Starbucks has not paid UK corporation tax Case Study

Starbucks has not paid UK corporation tax - Case Study Example The legitimacy theory is also associated with social perceptions directed towards organizations in regard to their responsibility to meet societal expectations and social rules. In some instances, when these institutions do not meet social, legal as well as environmental benchmarks of operations, they may be exposed to sanctions and or even being barred from operations. Starbucks is one of the current companies that have shown a violation of the requirements of the Legitimacy theory. The Company is currently facing a court case in London. Starbucks is a major restaurant in Britain, the Company has been facing a serious allegations in regard to tax avoidance. Additionally, the Company has been controversies in regard to the information that it has been providing to the Investors. Apparently, a recent publication by a local newspaper in Britain indicated that the Company has been informing investors that it is making profits while in the real sense it has been experiencing losses. This has been perceived as controversial owing to the fact that the company has been providing different sets of information to its investors and taxmen. Research has indicated that over the last three years, the company has not made any profit and has also been avoiding taxes. This has created a negative image on the company, especially among the local British populace. The Company’s problem emerged from the issue of tax avoidance coupled with provision of controversial information to its investors as well as the taxman. From the year 2008, the company is reported to have made losses amounting to 26 million Britain Pounds. On the other hand, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer was providing controversial information to its investors as well as other members of the public. The research also indicated that the Company had not paid any taxes for a period

Identify two texts dealing with contemporary art practices related to Coursework

Identify two texts dealing with contemporary art practices related to Italy - Coursework Example The paper "Identify two texts dealing with contemporary art practices related to Italy" concerns the two texts dealing with contemporary art practices related to Italy. This group ÃŽ ¿f powerful families wanted to show the world that their learning, piety and taste made them worthy ÃŽ ¿f their high standing in society. Among the greatest patrons were members ÃŽ ¿f the powerful Medici family, who spent money on constructing churches and encouraging art. The works date from the time ÃŽ ¿f Lorenzo de Medici whom Machiavelli called "the greatest patron ÃŽ ¿f art and literature that any prince has ever been. The Florentine government also transferred the responsibility for artistic projects to individual guilds. The guilds formed the basis ÃŽ ¿f the city's political system. For example, during the fourteenth century, the Duomo and Baptistery were allocated to the Wool and Cloth Merchants respectively. The government also established "...guild rivalry as a powerful competitive spur to publ ic patronage in Florence. Females were also energetic artistic patrons and commissioned art in their roles as religious, royalty and noble women. Time and again, agreements with artists were arranged for females by a male family member, a monk, or a priest. Religious women and their communities (holy orders, individual nuns and abbesses) ordered decorations for their convent cells, refectories, and church altarpieces. The Christian church dominated the lives ÃŽ ¿f Europeans and thus embodied both the government and the patron

Maintaining Work-Life Balance among Married Working Women in Banking

Maintaining Work-Life Balance among Married Working Women in Banking Literature Review It is a truth that work and family life cannot be separated, they both act together and the lines of demarcation of family life and work life cannot be drawn. With changing times, social structure, nature of business and globalization at fast pace; boundaries of work is changing rapidly. Working patterns and timings are in constant change but the pace of change is more rapid. The need for the change is being derived from individuals and organizations. Organizations are expected to perform at its optimum and provide better services 24/7 which requires employees to devote extended working hours to deliver service and this in turn effects personal lives of employees and creates an issue of work-life imbalance which is of paramount concern for everyone to have work-life balance (Jacobs Gerson, 2001) (Taylor, 2001). Work life balance is an adjustment in working patterns to mingle work with other responsibilities (Smithson Stokoe, Discourses of Work-Life Balance: Negotiating Genderblind Terms in Organizations, 2005) regardless of gender. Work-life balance  reflects; The extent to which an individual is equally engaged in and equally satisfied with his or her work role and family role (Aziz Cunningham, 2008), similarly according to Clark (2000) as cited by Othman, Yusof, Osman (2009) work life balance is defined as, Satisfaction and good functioning at work and at home with a minimum of role conflict (Othman, Yusof, Osman, 2009). It is also eloquent that every individual is to require maintaining and achieving a balance between their paid work and family responsibilities be it child care, elder care, leisure time, self development (Hogarth Bosworth, 2009). It is debatable that the word balance means settled equilibrium but can work and life outside work can be in equilibrium? Initially, work was considered as the only responsibility of male members of the society while women were only responsible for the domestic chores (Bailyn, Drago, Kochan, 2001), (Eikhof, Warhurst, Haunschild, 2007). This framework has been followed for ages and it was widely believed and accepted that the bread-winners of the family were only men. However as time evolved and in order to earn and have better lifestyles for their family, female workforce in the labor market started to increase, the conventional image of male as bread winner started to transform and now female also played an equally important role as an earning member of the family (Easton, 2007), (Flechl, 2009), (Malik Khan, 2008) (Hakim, 2006), (Strober, 2010), (Lourel, Ford, Gamassou, Gue ´guen, Hartmann, 2009). Evolution of females at work life The Second World War brought the contribution of women to the forefront. The discrepancy between men and women started to emerge, as it came in to notice when the female gender entered the work force around the globe (Goldin, 1991), which added another responsibility to their account that now they were multitasking between work and family life, taking care of their family as well as their work both came under their life domain (Tijdens, 1997), (A.Milkie Peltola, 1999). It was seen that at the time of Second World War keeping aside the traditional division of labor on the basis of gender, women entered the work force and start performing the mens job in the industries to prove themselves as capable enough to perform tasks in a more organized and better way (Milkman, 1987). It is a sad fact that in spite of their dual dedication, even during this time period, they were not considered as a factory worker instead their identity was recognized as women only (Trey, 1972), (Hyman Summers, 2004). At the end of the war; the female workers were forced and left stranded out of the labor market in order to take care of their more traditional responsibilities. Fortunately, for women this was just a temporary setback, as the number of women workers has increased after the Second World War which shows that the pattern set during the war time is still being pursued by females persistently till present (Milkman, 1987), (Bird, 2006). This is evident from a research conducted by Goldin (1991) on the percentage of working females in USA as according to this study; the participation rate in 1890 was 5 percent, 1940s was around 10.1 percent, while in 1950s it increased to 22.2 percent and then kept on increasing and finally reached 60 percent in 1990s (Goldin, 1991). Female workforce is not only increasing in European countries, but also in Pakistan; women are entering in the labor force with an increasing trend (Hussain, Malik, Hayat, 2009). According to Federal Bureau of Statistics of Pakistan, the women entering into the work force have increased to 11.81 million (53.72%) in 2009 from 10.96 million (51.78%) in 2008. This labor force comprises of 74% females in agriculture sector, 11.9% in manufacturing, 11.6% in service sector, while the rest of 0.9% are working in other sectors (Federal Bureau of Statistics, 2010). These statistics shows that with an increasing number of female workforces, it has become mandatory for women to maintain a balanced work and family life. Change in the Role of Women with Added Responsibility The role of women modified after the Second world war, as females started entering in the labor force as bread earners to support their families due to economic pressures (Hakim, 2006) and to improve the life style of their living (Emslie Hunt, 2009), and changed the traditional image of male being the sole responsible for earning the livelihood for all family members. With the enhancement of this new role as bread earners, the responsibility also increases for the women as now they have to look after their work life also along with the family which makes it difficult for them to manage both responsibilities simultaneously (Lourel, Ford, Gamassou, Gue ´guen, Hartmann, 2009),(Flechl, 2009), (Work-Life Balance, 2010). Although the conventional model of male bread winner starts to modify but still the distribution of duties between men and women remains unchanged. As now women are sharing the responsibilities of men by entering in the work force but on the other side the duties performed by females are not being shared (Emslie Hunt, 2009), which is creating a conflict between their family and career life (Zulu, 2007), (Thompson Walker, 1989). Originally, women had to take care of family matters only while men were responsible for work related issues. But with the change in the role of female, now they have to manage their family and professional life effectively which is creating a burden on them (Malik Khan, 2008), (Callan, 2008), (Dulk Peper, 2007). As they have to perform tasks like;cooking, shopping, cleaning (A.Milkie Peltola, 1999), listening and comforting children, providing emotional support to partners and parents (Emslie Hunt, 2009) and other domestic chores; which were previously considered as the only responsibility of females. But with the passage of time, now they have to perform their official tasks along with all these household chores but men are still only responsible for work related issues. Due to this unending list of duties women had to perform at home which are less flexible, demanding and experience interruptions (Aziz Cunningham, 2008); effects professional life or relaxing time of females which leaves negative impression on work life balance as compared to men (A.Milkie Peltola, 1999). Hence, in order to run work and family life smoothly women are expected to make larger sacrifices because they possess less power and authority due to the tradition and cultural norms of the society. Women can equally enjoy roles as mothers and workers but still feel more pressure than men because home responsibilities are greater and require more sacrifice (Stephen, 1977), (Thompson Walker, 1989). According to Coltrane (2000), Greenhaus and Parasuraman(1999), Rothbard and Edwards (2003) as cited by (Malik Khalid, 2008) it is a known fact that women typically do a bigger share of the household labor than men and that extra work at home partially constrains the time women can spend in paid work. Straub (2007) identifies that women tend to spend more time to family activities as of men and the same amount of work hours as of men. Challenges Faced by Women while Handling Work and Family Life With the amount of responsibilities added to the role of women, it has given rise to multiple challenges that they are facing in their daily life. Performing various tasks and playing different roles which includes; mother, wife, caregiver (for parents and elderly) and employee simultaneously becomes very difficult for women to fulfill (Straub, 2007), (Beauregard Henry, 2008). It is a challenge for women to give proper time and attention to; children especially who are very demanding under age of 13 (Thompson Walker, 1989), husband to maintain healthy relationship (Jacobs Gerson, 2001), other members of the family (parents, elderly) (Lourel, Ford, Gamassou, Gue ´guen, Hartmann, 2009) and to their work life for career progression (Aziz Cunningham, 2008). A balance between all these responsibilities is directly linked with the career performance as well as physical and mental wellbeing of women (Whitehead Kotze, 2003), (Creating Work Life Balance, 2009). Female workers also have to face lots of social pressures which do not allow women to have late sittings at the work place for official matters or to visit places related to work (Hakim, 2006), (Jacobs Gerson, 2001). These restrictions are mostly raised by the members of the family which includes; husband, in-laws, brother and parents which creates hurdles in their career progression (Schwartz, 1989). Women also encountered issues like stereotyping, sexual harassment and discrimination which make them feel insecure and confused about whether they should raise voice against inequality or remain quiet and face it (Ibrahim Marri, 2008), (Lee Brotheridge, 2005). According to Easton (2007) and Zulu (2007), Glass ceiling is also one of the obstacles which hinders women while climbing ladders of hierarchy in organizations because business environment for women is more stressful and not at all easy as compared to men. As women are in minority and mostly perceived by men as blend of doubt, attraction, respect, confusion, competitiveness, pride and animosity; therefore this mixed perception creates glass ceiling at the time of promotions (Flechl, 2009), (Lourel, Ford, Gamassou, Gue ´guen, Hartmann, 2009). As managerial positions require strong decision making skills while women are considered as emotional and required ample amount of time to make decision for important matters (Aziz Cunningham, 2008), therefore women are not easily designated for senior managerial positions because of perception that they are best regarded as housewives and mothers (Dulk Peper, 2007), (Kafetsios, 2007). The other challenge for women is the career development and promotion in their professional lives. Senior positions require long hours commitment, work related seminars, conferences, workshop and tours which makes it difficult for women to reach due to family responsibilities (Beauregard Henry, 2008), (Hochschild, 1997). Also the fact that creates hurdles in womens progression is pregnancy and childbirth; because they have to take maternity leaves which results in missing out opportunities for promotion (Straub, 2007), (Doherty, 2004), (Schwartz, 1989). Although there are many women who want to achieve career advancement with fulfilling other house hold tasks (Kafetsios, 2007), but organizations fail to realize that talented and motivated women can be committed to family as well as career and can do best for the middle management (Saltzstein, Ting, Saltzstein, 2001) but as organizations are reluctant to reduce pressure and provide flexibility this leads to recruit other employees rather than providing training to women employees (Clutterbuck, 2003), (Doherty, 2004). Consequences of Imbalance Work and Life Due to the challenges faced by women in their work life, it becomes difficult for them to maintain a balance between their work life and family life. Therefore it leads to number of negative consequences, not only at part of individuals but organizations also have to face certain setbacks (McPherson, 2007), (Hyman Summers, 2007). Individuals As women have to execute variety of roles in their family and work life, it becomes tough for them to handle diverse tasks effectively at the same time providing equal amount of attention to every role. When women were unable to manage all these roles, it results in physical as well as psychological problems (Kirrane Buckley, 2004); which includes increased level of stress, anxiety, lack of concentration and decrease in levels of alertness, energy and general health (Beauregard Henry, 2008), (Franche, Williams, al, 2006) Work life imbalance also has implications on the relationship among family members as due to the demanding nature of work, it becomes difficult to spend time together which results in lack of bonding among family members (Lee Brotheridge, 2005). Hence due to this situation, women may experience guilt and regret because they are unable to meet expectations of their families (Abercromby, 2007), (Creating Work Life Balance, 2009). Organizations Unbalanced work and family life also have negative impacts on the part of organizations, as when women workforce are not satisfied with the roles they are playing it reflects in their performance at work place (Tausig Fenwick, 2001), (Nolan, 2005). According to Straub (2007), Kafetsioss (2007) and Lambert et al., (2006); collision in work and family life results in reduced levels of job satisfaction, loyalty, organizational commitment, work effort, performance; while increased the level of absenteeism and turnover. Policies and Steps taken by Organization to Support Work Life Balance With the changing trends of economic development, equal employment opportunities and others, the issues regarding work-life balance has gained much attention from media and researchers globally (Kirrane Buckley, 2004). The work-life balance debate mostly discussed the fact that individuals have too much work to do that very little time left for themselves or family (Eikhof, Warhurst, Haunschild, 2007). As the time spend on work does not only include the contractual hours of employment but it also include the unpaid activities such as unpredictable long journey times, hence the line between work and family is becoming more blurred than before (Hyman Summers, 2004). These issues make employers realize the importance of work-life balance in womans daily lives in order to get optimal outcomes from the female employees (Leeds list the benefits of better work life balance, 2004), (Jacobs Gerson, 2001). Hence during 1980s, many organizations starts to change their internal workplace policies, procedures and benefits. The changes included maternity leave; Employee assistance programs (EAPs), flextime, telecommuting, paid maternity leaves, home-based work, vacation, professional counseling, and child and elder care referral (Bird, 2006), (Hudson inc), (Sunil Joshi, 2002). At present, the work-life balance issues are assumed as the most discussed topic in the field of Human Resource world due to the recognition of its value and need in the lives of females (Smithson Stokoe, 2005). Considering these consequences resulting from imbalance work and family life, European companies have shown interest in reducing this imbalance and have launched numerous work-life balance programs specifically for females (Sikora, Moore, Grunberg, Greenberg). According to a research conducted by Caroline Straub; on average 95 percent of European companies offer flexible timings facility to their employees, 79 percent employers allow employees to work from home, 23 percent provides opportunity to take paid vacations and only 34 percent emphasis on child care facilities (Straub, 2007). However still, a question asked by most individuals today is as to why do work-life balance matter to policy makers, and why it might be of importance to employers? Which has been answered by (Gatrell Cooper, 2008) through citing Swan and Cooper (2005) that the concept of work-life balance developed initially as a result of European government policies designed to work on addressing the pressures with balancing work and family life together, where both parents were employed. As further addressed by Lewis and Cooper (2005) cited by (Gatrell Cooper, 2008) it has been observed that, work-life balance policies are associated with presenting employees with the chance to work flexibly, whereas initially the notions of flexible working were considered in equal opportunities program, with a special focus on working mothers. Today it is open to all. This leads to encouraging the concept of work-life balance in clear terms. In New Zealand, (Kean, 2002) undertook a survey of the employees of 25 organizations which reveals that there is a clear relationship between the work-life balance policies with the employees intentions to leave the organization and actual turnover rates. This study suggests that the work-life balance policies have net positive effect on staff turnover rates. On the other side there are managers who are reluctant to apply policies which promote work life balance; according to the study of Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004 (WERS), 69 percent managers in private sector believe that it is solely the responsibility of individuals to balance their work and domestic demands (Hyman Summers, 2007). They have the doubt of the benefits work life balance will bring to their companies and perceive that it will be costly to implement (Hughes, 2007). But this is not reality, although costs will incur at planning and implementation stage but the benefits that will be availed afterwards will be higher from this cost. Benefits earned due to implementation of Work Life Balance Policies Work-life balance has become the focus of companies worldwide, who do not take it lightly at any time. Nowadays, it is important for managers to take work-life balance seriously. The more overworked employees, the higher the demands or the expectations on the department (Clutterbuck, 2003), the more the managers have to depend on their employees to perform at the highest possible level of proficiency, value, and quality (Jacobs Gerson, 2001), (Human Resource and Skills Development Canada, 2003). There are companies who believe that if employees maintain a balance between work and family, it will benefit the organization as a whole. A survey conducted of DuPont employees lead to a discovery that those who used work-life opportunities provided by the company were more committed to their work and believed in sticking with the organization (Clutterbuck, 2003). The U.K 2003 Best Companies to Work for survey states that the companies who allow their staff to work flexibly earn fine dividends. In UK, the government has been promoting the concept of work-life balance for some time now and many large corporations have started to implement this religiously (Clutterbuck, 2003). The benefits that BT, a U.K based company and one of the leading providers of communication solutions and services around the world has achieved from this change are colossal; it results in a more flexible and an approachable workforce, recruitment and training costs have been reduced as now 98% women return to work after maternity leave which saves around  £3 million, absenteeism rate has reduced to 3.1% as compared to other U.K. companies whose average comes about to be 8.5%, one of the best aspects of work-life balance has been that around 7000 BT employees now work from home which has increased its gains of 31%, and flexible working arrangements means that BT can now respond to customers demand 24/7 (Hughes, 2007). According to another research, the employee-opinion survey conducted at UK building society Nationwide, where more than three-quarter agreed with the statement that: I am satisfied that Nationwide provides me with the opportunities to balance working arrangements with my personal life. Therefore it is apparent as to how Nationwide has gained the following rewards over the period of three years; the number of employees returning from maternity leave has increased to 93%, employee turnover rate has decreased to 9.7% as compared to the industry average of 17%, the number of female part-time employees has increased to 50% and female home workers has risen about 150% (Job flexibility and work-life balance pay dividends for Nationwide, 2003). In a recent newspaper article (Razvi, 2010) the writer talks about how in a country like ours, most companies apparently operate on an eight to-whenever youre absolutely finished work hours policy. The idea of striking a work-life balance is not always something that young people are made aware about as they enter the professional territory. Even prior to people entering the job market, hardly any are actually able to keep that delicate balance between their studies and their family and social life. What the balance adds up to is in itself dynamic, and fluctuates with the changing status, as well with the altering demands of the multiple roles. Therefore, its necessary to focus on work-life balance, because if people are out of balance or stressed or sick then they will be less committed to the results (Tremblay, 2002), they will be less devoted to the organization (Yasbek, 2004), they will be less committed to the client, the customer, the product or service that youre producing (Human Resource and Skills Development Canada, 2003).

Charlemagne’s Will: Church, Empire, and Intellect :: Essays Papers

Charlemagne’s Will: Church, Empire, and Intellect â€Å"†¦and [I] shall first give an account of his deeds at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.† – Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne Charlemagne—Charles, King of the Franks—obviously has a fan in Einhard. His powerful work, The Life of Charlemagne, details the king’s life from the building of his empire, through the education of his children, and culminating in his final living words: the division of his possessions and the instructions for the preservation of his kingdom. At first glance, the inclusion of Charlemagne’s will seems an odd choice to end an essay that demonstrates thoroughly the specifics of the great man’s life. After all, who needs to know which child gets his gold, and which archbishop he favored the most. Einhard reveals the ignorance in this assumption by doing just the opposite: using Charlemagne’s will as the final and most convincing illustration of the king’s life and character. Einhard divides his discussion of Charlemagne into three distinct sections, perhaps in imitation of the king’s will, which is also partitioned into the same three underlying themes: church, empire, and intellect. Throughout his essay, Einhard makes constant references to Charlemagne’s piety. He notes that the king â€Å"cherished with great fervor and devotion the principles of the Christian religion.† Charlemagne built the basilica at Aix-la-Chapelle, and â€Å"was a constant worshipper at this church.† (Einhard, 48)†¦. He embodied the Christian doctrine to give to the poor, and had close relationships to the popes in Rome. A pessimist might find reason to believe these actions were purely opportunistic or at least had mixed motives—his relationships with the Vatican were monetarily beneficial—but Einhard’s inclusion of Charlemagne’s will removes all doubt. â€Å"In this division he is especially desirous to provide†¦the largess of alms which Christians usually make.† (Einhard, 52). In death, Charlemagne gave much of his wealth to the Church via the archbishops of each city in his empire, and further stipulated tha t upon the death of one of them, a portion of the remaining inheritance should go directly to the poor, as should the profit of the sale of his library. Charlemagne’s Will: Church, Empire, and Intellect :: Essays Papers Charlemagne’s Will: Church, Empire, and Intellect â€Å"†¦and [I] shall first give an account of his deeds at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.† – Einhard, The Life of Charlemagne Charlemagne—Charles, King of the Franks—obviously has a fan in Einhard. His powerful work, The Life of Charlemagne, details the king’s life from the building of his empire, through the education of his children, and culminating in his final living words: the division of his possessions and the instructions for the preservation of his kingdom. At first glance, the inclusion of Charlemagne’s will seems an odd choice to end an essay that demonstrates thoroughly the specifics of the great man’s life. After all, who needs to know which child gets his gold, and which archbishop he favored the most. Einhard reveals the ignorance in this assumption by doing just the opposite: using Charlemagne’s will as the final and most convincing illustration of the king’s life and character. Einhard divides his discussion of Charlemagne into three distinct sections, perhaps in imitation of the king’s will, which is also partitioned into the same three underlying themes: church, empire, and intellect. Throughout his essay, Einhard makes constant references to Charlemagne’s piety. He notes that the king â€Å"cherished with great fervor and devotion the principles of the Christian religion.† Charlemagne built the basilica at Aix-la-Chapelle, and â€Å"was a constant worshipper at this church.† (Einhard, 48)†¦. He embodied the Christian doctrine to give to the poor, and had close relationships to the popes in Rome. A pessimist might find reason to believe these actions were purely opportunistic or at least had mixed motives—his relationships with the Vatican were monetarily beneficial—but Einhard’s inclusion of Charlemagne’s will removes all doubt. â€Å"In this division he is especially desirous to provide†¦the largess of alms which Christians usually make.† (Einhard, 52). In death, Charlemagne gave much of his wealth to the Church via the archbishops of each city in his empire, and further stipulated tha t upon the death of one of them, a portion of the remaining inheritance should go directly to the poor, as should the profit of the sale of his library.

Gainesboro Machine Tools Corporation †Essay Essay

Executive Summary Gainesboro Corporation was a company who designed and manufactured a number of machinery parts, including metal presses, dies, and molds. The company was found in 1923 in Concord, New Hampshire, by two mechanical engineers, James Gaines and David Scarboro. The two men had gone to school together and were disenchanted with their prospects as mechanics at a farm equipment manufacturer. In the 1940’s Gainesboro produced armored-vehicle and tank parts and miscellaneous equipment for the war effort. And then in the early 1980’s, they focused on manufacturing machinery parts, war equipment, and now entered new field of computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM). Objective Ashley Swenson, chief financial officer (CFO) in mid-September 2005 needed to submit recommendation to Gainesboro’s board of directors regarding the company’s dividend policy. The Gainesboro’s stock also fallen 18%to $22.15 due to post impact of the Hurricane Katrina. Now, Ashley Swenson’s dividend decision problem was compounded by the dilemma of whether to use company funds to pay shareholder dividends or to buy back stock. Analysis >>Buy-back Stock Stock Price per share = $22.15 Net income in year 2005 = $18,018,000 Number of shares = 18,600,000 shares (assumed number in year 2004 is still the same with year 2005) Earnings per share = $0.98 Price to earnings ratio ( P/E Ratio)=(Price per share)/EPS P⠁„E Ratio=22.15/0.98=22.6 Number of retired shares=(Net income)/(Price per share) Number of retired shares=18,018,000/22,15=813,453.72≈813,454 Therefore, number of shares outstanding =18,600,000-813,454=17,786,546 shares Then we can calculate the new EPS after repurchase stock, Earnings per Share (EPS) =(Net income)/(Number of shares) EPS =$18,018,000/17,786,546=$1,013 Thus, the new market price is =EPS x PE Ratio=1.013 x 22.6=$22.89 It can be seen that by buying back the stock, the market price can increase for 3.34%. >Pay shareholders dividend a. Zero dividend payout Policy This policy required the company will not pay dividend from 2005 to 2011.In the year 2005, The company expenditure was about $63.3 million dollars but the amount of the total sources was only $40 million, so in order to balanced the company financial condition, the company borrowed $22.7 million. The same thing was also happened in 2006, the company borrowed $7.3 million (total expenditure $72.8 million –total source $65.5 million). From 2007 to 2011, the company excess cash are positive ($4.2, $11.5, $29.4, $27.2, $77.6) million, these situation happened because the total expenditure remained lower than the company total source, so the company did not have to borrowing needs. So, by sum all of the excess cash and the borrowed money data from 2005 to 2011, we can calculate that the company total excess cash is $120 million. This kind of policy has the best impact on company’s financial condition because of the absence of dividend that will reduce the company’s retained earnings. Retained earning posses a greater role to make sure the company runs smoothly in the future by using minimum portion of debt required on a project, reflected in the industrial zero-dividend payout ratio. b. 40% dividend Payout From data in exhibit 8, 40% dividend payout means that the company will pay dividend 40% from net income from year 2005 to 2011. This results and the total excess cash for borrowing needs from 2005 to 2011 is ($95.1) million. The company will do borrowing from year 2005 to 2010. Amount of money borrowed respectively, ($29.9), ($23.3), ($18.8), (17.6), ($7.2), and ($12.0). All of the value comes from deduction of the total expenditures to  the total sources. Year 2011 the company will get $13.6 million excess cash ($212.5 million – $134.9 million). $134.9 million is from the total expenditures (capital expense + change in working capital). And $212.5 million comes from the total sources (net income + depreciation). By sum up all of values (excess cash and borrowed money) from year 2005 to 2011 we get the total cash flow of ($95.1) million. By raise dividend payout from 31.4% in 2004, 140,784(Net income)/0.25(dividend per share) to 40% company need excess cash 95.1 million; only in 2011 the company gain profit. The following is the calculation table: c. Residual-payout Dividend The following is the calculation for the residual-dividend payout: By applying residual payout policy, at the total of excess cash from year 2005 to year 2011, Gainesboro still experiences negative cash. It means they will still have to borrow extra cash to pay the dividend. Conclusion and Recommendation Based on the market price value, EPS, and P/E Ratio calculation, the company’s stock will have higher market price if they buy back the stock. Therefore, it’s recommended to buy back stock instead of paying dividend. It is also supported by the comparison between zero payout dividend, 40% payout ratio, and residual-payout. The best ending cash the company has is when they do zero payout ratio, which means they don’t give dividend at certain years. Since, to pay the dividend they will have borrowing need forcing them to increase the debt level. Meanwhile, they current debt level is already higher than the maximum level management expect which is 40%. The year 2005 debt to equity ratio is 140%. Also, without paying dividend, the company still can attract investors. It is shown from the P/E ratio that is in average if compared to other similar companies.

History Is About the Past Essay

History is the analysis of and interpretation of the human past that enables us to study continuity and change over time and space. Education on the other hand is about the present and concerned with improving the present individuals by appropriate studies. This relative difference between history and education raises the problem of whether history should have a place as curriculum discipline in modern Malawi. History entails a research, a narrative or an account that is commonly related to person, institution or place. The society of Malawi has people, institution as well as places that are historical and therefore to forgo the study of these things will bar the citizens to appreciate the social, cultural, political and economic events or changes happening in the country as well as the changes that have occurred. It has to be noted that change and continuity has been of human experience in every society including Malawi. History, as a curriculum discipline in modern Malawi is relevant if Malawi is to understand its role in Africa and the world at large in dealing with global realities such as limate change, gender relations, Pandemics among others. To begin with, history inclusion in the modern Malawi curriculum as a subject is also justifiable because it vital for good citizenship. Good citizenship is a common justification of placing history in a school curriculum. Other disciplines such as engineering, medicine and agriculture can really provide immediate solution to our daily problems their purpose cannot be an end in itself. There is need for a good citizen who will not avoid tax nor engage in corruption among others to ensure that every citizen benefits from the services. This is why history has to be taught so that people can learn good citizenship skills. History for instance accounts for why certain civilisations collapsed and why others triumphed. From this, students can deduce good traits of how citizen should act in order to develop his or her country. History provides information about the national institutions, problems and values. It is the storehouse of how nations have interacted with other nations. It provides comparative perspective essential for responsible citizens in a country. History would give Malawi essential habits of mind important for r public behaviour such as the importance of citizen participation in public activities, such as a community leader, an informed voter, and a well-informed petitioner. The second justification of history as a curriculum discipline in modern Malawi is that history will help Malawi as a country to recognise change and how our society must be channelled to meet the nation’s needs. For example, it is only when we notice that there is a change in the economic level of the people that we can stop subsidising some public services such as oil, water, education and farming tools. Likewise the changes that have occurred due to the scourge of HIV and AIDS pandemic has necessitated the abolition of some traditional practices Fisi,Kupimbira and Chokolo that increase the vulnerability of contracting the deadly disease. History can provide a historical analysis on why there is resistance from people as well as how people will be affected structurally if they alter their social institutions. History is able to trace things that have changed in a particular society including those that have resisted change and come up with the causes. This is because history is not just about some fixed or objective facts, as it perceived by many. Rather history is an interpretive discipline that forms the basis of confronting nearly every problem in the society. It promotes a wider understanding of both local and global affairs For instance, the problem of voter apathy during elections. While other social science may only present a description of the problem as regards the causes and inherent effects to the electoral results, history is able to come with a historical analysis as to when did the problem state since it can detect change. It can also figure out on whether the causes are the same factors over the years or are new reasons for voter apathy. The argument is that modern analysis of the problem is vital but a historical is clearly fundamental since it provides attention to complex processes of social change. History is also relevant to modern Malawi because it contributes to moral understanding. History challenges people to engage in moral contemplation. Through the study of ancient heroes and heroines such as Rose Chi ambo, James Sangala, John Chilembwe and Nightingale coupled with the situations in which they worked, students of history come to test their moral sense. History records individuals who for example sacrifice all they had to serve the destitute and this sets a good example to people who tend to emulate their moral sense. Some legendaries show people who were very patriot to their countries. These people portray great moral quality such as diligence, courage, constructive protests, active citizenship, heroism, self-sacrifice and devotion to duty and responsibility. This good morality tends to include the virtues of tolerance and empathy. The study of history lets students recognize the difference between what is good and what is evil. History instils in students the ability to understand and accommodate diverse views there by fleeing from bias and prejudice. The call to respect beliefs and practise of others is important in every society including Malawi to avoid conflicts such as civil wars. History as a curriculum discipline in modern Malawi is relevant in the sense that it helps citizens to understand people and societies. It is through the study of history that Malawi has come to understand the values and norms of different tribes that constitute the Malawi nation. If it were not for history, it would be hard to live harmoniously in Malawi. It is through learning of history that the people have come to find their identities as well as their values. History harbours all information about how the people have behaved, what values they have held in highest esteem and their norms over space and time. Among others, the knowledge of history has proven relevant when it comes to conflicts in boundaries both at village level and at national level. For instance, the current boarder dispute between Malawi and Tanzania calls for the stake holders who are handling such cases are to refer to history about the partition of Africa by the Europeans among others. In this case, it can be argued that history is relevant to Malawi as a curriculum discipline to e taught in schools. A number of other disciplines from social science may try to analyse the patter and operations of people’s values and structures but it may be hard. For example, sociology and anthropology will explain current behaviour using historical data. These disciplines at the end are tied to history as the source of their experiments. History in other words becomes their laboratory. For example to evaluate the values and beliefs of a Malawi, you need to appreciate the past experiences. Helps understand great complexities of the world so that that we better face them and challenge them. Another justification for history as a relevant curriculum discipline for modern Malawi is that it develops a number of skills required for career development, personal as well as public life of an individual. Studying history one learns the ability to asses proofs of statements and arguments. This in turn builds ones experience in handling evidence. Students learn to interpret statements of the facts about political leaders and distinguish between the objective and subjective statements of their leaders. They also learn to ask questions and put into use the evidence to arrive at conclusions of various matters that require them to make decisions for their own good or the society in general. These abilities can make good human resource for Malawi’s political , social-economic institutions . A good human resource must be able to bring together different types of evidences – public, private records, numerical data to develop coherent arguments for a decision based on variety of data. This is the skill students of history develop and can be applied to the daily life in decision-making, law, education and administration among others. History in modern Malawi curriculum is relevant as Malawian need to virtually gain access s to the laboratory of human experience from the infinity to the present. This will help them better confront the challenges they face since history will provide a big picture of those challenges and prevent them from making shortsighted decisions or solutions. History has to be studied and taught so that usable skills can e acquired to come up with relevant skills whish an enhance capacity for informed citizenship, critical thinking and simple awareness among other benefits that justify the relevance of history as a curriculum discipline for modern Malawi. It has been argued that history engages people in to a dialogue that removes prejudices that people carry always. People come to confront their own biases that create space in the mind for diverse viewpoints without conflicts. Excluding history in the school curriculum would be as dangerous as losing identify. To take the words of Nkrumah that people denied history are people deprived of dignity.

The Enlightened Views of J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur Essays

The Enlightened Views of J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur Essays The Enlightened Views of J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur Paper The Enlightened Views of J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur Paper Essay Topic: Letters From an american Farmer Letters from an American Farmer is an excellent example of how a New World American thinks about the many changes occurring and that have occurred during the era of Enlightenment. Crevecoeur’s essay is an enlightened perspective that shows how the people of that time are feeling about being a part of the new world and its current workings. Although the writer is originally from Normandy, and later Canada, he seems to truly grasp the changes in American society and how vastly different it is from Europe. Crevecoeur explains that America is a literal melting pot for people of all religions. He states that â€Å"the Americans become as to religion what they are as a country, allied to all†. When Crevecoeur describes the religions of the nation he makes note of the fact that even if the people of a certain â€Å"sect† do not practice the same religion as the newcomers, that â€Å"neither the government nor any other power interferes†, showing the great tolerance that America has for all. The â€Å"indifference† of America is quite different from the way society is in Europe during the 1700-1800’s. During the Enlightenment the people of America appear to come to the realization that although religions may be different in some ways, they are also similar in others. The social class divisions in America during the Enlightenment are also quite different than that of Europe. â€Å"It is not composed, as in Europe, of great lords who posses everything, and of a herd of people who have nothing†. During the period of enlightenment the people of America came to realize that if they work hard enough that what they earn is for them to keep. There are no Kings or Dictators ruling the lower class. There is a huge amount of personal and financial freedom to be gained in American during this time. Crevecoeur states that â€Å"each person works for himself†. American became a class-less society during the Enlightenment period where each individual was allowed as much room to grow as needed. The Enlightenment was a period of much intellectual and social growth. The way the American people looked at the world around them had changed. During the Enlightenment the American people started to believe that all men were free people, that religion and science go hand in hand, and that the government didn’t have to be in complete control to still be effective. America became a very fair and equal country where the poor could prosper and â€Å"receive ample reward from the fruits of their labors†.

How to Use a Running Record to Assess Beginning Readers

How to Use a Running Record to Assess Beginning Readers A running record is an assessment method that helps teachers evaluate students reading fluency, ability to use reading strategies, and readiness to advance. This assessment emphasizes the students thought process, which allows teachers to go beyond counting the number of words read correctly. In addition, observing a students demeanor while reading (calm, relaxed, tense, hesitant) provides valuable insight into his instructional needs. Running records can be used to guide instruction, track progress, and choose appropriate reading material. A running record is slightly more formal than simple observation assessments, but it is still an easy tool for measuring reading fluency. Tracking Errors The first aspect of a running record is tracking student errors. Errors include misread words, mispronounced words, substitutions, omissions, insertions, and words that the teacher had to read. Mispronounced proper nouns should only be counted as one error regardless of how many times the word appears in the text. However, all other mispronunciations should be counted as one error each time they occur. If a student skips a line of text, count all words in the line as errors. Note that mispronunciations don’t include those pronounced differently due to a child’s dialect or accent. Repeated words do not count as an error. Self-correction- when a student realizes he has made an error and corrects it- does not count as an  error. Understanding Reading Cues The second part of a running record is analyzing reading cues. There are three different reading cue strategies to be aware of when analyzing a student’s reading  behavior: meaning, structural,  and  visual.   Meaning (M) Meaning cues indicate that a student is thinking about what she is reading. She is taking cues from the context of the passage, the meaning of the sentence, and any illustrations in the text. For example, she may say street when she encounters the word road. This error doesn’t affect her comprehension of the text. To determine whether the reading behavior reflects the use of a meaning cue, ask yourself, â€Å"Does the substitution make sense?† Structural (S) Structural clues indicate an understanding of English syntax- what sounds right in the sentence. A student who uses structural clues is relying on  her knowledge of grammar and sentence structure. For example, she may read goes instead of went, or  sea instead of ocean. To determine whether the reading behavior reflects the use of a structural cue, ask yourself, â€Å"Does the substitution sound right in the context of the sentence?† Visual (V) Visual cues show that a student is using his knowledge of the appearance of the letters or words to make sense of the text. He may substitute a word that looks visually similar to the word in the sentence. For example, he may read boat instead of bike or car instead of cat. The substituted words may start or end with the same letters or have other visual similarities, but the substitution does not make sense. To determine whether the reading behavior reflects the use of a visual cue, ask yourself, â€Å"Does the substituted word look like the misread word?† How to Use a Running Record in the Classroom Select a passage that is appropriate for the student’s  reading level. The passage should be at least 100-150 words  long. Then, prepare the running record form: a double-spaced copy of the text the student is reading, so that errors and cue strategies can be recorded quickly during the assessment. To conduct the running record, sit next to the student  and instruct her to read the passage aloud. Mark the running record form by checking off each word that the student reads correctly. Use notations to mark reading miscues such as substitutions, omissions, insertions, interventions, and self-corrections. Record which reading cue(s)- meaning, structural, or physical- the student uses for errors and self-corrections. After the student finishes reading the passage, calculate her accuracy and self-correction rate. First, subtract the number of errors from the total number of words in the passage. Divide that number by the total number of words in the passage and multiply by 100 to get the percentage of accuracy. For example, if a student reads 100 words with 7 errors, her accuracy score is 93%. (100-793; 93 / 100 0.93; 0.93 * 100 93.) Next, calculate the student’s self-correction rate by adding the total number of errors to the total number of self-corrections. Then, divide that total by the total number of self-corrections. Round to the nearest whole number and place the final result in a ratio of 1 to the number. For example, if a student makes 7 errors and 4 self-corrections, her self-correction rate is 1:3. The student self-corrected one time for every three misread words. (7411; 11/42.75; 2.75 rounds up to 3; ratio of self-corrections to errors is 1:3.) Use the first running record assessment to establish a  student’s baseline. Then, complete subsequent running records at regular intervals. Some teachers like to repeat the evaluation as often as every two weeks for beginning readers, while others prefer to administer them quarterly.

How to Organize Your Remote Team for Better Collaboration and Increased Results

How to Organize Your Remote Team for Better Collaboration and Increased Results Remote work is the new black. More and more specialists understand the pros of remote work for their productivity  and professional growth, choosing this type of employment today. To be specific, around two-thirds of global employees  work remotely. And while 44%  of global companies don’t allow remote work, small ones are twice as likely to hire remote specialists. Why? Remote teams demonstrate better focus and productivity. They have a better work-life balance, 82% less stress, and more opportunities for professional development. Marketers or business owners, we all want to work with the best professionals, right? So we need to understand all the hidden pros and cons of managing a team of remote workers. Are we sure we know who they are? What makes them different from freelancers? And, after all, are we ready  to build and work with a remote team for better business results? In this post, youll find the detailed profile of a remote specialist, get the idea of how to organize your everyday work with them, and know how to check their performance and motivate them to work even better. Sure enough, it goes with actionable tips and tools for organizing your remote teams work processes for max result. Templates to Manage a Remote Team Before getting into the nuts and bolts of this post, check out some templates to make managing a remote team easier. You’ll find: A creative brief template  to improve communication. An Agile standup template  to improve daily syncs. A Marketing Calendar Template  to set and meet all your deadlines. Freelancers vs. Remote Workers Some managers confuse remote workers with freelancers, but these two categories of specialists are far from the same. Freelancers have no employment obligations. You make a deal, asking a freelancer to do some work on your project; you discuss requirements and deadlines, and that's it. Freelancers work according to their own schedule, can choose projects from multiple brands, and invoice you based on their  rates and fees. Remote workers are your full-time employees who are just absent in the office physically. They are free to work remotely  from anywhere in the world but have a fixed working schedule and monthly salary. They can't work for other brands. In plain English, it's an office job that's not in the office. Your remote worker should clearly understand what goals they'll achieve in the workplace, what skills they'll get, and what they can give to your brand. Remote specialists need to realize they want to work for your company. With all that, they'll create cool things, outstanding and appreciated by others. They should have creative thinking  and independent decision-making: as a manager, you don't have the time nor the opportunity to answer constant questions; and your remote workers don't have time to ask tons of questions since they can’t just drop by your desk whenever. That said, they need to exhibit good decision-making skills as not to slow down the work process. Around two-thirds of global employees work remotely at some point during the week. Here are the...Why It's Awesome to Work With Remote Teams Reasons are many, but the top five are: Remote Workers are Result-oriented They understand that the company is giving them something they truly value†¦ the ability to work remotely. This creates a great deal of loyalty and the desire to prove their worth so remote workers are often high-performers that produce great results. You Open Your Doors to the Best Talent The global state of remote work allows you to find and hire specialists from all over the world. You don't choose from 10 or 100 people in your local market, but thousands across the world. It's specifically handy to have local knowledge when promoting your marketing campaigns  abroad. You Get a Chance to Organize all Business Processes Better For efficient work with remote teams, you need to organize, plan, structure, and manage everything up and down. It's your opportunity to fix drawbacks and improve your existing processes. You Have a Better Chance of Attracting Gen Y and Z By 2025, Millennials will occupy 75% of the workplace; and by 2020, 36% of employees  will be Gen Z. These are generations known as life hackers, global citizens, entrepreneurial spirits, and individualistic. They look for flexible work hours, desire to travel the world, and want a job that wouldn't nail them down to one location. That said, remote work becomes the top option for them. Your Employees Will be Happier Allowing your employees to work remotely creates happier employees. They aren’t subjects to many of the stress-related aspects of an office job like long commutes, they travel more and live how they want, and they appreciate that. So, as a rule, remote workers are more loyal  to your business organization.

Behavior of students Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Behavior of students - Essay Example Parents cause stress by demanding only the best grades. Students are often in relationships with people of the opposite sex. Sometimes these relationships end badly. This is a stressful situation. Teachers are also under stress. They need to prepare lectures, grade essays and conduct research in order to keep their jobs. They are always writing and reading so they know what is best to teach their students. Many teachers participate in committees that keep them late after work. Teaching students is a stressful job. The problem with putting stressed-out students and Stressed-out teachers together in the classroom is obvious. Students will want to get class over with as soon as possible to be with their friends and to start on their assignments. Teachers work hard to make their lessons, so they want to get the best information tot her students. Sometimes this situation can create conflict, resulting in student behavior problems. One behavior problem that many students have is ignoring the teacher. They will sit in class and pretend to listen to the teacher but they are actually sending secret text messages or playing games on their laptops. The students do this as an act of silent rebellion. They are trying to control the situation by participating in activities they would rather do, all while they are fooling the teacher. Students in these classes are bound to get lower grades if they participate in this behavior. They seem to think that simply sitting class gives them a right to good grades. Ignoring the teacher is a bad student behavior that leads to bad grades. Another behavior problem students have is actually caused by poor teaching. Sleeping in class is a student behavior that is disruptive to the learning in the class. Many students may say that they are not hurting anyone if they sleep. This is not true. Sleeping actually distracts other students, especially if you snore. This behavior is

Research For Marketing Practitioners Assignment

Research For Marketing Practitioners - Assignment Example About half of the dishes are made up of ethnic dishes, for instance Chinese and Indian, indicating an interest in exotic tastes, but some of the recipes are made up of Continental recipes, such as Italian. Italian ready meals are made up of pasta which has a healthy image and attractive to children and students. The vegetable-based ready meals sector is also growing and attractive to students. This is followed by the fish-based and then the meat-based. Considered health foods are primarily made up of vegetables and fish. The UK has been hailed as the most developed market in Europe when it comes to chilled ready meals. (Dennis and Stringer 2000, p. 14) In 1994, chilled ready meals had a per capita consumption of 1 kg., compared to Germany’s 0.3 kg, France’s 0.2 kg and Spain’s .1 kg. In other words, the potential for chilled ready meals is great in the UK and if this is reflected in Europe, it has great future potential for business venture. (Dennis and Stringer 2 000, p. 14) Pizza sales registered a high growth of 10% during the period 1994-97. Manufacturers wanted to stimulate more demands for pizzas by introducing various flavours and in exploiting consumer’s growing love for exotic tastes. ... Mixed salads with new varieties of leaves have also been introduced to the craving palates of students. Manufacturers have introduced sandwiches, a favorite feature of student snacks. The British Sandwich Association released statistics stating that sandwiches have been hailed as the most popular fast food in the UK. It has a market of ?3.25 billion and fast growing at a rate of 13% annually. Sandwiches have been reported to represent 41% of the fast food sector, while burgers only represent 18%, and fish and chips only represent 12%. Sandwiches are a favorite snacks meal for the British, with the UK having the world’s highest per capita consumption of sandwiches. And this is true for men, women and children. (Dennis and Stringer 2000, p. 15) This paper is a proposal to outline a research programme to test a range of meals amongst the student population in the UK. The client is focusing on selling low value/medium quality product ranges, and is particularly interested in the m arket for consumers on limited incomes.  Ã‚   Their product consists of a range of nutritious, but reasonably priced ready meals – individual and paired servings – and is targeted on the UK student population.  Ã‚   2.0 Research Objective The purpose of this paper is to determine the growing demand of ready meals from the UK student population and to determine what particular dishes they require for snacks, lunch and dinner. For this company to meet its goals, it is essential that the food shall be tested by the students in a specific university which has been identified by the client. The university is a popular institution of higher learning with a very large population and can represent the student population in London. This research will determine

ACE Network Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

ACE Network Design - Essay Example Secondly, the extensive use of e-commerce by corporations in their business operations has instigated a heightened requirement for connectivity of businesses with rest of the world through internet. Local area networks have to be hooked with internet while ensuring maximum security. Emphasizing the interaction of Local Area Networks with internet, Comer (2006, p.3) states, â€Å"From a user’s point view, the internet appears to consist of a set of application programs that use the underlying network to carry out useful communication tasks.† The increased dependence of organizational operations on computer networks has prompted detailed planning and management of network designs. Szczuka, Daniel and Dominik (p. 269) observes, â€Å"There has been an explosive growth in internet systems since the 1990s. Network design problems are one of the important issues in the building and expansion of computer networks and have attracted many related researchers’ attention.à ¢â‚¬  Advance Concepts Engineering (ACE) is a medium sized enterprise that deals with development and commercialization of products. Adoption and application of state-of-the-art technologies is a core business value at ACE. Although, presently ACE is operating is small setup but in the enterprise is in the phase of switching its business to a more specious building in an industrial park. This has generated a reasonably serious challenge of designing and implementing a network infrastructure that can meet the business requirement while keeping the core value of technological advancement intact. The network design and implementation is a challenging task in multistory building with a dozen of other design limitations. These limitations have given birth to a range from logical to physical issues in network implementation. These issues include the issues of network scalability, convergence, security, high availability, stability and network traffic management. ACE would require careful ly designed network architecture to achieve these corporate objectives. This report will present a detailed network infrastructure design to accommodate all business and technological needs of the network. The report will present also present a diagrammatic overview of the topological layout of network infrastructure devices. Moreover, to streamline the process of network design and management a number of requirements will be formulated and finalized. These requirements may include the number and type of components like user machines, switches, routers and servers, network availability details, addressing scheme, media to be used in the network and mechanisms to eradicate network and mechanical noise. Network Media The selection of network media is an important decision in network design and management. The decision of media can directly affect the network speed, sustainability and maintenance. The selection of media is topology dependent. Topology is the physical layout of network devices, (Ciccarelli & Faulkne, 2004, p.88) and the decision once made on topology and network media is seldom changed or it might be very expensive to change this decision at a later stage to cater network management or optimization issues. The selection of media for a network environment also depends on the user speed requirements, available resources and future network expansion plans. The ACE network will use a mix of unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) and fiber optic cables. Drop cables or patch cables that run from wall fixed faceplates to computers, printers, scanners, IP Phones and other user end devices will use CAT6 UTP cables, CAT6 UTP standard support the gigabit speed for network traffic. Faceplates will further connect these devices to switches placed in a separate switch rooms.

International Relation 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Relation 2 - Essay Example One of these books is An Account, Much Abbreviated, of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolome de las Casas (2003). In this text, he focuses on the genocide and greed of the Spaniards. He argues that Christians have killed so many native souls, because of their materialistic passion for gold and goal of making themselves rich in a very short time. de las Casas makes sense of the Spanish war in the Americas as a brutal strategy for pursuing purely materialistic purposes. The particular view of history he uses is that of a polemicist, where he criticizes the barbaric approach of the Spaniards against the Indians. Furthermore, he is guilty of representing the Americas as utopia, and his descriptions and history present problems of self-biases and inaccuracies, since he is also advancing his own interests of promoting colonization for evangelical purposes. de las Casas makes sense of the Spanish war in the Americas as an atrocious strategy for pursuing purely materialistic purposes. F or many Spaniards, the new world promises wealth, fame, and distinction, even for priests, but upon arrival there, de las Casas realizes that the Spaniards are not after noble purposes. First, de las Casas takes account of the millions of natives killed, because Spaniards launched widespread genocide. de las Casas does not use the term genocide, but he describes islands with vanished populations, which remarks of the genocidal practices of the Spaniards. He says: â€Å"As to the firm land, we are certainly satisfied, and assur’d, that the Spaniards by their barbarous and execrable Actions have absolutely depopulated Ten Kingdoms, of greater extent than all Spain† and even â€Å"together with the Kingdoms of Arragon and Portugal, that is to say, about One Thousand Miles, which now lye wast [sic] and desolate†¦above Fifty Millions in all paid their debts† (7). The colonization originally aims to spread civilization, Christianity, and expand the Spanish Kingdo m, but de las Casas witnesses something less purer. He stresses that Christian Spaniards are motivated to kill by the millions, with such viciousness, because of aspirations of wealth and power: â€Å"Now the ultimate end and scope that incited the Spaniards to endeavor the Extirptation [sic] and Desolation of this People, was Gold only; that thereby growing opulent in a short time† they could be attain â€Å"Degrees and Dignitaries† that were â€Å"no ways consistent with their Persons† (8). These accounts show that materialism had driven the motive for so many senseless deaths that de las Casas capitalized on. The particular view of history that de las Casas uses is that of a polemicist, where he disparages the barbaric approach of the Spaniards against the Indians (Boyer 365). Boyer says: â€Å"[An Account, Much Abbreviated, of the Destruction of the Indies]†¦ represents Las Casas the polemicist and pamphleteer, belonging to that portion of his oeuvre t hat can be characterized as politicized and politicizing rhetoric, in contrast to the longer pieces like the Historia de las Indias† (365). This view demonstrates that de las Casas writes about the history of the Incas from the biased point of polemics, where he argues for better treatment of the natives, thereby acting as an intermediary between the Indians and the monarchy. He comes across to his audience by using more of pathos or emotions to depict

Research Log Book Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Log Book - Research Paper Example It is also important to note that every new inventor of phonographs had their own distinguished motives attached to their inventions (Sterne, 2003). Where Berliner wanted to investigate aesthetic possibilities, Edison wanted to use it for educational and social purposes. So, the sound reproduction machines actually transformed into hearing machines that cultural and social values attached to them. From their onwards, there has been a continuous advancement in the given field. The first intended purpose of phonautographs was to produce sound on the paper i.e. create documents of sound’s frequency that can be read by humans instead of machines (Feaster, 2010). Later on, the same principle was used to recreate sounds. Personal analysis of this phenomenon of sound recreation helped in understanding that sound reproduction actually undermines the social process of sound creation. We are surrounded by machines in the form of amplifiers, roofer, hi-fi sonic systems, musical recording s that just reproduce the sounds burnt into optical discs. However, this burning of sound into disc not only put an end to a learning process that was a by-product of sound production on a paper but also fails to illustrate the actual experience of first production of sound. In addition to that, the essence of original sound is already lost too. The sound of music and speech that we hear every day in the compact storage devices is already tempered and edited. Therefore, the user of sound does not have access to the real sound. The only replication of real sound that is available these days is in the form of real-time radio. Although radio itself as a medium does not follow the principles of phonautographs however electronic devices used to play these radio channels do follow simple rules of sound reproduction. Hence, phonautographs do exist in 21st century as well but real sound is not in the reach of many of us. Second Entry: The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. Argument prese nted by Elizabeth Eisenstein illustrated the revolution in printing after the advent of typography. Although her selected time period and regional studies are rather limited and her analysis cannot be applied on general European and Asian literature however it does illustrate the transformation that medieval literature went through after revolution in printing press. More than Eisenstein, McLuhan appears to be a strong advocate of use of technology in preservation and dissemination of literature (Leed, 1982). McLuhan recognizes the importance of technological advancements for literature and believes in modification of typographic culture under the influence of electronic media. Where print helped in brining oral speech to a visual space, use of electronic medium is allowing this visual space to be at readily available for human use irrespective of time and space (Eisenstein, 1979). I personally use kindle for reading books which would have been impossible to carry with me otherwise. Eisenstein believes that most of the literature uses stereotypes and cliches for reproduction of literature and continuous reproduction can have an effect of reinforcement on those who have access to this frequently referenced literature (Odin, 1997). Hence, it can be said that emergence of printing press paved ways for more technological adv

Curriculum Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Curriculum Leadership - Essay Example The Newton County School requires that its teaching fraternity evaluate the effectiveness of the current curriculum and determine if there is need to make some adjustments. The curriculum is dynamic in nature since it changes with the alteration and modifications in the job market. For instance, there are changes in technology, administration skills, and business management among other developmental aspects of the current job market. It would be wise to equip students with such advancements to increase their suitability. This work would focus on some of interview conducted to ascertain the need of some changes in the Newton county school’s curriculum among other issues related to the school’s curriculum formulation. The school leaders must, however, adhere to the school policies and standards as stipulated by the government’s and school’s strategic plan. Furthermore, the school administration is charged with the responsibility of standardizing the curricul um as per the required standard set by the Georgia Department of Education. The formulation of such policies is done with the encouragement of the parent and community input in the operation of the school district. Public opinion or participation is also involved in the formulation of the curriculum or policies (Hlebowitsh, 2005). The most important consideration is that the county’s curriculum must match that of other counties, as required by the Education Act of the United States. The policies are centered on various issues such as school district organization, school board operations, general school administration, fiscal management, business management, facility expansion programs, personnel, instructional programs, students, and inter-organizational relations. Under instructional program policies there are sections addressing policies on curriculum design processes, gifted student programs, scheduling for instruction, policies on unstructured break times, media programs, promotion, and retention of students. The interview session The main purpose of the interview session with the county’s education officer was to ascertain whether the county’s education system was at par with other counties’, as required by the U.S. law. I got a chance to ask him what factors are considered before a certain curriculum is considered obsolete. The term obsolete has been never applicable in any education system; what applies is updated system which requires improvement and adjustment. The county requires school administrators, parents, work force representatives to meet at the end of each year and discuss the current advancements that call for change in the school curriculum. He further argued that counties are in competition; hence, no county would wish to lag behind, as far as school curriculum is concerned. The aim of any education system is to produce a whole round personality ready to be absorbed in the job market. The end product of an educa tion system should have good ethics, technology knowledge, physically fit, be morally upright and flexible in terms of relevant changes in the job market. Hence, it requires a comprehensive curriculum to train such students. The director also mentioned that he does not call for overworking them. The children’

Research Log Book Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Log Book - Research Paper Example It is also important to note that every new inventor of phonographs had their own distinguished motives attached to their inventions (Sterne, 2003). Where Berliner wanted to investigate aesthetic possibilities, Edison wanted to use it for educational and social purposes. So, the sound reproduction machines actually transformed into hearing machines that cultural and social values attached to them. From their onwards, there has been a continuous advancement in the given field. The first intended purpose of phonautographs was to produce sound on the paper i.e. create documents of sound’s frequency that can be read by humans instead of machines (Feaster, 2010). Later on, the same principle was used to recreate sounds. Personal analysis of this phenomenon of sound recreation helped in understanding that sound reproduction actually undermines the social process of sound creation. We are surrounded by machines in the form of amplifiers, roofer, hi-fi sonic systems, musical recording s that just reproduce the sounds burnt into optical discs. However, this burning of sound into disc not only put an end to a learning process that was a by-product of sound production on a paper but also fails to illustrate the actual experience of first production of sound. In addition to that, the essence of original sound is already lost too. The sound of music and speech that we hear every day in the compact storage devices is already tempered and edited. Therefore, the user of sound does not have access to the real sound. The only replication of real sound that is available these days is in the form of real-time radio. Although radio itself as a medium does not follow the principles of phonautographs however electronic devices used to play these radio channels do follow simple rules of sound reproduction. Hence, phonautographs do exist in 21st century as well but real sound is not in the reach of many of us. Second Entry: The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. Argument prese nted by Elizabeth Eisenstein illustrated the revolution in printing after the advent of typography. Although her selected time period and regional studies are rather limited and her analysis cannot be applied on general European and Asian literature however it does illustrate the transformation that medieval literature went through after revolution in printing press. More than Eisenstein, McLuhan appears to be a strong advocate of use of technology in preservation and dissemination of literature (Leed, 1982). McLuhan recognizes the importance of technological advancements for literature and believes in modification of typographic culture under the influence of electronic media. Where print helped in brining oral speech to a visual space, use of electronic medium is allowing this visual space to be at readily available for human use irrespective of time and space (Eisenstein, 1979). I personally use kindle for reading books which would have been impossible to carry with me otherwise. Eisenstein believes that most of the literature uses stereotypes and cliches for reproduction of literature and continuous reproduction can have an effect of reinforcement on those who have access to this frequently referenced literature (Odin, 1997). Hence, it can be said that emergence of printing press paved ways for more technological adv

Eagle Scout App Essay Example for Free

Eagle Scout App Essay Attach to this application a statement of your ambitions and life purpose and a listing of positions held in your religious institution, school, camp, community, or other organizations during which you demonstrated leadership skills. Include honors and awards received during this service. All of my days on this planet, I have dreamed of being a professional musician. I’ve been taking piano lessons for about ten years now and I see it as the only route to satisfaction in my life. Teachers, fellow musicians, and professionals constantly stimulate this dire need to create for the rest of my life. I play drums, piano, guitar, xylophone, and I also strum the vocal chords. I plan to audition for Berkeley among many other music schools next year, but even if I don’t succeed in making the auditions, I still plan to continue writing and spreading music for the rest of my life. Scouting has helped me in this regard in many ways. Technically scouting doesn’t have a very significant connection to the arts, but it has shown me many other concepts that I’ve utilized in maintaining a self motivating and ever-evolving life. Scouting has first showed me that to gain an experience in the world, you must try new things, that might be out of your comfort zone. I’ve learned how to truly help other people along with gaining self confidence in the things I was doing. To explore, camp, and spend an extensive amount of time with a group of boys for over 10 years has also exposed to me to the comforts and discomforts of confinement. I’ve learned to cope a variety of situations, and it’s only rounded my understanding of human nature and my place in it.

Resource Based View Of Firms Competitive Advantage

Resource Based View Of Firms Competitive Advantage The nature of competition constitutes the basis of a firm s success or failure. Quality today no longer constitutes a competitive weapon. Organisations long term success in a market is determined by its ability to expand and maintain a large number of loyal customer bases. Innovation has always been at the focus of competitiveness. Innovation often occurs in sudden dynamic shifts. It is these sudden competitive changing innovations that open up and close out vast areas of businesses. A firm s core competences is dependent on its capacity to creatively combine core skills (Prahalad, 1993), from both within and out side the organisation. However, what matters is the creative bundling of a firm s core competency (Prahalad, 1993) and thus, the need for a focus on the factors that signal value to the customers. Firms are required not only to improve, but to innovate products and services and anticipate customer needs on a continuous basis. In order to maintain a long-term relationship with the customer, firms need to demonstrate their ability to think for the customer, and to conceive and implement new ways to serve them better. Table of contents Executive Summary 1 1.0 Introduction An Overview of the Resource-Based View (RBV) 2.0 Competitive Advantage and Innovation 3-7 3.0 International Business Machines Corporation IBM 4.0 SONY 8 5.0 Procter Gamble 11 6.0 Conclusion 14 References 15-18 Bibliography and Appendices 19-21 1.0 Introduction An Overview of the Resource-Based View (RBV) RBV is a strategic theory for understanding why some firms outperform others. It is a widely adopted analytical tool of assessing a firm s internal strengths and weaknesses and a business management tool used to determine the strategic resources available to a firm. The fundamental principle of the RBV is that the basis for a competitive advantage of a firm lies primarily in the application of the bundle of valuable resources at the firms disposal (Wernerfelt, 1984, p172). It provides an explanation of competitive heterogeneity between firms. To transform a short-run competitive advantage into a sustained competitive advantage requires that these resources are heterogeneous in nature and not perfectly mobile (Peteraf, 1993, p180). Classical RBV theory was contributed by Penrose (1959) almost half a century ago. She argued that a firm is more than an administrative unit. It is also a collection of productive resources. The disposal of the resources between different users over time is determined by administrative decision. Penrose contributed to our knowledge of the creation of competitive advantage, sustaining competitive advantage, isolating mechanisms, and competitive advantage and economic rents (Kor and Mahoney, 2004). Modern RBV theory of the firm was introduced by Barney (1986, 1991), Dierickx and Cool (1989), and Peteraf (1993). Their works assumed that each firm is a collection of key resources and capabilities that determines a firm s strategy. Above-average returns are earned when the firm uses its core competencies to establish a competitive advantage over its rivals. With the progress in the research on RBV, it has become clear that the RBV extends beyond the assets of an organization and reaches i nto its capabilities which have more relation with process and activities. According to Barney (1991), for a firm to have the potential to generate competitive advantage firm resources must have four attributes. First, the firm must be valuable, in the sense that it exploits opportunities and or neutralizes threats in a firm s environment. Secondly, it must be rare among a firm s current and potential competition. Thirdly, it must be imperfectly imitable. Finally, there cannot be strategically equivalent substitutes for this resource . Identify the firm s potential key resources. Evaluate whether these resources fulfill the following (VRIN) criteria: Valuable A resource must enable a firm to employ a value-creating strategy, by either outperforming its competitors or reduce its own weaknesses (:p99;p36). Relevant in this perspective is that the transaction costs associated with the investment in the resource cannot be higher than the discounted future rents that flow out of the value-creating strategy (Mahoney and Prahalad, 1992, p370; Conner, 1992, p131). Rare To be of value, a resource must be by definition rare. In a perfectly competitive strategic factor market for a resource, the price of the resource will be a reflection of the expected discounted future above-average returns (Barney, 1986a, p1232-1233; Dierickx and Cool, 1989, p1504;[1]:p100). In-imitable If a valuable resource is controlled by only one firm it could be a source of a competitive advantage ([1]:p107). This advantage could be sustainable if competitors are not able to duplicate this strategic asset perfectly (Peteraf, 1993, p183; Barney, 1986b, p658). The term isolating mechanism was introduced by Rumelt (1984, p567) to explain why firms might not be able to imitate a resource to the degree that they are able to compete with the firm having the valuable resource (Peteraf, 1993, p182-183; Mahoney and Pandian, 1992, p371). An important underlying factor of inimitability is causal ambiguity, which occurs if the source from which a firm s competitive advantage stems is unknown (Peteraf, 1993, p182; Lippman and Rumelt, 1982, p420). If the resource in question is knowledge-based or socially complex, causal ambiguity is more likely to occur as these types of resources are more likely to be idiosyncratic to the firm in which it resides (Peteraf, 1993, p183; Mahoney and Pandian, 1992, p365;[1]:p110). Conner and Prahalad go so far as to say knowledge-based resources are the essence of the resource-based perspective (1996, p477). Non-substitutable Even if a resource is rare, potentially value-creating and imperfectly imitable, an equally important aspect is lack of substitutability (Dierickx and Cool, 1989, p1509;[1]:p111). If competitors are able to counter the firm s value-creating strategy with a substitute, prices are driven down to the point that the price equals the discounted future rents (Barney, 1986a, p1233; sheikh, 1991, p137), resulting in zero economic profits. 1.1 Competitive Advantage A firm can attain competitive advantage if the current strategy is value-creating, and not currently being implemented by present or possible future competitors. Competitive advantage has the ability to become sustained, however, this is not necessarily the case always. A competing firm can enter the market with a resource that has the ability to invalidate the prior firms competitive advantage, which results in reduced rents (Barney, 1986b, p658). Sustainability in the context of a sustainable competitive advantage is independent with regards to the time-frame. When the imitative actions have come to an end without disrupting the firm s competitive advantage, the firm s strategy can be called sustainable. This is contrary to other views that a competitive advantage is sustained when it provides above-average returns in the long run. (Porter, 1985). 2.0 Competitive Advantage through Innovation A convenient definition of innovation from an organizational perspective is given by Luecke and Katz (2003), who wrote: Innovation . . . is generally understood as the successful introduction of a new thing or method . . . Innovation is the embodiment, combination, or synthesis of knowledge in original, relevant, valued new products, processes, or services. A content analysis on the term innovation carried out by Baregheh et al. (2009) within the organizational context, defines innovation as: Innovation is the multi-stage process whereby organizations transform ideas into new/improved products, service or processes, in order to advance, compete and differentiate themselves successfully in their marketplace.[3] Innovation typically involves creativity, but is not identical to it: innovation involves acting on the creative ideas to make some specific and tangible difference in the domain in which the innovation occurs. For example, Amabile et al. (1996) propose: All innovation begins with creative ideas . . . We define innovation as the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization. In this view, creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation; the first is necessary but not sufficient condition for the second. For innovation to occur, something more than the generation of a creative idea or insight is required: the insight must be put into action to make a genuine difference, resulting for example in new or altered business processes within the organization, or changes in the products and services provided. Innovation, like many business functions, is a management process that requires specific tools, rules, and discipline. Innovation is an instinctive behavior in certain companies. It does not emerge overnight, and will not be developed unless the firm is placed in with the right structure. This means that the firms need to identify and address their weakness, decide upon a strategic direction and determine what type of growth innovation will stimulate. In order for firms to survive intensive competition that exist around the globe, firms must be innovative. It is essential to understand what makes a firm innovative and the kind of resources make a significant contribution to a firm s innovation capabilities. We do know that good technological resources and rich innovation resources result in stronger innovation capabilities. Companies need to introduce architectural or business- model breakthroughs in order to develop new strategies to attack competitors and enter new markets. They must identify the gaps in industrial organisation and go into filling these gaps by finding ways to turn them into profitable markets. They need to find new customers, new products or new ways of promoting, producing or distributing them. Strategic innovation goes beyond just product innovation. It links resources and efforts to an overall business strategy and involves making knowledge creation and innovative action a way of life. It seeks to create and expand markets, rather than to react to customer demand and then redirecting its resources from profitable lines to more potentially profitable lines. According to Abraham and Knight (2001), for those managers who know about the strategic innovation approach, the approach serves as a part of intelligence-gene transplant , enabling them to leverage resources to achieve superior growth or competitive advantage. Innovation remains a management dilemma long-term survival requires a commitment to alteration and change through disrupting growth, but it s a strategy few companies survive. In order to solve the dilemma, leaders must address its inherent conflict. The need to innovate is universally perceived as the key to organizational survival, but it s not enough for companies to merely get better. They need to be more differentiated not just through extensions of existing businesses, but mainly through a commitment to continuous growth. Such transformational innovation is a necessity, not an option Strategic innovation process has become such an essential element due to the speed of change and increased competition. According to Abraham and Knight (2001), The process is based on repetitions of the five phase strategic innovation cycle as illustrated in the diagram below. Source : Abraham, J.L, and Knight, D.J, (2001) Strategic Innovation leveraging creative action for more profitable growth. Strategy Leadership 29, pp 24 Abraham and Knight (2001), states that This cycle helps transform difficult-to-describe tacit knowledge and experiences into more explicit form and enables a leader to deliberately and systematically create results-oriented knowledge and innovative action. Abraham and Knight (2001) identifies the five phases as per of the strategic innovation cycle. It is illustrated in Appendix 1. Abraham and Knight (2001) also identified a strategic innovation cycle In the below diagram, the strategic innovation cycle is recurring, generating an increased knowledge and innovation, spiraling up and across an organization and even reaching outside the organizations boundaries Source : Abraham, J.L, and Knight, D.J, (2001) Strategic Innovation leveraging creative action for more profitable growth. Strategy Leadership 29, pp 24 2.1 Criticism of innovation It is often considered that firms often resist to change, both within and outside the organisation. Virtually every large company that has got into trouble has been criticized for not changing rapidly enough. Many firms fail to anticipate change and its subsequent ramifications renders them unprepared, reactionary and lacking the drive necessary to respond to the market s demands. It has become increasingly important for firms today to introduce innovation and flexibility into their core competence (Peters, 1987). Moreover, in order to influence an organisation s potential resources, Prahalad (1993) argues for the development of a proactive framework in which innovation can be planned and managed. 3.0 Over view of International Business Machines Corporation IBM. The building block of IBM reach back into the mid 1880s, however, the company was officially founded in 1911 by Charles F. Flint, as he engineered the merger of Holleriths Tabulating Machine Company, Computing Scale Company of America and International Time Recording Company. The agreed upon name was Computing- Tabulating- Recording Company or C-T-R. C-T-R soon found itself struggling do to over diversification of its product. In 1914 Thomas J. Watson, Sr. was brought in to help homogenize the company. Throughout the Great Depression IBM was able to continue to grow and innovate even when demand for their products began to drop. In the 1940s IBM completed the first ever Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also called the Mark I. In the 1950s IBMs computers became smaller and more practical for business applications such as billing, payroll and inventory control. IBM was the first computing company to sell computers without software bundled into the package, this move generated the multi-billion dollar software industry that exist today, of which IBM is still an industry leader. In the 1970s and 80s IBM worked to get the computer smaller and more convenient for the household format. Floppy disks were introduced to the public market as personal self storage devices. IBM also developed the first Intranet in the mid 80s and created the foundations for what would later become the internet. In the late 1980s and early 90s IBM was struck with turmoil as the PC revolution exploded IBMs long standing relationships with big business saw the company struggling to survive, averaging annual losses of 8 billion. Personal consumers were all the rage not big business consumers. Soon IBM was able to use their intranet experiences of the past and harness the emerging information age using their line of top end servers and integrated business solutions. Today, IBM is a world leading research organisation boasting a track record for breakthrough developments that many other envy and we can match. IBM has an impressive inventory of ideas due to their reliance on in-house expertise. The company has been forging closer links with a range of external technology developers due to changing market demands. To IBM, technology equals participation and interaction, whose prime motive is how it can be more widely applied. IBM employs a breakthrough tool to enhance the team creation process. IBMs future looks strong as they are the underlying producers of servers and business solutions for the e-business industry, which is growing at an incredible rate. 4.0 Procter and Gamble Procter Gamble is a company with more than 100 years on business, and is a clear example of a successful company. Procter and Gamble was founded in 1837 and incorporated in Ohio on May 5, 1905. It began as a small family operated soap and candle company, and now provides products and services of greater quality and value to consumers in over 180 countries. Procter Gamble has one of the largest and strongest portfolios of trusted brands. Procter and Gamble is the producer of products in nearly 50 categories. Because of this, they have been able to bond technologies within the categories in various astonishing ways. Over the years, Procter Gamble s Research and Development team has revolutionized home care. Many breakthroughs originate in the Procter Gamble s laboratories. Procter Gamble operates in more than 80 countries worldwide, which makes for one of the largest global companies around. Procter Gamble s strategy is mostly focused on innovation. They use this strategy to approach consumers more easily, and to obtain the most effective results towards the market share in the industry. Procter Gamble is also strongly committed to the concept of sustainable development, and continues to lead its industry in that regard. The company views sustainability as an opportunity to innovate products that improve the lives of the worlds consumers. Procter Gamble centers its sustainability efforts largely on its core activities. In particular, two key themes are significant to a number of Procter Gambles businesses: water purification technology products and sanitation hygiene. In that context, Procter Gamble emphasizes on innovation in products that serve basic needs of consumers in the least developed countries. The companys high scores in the criteria of product impact and strategies for emerging economies is a reflection of that fact. In developed markets, Procter Gamble focuses on environmental excellence, innovating in products such as cold-water cleaning technologies that provide good performance as well as energy savings and eco-efficiency Procter and Gamble s Innovation strategy is called Connect + Develop. This strategy is seeking to build a global innovation network. Through Connect + Develop relationships, the company continually searches for products, packaging, technologies and commercial opportunities that can be reapplied to brands and rapidly introduced to better meet consumers diverse needs. This strategy seeks to leverage the ideas, talents and innovation assets of individuals, institutes and companies around the world. Innovation Examples: Ready-to-go Technologies: Procter Gamble introduced Bounce, the worlds first dryer added softener, after acquiring the product technology from the independent inventor who developed the innovative fabric-care solution. Ready-to-go Products: In this instance, the deal was struck when Procter Gamble acquired Dr. Johns Spin brush business and added the Crest brand name to the innovation. Ready-to-go Packaging: Several of the Olay Skin Care products now utilize new consumer-preferred pump dispensers originally developed by a European packaging products company. Commercial Partnerships: Procter Gamble found the perfect complement to the Swiffer brand in a hand-held duster developed by a Japanese competitor. The VRIO analysis provides a deep look into Procter Gamble which helps to analyze what makes or does not make this company so unique. Procter and Gamble s physical resources are valuable but not rare, and are costly to imitate. The Procter Gamble Company has over 138,000 employees. Managing this many employees is not an easy task. Training these masses alone is an unprecedented task. Having all these employees work in conjunction is something that is not easy to imitate. Procter Gamble s research team is made up of 7,500 Ph.D.s and researchers. Within Research and Development, there is a strong commitment to find the best researchers, and retain them with a culture designed to reward success, stimulate learning, challenge complacency, and nurture innovation. It is this common goal, which in instilled in those who work in the department, that the company gets its extra vigor and motivation. Criticism Procter Gamble could focus more on the Research and Development department, which has the task of analyzing and preparing potential products for such a complex market. It is also important to mention that India and China are the fastest growing economies, and so this factor represents an opportunity for growth. In the marketing aspect, Procter Gamble has to focus more on demographics and how to target effectively the Asian market. Procter Gamble is a very strong competitive company within the markets that it resides. This company will most likely continue to prosper for some time but always has the possibility of a down fall. As long as Procter Gamble continues to implement their strategies and effectively revise them along with the changes in the markets Procter Gamble will continue to have a prosperous outlook. 5.0 Overview of Sony Corporation; Sony is a company which managed to become an established name in the electronics market. It exists of a mix of businesses ranging from Hollywood studios to high-definition televisions. It is the company which created the forever-famous Walkman, as well as the highly popular Playstation gaming devises. The Sony brand is often seen as cool , hip . It is a company with very high heights, but also very low lows. Not only on the subject of products, but also regarding management and structure. Sony s Play Station video game console is just one of a string of imaginative hit products that include the Trinition colour television and the Walkman personal stereo player. The company s creative, somewhat quirly, eccentric engineer-focussed corporate culture, where ideas and enthusiasm are valued over and above seniority, experience and university degrees, has been the main reason for its success. Consumer electronics industry is changing, competition is becoming intense and product lines are moving closer together. With complacency settting in at Sony, resources became stretched too thinly, managers becamse less demanding and creativity was made over complicated. The case of Sony questions whether efficiency and productivity really go hand in hand with creativity and innovation. Sony is struggling to find a balance between the drive to stay innovative and the cooperate need to not fall behind the competition in key markets. It must decide whether it is leading, following or simply standing still. Criticism Sony could afford to concentrate on product quality and can have a more rigorous project management structure. First mover advantage is active in evolutionary technological transitions which are technological innovations based on previous developments (Kim and Park 2006, p, 45, Cottam et al. 2001, p. 142). Late entrants may comply with the technological innovativeness and increase pressure of competition, hence, seek for a competitive advantage through making the existing competences and resources of early entrants invalid or outdated. In other words innovative technological implications will significantly change the landscape of the industry and the market, making early mover s advantage minimum. However, in a market where technology does not play a dynamic role, early mover advantage may prevail. 6.0 Critiques of Resource Based View. The RBV s lack of clarity regarding its core premise and its lack of any clear boundary impedes fruitful debate. Given the theory s lack of specificity, one can invoke the definition-based or hypothesis-based logic any time. Again, we argue that resources are but one potential source of competitive heterogeneity. Competitive heterogeneity can obtain for reasons other than sticky resources (or capabilities) (Hoopes et al. 2003: 891). Competitive heterogeneity refers to enduring and systematic performance differences among close competitors (Hoopes et al., 2003: 890). The limitations of RBV are mainly in two aspects. First, RBV alone does not capture all the essences of competitive advantage of the firms. RBV provides no perspective on why and how some firms rather than others accumulated valuable and inimitable resources, or indeed what made these resources valuable and inimitable (Lazonick, 2002). In order to explain competitive advantage, the RBV must incorporate the evolution over time of the resources and capabilities that form the basis of competitive advantage (Helfat and Peteraf, 2003). Second, RBV ignores the external elements and focuses on the internal. A complete model of strategic advantage should adopt both the internal dimension which is based on periodic reviews of the fitness of the firm s current resources and the external dimension which is oriented towards an appraisal of the resource endowments of outsiders such as competitors, customers, suppliers and so on. Furthermore, it is also important and relevant to briefly discuss the concept of resource and capability. A firm s resources can be classified into two categories: tangible resources and intangible resources. Tangible resources are assets that can be seen and quantified. Intangible resources are rooted deeply in the firm s history and that have accumulated over time. Barney (1991) and Grant (1991) classified tangible resources into four forms: financial resources, organizational structure, physical resources and technological resources. Grant (1991) and Hall (1992) identified three kinds of intangible resources: human resources, innovation resources and reputation resources. Priem and Butler (2001) made four key criticisms: The RBV is self-verifying. Barney has defined a competitive advantage as a value-creating strategy that is based on resources that are, among other characteristics, valuable (1991, p106). This reasoning is circular and therefore operationally invalid (Priem and Butler, 2001a, p31). Different resource configurations can generate the same value for firms and thus would not be competitive advantage The role of product markets is underdeveloped in the argument The theory has limited prescriptive implications However, Barney (2001) provided counter-arguments to these points of criticism. 7.0 Conclusion In order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, firms will have to out-innovate the competition continuously so that it is the customer who constitutes the ultimate beneficiary. All too often firms lose sight of their primary goal their customers needs, wants and values in pursuit of innovations that appear to promise improved efficiency and augmented financial benefits. Thinking for the customer , it is argued, implies that innovation derives from customer orientation: the firm s desire to serve and reward their customers. Furthermore, beyond a firm s technological innovations, what has become increasingly important is the firm s service innovations. Service innovation is the process through which a firm undertakes changes in its philosophy, culture, operations and procedures to add value to the result of the service/product for the benefit of the customer. It requires an understanding of the complex nature of customers needs and the values attributed to combined product and service offerings (service package). Essentially, therefore, service innovation depends on a firm s ability to use this understanding to evolve, collaborate and enter partnerships that effectively fulfil their customers holistic needs and, thereby, increase the opportunities for customer allegiance (relationship). A number of issues have emerged from this study which have important contributions in both innovation as a competitive advantage and how resource based view is applied in the real world . While the above arguments tender theoretical understanding and explanation, it is recommended that future empirical research need to be done to complement this study, particularly in terms of identifying the various analytical tools for understanding and developing competitive advantage.