Thursday, October 31, 2019
Financial Reporting on Cement Roadstone Holdings Plc Dissertation
Financial Reporting on Cement Roadstone Holdings Plc - Dissertation Example In the year 2012, the operations of CRH Plc faced mixed economic conditions throughout all the countries in the world. For example, as on one hand the main markets in the United States faced improvement in its overall economic activity, while on the other side economic activity deteriorated in Europe, particularly in Netherlands due to a fall in the continued confidence of investors and consumers in Europe. As a result, the profit and earnings per share of the company in 2012 dropped by 5% and 7%, as compared to 2011. The profit and earnings per share of 2012 amounted to â‚ ¬674 million and 76.5c, whereas in 2011 it amounted to â‚ ¬711 million and 82.6c. The outcomes of 2012 resulted due to the progress in the operations of America helped by a strong recovery in residential construction which lead to an improvement in the overall economic activities in the United States. ... y components- Positive exchange effects of 2012 resulted due to the rise in the US dollar by 8% which lead to the rise sales and pre-tax profits by approximately 4%. Contributions by acquisitions made in 2011 and 2012 lead to a rise in sales revenue of â‚ ¬603million and operating profit of â‚ ¬33 million. Cost incurred in 2012 of â‚ ¬60million was similar to that of 2011(â‚ ¬61 million). Total impairment charges in 2012 were â‚ ¬174 million which was significantly higher than the previous year. In 2012, revenue generated from ongoing operations decreased by â‚ ¬384million. As compared to 2011, earnings per share declined by 7% (82.6c in 2011 to 76.5c in 2012) and cash earnings per share increased by 7% (194.0c in 2011 to 206.8c in 2012). In 2012 Operating profit margin declined to 4.5% and EBITDA margin by 0.4% as the selling price could not recover the increase in input costs. The price of the share of CRH Plc was â‚ ¬15.30 in 2012, as it showed a slight change as compared to 2011 (â‚ ¬15.36). But the dividend was 62.5c and the net return to the shareholders was positive 4%. The overall performance of CRH Plc. in 2012 shows a decline as compared to the performance in 2011. The decrease in the inventory turnover ratio and total assets turnover ratio as compared to 2011 also state the above. Total shareholders’ equity also remained unchanged in 2012 as the net comprehensive income for the year of â‚ ¬0.4 billion was balanced by dividends of â‚ ¬0.4 billion. The year-end net debt of â‚ ¬3 billion was only â‚ ¬0.5 billion lower than the previous year. This is reflected in the debt equity ratio, which also resulted in a decrease as to the previous year. The percentage of net debt to total equity reduced to 28%. But since assets were more as compared to the equity, proprietary ratio
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
The Great Catastrophe of Barings Essay Example for Free
The Great Catastrophe of Barings Essay Introduction In 1995, Barings Bank, the first merchant bank in the world met its downfall due to the Singapore International Monetary Exchange or SIMEXs act of a rogue trader. The reason behind the collapse of the Barings Bank lies under the failure of COSO (Committee on Sponsoring Organizations) Internal Control Integrated Framework application in the company in terms of: environment control, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication monitoring. The person who is behind COSO Framework is Nick Leeson. However, the same person violated the said framework without the knowledge of the bank that led to the downfall of the merchant bank.            This paper aims to discuss the causes of the collapse of Barings Bank. Specifically, it also intends examine why the bank failed to apply proper integration of COSO and how Nick Leeson contributed to the downfall of Barings. Control Environment            In every company, control environment is important in order to give knowledge to the employees and increase their environmental awareness. This provides employees with the necessary discipline in order to incorporate other internal control components to all business operations in the company.            When Baring was on its first level of establishing its figure in SIMEX, Simon, who happened to be the supervisor of Nick Leesson, wanted to hire green traders. This means that in order to save money to be given out to employees, the company will only be accepting fresh graduates who do not demand high salaries. This is a great risk in the control environment that Barings took. SIMEX was internationally recognized financial institution which was ruled by highly competitive and knowledgeable traders. Thus, hiring ignorant traders who are not accustomed to the operations of SIMEX was a wrong move for Barings. In addition, the responsibility of hiring traders should go under the company’s human resource and not with Nick Leeson. Once a trader is accepted for the job, the company should rigorously train him or her, provide him or her with the right resources, and teach him orher the necessary skills in trading. Traders should not be brought to the trading floor until they fully master the trading system and procedures. The management philosophy of Barings as a company also appeared to be delinquent since the start of its operations. Simon already warned Leeson that the former was a bottom-line kind of person. Simon was someone who prioritized profitability over quality. For Leeson, loss and mistakes should be avoided at all costs, while maximizing profit. He did not care what steps should be taken in order for the company to earn money. The increase in profit was the only thing in his mind. In this situation, the delinquency philosophy of management was adopted. As per Simon’s instructions, Leeson and the other traders were obliged to always seek the most profitable option. Since they are pressured to do so, if a trader was not able to do his job well, they need to cover it up and find ways to settle the problem immediately in order to maintain the company’s reputation. The lack of human resource policies and procedures can be seen in the case of Kim, one of the traders. She was tasked to sell securities. However, she was not properly trained as a trader. Thus, she got confused about the deal and ended up buying security instead of selling. This mistake which is part of the 1st Barings liquidation can be avoided if only the company was able to check the background of Kim before hiring her. Leeson was not the only person who was pressurized by Simon. The Head of Barings Financial Products Ron Baker was also tasked by Simon to do things in order for them to receive bonuses. Going back to the case of Leeson, aside from work pressure, he was also going through some personal problems. His father-in-law had just died and he had lost an unborn child due to miscarriage. Because of the said incidents, his wife, Lisa, asked Leeson to resign from his job in Barings. She thought that her husband has been overworking for the company while he was not well-compensated. When he informed his supervisors that he was resigning, they suddenly gave him a special treatment. The company pampered him and gave him a special pass to trade for SIMEX when he was in London. He was also given the privilege to name his price when it came to bonuses and rewards. Although the employee retention strategy that the company used appears attractive, it had negative effects on Leeson. Providing this kind of privilege negatively affected his personality and his work performance. It caused him to become overconfident which led to insubordination as he tried to overpower his superiors. If only Simon or Ron had quickly discovered this transition in Leesons performance, they could have stopped him immediately from becoming a thief or an inefficient worker. Risk Assessment            Risk assessment is the companys ability to control the costs of materials occurring in the company. It also identifies the organization’s risks, and analyzes the potential and likelihood of costs. This is also important in order to assess that benefits should always be higher over costs.            In the case of Barings, the companys board management was not able to evaluate properly the risks of hiring new personnel in this new line of business. At that time, Barings was on the peak of expanding businesses all over the world. Because of his amazing performance in Jakarta where he was able to solve bonds problem, most of the responsibilities were assigned to Leeson. He was given a lot of power being the manager of the trading floor and the settlement office. He gained authority in giving permission to all transactions and activities involving the trading market. Giving him much authority was a grave mistake as it placed the company at risk. He easily manipulated the accounting system which was supposed to be for trading purposes only. There was a time when Leeson authorized trading floor transactions without the banks approval. Although there were auditors who examined incoming and outgoing transactions, they were easily bribed and manipulated by Leeson. He was also accountable for hiring traders who were not skilled and trained. Control Activities            Control activities focus on safeguarding the assets of the company. This involves segregating the duties of employees, authorizing transactions, documentation and checking incoming and outgoing deals.            There were control deficiencies in the newly put up Barings in Singapore. However, it was raised accordingly on the management’s table. Leesons case was about the missing 7.78 billion yen which was demanded by the external auditor for him to explain where such huge amount went to. The auditor required Leeson to present 3 valid documents which can prove that the money was not missing and was used properly. Due to the lack of internal control within the company, Leeson was able to produce the documents immediately. Although the management was already notified, there was no investigation conducted to see more supporting evidence where such materials came from. There were no independent checks made by the higher management to ensure that the internal controls were implemented.            Responsibilities were also not properly segregated in Barings. Leeson was the man responsible for both the trading floor and the settlement office, both risk-taking and reconciliation activities. In addition, there were no internal controls that can prevent Leeson from conducting certain control procedures. Since he had the custody of the transactions on the trading floor, he was also the one who authorized the transactions between Barings’ clients and SIMEX. At the same time, he also had the power to determine which authorized entries would be recorded into the journal and what reconciliation was supposed to be made at the end of the month. If there was a higher management responsible for controlling activities in the company, the company could easily detect the activities of Leeson which the company would never authorize Leeson to do. The control activities that were established in Barings were not structured and conducted properly. There were plenty of loopholes that could be taken advantage of. Information and Communication            Financial reports are vital materials in every company. In proccessing financial reports, having an established information and communication procedure is very important. This procedure enables the employees to understand their responsibilities in making company financial reports. This also involves the accounting system which records, processes, and summarizes the transactions concerning the companys assets and liabilities.            Lack of information and communication can be seen in the case of Barings. The company was only looking forward to the end of the month period where they gain profits. It did not seek to understand how and why the company achieved such profits; it only sought profitability and less accountability. Barings financial reports lacked accuracy. Thus, Leeson was able to do fraudulent activities while exploiting the companys resources. Even though Simon was curious about the missing 7.78 billion yen, he just demander for a brief report and did not ask for a more extensive investigation concerning the money.            Barings accounting system was also horrible as it was not properly controlled. Because of this, Leeson was able to manipulate every amount of transactions that were entered in the system. The financial statements that were given to the higher management were altered by Leeson first before they were presented to the board of entity. Meanwhile, Simon may be the main reason why Leeson turned out to be like that. He should be the one responsible in monitoring and supervising Leeson. However, he preferred to be preoccupied with the resultsâ€â€whether the company made a huge profit or not. Monitoring            Company activities should undergo monitoring process in order to fully asses the quality and performance over time. This can be evaluated by internal auditors through financial reports, Continual management review of exception and operation reports, an auditing per period basis and a Regulator’s suggestions for improvement.            Politics is considerably present in Barings organizational structure. Improper support from the board members or a senior executive is given to the internal audit department. The missing 7.78 billion yen was not sensationalized and the news subsided easily without further investigation. Leeson easily made ways to make that 7.78 billion yen case vanished into thin air. The quality of Leesons work was not properly monitored. The senior executives were easily confined on Leesons explanation rather than going through the reports that were submitted.            On the other hand, the audit personnel that were sent to audit Nick’s work did not possess the appropriate level of expertise. Nick was at first given a very strict and competent auditor but due to lack of support from the board of members, she was later called back to London due to some political issues and two rookies were sent to audit Nick.            Too much trust on Leeson that lead to the downfall of Baring lies on his managers accountability and the internal audit as well. Simon was not able to focus attention on Leesons performance like for instance when one of Leeson’s traders was making a mistake; and both Ron and Tony, the Senior Settlement Clerk from London, was not able to monitor Nick’s works properly. Tony was only ferreting around Nick’s office for about a month and found nothing. There was a total mess in Barings’ management reviews; there was literally no monitoring on Nick’s doings. Conclusion            There are warnings given to the management but they refuse to accept the fact behind it. Profitability blinded them so much believing that it measure success. Since Barings is a big corporation, segregation of responsibilities should be given properly and at the same time employee should understand true responsibility and discipline. Proper training should be given to newly hired individuals so that they will not be lost in their filed of work. There are problems that can be easily solved because of signs along the way but the management chose to ignore it and carry on with operations.            Too much slacking in the internal control was present in Barings. Leeson was able to perform nasty activities and he has vast opportunities that made him loss his integrity. He relied too much on Simons demand of gaining profit every end of the month. His mind is focused on this goal that he made dishonest ways of achieving it. He made things beyond his control even manipulating transactions and financial reports. Too much greed led to Barings bankruptcy and his imprisonment. With the additional pressure and problems that he was facing from both his marital and company side, as a regular human being, it was just a matter of time before he would crack open.            Taking immediate actions could cut Barings losses. Barings should be able to overcome this financial shock, only if the board of entity and higher management had responded spontaneously to the problems that they were facing. Everyone was surprised to know that Leeson who was a well trusted employee counter attack them by his power. Devising a solution immediately can be done to counter the companys loss. Securities should be prioritized to avoid another kind of scenario like Barings downfall. The case of Barings teaches the importance of internal controls in every company’s success. Right management and good supervision is needed in every company. Dedicated and honest employees are needed to lead the company and do managerial decisions that results in a win-win situation. Better internal controls are needed to fully analyze company transactions. A lesson well learned from Barings that will avoid future company losses in the future.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
The Death Penalty Deterrence And Morality Philosophy Essay
The Death Penalty Deterrence And Morality Philosophy Essay There have been numerous studies illustrating that the death penalty does in fact deter murder. However, due to recent reanalysis and other new studies which prove that there are many statistical flaws in those studies. This paper will address the misconceptions of deterrence to murder rates by way of right to life and will discuss how morality is just cause to abolish the death penalty. It is statistically proven that states within the United States of America who have abolished the death penalty, have lower murder rates than states that enforce the death penalty. This paper will draw a comparative study between the United States and Canada. Since Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976, it has seen drastic declines in murder. This paper will also outline on how the United Nations have been integrated into the issue of the death penalty. What strategies and steps they have taken to abolish it worldwide. The analysis from this paper will illustrate that the data from the past in r egards to claims of deterrence are a statistical artifact of the anomalous nature. After reading this paper, one should have a great deal of knowledge has to why the death penalty does not deter murder and how morality should be an antiquate reason to abolish the death penalty. Introduction The death penalty is a form of punishment against the most heinous of crimes used in 84 countries. Does the fact that men have judged someone to be guilty of a crime give them the right to take the life of that individual? Are human beings born with a right to life, or do their determine actions whether or not they should live another day? There is the issue of government having the power to say who is allowed to live and who are subject to death according to the laws of the country. These are all questions that are heatedly debated when the subject of the death penalty and human rights comes up. The death penalty is generally only imposed on those individuals that have taken the lives of other human beings in a premeditated manner. There is the argument that the death penalty is acceptable in these circumstances because the victim that the perpetrator killed did not get to choose whether or not they would like to live. The criminal that is being put to death is guilty of taking the right to live away from the people they murdered so the government of their country feels for justice purpose; it is alright for them to take the life of the criminal. Is this not just a vicious cycle of violence being perpetually perpetrated. There is complexity when taking of one life justified as a means of payment for the taking of another life? The death penalty does not bring the victim of the first crime back to life. Would restitution to the families that the criminal inflicted pain and suffering on be a better punishment and a more humane punishment? When a human being is born into the world, they have nothing but the right to draw another breath. They are merely a living thing that breaths air in and exhale the air. If someone inhibits your ability to breathe the air into your lungs then they are taking away the one and only right that you have. Do not confuse the right to breathe with a guarantee of life because life is not guaranteed. Life is subject to end due to your a ctions, the actions of others, or naturally occurring causes. If the country you are born in decides that they have the right to extinguish the life of anyone that commits a certain crime then you no longer have the right to breath, you have the right to live according to the laws of the country and the government has the right to decide who breathes and who stops breathing. The succeeding research will illustrate clarity as to why the death penalty does not deter murder rates. The findings will discuss the reasoning as to why some speculate that the death penalty deters crime and will attempt to show that morality is just cause for the abolishment of the death penalty. The findings will prove that past statistics were flawed in their models. The United States of America and Canada will be the comparative cases in this study. Literature Review The trend towards enforcing the death penalty is at a downward slope. However, 84 countries still enforce the death penalty (Dieter, 1999, p.1). Protocols that have been put into action are that by the Council of Europe. They made effective Protocol 6 which calls for the abolishment of the death penalty (Dieter, 1999, p. 6). The European Union has abolished the death penalty and made it a precondition for the entry into the Union. In turn, this lead to numerous eastern European countries forced to abolish the death penalty if they want membership of the European Union. This includes such countries as Poland, Yugoslavia, and Serbia and Montenegro. Even the nation of Turkey is moving closer to abolishing the death penalty in order to gain entrance into the European Union (Dieter, 1999, p. 5). Because of such rigorous protocols established by the European Union, they have threatened the observer status of countries that enforce the death penalty. They stated that unless there is a full abolishment of the death penalty throughout the whole country, a country with observer status may be rejected that status (Dieter, 1999, p. 5). Even though the death penalty has been practiced for almost every century, as of present time there has been dramatic turnaround. For nations that have abolished that death penalty, it is of varied reason. For example, Spain abolished the death penalty in 1995, stating that, The death penalty has no place in the general penal system of advanced, civilized societies (Hood Hoyle, 2008, p. 63). In similarity to Spain, Switzerland abolished the death penalty because they believed that it is a flagrant violation of the right to life and dignity (Hood Hoyle, 2008, p. 11). For other nations that have abolished the death penalty, it might have been of monetary inclination because of cost efficiency. Contextualizing the Case Per the research that has been illustrated in democratic societies postulates the following question: How has the deathly penalty affected murder rates in the United States of America and Canada? The reasoning behind the following research is too proof that the death penalty does not deter murder rates. There have studies that show that there is in fact correlation between the death penalty and murder rates. However, they have been clearly skewed and flawed in their methods to proof that the death penalty deters murder rates. There is great importance in providing findings that distinctly show a clear illustration on how the enforcement of the death penalty has no influence on murder rates. Within this research, the findings will incorporate solely individuals who have been charged with murder. The variables that are present in this research are the death penalty and murder rates in respect to the human right the right to life. Within this research it has brought forth the following two hypotheses: 1) The death penalty does not deter murder rates 2) Morality is just cause to abolish the death penalty. The following findings will prove both nulls wrong which illustrate the following: 1) the death penalty does deter murder rates; 2) morality is just cause for the abolishment of the death penalty. Findings Death Penalty does not deter crime United States. The big case against how the death penalty does not deter crime has numerous supporting documentation and data. It is stated that the death penalty is a waste of the U.S. taxpayer money and provides no public safety incentives (Bedeau, 2011). Here is an interesting quote by former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, I have inquired for most of my adult life about studies that might show that the death penalty is a deterrent. And I have not seen any research that would substantiate that point (Jones, 2010, p. 123). For example, the state of Wisconsin has had the death penalty abolished for 150 years and has half of the murder rates that states like Texas or Florida have in which those states enforce the death penalty (Jones, 2010 p. 25). A great example, are the studies of Oklahoma and California which resulted failing to find that the utilization of the death penalty is a true deterrent of violent crime (Bailey, 1999). Adding to this, a study by William Bailey and Ernie Thompson has shown that there was an essentially significant increase in murders after the death penalty was reinstated (Bailey, 1998). A New York Times survey done by Raymond Bonner and Ford Fessenden validated that homicide rate in states with the death penalty have been 48% to 101% higher than those without the death penalty (Bonner Fessenden, 2000). A food for thought that is substantial is those who commit these violent crimes in actuality do not consider the consequences. In most cases where there is murder committed, emotions are high. However, when emotions run high, that is when rationale starts dissipate. A police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department states that I am not convinced that the death penalty, in of itself, is a deterrent to crime because most people do not think about the death penalty before they commit a violent or capital crime (Jones, 2010, p.125). A police chief in a massive metropolitan city claiming this makes for a compelling argument in regards to how the death penalty does not deter crime. The police chief in fact does deal with heinous crimes on a daily basis, which means there is empirical proof that the death penalty does not influence murder. Law enforcement professionals claim that the death penalty is of the lowest tier in regards to rank of violent crimes. The FBI also mentioned that states with the death penalty enforced, in reality have the highest murder rates (Bedeau, 2011). A statistic illustrates that 2 out of every 3 law enforcement officers do not believe that the death penalty decreases the rate of homicides (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). There is empirical evidence and data proving that the death penalty states in the U.S. in fact have higher crimes than states that are non-death penalty. The following table illustrates the differences between U.S. states that are a death penalty state and states that are not: Table 1. U.S. States Murder Rate, 2010 State Death Penalty State Murder Rate California Yes 1,809 Massachusetts No 210 Texas Yes 1,249 Minnesota No 96 Florida Yes 987 Wisconsin No 155 *Reference- www.deathpenaltyinfo.org The Journal of the American Statistical Association issued a journal article by Jeffrey Grogger titled The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: An Analysis of Daily Homicide Counts (1990). Grogger analyzes daily murder rate data to help determine if the death penalty has a deterrent effect on murders (Hunt, 2004, p. 4). The figures that are examined which were acquired from the California Department of Health and Statistics contain no accidental deaths from 1960-1963. After Grogger achieved his regression analysis, he fails to prove that there is a short-term deterrent effect when the death penalty exists. Canada. Since the abolishment of the death penalty in Canada in 1976 there was a drastic decline in crimes by a staggering number of 27% (Amnesty International, 2012). Since the abolishment of the deathly penalty in Canada, there has generally been a trend of declination in murder rates. 2.8 per 100,000 are where the murder rates were at the year of abolishment. In 1995, Canada reached a 30 year low in 1995 of 1.8 per 100,000 (Warren, 2012). Some of Canadas populations have vouched their opinions in favor of reinstating the death penalty, however the Canadian government is firmly holding their stance in regards to abolishment. It is fact that all of the Canadian political parties oppose the reintroduction of the death penalty. In 1987, there was a motion to reinstate the death penalty in Canada in the House of Commons, however the motion was defeated (148-127) (Warren, 2012). Even though there was an attempt to reinstate the death penalty, the government was in realization that it is not in the nature of a government or even down to the micro-level (an individual) to make such dramatic decisions (Chandler, 1976, p. 194). There is still an abundant about of citizens in Canada who want the death penalty to be reinstated, however their argument is flawed. Their flaw is that they seek justice on immoral grounds. It is proven statically that Canadian heinous crimes are of the lowest throughout the world and especially compared to the United States. As of today, the Canadian government is strictly opposed to the return of the death penalty and has rejected all calls for a national referendum. Additionally, there has been a slight rise in Canada in regards to crime rate. However, there is no direct correlation between the death penalty and crime. If there is no direct link how can an entity such as a government determine if an individual is to lose their life. The following table below illustrates the murder rate in three territories of Canada. Table 2. Canada Murder Rates, 2010 Territories Death Penalty Murder Rate Nova Scotia No 21 Quebec No 84 Ontario No 189 *Reference- www.statcan.gc.ca Country comparisons: United States v. Canada The difference between the numbers of crimes committed between the United States and Canada is 21% (nationamaster.com, 2012). The United States in reality has the number one spot in regards to crime rate. Policy analysts Hashem Dezhbakhsh and Joanna Shepherd deliver a testimony claiming that executions in fact do have an influence on crime. He claims that a panel of recent studies shows that the death penalty saves lives. The study shows that there is a strong link between executions and reduced murder rates. As he states, there was a sophisticated panel done by Emory University which involved over 3,000 counties from 1977 to 1996 showing that because of execution there was an average of 18 fewer murders (Dezhbakhsh Shepherd, 2003). This is however flawed, because there are countless variables that could have influenced these executions and every case in regards to crime is varied. A direct opposition to Dezhbakhsh Shepherd is provided by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). To make note, there is domestic opposition to the death penalty within the U.S. They state that there is no laudable evidence linking the death penalty and murder. It is proven that states that have the death penalty do in fact have higher murder rates than states that dont (aclu.org, 2012). The ACLU strongly explains that the panels that have been conducted to linking the death penalty and crime are extremely discredited due to thorough social science research (ACLU). They elucidate like mentioned earlier in the paper in regards to emotion, people commit crimes in the heat of passion. This includes adultery, deception, under the influence of drugs, or they are mentally ill (aclu.org, 2012). They give little or no thought to the possible consequences that face them. Like mentioned before, since the abolishment in Canada decline of murder rates has consistently been on the decline. Even the number of police officers killed in Canada has not been higher than in 1962 (Howard, 2001). Th e table below illustrates the regime, polity score, and the use of the death penalty between the United States of America and Canada. Table 3. State Regime Polity Score Death Penalty United States Democratic 10 Yes (35/50) Canada Democratic 10 No *Reference- www.deathpenaltyinfo.com *Reference- www.systemicpeace.org John J. Donohue and Justin Wolfers provide additional opposition against the death penalty. In 1975, an American economic review paper written by Isaac Ehrlich analyzed the years of 1933-1969 in regards executions in the U.S. and how each execution yielded 8 fewer homicides (Donohue Wolfers, 2006, p. 2). A re-analysis of Ehrlichs work was conducted by Peter Passell and John Taylor showed that Ehrlichs work was skewed. To elaborate, Ehrlichs estimations were highly driven by a strong jump in murders from 1963-69. However, in the mid-1960s there was a decline in murders across all the states, even including the states that have never had the death penalty enforced (Donohue Wolfers, 2006, p. 3). The model that Ehrlich demonstrated showed no correlation between executions and murder, because if those seven years were taken off, the majority of the years from 1930-1969 show low murder rates. This same model can be compared to Canada. There was no correlation between the death penalty an d murder rates, the realization of this issue manifested inside the Canadian government and the result was abolishment. It is said that even the National Academy panel completely criticized Ehrlichs model. Another study that is criticized by Donohue and Wolfers was performed by several professionals by the names of Dezhbakhsh, Rubin, and Shepherd (DRS) (Donohue Wolfers, 2006, p. 3). DRS claim that each execution performed leads to 18 lives saved. This is clearly contested and is proven flawed and is deemed not credible by the Stanford Law Review. An instantaneous issue with this study is that the regression model that was run by DRS essentially went against their own views. In actuality, each execution is associated with 18 more executions (Donohue Wolfers, 2006, p. 3). This study is related to Ehrlichs study, because the DRS misuse an erudite econometric technique which is instrumental variables estimation. The problem with misuses leads to skewed results. The DRS used a quasi-ex periment by categorizing a group of variables that may cause changes in execution rate (Donohue Wolfers, 2006, p. 3). However, their study is flawed because their techniques are not applicable to the death penalty. The instruments utilized by the DRS are not valid to their study, because it is composed of too many experiments which dont reflect changes in crime markets or social trends making it extremely flawed. This can be applied to Canadas case as well, this is because the theory by DRS was debunked by Donohue and Wolfers and proves otherwise. Robert B Ekelund a professor of Economics at Auburn University explains how the death penalty is a deterrent of murders. Professor Ekelund elaborates on his study stating Empirically, we find that execution and the death penalty have no significant effect on multiple murdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦our study also shows thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦single murders are deterred by execution variablesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the form of execution-electrocution being considered marginally more painful than lethal injections-is an added deterrent to single murdersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Ekelund, 2006). This study however is flawed, because of statistical problems in data collection. Please refer to the table below for realistic statistics without theoretical connectivity to show that the numbers speak for themselves. Table 4. Comparisons of Murder Rates between U.S. and Canada State Death Row 2009 2010 Executions 2009 2010 Murder Rate 2009 2010 United States 3,173 3,158 52 46 5.0% 4.8% Canada 0 0 0 0 1.81% 1.62% *Percentages are calculated per 100,000 people *Reference- www.statcan.gc.ca www.deathpenaltyinfo.org Morality is just cause to abolish the death penalty. Morality undoubtedly comes into consideration when discussing the death penalty. Is there just cause for taking away someones life? Should a single judge or jury be the ultimate deciding factor in determining if a person keeps their life? The UN General Assembly claims that the utilization of the death penalty is clearly a violation of a basic human right, which is the right to life. It is proven through decades of the uses of the death penalty in the U.S. is extremely v flawed by design (ccrjustice.org, 2012). One should not only consider that the death penalty alone is a human rights violation. What should also be considered is the torture leading up to the execution. This includes decades in solitary confinement with minimal human interaction. An interesting factoid is that the U.S. ratified a treaty in 1994 by the name of Convention Against Torture (CAT). It is defined as the following, any act by which severe pain or su ¬Ã¢â €š ¬ering, whether physical or mental, is in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡icted on a person for such purposes as [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] punishing him for an act he [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] has committed or is suspected of having committed (ccrjustice.org, 2012). However, clearly the U.S. is in practice of human isolations and tortures until the actual death of that inmate. Facts show that there are approximately 3,250 prisoners in the U.S. on death row, the majority of those prisoners serve in solitary and crippling conditions until their executions (ccrjustice.org, 2012). Twenty-five of the thirty-four states that enforce the death penalty hold their death row inmates in for 23 hours of the day in solitary confinement. There is opposition on both sides of the spectrum in regards to the morality of the death penalty. An esteemed individual who is pro the death penalty is a well known Judge Antonin Scalia. Antonin Scalia explains that as a judge it is his duty to abide by the laws. He states While my views on the morality of the death penalty have nothing to do with how I vote as a judge, they have a lot to do with whether I can or should be a judge at all (Scalia, 2002). Based off this, we can assume that as a Judge, one has to by law convict a person if they fall into the category of being put on death row. From his perspective, it is not his job to determine whether it is immoral. Another esteemed Judge in America is Alex Kozinski. His belief is that the death penalty is of moral essence. His argument is backed up by Immanuel Kant, which explains that society is not willing to demand a life of somebody who has taken somebody elses life is simply immoral (Kozinski, 2002). Kozinski states that if th e system works and when the judicial system does an efficient job on identifying an individual of such heinous crimes, do we has a society have the right to take life? Simply Kozinski says yes (Kozinski, 2002). The last advocate of the death penalty in regards to morality that will be discussed is by constitutional lawyer and general counsel to the Center for Law and Accountability is Bruce Fein. His take on the issue is plainly that the perpetuator is in control of his own actions and destiny. To quote Fein, The death penalty honors human dignity by treating the defendant as a free moral actor able to control his own destiny for good or for ill; it does not treat him as an animal with no moral sense, thus subject even to butchery to satiate human gluttony (Fein, 2008). Moreover, the death penalty celebrates the dignity of the humans whose lives were ended by the defendants predation (Fein, 2008). From this quote, it seems that Fein is relishing in the fact that an eye for eye persp ective, to get even in other words. And it is the responsibility of a human, because of dignity to enforce the death penalty in order to have a prosperous system of society. Canada on the other hand does not see a kill for a kill as of justice means. They do feel that person who committed murder should be taken out of society and confined. However, there is no justice for killing on behalf of killing according to the Canadian government laws in regards to the death penalty. Now, we go into the defense of morality and how it is just cause for the abolishment of the death penalty. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution has much to do with the issue of the death penalty. In the case of Furman v. Georgia, former Justice of the Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall verbalizes some of his perspectives in regards to this issue. He begins with explaining that the death penalty is a violation of the Eight Amendment because it is morally unacceptable to the people of the United State at this time in their history (Fitzpatrick, 1995). Most court systems have stated that the death penalty is just, however if there is a shockwave amongst the conscience of the people and a sense of justice elucidating from the people there can be a transformation. Marshall explains that if all knowledge and facts were presented about the processes before death row in his humble opinion, the majority of society would not stand for the death penalty (Fitzpatrick, 1995). In th is given time, society is interconnected in more ways than one can imagine compared to the past. Through globalization means, the world has become interconnected through means of information and knowledge. Based off of what Marshall said, it can be fairly claimed that in todays societal beliefs, most would not favor the death penalty. An academia professor of sociology named Sandra J. Jones also elaborates on how morality is a just cause of the abolishment of the death penalty. Jones has interviewed countless activists against the death penalty and the majority of them stated are not absolutely immoral to kill on behalf of killing. She explains in juncture with an activists perspective that not only is it dehumanizing, but everything else that wraps around it is immoral. It is an immoral action to have a human being strapped down for the purpose of killing them, because it is for justice (Jones, 2010, p. 197). Jones also explains how the prison warden or the prison guards should not be placed into such conflict of interests. It is simply inhuman actions (Jones, 2010, p. 197). In regards to Canada, even though they refuse to sign the Protocols established by the United Nations, they have abolished the death penalty. The ACLU also makes strong claim on how the death penalty is immoral in principal and prejudicial. The ACLUs outlook on the government just cause is a negative one by nature and is deceiving. They state that no one deserves to die and when the government enacts their so called vengeance in the sake of justice, it is disguise (aclu.org, 2012). According to the ACLU in a civilized society, the people should reject the principle of killing as such the criminals did. In other words, society is only reenacting of what the criminal committed (aclu.org, 2012). Instead of one person losing their life due to the criminals actions, society would lose two individuals. Lastly former Governor of Illinois George Ryan lashes out on the judicial system. He exposes the judicial system by saying that reformation of the death penalty is not of interest to them. Ryan states that there has been a lack of justice for countless death row inmates with possibly meritorious claims-because the Illinois death penalty system is arbitrary and capricious-therefore immoral- I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death (Ryan, 2003). From this quote alone, it can be assumed that this is the case for the majority of the states who still support the death penalty are of bureaucracy perspectives. When sentencing an individual to death, it is a given that the sentencing maybe a wrong conviction. With Canadas complete abolishment of the death penalty, if the court system wrongfully convicts an individual, there can be justification. However, in the United States if someone is wrongfully is convicted and placed on death row and executed. The court system is flawed in the sense that the enforcement of the death penalty has a strong immorality factor to it. The case of David Milgaard is a great example of case in Canada where the individual was wrongfully convicted. David Milgaard was sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder of Gail Miller in 1969. Milgaard spent 22 years in prison. Then in 1992 the Supreme Court revamped Milgaards case and he ended up being cleared by DNA evidence in 1997 (CBC, 2012). The government ended up awarding Milgaard $10 million for the wrongful conviction. An example from the United States was the case involving Larry Griffin. Quintin Moss was kille d on June 26, 1980 due to a drive by killing in association with drugs. Robert Fitzgerald who was at the scene of the crime, testified that he saw three black men in a car firing shots at Quintin Moss (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). Fitzgerald testified that Griffin was the one who fired and killed Moss. Fitzgerald made it clear that Griffin fired the shot with his right hand. However, it was found out that Griffin was in fact left-handed (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). This was the first murder trial of Griffins attorney and he failed to address certain crucial factors. Griffin had explained that he was giving a ride to a man and his daughter, Griffins car ended up overheating (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). In the process of fixing his car, is when the drive by shooting occurred. Ten years after the conviction of Griffin, it was later revealed that the credibility of Fitzgerald was not substantial. However Griffin was executed through leth al injections means. The case was later reopened, by a professor at the University of Michigan Law, and the investigation concluded that Griffin was indeed innocent (innocent and executed) (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). This is the major difference between the United States and Canada, if there was complete abolishment of the death penalty, wrongfully convicted individuals have a chance to seek justice and clear their name. However, if there is someone executed and later proven innocent, that cannot be taken back. The Death Penalty Information Center presents six indicators as to how individuals get wrongfully accused which benefits citizens of Canada as opposed to the US. First one is eye witness error, which is deriving from confusion or faulty memory (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). There can be multiple variables as to why an individual might be confused when witnessing such a heinous crime. They do not know the specifics of the story or even recognizing the actual individual who committed the murder. A study in 2001 was done by Northwestern Law School analyzing 86 Death Row Cases in the United States. Forty-five of the cases were of eye witness error (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). The second indicator is government misconduct, which are both the conduct from police officials and the prosecution officials (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). Seventeen cases involved government misconduct. The third indicator is junk science. Science is ever evolving; th eories and practices are consistently renovating (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). Due to mishandled evidence at times or the use of unqualified experts have a strong influence on the conviction. Nine of the 86 cases were of junk science. The forth indictor is snitch testimony, which is habitually given in exchange for a reduction in sentence (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). The court systems both in the United States of America and Canada have similar processes. Taking that into consideration, lawyers at times want to just collect their money and move onto the next case. In turn, they jeopardize their clients for monetary gains or simply no interest in the case anymore. Snitch testimony involved 10 out of the 86 cases. False confessions is the fifth indicator, this usually results from mental illness or retardation and torture from police officials (The Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). Due to mishandling cases by prosecution officials, an individual who
Friday, October 25, 2019
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow :: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Look then, into thine heart, and write! â€Å"Master Henry Longfellow is one of the best boys we have in school. He spells and reads very well. He can also add and multiply numbers. His conduct last quarter was very correct and amiable.†This quote is from a letter sent home from Longfellow’s school when he was just six years old. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born February 27, 1807, in Portland, Maine. He was the son of Stephen Longfellow and Zilpah Wadsworth Longfellow. Early on, his parents could see that he had an interest in literature. His mother read to him frequently. Don Quixote was one of his favorites but it was Washington Irving’s Sketch Book that influenced him the most. Sent to school at just three years old, Longfellow graduated from Bowdoin College at 19. Upon graduation he was offered a job as professor of modern languages, a program that the college was just putting together. He accepted the position with the stipulation that he would be given a period of time to travel and study in Europe. It was on this journey that he was able to retain many ideas for his future writings. Longfellow walked through the countries so that he could stop at inns and cottages and talk to people. He met peasants, farmers and traders. He traveled to Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and England. Returning to America in 1829, he started his career as a college professor. He had to write his own texts because there were none at that time. In 1831, Longfellow married his first wife, Mary Storer Potter. In 1834, he was offered a professorship at Harvard. Once again, he set out for Europe to prepare himself to teach. His wife accompanied him on this trip and died in Rotterdam. Arriving at Cambridge alone, he took a room at historic Craige House. Eventually, the house was purchased by Nathan Appleton. Seven years after Longfellow came to Cambridge he married Mr.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Africa’s Political and Economic Problems and How to Eliminate Them
The picture of Africa has long been depicted as one with Africans who are malnourished and dying from disease and starvation. This is in irony for Africa being the second largest and second most populous continent in the world very rich in minerals, gold, diamonds and other natural resources. Much of these unsightly images of Africa can be attributed to the political and economic factors that attributed much to its poverty and political unrest.As such, Africa’s political and economic problems are herein enumerated and discussed so as to be able to evaluate and eliminate the aforementioned factors that contribute to Africa’s plight as a continent in poverty and distress. This, with the objective of determining the best possible solutions so as to give sustainability, if not prosperity to Africa that has long been needed and sought for by its people.Africa’s Political ProblemsAfrica has been suffering from the turmoil of instability, corruption, violence and author itarianism since colonial period. Although there are a number of African nations today that are under republic governance with forms of presidential rule, only a few have been able to take advantage and sustain democratic governments.This can be attested by several leaderships that failed to give the people their power of sovereignty and freedom in what can be called misguided democracies. An example of such leadership abuse happened during the 35-year-rule of Mobutu Sese Seko as head of a â€Å"democratic†government in Zaire (renamed Congo in 1997) when he and his ministers sold and pocketed the lucrative mining rights to Zaire’s substantial cobalt, nickel, and diamond mines (Payne & Lee).Africa’s Political and Economic ProblemsAfrica has also been suffering from civil wars, violence and crimes as violence is being used as a mechanism for resolving disputes and for bringing about change. Both colonial and apartheid regimes used violence and repression to maintain power and some degree of social order, and on the other hand, opposition movements resorted to violent tactics as a means to attain political change (Rauch).Moreover, violence and crimes have been resorted to during transition periods of repressive, authoritarian governments to more democratic forms of government. For example, following the dramatic reform announcement of State President F.W. De Klerk , the transition in South Africa was marked by extreme social conflict and violence which can be attested by statistics of more than eight South Africans dying daily as a result of political violence (Rauch).Conflicts and political violence are also triggered or aggravated by poverty in Africa, along with racial and ethnic division, and a culture of political intolerance. Many African states have also cycled through series of brutal coups and military dictatorships. The number of coups and politically motivated crimes are appalling. The period from the early 1960s to th e late 1980s for example, saw more than 70 coups and 13 presidential assassinations in Africa.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Pride in Ancient Greek
Pride in Ancient Greek This paper discusses the character and behavior of two Heroes in the Iliad with the aim of explaining the Geeks concept of pride. Considering the lives of Achilles and Patroclus, as presented in the Iliad, it is clear that for ancient Greek heroes, honor meant everything. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Pride in Ancient Greek specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In actual sense, a Greek warrior or man would rather choose to die than be ashamed or embarrassed by someone else. Honor meant so much to them that they did everything to attain it. Honor was the lifetime goal of every ancient Greek man and people sought it at all costs. Unfortunately, their concept of honor could be interpreted as foolhardy pride in our days. As will be shown through focus on Achilles and Patroclus, had they not been driven by their pride, they would not have met with their downfall; the way they did. Achilles was a great Greek warrior who had helped the Greek with his might and skills. Like all Greek men, he wanted to do his people proud and the people were proud of him. However, his desire for honor leads to his downfall when he confronts the king over a woman. He had been given the woman as a prize for his valor in war against the Trojans. When the king takes away the woman (prize he had given to Achilles), Achilles out of pride challenges the king and refuses to go to war. His decision not to go to war against the Trojans is what prompted Patroclus to pick up his armor to face Hector. Moreover, apart from refusing to fight for the Greek, Achilles out of pride chooses to argue or disobey the gods. Priam, his mother intervenes, and again out of pride, Achilles chooses glory over a long life. In the life of Achilles, one can see pride or honor being prioritized over every other important thing. For instance, it is out of pride that Achilles refuses to go to battle prompting his friend Patroclus to stand in to lead the Greek armies against the Trojans. Patroclus, just like Achilles, was a great warrior. He was one of the great warriors from the Greek side and would have been instrumental in defeating Hectors on behalf of the Achaeans. Advertising Looking for essay on literature languages? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, desire for honor and pride got the better of him. Hectors was more skilled and the only person who could match him from the Greek side was Achilles. Patroclus had been warned against engaging or fighting Hector because he was not his match. However, as it would have been expected of any Greek hero, Patroclus goes against every warning that he should not engage Hectors in a battle. Having won a number of battles, he is so full of himself that he thinks not engaging or fighting Hectors is a cowardly act. Secondly, he also stands up to Hectors to save himself the shame of having failed his people in a battl e. Consequently, this willfulness leads him into dying at the hands of Hectors. In conclusion, from the two examples given, it is clear that the Greek priced pride over all other values such as safety. It can also be noted that desire for honor and pride, among Greek heroes, was what propelled them to great heights but also what led to their downfall. In search for honor, the heroes did their people proud but out of pride they often became willful and untactful leading to their downfall.
Monday, October 21, 2019
The Sixth Sense †Film Essay (100 Level Course)
The Sixth Sense – Film Essay (100 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers The Sixth Sense Film Essay (100 Level Course) The director M. Night Shyamalan used different methods to construct the motion picture, â€Å"The Sixth Sense†. He uses foreshadowing, symbolism and motif to help you understand the movie and see that it is more than what you first perceive. In â€Å"The Sixth Sense†a boy named Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is a boy that seems to have a problem. He sees things that other people can’t see; he can also hear things that other people can’t. He can see ghosts, walking among people as if living like nothing ever happened. A Doctor named Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) tries to help Cole with his â€Å"problem†until he realizes that Cole is very much similar to Vincent Grey (Donnie Wahlberg) who was a boy that had the exact same symptoms. In â€Å"The Sixth Sense†there is much foreshadowing to tell the person that is watching the picture what will happen next with, but they are only clues, not direct statements that will be easily be given away. There is much foreshadowing used in the picture; in the beginning Vincent Grey breaks into Dr. Malcolm Crowe’s home. Vincent Grey was former student of Crowe’s. Vincent tells him that he had failed him and afterwards Vincent shoots Crowe and himself, but when Crowe gets shot, he gets shot right into the kidney, which is one of the worst places to be shot. The shot was fatal but the audience doesn’t know that, because that was only a flashback, the movie picks up again the next fall and it appears that Crowe is alive. More foreshadowing, for example, is the fact that Cole Sear is the only person to speak to Dr. Malcolm Crowe. Even though Crowe speaks to other people, no one speaks back. Also Dr. Malcolm Crowe was wearing an undershirt, a shirt over it and a coat. And he switches all the time, but accept for those clothes he never wears anything besides that. Another foreshadow is when Cole speaks to Dr. Crowe in the beginning, in the church he spoke Latin. A nine-year-old kid normally doesn’t know Latin. And it is said that evil spirits cannot go on holy ground, and when a priest dies his spirit remains in the church and since Cole Sear can talk to the ghosts, and since priests used to speak Latin they taught him how to. Also when Dr. Crowe is looking for Cole, he asks if Dr. Crowe would like to join the army, and states a regiment number that a nine year old boy would never know. In the movie when Cole Sear tells Dr. Crowe his secret that he can see â€Å"Dead People†the camera zooms in on Dr. Crowe sort of implying that he is dead. Last, near the middle of the movie Cole tells Dr. Crowe not to fail him, which is foreshadowing that Vincent Grey had the same strange powers as Cole Sear. M. Night Shyamalan uses symbolism in this motion picture to give it an eerie atmosphere. The names of most of the characters are symbolic, they relate to things that are dark and may reflect to the personality of the person. For example, Dr. Malcolm Crowe, his last name is Crowe like a crow, which is the symbol of evil or dark, dead things, and in the end he is dead. Cole’s name is symbolic because of Cole, which is like cold which is what happens when ghosts get angry; Sear his last name is symbolic because it is like the word seer which is a person that is a visionary or someone that can see things that others can’t, like Cole. Vincent’s name is symbolic because his name is the same as the famous Vincent Van Gogh, a painter that was insane and ended up shooting himself like Vincent Grey; Grey is symbolic because grey is the color of being in between, it’s the color of neither black or white, being in the middle of two worlds as Vincent Grey was. Last, in â€Å"The Sixth Sense†M. Night Shyamalan uses motif to explain extreme emotional distress that can be damaging so someone. Red is a big significance in the movie because when something in the real world is about to go horribly wrong you see red. When something frightening is about to happen somewhere on the screen you see red. Another example of motif is the white hair on the back of Vincent and Cole’s heads, because some hair on trauma victims goes white. Last whenever the ghosts become very angry the area around them becomes cold and you know something is wrong. Using foreshadowing, symbolism and motif people are able to figure out the ending of the movie before it ends. Dr. Malcolm Crowe has been dead for the entire movie, accept the first five minutes, and Cole Sear is able to deal with his problems. Dr. Crowe came to Cole to help him with his problem with being afraid of ghosts, but Cole also helped Dr. Crowe by helping move on. When Dr. Crowe spoke to his wife while she was sleeping he was able to figure out what he had to do to let go from the real world, and his wife’s life would be changed. Research Papers on The Sixth Sense - Film Essay (100 Level Course)Where Wild and West MeetHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayMind TravelThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseThe Hockey GameThe Fifth HorsemanThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropePersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Anne Frank as my hero essays
Anne Frank as my hero essays The one historical figure that has had a dramatic impact on my life, and more than likely numerous others, is Anne Frank. I feel the courage and emotions that she was able to exhibit and display to herself as well as many others in dire times, is something to be admired by all. In 1942, when the Nazis began to invade her country, the Frank family was forced into hiding. Due to the horrible persecution of Jews, Anne Frank and her family were forced to hide in an attic of a warehouse. The Franks daughter, Anne, kept a thourough diary of that horrific experience. Just minutes before the Franks were discovered and captured in the attic they had been stowed in for two years, young Anne made an entry to her diary. Her words stated, In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. This expression of pure love for all mankind, can only be spoken by Anne. If we could all aspire to have this type of outlook on life we would all be much better off. Even though Anne unfortunately had to endure and suffer so much, her courage and character only grew stronger. Before Anne Frank went into hiding, she led a blissful and joyous life. She was always surrounded by her family, friends, and those who loved her. She was torn away from this ideal and peaceful life and placed into the harsh and cruel reality of war and the Nazi agenda. Anne was only thirteen years old when she had to witness all these acts of hatred and violence. As I mentioned before the Frank family was persecuted because of their religious beliefs. Although they were facing threats of death, the family never abandoned their faith and belief. They always remained true to themselves and their faith, no matter the consecunces. I can not even begin to imagine what it must have been like for young Anne. Even though Im Hispanic and a Catholic I most likely will never get to the point of suffering that she endured, ...
Saturday, October 19, 2019
The ways in which community education fits into the holistic concept Research Paper
The ways in which community education fits into the holistic concept of lifelong learning - Research Paper Example , community education is gaining strength and people are getting more towards community education where people, specially adults and old age people learn simultaneously while they work for their community.(Smith and Gruenewald, 2007). The process of learning is a lifelong process and it ends with life. Every day, there is something new to learn but it all depends on a person whether he’s flexible enough to absorb changes or update his/her skills in this challenging world. In this era, people have changed their mindsets of completing sixteen years of education and lead the rest of their life earning and evaluating situations. In fact, people have now become aware of the fact that learning is a never ending process and it has to be done on community or social level to get positive results from a nation (Smith and Sobel, 2010). My thesis revolves around the awareness that have brought people to work together as a nation and adults should practice more to adopt changes of the growing world. Further, in this paper it is supported that academic education is a must, but community education with practical demonstrations work as threshold until perfected. For example, previous generations were never taught to contr ibute voluntarily for a society or plant trees to stop global warming. There was no concept of thinking on global issues. The preaching was all about a family. However, now issues are regarded as global issues and communities and societies have to come up together to work for the betterment of the global village. There are ways in which community education fits best into the holistic concept of lifelong learning. Community education is an integrated form of education based on informal process of learning things or experiencing things practically. There are no examinations and no bounding for aged group to learn by participating for different social issues. An example tells an idea for instance â€Å"say no to plastic bag†, the whole community will go to work
Friday, October 18, 2019
My Life In film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
My Life In film - Essay Example This will help to construct a connection between my life and the film. It can be very difficult for two people from different cultural backgrounds to form a union when their cultural differences are huge. This is the theme of the movie â€Å"My Big Fat Greek Wedding.†Before watching this movie, I never thought two people from different cultures could really spend a life together. This movie taught me the difference and helped me broaden by mind. Before this movie, I was the kind of person who unconsciously held on to trite cultural stereotypes. But, this movie conveyed this message to me that a rift between two cultures can rapidly stretch into an abyss when people are not willing to abandon certain clichà © stereotypes. Such stereotypes can quite effectively end â€Å"a potential relationship†(Karis & Killian 8). I was also the person who had no value for culture. But, this movie made me realize the importance of my culture knowing there are many immigrants out there for whom the struggle to keep their cultures alive is a never-ending battle as portrayed in the movie. â€Å"Raging Bull†is the name of another movie which casted a deep impression on me and played a role in shaping my life. Before getting the chance to see this movie, I was a very temperamental person who used to act on impulse without thinking of important repercussions. This habit has caused me many losses, but I did not learn my lesson until I watched this movie. This is because this movie presented a lead actor to me who is professionally very good, but destroys his everything at hands of his unbridled rage (Connolly). In the life of that boxer, I saw my life. In his rage, I saw mine and in his failures, I caught a glimpse of mine. This movie made me realize that if I want to escape the end which Jake the boxer meets in the movie due to his uncontrolled temper and
Neal v. Alabama ByProducts Corporation, No.8282, 1990 Del. Ch. Lexis Article
Neal v. Alabama ByProducts Corporation, No.8282, 1990 Del. Ch. Lexis 127 (1990) Court of Chancery of Delaware - Article Example The court held that the Delaware appraisal law's comparable company analysis framework required a discounted cash flow analysis that incorporated the risk factors underlying the corporation's financial structure. As an initial matter, the court stated that the correct valuation method under Delaware law was a discounted future cash flow analysis; the more troubling issues pertained to an analysis of the assumptions regarding the inputs into the discounted future cash flow analysis. The court, consequently, engaged in a detailed analysis of these input assumptions, identifying them as "four principal areas of disagreementthe value of ABC's coal reserves, the value of ABC's investment in the VP-5 mine in Virginia, the amount of ABC's excess working capital and, finally, the EME report on the purported environmental liability at ABC's Tarrant coke plant" (28). The court's first decision was to reduce the corporation's asset value determinations to a net present value. It then changed some of input assumptions and held that the corporate assets ought to have been presented with higher asset values. Both parties stipulated to the use of a capital pricing method in order to select a discount rate; the court, however, ordered that risk factors be explicitly incorporated into this valuation model.
Tourism of Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia Research Paper - 1
Tourism of Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia - Research Paper Example Various destinations have been emerging as tourist attractions all around the world possessing unique features and offerings for tourism. Byron Bay is a city which is situated near beach area in New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated 772 kilometres from north of Sydney as well as 165 kilometres from south of Brisbane. The town consists of several beaches which are quite popular for boat surfing. It is recognised as a resort which is admired by both domestic as well as international tourists. Tourism policies in South West Australia have been characterised by reactive responses towards the need for income opportunities, especially concerning the rural communities with the hope that tourism will endorse regional development as well as help in restructuring the domestic economy. It is in this context that there exist many groups of stakeholders such as government agencies, maintenance groups, developers and domestic residents who play an influencing role in determining the excellence of the tourist destination. The primary aim of these stakeholders is to attain growth and development in the tourism management o f Australia (Jenkins & Michael, 1993). In 1998, a â€Å"National Plan for Tourism†was discharged by the Federal government of Australia to deliver the direction of Tourism policy formulation as well as industry strategy planning. The measures comprised of the plan aims to address the obstacles caused by sectoral growth seeking to protect Australia’s reputation as an excellent tourist destination. The main purpose of this plan has been to develop prospects for rising markets through implementing objective as well as customer-centric marketing strategies, promoting the development of provincial tourism, increasing industrial standard as well as ability levels, developing information in relation to the tourism industry.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Chinese Scroll Painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Chinese Scroll Painting - Essay Example The Chinese vertical scroll is read like a script from top to down. At the top edge of the scroll a semi-circle wooden stave is attached and is used for hanging up. A massive bar fixed at the bottom edge of the painting makes rolling up smoother and faster. The roller is often decorated with the precious materials. It also gives the picture some rigidity when hanging on the wall. The ways of hanging as well as the materials and decorations vary from one period to the other. Hanging scrolls are about fifty centimetres in width and up to three meters in length. The form of the horizontal scroll offers greater opportunity to the artist since the extra pieces of silk or paper could be added while painting. The Chinese painters are not limited in space as the European ones. This is especially useful in painting of the mass scenes and landscapes. A horizontal scroll is composed of few scenes that are divided by the peaces of landscape, usually by a group of trees or mountains. The Chinese scroll has to be viewed from right to left and the viewed section should not exceed sixty centimeters at a time. The left hand unrolls the picture and the right one rolls it up. The beginning section of the scroll is usually left empty for the protective reason, the following section is meant for the title, and special sections of scroll serve as inscription panels. This particular way of reading influences the general composition of the painting. The hand scrolls were not meant to be permanently displayed.
GDP Growth of Apple Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
GDP Growth of Apple Company - Essay Example nd services are primarily a luxury good for individuals within relatively developed nations, the focus that Apple should take is upon representing the main focus of their strategy and advertising to those that can afford such products and services. Naturally, this will encourage Apple to take a broad overview of GDP and purchasing power parity that exists within many different economies as a means of understanding what socio-demographic sectors and regions will most likely represent their consumer base. Taking the case of Europe as an example, one might be inclined to understand that the established and powerful Western European economies are the main areas in which Apple should focus its marketing. However, this is not quite the case. Due to the resurgence of Eastern Europe over the past decade, the overall purchasing power of these individuals cannot and should not be discounted. As figure 1 denotes, counties such as Latvia , Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland have noted some of the most drastic GDP growth figures over the past few years. As such, Apple would be highly remiss if it did not recognize these emerging markets and seek to represent a strategic focus on selling products and services to individuals within them. However, with that being said, it should also be noted that the economies of Western Europe cannot and should not be ignored either. As figure 2 denotes, after the 2007/2008 financial collapse that saw most of the world’s economies slow down significantly, Western European nations have posted impressive numbers for overall GDP growth. As such, a dual strategy should be employed by the firm as can be engaged through a relevant understanding of the statistics that have thus far been represented. One such approach would be to offer lower price products and services within the Eastern European markets while offering higher priced goods and service offerings to those individuals within Western Europe. What is being described and defined is not
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Tourism of Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia Research Paper - 1
Tourism of Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia - Research Paper Example Various destinations have been emerging as tourist attractions all around the world possessing unique features and offerings for tourism. Byron Bay is a city which is situated near beach area in New South Wales, Australia. The town is situated 772 kilometres from north of Sydney as well as 165 kilometres from south of Brisbane. The town consists of several beaches which are quite popular for boat surfing. It is recognised as a resort which is admired by both domestic as well as international tourists. Tourism policies in South West Australia have been characterised by reactive responses towards the need for income opportunities, especially concerning the rural communities with the hope that tourism will endorse regional development as well as help in restructuring the domestic economy. It is in this context that there exist many groups of stakeholders such as government agencies, maintenance groups, developers and domestic residents who play an influencing role in determining the excellence of the tourist destination. The primary aim of these stakeholders is to attain growth and development in the tourism management o f Australia (Jenkins & Michael, 1993). In 1998, a â€Å"National Plan for Tourism†was discharged by the Federal government of Australia to deliver the direction of Tourism policy formulation as well as industry strategy planning. The measures comprised of the plan aims to address the obstacles caused by sectoral growth seeking to protect Australia’s reputation as an excellent tourist destination. The main purpose of this plan has been to develop prospects for rising markets through implementing objective as well as customer-centric marketing strategies, promoting the development of provincial tourism, increasing industrial standard as well as ability levels, developing information in relation to the tourism industry.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
GDP Growth of Apple Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
GDP Growth of Apple Company - Essay Example nd services are primarily a luxury good for individuals within relatively developed nations, the focus that Apple should take is upon representing the main focus of their strategy and advertising to those that can afford such products and services. Naturally, this will encourage Apple to take a broad overview of GDP and purchasing power parity that exists within many different economies as a means of understanding what socio-demographic sectors and regions will most likely represent their consumer base. Taking the case of Europe as an example, one might be inclined to understand that the established and powerful Western European economies are the main areas in which Apple should focus its marketing. However, this is not quite the case. Due to the resurgence of Eastern Europe over the past decade, the overall purchasing power of these individuals cannot and should not be discounted. As figure 1 denotes, counties such as Latvia , Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland have noted some of the most drastic GDP growth figures over the past few years. As such, Apple would be highly remiss if it did not recognize these emerging markets and seek to represent a strategic focus on selling products and services to individuals within them. However, with that being said, it should also be noted that the economies of Western Europe cannot and should not be ignored either. As figure 2 denotes, after the 2007/2008 financial collapse that saw most of the world’s economies slow down significantly, Western European nations have posted impressive numbers for overall GDP growth. As such, a dual strategy should be employed by the firm as can be engaged through a relevant understanding of the statistics that have thus far been represented. One such approach would be to offer lower price products and services within the Eastern European markets while offering higher priced goods and service offerings to those individuals within Western Europe. What is being described and defined is not
The European Renaissance Essay Example for Free
The European Renaissance Essay The European Renaissance was one of the most important periods of time in all of Western Civilization’s history as many of the cultural, social and philosophical movements that derived from this movement not only greatly effected the people who lived during the time period of the Renaissance, but much of what occurred during this time period still resonates and influences cultures, ideologies and philosophical beliefs to this very day. As such, it becomes critical to examine the European Renaissance so as to understand what it achieved and how it still resonates to the modern era. A significant reason for this is that most arts and sciences build upon one each another in a logical progression. The attitudes of freedom in art, for example, slowly evolved into the more mature themes in art and film that were previously held back due to religious and government censorship. Current advances in science such as stem cell research are not much different than the arguments for and against spontaneous generation in prior centuries. As such, there is still much that exists today that is a logical extension of what was started many years ago. There were several areas of social change that derived from the Renaissance and the most important of these areas included art (painting, sculpture, architecture all evolved into phases that were far removed from what had been considered â€Å"classical†art), humanism (a theory of instilling knowledge that was a radical departure from traditional modes of education), religion (it was during this era that the concept of secularism as a response to classical religion began to take shape) and the philosophical notion of self awareness (this essentially refers to those living during the time period acknowledging the changes that were occurring). These changes were not mere changes within the realm of the elites, however. The changes that occurred in all these phases greatly affect the infrastructure of the western world as a whole and it did so by changing the fabric of the society and this would resonate with the population as a whole with the end result of civilization as a whole radically changing from a classical society that had become stagnant and overly reliant on tradition for its very existence. To a great degree, the scientific community was strongly affected but the knowledge that was derived from the renaissance period. While primitive compared to today’s standards, the concepts and ideas regarding astronomy have greatly impacted the way the modern world operates. For example, the common telescope was invented during the period of the Renaissance and from the telescope the study of the stars and the planets derived. This, of course, has manifested into what is now the modern space age of satellites and explorations to the moon. While this may seem like a â€Å"jump†if one does not look at the complete timeline or progression of such achievements, however, if one were to look at the advent of a number of modern achievements, the achievments can be traced back to the era of the renaissance. Of course no mention of the development of astronomy during the period of the Renaissance without mentioning the great advancements provided by Galileo; of course, Galileo was the inventor of the telescope as well as the man who developed the theory that the sun was the center of the universe and this, of course, forever sent science on the path of accuracy that is of paramount importance to subscribe to for scientific theories to remain accurate and relevant in the modern era. In terms of the modern era, it would be doubtful that the great expansion of the space age would exist without the foundations that were devised by Galileo. Considering the fact that the primary principles founded by Galileo have not been discarded or altered, it would be safe to say that their accuracy is irrefutable and, as such, still permeate in the sciences today. The American and European political institutions of the modern are also heavily reliant upon theories and ideologies of political thought that derive from the Renaissance period. In particular, the module of â€Å"classical liberalism†still manages to affect political thought in the modern western world today. (Please note: there are significant differences between classical liberalism and the modern version, although there are certain similarities between the two) For example, consider the classic renaissance thinker Voltaire and his famous statement â€Å"I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. This is clearly a contributing influence on the notion of freedom of speech to this day. In fact, in can be seen in the Constitution of the United States, a document which often used the common wisdom of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment as a guiding principle in the modern political theory of the United States. There are a number of examples of how events from the Renaissance shape modern cultural, social and political life and this can be seen in the following four examples: Skepticism: the notion of self awareness led greatly to the concept of questioning traditional norms and beliefs. From this, a number of examples can be put forth but one of the most prevalent in the news these days is the modern atheism movement, much of which derives its origins from the thought process of the Renaissance period. (Skepticism can be seen today in much of the modern political discourse that forces both parties to the center) Secularism: some confuse the notion of secularism with atheism and this is an inaccurate assessment. In reality, secularism simply means that religious law does not provide the basis for the supreme law of the land. In a secular society such as Europe and to varying extents, the United States, the law derives from secular origins and not from religious rule. Modern Art: While some would say that the Pop Art as devised by Andy Warhol is far removed from the Renaissance, the reality is that it, along with many different forms of modern art, derives from the changing concepts of art that originated in the Renaissance period. During the Renaissance, there was a significant shift away from art that centered on traditional images of â€Å"gods and kings†and this deviation from the classical module still exists to this day. Psychology: The field of psychology is also based in the concept of self-awareness that originated during the Renaissance period. Much of what exists in modern psychology centers on understanding oneself, the world and one’s surroundings and this was a notion that was born of the renaissance that still exists to this very day. The notion of looking inward, for example, as opposed to gods and mystics for enlightenment is the hallmark of modern psychology and looking inward as opposed to external structures is what is commonplace today in modern American pop culture and psychology and its origins are found in the Renaissance. To that extent, much of what exists in the United States today and well as the Western World in general is an extension of the success of the models of thought of the Renaissance. The perpetual extension of these modules of thought speak volumes for their accuracy.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Amazons Distribution Strategy
Amazons Distribution Strategy Introduction While taking a decision on the design of supply chain, companies should focus on its strategy, decision on operations and most importantly, proper planning. In a company, based on the needs of the customer and design of the systems, flow of supply chain management varies. While designing, reviewing constantly at different stages also helps companies differentiate various processes in their supply chain. Amazon.com is an e-commerce company with its presence worldwide and headquartered in Seattle, United States. Amazon.com, in its early days dealt only with Books but later on it diversified into a lot of other product lines like Video Games, Electronics, Toys, Jewellery, Furniture, MP#s, DVDs among other products. Today they are a huge $75 billion organization with a very diverse product portfolio and successful operations round the globe. The new Kindle Fire Tablet computer is one of their latest notable product and their Cloud Computing business is one of the industry leaders. Going by the revenue, growth and market capitalization, Amazon is the 4th most successful start-up of all times. Jeff Bezos started this amazing company in 1994 with the intention of â€Å"Get Big Fast†. This strategy was a brilliant one for the company in US as they were able to function with a competitive lead time for delivery after the orders were placed. Now this strategy was also put in place for the expansion in Europe. Not only were the European markets culturally different from US but also the market conditions and the consumer behaviour expectations different from a consumer in US. The challenges here were very dissimilar to the operational challenges in US in terms of transportation, stocking and distribution. The report will look into the challenges that Amazon faced in Europe and the operational/supply chain decisions they had make to overcome those challenges, also, â€Å"How has globalization made strategic fit even more important to company’s success†. The recommendations/ analysis are based on the concept of centralization of the distribution across a full continent and the concepts taught in the class. AMAZON US â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Bookstore†Amazon used the Internet to change the business of buying books into a very fast, easy and enjoyable shopping experience. Amazon has more than 2.5 million different book titles in its kitty and is very rightly called the â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Bookstore†. From the very beginning, Amazon always kept the wholesalers and the publishers on their side which thereby allowed them to keep a very truncated inventory and low inventory holding costs. These tie-ups with wholesalers and publishing houses not only allowed Amazon to reduce costs on warehousing but also get huge bulk discounts, for example From a publishing house Amazon used to get a discount of approximately 48% and around 41% from the wholesalers) Amazon had a general lead time for delivery of 4 to 7 business days across the whole country of United States. Amazon developed its infrastructure hugely in the late 90’s and eventually launched their Music and Video businesses also. The idea was to â€Å"Get Big Fast†through diversification and geographic expansion by having more distribution centres in their business geography. Some would say that the expansion of Amazon was the fastest expansion experienced by any company for its distribution capacity. Expanding and making distribution was the first step, next step was to figure out which distribution centre will carry which all products, given the fact that Amazon not only expanded in distribution capacity across geographies but also in terms of the product lines in its product portfolio. The 3 aspects of deciding the products to be carried by a distribution centre are: Amazon employed a lot of systems to enhance their operation efficiency. The ones which were the most impressive and successful are: Pick-To-Light System Radio Frequency Technology Voice Technology Pick Profiles Amazon Standard Identifying Number (ASIN) Performance measuring key metrics As Jeff Wilke, the Vice President of Operations at Amazon said about what Amazon had, Amazon quickly adapted to the Six Sigma DMAIC reviews as a tool to reduce variations and defects in its distribution centres. Jeff Wilke’s team followed 5 strategies to improve inventory management Better forecasting of customer demand by improving the ability of the software by refining it to the tune of better anticipation of the demands, both seasonal and regional. This made sure that risk of buying either too much or too less was reduced. Better relations with the wholesalers and direct vendors to cater to any sudden surge in demand for any particular bestselling book title. This was also used to get some needed momentum for the slow velocity titles. Available-to-Promise Functionality: Amazon integrated the supply chain management systems of its suppliers with its own thereby getting a synergy in the process. Now amazon was able to tell its customers the exact time frame in which it could deliver the products to them. For example, if a product is available with the Amazon distribution centre themselves, then the lead time for the delivery of the product was within 24 hours. But if the product was not available with the Amazon DC then the lead time for delivery increased to 2 – 3 business days. This allowed Amazon to have the information about the inventory of the suppliers at all times at the very item level. Cascading Buying Rules: These rules by Amazon determined which supplier was the best fit for which product in terms of the price and the options for delivery such that if the item is not available with the supplier giving the best price then the next supplier in cascade will be selected for the delivery. Drop Ship Orders: Amazon took some time to adopt this strategy which they should have adopted in the very beginning. According to Drop Ship strategy, whenever the customer orders an item and the distribution centre of Amazon does not have the product then Amazon places the order on its supplier. Then instead of the supplier shipping the item to Amazon DC and then the Amazon DC shipping the item to the customer, the supplier directly ships the item to the customer, thereby drastically decreasing the lead time for delivery by removing the unnecessary steps of the supply chain products. In addition to the above mentioned processes and strategies, Amazon also used method called â€Å"Postal Injection†or â€Å"Zone Skipping†. In this method, the fully loaded truck from the distribution centre directly goes to the major cities, easily bypassing the postal service’s sorting hubs where the delivery packets are sorted according to the respective cities and states. AMAZON EUROPE The initial targets for Amazon were UK and Germany, primarily because both these countries were the prime markets for book selling and online purchasing in the continent of Europe. Germany had an excess of 2000 publishing houses and UK had an excess of 3000 publishing houses. Amazon made an acquisition in Europe by acquiring Bookpages and TeleBuch in UK and Germany respectively. Again, in line with the idea followed in US, Amazon Europe wanted to â€Å"Get Big Fast†. Both the UK Amazon.co.uk and German Amazon.de increased their product portfolios by integrating the music and video businesses along with the books business at the very offset of the culmination of the respective expansions in the two countries. Even though the competition from the online bookstores of the respective countries was fierce, Amazon was successful in becoming the market leader in both the countries. The combined sales of the 2 countries crossed the 10% of the total Amazon revenue mark, signifying the epic success of the geographic expansion. The next venture was in France. When Amazon entered UK and Germany they did it through acquisitions, however when they entered France they did not acquire any established company, instead they got the business up and running from the scratch. The formula was simple here too, â€Å"Get Big Fast†, which is why the business started with the complete portfolio of books, music, video, toys, et al. Growth in International sales for Amazon grew by 74%, which in turn helped the European business to cross the 13.4% of the total Amazon revenue mark. Challenges in replicating amazon’s US model in EUROPE Although Amazon was doing well in Europe but the ambition was high as they had the intention to repeat the success of Amazon US in Europe too. However they were confronted with some heavy challenges from the European markets. These challenges could be tackled but to do that they required some radical change in the strategies that Amazon applied and adopted in US. The 4 main challenges were: Selling regulations in Germany France The prices of the books being sold in Germany France were fixed. No discounts could be offered on those prices. The selling model for Amazon in US was to offer discounts on the prices of the books, which they got from the wholesalers and publishing houses. Over here they could not provide those discounts that they got on the bulk purchases from the wholesalers and publishing houses. Payment options In Europe, more than 62% of the customers used cheques to make the purchases. The core competency of Amazon was online retail which meant online purchasing via credit cards. This came as a major challenge to Amazon as they did not have any brick or mortar store where the concept of payment through cheques can happen. Different supply market factors In US, Amazon relied heavily on the suppliers for the books. However in Europe they suffered a setback because of the dearth of wholesalers and big suppliers. In UK although they were able to manage the supply with a handful of suppliers, but in France there were none. This forced Amazon to have tie ups with umpteen number of publishers for the supply of books. Low penetration of EDI in European countries Amazon used EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) to have a communication with the supply chain management of the suppliers in US. This increased the efficiency of their own supply chain tremendously. In case a supplier was having a stock out of a particular item in his inventory, he could respond back in real time to Amazon with a rejection to take the order from customer. This enabled Amazon to immediately send the information back to the customer about the unavailability of the item. This, however, was not much in use in Europe as they still used the concept of emailing and Fax but not any sort of real time data sharing. In addition to the challenges mentioned above there were other challenges too. Amazon relied comprehensively on the national postal services in the respective countries of Europe where they were operating. But they were competitive only in their own countries and not in other countries. This created a challenge for Amazon because they had a lot of shipments which were cross country shipments. Problems Identified Recommendations With the challenges in mind there were a certain number of options for Amazon, which could solve these challenges for Amazon as they go forward and expand more and more into the European market. These recommendations require radical change in the strategy from the one which was followed in United States. Should Amazon Europe build an EDN? Europe as whole is treated as a single entity by amazon. Although they have separate units for separate countries, the parent company, Amazon, thinks of it as a single market. Therefore they intend to have a EDN (European Distribution Network). As per this concept, the entire Europe will have a single distribution network not separate distribution networks of individual countries. This is a massive step because Europe as a market is huge in size and very fragmented. But we suggest that a single EDN will be much more beneficial and the reason for that are mentioned in the bullet points below: Operating independent units is much more expensive than a single unit EDN implementation ensures uniform product offerings in each country which in turn will help in the consolidation of the business across the entire continent EDN implementation ensures procurement department centralizes purchases, and avails higher volume discounts as this is the prime strategy on which Amazon grows and thrives In case of system failures, EDN implementation reduces risk of relying on single DCs, making sure that the plan B for every failure is in place Hence implementation of EDN is a logical choice. Should Amazon use a single centralized DC or keep the existing 3 DCs and let them share orders? Another major problem for Amazon is to figure out whether or not to have multiple individual DCs or have just a single unified Distribution Centre at a strategic location. This problem is in line with the strategy for the implementation of EDN in Europe. We suggest that they should integrate Amazon’s European operations as a whole and accept it as a single market. With that in mind they should follow the following steps to achieve this target, How to sustain customer satisfaction after implementation of EDN? A major drawback for EDN is that this will cause a serious impact on the customer satisfaction levels. This is primarily because the customers who are used to getting their items delivered free of cost in very less time due to the distribution centre being in that country itself will have to either pay to get the item delivered in less time or get the item delivered in a longer time. All in all the lead time for delivery will increase and only additional cost for the customer can decrease that. To improve customer service Amazon must follow the following steps, Should the French Distribution Centre be left operational? This problem is a slightly tricky one as this requires Amazon to decide on whether or not to cut off an important limb from their body. Since the operational usage of French Distribution Centre will be redundant, is it viable to keep it running or remove it from the unified distribution network of Europe? This question can have multiple answers and no answer is possibly entirely correct. However we suggest that Amazon should not immediately close the French DC but gradually phase it out of the distribution network. During the expansion phase of Amazon into the rest of the Europe this DC can act as a support for the newer countries where Amazon wishes to venture in the European Distribution Network. Immediate disposition of this DC is not a viable option as this will cause a lot of complexities for the entire EDN. Since this DC will have some competencies and must be having some items which are solely kept in the inventory at this DC itself, this Dc will serve its purpose for some more time. The best option is to decommission the French DC in a phased manner over a period of time. How to detect demand trends, especially for fast moving items, if European level buying is consolidated? The only way to make sure that the inventory levels in a distribution centre is at an optimum level is through better forecasting. Making sure that the replenishment in a warehouse is done at proper interval in adequate quantities is by having an accurate information about the demand in future. Demand estimation is the backbone for any supply chain management system. Proper implementation and information processing through ERP is the method used by the most successful companies in the world. ERP helps improve the planning for the supply chain, both inbound and outbound aspect of it. Besides that money saved through the cost cutting initiatives should be invested to develop the supply chain, logistics and distribution characteristics of the EDN. In addition to that, it is very important to capture the easy wins first and get a hold of the market. It is very critical for Amazon to have standardization and build synergies across the divisions in Europe. To do that it is important that Amazon defines and implements comparable metrics (for example vendor lead time) across the European countries to develop enhanced understandings of their operational activities References Childerhouse, P, Towill, D 2011, Arcs of supply chain integration, International Journal Of Production Research, 49, 24, pp. 7441-7468 Forbes.com 2011. Why Amazon Is The Best Strategic Player In Tech. Retrieved February 27, 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/venkateshrao/2011/12/14/the-amazon-playbook/2/ Joseph Bonney 2012. Amazons Supply Chain: Delivering Clicks and Bricks. Journal of Commerce. Retrieved February 28, 2014 from https://www.joc.com/economy-watch/amazons-supply-chain-delivering-clicks-and-bricks_20120130.html?qt-webcasts_podcasts_whitepapers=0 Knowledge @ Wharton 2009, November. Fit for the Holidays: Amazon Is Shaping Up and Shipping Out. Retrieved February 27, 2014 from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/fit-for-the-holidays-amazon-is-shaping-up-and-shipping-out/ Lichocik, G, Sadowski, A 2013, EFFICIENCY OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT. STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL APPROACH, Logforum, 9, 2, pp. 119-125 Mark Brohan. InternetRetailer.com 2010. Amazon’s secret European weapon: Square footage. Retrieved February 28, 2014 from http://www.internetretailer.com/2010/08/31/amazons-secret-european-weapon-square-footage Modern Materials Handling 2012, December 14. Supply chain: Amazon is changing the rules of the game. Retrieved February 27, 2014 from http://www.mmh.com/article/supply_chain_amazon_is_changing_the_rules_of_the_game MWPL. Amazon Global Fulfilment Center Network. Retrieved February 28, 2014 from http://www.mwpvl.com/html/amazon_com.html Roh, J, Hong, P, Min, H 2014, Implementation of a responsive supply chain strategy in global complexity: The case of manufacturing firms, International Journal Of Production Economics, 147, Part B, pp. 198-210 Viswanadham, N, Samvedi, A 2013, Supplier selection based on supply chain ecosystem, performance and risk criteria, International Journal Of Production Research, 51, 21, pp. 6484-6498
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