Monday, September 30, 2019

A Brothers Murder

Anthony Tooke Turner English 80 September 2, 2012 â€Å"A Brother’s Murder† A Brother’s Murder† by Brent Staples is about two brothers that grew up together. Staples left his hometown for ten years to better himself. Staples later came to find out his brother was killed by his best friend over a girl. I understand why he made that decision because it was either he leave or end up dead. Brent Staples left his home to achieve success. In order for Staples to achieve success he felt like he needed to leave home.Staples didn’t want his past to affect who he was trying to become. As he said in the essay â€Å"I added a psychological dimension to the physical distance that I had already achieved I rarely visited my hometown† (Staples 361). Staples thought that if he could add this dimension to his life then he would be able to help his brother out. I understand why he wanted to block out his past. Some of the people I’ve hung out with did thi ngs I disagreed with.I had to lose connections with them to better myself. Staples wanted to leave his hometown to achieve success in his life. He wanted to better himself. I understand why Staples did what he did, it was either him staying at his hometown or he move to better himself to help his little brother. I can connect to this essay because I had to make sacrifices hanging out with the kids in the neighborhood to brighten my future. It is important to me because we seem to let our past affect our future.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Exim Bank, Commercial Bank and Ecgc Functions Essay

The Bank’s functions are segmented into several operating groups including: * Corporate Banking Group which handles a variety of financing programmes for Export Oriented Units (EOUs), Importers, and overseas investment by Indian companies. * Project Finance / Trade Finance Group handles the entire range of export credit services such as supplier’s credit, pre-shipment credit, buyer’s credit, finance for export of projects & consultancy services, guarantees, forfeiting etc. * Lines of Credit Group Lines of Credit (LOC) is a financing mechanism that provides a safe mode of non-recourse financing option to Indian exporters, especially to SMEs, and serves as an effective market entry tool. * Agri Business Group, to spearhead the initiative to promote and support Agri-exports. The Group handles projects and export transactions in the agricultural sector for financing. * Small and Medium Enterprises Group to the specific financing requirements of export oriented SMEs. The group handles credit proposals from SMEs under various lending programmes of the Bank. * Export Services Group offers variety of advisory and value-added information services aimed at investment promotion * Fee based Export Marketing Services Bank offers assistance to Indian companies, to enable them establish their products in overseas markets. * Besides these, the Support Services groups, which include: Research & Planning, Corporate Finance, Loan Recovery, Internal Audit, Management Information Services, Information Technology, Legal, Human Resources Management and Corporate Affairs The objectives and functions of the Exim Bank include the following: 1.Grant of loans and advances in India solely or jointly with commercial banks to persons exporting or intending to export India goods which may include the export of turnkey projects and civil consultancy services. 2.Grant of lines credit to Governments, financial institutions and other suitable organizations in foreign countries to enable person outside India to import from India, goods including turnkey projects, civil construction contracts and other services including consultancy services. 3.Handling transaction where a mix of government credit and commercial credit for exports is involved. 4.Purchasing, discounting and negotiating export bills. 5.Selling or discounting export bills in international markets. 6.Discounting of export bills negotiated or purchased by a scheduled bank or financial institution notified by government, or granting loans and advances against such bills. 7.Providing refinance facilities to specified financial institutions against credits extended by them for specified exports or imports. 8.Granting loans and advances or issuing guarantees solely or jointly with a commercial bank for the import of goods and services from abroad. 9.Issuing confirmation/endorsing letters of credit on behalf of exporters in India, negotiating, collecting bills under letters of credit, opening letters of credit on behalf of importers of goods is services and negotiating documents received there under. 10.Buying and selling foreign exchange and performing such other functions of an authorized dealer as may necessary for the functions of an export- import bank. 11.Undertaking and financing research, surveys and techno-economic studies bearing on the promotion and development of international trade. 12.Providing technical, administrative and financial assistance to any exporter in India or any other person who intends to export goods from India for the promotion, management or expansion of any industry with a view to developing international trade. * Functions of commercial banks in foreign trade: 1. Letters of Credit Issued If you are the buyer (importer) of goods from abroad, the seller (exporter) will want to be assured of payment, and you will want to be assured that all terms and conditions of the purchase agreement are kept. The most common instrument used for payment and shipment control is a letter of credit issued by the bank of the buyer in favor of the seller. 2. Advising Bank After the bank of the buyer approves the issuance of the letter of credit, the issued letter of credit is sent to the advising bank who establishes the authenticity of the instrument and informs the beneficiary of receipt. 3. Confirmed letter of credit The advising bank may confirm the letter of credit after checking the terms and conditions for payment by adding its own guarantee to that of the issuer. 4. Final Payment After all of the terms and conditions for shipment and quality standards have been checked via the presentation of proper documentation, the issuing bank pays the seller for the goods.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Analysis of Divisional Performance of Asian Paints Ltd

PURUSHOTHAMAN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR M. COM (BUSINESS FINANCE) DEPT. OF COMMERCE 2nd YEAR PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY REG. NUMBER: 11351059 INTRODUCTION DIVISIONAL PERFOMANCE OF COST CENTRE AND PROFIT CENTRE A profit centre is a unit of a company that generates revenue in excess of its expenses. The main aim of profit centre is to earn profit. The performance of profit centre is evaluated in terms of whether the centre has been achieved its budgeted profit A  cost centre  is a business unit that is only responsible for the  costs  that it incurs. The manager of a cost centre is not responsible for  revenue  generation or asset usage. The performance of a cost centre is usually evaluated through the comparison of  budgeted  to actual costs. The costs incurred by a cost centre may be aggregated into a  cost pool  and allocated to other business units. Investment centre is responsible for both profit and investment. The investment centre manager has control over revenue, expenses and the amount invested in the current assets. The following are the techniques used to measure the divisional performance of cost centre and profit centre * Variance analysis * Profit * Return on investment * Market share COST PER UNIT: Cost refers to the total cost incurred for the production. So cost per unit refers to the cost incurred for producing 1 unit. Normally we used the below formula to calculate the cost per unit Cost/unit = total cost / No. of unit produced COST PER UNIT year| Production| Total expenses| COST PER UNIT| 008| 40946. 7| 559586| 0. 073173203| 2009| 50418. 7| 602922| 0. 083623918| 2010| 57937. 2| 732142| 0. 079133829| 2011| 72582. 9| 849056| 0. 085486587| Interpretation: The above table and chart shows the cost per unit of Asian paints India ltd. They incurred highest cost per unit in the year 2011. This may because increasing the cost of raw material or other charges etc. It is better to have lower cost per unit because when cost per unit increases the total cost will increase. That in turn reduces the profitability of a firm. In the 2008 the firms have lower cost per unit of production compared to other years. So may be this year the profit is increased. The cost per unit is higher in the years 2011 and 2009. COST VARIANCE Cost variance (CV) is the amount of money that was actually spent on a project or a part of a project compared to the amount of work that was actually accomplished. Cost variance = Budgeted cost of work performed – The actual cost of work performed. YEAR| TOTAL COST| STANDARD| COST VARIANCE | DECISION| 2008| 40946. 7| 61276. 54| -20329. 84| A| 2009| 50418. 7| 61276. 54| -10857. 84| A| 2010| 57937. 2| 61276. 54| -3339. 34| A| 2011| 72582. 9| 61276. 54| 11306. 6| F| 2012| 84,497. 20| 61276. 54| 23220. 66| F| Interpretation: Here from 2008 to 2010 there is a favorable situation because in these years actual cost is less than standard cost. In 2011 and 2012 actual cost exceeds standard cost. That may be because of increase in the cost/unit in these years. SALES VARIANCE Sales variance is the difference between actual sales and budget sales. It is used to measure the p erformance of a sales function, and/or analyze business results to better understand market conditions. Sales variance = Actual sales – standard sales Segment 1= Paint YEAR| SALE| STANDARD| SALES VARIANCE| DECISION| 2008| 39062. 2| 51731. 3| -12669. 1| A| 2009| 48641. 9| 51731. 3| -3089. 4| A| 2010| 56135| 51731. 3| 4403. 7| F| 2011| 63086. 1| 51731. 3| 11354. 8| F| Segment 2= Others YEAR| SALE| STANDARD| SALES VARIANCE| DECISION| 2008| 1731. 7| 1717. 375| 14. 325| F| 2009| 1634. 5| 1717. 375| -82. 875| A| 2010| 1774| 1717. 375| 56. 625| A| 2011| 1729. 3| 1717. 375| 11. 925| A| TOTAL SALES VARIANCE YEAR| TOTAL SALES| STANDARD| COST VARIANCE | DECISION| 2008| 40,946. 70| 62,655. 72| -21,709. 02| A| 2009| 50,418. 70| 62655. 72| -12,237. 02| A| 2010| 57,937. 0| 62655. 72| -4,718. 52| A| 2011| 72,582. 90| 62655. 72| 9,927. 18| F| 2012| 91,393. 10| 62655. 72| 28,737. 38| F| INTERPRETATION Sales variance is higher in the year 2012 which means that company sold more than standard sales in the year 2012. And the 2011 also have the favorable value but it is lower than 2012. From 2008 to 2010 company cannot sold more than standard sales. That is an unfavorab le situation for the company. MARKET SHARE The percentage of an industry or market’s total sales that is earned by a particular company over a specified time period is known as market share. Market share is calculated by taking the company’s sales over the period and dividing it by the total sales of the industry over the same period. This metric is used to give a general idea of the size of a company to its market and its competitors. Market share Year| Total sales| Industrial sales| Market share | 2008| 40,946. 70| 348047| 11. 76| 2009| 50,418. 70| 393266| 12. 82| 2010| 57,937. 20| 260717| 22. 22| 2011| 72,582. 90| 834703| 8. 70| 2012| 91,393. 10| 868,234. 00| 10. 53| Interpretation: Company has highest market share in the year 2010. It is decreased in the subsequent years may be because of increased price of the products. WORKING CAPITAL TURN OVER RATIO A measurement comparing the depletion of working capital  to the generation of sales over a given period called as working capital turn over ration. This  provides some useful information  as to how effectively a company is using  its working capital to generate sales. WORKING CAPITAL TURN OVER RATIO YEAR| TOTAL SALES| CURRENT ASSETS| CURRENT LIABILITIES| WC| WCTOR| 2008| 40,946. 70| 8,686. 30| 8018. 6| 667. 70| 61. 32| 2009| 50,418. 70| 10,403. 70| 7811. 4| 2,592. 30| 19. 45| 2010| 57,937. 20| 11,981. 00| 10588. 7| 1,392. 30| 41. 61| 2011| 72,582. 90| 15,475. 70| 11952. | 3,522. 90| 20. 60| 2012| 91,393. 10| 19,927. 70| 16008. 9| 3,918. 80| 23. 32| Interpretation: Here working capital ratio is higher in the year 2008. This means that company may have adequate working capital for their operation in 2008. Working capital to ratio is very lower in the subsequent years (i. e. 2009 to 2012), it shows that company is struggled with inadequacy of wor king capital in that years. INVENTORY TURN OVER RATIO Inventory Turnover Ratio is one of the efficiency ratios and measures the number of times, on average, the inventory is sold and replaced during the fiscal year. Inventory Turnover Ratio formula is: year| Total sales| opening stock| closing stock| Avg stock| ITOR| 2008| 40,946. 70| 40,946. 70 | 42,954. 70 | 41,950. 70 | 97. 61| 2009| 50,418. 70| 50,418. 70 | 52,427. 70 | 51,423. 20 | 98. 05| 2010| 57,937. 20| 57,937. 20 | 59,947. 20 | 58,942. 20 | 98. 29| 2011| 72,582. 90| 72,582. 90 | 74,593. 90 | 73,588. 40 | 98. 63| INTERPRETATION A low inventory turnover ratio is a signal of inefficiency, since inventory usually has a rate of return of zero. It also implies either poor sales or excess inventory. A low turnover rate can indicate poor liquidity, possible overstocking, and obsolescence, but it may also reflect a planned inventory buildup in the case of material shortages or in anticipation of rapidly rising prices. In our case the 2008 has the lower turnover rate. A high inventory turnover ratio implies either strong sales or ineffective buying (the company buys too often in small quantities, therefore the buying price is higher). A high inventory turnover ratio can indicate better liquidity, but it can also indicate a shortage or inadequate inventory levels, which may lead to a loss in business. Here the years from 2009 to 2011 there is constant turnover rate. RETURN ON INVESTMENT A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an  investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. The objective of every firm is to earn a satisfactory return on capital invested. This is the measure of success i. e. it shows the overall profitability of the firm. ROI = PAT/ cap. Employed YEAR| PBIT| CAPILAT EMPLOYED| ROI| 2008| 5925. | 9,285. 00| 63. 81583199| 2009| 6075. 9| 10,944. 70| 55. 51454128| 2010| 10526. 9| 15,572. 20| 67. 60059593| 2011| 11636. 7| 19,753. 20| 58. 91045501| 2012| 14,086. 30| 24,877. 80| 56. 62196818| INTERPRETATION The above table and chart implies us, The ROI is higher in the year 2008. The Company gets 63. 82% as return on investment. This may because; in this y ear company sold more than the standard sales. So return on investment is increased. Company received lowest ROI in the year 2009 CONCLUSION: The Asian paints ltd is having an indifferent performance levels, they have both positive and negative performance indicators. The sales variance is for the last two years is favorable for the company, and also all other indicators such as cost variance favorable for the firm. Another thing is that market share of the company shows a decreasing trend due to decrease in sales. The inventory and working capital of the company is also not good. So it is important for the company to focus on to improve sales volume with higher turnover, better maintenance of working capital. And to try to get more return on investment by adopt necessary measure and techniques. Analysis of Divisional Performance of Asian Paints Ltd PURUSHOTHAMAN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR M. COM (BUSINESS FINANCE) DEPT. OF COMMERCE 2nd YEAR PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY REG. NUMBER: 11351059 INTRODUCTION DIVISIONAL PERFOMANCE OF COST CENTRE AND PROFIT CENTRE A profit centre is a unit of a company that generates revenue in excess of its expenses. The main aim of profit centre is to earn profit. The performance of profit centre is evaluated in terms of whether the centre has been achieved its budgeted profit A  cost centre  is a business unit that is only responsible for the  costs  that it incurs. The manager of a cost centre is not responsible for  revenue  generation or asset usage. The performance of a cost centre is usually evaluated through the comparison of  budgeted  to actual costs. The costs incurred by a cost centre may be aggregated into a  cost pool  and allocated to other business units. Investment centre is responsible for both profit and investment. The investment centre manager has control over revenue, expenses and the amount invested in the current assets. The following are the techniques used to measure the divisional performance of cost centre and profit centre * Variance analysis * Profit * Return on investment * Market share COST PER UNIT: Cost refers to the total cost incurred for the production. So cost per unit refers to the cost incurred for producing 1 unit. Normally we used the below formula to calculate the cost per unit Cost/unit = total cost / No. of unit produced COST PER UNIT year| Production| Total expenses| COST PER UNIT| 008| 40946. 7| 559586| 0. 073173203| 2009| 50418. 7| 602922| 0. 083623918| 2010| 57937. 2| 732142| 0. 079133829| 2011| 72582. 9| 849056| 0. 085486587| Interpretation: The above table and chart shows the cost per unit of Asian paints India ltd. They incurred highest cost per unit in the year 2011. This may because increasing the cost of raw material or other charges etc. It is better to have lower cost per unit because when cost per unit increases the total cost will increase. That in turn reduces the profitability of a firm. In the 2008 the firms have lower cost per unit of production compared to other years. So may be this year the profit is increased. The cost per unit is higher in the years 2011 and 2009. COST VARIANCE Cost variance (CV) is the amount of money that was actually spent on a project or a part of a project compared to the amount of work that was actually accomplished. Cost variance = Budgeted cost of work performed – The actual cost of work performed. YEAR| TOTAL COST| STANDARD| COST VARIANCE | DECISION| 2008| 40946. 7| 61276. 54| -20329. 84| A| 2009| 50418. 7| 61276. 54| -10857. 84| A| 2010| 57937. 2| 61276. 54| -3339. 34| A| 2011| 72582. 9| 61276. 54| 11306. 6| F| 2012| 84,497. 20| 61276. 54| 23220. 66| F| Interpretation: Here from 2008 to 2010 there is a favorable situation because in these years actual cost is less than standard cost. In 2011 and 2012 actual cost exceeds standard cost. That may be because of increase in the cost/unit in these years. SALES VARIANCE Sales variance is the difference between actual sales and budget sales. It is used to measure the p erformance of a sales function, and/or analyze business results to better understand market conditions. Sales variance = Actual sales – standard sales Segment 1= Paint YEAR| SALE| STANDARD| SALES VARIANCE| DECISION| 2008| 39062. 2| 51731. 3| -12669. 1| A| 2009| 48641. 9| 51731. 3| -3089. 4| A| 2010| 56135| 51731. 3| 4403. 7| F| 2011| 63086. 1| 51731. 3| 11354. 8| F| Segment 2= Others YEAR| SALE| STANDARD| SALES VARIANCE| DECISION| 2008| 1731. 7| 1717. 375| 14. 325| F| 2009| 1634. 5| 1717. 375| -82. 875| A| 2010| 1774| 1717. 375| 56. 625| A| 2011| 1729. 3| 1717. 375| 11. 925| A| TOTAL SALES VARIANCE YEAR| TOTAL SALES| STANDARD| COST VARIANCE | DECISION| 2008| 40,946. 70| 62,655. 72| -21,709. 02| A| 2009| 50,418. 70| 62655. 72| -12,237. 02| A| 2010| 57,937. 0| 62655. 72| -4,718. 52| A| 2011| 72,582. 90| 62655. 72| 9,927. 18| F| 2012| 91,393. 10| 62655. 72| 28,737. 38| F| INTERPRETATION Sales variance is higher in the year 2012 which means that company sold more than standard sales in the year 2012. And the 2011 also have the favorable value but it is lower than 2012. From 2008 to 2010 company cannot sold more than standard sales. That is an unfavorab le situation for the company. MARKET SHARE The percentage of an industry or market’s total sales that is earned by a particular company over a specified time period is known as market share. Market share is calculated by taking the company’s sales over the period and dividing it by the total sales of the industry over the same period. This metric is used to give a general idea of the size of a company to its market and its competitors. Market share Year| Total sales| Industrial sales| Market share | 2008| 40,946. 70| 348047| 11. 76| 2009| 50,418. 70| 393266| 12. 82| 2010| 57,937. 20| 260717| 22. 22| 2011| 72,582. 90| 834703| 8. 70| 2012| 91,393. 10| 868,234. 00| 10. 53| Interpretation: Company has highest market share in the year 2010. It is decreased in the subsequent years may be because of increased price of the products. WORKING CAPITAL TURN OVER RATIO A measurement comparing the depletion of working capital  to the generation of sales over a given period called as working capital turn over ration. This  provides some useful information  as to how effectively a company is using  its working capital to generate sales. WORKING CAPITAL TURN OVER RATIO YEAR| TOTAL SALES| CURRENT ASSETS| CURRENT LIABILITIES| WC| WCTOR| 2008| 40,946. 70| 8,686. 30| 8018. 6| 667. 70| 61. 32| 2009| 50,418. 70| 10,403. 70| 7811. 4| 2,592. 30| 19. 45| 2010| 57,937. 20| 11,981. 00| 10588. 7| 1,392. 30| 41. 61| 2011| 72,582. 90| 15,475. 70| 11952. | 3,522. 90| 20. 60| 2012| 91,393. 10| 19,927. 70| 16008. 9| 3,918. 80| 23. 32| Interpretation: Here working capital ratio is higher in the year 2008. This means that company may have adequate working capital for their operation in 2008. Working capital to ratio is very lower in the subsequent years (i. e. 2009 to 2012), it shows that company is struggled with inadequacy of wor king capital in that years. INVENTORY TURN OVER RATIO Inventory Turnover Ratio is one of the efficiency ratios and measures the number of times, on average, the inventory is sold and replaced during the fiscal year. Inventory Turnover Ratio formula is: year| Total sales| opening stock| closing stock| Avg stock| ITOR| 2008| 40,946. 70| 40,946. 70 | 42,954. 70 | 41,950. 70 | 97. 61| 2009| 50,418. 70| 50,418. 70 | 52,427. 70 | 51,423. 20 | 98. 05| 2010| 57,937. 20| 57,937. 20 | 59,947. 20 | 58,942. 20 | 98. 29| 2011| 72,582. 90| 72,582. 90 | 74,593. 90 | 73,588. 40 | 98. 63| INTERPRETATION A low inventory turnover ratio is a signal of inefficiency, since inventory usually has a rate of return of zero. It also implies either poor sales or excess inventory. A low turnover rate can indicate poor liquidity, possible overstocking, and obsolescence, but it may also reflect a planned inventory buildup in the case of material shortages or in anticipation of rapidly rising prices. In our case the 2008 has the lower turnover rate. A high inventory turnover ratio implies either strong sales or ineffective buying (the company buys too often in small quantities, therefore the buying price is higher). A high inventory turnover ratio can indicate better liquidity, but it can also indicate a shortage or inadequate inventory levels, which may lead to a loss in business. Here the years from 2009 to 2011 there is constant turnover rate. RETURN ON INVESTMENT A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an  investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. The objective of every firm is to earn a satisfactory return on capital invested. This is the measure of success i. e. it shows the overall profitability of the firm. ROI = PAT/ cap. Employed YEAR| PBIT| CAPILAT EMPLOYED| ROI| 2008| 5925. | 9,285. 00| 63. 81583199| 2009| 6075. 9| 10,944. 70| 55. 51454128| 2010| 10526. 9| 15,572. 20| 67. 60059593| 2011| 11636. 7| 19,753. 20| 58. 91045501| 2012| 14,086. 30| 24,877. 80| 56. 62196818| INTERPRETATION The above table and chart implies us, The ROI is higher in the year 2008. The Company gets 63. 82% as return on investment. This may because; in this y ear company sold more than the standard sales. So return on investment is increased. Company received lowest ROI in the year 2009 CONCLUSION: The Asian paints ltd is having an indifferent performance levels, they have both positive and negative performance indicators. The sales variance is for the last two years is favorable for the company, and also all other indicators such as cost variance favorable for the firm. Another thing is that market share of the company shows a decreasing trend due to decrease in sales. The inventory and working capital of the company is also not good. So it is important for the company to focus on to improve sales volume with higher turnover, better maintenance of working capital. And to try to get more return on investment by adopt necessary measure and techniques.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Econ 6000 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Econ 6000 - Assignment Example If it has lots of capital and/or cash-on-hand stored up, it doesn’t need to worry as much about its overall assets since it’s got liquidity. 4) Examine the net present value problem illustrated on page 46. Assume the road commissioner is certain that the value of the land will increase to $1.2 million three years from now. If the bond stays stable at 3%, is the investment still a good idea? Show your work. Even if the bond stays stable at 3%, the value of the land increasing to $1.2 million dollars will not pay off. If one divides the profit that would be gained by 3 in order to analyze how much money per year would be made in increasing land value, the investment might not be worth the time because one has to keep in mind the interest on that money cannot be made back, nor does that take into account for inflation. Overall, for the current price, it is not a good buy. 5) Examining the case of LTCM on page 53, pay attention to the characterization of the Russian default as a â€Å"sigma 9 event.† LTCM operated for a little over 60 months. If the entire month was described as a â€Å"sigma 9† event, what is the possibility of that event happening in any given month? Explain what you think might be problems in trying to estimate the likelihood of events like the Russian default. The chances of a sigma 9 default happening in LTCM on any given month depends upon the degree to which the company is trusted. An issuer will not back some organization it cannot trust. According to Png and Lehman (2007), â€Å"A major for investors is the possibility that the issuer will default. Issuers, however, have better information about their own financial condition and likelihood of... Econ 6000 Of the five theories of profit presented, explain two theories that might apply to Intel. Feel free to supplement your response with information from their annual report. The annual reports demonstrate that Intel is doing quite well financially. According to Png and Lehman, â€Å"Intel is the dominant manufacturer of IBM-compatible microprocessors†. The ability to maximize one’s profit is key. One theory is that this success might have to do with the fact that, according to Png and Lehman, â€Å"[t]he profit-maximizing scale of operation is where marginal revenue equals marginal cost†. Another possibility is that game theory might play a role because the company has exacted a certain success by banking on other factors, such as a niche market with a widening customer base. According to Png and Lehman (2007), â€Å"Game theory explains why competing sellers tend to cut price†¦sellers tend to compete on price, although collectively, they could raise profit by avoiding price competition† 3) Describe how the shareholder wealth-maximization model of the firm on page 8 of your text relates to the concept of net present value, introduced on page 45. How do you think this relationship affects current firm decisions? Relationships affects current firm decisions based upon horizontal boundaries. The way to calculate the Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand is the utilization of the formula of the percent change in the quantity of demand for RoboGizmo (10%) divided by the percent change in price for the iDoodad product (12.5%).

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Corporate compliance plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corporate compliance plan - Essay Example iodic review and risk assessment of company processes, performances, regulations and policies; the recommendation of necessary changes as determined by such risk assessment; the development of internal audit procedures to be used in the risk assessment, and; the formation and composition of the teams that will be tasked to conduct such periodic risk assessments. Riordan Manufacturing shall conduct business with customers in a transparent, professional, honest, fair, respectful and friendly manner. Relative to this, the company shall ensure that all its products have passed rigid quality control. Any valid complaint against the Company and its products shall be immediately acted upon and investigated. Restitution and compensation, if applicable and necessary, will be immediately effected. The Company accepts its liability for defective products without need for any court intervention. The Company shall ensure that its business conduct is within the bounds of all federal, state and local laws with regards to unfair competition and the tangible and intellectual property laws. It shall also defend vigorously its own rights under the same by going to court to enforce it if necessary. Riordan Manufacturing joins environmentalists in the promotion of a safe and livable earth. In this respect, it shall comply with and vigorously implements industry-wide standard regulations. It shall undertake monitoring activities and periodic risk assessments to ensure strict compliance with the same. In the event of any unforeseen accident in which Company activities have, in any way, caused damage to the environment, it shall voluntarily call the attention of appropriate government agencies and initiate corrective and cleaning up measures. The Company strictly enforces compliance with this CCP. Any employee found in violation of it shall be made subject to disciplinary actions. Any person who has knowledge of any violation of this CCP is obligated to report it to the CCO through a

Week3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Week3 - Assignment Example Attempt to use laps between foreign tax law and U.S to effectively duplicate tax benefits. The treasury should address this lop holes by use of existing laws and by legislation of bylaws to cub this practice. (Albrecht, Albrecht, 2008). A U.S citizen can reduce or minimize U.S. tax obligations by claiming tax credit on foreign taxes on income. This is subjected to the following condition; the maximum tax credit payable must not exceed the amount of tax that would be payable if this income tax was taxed using domestic income tax rate. Any excess tax paid to a foreign county is not claimable. For example if a U.S citizen X earns $9,000 foreign annual income and this is the only of taxable income for X. And x had paid 800 as tax on this income. His domestic tax liability will be 900 less 800 tax credit. For example if a U.S citizen X earns $9,000 foreign annual income and this is the only of taxable income for X. And x had paid 800 as tax on this income. His domestic tax liability will be 900 less 800 tax credit. However, is this tax credit is eliminated; the government will earn an additional

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Current and Future Development of Irvine Assignment - 1

Current and Future Development of Irvine - Assignment Example The city is divided into townships known as villages. The six lanes within the city separate the townships. The townships have houses of similar designs, commercial centers, and institutions. The city’s design resembles the shape of a necklace, as the residential areas surrounded by two commercial districts; the Irvine Business Complex and Spectrum. The streets have landscaping allowance, with rights of way serving as bicycle corridors, parks and greenbelts. These help in preserving the ecology of the city. There is control of home appearance by the home owner’s association. House roofing, color paints, and landscaping are controlled. Each village was designed and planned to have a distinct architectural theme. The city was incorporated on December 28th, 1971, with Charter Law as its form of government, City Council under control of the city manager. The city has a population of 223,000 hardworking communities, who have chosen the city as their home. Its population has grown steadily over the past 40 years. The population growth percentage is 20% between 1970 and 1980. Ever since that time, it has stagnated to a growth of 2% per year. The city relatively started with a young population base. Irvine is now ranked the 98th largest city in the US according to US Census Bureau. The city has four high schools; University High School, Irvine High School, Northwood High School and Woodbridge High School. There are colleges and universities that offer higher education. These are; University of California, Irvine, Concordia University and Irvine University among others. Libraries are also available within the city. The Heritage Park Regional Library and Katie Wheeler Library offer services to the natives. One of the economic activities in the city is tourism. Destination Irvine program provides information for vacation and destination for meetings, events, and other business initiatives.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Oberservance 234 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Oberservance 234 - Essay Example This was an effective strategy because many children did come up to the teacher and sit on her lap. Some children even brought books or toys. Another technique that I saw was giving specific feedback to students who practicing new skills. One older toddler was practicing using a Styrofoam cup in the place of a Sippy cup. The teacher congratulated him on picking his cup up with two hands, but reminded him to drink slower next time. The goal of this method was not only to encourage the child, but to let him know what he was doing right and what he was doing wrong. I believe this was an effective strategy, since the child slowed down and smiled at the teacher. A teacher also showed admiration for a young toddler that had just started jumping. The child was taking great joy in jumping and the teacher commented "That looks like fun, you sure are getting good at jumping." I believe the goal of this method was to encourage the child to continue to develop his new skill. This was an effective strategy because the child jumped at other movement activities throughout the day. I also noticed teachers regularly visit children who were playing individually and invite them to join in on activities or to join other children in centers. The teachers especially did this when they noticed children who looked bored or upset in quiet areas. The goal of this method was to encourage children to play with each other, without forcing them to. I believe this was effective because some of the children decided on their own to join other children at different centers. I saw scaffolding used in the classroom as well. One teacher had been working with a young toddler on his climbing skills. She told me she had worked with him for several weeks on climbing the stairs to the hand washing sink and diapering table. I observed her guide the child to the climbing equipment on the playground when they went outside.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Critical Reasoning and Information Analysis Essay

Critical Reasoning and Information Analysis - Essay Example The more we learn about neuroscience, the more we understand that information literacy is a fundamental aspect of the human brain (Kandel & Squire 2000), and that humans are simply more naturally adapted to understanding certain things (like personal experience) than others (like numerical data). This sheds light on why we understand the world in the way we do. Like neuroscience, information technology is a growing field that is having a growing impact on the world. Firstly, it, for the first time, gives humans a different kind of intelligence to compare ours to: we can understand ourselves by seeing how different or similar computers are when serving different functions (Schellhammer 2008). Furthermore, information technologies like the internet are giving humans a broader understanding of our identity as going past small scale, tribal allegiances, because they allow for much more communication over large ranges. This communication is incredibly important, because social understandings play an important role in critical thinking. There are many cases where one’s social or cultural atmosphere have drastic impacts on the way they understand the world. Firstly, we pay a great deal more attention to those things that happen in proximity to us: which includes both personal actions, and friends. That means that problems that are common in one’s social group, for instance, will appear disproportionately larger than a more important problem that happens to people that are unrelated to you. This bias can cloud critical thinking, and must be avoided. The problem is, however, that other ways of understanding the world (such as universal laws of logic) do not function much better. This is because we are hard-wired to pay less attention to logic than emotions, as emotions played a more important role in our evolutionary history. So while universal logic might seem important at understanding things in a globalized society, it can often be ignored.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Importance of Mathematics to Everyday Life Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Mathematics to Everyday Life Essay Even though Mathematics undoubtedly has universal applications to life and is an essential tool in science, technology, economics, business, commerce and of course in computer design and functioning there is a general tendency for people to shy away from it for various reasons-some feel it is too difficult while others do not see its practical connection to everyday life. Consequently, we find just a small number of people who pursue this fascinating subject and the end result is that there is always only a small core of brilliant or good mathematicians which helps to reinforce the perception that this area of study is only reserved for an elitist few. Mathematician T. Rogers in one of his lectures notes: â€Å"The percentage of the world’s population, or even of the world’s university-educated population, who could accurately state a single mathematical theorem proved in the last fifty years is small, and smaller still if Fermat’s last theorem is excluded. If you ask a mathematician to explain what he or she works on, you will usually be met with a sheepish grin and told that it is not possible to do so in a short time. If you ask whether this mysteriously complicated work has practical applications (and we all get asked this from time to time), then there are various typical responses, none of them immediately impressive.† But maybe this perception is bolstered by the manner in which mathematics is taught and that is, it is done in too much of an abstraction and perhaps if our teachers could help students to see how these â€Å"abstract concepts† are related or could be applied to real and practical situations then probably this perception could be dispelled or reduced. In short if could successfully convince the young minds of the importance of mathematics to life. Students of the natural sciences quickly realise the importance of mathematics because the areas of study integrally connected and so they grasp its practical importance, unlike their colleagues in the fields of the arts and social sciences. However, to achieve this objective, teachers of mathematics need not only to be good mathematicians but must also possess good pedagogical skills as well because teaching this subject is a special task and not like many of the other subjects in the school curriculum. Mathematics educators Deborah Loewenberg Ball, Heather C. Hill, and Hyman notes Bass: â€Å"Knowing mathematics for teaching demands a kind of depth and detail that goes well beyond what is needed to carry out the algorithm reliably.† In Guyana performance by students in mathematics at examinations has been of concern by educators because it has not been up to scratch even though in recent years it has been improving appreciably. On this score the recent emergency training for mathematics teachers conducted by the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) is a wise step and this should be carried on a continuous basis so as to help mathematics teachers keep abreast with new innovations and methodologies of teaching the subject. This is part of the institution’s response to the poor performance at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) tests. The training, a one week workshop, involving teachers from across the regions, is the second in a series of five, with the next scheduled for February, 2010. Mathematics Workshop, stated that the aim of the undertaking is to have teachers upgraded with the expectation that they will pass along their knowledge to the students. â€Å"The teachers are from schools where students obtained 10 per cent or less in the CSEC examinations. If we can raise the skills of the teachers who are delivering the curriculum, we can raise the performance of the students at the CSEC exams,† he said. Mr. McKenzie explained that the methodology used for the upgrading process will see the facilitators taking the teachers through exercises that would be worked in class so that the teachers can be introduced to new strategies of delivering material. He is correct and this is the path training courses for our teachers need to take. They have to get to get down to the â€Å"nitty gritty† of the situation and design training programmes to deal with the realities of the classrooms and not some fanciful theory or theories which is set in a foreign location and is therefore is totally divorced from the local realities.

Friday, September 20, 2019

The Dynamic Hotel And Hospitality Industry

The Dynamic Hotel And Hospitality Industry Hotel and hospitality industry is dynamic industry which changes fast with times. All the industry stake holders and business people have to be sharper and well prepared to keep them with the pace of changing environment. It is one of major industry on its outreach all over the world. In hospitality sectors decision makers have to go with proper tools to make their decisions. One of the most effective a popular business tool for industry analysis is porter five forces analysis. It was coined by Michael Porter. In this assignment we are going to study the brief history background, methods and its utilization in hotel industry. We will try to find what porter five forces are and how to use them for better understanding and analysis of happenings in hotel industry. Back Ground of Hotel industry The hotel industry consists of profitable business where people can stay in their time of need either for some work of for some holiday. During the 1920s this industry got a major increase and demand. Growth in world economy supported this industry to grow fast. Though the depression in 1930es slightly brought break to its expansion. Many hotels survived in this time of major crash as they were successful in starting hotel chains. In mid twentieth century these industries start for a new change when demand for affordable cheap and healthy lodging was increased. This introduced new trend of motels business in the market. This new motels business competed better way with hotels till1960s, up to this these motels had a growth period with their size and facilities. To cover the business gap hotel industry made innovation of motor hotels. Stay at motor hotels was bit costly and it did not attract the business. By year 1970 hotel s start chains and they expand through franchises and thus industry was over extended. In 80s hotel industry made a boom once again by controlling their costs. Furthermore there was concept of new lodging ways like suite hotel. All the major runners in business started a diverse way to make more progress. 1990s was new era with better focus on commercial ways and advertisement. In recent years this industry taken new measures like reduction in wages, debt control, low interest rate financial investments and low rate area for installations of new venues. There are some major players like Hilton Hotels Corp., Marriott International, Trump Hotels Casino Resort, Starwood Hotels Resorts Worldwide, Promus Hotel Corp, Host Marriott Corp, Red Roof Inns, Inc. and MGM Grand Inc., These hotels performing well and making me than 30 billion dollar in industry alone in USA. Background of porter five forces There is always an interest by the academics and researchers in knowing the forces which impact performance of an organization or business. Many ideas and new models appeared in late 1970es and early 1980s these were focusing mostly on competitive advantage that any business can have over its rivals in same industry. Harvard professor Michael Porter came with his idea of five forces analysis that according to him are always faced by any industry while doing business these are internal and external forces. Businesses have to get the understanding all dynamics in the market. Porter (1980) himself defined these forces that make competition and lead to competitive environment for a business. There is always rivalry existing between firms and also there is constant threat of new rivals in the market. Similarly suppliers and buyers also have impact. Porters Model makes outline of five important elements shaping any industry. Features of Porter five forces Porters five forces model simply identifies five factors that are most important and the formation of industry in order to identify it attractive for new entrants, or as a means to formulate a strategy for competitors in the industry. There is continuing interest in the study of the forces that affect the organization, especially those that can be harnessed to provide a competitive advantage. There were many ideas and models that have emerged during the period from 1979 to the mid-1980s (Porter, 1998) on the idea that competitive advantage comes from the ability to get a return on investment that was better than the average for the industry sector. It also tells that five forces analysis sees the factors outside any industry that affect the nature of competition in business within the industry. These things affect on profits of any business. If we go into the definition made by Porter (1980a) it says about forces which affect directly on competition, and it also considers that this competitive environment is created due to interaction between various forces. Main Aspects of Porterà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Five Forces Analysis As suggested by Porter forces which can affect the performance and behavior in any industry. These are included following forces : Competition between sellers in market. the customers power in the market. Suppliers power in dealing on to the sellers. Threat of new entries. Threat of any substitute for buyers . Force one: Rivalry among Sellers It is intense competition to control the market and get more customers among the sellers. They use every tool to attract customers to them. It is main power in the industry where everyone facing tough competition. It is likely high in many of those industries in which a threat of new alternative products and is constant. Force Two : The Threat of New Entry It is not only about current rivals but there is threat of new entries always with the business. Both present and potential competitors can impact industry profitability. There is always discouragement of such new entries by all business people. Force Three : The Threat of Substitutes The is another threat pose by new substitute products within industry as the profitability always depends margins in price so it can make negative impact on performance. This always costs industries to make enough resources for their research and development department. Force four : Buyer Power Buyer try to get maximum from their investment or money it is important that buyerà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s size values more in profit gains. Higher the buyers higher the profits are even with less margins. Normally this force very high especially with globalization of business. Force Five : Supplier Power Supply plays life line for any business so many times power supply makes your business into problems as they affect your sales. Because supply is necessary to sales without it one cannot make progress. So in industry there is always competition for getting low rates and proper supply according to demand. Where suppliers find they have chance or bargain they start utilizing it. Nature of industry determined the nature of any competition in all industries. The powerful forces of all the buyers, suppliers, threats of entry and substitution and increase in competition can make negative impact on business. Porter five also have limits in its use. So it depend show it is being used by any of user. With a smaller number of properties being built and a strong economy, and the industry enjoys steady increases in demand that exceeded the increase in supply over the past five years. And cause an increase in the demand for occupancy and average daily room rates to increase also According to the hotels and hostels Association of America, 30 percent of the clients industry and business travelers and 25 percent of the tourists. Business conferences, representing 25 percent of customers in the industry, while 20 percent of the customers is to stay for a family or personal reasons10. Dominant Economic Characteristics Trends within the Industry It was the hotel industry enjoyed strong conditions during most of the 90 s but is now facing a slowdown due to industry over capacity and the weakness in demand1. The decline in occupancy rates of about 65% in the past few years to 64.5% in 19 972. The hotel industry is going through a boom of mergers and acquisitions. Its cheaper than buying the building. Management is now focusing more on value, and brand development and management experience rather than the number of rooms, using the franchise and property management1. Are the restoration of the oldest hotels are being added and upgraded features added such as voice mail, laptop hookups and computer centers of the rooms. Is now the hottest category extended stay category, which serves people stay five nights or more. Room to provide accommodation and amenities such as kitchens and laundries. General Economic Conditions affecting the industry Transport and fuel costs to play a major role in determining the ability of consumers to travel. Ticket and fuel prices, as well as other complications such as recent industry pilot curb demand for housing. The political climate and economic conditions within and outside the United States play a role in driving demand for housing as well. Porter 5-Forces Model In general, competition in the housing industry is in itself a powerful factor of control. Government regulations, suppliers and agents representing moderate, and new entrants, buyers, substitute products are the most determining factors in the industry. Model Porter 5 Forces attached to provide further details on the factors that affect the strategic decisions of firms in the industry. In business and hospitality, and technology should focus the rest of the way in which services are produced and delivered. It would be incorrect, however, to assume that the manufacturing techniques do not apply to the hospitality industry. Consider, for example, the impact of computer technology to hotels or airlines distribution. Certainly, a similar revolution and the Sabre GDS reservation systems even before the Internet industry flourished. (12) global distribution systems are still active, while the Internet has fundamentally changed the way many people make hotel reservations, airlines and car rental. Technology has made the current, much less expensive to implement a wide range of procedures for obtaining services. Instead of using a card file (as in the previous day), and can maintain the features of hotel clients on your computer. Ritz-Canton, for example, tracks the tastes and preferences of regular visitors. Ritz-Carlton properties to use their database as guest of a good feature by arranging to express check-in regular guests, who need only to call and say when you plan to access. Everything is ready when you push up to the curb. (13) and technology to track this type of information were not accessible until a few years ago and the size of the market to make the manual operation is not applicable. Companies can also use the hotel technology to extract the data, and for intensive research and compile information in databases, as shown in the accompanying article in this issue than a quarter of Cornell. (14) In another example, he drew attention to the Wingate bars for the fi rst time as a series a few years ago by installing the fonts that ections high-speed Internet in every room. This helped Wingate differentiation strategy to expand rapidly by appealing to business travelers and value-conscious World Health Organization, at the time, was known to sponsor this well-established processes and Hampton and Courtyard. (15) Political and Legal Trends and Influences Evaluation of policy and regulatory environment is vital to planning for the future, as evidenced by the implications of the lifting of restrictions on airlines in the United States (and other carriers). Although the restaurants and hotels did not have to face as the overwhelming change in the competitive environments of the airlines did after the lifting of restrictions and procedures, the government still does not resonate with these industries. And caused the 1991 war in the Persian Gulf sudden austerity in travel, which left many of the hotels are empty until the war led by the United States ended a brief and travelers ventured out again. Also, some government leaders are more protectionist than others, which have a direct impact on such things as tariffs and foreign trade. In general, its a good idea to follow up the situation of political leaders with regard to business factors, as well as any signal with respect to their positions on certain industries. With regard to foreign investment, it is important to assess the stability of the system of government, as well as Attitude towards foreign investors. Major Innovations and Trends in Other Industries The final category, you must also follow the main trends and innovations in other industries than those that you are working at the moment. Competitive advantage rarely comes from the tradition of innovation from other companies in the same industry. Following the example of the initial selection of hotels and most hotels currently operating a range of brands, each one usually used different, but related, the brand name. Although the work in the hotel several levels is still an idea worth pursuing, at this point than it is to create a competitive advantage to match the competition. On the other hand, a company that is the first to successfully apply the heresy of other industry usually have first-mover advantage that is sometimes difficult to pressure competitors to mimic. While it is true that can be easily most of the hotels, industry and innovations can be copied, and examples of the ideas that emerged directly from the innovations and trends in other industries include hotels loc ations in large shopping centers, locate and described staurants re fast food in the shops the gas station, offering video screens personal Each seat of the plane, and identify business service centers within the hotels. After the completion of an analysis of the environment and wide, it is necessary to study the work environment. Environment and broad context in which the company, industry, and other external stakeholders are present. In contrast, the task environment includes external stakeholders with the organization interact on a regular basis to some extent, especially customers. External Stakeholders Michael Porter proposed that can be defined on the nature of competition in the industry by the market power of customers and suppliers, and the level of competition among companies, the strength of alternatives and barriers to entry. (16) despite the fact that these five forces socalled model stood the test of time, and boundaries of the process is also unclear. For example, despite the fact that Porters five forces approach helps to identify the competition by customers, suppliers, competitors, and alternatives to, barriers to entry, and it does not include an assessment of stakeholders other significant impact on industry and company performance, such as unions, financial institutions and the media , and local communities. Also, the model does not include political factors. Starting from Porters five forces 0.4 gallery contains a full description of the environment task. Strategic collection of information on external stakeholders for a variety of purposes, many of which are clear and self. If you run a hotel, for example, it makes sense to follow the preferences frequent guests to meet their needs more effectively. Also, you must study competitors to search for innovations in products and services, processes and strategies. In fact, it can come excellent ideas from stakeholders, almost any. Industries, hotels and restaurants clearly adept at this aspect of environmental monitoring task. Analysis is an important one to assess the impact of competitive, which stems from economic power and political power . Stakeholders with a strong influence big competitiveness requires more attention in the strategic planning process of doing this with less impact. And more powerful and stakeholders in the largest influence on the identification of strategies and more, you must try to anticipate the reactions that entity to any changes that may look. Stakeholders strong attractive candidates for partnerships. and the end of this section includes a table that displays the tactics that your company can be considered to establish partnerships with a variety of stakeholders (see Chart 5). Economic Power The influence of external stakeholders on the companys ability to compete is partly a result of the economic power which has stakeholders. As Porter pointed out, economic power gives stakeholders the ability to extract profits or other benefits at the expense of the Company subject. the first column in Gallery 4 examples of factors that give the different stakeholders of economic power. For the purposes of illustration, and will touch briefly on some of these factors to Walamlae, suppliers, competitors and trade unions. Customers and suppliers of power. There are a few of the customers with the company exposed to the risk of losing significant revenue and should be one client leave. Such a situation gives the clients economic strength. In general, customers are relatively strong, if a few or if they make large purchases. By the suppliers of the same vein, tend to be a great economic power if there is a hack only a small number of suppliers that provide precise type of commodity or service that is required. It is also a strong if there is a high level of differentiation across suppliers, or if you were not particularly concerned about the sale for you because you were not wide range of customers for them. Rival power. Competitors have economic power based on their ability to compete. May be players with strong resource bases are disproportionately to be aggressive and create strong competition. It is important to determine the nature of competition in all markets, as well as the industry as a whole. Competition in some key markets hotel pricing, for example, while in other cases it may be brand differentiation. In other markets is still the key to success is to identify the characteristics of the hotel near Qaim. He called the case of companies that have multiple properties in different markets and compete often against some of the same companies in many markets, and multi-point competition. In that case, it is important to assess the effects of strategic moves in one market responses to a potential competitor in other markets. The labor force. Greater economic power of trade unions when the work is a high degree of organization. Trade unions and the enormous economic influence in Germany, for example. The nature of the trade union work-related (such as strikes and slowdowns) also gives the economic power of trade unions, which may be exercised during contract negotiations. To some extent, and the size of the EU budget is also a factor in the power that it possesses. Unions can be large, big-budget to participate in activities to protect its members.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

McDonalds :: essays papers

McDonalds This is an exciting and interesting essay to write for a number of reasons. For one it's an honour to make a research on one of the most profitable societies of the world, for second because the kindness of McDonald's employees and the precision of McDonald's Web site, are perfect sources for all kind of information that can help analyse through Porter's value chain, all the aspects of its value creation. In the late 1940s, Dick and Mac McDonalds were searching for a way to improve their little drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California, U.S.A.; they invented an entirely new concept based upon speed service, low prices, and big volumes. Word of its success spread quickly, in 1952 they had more than 300 franchising inquires a month from all over the country. McDonald's is now the largest and best-known foodservice retailer and one of the two best-known and powerful brands in the market. With more than 24,500 restaurants in 115 countries, some of those operated by the company, some by franchisees or by affiliates operating under joint-venture agreements. The global market potential is still huge: yet on any day, even as the market leader, McDonald's serves less than one percent of the world's population. The restaurant chain plans to expand their leadership position through convenience, superior value and excellent operations. The effort to increase market share, profita! bility and customer satisfaction has produced high returns to shareholders: a compound annual total earning of 21% over the past 10 years. McDonald's vision is to dominate the world-wide foodservice industry. Universal dominance means setting the performance standard for customer satisfaction and increasing market share and profitability through successful fulfilling McDonald's convenience, value and execution strategies. A precise way of considering McDonald's' role of operations is through Porter's value chain analysis. The Value chain breaks down the firm into its strategically relevant activities, in order to understand the behaviour of costs and the existing or potential sources of differentiation. A firm gains competitive advantage by performing these strategically important activities more cheaply or better than its rivals. For a company which feeds some 38 millions clients every day, finding a reliable quality supplies is a major factor for success. McDonald's has solved the problem by making food supplies part of their success. McDonald's distributors are strategically to be accessible to the each restaurant and carry practically everything, from meat and potatoes to lightbulbs. Coca-Cola, the right well-known drink, has been with McDonald's from the beginning supplying beverages. McDonald's is increasingly using its leverage to capitalise upon global purchasing practices. New restaurants throughout Europe feature tabletops from Belgium; chairs, floors and tiles from Italy; doors from Austria etc.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Influence of the Roman Theater on Cicero’s Oration Pro Caelia By Essay

Influence of the Roman Theater on Cicero’s Oration Pro Caelia By Cicero’s oration in defense of M. Caelius Rufus shows many substantive and stylistic borrowings from the Roman Theater, particularly the comedies of the 2nd century b.c.e. This would scarcely seem remarkable to Cicero, to employ such devices is only to make use of the tools of his trade, as a practical and practicing rhetorician. In this case using the theater as a framing device to guide his audience’s response. So too would the judgments and emotions existing in the cultural reservoir of Greco-Roman, or Attic-Latin stage have met his division of purpose as he considered the permanent written speech, he would set down in the wake of the trial, however it was decided. Half a year back from exile and taking a case where he faced by proxy a personal enemy. Cicero wanted a note that would not only sound loudly when struck, but continue to reverberate. His message needed to rise clear of the verdict of the particular case. Cicero was formally trained as a rhetorician - in Athens -at the Academy. To Cicero oratory was an all pervading endeavor. It was speaking to an audience for a purpose. He seems to accept the prevailing Greek definition of oratory as that division of speech concerned with legal cases and public debates (Cicero, Orator I 6, 22-23). without seeing it as distinct or separate from other speech as not to involve commonality. In On the Orator I it is debated at one point whether oratory truly involves a comprehensive search for the good, or does the Orator merely use an appearance of the truth for effectiveness as part of a natural art or learned set of techniques (Cicero, Orator I 10, 42). Crassus’ somewhat dry answer to Scavola is to observe th... ...pation and eminently transferable in its ability to move and direct the emotions of a audience. This is what we see him putting into practice in the Oration Pro Caelia. Works Cited – In defense of Marcus Caelius Rufus. Political Writings of Cicero. – (from the Course Packet) Beacham, Richard C. Later Stages and Stagings. The Roman Theater and its Audience. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ Press, 1992. Cicero, M. Tullius. On the Orator- book I. Cicero: On the Good Life. trans., ed. Michael Grant. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971. Duckworth, George E. The Nature of Roman Comedy: A Study in Popular Entertainment. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1951 Nesbit, R.G.M. the Orator and the Reader: Manipulation and response in Cicero’s fifth Verrin. Author and Audience in Latin Literature. Tony Woodman & Jonathan Powell eds. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992

My Goals as a Teacher :: Education Teachers Teaching Essays

My Goals as a Teacher A teacher is not what I have always wanted to be. As a matter of fact, it wasn't until I had taken several of my general studies classes that I made a commitment to teach. Having played football through middle school and high school, I just assumed that whatever I did would have to be related to football. It was, however, during a time of reflection that I thought about a former football coach and the rapport that he had with me and other players. He wanted to bring out the best in each of us. It was then that I realized that I wanted to do the same. As a teacher, I would strive for a classroom that would be conducive to learning. I feel that linear seating allows for more structure in the classroom. However, interest should be stimulated by the display of attractive bulletin boards that are pertinent to the material being taught. The use of supplemental materials such as videos and computers are a must in educational programs. In today`s society everything moves rather quickly and the future generations must be able to keep pace. The world is at our fingertips through these devices. I would also assign projects to reinforce learning. This, of course, would depend on the ability of the groups being taught. I feel comfortable using an authoritarian type of instruction, although there will be times to use non-authoritarian types as well. I believe that the type of students that a teacher has in his/her classroom determines much of their teaching styles. I prefer seating students in rows rather than a horseshoe. Again, students set the tone for the seating arrangement. This day and time motivation seems to be harder to achieve. The use of homework passes and free time would be used as a form of motivation. Students, young and old, appreciate rewards even if it is only verbal praises. Some form of recognition creates a desire to achieve even more. Notes written by the teacher on returned homework or test papers may give inspiration to a shy student. This is also a way in letting the student know that they are an individual who is capable of achieving great things if they really try. Teaching styles tend to conform to the grade level that is being taught. I prefer being the only one in charge, but I do want my students to be actively involved.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Identity and Language

Belongingness is not just a simple word to imply being in a crowd or with the crowd, instead it also tackles that the individual fit in and feel right with the people, the environment and the situation he is in. A person, as a social being, naturally would want to create bond and belong to a certain group or society. Yet, there is also a deep emphasis that is connected with the expression of oneself or identity. Identity refers to a person’s background generally. It is not simply limited to one’s name, social status and age but it also includes ethnicity, capabilities and attainments.To express identity is to stress on the difference between the person and the group where he belongs. Thus, belongingness and identity somehow shares a paradoxical relationship as indicated by Rodriguez in his essay ‘Public and Private Language’ (1982). Rodriguez tries presents his experience being a bilingual in the American Society. Rodriguez discusses the difference between the private and the public spheres focusing on the role of language to produce an identity, which promotes public access to university, jobs and society.In Rodriguez work, he undermines the importance of having a private individuality, which is designated by the use of native language at home. Since private language is something that the whole family understands and a way by which the entire family express, it becomes the family individuality. To this end, it creates a wall around the person that blocks the way to understand and appreciate the words and sounds he hear in school, on the streets and even in the television. It somehow deprived the individual an access to the public sphere, which results to ignorance of the society.Being able to speak a public language enables the person to communicate his thoughts to another person. It gives the person the power to express himself more effectively and interact with the whole society. To this end, it is a disadvantage if a person will c onfine himself within the private language inside the family. As Rodriguez noted, the lack of the capability to express one-self and to assert one’s thought in the public language makes a person shy, silent and scared to be laugh at or be considered as a fool.It therefore takes away some access to public societies such as making friends, engaging in civic groups. Every word utter by the person in private language is considered as an indiscernible codes for those who find the language as a foreign language. Often times, this results to stereotypes and marginalized view placed by the society. If one will not be able to set up a public individuality, chances are that the public would give the person a public identity instead. Meaning, a person is not forced to recognize a public identity yet using private language delineate him from participating in the public sphere.This gives the public a change to marginalize the person along with those people with the same ethnic background. Therefore, a language can affect or even shape a person’s identity. Take for example what Rodriguez pointed out when he tries to emphasize how the teachers try their best to get him to speak in the class. Having different private and public languages keep the person away from other people. Since he could not fully understand what people around him speak about, he could not make friends. He develops fear or inferiority when speaking with other people.Although he has a positive private identity at home, his relationship with the people in the English-speaking world is known to demonstrate public isolation. He could not feel a sense of belongingness from the outside of his family’s home. A great gap undermines societal productivity and involvement exists. Rodriguez further emphasized that the private language used at home is designed to express personal thoughts and opinion while the public language is a way to make other people know how you understand things.In school o r the university, the public language serves as a standard to which discussions and information are conveyed. It makes a child ‘socially disadvantage’, as illustrated by Rodriguez, if he cannot communicate his thoughts well in school. A public silence engulfs the child making him feel ‘alien’ in the public world. The child will not be able to answer the questions in class. He would not be able to chat with other people. On the other hand, being able to speak the public language would yield to beneficial results.It can improve the social interaction of the child with other kids. Moreover, it helps the child to understand the lessons more coherently. It might as well improve the child’s self-confidence. Since language affects a person’s identity, it is crucial in gaining access not only to universities but to a job and social status as well. Since the United States is considered as a melting pot, then it is inevitable that a certain universal la nguage must be set in the society and the work place to help one culture communicate with another.Despite the fact that personal and private identities served their importance in individualism, it cannot create understanding between two people speaking different language. Thus, it is important for people to posses a public identity which will transcend the ethnical and/or cultural diversity in the society. Rodriguez also elaborated how the ‘sounds and the words becomes tightly wedded’ as he successfully immerse to the English (public) language. Nonetheless, he also recognized the fact that being educated with the public language negatively affects the private identity that the family formerly holds.Changes occur as the use of another language is being learned and the private language is kept in silence. On one hand, there seems to be a door, which opens to the public world. It is as if fences are cut down, to help the family look over, and enjoy the society. Therefore, the family becomes a part of the society and not anymore in the private sphere. On the other hand, the family becomes more absorbed in the society that they do not express themselves in the same way. There are also changes in the way that family members see the other members as apart of their family and of the society.Indeed, despite all the benefits of engaging in the public language, there are still some pitfalls. The fact that the parents are not being able to adjust as fast and as well as their children in using the public language creates a fissure in the relationship inside the family. The dominant language marginalized or excludes the ethnic or foreign speakers at the time that the merge between different cultures starts. Certain groups might feel that they are not given enough opportunity and a language barrier might stem into different misunderstandings (in the public sphere such as university and work place).The marginalized groups might feel oppressed and even more; they might want to have the opportunity to express themselves in their native tongue. With this in mind, they could either seclude themselves from the public or learn to speak the public language. Becoming bilingual indeed lessen the individuality of the person’s private association. Nonetheless, it also empowers the person’s public identity. As stated above, the United States is supposedly a melting pot. That is, assimilation of different cultures are greatly promoted or at least emphasized.For assimilation to occur, a public language must be used especially when dealing with public matters. Private languages obstruct the absorption of culture and limit the person’s ability to communicate in the public. I agree with Rodriguez when he emphasized the importance of public language. It is indeed a tool that a person can use to communicate and create a public life. Indeed, it is something that determines a person’s access to various public institutions. Nonetheles s, I disagree with how Rodriguez evaluates the importance of the private identity.It seems, as though, Rodriguez does not see its importance in the person’s cultural identity. Becoming too much submerged in the process of assimilation, a person might as well loss his/her personal culture. Thus, if a person would grow up and adapts the public culture, most specifically language, he moves away from his own cultural identity. At the end, there will only be a dominant public culture and the assimilation and the presence of other culture would not be anymore visible.The cultural identity of a group would diminish especially if children will not be able to be educated with the private language, identity and culture. The child would see himself as an American rather than a Spanish American. It takes him away from his origin/s deluding his history with that of the American history. It replaces his language as well as his identity as a whole. There is also the issue, as discussed by R odriguez, of broken communication at home. Since parents are not as well adept with the English language, communication becomes a problem. Works Cited: Rodriguez, R. Public and Private Language. (1982).

Monday, September 16, 2019

Educational Psychology Essay

REFLECTION ESSAY ON LEARNING EXPERIENCES for Educational Psychology Cecille Ann C. Pilapil, MS, MA, CIOP Name of Student: KO, KATHERINE Y. Section: 2PSY4 | | |I really want to be a teacher. Children are my passion and it has always been my biggest dream to help them, to impart my knowledge to them, | |and to be able to understand and relate to them. In this world that rapidly changes and grows, the role of a teacher proves very essential in | |every child’s process of learning. | | | |In the past, I admit that I used to take the â€Å"easy way out† in studying; I relied immensely on rote memorization to pass my subjects. I would | |spend hours and hours just memorizing different terms and concepts, without truly understanding what this or that means. It was not that I | |didn’t care about the courses I took, but only because I wanted to have high grades and I thought that just memorizing everything would make | |it easier, but soon came to understand that it simply did not. When it came to practical situations, I had a rather difficult time applying | |myself. I didn’t know how to put words into action, and I became quite anxious because if I wanted to be successful in the future, I had to | |learn how to adapt. If I wanted to be a teacher, first, I had to appreciate the process of learning and understanding. | | | |What I really loved about my Educ Psych class is that I was able to learn a lot through doing the things I enjoy, like watching films to help | |better understand different concepts, engaging in group discussions, interacting with my classmates, and just laughing and having fun with | |each other. As a class, we were taught the value of team work; we function as a single unit. This really brought me and my classmates closer | |to one another. Educ Psych had really helped us see why it is so important for us to know each other and why we should support and respect one| |another; all of these are necessary to achieve integrity. Our motto was â€Å"Do what you say, say what you do,† and this has helped us in so many | |ways, not only in school but also at home, and in our relationships with others. | | |This subject did not only give me insight on what it would be like to be a teacher, but I was also able to take a good glimpse on how much a | |teacher can change students’ lives, simply by listening to them, by encouraging them, by investing not only academic learning time but also | |quality time with them, and simply, by being their friend and caring for them. | | |Another important lesson for me is that being a good student is not at all about looking good in f ront of your professors and classmates, or | |receiving high grades. What really defines a good student is how she is able to value the knowledge she obtains inside the classroom and | |applies all those lessons learned in real life. This class has helped me mature in so many ways – in relating with my classmates, in relating | |with my professors, and in relating with myself. This class had pried open my mind and helped me learn how to combine my knowledge with | |action. | Educational Psychology Essay QUESTION 1 Education most definitely plays a key role in building the future of our nation but many learners are still lacking the fundamentals of a basic quality education. The South African Constitution Act was passed in 1996 and came into operation on 4 February 1997 [26] (Duma, 1995). Chapter 2 of this Act contains the Bill of Rights in which the State guarantees the protection of individual’s fundamental rights (Duma, 1995). Section 29 talks about the right to Education (Duma, 1995). This section recognizes that every person has a right to basic education and to equal access to educational institutions (Duma, 1995).It is clearly evident though that this has not taken place because black learners, especially in the rural areas are not receiving the necessary quality education that they are entitled to. Many schools in the rural areas still lack basic facilities such as running water, toilets, desks and electricity (Seroto, 2004). To worsen the situation some schools are bu ilt only of mud (Finnemore, 2009). Many township schools are in a serious state of dilapidation, partly due to theft of infrastructure and other forms of vandalism (Seroto, 2004).The shortage of classrooms, equipment and other teaching resources is evident in many schools today (Finnemore, 2009). Poor school management practices and dysfunctional teacher evaluation are contributory factors (Finnemore, 2009). The poor state of our school buildings and facilities is reflective of the current budgetary crisis (Tedla, 1995). This lack of access to resources and materials by children in the rural areas leads to inequalities within our education system. Children in urban areas and white schools have access to a better quality education than children in the rural black areas. Read also Memory – ForgettingThese inequalities today may be as a result of the Bantu education system. There has been inequality of access to education between the white and black schools in the past, and the evidence is brought forth when the political instability led to the disruptions of schools and centres for political indoctrination, leading to strikes and class boycotts, with the aim of demanding a change in the Black institutions of learning (Sedibe, 2011). According to teachers in Kwa-Mashu schools the core of all the problems facing schools today was the whole system of Bantu Education (Sedibe, 2011).This implies that what is presently happening in schools today is the result of years of oppressive education (Sedibe, 2011). Due to inadequate and unequal access of resources these schools in rural areas cannot function effectively (Sedibe, 2011). It is therefore the responsibility of the Department of Education to supply adequate resources and make them available to a ll schools equally, in order to enhance a culture of teaching and learning within schools (Sedibe, 2011). This is a very important issue that needs to be taken seriously if we are talking about investing in the future of our children.This means that rural areas need much more support from government than urban areas do in terms of education. They need to be allocated a fair share of the budget that will help remedy the bad conditions they are faced with. This can be achieved by providing them with all the necessary learning resources they need, which in turn will enable them to adequately equip themselves and thus guarantee them a bright future. Another issue that arises in our schools today is having teachers who are either unqualified or under-qualified.This was as a result of the closure of most mission schools and teacher training facilities in 1953 which forced all teacher training into racially separated government training colleges, geared to extending the mass base of Bantu Education (Douglas, 2005). Since other professions were closed to them on racial or economic grounds, many people of colour became teachers by default (Douglas, 2005). As a result, under-qualified, unqualified and even un-matriculated teachers were employed (Douglas, 2005).Training centres for our teachers today are a necessity if we desire to see pupils succeeding and achieving their goals. Teachers need to be equipped with the relevant skills and knowledge to carry out their roles appropriately and confidently. Government’s budget for education needs to set aside funds that will invest in training centres for teachers thus investing in the future and success of our learners, and in turn leading to a healthy, stable and developing nation. Another matter that arises is that of the apartheid system.During the apartheid era black people were discriminated against and this was clearly evident in the area of education. The implementation of Bantu education ensured that the level of education provided to Africans could be differentiated, with a small urban population obtaining education beyond the primary level, while the majority of the African migrant labour force received only minimal primary education (Mabokela, 2000). Still focusing on the apartheid era, systems and laws were put in place that made sure that black people were excluded from certain opportunities and benefits.For example, apprenticeship training programs designed for development of skills at workplaces were also for many years reserved solely for white persons (Finnemore, 2009). Overcoming the long shadow of apartheid education is proving a major hurdle to the development of our nation. In terms of government’s budget for education, has there been a failure to equally allocate resources? Government needs to revisit this budget to make sure that it is being fairly and equally distributed, so that every learner can have the opportunity to benefit from it.Government’s spending on education has declined over the years (Tedla, 1995). Although many students are found in primary schools, and although this level of education is less expensive than secondary or tertiary levels, the financial support for it has steadily decreased (Tedla, 1995). Formerly White education was financed at 185 percent of the national average whereas the education departments of the former non-independent homelands were funded at 74 percent of the national average and the former ‘independent’ homelands at 67 percent (Seroto, 2004).This clearly shows funding disparities with regard to the provision of education for White learners and for Black learners perpetuated by the former apartheid government (Seroto, 2004). This apartheid system has had an effect on our education system today. The South African budget also suffers from the effects of apartheid. The economy is still reeling from the economic downfalls of apartheid and there is a major problem in maintaining current l evels of spending with the solution being unclear (Education in South Africa, 2005).All the factors discussed above play a critical role in the development of our education system today and unless we make a conscious decision to take the necessary steps to amend these problems, the future of our children cannot be guaranteed. QUESTION 2 In the article provided it is very clear that the conditions for learning are not conducive at all for the students to learn. These conditions instead can lead to the demotivation and discouragement of the students.Some of the negative learning conditions they are exposed to are: a tremendous shortage of learning facilities, resources and materials like desks, chairs, picture books and workbooks. The classroom floors are described by the teacher as a dirt road. This is definitely detrimental to the health and well-being of the learners. The classroom walls are described as raw and bare. We know that children need a stimulating and motivating environm ent to grow and without things like paintings, drawings and pictures on the walls it becomes very difficult for them to develop.All these conditions that have been described above stand as a barrier to the ability of students to learn. These conditions could lead to the students’ failure to learn anything, not because they are incapable or incompetent but because of the poor and bad learning conditions they have been exposed to, leading to their failure to cope. For these students who attend school in these conditions, little can be learned, surely, on a day under a leaky roof or with no roof at all (Tedla, 1995). These problems can and do discourage pupil attendance (Tedla, 1995).The Role of the Psychologist The role of the psychologist in such a context would be, first and foremost to understand the nature of each child within this context so that they may be able to assist them. For example, different children will behave and react differently to different situations. Some children may be resilient to such conditions and view them as opportunities to learn, instead of viewing them as barriers to learning. In such circumstances these children would do whatever it takes to work hard and achieve their goals no matter the circumstances.Other children might end up discouraged, demotivated, depressed, frustrated, stressed and unhappy. It would be the responsibility of the psychologist to find out about the nature of each child by conducting assessments. Assessment of children requires special adaptation of assessment procedures and particular interview techniques (Holford et al. , 2001). These assessments could include one-on-one sessions with the child. In addition to interviewing children, using developmentally appropriate language, drawing techniques and imaginative play can elicit valuable nformation (Holford et al. , 2001). This could also include observing each child within the classroom setting and seeing how they respond and react within that class room environment. For any comprehensive assessment of a child, direct observation of activity level, motor skills, verbal expression, and vocabulary are also essential (Holford et al. , 2001). Any kind of assessment used by the psychologist should not be complex but rather simplified so that learners are able to understand.Questions must be simple and appropriate for the child’s developmental level (Holford et al. , 2001). This in turn will ensure that there is communication between the learner and the psychologist. It will also help to ensure that learners benefit from these sessions. It is also very important that the psychologist understands how the child views the circumstances in his or her environment. Therefore the primary goal of the interviewing technique is to gain the child’s own perspective (Holford et al. , 2001).Teachers can also collaborate with the psychologists to help the learners. This is what is referred to as unified collaboration. It can often be useful for the psychologist to speak to the child’s teacher(s) as their reports can give valuable supplementary information (Holford et al. , 2001). A standard questionnaire could be given to the teacher to provide information about the child’s learning skills, ability to cope in a group situation, peer relationships, and relationships with adults in authority (Holford et al. , 2001). Possible Interventions by the PsychologistA key component of Bronfenbrenner’s model (the ecological systems theory) is the understanding that children are also active participants in their own development, and the environment therefore does not simply impact on the child (Swart & Pettipher, 2005). Children’s perceptions of their context are central to understanding how they interact with their environments (Swart & Pettipher, 2005). The way they perceive their circumstances influences the way they respond to their human and physical contexts (Swart & Pettipher, 2005).The mic rosystem refers to the activities or interactions in the child’s immediate surroundings (Swart & Pettipher, 2005). The mesosystem refers to connections or interrelationships among microsystems of homes, schools, and peer groups (Swart & Pettipher,). The psychologist could use both the microsystem and mesosystem in coming up with different kinds of interventions. For example, the psychologist could include systemic interventions with parents, teachers or the school itself (Landsberg, 2011).A systemic intervention with parents would involve finding out more about the child in the home environment, how the child interacts with them as parents, how the child interacts with his or her peers and any other difficulties or problems the child may be experiencing at home. Another intervention could involve parent and teacher workshops (Landsberg, 2011). Parents and teachers could come together to discuss the progress of the children, the problems they are experiencing at home and at sc hool and how parents can support teachers and vice versa, in assisting the children to overcome any obstacles or barriers they may be facing.They could also assist the children in making their learning experience a more pleasurable and successful one. The school itself can also be involved in this intervention, by, for example, designing programs and projects (Landsberg, 2011). This could help students in developing their capacity to learn and work together in groups, as well as developing their communication skills within groups. It could also teach them how to love and support one another in such an environment.These interventions used by psychologists should not only focus on the children’s weaknesses but should also focus on their strengths that can be used to compensate for their areas of weakness (Landsberg, 2011). These interventions should provide the learners with immediate benefits that can be realized, including the identification of social or emotional difficultie s, considerations and coping strategies to enhance learning and methods for increasing motivation and interest in affected areas as required (Landsberg, 2011). QUESTION3In this article, owning a toy is a dream rather than a reality for these children. They desire to have toys but because their parents are unemployed and the school cannot afford to provide them with these toys this is not a reality for them. Having toys should not be seen as a luxury but rather as a necessity for children of this age to grow and develop appropriately. They desire to have desks, chairs, picture books and many more resources. For them without these basic resources they feel they will not be able to realize their goals.They also desire playgrounds, see-saws, pencils, toys and most importantly food. These desires are the kind that any child of school going age would have. Food is one of the very important and basic necessities for anyone to survive, no matter the age. If these children cannot even afford to get a decent meal it becomes very difficult for them to learn anything at school. They also desire water and toilets, which once again are basic necessities of life that one cannot live without. It is a sad fact that at this young age, these children have been denied the opportunity to the basic necessities of life.Pupils dream of computers but they are yet to see one. In this fast-paced technological and global environment, every child should be exposed to a computer and given the basic skills of how to operate one. These children need to be given the opportunity to realize their goals and aspirations in life. At their young age it is difficult to expect them to understand what is going on. Therefore teachers, the government, the education department and parents all have a big role to play in the lives of these children in order to make sure that they realize and achieve their dreams.Material conditions definitely need to be improved to enhance the learning of these children bu t they also need a strong support system from both parents and teachers to help them through their learning experience. One needs to get into the child’s world and see things from their perspective (Holford et al. , 2001). In this way they will be able to understand the children and what they are experiencing and thus be able to assist them. It is the responsibility of government to improve the conditions of these impoverished schools so that children can be able to learn and be productive in their learning experience.They also need to provide more learning resources for the children so that they can enhance their ability to learn. Basic facilities such as running water, toilets, desks, chairs and electricity should be made available and easily accessible for these children. Parents within these communities also need assistance in finding employment or loans to start small businesses so that they too can be able to support their children and contribute to the schools they att end. The risk of children falling sick because they do not have access to clean and healthy water must be reduced.This problem stands as a barrier to achieving their goals and dreams. It is the responsibility of our society, government, parents and teachers to work together in making sure that children overcome these barriers to learning by adequately equipping them in every possible way to realize their goals. All these factors that have been mentioned greatly contribute to the emancipation of these children and unless we all work together to see that these children are emancipated, their future cannot be secured. QUESTION 4A detailed ideal education system within a multidisciplinary context that can improve the educational outcomes of children of school going age would be one that firstly: offers quality education for all learners. This means that all learners should have equal access to adequate facilities and resources (for example, clean running water, toilets, desks, chairs an d electricity) within their school environment regardless of their race (whether they are black or white), regardless of where they live (in the rural or urban areas) and regardless of whether they are disabled or disadvantaged.Secondly, this system should accommodate the different learning styles of different learners within schools. Some learners may need visual material to support them in their learning experience; some learners may need learning material to be broken up into smaller amounts; other learners may want to see the whole picture before the material is broken up; some learners may prefer studying with background music; others may prefer studying in a quiet place (Swart & Pettipher, 2005 ). This system should make provision for all these different learning styles of learners.This system also needs to move away from the apartheid system that accommodated English more than anything. Schools now need to embrace the diversity of cultures and languages within our society by finding a way to accommodate each and every learner, no matter their background or culture. At the same time they need to help learners realize the continued importance of developing their English language skills. This can be done through the use of appropriate reading materials, writing skills and appropriate teaching methodology. Thirdly, this system should be one that accommodates the diversity of learners within our society and community.In this case, teachers need to be given more time to plan their teaching activities to include a diversity of learners (Landsberg, 2011). Not only do teachers need to be given more time to plan their teaching activities but they also need helpers or additional teacher assistants (also called classroom assistants) who can support them in teaching a diversity of learners as well as support from specialized people for advice and guidance (Landsberg, 2011). Teachers also need administrative support as well as adequate learning support materials and assistive devices appropriate for the needs of learners with disabilities (Landsberg, 2011).This system can only be successful in improving the educational outcomes of children of school going age if teachers are given all the support they need to deal with the different kinds of learners within the different schools. Government also needs to invest in teachers by sending them to training centers that will adequately equip them with the required skills and knowledge necessary for them to cope in their diverse school environments. REFERENCE LIST Douglas, J. (2005). Transformation of the South African schooling system. Teacher Professionalism and Education Transformation.Braamfontein: The Centre for Education Policy Development. Duma, M. (1995). Community Involvement in Rural schools in Pietermaritzburg Area. (Masters’ Thesis, University of South Africa. ). Education in South Africa. Retrieved October 19, 2005 from www. southafrica. info/ess_info/saglance. education/education. htm Erasmus, BJ, Loedolff, PvZ, Mda, T & Nel, PS. (2009). Managing training and development in South Africa (5th ed. ). Cape Town: Oxford. Finnermore, M. (2009). Introduction to Labour Relations in South Africa (10th ed. ). Durban: Butterworths. Holford, L. Ziervogel, C. & Smith C. (2001). Child and adolescent psychiatry. In B. Robertson, C. Allwood, C. A. Cagiano. (Eds). Textbook of Psychiatry for Southern Africa (1st ed) Cape Town: Oxford University Press. (pp. 282 – 321). Landsberg, E. (2011). (Ed. ). Addressing Barriers to Learning: A South African Perspective. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. (pp. 69-85). Mabokela, R. O. (2000). Voices of conflict: Desegregating South African universities. New York, Routledge Falmer. Sedibe, M. (2011). Inequality of Access to Resources in Previously Disadvantaged South African High Schools.The Journal of Social Science, 28(2), 129-135. Seroto, J. (2004). The impact of South African Legislation (1948 – 2004) on Black Education in R ural Areas: A Historical Educational Perspective. (Doctoral dissertation, University of South Africa. ). Swart, E. , & Pettipher, R. (2005). A framework for understanding inclusion. In E. Landsberg, D. Kruger & N. Nel (Eds). Addressing barriers to learning: A South African perspective. Pretoria: Van Schaik Publishers. (pp. 3-23). Tedla, E. (1995). Sankofa: African thought and education. New York, NY: Peter Lang.