tune when the world is not taken care of. Peoples actions create a cut in the earths skin that may never be repaired. Wordsworth, like other Romantic writers, expresses how upset he has become with people for building our nature over Mother Nature. This work also shows how much he loves the world, Mother Nature, and cannot understand why people do not recognize natures wonders that are right in front of their face. People today forget to â€Å"stop and smell the roses.† Wordsworth takes a different approach in â€Å"Nutting† to express his deep appreciation of nature, a more exotic approach. This work uses sights and sounds found in nature; however, their true meaning is hidden. The hidden forms of natural words used have a deeper meaning, more sensual or sexual. For example, phrases such as â€Å"†¦fairy water-breaks,† â€Å"dragged to earth,† â€Å"†¦shady nook,† and â€Å"†¦spirit in the woods† all have to do with some element of nature. When those phrases are paired with other phrases such as â€Å"†¦Through beds,† â€Å"†¦Forced my way,† â€Å"†¦Tall and erect,† â€Å"†¦virgin scene,† and â€Å"†¦Voluptuous† seem to give this work of an innocent young man venturing into the woods to gather hazel nuts a more sexual meaning. The following passage is a perfect example of Wordsworth mixing nature and sex. †¦but the hazels rose Tall and erect, with tempting clusters hung, A virgin scene! This work also shows harm as a way to save. For example, the young man broking the branch to let light hit the floor of the woods. The young man harmed the tree by breaking the branch; however, he saved many other plants and insects by allowing light to hit the floor of the woods. This has been depicted in the following passages from the work: †¦Then up I rose, And dragged to earth both branch and bough, with crash And merciless ravage:†¦ I felt slight pain when beheld The silent trees, and saw introducing sky. The young man could be seen as a â€Å"beast† for harming nature, but in this case he is not because he was saving other natural elements. â€Å"Nutting† not only shows Wordsworths love for nature in a plant and animal aspect but it also shows human nature. Humans are sexual and that is secretly expressed in the word choices Wordsworth used. Wordsworths appreciation for nature is shown in the â€Å"colorful† words he uses to bring the work to life. The Norton Anthology states Wordsworths works â€Å"Both insist that nature—the external world experienced through the senses and the containing pattern assumed beyond that world—offers the possibility of wisdom to combat the pain inherent in human growth.† That sentence combines all of Wordsworths ideas of the natural world with human nature or growth. He shows anger towards those destroying the worlds natural beauty; however, if destruction of natural beauty is needed to help another form of nature survive than destruction is called for.

turbo units :: essays research papers

How The Turbo Unit Works The Compressor Side To keep it brief and simple, a turbo unit compresses the intake of the engine by means of a fan. Essentially, the fan pulls in air on one side and then it pushes it out the other (see diagram A, here it's referred to as the compressor wheel). A fan performs the function of moving air; however we are still left with the task of compressing the air. In order to compress the air; we must then contain it within an enclosed space (this is the compressor housing). Once the intake is compressed it gets sent out to the engine. This process of compression is what's technically referred to as "boost". When one is running more "boost" this person is essentially running more compressed air out of his turbo unit. This is usually related to the size of the unit itself. However, certain factors can limit the degree to which boost varies with the size of the unit. As this gets too technical within the scope of the article, I will leave it to a later discussion. The Turbine Side So far we understand how the compressor side allows for more air to flow into the engine, but we must now understand what it is that makes the compressor wheel turn fast enough to create the boost in the first place. In turn, we are brought into the turbine side. A turbine is a term used to describe a fan like object that gets propelled by the flow of air, water or steam. In a hydroelectric power plant, the Turbine is propelled by the flow of water which then turns a generator. Within the scope of the turbo charger, the turbine is propelled by the flow of exhaust gases that come out of the engine. So the more exhaust that flows out of the engine, the faster the turbine will turn. Again, like the intake side, pressure can only be created if the flow of air is kept within an enclosed space; for this reason, we have the turbine housing. Ups and Downs of Turbo Chargers While the turbo unit does provide ample cranking power, it is very dependant on the reciprocating process which I described earlier. This implies that we must somehow power the unit before it begins to give us anything in return. So its one of those deals where you got to give it something before it gives you anything in return.

A Deconstructionist Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening Essay -- Chopin

A Deconstructionist Critique of Chopin’s The Awakening The multiplicity of meanings and (re)interpretations informing critical studies of The Awakening reveal a novel ripe for deconstructionist critique. Just as Chopin evokes an image of the sea as symbolic of Edna’s shifting consciousness (â€Å"never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander in abysses of solitude,†138), likewise the deconstructionist reading of a text emphasizes fluidity over structure: â€Å"A text consists of words inscribed in and inextricable from the myriad discourses that inform it; from the point of view of deconstruction, the boundaries between any given text and that larger text we call language are always shifting,† (297). From this perspective, the reader/critic opens the doors of interpretation instead of narrowing their focus to any singular, exclusionary reading, and exposes the deconstruction at work within the text itself. Whether defined as feminist martyr, metaphorical lesbian, the triumphant image of social transcendence or a broken bird â€Å"beating the air above . . . circlin...

Simulation

SLIP is a privately held investment corporation founded in 1961. It had become a diversified company consisting of a total of 9 subsidiaries. The oldest three were In the home products business: a Virginia-based brass software company, an outdoor lantern company based In Maine, and an antique reproduction furniture company in Maryland. A second group of four subsidiaries formed in the sass's was focused on research in the fields of consumer product marketing, computer software, tax research, and investment financial analysis.Hoping to capitalize on their tax and investment expertise, they recently armed Spring Lane Development Corporation and Spring Lane Natural Resources, which were Involved In real estate development natural resource exploration, respectively. Spring Lane employed a total of 525 people and had revenues of $30 million in 1987. Spring Lane Natural Resources was formed to pursue natural resource exploration because SLIP management felt that favorable tax laws provided them opportunities to achieve significant profits In this arena.Their primary goal was to find and produce natural gas from shale, to capture the so-called â€Å"Section 29† tax credits associated with such gas. Ingress passed this tax credit In 1978 as part of the Natural Gas Policy Act in order to stimulate drilling for natural gas found in shale. Although natural gas exploration was clearly riskier than their other investments, SLIP felt the risks could be managed by drilling only sites that were surrounded on three or four sides by existing wells. To date, SLUR had drilled four wells.It wasn't difficult operationally to drill the wells, but It was challenging to find enough high- quality investment opportunities. In the first five months of production, one of the wells had already paid back 52 percent of its initial investment well ahead of the argue payout. The other wells were also doing quite well and all were on schedule for meeting their target return on investment. SLUR hopes to drill 20 more wells in 1988. Formed. This gave SLUR full responsibility for choosing the sites and managing the well if gas was found. SLUR would retain about 25 percent ownership and sell the rest to several general partners.As managing general partner, SLUR was responsible for hiring a general contractor who would do the drilling. Slur's geologist, Brad Thomas, would determine whether there was enough gas to make it worth completing the well. If he decided to go ahead, the general contractor would be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the well. SLUR had entered into a Joint venture with Excel Energy of Bridgeport, West Virginia, in which it was agreed that Excel would act as the general contractor for all of Slur's wells in West Virginia. Excel also agreed to take a small ownership interest in each of these wells.The Bailey Prospect: Base Case Analysis Exhibit 1 is a copy of the spreadsheet developed by Lisa Weatherboard to analyze the Bailey Prospect. The Ba iley Prospect is surrounded by four producing wells from the target gas formation. Thus, SLUR was pretty confident that they would hit the gas formation, but they were mindful that there is always a possibility that due to geological anomalies (e. G. , drilling into a fault), a well might fail and result in zero production. Brad Thomas (the geologist) estimated the probability of this kind of failure at the Bailey Prospect to be about 10 percent.If they were successful, SLUR would sell the gas to pipeline distributors who would pay a price for the gas that depends on the BTU content of the gas. [2] The BTU content of the gas would not be known until the well was producing, but once reducing, the BTU content would not change over the lifetime of the well. Brad Thomas estimated the BTU content of the gas to be 55 BTU per cubic foot; this was the average of the BTU contents at the nearby wells. The current price paid by the pipeline is $1. 90 per AMBIT (million BTU); the price paid by the pipeline would be tied to the market prices for gas and, hence, might change over time. 3] Lisa assumed that prices would grow with inflation over time. [4] The rate at which gas would flow from the well would not be known until the well was completed. Brad estimated that the gas would initially flow at a rate of 33,000 Mac thousand cubic feet) per year and then decline following the schedule shown in Exhibit 1. The spreadsheet shown in Exhibit 1 is essentially an income statement over the life of the well. (The spreadsheet goes out 25 years; only the first 13 years are shown in the exhibit. ) The gross revenue is the price per Mac of gas times the Mac of gas produced in a given year.To get to net cash flows, royalties, expenses, and taxes must be deducted: 1) From gross revenue, a 12. 5 percent royalty payment to the owner of the mineral rights is deducted, leaving net revenue. This royalty rate was the standard argental pall to ten property owners In ten west Valhalla area. 2) Excel Energy would be paid approximately $300 per month to operate the well. Lisa had budgeted an additional $3,000 per year for other expenses associated with the lease that might be incurred but couldn't now be accurately forecast. These costs were increased annually to reflect inflation. 3) Local taxes of 4. Percent times the gross revenue would be paid to the county and a severance tax[5] of 3. 4 percent would be paid to the state of West Virginia. 4) Depreciation expense for year O equaled the intangible drilling cost[6], which as 72. 5 percent times the total well cost. The remainder of the drilling cost would be depreciated on a straight-line basis over seven years. 5) To compute profit after tax, depletion[7], and state and federal income taxes were subtracted from profit before tax. Numerically, depletion was the smaller of 50 percent times the profit before tax or 1 5 percent times the revenue. ) The state income tax equaled the tax rate multiplied by the difference betwe en profit before tax and depletion. This tax was then reduced by a credit equal to one- half of the severance tax paid to the state. ) Federal income tax was calculated by multiplying the tax rate times the profit before tax less depletion and state tax paid. The federal tax was then reduced by an energy tax credit as allowed in Section 29 of the tax code: the tax credit was determined by multiplying the current tax credit rate ($0. 76 per AMBIT in year 1) by the amount of qualifying production that year.The tax credit rate was increased each year with inflation, but its future value was in the hands of Congress and far from certain. The after-tax cash flow is given by adding back depreciation and depletion to the after-tax profit. Finally, there is the issue of the lease bonus. A lease bonus is a cash payment or bonus paid too landowner in exchange for the drilling and mineral rights. The proposed drilling area at the Bailey Prospect lies on a farm where the owners Mr.. And Mrs.. B ryan Cotter had been reluctant to allow drilling on their land; this is why the surrounding areas were developed and this property was not.Mr.. Cotter had recently passed away and Mrs.. Cotter (at the urging of her children) was now willing to allow drilling and production on her land. Though no offer had yet been made, SLUR had proposed offering Mrs.. Cotter a bonus of $40,000; the lease bonuses for similar properties in the area had been in this range. Financially, if the well is successful, the lease bonus comes directly off the bottom line, providing no tax deductions or depreciation. [8] on ten Dad's AT tense mummers, ten prospect looked good It NAS an rater-tax equity payback period of about 35 months and an internal rate of return of about 29%.To calculate the net present value (NP), Lisa discounted the cash flows using a discount rate of 15 percent, which was Slice's hurdle rate for projects like this. The result was an NP of approximately $79,000. Your Assignment Your boss, Steve Bodily, had presented the results of Alias's analysis to Henry Oysters, a potential general partner. Oysters was impressed with the base-case scenario, but was very concerned about the potential downside risks. â€Å"What if the well doesn't work? How do you know that it will produce that much gas? What if gas prices continue their recent decline?Just about every number in here is a guess. † Bodily was prepared for the first question and knew that, if the well failed, the pretax loss would be approximately $170,000 the cost of drilling the well plus the lease bonus or a net after-tax loss of Bodily was not prepared for the other questions but promised Oysters that he would get back to him with a complete description of the risks associated with the Bailey Prospect. The goal wasn't Just to evaluate the Bailey Prospect but, more generally, to get a better understanding of the risks associated with the kinds of investments SLUR was pursuing.Since Lisa Weatherboard is out of town, Bodily came to you and asked you to examine the risks associated with the Bailey Prospect. Your report will go to SLIP as well as to Oysters. In your conversation with Bodily, he posed the following questions: ) What are the key risks here? 2) What is the project's expected NP taking into account all of these risks? 3) How risky is this project? What is the chance that we have a negative NP on this? 4) How big lease bonus can we afford? Not that I plan to offer Mrs.. Cotter more than $40,000, but it would be good to know how far we can go and still make money. ) What if the Section 29 credit goes away? Congress has been making some noise about that lately. 6) What if the well fails? While we've got the crew out there, should we drill another well? 7) Finally, I know that you don't have time to run numbers for our whole portfolio f properties, but suppose we had 20 opportunities Just like the Bailey Prospect, how risky would this portfolio be? Which would the key uncertainti es be? A qualitative discussion will suffice: we don't need hard numbers on this, but we should be prepared Tort ten question.Bodily concluded, â€Å"Those are the kinds of things that come to mind. Of course, I haven't had much time to think about it and could be missing some important issues. I've scheduled a meeting with Oysters and some of the SLIP partners for next Thursday. Could you prepare a 20-minute presentation on this for then? Good. Thanks. I'll be out of town until then. If you have any questions about doing these kinds of analyses, you might try Jack Grayson. He's done a lot of these risk analyses and will be at the meeting on Thursday. You might want to talk to Brad Thomas as well. Additional Information Fortunately, Brad Thomas (the geologist) was available and offered to help. As far as drilling another well in the event the first one fails, Thomas said, â€Å"Yeah, that might be a good idea. A second well would be cheaper to drill. Of course, it would also be le ss likely to succeed. If the second one fails too, it would be pointless to drill a third ell. † He estimated the cost of drilling the second well to be roughly 75% of the cost of drilling the first well â€Å"you don't have to truck all the drilling equipment out again and you don't have to pay another lease bonus. The cost of completing a second well (if successful) would be the same as the cost of completing the first. Thomas estimated the probability of the second well succeeding (given that the first fails) to be . 50. He also indicated that, if the first well fails, he would revise his estimated initial flow rate down by a third. The decline rate would remain the same. Thomas also indicated that it would not make sense to drill a second well if the first is successful since the two wells would be draining the same area. A second well would speed production you'd get roughly twice as much production at first but you probably double the decline rate as well and end up wit h about the same total amount of gas (maybe slightly more) and be stuck with twice the drilling cost. † On the other issues Thomas said, â€Å"Yeah, this business is pretty much a crap shoot. I'm a geologist. I can't tell you much about Congress or natural gas prices, but I did work up some ranges on the estimates I gave Lisa. See Exhibit 2. ) I've found that I give better estimates if I think about the ranges before I give a particular value.I actually keep track of my estimates and then later see how I did. While I don't always get the right answer, my ranges are pretty good. † These ranges, Thomas says, can be interpreted as 10th and 90th percentiles numbers such that there is a I-in-10 chance that the true value will be below and above these amounts. The base case numbers used in Alias's spreadsheet can be interpreted as 50th percentiles or medians. â€Å"Let me know if you need anything else. † Jack Grayson at SLIP could only offer general advice. As far as developing ranges for the other uncertainties, use your Judgment.I can send you some historical data on inflation and natural gas prices (see Exhibit 3), but looking forward we'll have to guess. If it is important, I may be able to get you more information next week. I know a consultant won may De addle to Nell us Walt ten gas price Toreros t. He could probably get us more on inflation too. I also know a lawyer in D. C. Who has been working with the IRS on Section 29 issues. She might be able to tell us more about that. But I don't want to call these people unless it is important.Let's talk on Monday ND we can decide then whether to call them. † Grayson also suggested that you should be careful about the discount rate. â€Å"The 15 percent rate that Lisa used is risk adjusted – it informally adjusts for the possibility that the well fails, uncertainty about operating costs, etc. Since you are going to explicitly model these risks, you should use a lower discount rate. Because all of these risks with this investment – including natural gas prices – are pretty much uncorrelated with the market as a whole, I would suggest using a risk-free discount rate.The yield of 5- to 10-year treasury bonds is currently around 9 percent why onto you use that rate instead. See you on Monday. † [pick] [pick] *Note: The production decline rates – shown near the top of the spreadsheet – are highly correlated. If you have rapid decline in the first year, you are likely to have rapid decline in subsequent years as well. Similarly, if you have slow decline in the first year, you are likely to have slow decline in subsequent years. To capture this dependence, we need to vary all of the decline rates together.