Critque Essay

In the story â€Å"The Operation,† by Pensri Kiengsiri , a story that has a third persons’ point of view. The reader learns that Kamjorn, the father of the kid, don’t have much affection to Danu because Danu is a victim of polio which made Danu a crippled kid. Its conspiracy leads the reader into having a feeling of sympathy for the boy. And the story’s setting, contributes well to the growing sympathy of the readers to Danu, as Kiengsiri’s treatment of timing cause the readers to anticipate a shocking things that’s to unfold.The time at which â€Å"The Operation† is set introduces an element of tension between the parents. Kamjorn informed the readers that when he taught about going to Bangkok he first wanted to see his best friend, rather to go to the hospital which is his main reason of going to Bangkok; it is â€Å"his mind strayed to other days in Bangkok, student days and to the old school mates, he would have a chance to look u p. † As the reader already knows that Kamjorn intends to catch up with his old friends, the very mention of â€Å"strayed to other days† evokes the sense of a plan that will certainly make sadness to the boy’s feelings.The added suggestion of â€Å"chance to look up† introduces an atmosphere of uncertainty: that planted to the reader’s mind is the notion that all is not normal and right to the world. The sense of uncertainty to Kamjorn that he will not go to his son and doesn’t show to his son it is a big factor to his son operation. Just as the time in which â€Å"The Operation† is set infuses the story with an atmosphere of sadness, so do the physical surrounding in which the bulk of plot unfolds. â€Å"When Kamjorn reached Bangkok, he went to meet his friend and to actually catch up with them.When his daughter haven’t seen any sign that either one of their parents arrived, she was worried and called to their house and someho w convinced her mother to travel. † Both things added to the reader’s sense that there’s something is not right and that something imminent is about to occur. This atmosphere of imminence increases as their mother went to the train and hasn’t heard anything from her until the operation is almost finished â€Å"an accident on an express train†¦fatalities†That’s the only words Kamjorn’s mind ever digested before he fainted. For it is only in the final conversation of the story. The imminence that happened to Kamjorn’s wife that caused him to faint. It has successfully concealed the true sense of Kamjorn tears last before he fainted. Hence, the manner Kiengsiri described the time and setting of â€Å"The Operation† serves to greatly enhance the effect of this tale upon the reader.In accompanying the story’s characters into a world thet grows steadily more gruesome at every turn, the reader’s feeling of sad ness and foreboding increases, the reader is doubly troubled the disturbing revelation made in the story’s final conversation. Kiengsiri’s use of setting and timing in this story mirrors the special effects employed in dramatic movies-effects that have the viewers wiping their tears, totally absorbed in plot and atmosphere. It is good that a 6 page short story can evoke with words the same response that movie makers use millions of dollars, efforts and truckloads of technology to create.

Practicum observation reflection -special education Essay

This lesson is about teaching winter to students with severe special needs. We talk about winter all the time with our students, especially when it snows or is very windy or very cold outside. I think winter is a common topic in our daily conversation, often used to break the ice with co-workers, classmates or even strangers. What’s more, it’s important to understand what weather reporters or other people are talking about when you need to decide what to wear. Therefore, I assumed that incorporating a winter lesson into a class for students with special needs is a good idea. Weather is an interesting topic to teach- I need to consider my students prior knowledge and their learning level, there are many simple, engaging and effective ways in which I can teach my special education students about the weather. A student misconception is the students will think snow comes from the clouds sweating. I designed this lesson to give a systemic introduction to winter. I focused on relating students’ prior experience and knowledge from daily lives with the story- a snowy day with new vocabulary. In the following group activity, students experienced the winter by using their senses (sight, hearing, smell and touch). Tailored to severe needs students, the explanation of the why winter comes and goes will be touched upon briefly but the students will not be expected to fully understand this concept. The teacher will be more concerned with the students understand of how winter affect us. One thing that I hope the students would get out of my lesson is: with prompting and support, make connections between a story or poem and one’s own experiences. Students can learn winter vocabulary (New words: Snowsuit, footprints, stick, plop, angel, slid, snowball, thought, melted), and to know about a weather-snow  experience. I feel the activity â€Å"make your footprints† was successful because all of the students were engaged and participating. Students enjoyed working with the sponges and creating their own footprints. Since there was a minimal amount of information involved during this activity, students were able to grasp it more. The biggest challenge is how to make the teaching more effective to students with more difficult behaviors. Since Autism is a spectrum disorder, which means that there is a wide degree of variation in the way it affects the students. Their  communication level and learning patterns varies from each other as well. Some are always low motivated and some are quite sensitive (out of control). I was wondering how much information they have received and how much they have perceived? How to let these students also have the sense of participation? In some choice making sections, I don’t know how long I should wait for their responses, or how many times I should repeat the question. There are several things that I would change if I taught this lesson again. I would like to make some accommodations for diverse learners. For example: pictures for  ESL students, differentiated center for different learning styles, give enough time for students to respond and safety/emergency concerns in class. In addition, I would develop more steps in assessment part. Such as pre-assessment before the lesson, formative assessment, and summative assessment at the end of the lesson to check their final learning outcomes. I felt that there were good things about this lesson as well as things that I could have improved upon. Over all, students seemed to enjoy the lesson. I think I met my learning objectives according to the class reaction and feedback.

Advanced Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advanced Accounting - Essay Example unction is to adjust the account balances of each individual company to give an amount that would be used if the entities were one company (Stice and Stice, 2013). Non-controlling interest refers to that part of a subsidiary that the parent company does not own. The non-controlling interest should be considered during consolidation as they form part of the capital for the subsidiary. The non-controlling interest may appear as beginning of period non-controlling interest or end of period non-controlling interest (Wahlen, Baginski, Bradshaw, 2014). To determine the beginning of period non-controlling balance, one uses the percentage of the non-controlling interest to determine their shareholding in the company. That percentage is used to determine the non-controlling interest’s share of ordinary share capital, preference share capital and retained earnings. To arrive at the balance, credit the non-controlling interest account with their share of ordinary share capital and preference share capital. Debit the capital account with the same amount. Then credit the non-controlling interest account with the non-controlling interest’s sha re of retained earnings. Debit the profit and loss account with the same amount. That will give the non-controlling interest balance at the beginning of the period. The determination of the end of period non-controlling interest balance involves more than what the beginning balance requires. It involves making adjustments on various items. The account balance changes courtesy of changes in retained earnings (Wahlen, Baginski, Bradshaw, 2014). The items that would cause the changes include unrealized profits, unrealized profits on sale of property, plant and equipment and revaluation gains. To reflect these changes, debit the non-controlling interest account by the minority interest’s share of the unrealized profits and credit the closing inventory account with the same amount. For unrealized profits on the sale of property, plant

Pollution Control Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pollution Control Issues - Essay Example Introduction to Policy Area Pollution control is a major policy area of not only national but also global importance. We generally agree that pollution of land, water, and air should be controlled. But when it is the question of designing these controls or ascertaining that how much control is sufficient, major disagreements begin to surface. In this regard, Crandall states, â€Å"In 1970, popular concern about environmental degradation coalesced into a major political force, resulting in President Richard Nixon’s creation of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the first of the major federal attempts to regulate pollution directly—the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970.† With the lapse of time, the federal government took several regulatory majors through the EPA. Non government organizations, research organizations, civil activists, etc. also got involved in the process. The contemporary trend in this policy area is to consider market based metho ds and strategies for pollution control. According to many legislators and lobbyists, the traditional command and control model is not working effectively enough. Classic Iron Triangle Structure Before describing what the classic iron triangle in the context of pollution control would look like, let’s focus on the concept of iron triangle itself. In U.S. politics, iron triangle defines the threefold interaction between the congressional committees, the interest groups, and the governmental agencies. Clientele directed executive functionary mechanism is the main characteristic of iron triangle, which may harm or neglect the greater public interest and provide benefit to the interest groups that are mainly formed of powerful corporate bodies (Hix, 251). The diagram below represents the iron triangle in the sphere of pollution control policy area. In the case of the policy area of pollution control, at one corner of the triangle will be the U.S. Congress Senate Committee on Envi ronment and Public Works, which is a major congressional committee that provides oversight and funds. On the other corner, there will be the EPA, which is a part of bureaucracy, or in other words, the executive of the governmental agencies. At the third corner, there will be the interest groups, which are major corporate bodies, particularly the energy and chemical giants. Significance of Issue Networks Issue networks can be defined as allied structures of several individuals and interest groups that attempt to promote an issue in the federal policy making and think tank. Landy and Milkis think that issue networks are instrumental in balancing rights and democracy vis-a-vis the political tradition and formation of sub-government of iron triangles. Issue networks are a sort of fluid mechanism that would provide the constituency of general public a practical and supple organization, which can accelerate a sustained civil action. In the context of pollution control we can say that the powerful corporations pursue the Congress members and EPA to loosen the regulations so that less money can be invested to obtain improved pollution controlling technologies that are relatively costlier or call for industrial unit replacements. Pollution control issue network can become a contextual counterbalancing factor, where people will have voice. Research organizations, civil activists, non government agencies, independent observers, social

The Black Swan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Black Swan - Essay Example Based on the example given, it is clear that the Internet is one of the encouraging events that have occurred. Conversely, Bp Mexican Gulf oil spill could be termed as a discouraging unforeseen event. Question 2 Yes, it makes sense to allocate resources to prevent a black swan event. Based on what happened to BP, it could be seen that the company would have prevented the disaster by allocating reasonable financial resources for structural expansion. BP’s partner, Anadarko, points out that the company made a poor choice and unreasonable measures by allocating money to the firm but instead management of the company advanced personal issues leaving the company with structural issues. This made the company vulnerable to any disaster. Both BP’s partner Anadarko and American oil industry agreed that BP has been in the forefront to cut the cost of company instead of improving the company technically (Correa n.d). Question 3 Yes, it makes sense to devote resources to contain a black swan event in case it occurs, which this is clear from the Bp oil spill. The spill occurred after installation of pipes with the use of limited centralizers. From the manager’s email, it is clear that the financial allocation was insufficient. If the company had allocated more money for procurement of more centralizers, the oil spill disaster would not have occurred. In addition, the American oil industry and the Bp partner agree with allocation of more resources for risk management. The company tried to cut costs, which is clear from the unjustifiable number of centralizers. The number of centralizers installed was six instead of 21 recommended centralizers by the engineers (Marianne 2010). Furthermore, there is a need for more financial resources for structural strengthening to avoid future catastrophe, the case of Bp Oil Company, it would have averted black swan had it allocated $7 billion to $21 billion for safety measures like procurement of safer head pipes. Quest ion4 Yes, human error is different from a black swan event because it is a decision that individuals make and at the end, it causes a disaster. For example, Bp oil company management decided to use six centralizers instead of the recommended 21 centralizers. This is a human error because someone made an undesirable decision. Conversely, black swan events cannot be the same as a human error because it cannot be predicted using past information or scientific approach. Yes, human error can lead to Black Swan, considering the 2008 financial crisis, it would have been easily prevented if financial experts had taken into consideration the financial mistakes which were already visible in the year 2006 (Marianne 2010). The case of Bp Oil Company, whereby the disaster of oil spill occurred, it is clear that human error leads to black swan, oil spilling and causing huge environmental pollution and making the company to into financial crisis. As pointed out above the use of less number of cent ralizers against the recommended number is human error that leads to black swan. Question 5 As an executive of Bp, my consideration would be redundancies wells. With little amount of money available I will have to invest on the remaining well. The extra well will help incase another disaster occurs. Precautionary measures should also be put into consideration. For example, the company will have to install acoustic shutoff switches to prevent offshore oil spills. In addition, an insurance

Strategic Management Process CS 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Strategic Management Process CS 1 - Essay Example But there is a need to emphasize more on employee satisfaction in the statements. In a competitive industry like beverage industry employee is the most important part for a company along with the customers. So the company should add the benefits they are providing to the employees in the value statement. Despite that the mission, vision and value statements of the company is well structured and forward looking. Introduction In this modern world only one thing is constant- that is change. So in the world of change for matching the steps with the competitors the companies have to formulate a robust strategy for them. Every company have some short and long term objectives which they want to meet. Coca-Cola is not an exception. This paper is an attempt to analyze critically the mission, vision statements and the values of Coca-Cola using the view of the famous strategist Michael Porter. The researcher would also suggest any change needed in the statements if needed. Critical Analysis of the Mission, Vision and Values Mission Mission statement of a company describes the reason of the existence of the organizations. It also describes the value they are offering to the customers (Swales and Rogers, 1995, p.225-226). The mission statement of Coca-Cola is â€Å"To refresh the world... To inspire moments of optimism and happiness... To create value and make a difference.† (Coca-Cola Company, 2011) The mission statement of Coca-Cola is describing the reason of their existence through their first two statements and about the value creation through the 3rd statement. The statement accounts for the customers’ interest. The expectation of the shareholders’ is also met. If the company is able to meet the expectations of the customers, it can generate revenue, and the return of the shareholders will get a boost. But through this statement the interest of the other stakeholders’ like the employee expectations is not met, not also the community. Vision The vision statement of the company should focus on the future and provide a solid foundation for the organization. The vision statement doesn’t change like the objective or goal of the company, which is of short term. The vision describes the long term strategy of the company as well as the stakeholders’ importance more precisely (Lipton, 1996, p.84-86). The vision statement of Coca-Cola is as follows. â€Å"People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs. Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.† (Coca-Cola Company, 2011) The vision statement of Coca-Cola emphasizes on the interest of the stakeholders. Their long term strategy is enhancing their portfolio so that they can meet the expectations of different target customers. The corporate social responsibility factor has also been addressed by the company management

Globalization and Strategic Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Globalization and Strategic Planning - Essay Example In this case, in order to facilitate collaboration in the organization, Americare has been recruiting numerous interns, to offer them a chance of making crucial contribution through their membership in Global Partnership team (Americares, 2013). Cooperation refers to process of working together in a way that contributes to achievement of a common objective (Forest, 2003). All interns in Americare are offered a chance to be involved in all development programs via a target of donor and prospectus. Moreover, this organization offers them other roles such as providing support via general administrative supporting and attending events, maintenance of donor files and helping in preparation of visits and regional trips (Americares, 2013). In this case, the organization operates through the cooperation of the interns; thus, they are able to execute their mandate. According to Forest (2003), coordination is organizing and ensuring that different parts or things are operating simultaneously in order to achieve a certain objective with minimum problems. In this case, AmeriCares makes a substantial contribution in facilitating communication among the interns, through their administrative support (Americares, 2013). In this case, communication among team members is well coordinated through ways of contacting them through newsletters and other printed materials. Furthermore, vendors are coordinated to facilitate timely delivery of materials that are needed for the organization to operate effectively. Forest, C. (2003). Empowerment skills for family workers: A worker handbook. Cornell University. Retrieved on Jan 7 2012 from

Arguing the benefits of contributing DNA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Arguing the benefits of contributing DNA - Essay Example This procedure produces identical copies of the DNA sample. With the availability of these procedures, it is easier to identify individuals. Therefore, different states are appealing to the citizens to contribute DNA to bio banks to ensure availability of such samples for use when issues requiring identification arise (Butler 93). There is a lot of criticism surrounding this issue and lack of public knowledge on why contribution of DNA is necessary. Other individuals are bothered about the consequences that may arise because of the police having the DNA samples. However, there is little understanding of how much easier cases of paternity, genetic disorders, and criminal investigations would be, if people were willing to contribute their DNA freely. Despite the ethical issues raised, all individuals should willingly contribute their DNA to bio banks to ease identification. According to Lotter, the chemical structure of DNA does not vary from one individual to another. However, the bas es encoded in the chain appear in a unique arrangement in each individual. Identical twins are the only individuals with identical DNA profiles. Members of the same family show very close similarity and this similarity is the basis of familial matching. There are unique, but rare cases in society whereby unrelated individuals display close similarity. If individuals are willing to contribute DNA, paternity cases will be very easy. Advances in genomics were able to relate DNA profiles of a child to those of the parents. Such advances show that half of a child’s DNA profile matches that of the mother while the other half matches that of the father. This is the case because, during conception, two cells, one from each parent, fuse. Each of the two reproductive cells carries 23 chromosomes contrary to the 46 carried by normal body cells. Fusion of these two cells, results to 46 chromosomes in a cell. This cell, gives rise to the offspring on multiplication. In society, there are several cases concerning paternity. Some fathers deny their responsibility, claiming they are not the real fathers of children. Other people will impersonate the real fathers of children for their selfish gain. DNA typing constantly provides reliable solutions to cases of this nature. According to Butler, if comparison of samples from the father and child reveal matches in DNA patterns, then this is proof of paternity (93). Several of children in society, previously denied the opportunity to know their real fathers, are benefiting from this technological advance. Such children are now entitled to rights and privileges from their parents that they previously did not enjoy. It is worthwhile for people to contribute DNA to ease the solving of paternity cases. Adopted children have been able to identify their real parents, and they no longer live in the world of unanswered questions. Only in rare cases does DNA typing fail in paternity cases. As Butler argues, another critical applicati on of DNA profiling is its use in criminology. There are traces of DNA on anything we handle (397-399). Police analyze all objects on the crime scene to obtain a DNA sample that on amplification is typed and therefore aids in investigations. Police should handle such objects with care, to minimize contamination of the samples, with DNA from their hands. Suspected criminals must present DNA samples to the police. Police then compare their DNA profiles with the profile from the scene and if

Marketing and AMC Theatres Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing and AMC Theatres - Essay Example That aside, one of the most reliable of all surveys for the country is conducted by Gallup and one of their latest surveys on the subject of going to movies have been conducted from December 5 to December 8, 2005. The number of movies now seen by an American has now come down to four movies during a period of twelve months. This does not mean that all Americans see the same number of movies since among the entire population there are 33 percent who claim that they have not seen any movie in a year, and 42 percent say that they have seen more than one but less than four movies in a year while 24 percent claim to have seen more than five movies in a year. (Americans Saw Average of Four Movies in Last Year) This can be seen pictorially in the appendix. The position had started quite early, and it was seen even from the beginning of summer. One of the largest chains of theatres in the country, Regal Entertainment Group, which is based in Colorado and registered on NYSE as RCG as well as Carmike cinemas, which is recorded as CKEC on NASDAQ had shown drops in attendance in the first quarter. The first is the largest chain in the country and the second is the fourth largest chain in the country. Compared to the previous year, 2004, the drop in net income of Carmike was by 76 percent. (Lights dimming on movie attendance) Part of the drop in attendance can be explained by the observation recorded above, but, in general, trends do not move so sharply and in the case of AMC theatres, for the change to have taken place would have a sharp change in habits of persons staying in a relatively restricted area. This is again unlikely to happen so one has to look at some other reasons. The position is clear in that younger Americans are more likely than older individuals to go to the movies and the study by Gallup has shown that Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 had

Discrimination and Human Rights Act Essay Example for Free

Discrimination and Human Rights Act Essay Introduction You have been asked by your Head Teacher to produce a document that promotes the importance of promoting equality and diversity in work with children and young people. This is aimed for new members of staff and volunteers. Legislation and codes of practice 2.4 – 1.1 Identify at least two current legislation and codes of practice relevant to the promotion of equality and valuing of diversity. You must include the correct title and date (where appropriate) and then provide a summary of each piece of legislation or code of practice that is identified. This could include: Equality Act, Human Rights Act, Inclusion policy. The Equalities Act (2010) This act is a combination of many old acts (race relations, sex discrimination and disability discrimination etc.) its two main purposes – to harmonise discrimination law and to strengthen the law to support the progress on equality. It is the most significant development in equality and discrimination for years. It sets out that everyone regardless of race, sex, religion or disability is entitled to fair treatment. The Human Rights Act (1998) This act sets out the rights and fundamental freedoms of each and every human being. All public bodies (courts, schools etc.) have to comply with the act. The act has a principal that everyone should have protection from discrimination; this has a wide range of grounds including sex, race, colour, language, religion and political or other opinions. Inclusion policy (our lady mother of the saviour catholic primary school 2011) This policy sets out that the school its self aims to be inclusive and remove barriers to learning and participation that could discriminate pupils or groups of pupils.it states in the policy that the achievements, attitudes and well-being of all children matter. Equal opportunities policy (our lady mother of the saviour catholic primary school 2011) This policy is set out in accordance with the Equalities Act 2010. It is there to promote anti-discrimination and the principle of fairness and justice for all through the education that is provided from the school. The policy also recognises that by doing this it may from time to time have to treat some pupils differently (a child with a disability will be treated as fair as possible but in situations cannot be treated the same as other pupils) 2.4 – 1.2, 1.3 Describe the importance of supporting the rights of all children and young people to participation and equality of access. Unfortunately studies have shown that children from poorer backgrounds attain less in school than children from higher professional families, this in its self supports the importance of supporting children in school to participation and equality of access. Ignoring these rights could lead to children having low self-esteem, a feeling of inferiority and lower levels at school. Supported in the right way children could all have a greater chance of attaining a higher level at school and a greater chance of becoming more â€Å"all rounded† as adults. Describe the importance and benefits of valuing and promoting cultural diversity in work with children and young people. By promoting cultural diversity and valuing any type of difference in work this will reflect on the children so that they themselves will pick up these attitudes and behaviours. The importance of this is that failure to promote diversity through your own actions could result in discrimination within the children and young people. The advantages of valuing and promoting diversity are that it opens the children up to learn about new things, such as cultures and improves their knowledge and understanding. By doing this it will lead to them being more tolerant and creative adults and therefore less likely to discriminate later in life.

Case Study of the YTL Corporation Berhad

Case Study of the YTL Corporation Berhad YTL Corporation Berhad is one of the largest companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia, and together with its six listed entities has a combined Market Capitalization of about RM 34.3 million as at 30 September 2010, the company has a total asset of over RM45 billion. The major business carries out by YTL Corporation included power generation, construction contracting, property development, hotel development and management, cement manufacturing, supply of water, treatment and disposal of waste water, and incubating and advisory services for internet businesses. [ Francis Yeoh, YTL Corporation Berhad ] Products and Services YTL Cement Berhad supplies cement products and concrete products, quarry products and provision of related services to the constructions sector. YTL Cement is Malaysias largest producer of ready-mixed concrete, through its subsidiary Buildcon Concrete Sdn Bhd C.I Readymix Sdn Bhd. The company currently operates more than 50 batching plants throughout Peninsular Malaysia. [ Mr. TG TAN, YTL Cement Berhad ] YTL Cement Berhad is also the 2nd largest cement plant in Malaysia, with cement production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per annum in Pahang; 3.4 million tonnes per annum in Perak; and a Clinker and Blast Furnace Slag Grinding Plants at Westport, Klang, and Pasir Gudang, Johor, each of 500,000 m/t per annum capacity. [ YTL Cement Berhad ] YTL Corporation also have a lots of luxury hotel in different country. Besides, YTL Corporation also carries out property development activities. YTL has built up excellent and high quality of buildings such as condominiums with attractive and inn ovative designs. Channels of distribution This is defined as an intermediate chain; each chain is passed down to the next organizations product, that we finally reach the consumer or end user. This process is known as the distribution chain or channel. Starting from the beginning, the YTL Company has only supplies the cement manufacturing to the entire buyer. When the YTL Company gets the profit back, they have enough capital, and then the company starts to expand their business structure. They start to supply generation, construction contracting, property development, hotel development and management, cement manufacturing, supply of water, treatment and disposal of waste water, and incubating and advisory services for internet businesses. [ Francis Yeoh, YTL Corporation Berhad ] They sell this product to Tenaga National Berhad(TNB), hotel, building industry, hardware store and customer. This can keep their products on the market flow and visibility. Level of Technology Used YTL Cement is the largest ready-mixed concrete company in Malaysia, with over 500 mixers. YTL Cement owns over 70 batching plants and a fleet of 700 cement trucks, operating throughout Malaysia. [ YTL Corporation Berhad ] YTL Corporation undertakes IT and e-commerce technology in their business. Organization Structure YTL Corporation is managed by an experienced Board with a wide and varied range of expertise. This broad full of skills and experience can ensure that the YTL Corporation is under the guidance of an accountable and competent Board. The Directors recognise the key role they play in charting the strategic direction, development and control of the YTL Corp Group and have adopted the six primary responsibilities as listed in the Code, which facilitate the discharge of the Boards stewardship responsibilities. The Board currently has thirteen Directors comprising nine executive members and four non-executive members. The positions of the Executive Chairman and the Managing Director are held by separate members of the Board. The Executive Chairman is primarily responsible for the orderly conduct and working of the Board, while the Managing Director oversees the running of the business day by day, implementation of Board policies and making of operational decisions. The Managing Director and the Executive Directors are accountable to the Board for the profitable operation and development of the YTL Corporation, consistent with the primary aim of enhancing long-term shareholder value. The presence of Independent Non-Executive Directors brings an additional element of balance to the Board and these Independent Non-Executive Directors have the experience to carry sufficient weight in the Boards decisions. The differing roles of Executive and Non-Executive Directors are delineated, both having fiduciary duties towards the shareholders of the company. Executive Directors have a direct responsibility for business operations whereas Non-Executive Directors have the necessary skill and experience to bring an independent judgement to bear on issues of strategy, performance and resources brought before the Board. The Executive Directors are responsible for the YTL Corporation operations and for ensuring that strategies proposed by management are fully discussed and examined, and take account of the long term interests of shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the many communities in which the YTL Corporation conducts its business. Mission YTL Company mission is to earn high returns by investing in high growth, knowledge intensive companies that leverage on new technologies and then enhance the value of these investments by using its internal and external resources. It aims to be a provider of smart capital, which includes financial capital as well as real world knowledge capital, to eliminate many of the risks associated with new technology investments, be they technical, financial or operational. [ YTL e-Solutions Berhad ] Strengths The strengths of YTL Company are when at a limited resources period time, YTL Company can supply the amount quantity of products to customer. This is because when that time building start work come together many way and then make the resources lesser, at that time YTL Company got place to store the resources and supply to every customer. Weaknesses The weakness of the YTL Company is divided into many part of enterprise development, so by the controlling maybe have some small mistake. Like when a place for develop, many worker are calling to over time the work and will give extra bonus, but the way is some of the worker want to save more the money send back to their family, so that them eat less of food when the working time, and when got any over time chances them will fight of it. This problem makes them will over stress their body and not enough time for rest and this will cause of any dangerous accident. Innovation The first company to introduce turnkey construction into Malaysia. The first Malaysian company to use non-resource local financing to finance a high-speed rail project. The first Asian company to issue a Zero-Coupon Euro-bond. First Independent Power Producer in Malaysia. The first non-Japanese Asian company to list on the Tokyo Exchange in year 1996. Awards YTL is one of Malaysias best managed companies; YTL Corporation has won numerous awards and come out tops in numerous surveys over the years, including awards form The Far Eastern Economic Review, Asia Week, CIO Asia and many others awards. YTL Corporations most recent accolades came from Finance Asia magazine, when it was highlighted under the categories Most Committed to Corporate Governance. Best Financial Management and Best Managed Company. Planning Planning can best be defined as looking ahead and chalking out future courses of action to be followed. It is a preparatory step. It is a systematic activity which determines when, how and who is going to perform a specific job. Planning is a detailed programme regarding future courses of action. It is rightly said Well plan is half done. Therefore planning takes into consideration available and prospective human and physical resources of the organization so as to get effective coordination, contribution and perfect adjustment. It is the basic management function which includes formulation of one or more detailed plans to achieve optimum balance of needs or demands with the available resources. [ Ads by Google ] Someone has said before, Planning is a mental predisposition to do things in orderly way, to think before acting and to act in the light of facts rather than guesses. Planning is deciding best alternative among others to perform different managerial functions in order to achieve predetermined goals. [ Ads by Google ] Planning is deciding in advance on what to do, how to do and who to do it. Planning bridge covers the gap between where we want to go. It makes possible things occur which would not otherwise occur. In todays highly competitive business environment, budget-oriented planning or forecast-based planning methods are insufficient for a large corporation to survive and prosper. The firm must engage in strategic planning that clearly defines objectives and assesses both the internal and external situation to formulate strategy, implement the strategy, evaluate the progress, and make adjustments where necessary to stay on track. [ Bradford, Robert W., Duncan, Peter J., Tarcy, Brian ] YTL Corporations strategy of offering World Class Products and Services at Competitive Prices extends across the range of its business activities, and is perhaps the single most important factor underpinning its success today in enhancing shareholder value. That is because YTL Corporation using the right way of the strategy planning process. A simplified strategic planning process is shown by the following diagram: This process is most applicable to strategic management at the business unit level of the organization. For large corporations, strategy at the corporate level is most concerned with managing a portfolio of business. For example, corporate level strategy involves decisions about which business units are to grow, resource allocation among the business units, taking advantage of synergies among the business units, and mergers and acquisitions. In the process outlined here, company or firm will be used to denote a single-business firm or a single business unit of a diversified firm. [ NetMBA, Business Knowledge Center ] YTL Corporation follows the step by step then only can reach until now is one of the largest companies listed on the Bursa Malaysia. The company has many assets, for example hotel, resorts, building, and etc. Mission- Companys mission is to reason as a company. The delegation is often manifested in the form of mission statement, convey a sense of mission and project staff clients corporate image. In the strategy formulation process, the mission statement sets the direction of where the company should go. YTLs mission is to earn high returns by investing in high growth, knowledge intensive companies that leverage on new technologies and provide the affordable to become one of the world-class quality products and services. Now our company is following by the mission and almost wants to overstep the mission already. YTL Group Managing Director Tan Sri Dato (Dr) Francis Yeoh Sock Ping said that before. Objectives- Objectives is a specific goal, which the organization seeks to reach, for example, a profit growth target. The goal should be challenging, but achievable. They should also be measurable, so that companies can monitor their progress and make necessary corrections. YTL over the last 15 years already contributed directly to its success in achieving a compounded annual growth rate in Pre-tax profits of 55%. This can shown that the company also done in this part very well and is not every company can done it as well, it because need to put more heart on the company and fight the target only can get it well. Situation Analysis- Once the firm has specified its objectives, it begins with its current situation to devise a strategic plan to reach those objectives. Changes in the external environment often present new opportunities and new ways to reach the objectives. An environmental scan is performed to identify the available opportunities. The firm also must know its own capabilities and limitations in order to select the opportunities that it can pursue with a higher probability of success. The situation analysis therefore involves an analysis of both the external and internal environment. [ NetMBA, Business Knowledge Center ] A situation analysis can generate a large amount of information, much of which is not particularly relevant to strategy formulation. To make the information more manageable, it sometimes is useful to categorize the internal factors of the firm as strengths and weakness, and the external environmental factors as opportunities and threats. [ NetMBA, Business Knowledge Center ] YTL Company aspect the analysis in the industry in which the firm operates or is considering operating. It devised the five forces framework that is use for industry analysis. The five forces include barriers to entry, customers, suppliers, substitute product, and rivalry among competing firm. Strategy Formulation- Once a clear picture of the firm and its environment is in the hand, specific strategic alternatives can be developed. While different firms have different alternatives depending on their situation, there also exist generic strategies that can be applied across a wide range of firm. We identified the cost leadership, differentiation, and focus as the three generic strategies that may be considered when defining strategic alternatives. [ NetMBA, Business Knowledge Center ]We implementing a combination of these strategies for a given product; rather, he argued that only one of the generic strategy alternatives should be pursued. So, the YTL Company got more strong power to build up faster than other company and become a big company. Implementation- The strategy likely will be expressed in high-level conceptual terms and priorities. For effective implementation, it needs to be translated into more detailed policies that can be understood at the functional level of the organization. The expression of the strategy in terms of functional policies also serves to highlight any practical issues that might not have been visible at a higher level. [ NetMBA, Business Knowledge Center ] The strategy of YTL Company is translated into few specific policies for functional areas such as: marketing, research and development, procurement, production, human resources, information systems and etc. Control- Once implemented, the results of the strategy need to be measured an evaluated, with changes made as required to keep the plan on track. Control systems should be developed and implemented to facilitate this monitoring. Standards of performance are set, the actual performance measured, and appropriate action taken to ensure success. [ NetMBA, Business Knowledge Center ] By the way the theory and the YTL Company theory are similar same, step by step from mission until the end of the controlling step. Organizing Organization is one of the management functions, such as planning. It is a function of the synchronization and human, material and financial resources, the combination occurred. All three resources are very important to get results. Therefore, the organization features help to achieve results that are actually important for the operation concerned. According to Chester Barnard, Organizing is a function by which the concern is able to define the role positions, the jobs related and the co- ordination between authority and responsibility. Therefore, managers always want to get organized results. Organizing function has four following steps. First is identification of activities. All activities must be conducted in a question for the first time that. For example, the preparation of the accounts, make sales, record keeping, quality control, inventory control, etc. All these activities are grouped and classified as a unit. Second is departmentally organizing the activities. In this step, managers are trying to bind to the departments and units or similar groups and related activities. This is divided into separate units and department to the entire organization is called departmentation. In the third steps is classifying the authority. Once the departments have made, Managers like the power and scope of the category managers. This gives a kind of management positions in the rank of the level of activity is called. Senior management to policy formulation, the lower the supervision and management of mid-level to the foremans supervision and management. Clarify a problem in the introduction of the power efficiency of the help. This helps in achieving the operating efficiency of a concern. This helps to avoid the time, money, energy waste, to avoid duplication or overlapping of efforts, which helped smooth the introduction of the work concerned. And the last step is co-ordination between authority and responsibility. Relations are based on different groups in order to achieve organizational goals toward smooth interaction. Everyone knows by his authority, he or she know they have to take orders and to whom they must report to them. A clear organizational structure is developed and all staff is made aware of this. When it comes to business leaders, the most important aspect is the management of the organization functions. In fact, the correct implementation of the organizational functions of management can make a business success or failure. Absence of sound system, involving the management of organizational functions, the companies can easily end up belly up and bleeding red. Unfortunately, many business owners do not spend enough time to consider the organizations management functions. In addition, when it comes to business planning and the like, little time is spent on an overview of the organization, taking into account management features. This is crucial, a business management training and well versed in the functions of various organizations. Historically, these types of concepts taught in colleges and universities. However, to a large degree, many universities have abandoned at least to some extent, the training organization like the focus. Management organizations function of the level of many business enterprises. First, the organizations management function addresses the way the person with the organization to interact, who reports to whom, organization charts, lines of authority. All of these are personnel management and organizational functions of management within the organization takes that fall on. Financial planning and budgetary considerations also belong to the organizations general management topics. Managers need the plug and the company employed by them during the budget out familiar. They need to understand the business of spending and budget priorities in order to fully understand how to allocate company resources to ensure the maximum profit at the end. Internet also does provide a number of organizations looking for more management functions, and how it is any enterprises overall business model of an important part of the useful information for anyone interested. Now we talks about the important of organisation. The people who organized organization are much better than the disorganized individuals. The same is true the organized sector or enterprise. Managers who can master this enjoyment of the organization function more smoothly in the management of the term of office location. For example, the construction enterprise organizations must do to ensure the smooth progress of the project a lot. Subcontractors, construction managers and building materials must be received by organizations for each. Scheduling before the arrival of supplies, the development of a carpenter, is counterproductive, and showing a lack of organization. In the current situation, there is a specific order to the project, which is in any other projects the true situation. Manager who has a staff organized to follow it and the organizations and the fight. Managers who take seriously functions of the organization to consistently update their plans will therefore be successful in the workplace. Organizing is always occurs continuously. Organization is most managers daily, weekly, annual task. In todays fast-paced business world, things change rapidly, the change occurred. Managers must remember that it was the composition of the flow, never change. Flexible management the ability to change course and even when necessary to meet customer needs. Change is inevitable. For the frequent changes of business experience, the organization function is essential. Such as adding new jobs or eliminate some of the organizational change process can change the level and structure of the organizations business. By the way, our research of YTL Company has indicates that organization itself consists of three basic building blocks. They are Job Positions, Activities, and Systems. The growth of the organization is how to organize the development and how they relate to people of each of these subunits to form an organic whole understanding. Job Positions The YTL Company divides the job positions into four types, which is Structure, Authority, and Distribution of tasks, Right people and Training. Structure The first thing consider is the structure of jobs in the company is correct for todays business and plans for the tomorrow. Therefore, it is worth doing an analysis of whether the structure and YTL Company contains the right makeup and balance of job positions on it. Authority Second, YTL Company examine whether each job position in the company is matched by a level of authority for the person in that job to carry out the tasks contained within the job. In addition, the person filling the job needs to clearly know whom he or she is to report to. [ Roy Posner, Growth Online ] Distribution of Tasks Third, need to check whether the work tasks are assigned to that position in all right task. Some tasks may not be included in the work, or some tasks may need to be added to the job, or some people may only need to be assigned to another job. Therefore, the contents of each job in the company of the company is also worthy of detailed analysis. Right People, Training Fourth, the job positions in YTL Company are proper allocation, as well as office tasks is to maximize the efficiency of individual positions need filled with the right people, and training to the work of each person. Activities Jobs, activities can be continuously improved throughout the organization as well. Each improvement to an activity releases fresh energy and makes the organization more effective. [ Roy Posner, Growth Online ] YTL this high-tech manufacturing companies are reviewing their product development activities in order to maximize product and service speed to market, and their efficiency and product quality and service. Therefore, thorough analysis activities, while enabling companies to more efficiently and releasing tremendous energy and prosperity. Systems An organization is determined by the degree of productivity and regular physical activity routine systematic, standard operating procedures for the opening. Systemization doesnt just make activities work more efficient; it makes people more relaxed and cheerful at work because the activities almost take care of themselves. In fact, the happiest people are often in companies that have turned most or all activities in the company into corresponding systems. [ Roy Posner, Growth Online ] There are some systems in the YTL Company as computerized bookkeeping, email, sales tracking, sales analysis, manufacturing, credit checking and etc. And then there are the existing systems. YTL Company upgraded the efficiency to the next level. Compare to the theories of YTL, it is almost the same. YTL company manager organize the company organizing structure and the job position of the employees in the company. Besides, the manager also concern about the authority and system in the company. Leading Leading is the topic of motivating employees is extremely important to managers and supervisors. To motivate employees, we must start motivating ourselves first. If you are enthusiastic about your job, it is much easier for others to be too. In addition, if doing to take care of worker and their work well, will have more clearly how other people do is their point of view. You can make their day or break their day. As a manager, you are the most powerful factor in employees motivation and morale. Your impact on employee motivation is immeasurable. By the words, the body language and expression on face, the telegraph opinion of their value of the people employ. You must take the lead first. Use simple powerful motivational words to demonstrate that you value people by saying please and thank you and you are doing a good job you can make their day positive employee motivation and morale. Start the day right. Since, walk tall and confidently. Walk around your workplace and greet people. Share the goods and expectations for the day. Let the employees know that today is going to be a great day. Of start with you, you can make their day. For employee motivation, you must make sure people know what you expect. As a manager, you must have clearly state down the work objectives, members needed, report dear lines and the requirements so that the employees do not received a different manage. Make sure get the feedback from the employees so will know he or she understand what is the need. Share the goals and reasons for doing the task and project. Have a task or project by the middle of change, why change needs to tell people, tell them you know. They want to know when they complete a project, and when you are disappointed in their results. They need as soon as possible after the event this information. They need to work with you to make sure that they produce a positive outcome the next time. Set up a daily or weekly schedule to check and make sure the feedback happens. This is an effective tool in building employee motivation and morale. As a manger you can continue learning and trying out new ideas for employee motivation. Use whatever access you have to education and training. Have an internal trainer or seek classes from an outside consultant, a training company or a university. Most people want to learn and grow their skill at work. No matter what their reasons are: a promotion, different work, a new position or a leadership role employee appreciates your help. Encourage experimentation and taking reasonable risk to develop employee skill. That each persons performance development plan and implementation plan to ensure that you need to help them. Hold regular meeting to share information, gain ideas for improvement and train new policies. Hold focus groups to gather input before implementing policies that affect employees. To effectively lead a work group, department or unit, you must take responsibility for your actions, the actions of the people you lead and the accomplishment of the goals that are yours. [ Sus an M. Heathfield, About.Com ] Show commitment by following through on your promises. To motivate the employees, we start with good people, lay out rules communicate and reward them with good pay and bonuses to those who deserve them. Today, people must understand why they are working hard. Every individual in an organization is motivated by something different from each other. On motivating people, you are got to engage their minds and their hearts. For example, by excitement or by having productive ideas to make others feel involved. Motivation is the art of setting people to do what you want to do because they want to do it. Everybody wants to be somebody. The thing you as a manager have to do is to give them confidence as much as you can. Whether you, you are for personal reasons, but the bottom line is that almost everyone working for the money. Whatever you can it: compensation, salary, houses, benefit or remuneration, money pays by bills. Of provide housing, gives children clothing and food, send them to college and eventually retirement. Therefore, equity interests and pay is the cornerstone of a successful company, the commitment to recruit and retain workers. To attract the best employees, you need to pay more than your average paying counterpart in the market place. Show commitment by following through on your promise. Follow up on mines and review project regularly to make sure you have done all you can keep an eye on projects so that you can head off problems. As a manager, in order for you to motivate your employees you must have positive mental attitude. Condition your mind to reject negative attitude to channel your mental energy. A commitment to positive attitude will bring about that relaxed countenance that many successful leaders exhibit. Show disciplined to your employee by setting a good example. Always arrive early for appointments. This shows that you are disciplined and respect other peoples time. Strength and courage on the face of adversity is a must. Be determined to face it off when facing with any troubles or problems. People will respect you more if you show courage. The leading challenges are to help individuals identify potential area of development and to measure the effectives. It is also ones ability to deal with daily environment demands and pressure and helps predict ones success in life including professional and personal pursuits. It also helps us to understand the connection between emotion and ones abilities to lead. Leaders execute a vision by motivating, umpiring, listening, guiding, and persuading others. The challenges in leading are that we can proactively build up relationship with a wide network of people. To continually articulating our vision and influencing our employees. As a leader, we can umpire ourselves and others and also creating a culture that sustain urgency in making the vision a reality. We can also continually looking for new ideas, developing, motivating, embracing change and welcoming opportunity. Combined with comprehensive pressures and the constant need to adapt and change the demands to strong leadership at every level of an organization one eventual to its strategic alignment, effectives and success. In YTL Corporation, the manager led or motivates their employees in the company to achieve some plan or let their staff perform in certain tasks. Besides, the manager also led to the morale and behavior of the staffs. YTL Corporation aims to make the staffs having a high morale and good efficient while working in the company. So that, the company only can perform well because of the good relationship between subordinates and staff. Other than that, YTL Corporation led the company to achieve their company mission and vision. By facing any challenges and problem, the manager will find a new idea or certain ways to solve the problem or having confidence to fight with the challenges given. Compare to the concepts and theories, YTL company manager concern more about the performance of the employees in the company. Same as the way of leading, the manager led to make the staff be in high morale and good attitude. So, the manager can led their employees to achieve certain objectives in the company. Controlling Finally, we come to the last management process and functions. The final activity manager perform is controlling. Manager should monitor activities to ensure that they are accomplished as planned. After estimating the future conditions and circumstances of his company, making decisions b

The Positouch System :: essays research papers

The POSitouch System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Convention and Group Sales   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sunday, April 06, 1997 POSitouch The POSitouch system was conceived in 1982, by the Ted and Bill Fuller, owners of the Gregg's Restaurant chain. They were looking to increase the efficiency of there restaurants through the use of computer technology. During there search they found systems but none meeting there total needs. That is why the Fullers created the company, (R.D.C) Restaurant Data Concepts. RDC keeps developing better and more efficient equipment to be used in the food service industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ADVANTAGES  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DISADVANTAGES 1.) Timely information, and speeds operations. 1.) People will become dependent   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   on technology. So when it fails they will   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.) Tighter labor controls.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   probably not be trained or prepared to be   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   with out it. 3.) No need to hire or pay a bookkeeper.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.) Takes time to train people to work   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   efficiently on POSitouch. 4.) Calculates food costs and menu mix.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.) POSitouch is expensive to the small   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  5.) Tighter controls over orders taken. business owner. The smallest system   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cuts down on free meals waiters give out. that they have installed cost under   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   $10,000. 6.) Can order (via modem) and keep track of inventory. 7.) Built-in modem allows technical support via modem, and on line access to reports available at anytime, even historical reports..  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   8.) Sales trend analysis. 9.) Credit Card authorization with draft capture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  10.) Easy to customize, to meet the needs of many different types of operations. 11.) Increased speed means, increased turnover. Overall, I feel that POSitouch is well worth the initial expense. It should be looked at as an investment, saving time, and money in all areas needing tight controls. This management tool has been shown to cut labor, and food costs in many food service establishments, not to mention the speed of the system, which could easily increase turnover.

Gay Marriage Should Be Legal Essay -- Gay Marriage, argumentative, per

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. Yet, same-sex marriage continues to be a highly debated issue that leaves our society searching for answers. This has been very apparent during elections when politicians, in order to distract or sway conservative voters, all took a side and had an opinion on the issue of same-sex marriage. The debate has been presented on the left as a civil rights debate, equal rights. And on the right, as a morals debate, a referendum on homosexuality (Rauch, J. 2004). Everyone has an opinion on whether two men or two women should be allowed to get married, and in doing so, have all the same rights granted by the federal government to them as are granted to more â€Å"traditional† couples. It is my belief that gay, lesbian, and transgendered couples should be afforded the same privileges as any other citizens including the choice of marriage. Singling out and disallowing certain r ights to any person based on sexual orientation, just like race, ethnicity, or religious background, is discrimination. Also, religious views on homosexuality should not have an effect on our laws. By conservative estimates, there are probably about ten million gay men and lesbians in the United States. And they're going to be there. They're going to be having relationships and they're going to be having kids no matter what we do in our laws and no matter what courts say. And the question about whether gay and lesbian couples should have an equal right to get married under our state laws--we're talking about state laws here, we're not talking about private religious organizations. (Wolff, 2005) In the past marriage was something everyone was expected to do. ... ...arch 8). Hollywood: World of Wonder. Inalienable Rites? Gay Marriage in the Courts (2005, March 25). Uncommon Knowledge with Peter Robinson [Radio News Program]. http://www.hoover.org/multimedia/uk/2934426.html Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967) Masci, D. (2009, May 21). A Clash of Rights? Gay Marriage and the Free Exercise of Religion. http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=216 Masci, D. (2009, July 9). Public Opinion on Gay Marriage: Opponents Consistently Outnumber Supporters. http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=424 Rauch, J. (2004, April 1). Can Gay Marriage Strengthen the American Family? [Brookings Briefing]. http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2004/0401children%20%20%20families/20040401.pdf Strasser, P. M. (1999). The Challenge of Same-Sex marriage: Federalist Principles and Constitutional Protections. Westport: Preager Publisher.

harley davidson Essay -- essays research papers

Information Technology The website of Harley Davidson gave us a new concept of Motorcycles! The extension of this website is exceptional. The virtual Customer Service in this website is notorious and extremely helpful. From other motorcycles websites this is one of the most professionals ones where the customer can get a flavor of the company from products up to their businesses profits and others...Harley Davidson publishes material related to all aspects of their motorcycles and provides to their own and the general public good information, expanding their products and other services with local information for countries around the world. Their information and technology, including digital libraries, metadata, authorization and authentication, electronic journals and electronic publishing, telecommunications, distributed systems and networks, computer security and intellectual property rights, technical standards, geographic information systems, desktop applications, online catalogs and bibliographic syst ems, optical information systems, software engineering, universal access to technology, futuristic forecasting, library consortia, vendor relations, and technology and the arts. "Put your ass on some class," reads one (not necessarily official) Harley-Davidson T-shirt that I saw in some of the pictures while I e-shopping on EBay!. I want to show with my presentation a little taste of harley’s communication systems with the public, their investment in Media is amazing and the strategies used are well combined with today’s technology of advertising and marketing directed to all customer around the world. Harley-Davidson is the only major US maker of motorcycles and the world's No.1 seller of heavyweight motorcycles. The company offers 32 models of touring and custom Harleys through a worldwide network of more than 1,300 dealers. Harley models include the Electra Glide, the Sportster, and the Fat Boy. Besides its bikes, Harley-Davidson sells attitude and position -- goods licensed with the company name include a line of clothing and accessories (Motor Clothes). The company also makes motorcycles under the Buell nameplate. Harley-Davidson Financial Services offers financing to dealers and consumers in the US, Canada and European market. Harley-Davidson Inc. People: †¢ Chairman & Chief Executive - Jeffrey L. B... ...so, gain a good attention in detail the Harley-Davidson Cafes, located in various cities including New York City and Las Vegas, These booming restaurants provide Harley enthusiasts with great food, souvenir merchandise and the possibility to see unusual biker memorabilia. This makes Harley one of the most recognizable symbols in America today. The devotion to its existing customers has produced a loyalty that is enviable by many other companies. My Conclusion When I was developing this work I felt I had too much information to present. I was happy preparing the presentation on PowerPoint and seeing the pictures and creating the whole arrangement was very difficult but enjoyable. Without much computer guidance this tasks was part interesting and part difficult when dealing with information to get it right in excel and Access, I normally use the Word and PowerPoint programs to develop most of my assignments but never had to deal with the other two at all. I feel I should get more guidance and practice with those programs perhaps more often, but I feel confident to know the use of the computers and Internet as well as the other programs mention above.

Unit 74

Unit 74 – Support individuals to live at home Understand the principles of supporting individuals to live at home 1. 1 Describe how being supported at home can benefit an individual There are a few examples of how being supported at home can be beneficial: * More independence * More time spent with loved ones * A greater sense of normality * Able to maintain a little more control over daily routine * Surrounded by own possessions with fond memories etc * No interruptions or noise from other ‘patients or residents' * More likely to get visits from friends and family Some people don't like hospitals etc. 1. 2 Compare the roles of people and agencies who may be needed to support an individual to live at home 1. 3 Explain the importance of providing information about benefits, allowances and financial planning which could support individuals to live at home 1. 4 Explain how Risk-management contributes to supporting individuals to live at home Be able to contribute to plannin g support for living at home 2. 1 Identify with an individual the strengths, skills and existing networks they have that could support them to live at home 2. Identify with an individual their needs that may require additional support and their preferences for how the needs may be met 2. 3 Agree with the individual and others the risks that need to be managed in living at home and ways to address them Be able to work with individuals to secure additional services and facilities to enable them to live at home 3. 1 Support the individual and others to access and understand information about resources, services and facilities available to support the individual to live at home 3. Work with the individuals and others to select resources, services and facilities that will meet the individual’s needs and minimise risks 3. 3 Contribute to completing paperwork to apply for required resources, facilities and services in a way that promotes active participation 3. 4 Obtain permission t o provide additional information about the individual in order to secure resources, services and facilities Be able to work in partnership to introduce additional services for individuals living at home 4. 1 Agree roles and responsibilities for introducing dditional support for an individual to live at home 4. 2 Introduce the individual to new resources, services and facilities or support groups 4. 3 Record and report on the outcomes on additional support measures in required ways Be able to contribute to reviewing support for living at home 5. 1 Work with the individual and others to agree methods and timescales for ongoing review 5. 2 Identify any changes in an individual’s circumstances that may indicate a need to adjust the type or level of support 5. 3 Work with the individual and others to agree revisions to the support provided

Organizational Behaviour Learnings

Organizational Behaviour Learnings: OB course has given me a better understanding of the behavioural processes in an organization and provided me with a guideline for tackling various situations that I am likely to come across and be better equipped to function as a future manager within any stage of my work-life. During my work life at TCS,I have come across various kind of people. Some of them being arrogant,stern,unapproachable vis-a-vis others who were friendly, helpful and always in high spirits. Initial days the question I kept asking to myself was to do all the work assigned to me by myself or should I seek help from my colleagues. It was the initial steps I was taking into an unknown corporate jungle and I was full of doubts. One of the learning’s I had was how to balance work and life. There were periods of long working hours when we will have to work extra hours and come to office during the weekends. Along with this there was continuous phone calls asking for updates and the likes during the few hours I got to spend away from work. As a beginner I was eager to do more work and take on the added responsibility. But as the pressure mounted it was affecting my physical and mental self. OB gives us an insight into such a situation upfront and offers on how to tackle them to have a balanced work-life. One other key things one has to learn is to say NO to things. Even if you are the smartest and most hardworking employee on the planet ,it is impossible to do everything by yourself. We must learn to turn down the tasks which we logically could conclude that we wont be able to finish within the timeline and also learn to delegate and share work. Pursuit of career growth is only one facet of life and we must learn to juggle between the various other roles of life also. As I took up the role of leading a team of 20 people, the various uncertainties such as whom to assign what work, how to manage deadlines coming from superiors, learning the art of allocating time between meetings and dealing with various team dynamics as a manager came to life. Task allocation had to be done judiciously, prioritizing the work at hand and assigning it to the right people. I soon had 3-4 team members who were very enthusiastic and ready to take upon more challenging tasks and on the other hand a few who were very laid back and didn’t take work seriously. The trick was in assigning the high priority challenging tasks to the first kind and the mundane tasks to the other. Alongside this I used to talk to all my team members if they were dissatisfied with what they did and how I could make work-life better for them. As we fill into the shoes of a manager, we move from an individual perspective to managing a team wherein each of the team member has to be understood and also the team dynamics. OB learning comes in handy as it teaches us about how the team dynamics differs from an individualistic point of view. I handled multiple tasks within the project and hence had to work under different people, each having his/her own take on their subordinates and they treated them differently. We should understand the nature of the people we work under and modify the way we present ourselves to them as each one’s expectations will be different. This is where Interpersonal communication and relations that we learn in OB helps us to evolve with our Boss. OB also teaches us about how to handle emotions and personality in a work environment. There were many situations where I got frustrated with my Boss or with my team mates. This naturally happens as we are working on stringent timelines and clash of ideas are likely to happen. Maintaining composure and dealing with such emotionally challenging situations can define your personality among your colleagues. Another vital factor is the motivation we expect from the work – life. Personally I always was focussed on climbing up the corporate ladder and looked forward to new challenges. During initial phases I was subjected to monotonous, time consuming work. I was going off-course and there wasn’t any motivation in me to work. My manager noticed this and after a brief talk, she understood the negative effect it was having on me and further gave me different role and responsibility which instilled new life in me to work and bought back the urge in me to perform. Understanding what you want, your hygiene and motivating factor early will enable you to enjoy your work and hence have a positive effect overall. Also the lure of an onsite was an added motivation that many employees shared in hope of earning big bucks and spending time overseas. Organizational politics is an unavoidable part for any employee . Its a social work group where biases, favouritism’s and down-play rules. I also got entangled and initially caught unaware on which side to take. There are multiple teams in parallel and taking side with one senior or group will irk the other. Here is where tactfulness and being smart counts and here we must also learn to utilise the art of persuasion. A persuader must match his emotional fervour to the audience’s ability to receive the message and use the smarter way of negotiation. Many a times during my work life I had to convince the team members about the importance of work they are doing and the impact it carries within the project. Also as a team lead I had to persuade and convince the project manager of the additional resources I needed or for extending the timelines. Another aspect that forms the crux of OB is the way of communicating yourself and making yourself being heard. In a MNC with the large work group and complex hierarchies, one must really put in the extra effort to be heard amongst the crowd. For me, I learnt the secret lies in persistence and not giving up when you are ignored. If you give up no one is going to care about what you told and its brushed aside. On the other hand if you can reason yourself and understand whom to communicate it to within the hierarchy it makes all the difference. Working as a part of an Agile team we used to have daily stand-up meetings with the onsite where each days performance was analysed and commented upon. A manager has to be prompt in explaining his team’s daily activities and resolve any conflict that occurs due to clash of ideas. A team goal is defined at the start and objectives are laid which are pursued by the team. Whilst the manager has to deal with the complexities occurring in the work place, a leader is one who has to deal with the change. We had a leader who kept a watch on the proceedings and kept looking for other alternatives, technology advancements, client requirement changes etc and incorporated some breakthrough changes which redefined the goals and objectives that was set in initial stages. The drawbacks I found in OB learning was the extend up to which these theoretical learning’s could be taken over and practically applied to the ever changing and fast paced workspace. The theories and case studies are rational and very relevant to the current organizational scenario. But the effectiveness it can deliver as a pure theory subject is what raises my concern. Unless we learn these behavioural norms in an active way like learn it while experiencing it ,these theories will remain just as a dormant learning within us. The effectiveness could be brought in by giving more role plays and real life case studies which can be solved by us by creating a virtual organizational simulation inside the four walls of a classroom.

Government Regulation on Media in America

The government is the political direction and control exercised over the actions of the members, citizens, or inhabitants of communities, societies, and states. Media is the means of communication, such as radio, television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet which influence people broadly. The mainstream American media information presented to the public viewers is selected by the government. Outside of government institutions, no other unit has more influence in determining policy decisions and elections more than the mass media. Although the framers of the Constitution could never have envisioned the increase of mass media that we enjoy today, they were very aware that the press would play a serious role in the growing democracy. It's no coincidence that freedom of the press constitutes the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. The media's role in government goes back to the colonial era, when daily newspapers were the only source of political as well as other news for the colonists. The media has transformed intensively over the past 200 years. Most of the change has occurred since the mid-1990s, with the advent of the Internet and all-news cable television channels. As these and other communication technologies keep on evolving at the speed of light, the role of the media in government will also continue to modify. The Internet has become an immense factor in the media, primarily the major social networks, because it communicates frankly without the filter of editors, publishers, and corporate parents similar to Viacom, Disney, Time-Warner, and General Electric. In a democracy, the free flow of information, ideas, and opinions is vital. The media has three primary responsibilities: setting the agenda, investigating the institutions of government, and facilitating the exchange of ideas and opinions. Elected officials, nonelected government workers, and political candidates spend a considerable amount of time figuring out ways to shape media coverage. The following five techniques are most normally used. Staged events are the most common way to attract media coverage. In 1994, the House Republicans had a â€Å"signing ceremony† on the Capitol steps to launch their â€Å"Contract with America† campaign theme. The event received enormous press coverage. An off-the-record conversation is another technique. Politicians, bureaucrats, and candidates have off-the-record conversations with reporters when they want to propagate certain information, but don't want that information associated with them. Reporters usually attribute off-the-record comments to anonymous or unnamed sources. Sound byte is where the most elected officials are skillful at giving â€Å"sound bites† (concise and colorful quotes) to reporters. Officials who consistently deliver the best sound bites usually receive the most coverage. New York senator Chuck Schumer is regarded as a terrific source of sound bites. From time to time government officials will float â€Å"trial balloons†, anonymous program or policy thoughts to the press in order to gauge the public's feedback. Trial balloons allow officials to test ideas or potential appointments without taking responsibility for them. During the recent stem-cell research debate, the White House floated a trial balloon about keeping the controversial research on embryonic stem cells legal, but decided against it after the administration's conservative base reacted negatively. Last, there is a technique called leaks. Almost every day in Washington, confidential information is passed from government officials to the media. Leakers do this for one of two reasons. First, to cast a negative light on their opponents and second to strengthen their point of view on a particular matter among their colleagues. Investigations in particular tend to be common with leaks. There were so many leaks during the Monica Lewinsky investigation that the leaks themselves became a separate legal inquiry. Although the Constitution promises freedom of the press, the government does regulate various media. Print media are for the most part unregulated, and newspapers and magazines can print almost anything as long as they don’t insult anyone. The Internet has also gone mostly unregulated; despite congressional efforts to restrict some controversial fulfillments. Broadcast media, however, are subject to the most government regulation. Radio and television broadcasters must attain a license from the government because according to American law, the public owns the airwaves. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issues these licenses and is in charge of managing the airwaves. The FCC also acts as a police agency of the airwaves, and it can fine broadcasters for violating public decency principles on the air. The FCC can even revoke a broadcaster’s license, keeping him off the air permanently. For example, he FCC has fined radio host Howard Stern plentiful times for his use of profanity. They also fined CBS greatly for Janet Jackson’s â€Å"wardrobe malfunction† during the halftime performance at the Super Bowl in 2004. The government is involved in media doctrines. The Federal Communications Commission has also established rules for broadcasts relating to political campaigns. The equal time rule, which states that broadcasters have to supply the same broadcast time to all candidates for a specific office. The right of rebuttal, which requires broadcasters to make available an opportunity for candidates to reply to criticisms made against them. A station cannot air an attack on a candidate and not succeed to give the objective of the attack a possibility to respond. The fairness doctrine, states that a broadcaster who airs a controversial program is required to provide time to air opposing views. The FCC has not obligated the fairness doctrine since 1985, and some claim that the FCC has taken a lax come up to enforcing the other regulations as well. The government has also regulated ownership of media outlets to make sure that no one broadcaster monopolizes the market. Since the 1980s the government has loosened limitations on media possession, and Congress accepted the Telecommunications Act in 1996 to permit companies to possess even more media outlets. Due to the loosening of tenure boundaries, more and more media outlets are declining under the power of a few colossal corporations, an inclination called media consolidation. The Hearst, Knight Ridder, and Gannett corporations own the majority of the nation’s newspapers, whereas Clear Channel Communications owns numerous radio stations. Huge companies also have the major networks and other television stations. The Walt Disney Corporation, for example, owns ABC and ESPN, along with the Disney Channel, and Viacom owns CBS and MTV. Meanwhile the Rupert Murdoch’s Media Corporation owns all of the Fox channels, several radio networks, satellite television providers, and newspapers in many countries. And Time-Warner owns dozens of magazines, counting Time, Life, and Sports Illustrated, as well as the CNN and Turner television networks. Critics challenge that media consolidation confines consumers’ choices because a small number of companies own all the media outlets. They fight that consolidation is not competitive and that corporate owners might control or influence news coverage. Some critics also lament the homogenization of American culture due to media consolidation. Because radio and television formats have turn out to be more and more uniform, people all through the country receive the same broadcasts. It is not clear if the FCC has the ability to regulate cable television. The FCC is entitled to regulate those who broadcast over the airwaves because the people own the airwaves. Cable television is not sent through the airwaves. Cables transmit the programs directly into people’s houses. Seemingly this means that cable television cannot be regulated, but some members of Congress have still required doing so. I have come to believe that media is important in the government because it’s the primary source of political information for most people, so it plays a big role in democracy. Also, I notice the way a point is transmitted affects how the message is received. Television, for example, is a visual medium, so viewers will surely be affected by images. Plus, media tends to provide more facts and details than television. The media has massive power within the American Government because just about all Americans get their news from the media instead of from other people or other sources. Media coverage shapes how Americans recognize the world and what they consider to be important. Voters and politicians comparable must pay attention to the media. In the American political system, the media perform a number of functions important to the self-governing process. The media reports the news, serves as a mediator between the government and the people, helps agree on which issues should be discussed, and keeps people energetically involved in society and politics. In the United States, the media plays a big role in socializing people to American society, culture, and politics. Much of what young people and immigrants learn about American culture and politics comes from magazines, radio shows, and television. Many people worry that juvenile people are exposed to too much violence and sex in the media, knowing the effect it will have on children’s views and development. The media also provides a public forum for debates between political leaders. During campaigns, opposing candidates often broadcast advertisements and debate with each other on television. Many voters learn a great deal about the candidates and the issues by watching these ads and debates. Even during years without elections, though, the news media allows elected official to explain their actions via news stories and interviews. In this way the government has the power to control people though its subliminal messages. It has the ability to brainwash or give an image of what may be wrong or right through its regulations.

Anhauser Busch Balanced Score Card

|Anheuser-Busch InBev | | | |[pic] | | | |Balanced Scorecard | |Executing the Strategic Plan | | | | | | | | |Throughout the business environment it seems that almost every profession has some means of communicating clearly to the end user. However, for people engaged in strategic planning there has been an on-going dilemma. The finished product, the strategic plan, has not been communicated well enough to reach the end user. Strategic plans may be great to look at, full of bar charts, nice covers, well written, and professionally prepared; but they often fall short and fail to impact the people who must execute the strategic plan. The end result has been poor execution of the strategic plan throughout the entire organization; and execution is everything. Upper management creates the strategy, but execution takes place from the bottom up.According to the Balance Scorecard Collaborative, there are four barriers to strategic implementation: †¢ Vision Barrier – No one in the organization understands the strategies of the organization. †¢ People Barrier – Most people have objectives that are not linked to the strategy of the organization. †¢ Resource Barrier – Time, energy, and money are not allocated to those things that are critical to the organization. For example, budgets are not linked to strategy, resulting in wasted resources. †¢ Management Barrier – Management spends too little time on strategy and too much time on short-term tactical decision-making.Implementing the Balanced Scorecard as a management tool creates clarity in the communication of strategy. By using measurements and targets, employees can relate to what must happen and the result is higher productivity that results in the achievement of company goals. This is achieved through four strategic objectives: †¢ Financial – Delivering expected financial results for investors. †¢ Customer – Delivering value and benefits fo r customers. †¢ Internal Processes – The set of processes that must be in place in order to meet the requirements of customers. †¢ Learning and Growth – the set of values and principles related to intangibles (employees, systems, and organization), supporting and providing the required internal processes.The financial and customer perspectives represent the deliverables, and the internal processes and learning and growth perspectives represent those things the organization must do. Balanced Scorecards tell you the knowledge, skills and systems that your employees will need (learning and growth) to innovate and build the right strategic capabilities and efficiencies (internal processes) that deliver specific value to the market (customer) which will eventually lead to higher shareholder value (financial). – â€Å"Having Trouble with Your Strategy? Then Map It† by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton – Harvard Business Review Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is a good example of institution theory working at its best as it uses a strong mission and vision statement for adaptation in growing markets.A solid mission statement is a vital part of any company as it states the purpose or reason for the organization’s existence, which in turn, establishes the parameters for the company’s strategic plan. Moreover, it tells society what the company is providing: service or product. As the textbook points out, â€Å"a well-conceived mission statement defines the fundamental, unique purpose that sets a company apart from other firms of its type and identifies the scope or domain of the company’s operations in terms of products/services offered and markets served† (Wheelen, et al 13). Mission statements throughout an industry can vary greatly, and the alcoholic beverage industry is no exception.Anheuser-Busch strives to â€Å"Be the best beer company in a better world; and to â€Å"Deliver superior re turns to our shareholders† (Anheuser-Busch). This mission statement clearly defines who they are, â€Å"The best beer company†, and it also identifies the scope of the company’s operations, as they would like to deliver superior returns to their shareholders. Having a narrow business statement, which very clearly states the organizations primary business, helps AB InBev in this tough economy because it keeps the firm focused on what it does the best. The vision statement is the framework for the company’s strategic planning, and it also allows a way to let potential customers become aware of what the company’s future goals are.The vision statement often states a unique purpose that the business hopes to achieve, but it should primarily be focused on what the company wishes to become. AB InBev’s vision statement is â€Å"Through all of our products, services and relationships, we add to life’s enjoyment†. Moreover, their goal is to be the world’s beer company, their unique purpose is to enrich and entertain a global audience, and their scope of their operations is to provide superior returns to their shareholders (Anheuser-Busch). The Financial Perspective: The first aspect of the Balanced Scorecard is the financial perspective, which answers two questions: How do we appear to shareholders?And how should we act with respect to the shareholders in order to achieve financial success? According to their annual financial report, AB InBev remains focused on three core objectives designed to enhance long-term shareholder value: Increasing domestic beer segment volume and per barrel profitability which, when combined with market share growth, will provide the basis for earnings per share growth and improvement in return on capital employed. A number of acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures influenced Anheuser-Busch InBev’s profit and financial profile over the past couple of years. Profitabil ity is the first objective of the financial component that is considered in AB InBev’s Balanced Scorecard.There are several ways in which to measure the profitability of a company including Return on Equity (ROE). Return on Equity is defined as the amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholders equity. ROE measures the rate of return on the ownership interest (shareholders' equity) of the common stock owners. It measures a firm's efficiency at generating profits from every unit of shareholders' equity and shows how well a company uses investment funds to generate earnings growth. The benefit comes from the earnings reinvested in the company at a high ROE rate, which in turn gives the company a high growth rate. ROEs between 15% and 20% are considered desirable (Woolridge, et al 2006).AB InBev is committed to high ROE as is depicted in this statement on their Web site, â€Å"Our business is guided by strict financial discipline, enabling us to free up funds for investments in growth, while we also benchmark and measure our performance to ensure that we deliver on our commitments†. Another objective in the financial component includes revenue growth. This is manifested through, ideally, a positive percent change in revenue from year to year. This revenue increase can be initiated in many ways including increasing unit sales, which is one of the financial goals laid out in the AB InBev financial statements. Currently, AB InBev’s revenue is $36,297M, up 4. 4% from the previous year.According to the latest AB InBev financial report, their earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) is up 6. 5% from last year in spite of an overall decrease in North American earnings due to synergies and lower cost of sales. [pic] The first exhibit shows how the dollar amount sales of Craft Brewers, which includes Anheuser-Busch, starts to fall with the economy in 2005 and hitting a low in 2006. Slowly however, the industry is making a recovery. Rob ert S. Weinberg, principal of the Office of R. S. Weinberg- a research company located in St. Louis, stated in an interview that â€Å"the nature of competition in the industry has changed radically in the last two years† (a ixed forecast†¦) With the economy still on the rocks, and Europe’s economy on the offensive as well, many industries are having a hard time coping with the stress. Anheuser is affected by both economies as it operates not only in the USA but in Europe as well. As previous stated, Anheuser’s strong mission statement, values and dedicated employees come into play here as it gives them a boost that other companies may be lacking. Furthermore, analyses are making predictions that although the economy remains slow, â€Å"Craft beer sales will continue to explode, with 10% growth in 2011 on a larger base, particularly large format bottles, fueled by a rash of positive press in the general media† ( Beer Business Daily). The third object ive in the financial segment is debt management.Currently, AB InBev has a net debt to normalized EBIT ratio of 2. 9. Within the past year overall debt has been decreased by $5500M in 2009, AB InBev reported debt of $45 174, and $39 704 in 2010. The Customer Perspective: The second aspect of the Balanced Scorecard addresses two questions surrounding the company’s customers: How do customers view us? And how should we approach our customers in order to realize our vision? AB InBev seeks to provide their customers with a high level of value by focusing on responsive supply as an objective and providing on-time delivery. On-time delivery means that AB InBev customers will get what they want, when they want it.Since 1994 AB InBev has an established multi-disciplinary Production and Logistics team whose focus is to re-engineer the supply chain to better cope with the challenges of complexity. Since AB InBev is involved in two logistically distinct businesses – established hi gh-volume products and low-volume â€Å"growth† products, with the latter accounting for over 80% of brand/package combinations and only 10% of total volume, effectively managing the supply chain is of great importance in order to provide customers with the highest level of value and service possible. Growth products represent important market opportunities, but they have greater demand variability than the established products, require greater flexibility, and impose more costs and complexity throughout the supply chain.In order to reach the goal of on-time delivery, the team recommended a series of strategic initiatives, beginning with re-engineering of production and inventory deployment, proceeding to transportation, and culminating in order fulfillment. The growth products were assigned to fewer plants with shorter production cycles, and their inventory was predominantly deployed across 35 wholesaler support centers throughout the U. S. The resulting improvements have be en dramatic: †¢ 90% of low-volume items are now within 200 miles of their destination, compared to 25% previously. †¢ Costs of purchasing, operations, and transportation are minimized without loss of customer service. †¢ Anheuser-Busch is well positioned for future expansion in its growth segment.An important element of the re-engineering effort was an initiative called â€Å"Transportation Advantage,† which involved review and re-configuration of the transportation processes for both long haul and short-haul delivery of beer to wholesalers. The objective was to lower costs and improve service by leveraging the buying power for all brewery inbound and outbound transportation, including truck and rail, through one customer – Anheuser-Busch (John, et al). According to the report, AB InBev was able to produce the follow results in the following areas: In Brewery Operations: †¢ Partial pallets into support center territories have been reduced 56%. †¢ Interplant shipments have been reduced 78%. Items per brewery load have been reduced 41%. †¢ Transportation costs have been reduced 15%. In Wholesaler and Support Center Operations: †¢ Wholesale support center costs are 7% below expectations. †¢ Transportation service is 99% on-time or early. †¢ Wholesaler Out-of-Stocks have decreased 30%. By incorporating specific strategies, AB InBev was able to reach their on-time delivery goal of 99% while reaping additional benefits in terms of cost reduction and product growth positioning. The goal is to maintain this competitive advantage by continuing to monitor their supply chain, making changes where needed, and eventually reach their goal of 100% on-time delivery for their clientele.The second area that AB InBev focuses in on in order to service their customers best is in the realm of customer satisfaction. A study referred to by the Brookston Beer Bulletin shows that AB InBev’s beer drinker satisfaction fell from its all-time high of 84 in 2009 by 2. 4% to 82, driven by a sharp decline for AB InBev products. In 2008, shortly after its acquisition by Belgian InBev, AB InBev recorded its best American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) score ever and captured the industry lead. Now that gain has disappeared as the sales of the Budweiser brand fell by almost 10% during 2009 as younger drinkers have increasingly turned to microbrews and low-calorie products. Now the ratings are stalled across the beer industry with a low of 81 and a high of 83.An article published by the Pittsburg post talks about how the modern day drinker is more â€Å"sophisticated† and more willing to try something new, â€Å"looking for different beverages that are appropriate for different occasions† (Boselovic, Len). Boselovic goes on to say, â€Å"†¦more importantly, the modern day drinker doesn’t want to be seen as a guzzler, a dumb guy, six-pack drinker†¦they want to be seen as a c onnoisseur†. AB InBev has responded to this latest information by invoking a Fresh Ideas Initiative, encouraging employees to think about beer in a whole different way. This led to the introduction of Beach Blond Ale in 2006 with an advertising message of its â€Å"rich golden color, pleasant hop aroma and slightly spicy malty taste†.In subsequent years, AB InBev has continued to produce more new products including Tilt, a raspberry flavor premium malt beverage infused with caffeine, guarana and ginseng; BE, a beer that combines the drinkability and broad appeal of beer also with the combination of caffeine, ginseng and guarana; Bacardi Silver Watermelon and Budweiser Select, are all taking their place in the beer category along with such brand powerhouses as Budweiser, Bud Light and Michelob to challenge the established perception of beer and expand its market over the long run (Boselovic). By using the strategy of responding to customer demand and preferences by intro ducing new and exciting beverage options, AB InBev hopes to regain the lead in the ACSI Index and even surpass their previous all-time high. The third objective for AB InBev regarding their customer base pertains to market share growth. Large market-share percentages are a strong indicator that customers perceive value in a company’s product and are willing to spend their hard-earned dollars on the company’s products. Currently, AB InBev holds close to half of the American beer market.In recent press releases, AB has revealed its plans to pursue international beer market segments including China (which is currently the fastest growing beer market and the second largest next to the United States), and Belgium. According to AB InBev’s CEO, Carlos Brito, the company may seek acquisitions to keep pace with market growth. Even as the company focuses on revenue growth on its own, it won’t rule out purchasing rivals, including in Germany, where it plans to incre ase its market share â€Å"significantly,† (Johnson). In pursuit of its interest to increase international beer segment profit growth, Anheuser-Busch has made significant marketing investments to build recognition of its Budweiser brands outside the United States. These investments include owning and operating breweries in China, including Harbin Brewery Group, and in the United Kingdom.The company also has a 50% equity position in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s largest brewer and producer of the Corona brand. AB InBev plans to expand in China where volume growth is 2-3% and implement a focus brand at mid to high teens. AB InBev plans to use a Concentration Week Initiative to promote their Budweiser brand to new and existing clientele. These promotions will be enhanced by new TV ads aimed at growing their premium and super premium brands in the healthy lifestyle community. Upon consolidation with InBev, the company employed a series of asset disposals, which included divesting during 2009 its 27% equity position in Tsingtao, the largest brewer in China and producer of the Tsingtao brand.Asset disposal and divesting of less profitable business segments is in line with AB InBev’s goal to provide the best possible returns on shareholder equity (Johnson). The following, based on the AB InBev’s annual report information, is an explanation of the forecasted increase in market share percentage per region: North America: 4. 0% The brands Budweiser and Bud Light, with strong marketing efforts, have continued to gain market share and report good results, with Bud Light consisting of 5% of the Canadian beer market in Q310. Latin America North: 25. 5% This area will continue to reap rewards from anticipated industry performance improvement. Economic conditions are anticipated to continue to improve as AB InBev rolls out Budweiser and Budweiser Brew N ° 66 into the Brazilian market in 2011.AB InBev has been highly successful in market introductions, a s shown by the innovations introduced over the last three years which alone now account for more than 10% of the Brazilian beer market. Latin America South: 8. 7% AB InBev heavily invested in Focus Brand promotion in 2009, particularly during the FIFA World Cup, the effects of which are expected to be felt in 2011 in sales volume increases in Stella Artois and Quilmes. Beer volumes in Argentina have been recovering from weak industry performance in 2009, fueled in large part by premium brand sales, which continued to grow substantially throughout 2009 as well in 2010. Western Europe: 2. 9%Sales in this segment are anticipated to follow a trend of flat sales. The beer industry in Western Europe is in decline, though AB InBev remains a market leader. Belgium sales volume saw a 2. 2% decline in 3Q10 due to abnormally poor weather conditions. As long as weather conditions are somewhat normal in 2011, volume should increase. Budweiser Brew N ° 66 and Stella Artois were launched in Augu st and September 2010, respectively in the United Kingdom. Central & Eastern Europe: 33. 8% The Russian government has been promoting the consumption of beer in order to reduce that of vodka. The combined efforts of AB InBev and the government will increase sales in 2011.In 3Q10, awareness for Bud was built through a range of media initiatives, including television, social media, and out-of-home ads, resulting in strong volume performance, confirming the brand’s potential in Russia. Asia Pacific: 21. 9% Planned national marketing campaigns, in addition to the recent launch of Budweiser Lime, will boost market share in the rapidly expanding China beer market. The Focus Brand portfolio volumes in the area increased 17. 5% in 3Q10 as a result of these campaigns, and AB InBev will continue to invest in the Focus Brand campaigns. While the above market share increases for 2011 can be forecasted due to industry analysis based on what has occurred in the past year, major growth rate increases cannot be sustained from year to year.Projections for the remaining two years have been reached through calculating the average growth rate typical for the beer industry and AB Bev’s unique performance, which is roughly 12. 4% of the previous years’ growth performance. As 2011 unfolds, recalculations will need to be made incorporating current events and economic conditions. [pic] Internal Business Perspective: In the third part of the Balanced Scorecard, the question surrounding business processes is handled by answering the following: In what business processes must we be the best in order to satisfy our customers? Goals should be formulated for innovation, customer management, operational processes and integration into the environment.AB InBev has credited its efficiency with effective communication with their retailers. The strategic plans were shared with retailers to include them in the process from beginning to end. The products and services are doing very well at AB InBev. The valuable tool of Reco has resulted in fast communication to its retailers and ensuring that its alcoholic beverages get stocked immediately to satisfy its clientele. Anheuser-Bush fosters an environment of growth and innovation. This has resulted in great success to the company. Efficiency through its distribution, sales, and marketing abilities has helped Anheuser-Busch become very successful. DistributionAnheuser-Busch is very team oriented environment that encourages innovation and expansion. The costs of products are closely monitored and are able to be minimized through communication. A prime example is the successful introduction of Bud Light Lime. â€Å"Our goal is to provide our retailers with the products and packaging that best appeal to their shoppers,† said Bill Laufer, vice president, grocery sales for Anheuser-Busch. â€Å"With the introduction of Bud Light Lime, we worked with retailers well in advance of the launch to help them sell the product by providing them with the strategy behind the brand, packaging options, target audience, sales expectations, recommended shelf placement and marketing plans. The communication between AB InBev and its retailers is a huge success. Anhesuer’s business strategy is to closely monitor its products all the way to the finish line while providing information to its retailers on the products details. Bill Laufer points out, â€Å"Because we worked closely with retailers to support the launch of this product, we have been able to obtain a 0. 9 share in supermarkets for a product that was released at the end of August† (IRI Supermarket Data, week ending Oct. 19). Communication is very vital to the growth and continued success of AB InBev. The constant feedback has resulted in positive growth of its new products such as Bud Light lime.The distribution has varied for Anheuser-Busch. For the years of 2008 the distribution was 6. 4%, 7% for 2009, and 8% for 2010 (www. a nheuser-busch. com). The distribution costs have gone up due to the prices in materials. Cost of Sales Anheuser-Bush uses  the accounting method of last in, first out method in its inventories. According to Anheuser’s Web site, â€Å"Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market. The company uses the last-in, first-out method (LIFO) valuation approach to determine cost primarily for domestic production inventories, and uses average cost valuation primarily for international production and retail merchandise inventories. The costs are calculated differently for domestic inventories as well as international inventories. â€Å"LIFO was used for approximately 71% of total inventories at December 31, 2004, and 76% of inventories at December 31, 2003. Average cost was used for the remainder† (Anheuser-Busch). This method has proved to be quite effective at handling the companies’ finances. The cost of sales has defiantly fluctuated looking at the annual rep orts of 2008-2010. The costs of sales are for 2008 are 41. 1%, 46% cost of sales for 2009, and 44% cost of sales for 2010. Sales and Marketing The tool that has enabled Anheuser-Busch to become very efficient and productive with its retailers is called Reco.According to AB InBev’s Web site, â€Å"Anheuser-Busch was recognized for its ability to develop tools to enhance the beverage business of retail customers. In selecting Anheuser-Busch, Progressive Grocer highlighted Reco, a tool the company designed to enhance its planogram management tool and improve feedback to chain customers about retailer compliance of their plans. The system has helped retailers reduce their out-of-stocks and helps to ensure they stock a consistent mix of products to meet the unique needs of their consumers. † The tool Reco that AB InBev created has enabled the company to put its different types of alcoholic beverages on the shelves and keep them in stocked.The program has been very successfu l in providing communication about the company’s plans to its retailers. The feedback from the retailers is critical to the success of the business partnership. Reco has proved to be a very productive tool for keeping items in stock and meeting the demands of its thirsty consumers. This has definitely helped in the sales and marketing department. Sales and marketing for the years of 2007 is 14. 8%, 2008 is 14. 9%, 2009 1is 4%, and 2010 is13%. There has been 1% percent of a dip. (Anheuser-Busch). The Learning & Growth Perspective: The next question to be answered is how can AB foster change and growth potentials in order to achieve business goals?For AB to grow and learn they need to harness their intangible assets such as technology, human capital and the potential of AB’s corporate culture. Since 1852 Budweiser has invested in their human and technological as well as additional financial resources to build a strong company. At AB InBev’s 2007 Green Week Doug Mu hleman, group vice president of Brewing Operations and Technology, announced â€Å"AB has been involved in conservation, education, research and preservation efforts for more than 100 years†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Employees Help†¦). The ability to foster change and growth comes from within; AB InBev has continually evolved despite being within the mature industry of beer. One of AB’s aims is to become the â€Å"Best Beer Company in a Better World. To achieve this AB must use innovation, creativity, brilliance, employee job level satisfaction, and corporate citizenship to excel within their industry. AB’s Technological Tools The process of making beer has not changed much over the last hundred years, but AB continues to find other means of innovation. A great deal of innovation has been achieved through conservation and by AB setting an example of how a large corporation can improve its processes to make a positive impact on their surroundings. AB has become a technologic al leader by continuously exploring new emerging technology to improve efficiencies and conserve natural resources. In 2009 AB US breweries recycled 99. percent of solid waste by reducing and reusing almost all materials generated during the brewing and packaging of their beers. AB uses Bio-Energy Recovery systems (BERS) to convert brewery wastewater into renewable fuel, providing 8% of their US operation fuel needs (Employees Help†¦). Water is a main ingredient in beer, so water conservation is crucial to sustain this vital ingredient in AB’s brewing and agricultural processes. Since 2000 AB’s US breweries have reduced their water use by almost 37% believing, â€Å"you need great water to make great beer†. Since 2005 AB/In-bev have been actively working on reducing the amount of energy needed to create a liter of beer and at the same reducing the amount of CO2 emissions.Program like Voyager Plant Optimization (VPO) have created a standardized way to operat e breweries and continuously improve performance. Per their website (www. ab-inbev. com) â€Å"The implementation of VPO has brought measurable process achievements, including an increase in brewing capacity; an improvement in packaging efficiency, a reduction in changeover times, and improved energy use† (AB-InBev). AB uses a â€Å"healthy innovation pipeline† to continuously improve their technological know-how. AB’s Employees With approximately 114,000 people working across 23 countries AB knows employees are a â€Å"key ingredient† in their corporation (Anheuser-Busch).They seek employee input by promoting an atmosphere where ideas are valued and accepted. One of AB’s core values is â€Å"building a high performing and diverse workforce,† this may be why employees are known to stay for years and even decades. AB understands that the talent of people that they hire and the teams they organize reflect on the company as a whole and provide a truly sustainable competitive advantage. Anheuser-Bush Training and development group (ABTDG) support their employees at every stage of their careers by providing extensive training and education. One of their tools is The Global Management Trainee Program (GMT) to recruit new talent.This 10 month program provides a systematic overview of AB /InBev Corporation to develop insight into every aspect of the business. The program includes local and global business exposure where upon completion GMT trainees are assigned an entry-level management job. To help their people succeed they provide clear expectations to ensure commitment and motivation with good leadership. The company aims to â€Å"get the right people into the right roles at the right time† (AB-InBev). Welcoming people with vision, commitment and drive; celebrating diversity and having a no tolerance policy toward discrimination. CEO Carlos Brito CEO of AB InBev summarizes the company’s view with a statement d irected towards their employees, It’s up to you to achieve your own success, but we provide the framework for you to unleash your full potential. Together, we can fulfill our dream to be the best beer company in a better world. † AB’s corporate culture AB is a global citizen; meaning how the rest of the world perceives its actions is a message to all of its shareholders. AB’s more than $450 million in charitable donations since 1997 demonstrates that they are interested in more than just the bottom line. The Anheuser-Busch Foundation’s first philanthropic effort was first seen in 1906 to support the San Francisco earthquake. They continue their support today by donating water following natural and other disasters.AB also supports Employee’s commitment to non-profits through gift matching and employee volunteer grant programs. The foundation’s focus has been on education, economic development and environmental conservation primarily whe re the company is located and where employees work and live. Selling four of the world’s top selling beers, AB recognizes their obligation to promote responsible drinking with ads such as â€Å"Budweiser Means Moderation† dating back to the early 1900s (Anheuser-Busch). They have invested more than $830 million in national campaigns to prevent underage drinking and drunk driving. AB is well aware that it is their culture that defines the company giving them a competitive advantage that cannot be duplicated.It’s about how a dream can motivate people to work in the same direction and how a good cultural fit results in improved performance. This is the first of ten principles AB uses to reflect the mission of the company. AB emphasizes that they are a company of Owners because â€Å"Owners take results personal† (Dream, people†¦). With clear measures of accountably managers are expected to lead by example showing employees that â€Å"we do what we say. † AB has a zero-complacency policy, recognizing a job well done, but always looking for the next challenge to stretch their expertise. Costs are managed tightly to allow needed finances to support growth. By working as a lean company AB can shift money to new products for consumers.This collection of beliefs has a powerful positive influence on employees helping the company reach their strategic goals. Balanced Scorecard Overview: Anheuser-Busch InBev continues to use all of their resources, not just financial, to align their business activities. Working to improve communications, monitor performance processes, technology, and innovation while investing in relationships with customers, suppliers, and employees. They refuse to take short cuts and are constantly seeking bigger and better ways to improve their products and services. In 2010 Patrick O’Riodan, Global Director of Innovation at AB InBev, spoke about lessons for innovators.His highlights summarized the basic s trategy of using tangible and intangible assets to achieve business objectives. This in-turn helps the company create a balance scorecard. First, explain objectives in simple terms, this makes goals clear and measurable. Second, have defined strategies, AB uses renovations to strengthen existing products and innovations for developing new ones. Third, have clearly defined processes, AB uses both front-end and back-end process for defining business growth strategies. Finally, draw from non-obvious places, looking to business outside of the beverage industry for insight helps AB Inbev realize their full potential (Anthony, Scott). Anheuser-Busch InBev Balanced Scorecard | |Perspectives |Objectives |Measurements |Targets |Initiatives | | | |Financial |Profitability |Return on equity | | | |Domestic Growth | | |Revenue Growth |% Change in revenue | | | |International Growth | | |Manage Debt |Net debt to normalized EBIT ratio |2. 6 |2. 3 |2. 0 |Acquisitions | | | | | | | | | |Customer | Responsive Supply |On time delivery |99. 3% |99. % |100% |Transportation Advantage | | | | | | | | | | |Leading in Customer Loyalty |Customer satisfaction rating |83 |84 |85 |Fresh Ideas Initiative | | | | | | | | | | |Market Share |% of Market Share Growth |4. 0% |4. 96% |5. 58% |Concentration Week | | | |North America |25. 5% |28. 66% |32. 1% | | | | |Latin America North |8. 7% |9. 78% |10. 99% | | | | |Latin America South |2. 9% |3. 26% |3. 66% | | | | |Western Europe |33. 8% |37. 99% |42. 7% | | | | |Central and Eastern Europe |21. 9% |24. 62% |27. 7% |Focus Brand Campaign | | | |Asia Pacific | | | | | |Internal |Manufacturing Excellence |% Cost of Sales |41. 1% |46% |44% |Reco | | | | | | | | | | |Optimal Cost |% Of Distribution |6. % |7% |8% |Last In, First Out Method | | |Fast Delivery | | | | | | | | |% Of Sales& Marketing |14. 9% |14% |13% |Average Cost Valuation | |Learning |Global Citizenship |Philanthropic Donations | | | |Anheuser-Bush Foundation | |And | | | | | | | |Growing |Environmental Stewardship |Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 5% from | |-5% |Target Met |Reduce 13% by 2013 | | |2005-2010 | | | | | | | | | | |2. 1% | | | |InBev Worldwide Volume |% Organic Growth by Total Volume |0% |-. 7% |-3. 0% |Voyager Plant Optimization | | | |North America |3. 1% |-2. 0% |10. % | | | | |Latin America North |1. 0% |8. 8% |3. 9% | | | | |Latin America South |10. 4% |-3. 8% |-1. 6% | | | | |Western Europe |-4. 8% |-4. 9% |-. 9% |The Global Management Trainee program | | | |Central and Eastern Europe |-6. 1% |-10. 8% |5. % | | | | |Asia Pacific |0. 1% |-2. 0% | | | Works Cited â€Å"A Mixed Forecast for Beer†. Modern Brewery Age: the business magazine for the beer industry. 11 February 2011. ; http://www. breweryage. com/industry/; Anheuser-Busch. ; http://www. anheuser-busch. com/Company. html;. Anheuser-Bush Annual Reports . Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser-Busch InBev. â€Å"Dream, People, Culture 10 principles† Anthony, Scott. Four Innovation Lessons from Anheuser Bush,† The Street. 10 February 2010. Boselovic, Len. Sophisticated Beer Drinker†. Post-gazette. com: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 6 August 2006. 19 February 2011. ; http://www. post-gazette. com/pg/06218/711317-28. stm;. C. Gregory John and Michael Willis, â€Å"Supply Chain Re-engineering at Anheuser-Busch,† Supply Chain Management Review, pp. 29-35. â€Å"Employees Help Power Anheuser-Busch's Green Week† St. Louis Front Page. 22 April 2007. Johnson, Jennifer. â€Å"Ahold, Barclays, Carrefour, EDF, Safran, VastNed: European Equity Preview†. February 27, 2011. . The American Customer Satisfaction Index. October 2010 Press Release. . Woolridge, J. Randall and Gray, Gary. â€Å"Applied Principles of Finance,† (2006). .