Entry for Graduate Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Entry for Graduate Program - Essay Example aw enforcement officer with close to three years of professional experience, I know that a graduate degree will invaluably contribute to my professional development. I have worked in, and with, all of the Fishkill village Police Department, the NYPD, the NY Special Enforcement Bureau and the United States Secret Service and, can confidently assert that I have no doubts that law enforcement is my preferred career choice. While acknowledging that many before me, as shall many after me, have said this, as a law enforcement officer I feel fulfilled. My sense of fulfillment and satisfaction come from my awareness that I am doing my part to make life in this country just a little but safer. On a personal level, while I believe that all Americans must contribute to the increased security and safety of their society, a select few, this nation’s law enforcement officers, must devote their lives to this goal. As a foreign-born American citizen, the protection of this country and all tha t it stands for, from crime, is especially meaningful. It is meaningful because it represents my way of trying to give something back to this country and her people. I am fully cognizant of the fact that the United States is hardly short of law enforcement officers and realize that this is hardly an easy career. Nevertheless, after much soul-searching, I discovered that this is where my career interests lie. Certainly, one does not need a graduate degree in Criminology to be a law enforcement officer but, given the nation-wide crime rate, it is imperative that those who enter this profession law have a solid academic grounding. Indeed, what distinguishes one law enforcement officer from another is his/her grasp of the aforementioned. It is because of my personal determination to become an effective law enforcement officer, one who can play a role in crime deterrence or reduction that I have decided to pursue a graduate degree. On a more pragmatic level, my decision is further

McDonalds Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

McDonalds Marketing Plan Essay I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY McDonald’s Philippines is a subsidiary of the Filipino-owned Golden Arches Development Corporation. The first Filipino McDonald’s to open for business was in the Morayta university districts in Manila during 1981. These days McDonald’s is operating over 150 restaurants throughout the islands of the Philippines. Being a 100% Filipino-owned franchise allows McDonald’s Philippines to be more agile and take quicker actions, making them an even more competitive force in the Filipino fast-food market. It is one of the leading fast-food chains internationally as well as in the Philippines, with a rapidly developing consumer brand and growing customer base. . It is a place for family togetherness organized around a common love of the traditional food. Its operating system is characterized by focusing on uniformity for consistent quality, the formation of partner relationship with its franchises and supplier to improve operating system innovatively and last but not least the introduction of new products. With its steady drive for improvement and consistently high quality, McDonald’s revolutionized the entire supply chain. Instead of regimenting its supplier and franchisees, McDonald’s expected commitment from them in terms of adherence and experimentation. The implemented, smooth operating chain of suppliers, McDonald’s corporate management and franchisees balances each other, creates an entrepreneurial spirit that added value, innovation, economics of scale, the bargaining power for advertising and purchasing, as well as new product and process ideas to the company. Additionally, all involved parties maintained a collective emphasis on disciplined quality standards. As years passed by, McDonald’s needed to adapt to industry changes by accomplishing some process design innovations in fruitful collaboration with its suppliers and franchisees. In this context, McDonald’s improved the chain’s chicken and fries’ quality and consistency by switching from raw to frozen delivered fries as well as the productivity of employee. Another major process enhancement was the introduction of the breakfast at McDonald’s. In this way, the corporation expanded its operating hours since it had to pay for rent, utilities and insurance 24 hours a day, anyways. The generation of a totally new business came along with the nice side effect that it again distinguishes itself from its competitors. This marketing plan is used in outlining the product, pricing, and distribution and promotion strategies to be implemented and executed during this time. It proposes a revitalization of the McDonald’s philosophy so as to focus on the quality of products and services for customer’s value and a healthy lifestyle, healthy eating habits, smart choices and education. The plan also outlines the structural issues that may arise during its implementation and execution, tactical initiatives to turn strategy into action. II. CHALLENGE Problem: Before, the company use grilled direct system. Which becomes the problem of the company because the customer always complaining about the quality of the product like chicken mcdo, when it is served to the customers it is not crispy because it stays longer in the warming bin, and also the patty of the burger, it is not juicy because it is not hot. The access of McDelivery to the call center is another problem of McDonalds because some times the information about on the location of the customer is wrong. Solution: Now a day the McDonald’s uses the Made for You (MFY) system. †¢ Food is made or prepared to actual customer demand, providing each and every burger only when it is needed just in time (JIT). †¢ It standardizes assembly of all sandwiches to one or two at a time. †¢ Requires minimal Human Decisions Making. †¢ It requires Behavioral change ⠝â€" Quality ⠝â€" Complete waste ⠝â€" Equipment ⠝â€" Standard procedure III. SITUATION ANALYSIS Company Analysis †¢ Goals – Develop a solution to improve kitchen layouts, people positioning and operational procedures for a better guest experience. In simple terms: our goal is to have a happy and satisfied customer. †¢ Focus – the company should focus on products and services. McDonald’s is a customer-oriented company that strives to offer Filipinos a combination of great tasting, quality food productions at value prices with excellent service. †¢ Values – Customer – driven, Malasakit, Integrity, Teamwork and Excellent. †¢ Strengths ⠝â€" Quality of the product, services and cleanliness of the store. ⠝â€" The service of the company is fast and accurate, and we believe that taking good care of our customers is the first vital step toward effective sales building. ⠝â€" Patents and Trademark ⠝â€" Branding such as through the use of logos, colours, slogan and other images. A key part of the McDonald’s brand is its ‘M’ logo otherwise known as ‘The Golden Arches’. †¢ Weaknesses ⠝â€" The competitors like Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Burger King etc. ⠝â€" Lack of cooperation between the management and in the crews. †¢ Market Shares – McDonald’s has captured more than 40% share of the hamburger market in the Philippines. Customer Analysis †¢ Number – 30% is ages 60 and above, 20% is ages 1-15, 50% is ages 16 and above. This is the percentage of customer who are eating at the McDonald’s everyday especially during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. †¢ Type – Class B C †¢ Value Drivers – a part from our product and services. McDonald’s gives back to the community through the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). RMHC supports children’s development and well being through Bahay Bulilit and Bright Minds Read (BMR). Every happy meal purchase gives 50 centavos to RMHC. †¢ Decision process – The customer have a lot of decision making it is base of what they needs and wants, also the customer decide to buy a discounted product like in coupon and the mcsaver meals. Competitor Analysis †¢ Market Position No. 1 (Jollibee) No. 2 (McDonald’s) †¢ Strengths Lasang Pinoy Raw materials are environment friendly †¢ Weaknesses Jollibee has a poor service †¢ Market shares – Jollibee has captured more than 52% share of the hamburger market in the Philippines. SWOT ANALYSIS Strength †¢ Risk diversity †¢ Large market share †¢ Strong supply chain †¢ Promoting ethical conduct †¢ Competitive fast-food chain †¢ Attentive and friendly staff/crew’s †¢ Rigorous food safety standards †¢ Good reputation among customer †¢ Decentralized yet connected system †¢ Strong brand name, image and reputation †¢ Strong financial and performance and position †¢ Affordable prices and high quality products †¢ Nutritional information available on packaging †¢ Strong global presence and performance in the global marketplace †¢ Specialized training for managers known as the Hamburger University †¢ McDonalds Plan to Win focuses on people, product, place, price and promotion Weaknesses †¢ Unhealthy food image †¢ High staff turnover including top management †¢ Customer losses due to fierce competition †¢ Lack of access to the best natural resources †¢ Lack of access to key distribution channel Opportunities †¢ Growing health trends among consumers †¢ Joint ventures with retailers †¢ Consolidation of retailers likely, so better locations for franchisees †¢ Respond to social changes by innovation with in healthier lifestyle foods †¢ Strengthen its value proposition and offering, to encourage customers who visit coffee shops into McDonalds †¢ The new â€Å"formats†, Mccafe, having wi-fi internet links should help in attracting segments. Also installing children’s play-parks and its focus on educating consumers about health, fitness. †¢ International expansion into emerging market’s of other country †¢ Growth of the fast-food industry †¢ Low cost menu that will attract the customers †¢ Providing many promotional activities Threats †¢ Health professionals and consumer activists accuse McDonald’s of contributing to the country health issue of high cholesterol, heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity †¢ McDonalds competitors threatened market share of the company both internationally and domestically †¢ Global recession and fluctuating foreign currencies †¢ Affordability of the competitors products †¢ Similar flavors and products of the competitors †¢ Competitors endorsers are much popular when it compares to McDonalds IV.Market Segmentation Market Segmentation is the process of splitting customer in to different groups, or segment within the customers with similar characteristics have similar needs. Geographical Segmentation Mcdonalds offered their services based on certain country basic food. Like Philippines McDonalds realized that Filipino basic food is rice which with fried chicken as its local basic food. Demographic/Psychographic Segmentation Demographic segmentation divided the market into groups based on variables like gender, age, nationality, religion; family life cycle and family size McDonald offered their services by segmented their customer base on age, religion and family life cycle. To offer the best service McDonalds still concern about variations due to differing tastes and cultural issues for their customer over the world. Behavioral Segmentation Behavioral segmentation focuses on dividing consumer based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses, benefit sought, or responses to company’s product. One of the best forms of segmentation is to divide buyers according to the different benefits that they want to get by purchasing the product. Usually people who look for in their product class or look for each benefit. For example, McDonald provide McDelivery for 24 hours, this is the only one delivery service that not stop even once in a while a day by just call it and order, after that within a minute it comes to your place with the food that still hot and fresh. V. Alternative Marketing Strategies McDonalds has seen recent success through a careful implementation of its â€Å"Plan to Win† strategy, which focuses on several key aspects of the business, namely increasing traffic to restaurants, providing everyday value to customers, innovating the company through the creation of new menu items, re-imaging the company’s look, as well as its marketing campaigns. McDonald’s Plan to Win is based on a core set of four main goals: †¢ Acquire more customers †¢ Get these customers to eat at McDonalds more often †¢ Develop more brand loyalty for the McDonalds brand †¢ Ultimately become more profitable Increasing restaurant visits Current market condition help the appearance of McDonalds as a low cost alternative to eating at more expensive restaurants in the minds of customers, which has consequently led to an increase in foot traffic at McDonalds franchises. McDonalds has addressed these conditions through an increase in advertising, specially displaying the company’s attention toward a diversified menu of low cost items. Such advertising serves to satisfy all four of goals of Plan to win program, drawing customer interest through a short display of the plethora of new menu options recently added, while also helping to change the look and feel of McDonalds in the minds of customers. Providing everyday value In order to create an overall feeling of value for customers to experience, McDonalds has released a modular value meal, where customers have the benefit of both low prices coupled with increased freedom when deciding on a meal. While traditional menu options emphasize a trade-off between ordering freedom and price, the McDonalds value menu provides customers with both all at once, helping customers associate the brand with good value. Innovating new menu items At the same time as their menu choices have become modular and less expensive, McDonalds is also creating value for customers by providing a diverse menu with many more ordering options. Customers can now expect an increase in health-conscious options by adding some vegetables in the burger and also they provide some dessert like apple pie or pineapple pie. McDonalds also provide a mccafe like ice mocha, ice latte, and cappuccino, Americano to provide some different variety of coffee to satisfy the customer. Marketing campaigns As well as considering the important of keeping customers informed of the continuing changes to the company through advertising media and social media dialogues, McDonalds also recognizes the value of maintaining an ongoing support system and training structure for each of its franchise operators. As mentioned above, McDonalds uses well defined, and measurable milestones to help their constituents meet company goals with as few inconsistencies as possible. McDonalds’ training programs have been continuously recognized for their excellence, and with the continuing changes being carried out throughout the company, this attention to the value of training is a terrific asset to the company. Re-imaging the restaurant Directly benefiting the company’s goals of brand development for the company, McDonalds is reenergizing their brand through an understanding of â€Å"brand power†, which is built on the cultivation of four key areas of the brand, brand identity, familiarity, specialness, and authority. Brand identity is defined as the set of characteristics that customers recognize your brand by; in McDonalds’ case these are speed, consistency, value, and variety. Brand identity works with brand familiarity, helping to expand the message that symbols of the company, or even the overall impact of advertisements themselves in reinforcing the identity of the brand in the minds of customers. If carefully managed, McDonalds can use their brand identity to make their investments in advertising go much further. Beyond this, brand specialness and authority continue the process, representing the perceptions of McDonalds as the company appears to customers. Ideally, McDonalds should leverage brand specialness and authority to clearly stand out as a distinct and trustworthy source of value, allowing customers to increase the value of the McDonalds brand through their positive interactions with the company. McDonald’s adopts different strategies to attract customers of different age groups, but still the main target remains to be children. So in order to attract them, McDonald’s use a key tool: the Happy Meals, which seem to fascinate children due to the toys included in the menu. In addition to this, they have a tie up with The Walt Disney Company for the Disney characters included in the menu, in order to make sure that they offer the kids a wide range of toy options. Moreover, McDonald’s provides the children with a special facility, unique for food venues and fast-food restaurants: a playground. This strategy is aimed at making McDonald’s a pleasant and fun environment for both kids and parents. Even the exterior of every restaurant is also strategically designed using bright colors to invite in the customer, especially kids who can easily be influenced by these aspects. So not only that the children like it, it is a chance for the parents to spend some â€Å"quality time† with their kids. Another aspect of their marketing strategy is the fact that every McDonald’s restaurant provides Wi–Fi facilities, a detail that adds to the attractive qualities and is aimed at teenage customers. In addition to this, what is representative for this chain is their clown mascot, Ronald McDonald, who is essential for creating the bond with children and entertaining them. They can even have private birthday parties in the facilities, again part of McDonald’s aim to induce happy memories in children’s minds, and to make them associate the McDonald’s brand and logo with happy moments. VI. Selected Marketing Strategy Product Suppliers are dedicated to providing McDonald’s with top quality material that is continually monitored for freshness and safety. McDonald’s uses regional suppliers to ensure that the freshness is delivered to customers in every product they buy. Food quality is keys at McDonald’s. They seek out fresh lettuce and tomatoes, onions and pickles, quality buns and potatoes, pure ground beef, select poultry and fish and wholesome dairy products. All of the beef, chicken and pork that are used are purchased from federally inspected facilities to ensure freshness, wholesomeness and peak quality when served to customers. Non-Vegetarian Ingredients Chicken The chicken products are made from high quality boned rib and leg meat and are covered in a specially seasoned, lightly battered coating. They are shaped in uniform sizes to ensure consistency in weight and value. Fish The fish products in McDonald’s Filet –O- Fish are 100% pure whole white fillets that are lightly breaded. Their exacting quality standards for fish surpass federal requirements. The ocean-fresh quality of Filet-O-Fish is a result of the process and ability to freeze the fish at sea to maintain freshness. Vegetarian Ingredients Vegetables McDonald’s use freshly shredded lettuce, onions, pickles and tomatoes in their restaurants. All their vegetable products are processed from high quality graded vegetables in a 100% dedicated vegetarian plant. Potatoes McDonald’s French fries are famous around the world. To make French fries, McDonald’s uses only the best potatoes available from their own potato farms. Their potato suppliers make many of the same nationally recognized brands of potato products to make customers feel that they are with their family at home. These potatoes are cut, blanched and processed on state-of-the-art processing lines to ensure maximum retention of nutrients. Their French fries and Potato Wedges are cooked at the plant in 100% vegetables cooking oil. Other Ingredients Cheese and other Dairy Products All dairy products like cheese, McShakes and Soft Serves are made from fresh dairy milk. All dairy products including cheese have a role to play in balanced diet because they contain a wide variety of essential nutrients such as protein, calcium, fat solubles, phosphorus, etc. McDonald’s uses a special blend of pasteurized American cheese to complement the flavor of their sandwiches. Buns McDonald’s uses buns made from locally grown wheat flour. They are baked locally and delivered fresh, several times each week to McDonald’s restaurants. Cooking Oil Food preparations are done in 100% refined vegetable oils at the restaurants plants. They use liquid oil and not hydrogenated oil. This means there are no TFAs or Trans Fatty Acids in the French Fries or any other products. Additionally, these vegetable oils contain some essential fatty acids necessary for growth. Quality Food quality is the crucial element at McDonald’s. Despite extensive and meticulous quality test at the suppliers end, all products are once again carefully scrutinized at the restaurant. Immaculate of quality allow for nothing but the best to reach customer’s tray. Their products are sourced from the highest quality ingredients, prepared hygienically and treated to regular quality checks such as the McDonald’s Inspection Program (QIP). Scope of Product Line Distribution (Place) Place, as an element of the marketing mix, is not just about the physical location or distribution points for products. It encompasses the management of a range of processes involved in bringing products to the end consumer. McDonald’s outlets are very evenly spread throughout the cities making them very accessible. Drive in and drive through options make McDonald’s products further convenient to the consumers. Intensive Distribution Distribution arrangements tend to be long term in nature. Because of this time horizon, channel decisions are usually classed as strategic, rather than tactical or operational ones. Many of McDonalds restaurants are open 24 hours per day which satisfies the customers needs and wants, especially for exists their hunger. This kind of distribution strategy is called intensive distribution, means marking the product available for sale through all possible channels of distribution. Intensive distribution is stocking the product in as many outlets as possible.† Promotion The promotions aspect of the marketing mix covers all types of marketing communications One of the methods employed is advertising, Advertising is conducted on TV, radio, in cinema, online, using poster sites and in the press for example in newspapers and magazines. Other promotional methods include sales promotions, point of sale display, merchandising, direct mail, loyalty schemes, door drops, etc. The skill in marketing communications is to develop a campaign which uses several of these methods in a way that provides the most effective results. For example, TV advertising makes people aware of a food item and press advertising provides more detail. This may be supported by in-store promotions to get people to try the product and a collectable promotional device to encourage them to keep on buying the item. At McDonalds the prime focus is on targeting children. In happy meals too which are targeted at children small toys are given along with the meal. Apart from this, various schemes for winning prices by way of lucky draws and also scratch cards are given when an order is placed on the various mean combos. VII. Conclusion Since the problem of McDonalds is about the customer that keeps on complaining for the quality and freshness of the products that is being served. Therefore I conclude that the company should use the MFY (Made for You) system, so that the food is made or prepared for the customer just in time with a good quality for a reasonable cost. The company should also provide a large number of riders to avoid late delivery.

the surreal world :: essays research papers fc

Art comes in many different shapes and sizes. From drawing on a desk in high school to digital art on computers, we don’t notice that art surrounds us everywhere. However, there is one particular art form that is gaining interest throughout the world, and has been around for years. This art form is known as Surrealism. Surrealism is the only form of art that truly lets you express your mind the way you want it to be expressed, with no limits or boundaries. In Surrealism, there is no gravity, words flow like water, objects can fly in the limitless skies, and images can swim. Basically, Surrealism has no rules; it is only the artist and his mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Around the early 1900’s, soon after the First World War, a man by the name of Tristan Tzara disliked the idea of war, and was disgusted by what happened and why World War 1 started. Tzara thought that a society that creates such chaos as war does not deserve art. However, his attempt to humiliate the new commercial world did not go the way he planned. His anti-art became art. The new chaotic, rebellious images became the status quo. This was known as the Dada Movement. The Dada movement slowly faded into thin air, as a group of artists thought the Dada Movement destroyed the gift of what centuries of artists have learned and passed on about the craft of art. This is when the Surrealist Movement began.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surrealism, the movement in literature and fine arts, was established by a French poet by the name of Andre Breton. The goal of this movement was to emphasize the unconscious mind in a creative way. It was to express the unconscious mind in a more orderly and serious manner. There are two groups of surrealists that formed throughout this movement. One of the groups is the Automatists. Automatists indulged in a more creative manner, they thought of their art as meaningless. This is not to say they didn’t care about their art, but they simply did not have a definition of what they created. They believed that is was automatic the way images from the subconscious reached the conscious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other group of Surrealist are known as the Veristic Surrealists. The Veristics simply were almost the same as the Automatists. Except, the Veristics saw meaning in their work. The Veristics thought of their artwork as a metaphor for an inner reality. the surreal world :: essays research papers fc Art comes in many different shapes and sizes. From drawing on a desk in high school to digital art on computers, we don’t notice that art surrounds us everywhere. However, there is one particular art form that is gaining interest throughout the world, and has been around for years. This art form is known as Surrealism. Surrealism is the only form of art that truly lets you express your mind the way you want it to be expressed, with no limits or boundaries. In Surrealism, there is no gravity, words flow like water, objects can fly in the limitless skies, and images can swim. Basically, Surrealism has no rules; it is only the artist and his mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Around the early 1900’s, soon after the First World War, a man by the name of Tristan Tzara disliked the idea of war, and was disgusted by what happened and why World War 1 started. Tzara thought that a society that creates such chaos as war does not deserve art. However, his attempt to humiliate the new commercial world did not go the way he planned. His anti-art became art. The new chaotic, rebellious images became the status quo. This was known as the Dada Movement. The Dada movement slowly faded into thin air, as a group of artists thought the Dada Movement destroyed the gift of what centuries of artists have learned and passed on about the craft of art. This is when the Surrealist Movement began.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Surrealism, the movement in literature and fine arts, was established by a French poet by the name of Andre Breton. The goal of this movement was to emphasize the unconscious mind in a creative way. It was to express the unconscious mind in a more orderly and serious manner. There are two groups of surrealists that formed throughout this movement. One of the groups is the Automatists. Automatists indulged in a more creative manner, they thought of their art as meaningless. This is not to say they didn’t care about their art, but they simply did not have a definition of what they created. They believed that is was automatic the way images from the subconscious reached the conscious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other group of Surrealist are known as the Veristic Surrealists. The Veristics simply were almost the same as the Automatists. Except, the Veristics saw meaning in their work. The Veristics thought of their artwork as a metaphor for an inner reality.

Plato Contrasted with Confucius Essay -- Compare Contrast Plato Confuc

Plato Contrasted with Confucius Since the early beginnings of society, in which people began living in gathered communities, there can be seen a constant progression, upon a steady time line, of the increased order of the organization of society. However, this is not the kind of progress that was sought by two widely known philosophers and teachers, Plato and Confucius. The kind of social reform and alteration displayed in the teachings and writings of both of these men, examine a movement from societies viewed as chaotic and barbaric toward societies consisting of gentleman, practicing prescribed values, morals, and actions. Confucius and Plato both emphasized a moral conduct that went above and beyond the socially accepted norms of their times. Despite the concentration on these factors in Chinese and Grecian cultures, the progress attempted by both of these philosophers was not achieved by their own standards within their own societies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are several common themes running through the primary work of compiled sayings attributed to Confucius: emphasis on gentlemanly conduct, pursuit of humbleness among fellow man, and a search for a proper ruler who is in accordance with â€Å"the Way.† Running throughout the entire book of â€Å"The Analects†, Confucius makes reference to many characteristics that a gentleman should possess. Even beginning in the first chapter of Book One, Confucius is attributed with saying, â€Å"Is it not gentlemanly not to take offence when others fail to appreciate your abilities?† Other characteristics Confucius attributed to gentlemanly conduct include studying the rites and â€Å"The Odes†, humbleness, lack of desire for places of position, unbending in moral conduct, and many other factors. By laying out a basis upon which a gentleman should act, Confucius establishes a standard to measure the quality of all men. Setting a standard implies that there are men above and below this set, desired point, and the word standard also indicates a measure of quantitative or qualitative value. By creating such a standard, Confucius is immediately able to begin causing social reform and progress. However, this progress, though achieved through concentration on social values, never reaches the capacity to which Confucius desires it to reach. Several sayings within The Analects indicate that Confucius is unable to see an accumulation of all desire... ...ty is tentative. It proves to reason that a society guided by high morals will have a progress. However, to assume that all corruption will be removed simply by placing leadership in office that adheres to the high standards fails to recognize the flaw in man that Plato and Confucius both obviously see: man is in need of progress towards civil order. From the beginning, man is already viewed as degraded and morally corrupt. The society will progress because progression of society has been the natural order since the beginning of civilization. It is the quality and moral standing of this progress that is in question. Using Plato’s method of progression, it can be seen that society is not progressing, but rather being led blindly down a road. Progression implies the acquisition of knowledge upon a continuous path. Keeping men under order through ignorance, and elevating those with morally upright actions only serves to further isolate and expand the gap between the men posse ssing knowledge of civil order and those merely following it out of service to a defined path. A false sense of progress is created, while the majority of society remains ignorant of why to be humane and civil.

Drug Addiction in Bangladesh Essay

Drug addiction is not a recent problem in Bangladesh. But it has been rising. In recent years Drug Addiction has significantly increased in Bangladesh. This agent of human devastation has spread its tentacles worldwide and also in our country. Every intelligent and humane person in the world society and international organizations such as the UN and WHO are alarmed by the present rate of addiction. Nowadays nearly ten per cent of outpatients in our hospitals are cases of drug addiction involving heroin, ganja and phensidyl. These are generally youths and young men between 15-30 years of age and come from all strata of the society. But there are adolescents below 15 years of age and men and women over 30. Hospital surveys show that average age of drug addicts is 22. The addicts are students, professionals, businessmen, laborers, rickshpullers and from other professions. Students are the most affected and drugs have caused deterioration in standards of education and students have also given up going to schools and colleges. Even university’s professors are getting addicted recently. These addicts are turning to various criminal activities, in order to procure drugs. What are Drugs? World Health Organization (WHO) defines Drug; Drug is a chemical substance of synthetic, semi synthetic or natural origin intended for diagnostic, therapeutic or palliative use or for modifying physiological functions of man and animal. Drug impacts directly influence the economic and social aspects of a country and physically to a human body. What is drug addiction? The word addiction means getting habituated with something. In case of drugs when a human body gets dependent on some stimulating things, and after a certain period it creates a habit which means that the body has become dependent on the stimulant which is addiction. World Health Organization (WHO) defines it: Drug is a chemical substance of synthetic, semi synthetic or natural origin intended for diagnostic, therapeutic or palliative use or for modifying physiological functions of man and animal. Figure: drug addiction DIFFERENT STAGES OF ADDICTION: A drug abuser can undergo different stages of tasting apart from normal lifestyle. Drug abuse can decay normal human senses through deep feelings. It creates different types of excitement both in the body and mind. Finally, it makes a person passionate to drugs. In the long run the user has to increase the dose day by day. Addiction has some stages. a) Initial stage b) Pre-mature stage c) Mature stage and d) Dangerous stage a) Initial stage (starting): This is the first stage of drug addiction. At first, a person starts to take drug without concerning his body. At the early stage he takes it just normally, and gets the ordinary happiness, which makes him feel better. Sometimes, he wants to touch heavenly excitement and dreams himself as a floating constituent in the sky. This is the first stage of drug abusing. Amateurs are in this group. They take drug once or twice a week with their friends or seniors in their locality, who are already addicted. He collects it and processes it to take. b) Pre-mature stage (the real test of drug): In this stage, drugs become a habit, and the abuser wants more. Feeling better s/he tries to increase the dosage drugs. It is taken at least 4-5 times a week. This is the primary stage for abusers in becoming addicted. At the initial stage they can easily manage or collect the money for purchasing. They collect money from their family, and sometimes from other sources. They take drugs with their friends. After a few days they need to take more and become dependent on it both mentally and physically. The sudden need for excess money, involves them in criminal acts like hijacking, and they feel thrilled to do it. c) Mature stage: After the pre-mature stage abusers become seriously addicted. They have to take it every day, after a certain period. In maximum of cases it is taken from evening to night time. For that, they are busy all day long in collecting the expenditure of drug. They need much more money for it and sometimes they turn against the law. Many discontinue their education after failing to concentrate on any kind of discipline. They forget social protocol, always remain bad tempered and feel they are always in the right. They do not want to hear any advice and count themselves as very aware and competent. Sometimes they feel frustrated and even lose the will to live. e) Decaying stage: After mature stage most of the abusers stay on the verge of decaying. It means gradually their lives crumble. They can realize, how imbalanced they are. They lose taste for food. At this stage they become fully dependent on drug, gradually after a few hours they have to take it, otherwise their body system stops. In that situation the abuser loses human characteristics and behaves like a monster. They have no sense to evaluate good or bad, to enjoy anything, they lose interest in normal male/female yeamings. And finally one day they fully surrender to drugs, which lead them to their graves.

Character Analysis Their Eyes Were Watching God Essays

Character Analysis Their Eyes Were Watching God Essays Character Analysis Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Character Analysis Their Eyes Were Watching God Essay Essay Topic: Their Eyes Were Watching God When reading Their Eyes Were Watching God while Tea Cake was married to Janie he always helped her reach her goals. After Janie’s ex-husband (Joe Starks) died she basically felt liberated because while she was married to him, she did not have a voice at all. After he died she was on the verge of being independent before Tea Cake came and swept her off her feet. Tea Cake made Janie better as a person, and she had some self-esteem issues on how she viewed her life. Janie was older than Tea Cake, so the people of Eatonville thought that she was dumb to marry a younger man. While Janie was married to Logan, she was treated like a work horse. She did most of the field work while Logan did what he did. Mah husband is gone tuh buy a mule fuhme tuhplow. He left me cuttin’up seed p’taters.’’(Hurston 29). Based on the movie she was never really physically attracted to him because of the waylied in bed together. â€Å"Janie recognizes that, along with being sexually desired, a woman should be treated with respect and dignity.†(Dilbeck 102)â€Å"He look like some ole skullheadde grave yard† (Hurston 13).Logan did not treat Janie with the respect she deserved. â€Å"He does come into Janie’s life after two failed marriages-the first to Logan, who wanted to use Janie as if she were just another mule on his farm, and the next to Jody, who put her on so high a pedestal that she could not interact with her own community’’(Ashmawi 204).So consequently, she left him and married Joe Starks who was a man t hat took care of himself. â€Å"If you don’t want him, you sho oughta† (Hurston 23). On the other hand, when she got married to Joe Starks, she did not have a voice at all. She somewhat was a trophy wife who was to be seen but not to be heard. â€Å"He could have save his breath and Janie could have kept right on with what she was doing† (Hurston 40). For example, in the movie there was a piano in the store, and Janie had started playi

Essay Sample on Art and Architecture A Rhetoric Analysis

Essay Sample on Art and Architecture A Rhetoric Analysis Essay on Rhetoric Analysis on Art and Architecture: Art can be looked at as the quality, expression, and production as per aesthetic principles of what is appealing or even of more than everyday significance. Therefore, art does not only involve drawing or painting or other related activities. In essence, art amounts to our expression of innate creativity- language of the soul. It is a creative act and a spiritual journey (Naiman, 2010). Thus it, is practically an expression of the soul making it more than just a mere presentation. This could be the reason why it has continued to take new dimensions over the centuries- each person has his own reflection – and it is true that people will interpret a piece of work of art differently. Each and every artist has a something inside him or her that is calling out to be expressed. Thus, in art, artists should feel free to express their inner feeling. It is worth noting that there exist no rules for expressing the needs of one’s soul. In practice, an artist goes beyond convention and the product is always beautiful. It is been noted it is not that artist are special persons; but that each individual is a unique kind of artist. In particular, art is a way to express each person’s inborn creativity. As a result, the ultimate creativity in art comes out of the energy of wisdom and love; some would refer to this as the source or divine. Artists play with their work so as to enhance the form or idea through combining, assimilating or synthesizing a range of elements. One surrenders control of the outcome and at such an instance, the work of art paints itself and the design comes out by itself. As such, the work of art involves ecstatic experiences which ensure that the process is complete. As a consequence, artists should feel gratitude and relief for creative expression that flows within them letting it lie bare for the next cycle. According to Jung (2005), creativity is not all about drawing and painting since in art it can manifest itself in various ways. For instance, it is natural that we create as a result of our tutor’s humiliation but this does not translate into that we are uncreative. Cr eativity is within each us and it could be that when we were young, we received inadequate reinforcement for our creative powers; thus when we grow up we become reluctant to allow our creative urges bubble up from within. In art, there should be no fear as this is a major block to creativity –art itself. Fear to make a mistake, to look foolish or of the unknown inhibits work of art within us. The worry about how good we are inhibits the creativity or expression within us. Creativity in and outside art takes varying forms; one could make creativity within express itself via decorating, gardening, business entrepreneurship or any other way (Storck, 2011). Thus, creativity in art should involve and be expressed through fresh thinking, acting on new ideas and seeing things in new ways. Work of art –and artists- should be free; driven by innate creativity. In a conclusion, expression of creativity is living my passion- being an artist in the entire areas of life while making my whole life creative (a work of art). Art includes exploration of whispers in the artist’s heart and hearing the call- creativity. At CustomWritings.com you can buy essay paper on any Art related topic. Professional writers will write a custom essay or research paper for you!

Union College Admissions and Acceptance Rate

Union College Admissions and Acceptance Rate Union College in Schenectady, New York is a relatively selective school, admitting 37 percent of its applicants. Learn admissions data for this school. You can  calculate your chances of getting in  with this free tool from Cappex. Admissions Data (2016) Union College Acceptance Rate: 37  percentGPA, SAT and ACT Graph for Union AdmissionsUnion College is test-optional About Union College Founded in 1795, Union College is a private liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, northwest of Albany. It was the first college chartered by the Board of Regents in New York State. Explore the campus with the  Union College photo tour. Union students come from 38 states and 34 countries, and they can choose from 30 degree programs. Union has a 10 to 1  student/faculty ratio, and upper-level classes average 15 students (20 students for introductory courses). Unions strengths in the liberal arts and sciences earned the school a chapter of  Phi Beta Kappa. Student life is active with more than 100 clubs and activities, 17 fraternities and sororities, 12 theme houses, and seven Minerva Houses (centers for academic and social activities). In athletics, the Union College Dutchmen compete in the NCAA Division III Liberty League (Hockey is in the Division I ECAC Conference Hockey League). Enrollment (2015) Total Enrollment: 2,269  (all undergraduate)Gender Breakdown: 54 percent male / 46 percent female98 percent full-time Costs (2016 -17) Tuition and Fees: $51,696Books: $1,500  (why so much?)Room and Board: $12,678Other Expenses: $486Total Cost: $66,360 Union College Financial Aid (2015 -16) Percentage of Students Receiving Aid: 85  percentPercentage of Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 83 percentLoans: 43 percentAverage Amount of AidGrants: $25,492Loans: $7,843 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors:  Biology, Economics, English, History, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Political Science, PsychologyWhat major is right for you?  Sign up to take the free My Careers and Majors Quiz at Cappex. Graduation and Retention Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 92 percent4-Year Graduation Rate: 81 percent6-Year Graduation Rate: 87  percent Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports:  Football, Hockey, Lacrosse, Swimming, Track and Field, Baseball, RowingWomens Sports:  Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Track and Field, Basketball, Field Hockey If You Like Union College, You May Also Like These Schools: Skidmore College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphTufts University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphTrinity College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphHobart William Smith Colleges: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphCornell University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT Graph  Bates College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphAlfred University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphVassar College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphBinghamton University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSyracuse University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphStony Brook University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT Graph Union College Mission Statement: mission statement from union.edu/about/mission/index.php Union College, founded in 1795, is a scholarly community dedicated to shaping the future and to understanding the past. Faculty, staff, and administrators welcome diverse and talented students into our community, work closely with them to provide a broad and deep education, and guide them in finding and cultivating their passions. We do this with a wide range of disciplines and interdisciplinary programs in the liberal arts and engineering, as well as academic, athletic, cultural, and social activities, including opportunities to study abroad and to participate in undergraduate research and community service. We develop in our students the analytic and reflective abilities needed to become engaged, innovative, and ethical contributors to an increasingly diverse, global, and technologically complex society. Data Sources: National Center for Educational Statistics and the Union College Website

Three sides of abortion debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Three sides of abortion debate - Essay Example The legal right of a woman to undergo an abortion has not resolved many ethical issues that surround the procedure of abortion (Fry, Veatch and Taylor, 2010). There are three stances people have on abortion include pro-abortion, middle ground that abortion can be accepted, and anti-abortion, and the arguments for these stands are discussed. There are individuals who support abortion on the basis that it is not wrong, and does not need the involvement of undesirable consequences. To look at this argument in another way, it tends to neglect the rights of the fetus or even acknowledge the fetus as a person. There are individuals who consider abortion as the right of a woman hence she is solely liable to the way she controls her body. Moralists who take part in judging actions argue that abortion is simply a deliberate failure to conceive a child, and with availability of contraceptives in mind, abortion should be too. By contrast, there are those who think that the fetus being a person, has limited rights that has no significant weight on the interests of the people already born who include the parents and children of that particular family. All the same, people supporting abortion do so on the fact that the overwhelming principle behind abortion is the woman and her rights to choose what to happen to her body.

Prison Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Prison - Movie Review Example The result is either positive or negative depending on the actual activity being undertaken. The first major issue depicted in the movie is the interaction between inmates and the security guards. Right from the start to the end, these two parties maintain a constant relationship that is primarily rooted in football competition. The football game brings together the two parties within and without the field, thereby allowing them to share insights that are not necessarily football-related. This interaction promotes the personal worth of the inmates due to the fact that they feel valued and appreciated for their efforts in life, despite being imprisoned for wrongdoing. The interaction between the inmates and prison guards in presented as natural, thereby capturing a real world scenario of human relations. Secondly, the movie depicts exploitation of prisoners for personal gains. The football game that dominates major activities in the movie is somehow set to exploit the inmates. Although the game is designed to be fair to both inmates and guards, there is a tendency and preference to have the guards win in the final game. When this seems to be unachievable, some inmates lose their lives while others like Adam Sandler are threatened. This makes it appear as though the inmates are in the game to lose, an aspect that depicts prisoner exploitation for the purpose of serving personal interests. Punishment and correction constitute the third major issue that the movie depicts. Incarceration is designed to punish the inmates for any wrongdoing perpetrated against an individual, community, society, or country. The presence of inmates in the prison implies that they have been found guilty of an activity that went against the laws of the land. While incarceration is deemed to be a punishment factor to the prisoners, it also comes with a correctional aspect. Change is a factor that incarceration advocates for alongside

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 11

Philosophy - Essay Example Stoicism was founded by three early thinkers – Zeno of Citium in Cyprus (344-262 BC), Cleanthes (d. 232 BC) and Chrysippus (d. ca. 206 BC). â€Å"Chrysippus was particularly prolific, composing over 165 works, but we have only fragments of his works. The only complete works by Stoic philosophers that we possess are those by writers of Imperial times, Seneca (4 BC-65 AD), Epictetus (c. 55-135) and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180) and these works are principally focused on ethics† (Baltzly, 2004). On the surface, Stoicism emphasized the idea that the true sage, in his zealous pursuit of wisdom, would find all the happiness he could want in his knowledge and subsequent inner tranquility. The ultimate source of this tranquility is achieved through the fire of the soul as it becomes connected with the fire of God, who permeates everything. Because they felt that the laws of nature were absolute and that the essential nature of humans was reason, they felt people could d o no other than ‘live according to nature.’ The Epicureans, on the other hand, felt that the greatest goal in life was to experience pleasure. Founded on the ideas of Epicurus (340-270 BC), Epicureanism centers on the idea that pleasure in moderate amounts as well as an absence of bodily pain was necessary for one to gain a state of tranquility and freedom from fear. This was obtained through the obtaining of knowledge, friendship and by living a virtuous and temperate life. The key to how this philosophy differed from other forms of pleasure-seeking philosophies was in the term ‘moderation.’ Although it was all right to have sex, to become involved in an all-consuming passionate affair or to have sex too often could easily throw one out of balance, making it preferable to simply abstain. In addition, this philosophy was firmly grounded upon scientific, rather than divine, principles presuming that an understanding of the world around us, and a physical understanding of

Religions in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religions in India - Essay Example The extent of this religious diversity that is seen in India is a consequence of both the presence of a plethora of native religions and the assimilation and social integration of religions brought to the land by travelers, immigrants, traders and even invaders/ conquerors such as the Mughals over time (Kalman, 2010). The most dominant religion in India today is Hinduism. As per a 2001 survey, 82% of the Indian population was practicing Hinduism, 12% Islam, 2.5% Christianity, 2% Sikhism, 0.7% Buddhism, 0.5% Jainism, 0.01% Zoroastrianism and another 0.0005% engaged in Judaism. Though affected by major religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, in addition, there exist many other tribal traditions. The three ancient religions; Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism are traditionally considered the shapers of Indian philosophy (Kalman, 2010). Hinduism is a religion with a pantheon of gods and goddesses such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Parvati, Ganesh, Hanuman, Surya, Ganga Ma, Samandra, Indra and so on. However, those who practice Hinduism do not always worship all these gods. They pick the ones to worship. Hinduism believes in reincarnation where a person’s fate is determined according to his deeds (karma). Good souls are liberated from reincarnation and attain redemption while bad souls are punished for their sins and born again and again in a frustrating cycle. Islam, another religion in India, has a strong influence in the Indian society mainly due to the presence of many Muslim rulers in different parts of India. These Muslims are divided into two rival sects, the Sunni and the Shia. The Muslim population in India is the third largest globally as is the case with the Shia population. The shrines of some of the most popular Sufism saints like Moinuddin Chishti and Nizamuddin Auliya are in Ind ia and they attract visitors. Some of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture such as the Taj Mahal and the Qutb Minar

Discuss the Definition and the source of christian theology , and how Essay - 1

Discuss the Definition and the source of christian theology , and how is systematic theology related to biblical theology and christian ethics - Essay Example Systematic theology’s exact beginnings are uncertain although Origen’s work, On First Principles, during the third century Greek Church, is one of the earliest works on it (Fiorenza, 2011, p.7). Systematic theology has continued to develop since this time, although it also has become the product of criticisms because of its ambiguous definitions, components and directions, among other reasons (Healy, 2009, p.25). This paper describes the definitions and elements of systematic theology, compares it with other branches of theology, discusses its effects on Christian ethics, explores its interrelationship of different doctrines, and understands how it can be applied through the decision-making process of believers. Theologians do not agree on an exact definition of systematic theology because of a number of reasons, such as shifting approaches to theology across time (Williams, 2006, p.199) and differences in perceptions of the importance of â€Å"systematic† as a biblical discipline (Healy, 2009, p.25), so the paper provides its definitions to show its scope and dynamic characteristics. Before defining â€Å"systematic theology,† this paper defines â€Å"theology† first. Theology basically pertains to the â€Å"the study or science of God† (Erickson, 1998, p.22). This definition is too simplistic, however, because God’s works and His relationship with His believers are also subjects of theology (Erickson, 1998, p.22). A comprehensive definition of theology is it is a: ..discipline which strives to give a coherent statement of the doctrines of the Christian faith, based primarily on the Scriptures, placed in the context of culture in general, worded in a contemporary idiom, and related to issues of life. (Erickson, 1998, p.22) The next to be discussed are the different meanings of systematic theology. Enns (2008) uses

Religions in India Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religions in India - Essay Example The extent of this religious diversity that is seen in India is a consequence of both the presence of a plethora of native religions and the assimilation and social integration of religions brought to the land by travelers, immigrants, traders and even invaders/ conquerors such as the Mughals over time (Kalman, 2010). The most dominant religion in India today is Hinduism. As per a 2001 survey, 82% of the Indian population was practicing Hinduism, 12% Islam, 2.5% Christianity, 2% Sikhism, 0.7% Buddhism, 0.5% Jainism, 0.01% Zoroastrianism and another 0.0005% engaged in Judaism. Though affected by major religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, in addition, there exist many other tribal traditions. The three ancient religions; Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism are traditionally considered the shapers of Indian philosophy (Kalman, 2010). Hinduism is a religion with a pantheon of gods and goddesses such as Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Parvati, Ganesh, Hanuman, Surya, Ganga Ma, Samandra, Indra and so on. However, those who practice Hinduism do not always worship all these gods. They pick the ones to worship. Hinduism believes in reincarnation where a person’s fate is determined according to his deeds (karma). Good souls are liberated from reincarnation and attain redemption while bad souls are punished for their sins and born again and again in a frustrating cycle. Islam, another religion in India, has a strong influence in the Indian society mainly due to the presence of many Muslim rulers in different parts of India. These Muslims are divided into two rival sects, the Sunni and the Shia. The Muslim population in India is the third largest globally as is the case with the Shia population. The shrines of some of the most popular Sufism saints like Moinuddin Chishti and Nizamuddin Auliya are in Ind ia and they attract visitors. Some of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture such as the Taj Mahal and the Qutb Minar

Pharmacology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Pharmacology - Assignment Example In these tissues, CD243 helps protect the tissue from cytotoxic effects of toxins. Further still, P-gp promotes the excretion of drugs into the bile ducts of the liver, excretion of drugs into urine, and excretion of drugs into the capillaries of the BBB (Schinkel et al., 1995; Horn & Philip, 2004). Different studies have been conducted in which various inhibitors of P-gp (MDR1) have been used to evaluate the bioavailability of drugs following the inhibition of MDR1. In one such study, the investigators used Dipyridamole to inhibit MDR1. The study hypothesized that inhibition of dipyridamole inhibition will result in increased bioavailability of digoxin. The study found out that dipyridamole increases the absorption of digoxin at the intestine and the plasma levels of digoxin were increased (Celine et al., 2003). In another study, the effect of MDR1 inhibition was measured on the effect of drug interaction between digoxin and quinidine. Quinidine enhances plasma concentration of digoxin by inhibiting MDR1. The co-administration of quinidine and digoxin resulted in an elevated concentration of digoxin and reduced excretion in urine (Fromm et al., 1999). Another study on mice indicated that absence of MDR 1 resulted in reduced excretion of digoxin (Funakoshi et al., 2003), dexame thasone, and Cyclosporin A (Schinkel et al., 1995). Rifampin is an inducer of CD243. A study conducted to determine the bioavailability of digoxin following the administration of rifampin revealed that the plasma concentration of digoxin dropped significantly. The drop has been accounted for by the understanding that rifampin induces the activity of MDR 1. JP 789 inhibits the action of MDR1 and therefore it can be hypothesized that during the interaction study, JP789 will result in an increase in the plasma concentration of digoxin and its reduced excretion in kidney

Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages Essay Example for Free

Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages Essay Porter’s five-forces model reveals that the overall alternative beverage industry attractiveness is high. Some beverage companies, such as PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, have mastered the art of brand building in the alternative beverage market and have been rewarded with rapid growth rates. The rising population of health conscious consumers is increasingly leaning towards alternative beverages that are believed to offer greater health benefits. The strongest competitive force, or most important to strategy formulation, is the threat of entry of new competitors. Competitive pressure from rival sellers is high in the alternative beverage industry. The number of brands competing in sports drinks, energy drinks, and vitamin-enhanced beverage segments of the alternative beverage industry continue to grow each year. Both large and small vendors are launching new products and fighting for minimal retail shelf space. More and more consumers are moving away from traditional soft drinks to healthier alternative drinks. Demand is expected to grow worldwide as consumer purchasing power increases. Another strong competitive force is buyer bargaining power. Convenience stores and grocery stores have substantial leverage in negotiating pricing and slotting fees with alternative beverage producers due to the large quantity of their purchase. Newer brands are very vulnerable to buyer power because of limited space on store shelves. Top brands like Red Bull are almost always guaranteed space. This competitive force does not affect Coca-Cola or PepsiCo as much due to the variety of beverages the stores want to offer to the customer. As a result of this certain appeal, the two companies’ alternative beverage brands can almost always be found shelf space in grocery/convenience stores. Distributors, like restaurants, have less ability to negotiate for deep pricing discounts because of quantity limitations. The weakest competitive force is the bargaining power and leverage of suppliers. Most of the raw materials desirable to manufacture alternative beverages are basic merchandise such as flavor, color, packaging, etc. The suppliers of these commodities have no bargaining power over the pricing due to which the suppliers in the industry are relatively weak. Raw materials for these drinks are basic commodities which are easily available to every producer and have low cost which makes no difference for any supplier. Low switching costs limit supplier bargaining power by enabling industry members to change suppliers if any one supplier attempts to raise prices by more than the cost of switching.

Website Evaluation †Apple Store

Website Evaluation – Apple Store In the recent years, electronic business becomes more widespread, and rapidly growing in the whole world. Because of the cost efficiency and coverage, many companies build a website to sell their products on the Internet. One of the most famous worldwide consumer electronic company, Apple Inc. also established an online store which called Apple Store (http://store.apple.com) to sell different products on the Internet from 1997 (Technical Update, 1997). The website is widely use in buying the products of Apple Inc. by the customers in worldwide. Therefore, the quality of the website has to be good enough for to numbers of customers. This essay is going to evaluate, discuss and conclude about the Apple Store and its e-commerce operation by using different methods of evaluation. Website Purpose Outline Company Background Apple Inc. is one of the biggest consumer electronic and computer company in the world. It provides many famous hardware products including the iPhone, the iPod series, the iPad and the Mac hardware products to different types of customers (Apple Inc. Annual Report, 2010). The company sells its products in more than 300 retail stores in various countries from 2010 (Spence, 2010). Other than the website and the retail store, Apple Inc. sells its products by wholesalers, retailers from other company, direct sales force, third-party cellular network carriers, and value added resellers at the same time (Apple Inc. Annual Report, 2010). Website Functions Apple Store is a website provides various services to customers, which are products description, software download, products selling and after sales services. Product Description Finding and filtering information for the customers is important to a successful electronic system since the customers would like to find the products and services in the easiest way (Ng, Yan and Lim, 2000). Therefore, a good e-business website must have a good production description. Apple Store describes the information of different products in detail for the customers understanding the functions and usefulness of the products. Diverse products like the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, the Mac hardware products, software and accessories are being introduced by words, videos and pictures in different languages in the website. For the iPod, iPhone, iPad and Apples computers, those features, outlook and technical specifications is being showed in the site. The website even uses video to explain how to use the products in detail to attract the consumers. At the same time, in every description page we can see a Buy Now button which is a link to the product selling part to make the purchasing process easier (Apple Store, 2010). Software Download Apple Store provides many types of software for different products. There are both free and paid software for the customers to better use their hardware products. Like many software production companies, customers can choose to buy the software in the normal stores or on the online store. And the software update can be found on the website for providing new features and fixing the bugs on the products. Also, the software can be downloaded in various languages in the world. Product Selling The online Apple Store is a channel of product selling to various customers in the world. Customers can buy anything which can be bought in the Apple retail store including hardware, Apple software, third party software and selected third party accessories on the website. They even can buy the certified refurbished products and the old type products which cannot be bought in the normal store on the online store in a cheaper than normal price (Apple Store, 2010). For the customers who buy the goods on the Apple online store, they can buy the goods on installments without interest. After Sales Services The Apple Inc. provides many after sales services to the customers if they bought the products on the Apple Store. They can check the delivery status on the website in order to know the process of delivery. When the customers take the product to repair in the repair department of Apple, they can check the repair status on the site. And they can get support if they have any problem of using the product. The website provides many product using problem solutions to the users (Apple Store, 2010). Therefore, the customers can get help easily from the Apple store website if they have any problem. Website Analyses Web Accessibility Users with disabilities have to use the website. Therefore, a good website should be able to let them to utilize it easily. Web Accessibility is a standard for checking that whether the users with disabilities can perceive, follow, control, communicate with and contribute to the website (W3C, 2005). For a website, if it is sufficiently flexible to be used by all of assistive technologies, it can be called as an accessible website (Slatin Rush, 2003). For the Apple Store, web accessibility will be evaluated by whether the website has the essential components if it is accessible to people with disabilities (W3C, 2005). In content, the basic text and images introduce the product and the purchasing instruction. For the people who have blurry vision, they cannot read unless the text is very large (Thatcher, 2005, P. 3). By the way, the text size and color cannot be change in each page in the Apple Store website. The minor visual disability people cannot change the text size to what they need when they want to see that page. However, for the product introduction, the Apple Store uses some videos to introduce the major functions and special features of the products, the visual disability people, even the blindness who is completely sightless (Paciello, 2000, P.8), can know more about the product by listening the voice in the videos. But for the auditory people, there is no subtitle in the videos for them to understand what is about on the video. At the same time, for the visual disability people who want to make transaction in the website, there is no instruction video or audio about the process of transaction for those people who need it. And even in the transaction page, no access for the visual disability people to make a transaction. Therefore, Apple Store does not provide enough access to disability people. Webqual 2.0 Research Design Finding the domain which can reflect the situation in reality is better than doing artificial laboratory-based experiment (Barnes Vidgen, 2001). By the way, only analyze one data about the domain is not enough for the website evaluation. Therefore, compare the domain with the major competitors is the best way to evaluate the quality of the website. In the market, there are many competitors of Apple having an online store to sell consumer electronic products (Apple Inc. Annual Report, 2010). The major competitors which are chosen to be evaluated with Apple Store are the Sony Style online store (http://www.sonystyle.com), and the HP online store (http://www.shopping.hp.com). The reasons why those websites are being chosen to be compared are because both of them are selling consumer electronic and computer products. At the same time, both three of them are recommended by the UK consumers (Satmetrix, 2010). Sony is the biggest multinational conglomerate corporation in Japanese. It is one of the leading company of selling consumer electronic and computer products. Playstation, Sony music products and Sony laptops are some example of the famous electronic product of Sony (Sony Style, 2010). Sony Style online store is a channel of distribution on the Internet. HP (Hewlett-Packard) is another major competitor of consumer electronic and computer products of Apple Inc. It is a multinational information technology corporation in USA which is famous by its computer products. HP is famed for selling different types of hardware product. Methodology 40 questionnaires have been done from the user of Internet in the worldwide. Questions in the questionnaires are distributed to different countries, different age and different gender people by Internet. The questionnaire is mainly divided into 2 parts to measure those three websites quality and their view of the importance of the criteria. First part is about their basic information, which is about their age group, gender, and most importantly, whether they have visited those three websites. The data of the interviewees who have not visited those websites are not going to be count in the analysis. The second part is different descriptions of the websites. Each of them uses the scale 1 to 5 to elaborate the interviewees agreeability of the descriptions (Barnes Vidgen, 2001). And the description importance for evaluation is also asked in the questionnaire, in order to know how they feel about the importance of those descriptions. Data Analysis In the 40 interviewees, 28 of them have visited those Apple Store, Sony Style online store and HP online store. Therefore, only this 28 interviewees questionnaire results are being counted in the analysis. All data which are collected are summarized in Table 1 in the appendix page. The marks counted are the average marks of the 28 interviewees in each question. All marks are round up to 2 decimal places for evaluation conveniently. According to Barnes, the Webqual can be divided into different categories in SERVQUAL which are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy (Barnes Vidgen, 2001). They are going to be the criteria to see how the quality of those three websites is. Importance of specific question for user At the beginning, the importance of each description is going to be analyzed first. From the table, we can see the average marks of importance in different descriptions are quite high. Therefore, most of the descriptions of Webqual are important for the interviewees. In aesthetics, the interviewees think having a good outlook is quite important to them (Description 1). It can attract them to stay in the website for a longer time. However, having an appropriate design and audio-visual effect (Descriptions 2, 3) are not as important as other criteria, since they are not the critical element for them to stay in the website. Then, reliable (Descriptions 4-6), responsiveness (Descriptions 7-8), competence (Descriptions 9-10), credibility (Descriptions 14-15), and security (Descriptions 16-17) are quite important for the website users. It is because both of the criteria are about the safety of the transaction on that website. The users of website most concern the trust and dependability of it (Jones, Wllikens, Morris and Masera, 2000). However, for navigation (Descriptions 11-13), whether the websites are easy to find and to return to and find your way around are not important for the interviewees. Only the website has things where they expect to find them is important for the interviewees. Whether the website is easy to give feedback (Description 18) is quite important for the interviewees. For the empathy of the website, websites are quite good in communication (Descriptions 19-21) and their understanding the individual (Descriptions 22-24) are not as important as others. Descriptions Comparison between Three Websites Referring to Table 1, the evaluation of interviewees can show the differences between those three websites. In terms of aesthetics, the users think that the Apple Store looks much better than the Sony Style online store and HP online store. As we can see in those websites, Apple Store provides more pictures and a better looking homepage between those three websites. At the same time, both of them have an appropriate style of design for site type. By the way, only Apple Store creates and audio-visual experience to the users. In the Apple Store website, there are some videos to introduce the major functions and special features of the products. So the Apple Store has a higher overall score of aesthetics. For the navigation, which is the description that the users thinks it is not that important, we can see Apple Store and Sony Style online store have a higher marks of whether it is easy to find and to return to and Apple Store gets a higher marks in it is easy to find your way around. It shows that the Apple Store is easier for the user to find and use. At the same time, the interviewees claim that the three websites have things what they expected to find them. For the reliability, the marks between three websites are quite similar. It is because both three website are run by big company, which are Apple, Sony and HP. They have to make their websites free from error in order to maintain their credibility. Only about the description about providing up-to-date information, Apple Store get a higher average marks between three websites. It is because after the press conference of the new products, the new products features will be updated immediately on the website next day while the other two websites do not do this kind of update. For the competence, interviewees think that those websites can provide them with professional and competent image and believe they can process transactions competently, again, because both three website are run by the big company. Professional and process transactions competently are important for the credibility for them. For responsiveness, HP online store gives a more clear time for delivery for products or services. It shows what the exact day is for the customers receive the product, while the Apple and Sony website only show the estimate day of delivery which is not enough for the customers. At the same time, the access of three websites is good for the interviewees, both of them are easy to give feedback or contact the company. By the way, for the credibility and security, Apple Store has a higher mark compare with other two websites. It is because the Apple website is more famous in dealing with online trading and many of the interviewees have done the transaction through Apple website. Therefore, it has a higher mark in compare with the two other websites. For the empathy, both websites does not have a good mark since the website does not convey this culture to the website users. In conclusion, Apple Store gets the highest marks between three websites in the evaluation. Therefore we can see Apple website is the best in the group of consumer products websites. E-commerce Operation Evaluation Value Creation model Value Creation is important for a company. According to Mathur and Kenyon, it is about the design of future competitive offerings for the financial success of a company (Mathur and Kenyon, 2001) and the company have to beat the competitor by the value creation (Phillips, 2003). Novelty Apple.com provides a feature that the customers can order the products in multiple configurations. They can customize what they buy on the website. For example, when a customer orders a Macbook Pro, he can choose the processor, memory, graphics card, hard drive he like. This feature is a novelty in the online store market when it was first revealed. It creates value by eliminating inefficiencies in buying process for the customers. Because the customers can chose the product configurations according to their personal needs. So it is easier for them to purchase on the Internet. Customers can buy certified refurbished products on the Apple online store. The certified refurbished products are the products which undergo a rigorous refurbishment process prior to being offered for sale in a price which is cheaper than the normal price. It creates value by creating entirely new markets which is the market of the customers who like buying cheaper product. At the same time, it can help the company to sell the refurbished products. And because it is selling on the official website, it is more reliable for the consumers. The Apple Store let the customers engraving their iPod if they make an order on the website. They can make some personalized words on their iPod by the laser engraving. The text will be engraved near the top, on the back of the iPod. Any different types of iPod can use this service if the customers buy the iPod on the apple website. It creates values by capturing latent consumer need which is personalized design of their iPod. Efficiency The Apple online store provides the consumers with efficiency in different aspects. First of all, the information asymmetries between the Apple online store and the buyer have be reduced since the website provides all information which the buyer need in deciding whether purchasing, including the price of all different product, all possible discount, the price of adding different customize part in the products. Unlike in the normal store, the buyers have enough information in making the decision on buying a product or not. Therefore, we can say the information asymmetries between each group have been reduced. At the same time, the searching and bargaining cost of the buyer has been reduced by using the Apple online store. They do not have to search in different store since the price of the Apple Store is unified in the market. Therefore, their decision making pace will be faster than in the normal store since they have enough information to making the purchasing decision. Complementarities Apple Store provides with vertical complementarities to the customers which are after sales services. On the website, when you login your purchasing account, many individual information about your purchasing can be shown on the webpage. Delivery status, repair status can be checked on the site. Then the buyers can easily organize the usage of their products after the purchase. If they have any problem of using the product, many supporting service are available on the website for the buyers. They can browse the instructions about the using problem on the website. And also read the guideline from the website. For the horizontal complementarities, in some promotion, the buyers can buy the computer with the printer of the partner firms. This cooperation between the company helps to create value that the customers can have the bundle of products and get the value create from the cooperation. Lock-In In the Apple online store, it provides many services that create value for the customers. For the customers who have purchased in the Apple online store, they will receive the email about the latest news about the store, which is about the latest products, latest software download or some news about the company. When the customers can see the email regularly, they will be locked in with the company. And the email have the link for the customers to know more further information about the new, which make some potential purchasing for the company. Also, personalization for the customers appears in the Apple online store. After the first transaction between the customer and Apple store, the customer can turn the one click ordering function in the website with entering the credit card and personal information in the website. The customer is then allowed to purchase anything on the Apple Store with single click on the website (Apple Store, 2010). This personalization service for the customers let them to purchase in the website easier and increase the sales of the Apple Store. Conclusion In conclusion, Apple Store is one of the best electronic business website. In the evaluation, we can see the website quality of Apple Store is on the top in between the competition. At the same time, it provides with values in different aspects. By the way, the web accessibility is not good enough for the use of disability. The company has to put more effort in this aspect. (3243 words) References Article in a Journal Ng, W.W., Yan, G. and Lim, E.P. (2000), Heterogeneous Product Description in Electronic Commerce. ACM SIGecom Exchanges, 1(1) Barnes, S., and Vidgen, R. (2001), An evaluation of cyber-bookshops: the WebQual method. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 6(1), 11-30 Amit, R. and Zott C. (2001), Value creation in E-Business. Strategic Management Journal, 22(6-7), 493-520 Jones, C., Wllikens, M., Morris, P., and Masera, M. (2000), Trust requirements in e-business. Magazine Communications of the ACM, 12(43), 81-87 Mathur, S.S and A. Kenyon (2001), Creating Value: Successful Business Strategies, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Book Thatcher, J. (2006). Understanding Web Accessibility, Web accessibility: web standards and regulatory compliance, FriendsofED, 3 Paciello, Michael G. (2000). Introducing Web Accessibility, Web Accessibility for People with Disabilities, CMP Books, 8 Slatin, J. and Rush, S. (2003). Maximum accessibility, Addison-Wesley, New York. Phillips, P. (2003). E-business strategy: text and cases, London: McGraw-Hill. Website Apple Annual Report (2010), phx.corporate-ir.net/External.File?item=UGFyZW50SUQ9Njc1MzN8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=t=1, Accessed December 2010 Nick Spence (2010), Grand opening of Apples 300th retail store brings Covent Garden to a standstill, www.macworld.co.uk/digitallifestyle/news/index.cfm?olo=rssNewsID=3234571, Accessed December 2010 Technical Update (1997), Apple Online Store Orders Top 12 Million Dollars in First Month, www.uc.edu/ucitnow/winter_98/apple.html, Accessed December 2010 W3C (2005), Introduction to Web Accessibility, www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php, Accessed December 2010 W3C (2005), Essential Components of Web Accessibility, www.w3.org/WAI/intro/components.php, Accessed December 2010 Satmetrix (2010), First Direct, Sony, Saga, O2 and Apple, Among the Most Recommended Brands According to 8,000 UK Consumers, www.satmetrix.com/company/press-and-news/pr-archive/pr20100618/, Accessed December 2010 Apple Store (2010), What is 1-Click?, store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/oneclickfaq.html, Accessed December 2010

2001: A Peace Odyssey? :: European Europe History

2001: A Peace Odyssey? Introduction When I was in Ireland in 1997, I learned one important thing within few days: Do not ask, talk or enter into discussions about the contentious issues of politics and religion, and so I did not. However, it is impossible to touch Irish ground without also touching the fringes of what is popular referred to as the 'Irish Question'. I noticed armed soldiers guarding the polling place at a by-election in county Armagh, a lorry driver vehemently expressed his disgust at the Irish tricolour and an elderly gentleman passionately told the history of Ireland. Naturally he focused on the events that have caused Irish nationalists grieving for centuries, e.g. Cromwell's conquest of Ireland, King William of Orange's defeat of James II, the confiscation of the land of Catholics and their degradation to tenant farmers. He did not mention the Rebellion in 1641 or the Siege of Derry. To outsiders, the logic of this conflict is difficult to understand. Although King William's seizure of the throne was the foundation of democracy and the end to monarchical dominion over the British Isles, the Glorious Revolution is hardly remembered in England. However, "Orangemen see the victory [over James II] as an historic triumph for civil and religious liberty." This is what they celebrate every year in July, and is of course what offends Catholics. Their perception of the parades is one of Protestants showing off their ultimate defeat of Catholicism. Misunderstandings, lack of communication and refusal to understand the others' standpoint seem to be the root of the conflict. A wind of change blew over Northern Ireland in 1998. An overwhelming majority endorsed The Good Friday Agreement leaving hope for the future. But recently the peace process has slowed down. The compromises made in the Agreement were obviously easier to write down than to implement. One side has been accused of not keeping their promises, and the other has, as a result of this, been reluctant to continue the process. The former are Sinn FÃ ©in and the IRA, the latter are Protestants and unionists. Since the Troubles started in the late 1960s, Protestants have been split regarding the peace process. The majority wants peace. However, there is an extremely different perception of the price at which it should be bought. In the following sections, the differences between and the reasons for the Protestant attitudes to the peace process will be examined.

Riordan Manufacturing Business Analysis

Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. Business Analysis Learning Team B BSA 500 University of Phoenix Instructor: Charlotte Bonner October 6, 2008 * Riordan Manufacturing, Inc. Business Analysis * ****INTRO GOES HERE – DANA WILL WRITE IT AS WE NEAR COMPLETION History of Riordan Riordan Manufacturing Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of plastic injection molding components. Some of the components that it manufactures include: plastic bottles, fans of all sizes, heart valves, medical stents, and other custom plastic parts. Riordan is focused on high standards, long term customer relationships, innovation, and growth. The company was originally founded in 1991 by a professor of chemistry, Dr. Riordan, as an outlet for commercial applications for the high tensile strength plastic substrates that Dr. Riordan had developed. Riordan Manufacturing is now a subsidiary of the Fortune 1000 enterprise, Riordan Industries. The company is headquartered in San Jose California, but also has facilities in Georgia, Michigan, and China. Current large projects include the design stage on an innovative bottle in the shape of a pyramid, and the proof of concept stage on a CardiCare heart valve. Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, serving 550 employees, consists of three Wide Area Network (WAN) lines originating from the corporate headquarters in San Jose (125 employees) to the three manufacturing plants in: Michigan (130 employees), Georgia (45 employees), and China (250 employees). Modules Accounting Modules Riordan Manufacturing’s corporate office has integrated ERP software designed purposely for plastics, processors, and process and assembly manufacturers. During acquisition in Georgia and Michigan, the finance and accounting software’s compatibility issue was not addressed. For this reason, Georgia and Michigan have applications which are not compatible with the current financial system. The following is a list of additional modules that should be connected to the accounting system: Inventory Modules The Inventory module will help Riordan Manufacturing with the physical management of their stock (until used up or sold). It will perform a sound cataloging procedure by assigning item numbers that the accounting system can process. Asset Management Modules Asset Management will help Riordan Manufacturing with physical maintenance, tracking of assets, and financial management. Physical maintenance includes the asset location, condition, and the assignment of asset management to specific individuals. Cash Management Modules Cash Management will help Riordan Manufacturing manage and control the cash cycle. It will ensure liquidity and enhance profitability. Benefits of this module include multi-currency capabilities, cash balancing, bank reconciliation, and cash forecasting. Web Applications Modules Web Applications will help Riordan Manufacturing in many ways. Customers and salespeople alike can enter orders through the web. This â€Å"real-time† web configuration will shorten the order cycle, and enhance customer satisfaction. Employees of Riordan will be able to use this medium for expense reporting, supply requisitions, and communication between employees. Multiple Currencies Modules Since Riordan has a joint venture with China, the Multiple Currency module will be of considerable help. Financial transaction with China will be recorded in the sub-ledgers and converted into the â€Å"functional currency† by using current exchange rate information. The transactions will be recorded and maintained in the accounting data. Riordan’s â€Å"functional currency† will be in US dollars. Payroll Modules The Payroll module will apply human resource data to salaries and benefits and determine the amount of pay and how to get the disbursement to the employee. It will take into consideration national tax codes and worldwide regulations. The system can also track and do calculations for data such as sick time, leave of absence, and vacation. Travel/Expense Reporting Modules Because Riordan has multiple offices within the United States and a joint venture with China, travel budgets and expense reporting of trips can be documented into the travel/expense reporting module. Riordan employees and management can use this module to document information such as cost of plane tickets, vehicles, food, and supplies while employees are traveling. General Ledger Modules The accounting process begins with general ledgers. Therefore, this module will help organize Riordan’s financial reports from the first steps. This will make information readily accessible and more easily processed. Accounts payable/receivable Modules Like the general ledger module, this module will help organize Riordan’s accounts payable and receivable, which will better organize their balance sheet. Systems to be connected to the Accounting System Sales and Marketing All of the sales to past customers have been annotated using written methods. Riordan has requested that all past sales records, made up of diverse databases, paper files and microfiche be inputted into a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. The information recorded in these records is largely made up of information that can easily be entered into a CRM database for easy distribution and reproduction between departments. The CRM package will also benefit Riordan by providing the customers access to a front end server (extranet), to be able to create accounts, check account status, pay bills and place orders. Having a single CRM database will provide sales personnel or customer service representatives with the ability to quickly check customer accounting information without having to search through various paper work, microfiche and out of date or inadequate databases. Internally, employees will be able to keep track of various vendors who have a proven track record of discounts, reliable shipping and product innovation. In the past, individual sales employees have managed customer records, and no standard of data recording has been established. Operating in this manner doesn't allow for a cohesive sales team, which is going to be critical for the new team selling approach being implemented by Riordan. A standardization and consolidation of customer records needs to be implemented for the sales team to be more successful in the future. The CRM will consolidate the sales team into one unit rather than individuals servicing specific accounts. Customer relations will be proficient due to the ability of multiple sales personnel being able to acquire and update account information rather than a single person maintaining individual account records. Not to mention when a sales person is not available due to health, personal issues or vacation, another employee will be able to provide information and support. The CRM will then be connected to the Finance & Accounting System. Human Resources Riordan Manufacturing’s Human Resources system should be connected to its accounting system because the Human Resources department handles the employees’ salaries, benefits, employee recognition programs and training programs. These programs do not bring in revenue, however, they are considered costs for the company. Accurate bookkeeping of these activities and incorporation of the figures into the accounting equation is crucial to painting an accurate financial picture of Riordan. Operations The Operations system should also be connected to the accounting system since it outlines inventory, supply and production. Inventory is part of a company’s assets, which is a core part of the accounting equation. In determining its financial state, Riordan needs to have knowledge of its inventory, how much it costs to obtain, how it is used and the cost of operating, or manufacturing products with that inventory. Just like assets are a core part of the accounting process, Operations is a core part of Riordan’s process. Legal Legal systems need to be connected to the accounting system in order to maintain legal watch over the system. One example of how Legal could benefit from a connection to the accounting system is that it would be able to monitor inventory and approve where Riordan products are being sent. This would make sure export laws and restrictions are being met. Legal can also interact with Human Resources, Finance, Sales, and Operations over the accounting system to make sure that all aspects of the legal requirements for corporate accounting are followed. Reports and policies could be put in place by Legal in the system to ensure integrity and ethics. Information Technology IT has many reasons to be connected to the accounting system. Ordering, policy implementation, monitoring, and support are just a few of the aspects of business that would benefit from the Information Technology system being connected to the accounting system. Monitoring, policies, and support are a huge reason for IT to be connected. Accounting is one of the most important aspects to running a business. IT needs to carefully monitor and support validity and integrity within an accounting system as well as ensure proper policies, established in conjunction with legal, are in place. Income Statement Analysis In reviewing the Income Statement for Riordan Manufacturing, there are some concerns on cost expenses that managers will need to adjust. Even though the sales revenue from 2004 to 2005 has increased 10. % from $46 million to $50 million, a combination of direct cost of goods sold and operating expenses has caused the net profit to decrease during the same period. The direct cost of goods sold increased 12. 2% from $37. 5 million to $42 million. A possible cause for this increase may be that Riordan may have abundance of inventory on hand as a result of ordering above the ordering point. Despite the high increase in cost of goods sold, t he gross margin still increased, but by only 2. 6% from $8. 6 million to $8. 8 million. In addition to the 12. % increase in cost of goods sold, the operating expenses also incurred by Riordan Manufacturing increased 8% from $5. 3 million to $5. 7 million. These two big increases in costs incurred compared to the small increase in the gross margin proved to be too much, resulting in a decrease in profit before interest and tax expenses. The profit before taxes and interest expenses decreased 6. 3% from $3. 2 million to $3 million. In addition to the negative figures, there are some positive figures to bring into the mix. Despite the profit before taxes and interest expense decreasing by 6. %, the net profit only decreased by 1. 7% from $2 million to $1. 95 million. The reason for the smaller decrease in the net profit was a 13. 5% decrease in non-operating expenses including tax and interest expenses from $1. 3 million to $1. 1 million. The main focus to increase profits from 2005 t o 2006 would be looking into decreasing the cost of goods sold and some of the operating expenses while continuing the trend in decreasing the non-operating expenses or at least keeping the cost manageable. What the company is doing wrong Riordan’s Inventory accounts for a large share of its current assets (54%). On the surface this may represent a weakness however the company has an inventory turn of 5. 35 (cost of goods sold annually/inventory) which means the company goes though its inventory 5. 35 times per year or every 68 days. Riordan’s products are not perishable and enjoy a very long shelf life so this turnover rate of relatively good. This relatively high turnover rate allows for it to maintain relatively low cash balances as it can raise cash quickly from sale of inventory. This is reflected in the high balance of the accounts receivable. In addition, the company continues to carry a significant long term debt without a noticeable attempt to lessen that debt. Analysis of shareholder equity shows that the value of the company’s shares is greater than the total shareholders’ equity, a sign of deficit. The debt to equity ratio is fairly high at 56%, this a potential sign of weakness as well. While the company has maintained a gross margin of over 8. 5 million for the past two years, its operating expenses have increased during the same period affecting its profit margin. This is a sign that Riordan is not doing well in keeping its costs low to be more profitable. The opportunities would be to focus on increasing sales at the same decreasing general and administrative costs. To achieve this, the company needs to invest in IT systems. Eliminating incompatible systems and consolidating information at it’s headquarter will help in reducing administrative costs. References Riordan Manufacturing. 2004. University of Phoenix. Accessed September 2008 from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Riordan/Internet/IndexPort. htm