Madoff case Essay

1. What is the ethical issue involved in the Madoff case? The Madoff case if filled with numerous ethical issues. The case is considered to be the largest scam in our nation’s history. The Madoff case is a great example of how someone who did not care about his profession, as well as the all the personal relationships he had cultivated over the years. Bernie Madoff was involved in a scheme called a Ponzi scheme. Madoff would take money from new investors to pay off the current investor’s dividends. Since Madoff promised unrealistic gains this was the only way to pay his investors. The Ponzi scheme was Names after Charles Ponzi who had tricked investors about a century before Madoff. To keep giving earlier investors their promised return, Madoff had to continually draw new people into the scheme. His family who claim they did not know about the scheme was also involved bringing in new clients to invest with Madoff. The SEC grew very suspicious after the market lows in 2008 and Madoff’s clients were still getting high return on investment. The SEC who had been investing Madoff exposed and charged Madoff of running a Ponzi scheme. Madoff like Ponzi had a personality that people trusted and handed over millions of dollars to invest. Madoff case was strange in nature since it went on for so long. This case really opened the eyes of many investors and made them take a more active role in their investments. 2. Do you believe that Bernie Madoff worked alone, or do you think he had help in creating and sustaining the Ponzi scheme? As intelligent as Bernie Madoff may have been he could not have pulled of the country’s largest Ponzi without some help. The return on investment that constantly beat market averages should have sent up red flags to people inside the company. People within the company such as internal auditors, accounts and other in the internal system should have been really suspicious of the finical reports. Were the people in the Madoff’s office asleep at the wheel? Or was something else not publicized happening behind the scenes? There were just too many intelligent people who worked with Madoff not to see the writing on the walls. Auditing books for a couple of months may not have sent up red flags but the fact the scheme went on for 30 years may say more people were involved. The size of the scheme and the amount of money involved makes it unbelievable and almost impossible that he could have perpetrated a crime by himself. 3. What should be done to help ensure that Ponzi schemes like this one do not happen in the future? The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the government body in charge of investigating federal securities fraud. After cases like the Madoffs people always want more regulations but fail to come up with a plan everyone can agree on. More regulations may work but may not necessarily be the answer. The SEC has to help pass smarter legislation that well sends up red flags sooner so these schemes can be stopped. As much as the SEC can do, people are really the key to stopping these schemes before they start. It is up to everyone to stop financial crimes, from the internal auditor that may see fishy finical reports, to the everyday investor who may be getting better than average returns with their investment firms. Before the Madoff case people may not have been so concerned about their high returns and just keep collecting them. Since the highly publicized Madoff case will really make people think twice before they get caught up in a Ponzi scheme themselves. The old adage â€Å"if it is too good to be true it probably is† comes to mind when dealing with Ponzi schemes. Investors really have be smart and really know where their hard earned money is going. It will be just a matter of time before another â€Å"Bernie Madoff† comes and tries to scam people, however if the SEC and investors are on the same page scams may be stopped before they get started.

Harvard Business School Case Solution

CEO Assignment #1 Bank Analysis – Decomposition of ROE FIN 420 – Bank Management Summary: Utilizing data contained within the Uniform Bank Performance Report (UBPR) of a local bank, decompose the company’s 12/31/11 financial performance as well as information for its peer group. Analyze the results. Available Banks:Bank of Holland Grand River Bank Mercantile Bank Macatawa Bank Format:Part #1 – Obtaining Information †¢ Obtain bank financial information from UBPR †¢ Complete decomp Excel worksheet †¢ Compare bank financial information to peer group †¢ Calculate ROA, ROE, and several bank ratios based on dataPart #2 – Analyzing Information †¢ What were the three largest differences between your Bank and its peer group in the core ROE decomposition analysis? †¢ How did the drivers (#1-3) help to understand the ROE decomposition? †¢ Are there any drivers that could provide a better understanding of the Bank’s per formance? †¢ What was the largest surprise about your Bank in relation to its performance and comparison to peer group? †¢ Identify three strategic initiatives that the Bank CEO could implement to improve performance? Identify the benefits of such initiatives but also the related costs to implement these initiatives.Sources:https://cdr. ffiec. gov/public/ManageFacsimiles. aspx 1) Select â€Å"Uniform Bank Performance Report† under the â€Å"Report† drop down menu 2) Type the name of the bank you select under â€Å"Institution Name† Hand in:1) ROE Decomposition Excel Worksheet 2) Memo to the CEO of the Bank you analyzed addressing the questions contained in part #2 above. Memo is to be no longer than two pages (0. 75 inch margins, font 11, Times New Roman). All charts/tables should be included in appendices at the end of the two page memo. DUE DATE: September 24, 2012 (beginning of class)* *Late assignments will be penalized 10% per day

Malcom X Essay

Malcom X was a man who held many strong beliefs and posed numerous persuasive arguments. Many of these arguments are presented by Malcom X in his autobiography. The told events of his life provide the evidence for the arguments he makes. One of his contentions is that women are inferior to men. Malcom’s perception of women and his basis for this argument develop through out his life. His experiences with women provide efficient evidence for the argument he makes, but there are some counter-examples which contradict his argument. Malcom grew up watching his father beat his mother. As a young boy he lived in a society where women were considered less significant than men. When Malcom moved to Boston, he gained knowledge about women by the examples of his friends who used women as status symbols. His experiences with his own status symbol, Sophia, further lead him to believe that women were inferior to men. These conditions shaped Malcom’s views on women. It was through Malcom’s experiences with his family, his friends in Boston, and the women he knew that lead him to believe women were â€Å"nothing but another commodity (155).† Malcom did have models of proud and self-reliant women through out his life. However, these women did not seem to affect his overall opinion. Malcom’s father was often physically abusive to his mother. Malcom was subjected to witnessing his father’s actions. Malcom observes that a possible reason for his father’s violent outbursts was the fact that his mother â€Å"had a pretty good education (6).† His father would not tolerate being corrected by a woman which presented Malcom his first example of women’s inferiority to men. These violent outbreaks and his mother’s passive reactions taught Malcom that women could be treated in any harmful and shameful way without consequence. Moving to Boston exposed Malcom to a different culture. Boston’s urban setting clashed with the rural areas where Malcom was raised. The friends he made in Boston were hustlers who operated in a fast paced and manipulative world. They believed that being seen with a white woman was the ultimate establishment of reputation. Not only did Malcom witness the white women being used for status by his friends, he understood that â€Å"†¦those white women had no more respect for those Negroes†¦ (140).† He knew that the white women were using them for pleasure and escape from the security of their marriages. These experiences taught Malcom that women were to be regarded as nothing more than trophies. The lack of respect given to the women and the lack of which they gave provided evidence that women did not deserve to be appreciated. Malcom had his own white woman to parade around town to the clubs and bars, Sophia. Sophia succumbed to anything that Malcom demanded. She surrendered all of her money to him and would appear at his beck and call. Malcom would abuse her just â€Å"to keep her in line (156).† It became Malcom’s belief that â€Å"some women love to be exploited (156).† Malcom exploited the submissive Sophia because she allowed him to do so. Malcom was surrounded by meek and subservient women which lead him to believe women like to be treated in such a harsh manner. Malcom was acquainted with a few very highly regarded women. â€Å"The first really proud black woman† Malcom had known was his sister, Ella (39). Ella was a woman of great achievements. Malcom â€Å"had never been so impressed with anybody (39-40).† Another impressive woman who impacted Malcom’s life was the wife of his boss. She was educated and had business abilities which Malcom respected. Malcom regarded these women much differently than the others he knew like Sophia, however, his inferiority-of-women attitude was not changed by these decent women. The mistreatment and abuse of women that Malcom witnessed and acted out guided his beliefs about women and where they stood in society. Malcom’s perceptions of women and his argument about gender relations are clearly connected with his raising. His evidence of these views and arguments give good reason for him to accept them as true. His gender relations argument does not take into consideration the few, but highly upright, women that did take part in his life, though. The fact that he did experience relationships with women whom he did not consider inferior conflicts his argument.

Common Themes Paper and Presentation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Common Themes Paper and Presentation - Essay Example Throughout history there have been many famous artists. Famous artist produce a type of art that is respected and often replicated. Having a piece of art replicated long after the art has been created shows how a piece can easily become timeless. Examples of how three forms of art share a common theme would be the Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the David Statue that was created by Michelangelo. Each piece is timeless and one of the most famous pieces created by the artist. Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh was created while the artist was in a sanitarium. The artist used the view from his sanitarium window and his own feelings to express what he seen as a Starry Night. A sub theme for this piece is similar to the others as it reflects the real world. The sub themes for this piece are also very different as they contain a fantasy like world. Since the artist was locked away in a sanitarium, the artist was unable to view the world underneath his window as

Saint Augustine's Conversion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Saint Augustine's Conversion - Essay Example Due to their experience which is being transformed into their written scientific treatises people know the fundamental laws of religion though it’s undoubtedly that every religious group has its main code of laws for example as there is the Bible in Christianity. For thousands years scientists, theologians and philosophers tried to reach the sense of our being and to research the nature and characteristics of its existence. The striking fact is that a lot of religious canons well-known in the Middle Ages and nowadays, were described by one person in about 397-398 year A.D., and his name is Saint Augustine. To begin with it is important to underline that in some sources Saint Augustine was initially mentioned under the name of Aurelius Augustine (comes from the Latin Aurelius Sanctus Augustinus). It can be explained by the fact that he was born in the provincial unsecured family, led a life of ordinary man, and he was given the name of Saint Augustine only after his divine conversion to Christianity. His mother was a follower of Christianity and the father was a supporter of the Roman religion of paganism. Despite his mother’s attempts to affect the religious beliefs of her son, he remained indifferent views for a long time. Augustine’s father sent him to Rome for a study of an affair related with people. After receiving the first education Augustine decided to become a teacher of rhetoric. This period of time he took a great interest in theater (this art was rejected by Christianity for the pretense that was seen in it), Aurelius Augustine liked to take part in dramatic competitions – according to his own words the more his oratorical talents were appreciated by people the more he had the desire to lie again and again. Also the peculiarity of this period of Augustine’s life was his inclination to fleshly pleasures. Nevertheless all this couldn’t prevent the orator to start living with a beloved woman though in illegitimate

Is addiction a disease or not Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is addiction a disease or not - Essay Example 1). Saah, on the other hand, provided the meaning of the term as â€Å"a personality disorder, (which) may also be seen as a worldwide epidemic with evolutionary genetic, physiological, and environmental influences controlling this behavior† (Saah: Introduction par. 1). The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) presented its meaning as â€Å"a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences† (NIDA par. 1). These definitions have disparities in terms of identifying addiction as a state of dependence, which is a behavioral or personality condition; as contrasted to it being identified as a disease of the brain. The aim of the current discourse is to determine whether addiction is a disease or just an extreme form of learning. Background and Review of Literature The history of having diagnosed addiction as an abnormal condition was noted to have originated from the 1800s where doctors allegedly worke d with patients, identified to have been diagnosed with alcoholism and drug addiction, as confined in private sanitariums (Origins Recovery Centers). Only in 1934 was it disclosed that a particular doctor, Dr. William D. Silkworth, had apparently revolutionized finding appropriate and effective treatment for addiction through the establishment and close link of working and being supported by a group of committed individuals. As noted, â€Å"it was the doctor’s belief that an addict has both mental and physical abnormalities† (Origins Recovery Centers par. 5). At this stage, addiction has already been identified complex in terms of containing mental, as well as physical abnormalities; components which were separately identified in definitions noted above. From the study written by Sussman and Sussman, the authors explored the various definitions of addiction. Accordingly, the authors included â€Å"elements of addiction derived from a literature search that uncovered 5 2 studies include: (a) engagement in the behavior to achieve appetitive effects, (b) preoccupation with the behavior, (c) temporary satiation, (d) loss of control, and (e) suffering negative consequences† (Sussman and Sussman 4025). The authors have likewise uncovered the date of origin of examining addiction cases to the 1700s from the study written by Meyer entitled â€Å"The disease called addiction: Emerging evidence in a 200-year debate† (Sussman and Sussman 4036). On the contrary, addiction was emphasized that it was not at all a disease but instead, an extreme form of learning. Lewis contended that other emotions, such as love, also alter the brain; yet, not called a disease. He argued that â€Å"physical changes in the brain are its only way to learn, to remember, and to develop. But we wouldn’t want to call learning a disease† (Lewis par. 9). To this, he aptly concluded that â€Å"addiction (whether to drugs, food, gambling, or whatever) doesnâ⠂¬â„¢t fit a specific physiological category. Rather, I see addiction as an extreme form of normality, if one can say such a thing. Perhaps more precisely: an extreme form of learning. No doubt addiction is a frightening, often horrible, state to endure, whether in oneself or in one’s loved ones. But that doesn’t make it a disease† (Lewis par. 11). Analysis of the Definition of Addiction and Confirmation From the definitions that were provided, one affirmed that these

Clsoe Analytical Reading Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Clsoe Analytical Reading - Research Paper Example The dwarf’s performance pleases her so much especially, the way that the dwarf dances as back in the forest and unaware that the children and other attendees were laughing at him. The Infanta, in fact, enjoys the performance so much that he asks for another performance following her dinner. The dwarf, apparently, never realizes that the people laugh at his expense, mistaking it for the Infanta’s love for him because of a white rose that she had handed to him. This leads to the dwarf attempting to find the Infanta one day, where he needs to go through gardens and face the ridicule of even the fishes and the sundials, as well as the flowers who claim â€Å"he should be kept indoors for the rest of his natural life† (Wilde 10). The dwarf finally gets to the interior of the palace and, while searching through the rooms, comes across a mirror that shows him as a grotesque monster and even thinks for a while that the monster simply mimics his movements. On realizing th at, he looks upon his own reflection; he suddenly understands that the Infanta does not love him at all, and this causes him to fall down screaming and kicking. While in this state, the Infanta and the other children happen upon him and assume that the dwarf wants to put on another show, which causes them to start applauding him and laughing. Even after the dwarf drops, they still insist, â€Å"Yes†¦you must get up and dance, for you are as clever as the Barbary apes, and much more ridiculous (Wilde 15). While this goes on, the dwarf’s heart stops beating, to which the Infanta makes a demand that he continues the act, which cannot happen as the dwarf’s heart already stopped. The short story by Oscar Wilde stands as one of his most meaningful and fantastic fairytales. The time when the whole incident with the dwarf takes place holds special significance as the twelfth birthday of the Infanta, which sees the entire kingdom and its servants prepare for the Infantaâ €™s special day. The kingdom does not overlook any expense in catering for the Infanta’s needs, which makes for a very joyous occasion. In fact, the King seems the only person who cannot find any joy in the occasion, which explains why the chamberlain claims that, â€Å"he is so ugly†¦he might have made the King smile† (Wilde 15). The story tells us that the king had behaved this way ever since the king had died just six months after she had born him a child. The sight of the Infanta made him especially upset as she reminded him of her. However, the king’s sadness apart, the entire party goes off without a hitch as the party planners produce a dwarf whom some noble men had captured in the woods the previous day. The dwarf treats the audience, including the Infanta, to a spectacular show, which includes a dance performance. The dwarf, however, acts in ignorance of his true appearance, thinking that the audience loves him; although they find him as monstr ous, going on to mock him. The realization of this fact causes his death in the end, as from the passage above. The flowers, which the Infanta gives to him, further confirm his belief, although the flowers cannot stand him, commenting on his â€Å"hunched back and his crooked legs† (Wilde 10). The birds and lizards can see his inner beauty, however, claiming that the dwarf â€Å"is really not so ugly after all, provided, of course; that one shuts one's eyes, and does not look at him† (Wilde 9). When the dwarf gets to the palace, he cannot help but notice the

Understanding why People Carry Guns Along Research Paper

Understanding why People Carry Guns Along - Research Paper Example They denied the concept that guns are only used for bad purposes and allowed the citizens to carry arms along with them. The amendment was made with the idea that allowing people possess guns will lead in decrease in violence and crimes. It is true that many people are hurt or killed by falling down or drowning rather than by guns (Croes& Smith, 1997). (2nd) Protection is most prominent reason for the use of gun (kleck, 2005).To avoid being victimized by a crime people keep guns with them because the police do not have much ability be all over the place, it is kept by the people for the cause of prudent and precaution. Similarly the feeling of having a gun with them will go accordingly like anindividual who has no knowledge how to swim and is quite afraid to do so, for his safety he wears floaters. For a person who owns the gun for protection is not for use mostly, but only for the purpose of security. The will have the confidence that if for instance something bad happens, they will be having a gun to tackle with bad people, that will result in their survival and can act as a shield. It develops a sense that the criminals won’t mess with a person possessing gun (Shelley & Wright, 1995). Moreover, people usually keep guns due to their innate fear. When they have a fear that they would be killed if they go at places where the re is a chance, to overcome their own fear they tend to carry guns along. For example, a person going in a strange street or a place where it is dark, then he tends more to carry gun. But it is not only that they live in fear so they tend to carry guns. They carry guns in order to take responsibility for their own safety and that of of other innocents. We have observed from history that nothing short of enduring vigilance can keep us safe in an unsafe world. It is obvious that we have police for out protection but usually police do not protect you from crime, they just investigate the crime after it happens and then call someone in to clean up the mess. For example a farmer living far away from the city keeps gun with him, to safe himself if any robber comes at his house to steal his crops, a police cannot be there 24 hours looking over the farmers house. To carry a gun for the reason of protection makes the person stronger and superior, he feels no fear because he has an equipment to act as his shield. In the United States, there was a polling done and it resulted that out of 45% who owned gun, 16% people own gun to protect themselves (Baumeister & Bushman, 2012). (4th)The reason for owning a gun may be simply because when they own a gun they are likely to participate in activities like sporting clays, cowboy action shooting etc. The inclination towards carrying a gun can be driven by the urge to get involve in some sort of social activity or a hobby done for fun. Apart from this guns are possessed by people for target shooting means, for attaining the sense of achievement, by shooting in certain targets and guns can also be kept for hunting animals. It is said to be a justified reason and owning guns for the reason of hunting is now not really common in United States of America because there are many other forms of sports for leisure time (Carter Ph.D., 2012). (5th)Many people carry guns because it is in their family legacy

Corporate Strategy of Emerson Electric ACP Company Case Study

Corporate Strategy of Emerson Electric ACP Company - Case Study Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that profit pools are the highly relevant business strategy which analyzes organizational activities and managerial processes to provide the firms with the competitive advantage by creating a value chain for the product and services. According to Porter, the value chain comprises of five primary and four secondary activities. Primary activities are inbound and outbound logistics, operations, marketing and sales, and services. Secondary activities include procurement, human resource management, technology development, and infrastructure. The firm’s analysis of these factors helps it to develop the appropriate strategy to maintain its market position and gain the competitive advantage in the industry. Few of the various activities that the firm analyzes and then implements the changes to improve and improvise its performance outcome can be briefly described as under. The process facilitates the creation of effective logistics for the sup ply chain of raw materials and the network of wholesalers and distributors so that the quality goods and services can reach the consumers timely and efficiently. The core business strategy of any business heavily relies on the market and sales strategy that facilitates its products and services to meet the needs and requirements of the people at large. Competitive pricing and a strong market position are major business compulsions that are need driven. They use various types of marketing metrics in order to gauge the preferences of the people and help evaluate the strength and weaknesses in its strategies to improve its business performance.

Vaccinations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Vaccinations - Research Paper Example Also, disease-causing bacteria and viruses usually occur in different forms referred to as different strains (Miller, 2008). In most cases, vaccines are designed to handle certain strains. For instance most flu shots available presently are designed to work against the common strains of flu virus which has been in existence for quite a while. Thus, such vaccine cannot prevent against new strains of flu. This explains why vaccines do not give a lifetime protection against diseases. As explained above, vaccines are usually designed to work against certain strains. Yet, every now and then, new strains emerge which are often stronger than the previous ones. This therefore renders the incumbent vaccination ineffective. Usually, vaccines do not guarantee full protection from a disease. Their strength fizzles out with time. Thus, one has to have another shot of vaccine so as to continue strengthening their immune system. Health care workers should be subjected to regular and extensive training so as to acquaint them with the new occurrences with regards to diseases. This enables them to keep abreast with the new strains that emerge. Such information is important as it enables the m to update their vaccines so as to stay effective. Equipped with knowledge about the new merging diseases, health workers get to know what to use and when to use so as to guarantee effectiveness in the fight against outbreaks. As stated, new strains of disease-causing bacteria and viruses develop from time to time. Regular training and updating of information regarding such strains is essential l as it enables the health workers to discard old vaccines that have been rendered obsolete, and develop new effective ones. This enhances effectiveness of vaccines and accelerates the fight against various

Personal Learning and Capacity Essay Example for Free

Personal Learning and Capacity Essay Reading through the following pages you are able to see my weekly entries of the text I read. My interpretations and questions that occurred towards reading, my initial reactions or developments after reading and some conclusions about text and literacy. As a person I never really enjoy literature. I am not the kind of person who enjoy reading big books or long articles because is difficult for me just to know that I had to read a very long article and remember it. When I saw a big one-coloured cover book I connecting it with small letters, no space between the lines that is hard to read it and remembers me an encyclopaedia. I was always prefer reading numbers due to that I like very much maths and science. There is no long theory to remember. So as you can see on the following journal, my reading collection is very limited on books and long text except whenever is needed. Regarding the way, where and how I read, depends on what I am reading. (see Appendix 4, p.17). When the reading had to do with study I have to be very concentrate and I prefer to sit straight on a chair and open all the books and papers on a big desk. This helping me to underline or write down useful key words. On the other hand reading as a hobby, I prefer to read when is dark, lying in my bed and holding my book. In addition I find it excellent trick to listen to the music when I am reading in both ways. I like to put smooth, chill out music, because it eliminates all the rest noises and distractions and help me to get clear mind from other things I might thinking. According to first’s week directed task I had to write everything that I read for a week. The following are reflections of the most important kinds of texts I read, and those that made me reconsidered the way I looked them before. A list of other kinds of texts I gathered and a short reflection, are available in Appendix 1, p.14. As well, on the following pages you can find, my reflections towards next weeks directed activities. Entry: Even though that cooking instructions are in written form are also available to read in the form of small representing pictures. Doing this activity I notice that when I am looking for the cooking instructions my eyes always focus on that tiny pictures and can’t see the written form of the instructions. Is the first think I looked for and I realized that my eyes used to focus there first. Then I had to explore those pictures in my mind to understand the preparation for cooking the product. â€Å" Image can be used to reinforce the meaning of what is said, what is written and so on† (Jewitt, 2005 p.316). In addition I notice that after seen the pictures I look for the written form too, to make sure that I read and understand the pictures right. Entry: It just came into my mind a funny situation I had with cooking instructions, when I first came to England. Now I am not really sure if it is good idea to put it in the log but is shows the difference of reading a text, expectations, and differences between cultures, ideologies and perspectives. You can see the above funny incident by reading Appendix 2 p.15. Entry: Text messages and e-mails, that I send to my friends back to Cyprus contained a lot of information in just few sentences. I have so many to say and is a bit expensive to send messages. Due to that I limited my words by putting symbols, write only the first letter or just the half word. (instead â€Å"and† I use the symbol +). After I read again those messages I send, I realized that if someone else was reading them couldn’t be able to understand them. This is because of the â€Å"code† of the written form and the long background and ideologies that are connecting me and my friends. For example in my first message I wrote â€Å"how is c.† , but only she is able to understand the name of the person I asked about. I also recognized that in just five sentences -that represent a whole message- I wrote so many things, that if I was writing them to a paper and to someone else it would take me probably 10 sentence to write them all. Though I prefer e-mails more than the messages, because is free, and I can  write as many sentence I want in just one e-mail and send it when I feel like. â€Å"With e-mail you just write your message and send it.. Even during the early hours of the morning† (Lyle, 2005).E-mail offers fast receipt and enables the recipient to reply immediately. In addition I can write it more easier and quicker using the keyboard and looking through a bigger and more clear screen. Furthermore I can add emotions in the style of J and use from a large list of font style and size and even colour. Even though I use more Msn to communicate with my friends due to the fact that it has the same advantages as e-mailing and in addition I can send those things I write and take reply back at the same time. Is like speaking by the phone but in written form. Also I can send and take files and connect a web camera to see each other. Entry: Considering second week’s directed activity on session 2, I choose â€Å"Vampires Breath† (Greek Version) of â€Å"Goosebumps† collection to cope with the activity for identifying the ideological assumptions within its text. (see Appendix 3 p.16 for a short summary) â€Å"Vampires breath† put me in the action part from the first pages and all the action happened in only one day (in the story). Stine is very illustrative within the story because is putting many descriptions to the story’s persons and places that it seems like you can imagine them as real, as you can see them now, in reality. The motivation theory proposed by Glenberg and Langston (1992) also suggest that â€Å"illustrations may make a book more appealing and engage the reader better† (Cited in Andrews, Scharff and Moses, 2002). There is a lot of conversation and I had the feeling that I was taking part in the story and this make me curious to read more and see what happens after to the main characters. Also the double identity of the â€Å"bad† characters, who could transformed their appearance from human into buds and the tricks they were doing to trapped the 2 heroes, just made me to want to finish it. The main characters are small children that get trapped from their curiosity and naivety of searching places and things that not supposed to do. The â€Å"happy ending† though is show up at the very last pages and I like it because it gives hope that things are going to be happy again  but also leaves a hind that things are going to repeat again from the same mistake. A weird and peculiar ending that allocates a twist in the tail. Even that it was a kind of low level to me, reading the book it make me wondered, what can be happened again to those two kids. Children that the book refers to (9-12) by reading it can find themselves into the heroes situations and bad positions that might have. Reading this book I remembered mine childhood phobias and related with those in the story, and this what makes the story more interesting. Children can encountered within the story’s heroes and happenings because they can feel the same in their life as the heroes and have the simila r phobias. Moreover I notice that the good and nice language and vocabulary is approaching with the children’s age ability to read and also can reflect positive to improve their language and reading skills. With the use of big letters and large space between the lines it helps me to read it more easily and quick. For children will be very appealing and smooth to read. The soft cover, full of bright colours, is the first thing I notice to choose to read the certain book, its cover’s appearance is something that make you wonder what is the story about. Genette (1997) comes to agree by saying that â€Å"a book’s cover is a threshold that a reader is invited to interpret and step across if induced to read on† (Cited in Harris and McKenzie, 2005 p.32) Additionally I enjoyed read this book because I like scary horror books like this collection, and also I can get very afraid sometimes and at the same time so excited. Entry: In view of directed activities of session 3 you can refer to Appendix 4, p.17-24 which include detailed answers, information and reflections regarding both online texts and my personal appreciations on ways of reading, my fears, and my imagination journey. The following are short reflections from the activities as whole, based on the following two main questions: What are the essential differences between reading on line and the more traditional way How these books (texts) tell us about the nature of childhood The Secret Garden as well as The Journey to the Centre of the Earth were easy to cope with by reading online. The vocabulary and language were easy to read and comprehend, apart from 3-4 words I didn’t know (and I had to look for their meaning in a dictionary). I find harder to understand The Secret Garden because of the conversation that was held between the interact persons of the story. It was very complicated to understand them due to there were missing some letters. I had to read all the dialogues again and again for 5-6 times until I understand what actually was written on the lines. I realize then that this was the dialect of the story’s heroes. Although reading onscreen those text was much easier for me because I am a big fun of technology and especially of computers. I find it more relax and quick due to the fact that just by pressing one button you can transfer from the top of the page and through the lines until the bottom of the page and also to turn on to the next page. Letters and generally the whole view was more clear to read and easily could copy and paste the unknown words in my pc’s dictionary. Even if technology is developing more each day to help us, I can outline some disadvantages towards the traditional way of reading a text, ex from books. Through my online reading there were missing colourful covers of the books, and as I mentioned in a previous entry book’s covers are very important as a first impression of the text. And this is because covers are the first thing you see and considered when you are going to buy or read a book. The illustrations of pictures which help you to empathize better the story’s happening didn’t included on screen. Although Jewitt (2005, p329) argues about online book’s illustrations by saying that â€Å"The multimode character of the screen does not indicate a single entry point, beginning or end. This offers the reader new potentials for reading a text. Reading a written text on pages is usually a linear event in which the author and illustrator guide the eye in particular direction connected to the reading of the text† Another thing is that the lines are too long and sometimes, people that don’t used to it can get bored and tired only by looking them. In addition another disadvantage is that you can’t save this texts to your library collection except if you keep your pc’s library with books and text from internet. Although is much nicer to collect the original  books in your house library and have them for a life. The Secret Garden and The Journey to the Centre of the Earth are showing the writers’ thoughts and appreciations about the world and the aspect of child, considering the matter of friendship and cultural perspectives on children behaviours. In my opinion, the matter of friendship appeared more clear in the Secret Garden, than in the Journey in the Centre of the Earth. In the first text, the Heroine is a young children that was neglected during her life. Although Mary finds someone to socialised with, in Dickon’s personality, even if he is from lower social class. The matter of friendship also reflect on me and make me bring in mind my own appreciations of friendship. Is showing that it doesn’t matter how rich you are in money or goods, but how rich you are in sole. Also that children supposed to be free from ideologies and believes of their environment and social background. As a children, Mary is more free and innocent than adults to do things and she is not afraid to be friend with â€Å"a common moor boy†. (See Appendix 4, p.19-20). I find secret garden revealing my perceptions because I believe that friends are very important, especially in childhood but in adolescence too. Making friends we have someone to socialize talk, laugh and do things together. Furthermore is showing the author’s perspective towards the child, to be free, good innocent, and free from taboos and in one word to be perfect as Dickon. Although Dickon’s description make me feel that he is not a real person maybe because no one can be perfect in everything. Mary in the other hand appears to be more natural person in contrast with the â€Å"magical† description of Dickon. Mary feels free inside the garden which becomes her new home. The secret garden is a place of adventure and everything inside it is perfect and this is one of the reason that Mary shares her secret with the magic, and good child, Dickon. All this also showing what readers expect to see about the child. How readers interpret and expect childhood years to be and that children supposed to be good and innocent . Although reading the second text make me engage with it more because as a children I had almost the same feelings and phobias as Alex (See Appendix 4, p.22-23).â€Å"Readers interstitial backgrounds provide resources for engaging with text, even  amongst young children† (Crawford and Hade, 2000, Cited in Harris and McKenzie, 2005, p. 32) Another thing that can be reveal from the texts is adults’ role in children lives even that is more evident in the second text. Adults are the persons who are expected to be responsible and take decisions about children’s future. In the Secret Garden Mary forced to go and live in another house because she didn’t have the power not to. That’s why Mary keeps the garden as a secret place. The author wants to express that when adults are in a situation they like to control and force things and that’s why the magic perfect secret garden is only for innocent, good children. This is more obvious in â€Å"The journey in the Centre of the Earth† when the hero, Alex, who is a young children and nephew of an eccentric scientist feel very terrify and scared about, both him and his uncle lives, during their experimental purposed journey. In front of the exhaustion, thirst and hunger Alex is fainted and his uncle giving him the last drops of water, to bring him back. The Professor do not considered his thirsty because, as an adult had to take care Alex first. After Alex is terrified and express by crying his fears about the uncertain and unknown remained of the journey, his uncle take the control and the responsibility for Alex and decide to send him back to earth with the servant‘s help, to be safe. The professor still insist to stay and continue his journey, because as a scientist was so curious and determined and nothing could stop him not even the fear of death. After all, Alex do not agree with his uncle and choose to travel along with him because he didn’t want to give up or letting down his uncle. This appeared as a conflict with the first text when Mary couldn’t choose the place to move, although Alex took his decision because he might was afraid to leave without his uncle. Here, Alex is having the change to do what he wants but he refused it. and he choose to stay knowing that his uncle will do anything to protect him. Entry: First time listen to the song â€Å"I aint mad at cha† by Tupac Shakur, I have to admit that I didn’t understand a lot of what Tupac was saying apart from the chorus. Although I don’t really listen to rap music I find it very nice and  different from other songs. It sound like a smooth, sweet melody into my ears, considering the background melody of a piano. I couldn’t believe the combination of rap music with piano, although it was something that attract me. Before seeing the video clip of the song I thought that 2puc was talking to a friend that lay him down and Tupac wanted him know that he has no harm feeling for him. First time I watch the song’s video clip I was very amazing. Surprising, the clip was a expressing a very different believes of what I first encountered. The video shows Tupac being punctured with bullets on his way, coming out of a restaurant with a friend. He is dying in the ambulance vehicle and he is attend into heaven who meets some people , probably some famous legends or relatives. The film was something like Tupac knew that he was going to be killed and seeing his life in Heaven. It seems a kind of prefigured his death. Watching the film make me feel sad and miserable about his tragic end. It was very pessimistic film for someone to make and for others to see, especially after his actual death, hence he is appearing laughing, smoking, and be in Heaven in the clip. Also I saw his thoughts about how he considered the life after death and the image of Heaven and make me somehow confident about my thoughts and appreciations of the life after death in Heaven. Somehow my thoughts were revealing in the film illustrations. Despite the brutal language and street words Tupac is expressing, through the song lyrics an optimistic and hopeful massage towards his friends and relatives and then to the rest audience. ABT indicates some of the music video characteristics by claim that: They must gain and hold the viewers attention †¦ help establish, visualize, or maintain the artists image†¦ and perhaps, carry one or several direct or indirect messages . . .† (Cited in Rybacki and Rybacki) Through the lyrics, Tupac conveys that the change of getting out from the ghetto life, is not something bad or to be ashamed of. He has no harm feelings, he is not mad with friends that been a lot of time to talk, friends that change and get out of the streets, friends that get married, find a religion and get matured. Tupac is not mad with them for not doing the â€Å"bad† things and habits they used to do together, because they change.  He has nothing but love for them. Analysing the song I realize that a large amount of life’s values and ethical ideals were encountered in it, by just few words. The matter of religion, friendship, love, the role of the mother, and the value of God. Also the lyrics are expressing the stereotype of rap music containing offensive language between the â€Å"brothers†, a nice contribution of conflict words between the bad and good, the male and female, material world and God. An optimistic ending that he is praying for the good fortune of all. The very last sentence showing that in Tupac’s efforts to display a meaning to his family, friends and enemies that he is not mad with them and don’t want them to be sad for his lost, the song meanings refers also, to those that lost their loved ones! The song script is available in Appendix 6 p.27 Entry: I was watching an episode from The Coffee shop series and it really make me reconsidered it from a whole different aspect during this activity.  The â€Å"Coffee Shop† (or â€Å"Kafeneio†* see Appendix 5, p.25 and p.25-26 for a summary of the film) is one of the most known comic series in Cyprus. All episodes are take place in the Kafeneio and showing in a funny way, some special aspects of Cypriot people’s characters. When I am in Cyprus I never watching it because there are some other new series which catch my interest. Although this day I was very miserable and sad, with nothing to do so I decide to watch Kafeneio through internet from the satellite channel of Cyprus. The episode title was â€Å"The Fiancà ©Ã¢â‚¬ . Andreas who always trying to find cheating ways to earn money decide to married his just few days girlfriend who was a rich old women reaching death. Saying that he is truly in love with her. Although they never rich marriage because the old women dies after the party. At the end Andreas ends up with no money and owns the funeral’s costs. Watching Kafeneio made me crying from laugh because of the story’s reversed happenings and the good ability of the actresses to play with in the hilarious situation. Even though laugh its all you can expect from this type of series, I also felt like home watching it. The traditional coffee, the language, the very strong Cypriot dialect, the place of Kafeneio, and the whole scene make me feel for a moment that I was back in Cyprus. Although Kafeneio is considered only for entertainment for those who  watching it, I realised that many cultural, ethical and moral issues can express from it. Good friends are always there to help you in difficult times and also the traditions of wearing black clothes for grieving death. Another thing is that money you never work hard for, can easily lost as quick as you earned them. You have to earn your money by working hard and not trying to earn them by deceitful and cheating innocent people. Entry†¦ During the module’s assessment of online presentation, as a group we choose to based our research on Cinderella story. And this, because, all group members could related with the text as it was present in our childhoods even though my group was representing 3 different cultures, countries and age groups. Doing the actual online presentation things became very complicate considering the way to present it. We wanted to make it very attractive to the audience and easy to reflect in and understand. At the beginning the presentation was going to held in Power point accompanied with animations, pictures and music. As I said in previous entry, pictures are helping the reader to comprehend better the written part, and show better some key-issues. This was going to help audience to concentrate on the themes we wanted to express more. The animations will make it more attractive to the audience and the music was going to drift and drawn them into the story itself smoothly and easier. Although we realized that doing it in power point it might produced a probability of confusion towards the audience and make a mess during their efforts to follow it. So we change our mind and decided to do it in movie maker as a video. With the movie film we wanted to make it easier to follow by the reader, without being confused or distracted from the importance of the written text, by clicking buttons. We also considered that it was going to be even more easier and relaxed for the reader to enhanced more, accompanied with music. (Much alike as watching a short video or movie, by sitting back and enjoy it.) In addition we thought that if we were using a Cinderella’s song from only one version of the Cinderella story (Disney’s song) it would be so unfair  and narrow-minded because the four versions that we analysed in the presentation are all of the same importance with their own special characteristics. So we choose a chill out instrumental music without speaking words for avoiding the readers’ thoughts to concentrate on music words and do not follow what we expressing throughout the presentation. Although it was hard to find that special song because we wanted one that its effects to go along with the page transactions and pictures and also focused on the most important information we include within the text. Another thing that was with vary importance was the time we supposed to give to our audience to read the written part of the presentation. We wanted to make sure that it was enough time to read them before the next slide show up. So we double-check the time providing for each written text by using a third slow-reader person, whose English is his second language. With this we make sure that the providing time was enough for all of our audience potentials to read. Bibliography Andrews, J., Scharff, L., Moses, L., (2002), â€Å"The influence of illustrations in Children’s Storybooks†, AERA, Reading Psychology, Vol. 23(4), pp. 323-339.[Last viewed December 2005] Burnett, H.F., â€Å"The Secret Garden-Dickon† [www]http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett/The_Secret_Garden/Dickon_p1.html [Last viewed October 2005] Harris, P. McKenzie, B., (2005), â€Å"Networking around the Waterhole and other tales: the importance of relationships among texts for reading and related instruction†, UKLA, Literacy.[Last viewed December 2005] Jewitt, C., (2005), â€Å"Multimodality ‘Reading’ and ‘Writing’ for the 21st Century†, University of London, UK, Vol26, No. 3, pp. 315-331.[Last viewed December 2005] Lyle D., â€Å"E-mail Versus the telephone†, Last update 2005. Available from: URL: http://writing.colostate.edu/references/documents/email/pop5d.cfm [Last viewed December 2005] Lyrics and songs, â€Å"Tupac- I’ aint mad at cha† (Remix) [www]http://www.lyricsandsongs.com/song/135052.html Rybacki,C. K., and Rybacki, J. D., (1999),â€Å"Cultural approaches to the rhetorical analysis of selected music videos† Northern Michigan UniversityAvailable from:URL:http://www.sibetrans.com/trans/trans4/rybacki.htm[Last viewed November 2005] Stine, R.L., (1996), â€Å"Goosebumps: Vampire Breath†, Parachute Press Inc, New York USA Greek version: copyright by Kerdos 1998 SySat, RIK Chanel, (2005), CoffeShop: The Fiance [www]http://www.tv4all.com/portal.htm?http://www.tv4all.com/television/index.html?http://www.tv4all.com/television/55.htm[Last viewed November 2005] Verne, J., â€Å"Journey to the Centre of the Earth- The wrong road† [www]http://jv.qilead.org.il/vt/c_earth/18.html[Last viewed October 2005]

Historians and Their Duties Essay Example for Free

Historians and Their Duties Essay Gorman timely presents the question â€Å"Do historians as historians have an ethical responsibility, and if so to whom? † in his essay Historians and their Duties especially in an era which has seen the use of history as a way to further political agenda, invent or distort historical fact to justify political undertakings. He rightfully disputes Richard Evans’ assertion of value-free reportage of history and the restrictive historian’s duty of presenting and interpreting knowledge. In saying that â€Å"Historians are simply not trained to make moral judgments†¦they have no expertise in these things,† Evans suggests they must evade the moral question, but this is impossible. Morality governs us all, including historians. I differ in Evans’ bloodless concept of historical duty, one I think he broke after being expert witness in Irving v. Penguin Books and Lipstadt (Fulford, 2001) where he became instrumental in the conviction of a historian for distorting historical interpretations about the Holocaust. I think history, to become a significant part in advancing knowledge and good in society, must refuse to be monastic or ornamental, but instead be engaging and useful to mankind. I find Butterfield’s thoughts on ethics provocative in the verbose Bentley essay Herbert Butterfield and the Ethics of Historiography. The most striking is his recommended passive attitude to international politics: â€Å"Whatever wicked things we may think are done†¦ †¦ we have no right to say a word†¦ until we have forgiven the sin and covered it up with love. It strikes as a worldview that is either naive or cruel because it seems to justify crimes against humanity. I find it hard to reconcile with his anti-Whiggish stance condemning the selective presentation of history from the viewpoint of the victor (Schweizer, 2007). Is he, in the process, recommending us to absolve Hitler or the U. S. which he disdained for dropping the A-bomb on Hiroshima? I believe he is, and historians, to his view, being limited in understanding, cannot truly uncover the hand of God or Providence, enough for them to deliberate moral judgments of history. Responses to Student Views Unlike the first student response, I support Butterfield’s criticism of selective or rejectionist approach to the interpretation of history with a bias to the â€Å"victor†. I share his view of world events as a historical process. This is something that historians must take careful consideration of when upholding â€Å"objectivity† and â€Å"truth† in the conduct of their profession. Historical events are not static, after all, but an accumulation of events, not people, of experiences, not single victories. Regarding his treatise on passivity and quietism, Butterfield no doubt shares the brand of Christian helplessness when it comes to appreciating world events. I agree with the second student response on his critique of Evans, who promotes value-free interpretation of history as a duty of the ideal historian. I believe that duties of historians extend far more than writing history, but of injecting analysis and viewpoints as well, as long as he does not distort or invent historical fact in doing so. On being â€Å"politically neutral†, I have to disagree. It is true that historians possess a great deal of influence in shaping public perception of how events should be interpreted. In analyzing historical facts, the historian must take a stand, and in this manner, he loses his neutrality. He cannot claim the correctness of two contradictory interpretations but must determine which interpretation finds basis in fact. Indeed, historians cannot exempt themselves from ethical responsibility just because they feel a presumptive need to produce a â€Å"dispassionate† account of history. I think Gorman wrote this essay assuming essay that historians today are a vast and eclectic mix with varying dispositions. He preempts those who have an overly â€Å"institutional† view of ethics in saying: â€Å"As business people or historians, we surely all share the same moral world. † I agree that historians have the ethical duty to pass moral judgment and those who find themselves incapable of deliberating such must undergo â€Å"moral education. †

New Product Introduction Of Mcdonalds

New Product Introduction Of Mcdonalds McDonalds is among the leading brands operating in the whole is the UK Irish market when it comes to fast food and quick service restaurants. This gives the company a wide market area to cover and cater. McDonalds is counted among the huge chains all around the world with thousands of restaurants. In this report the plan is to introduce a new product from McDonald with the brand name Mc Tea and as we all know that McDonald is perusing a value strategy offering its products at relatively low prices and they differentiate their products through successful branding campaigns, this thing would be continued with the launch of the new product. The report is divided in many key parts such as introduction, mission statement, company outlook, market status, objectives and strategies, segmentation, target product, promotional program, sales plan, organization, financial. In all these key areas it is defined that through this new product a handsome chunk of revenue can be gained also keeping affects on the overall market share of the company. The company plans to introduce Mc Tea as a flavor tea. The aim is to get market share as much as possible covering the spent money on the overall product its advertising and launch. This new opportunity can help company further penetrate by this new product line extension. As McDonald is entering in an existing market with a new product so there is a handsome requirement for the publicity of the product and the company would be using conventional tools of promotion with sampling as an extra. For advertising the company plans to use both below the line and above line advertising and the company targets the giant media to capture the a good chunk of the market. INTRODUCTION McDonalds is probably the best-known franchised fast food restaurant chain in the world. When the first outlet was opened in the US in 1955 and even when the first UK restaurant appeared in 1974, it would have been hard to imagine a worldwide network of 30,000 outlets by 2002 and 1,200 outlets in the UK. McDonalds is easily the largest fast-food brand in the world and instantly recognizable in many countries. Across the global network, the majority of outlets are operated by franchisees but, in the UK, only a third are franchised although this percentage is increasing. McDonalds has been growing organically, with new sites located in smaller towns, roadside developments and food court concepts in leisure parks and shopping centers.  [1]   SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS STRENGTHS: Promotional strength: is what Mc Donald has in its main and something in which it has been good over the period of time. Market share: is the second strengthen factor where Mc Donald is preferred by people of all ages and they love the food taste and variety offer. Image of the company affects its sales and this plays a positive for McDonalds and the efforts towards green world and reduction of waste has given them a good public image. The company is rated among the top delivery business operators beating even Pizza Hut at many times. New product special promotional strategies have made McDonalds corporation leader of fast food industry. Home delivery has gained wide spread acceptance and has become competitive advantage for them. WEAKNESSES: McDonalds has been frustrated by rising wholesale food prices and labor force. Fast food outlets have to pay higher wages. Despite of providing a branded quality of flavored tea it is likely that the people might not be attracted towards the product because McDonalds does not have any past experience in this product. The company has not been very successful in the past to keep a strict check on the quality of food provided by its franchises. Not all new product launches have been a success. OPPORTUNITY: The company has the opportunity to still expand in many locations in which the company still has not looked towards development or keeping its food hold. The conventional competitors have not thought about a similar product so this would be an early mover advantage. Consumption ratios or hot drinks are increasing and specially a launch in the approaching winter and Christmas season can prove to be a treat. Moving in an alliance with new film releases and media has been an old tactic which has proved worthwhile 90 out of 100 times. A recent alliance during the release of the movie avatar is another proof of opportunity.  [2]   Promotion of the product towards young coffee drinkers through university, colleges and schools can be an added advantage for the company to score big time and earn. THREAT: Rejection of the product is one major threat the company faces and is afraid of to happen. The economy coming out of recession the expected revenues can be lower then what the company expects. Consumer perception might be difficult to change in terms of product selection as already there is an existing competition with Coffee Cafes. Taste preference figures show a lead towards coffee drinkers as compared with tea. Increasing tea leaf prices can affect the overall revenue and costing. MARKET STATUS INDUSTRY UK is the among the leading hot drinks consumer in the world. In fact, the consumption of tea is so widespread in UK that it possesses 2nd position in the tea importing countries of the world, and is only behind the Russian Federation. The already high tea consumption level may further increase in future due to urbanization and increase in per capita income. MARKET SHARE THE MARKET For Mc Tea the target market is entire UK and Irish market with franchises located all over the area giving a huge reach towards the market. KEY FACTORS: LEGAL FACTORS Recent disputes over the prices of tea leaves and prices of payments of farmers have been critical. For the development of the new product the company would require to find out sound suppliers that can be good for the business and can be permanent. Fair trading laws affect the business. Finally the remunerations paid are strictly under review by the EU and specially the UK legal authorities. SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS In UK the concept of flavored branded tea is not yet common among the quick service restaurants, tea is normally taken with milk but this will serve them at time of leisure. On the other hand the product that is being introduced is totally on the contrary. The product is a fruit flavored tea served in tea bags that can be taken anytime anywhere. Aside from this it also has a lot of nutritional values as compared to the conventional tea. However launching flavored tea is quite a challenge as people in UK are not only resistant to change but also have rigid views about the concept of tea itself. ECONOMIC FACTORS Keeping in mind the per capita income of the people of UK, which is good after the recovery from the recession, the company intends to launch Mc Tea, aiming at the lower and middle income groups who are willing to pay normal and medium price for such an innovative and distinct product. Mc Tea is considered to be a superior product as it is distinct from the conventional tea available by the competitors, in the sense of its form, taste and nutritional attributes people consuming Mc Tea should be well educated as to its usage in the form of tea bags since; there is a general misconception that they produce superior quality tea, which is not true. PURCHASE CRITERIA BRAND: The brand name of McDonald is the very important thing in grabbing customers because they have a trust on the products. STANDARD: The brand name of McDonald is itself a standard measure so it is for sure that no one can raise question on meeting the standards. Mc Donald carries a regular check on all franchises on the quality of food provided to the consumers. INGREDIENTS: The ingredients which we are using in Mc Tea are Plum, Strawberry, Double Apple, Grape, and Peach and these ingredients would be of high quality from the companys existing suppliers. PRESENTATION: McDonalds presentation is very unique for this tea as we plan to present all different flavors in their respective flavor colored glasses. PRICE ANALYSIS Name Price Mc Tea (Flavored) 1 Pound Pret a Manger (Plain) 1.5 Pounds Costa Coffee (Plain) 1.8 Pounds Nero Cafà © (Plain) 1.8 Pounds Starbucks (Plain) 2.25 Pounds Others (indirect) (Plain) 50 p COMPETITOR ANALYSIS DIRECT COMPETITOR: COSTA COFFEE/ NERO CAFÉ/ STARBUCKS/ PRET A MANGER Already competition for the products we sell and have started giving the service of tea in collaboration with their suppliers therefore for Mc tea would face direct competition. INDIRECT COMPETITORS: Brands by Unilever, PG have captured a fair amount of local market share hence it can be said to be an indirect competitor. They being among the favorite brands for local people hence competition can be really tough. THE MARKETING STRATEGY OBJECTIVES MARKET DESCRIPTION: Total population is in millions, 30 to 35 percent youth of which 65 to 70 percent are elders. The target of Mc Tea is the 20 to 25 percent of the total population of UK and Ireland. QSR industry is the one of the sources of handsome revenue for UK Irish economies in term of tariff and taxes. The objective is to increase the market share cover the cost and make a profit of million pounds in the first year. ACCORDING TO BCG MATRIX: The Product at the moment is in the question mark stage in BCG Matrix. Ultimately the plan is to make it a star product focusing on investment and market share. Upon maturity and growth Mc Tea will later become a cash cow. HIGH LOW Market Growth Rate HIGH STAR FUTURE OF Mc Tea QUESTION MARK ? CURRENT POSITION OF Mc Tea LOW CASH COW DOG Source  [3]   ACCORDING TO GRID EXPANSION Mc Tea is currently at product development stage. The company is launching new product in existing market. MARKETING MIX: PRODUCT Mc Tea the flavored tea is an instant flavored tea drink that can be taken in hot form, consisting of various nutrients and fresh flavored extracts. The way in which we aim to work this marketing variable is by providing enhanced features that include: a variety of flavors such as plum, strawberry, double apple, grape, and peach, which has been derived from natural fruit, including compositions. These distinct flavors satisfy different taste for different people in the target market. Apart from this, one of the distinct features is the enhanced nutritional value that caters to the health conscious people. The ingredients integrated in our tea include liquorices root, passion fruit pieces, hibiscus, rose hips apple pieces, calcium and proteins. As Mc Tea the flavored tea is made in such a way that allows it to be taken in hot form, this provides the benefit of convenience for many occasions in the cold weather of Ireland and UK. It can be taken as the substitute of local tea brands an d in the same way it can replace the flavored drinks that are available in the market. The company also aim to achieve high quality with a perfect cup of tea with out artificial flavors found in competition. A crucial part of the product is the packaging, which contains the product itself. The packaging of the Mc Tea the flavored tea is in the form of colored cups of the selected fruit flavors that are made using the environment friendly technology. Mc Teas packaging is enhanced appealing and attractive which will encourage impulse buying, and hence provide stimulation to our market share growth. Mc Teas flavored tea is blended and packaged in hygienic conditions untouched by human hands. PRICE Pricing is the significant factor of the marketing mix, which must be carefully administered in order to give consumers the greatest value for their money. The way Mc Tea the flavored tea is intended to price is by using the market survey. As the company is using differentiation as the grand strategy, the charge is low to medium price initially in order to capture uniqueness, innovativeness, high quality and convenience of our product. In this way the maximum sales revenue can be achieved. However the price that we will charge will not be way beyond the competitive prices otherwise we will lose out on sufficient market share. Mc Tea will be launched as a flavored with the market skimming strategy in mind which will attract health conscious people as well as status conscious people. However, when competition sets in future and more companies start launching flavored tea we can alter our price strategy according to our competitive situation and prevailing market demand and supply equilibrium. The pricing method for Mc Tea the flavored tea will be markup pricing. In this way after determining the costs we will add a relatively high markup in order to gain substantial profits and cover our investment costs. Thus, keeping in mind all these things, we will launch all Mc Tea categories at a price of 1 Pound per cup. PLACE Mc Tea aims to be a true company with a huge distribution network, which caters the entire UK and Irish market. The strategy follows to make the product easily available to customers is through huge distribution. PROMOTION This refers to the activity of bringing Mc Tea the flavored tea to the attention of the target market and persuading them to buy the product. Promotion for the Mc Tea will be done through advertising and sales promotion. SEGMENTATION GEOGRAPHIC UK Ireland Density All cities in the distribution network DEMOGRAPHIC Age General population over 12 Income 15000/- above per anum Social class Lower middle class, Middle class, middle-upper class, upper-upper class PSYCHOGRAPHICS Life style Value oriented, sociable and active, actualizers, Personality Sophisticated. BEHAVIORAL Occasion Regular occasion. Benefits Quality, economy, nutrition. User status Non user, potential user, first time user Usage rate Light and medium Loyalty status Tea lovers TARGET PRODUCT McDonald has very large experience of food industry all around the world. Here, the target product of McDonald is Mc Tea. The product is a combination of many fruit flavors and a simple plain tea. Following are the some feature of the Mc Tea: FEATURES FLAVORS: VARIETY OF FLAVORS AVAILABLE: Plum Double apple Grape Peach Strawberry BENEFITS: It has easy usage as the flavored tea can be taken in either form, it can be taken as a substitute of tea. The nutritional values our drink provides contents like vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iodine and folic acid. PROMOTIONAL PROGRAM ADVERTISING Advertising is a very crucial part of promotion as it is responsible for creating long term loyalty towards brands. As consumer choices increases, it becomes essential to stand out in the crowds of brand ad media clutter by building a good corporate image through advertising. And in this we have planned to use both below the line and above the line advertising techniques and list of all the elements are below: ABOVE THE LINE ADVERTISING Media name Selection Television Sky Network (Channels of SKY) RADIO Local Radio channels in the UK Ireland BELOW THE LINE ADVERTISING MEDIA NAME NAME NEWSPAPERS NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS MAGAZINES HERALD VISAGE BILLBOARDS Nowadays bill boards are almost every where we go for example shopping malls, airport, overhead bridges, you name the place and the billboard is there, provided the area being a commercial area. Billboards attract people of all ages. It has proved to be a very effective way to promote and create awareness of a product, there fore this strategy will be used by Mc Tea the flavored tea to promote itself. Mc Tea will occupied all billboards next to or near McDonalds outlets. SAMPLING The company has planned to do sampling of Mc tea at universities, colleges and shopping malls. TRADE SHOWS AND CONCERTS Trade shows and concerts are also one of the very tools of doing advertising. So the company have planned to hold a trade show in London and concerts in Manchester, London etc. ACTION PLAN OF PROMOTION SEPT 1st 2010- Television, newspapers, magazines advertisement. SEPT 1st 2010 Launch in all around UK and IRELAND. SEPT 15th 2010 Promotional trucks in UK and IRELAND. SEPT 20th 2010 free sampling of Mc Tea at all major shopping malls, universities and colleges in UK. OCT 1st 2010 discounted rates offer for all major products of McDonalds at major cities of UK Ireland at buying a minimum of 5 Mc Tea. OCT 15th 2010 Free mugs printed with Mc TEA will be distributed at all outlets. OCT 30th 2010 Free sampling of Mc Tea in universities of Ireland. NOV 15th 2010 Advertising campaign in all major planned areas. AUG 2010 Concert will be held. SALES PLAN FORECAST BY MARKET SEGMENT As a firm develops a target market strategy, it should forecast the short run and long run sales of its offering to that market. Sales forecast outlines expected company sales for a specific good or service to specific consumer group over a specific period of time under a well-defined marketing program. By accurately forecasting sales, Mc Tea will be better able to develop a marketing budget, allocate marketing resources, measure success, analyze sales productivity, monitor the external environment and competition, and modify marketing plans. Factors Sales forecast UK 2 m Ireland 1.3 m Total sales 3..3 m Total Sales 3.3 m Cost of goods sold 1 m - Gross profit 2.3 m Marketing expenses 1 m - Profit before tax 1.3 m Tax (17%) 0.21 m - Net profit 1.09 m === TARGET ACCOUNTS Our target account for the fiscal year is 1.09 m net profit. From these target account we have anticipated that UK people are the tea lover, there we will be able to grab many customers. In Ireland, the winter season is of 4 to 5 months so there we will grab a huge chunk of customers. DISTRIBUTION The channel of distribution of the product will be direct through company outlets. Because the network of distribution is through all outlets which cover the entire market throughout. FINANCIALS ADVERTISING BUDGET Mc Tea now needs to establish an advertising budget for allocating the advertising expenses over several media types. The marketing cost that has been estimated for the promotion and awareness of the product is Pounds 1 million. This cost will be efficiently allocated in the various types of promotional activities that will be taking place. The budget is allocated in the following activities. Electronic media 200,000 Print media 100,000 Billboards 200,000 Promotional trucks 100,000 Free sampling of mugs and tea 200,000 Concert 200,000 TOTAL 1 million CONCLUSION The company has planned to integrate the overall approach towards the launch of MC Tea with the current existing product the tea offered in MC Donald. Also the overall launch of this product is planned to be profitable venture and is aimed to increase the target market share and performance of the company. CRITICAL REFLECTION Selected Learning outcome: Appreciate the importance of the separate marketing functions, the management of these functions, and how each function affects other functions within and external to the marketing domain. The marketing function became a revolution with the beginning of the 19th century. The initial phase of the century did not realize the potential of marketing and its functions but as time progressed the marketing function became a crucial part of the running businesses. Then whether it maybe Henry fords concept of black colors or any other people slowly and gradually started understanding the concept. In todays world of the 20th century marketing acts as a center point for any new or existing product. Now whether may it be a pen or a car. It begins with creating awareness, then moving on to teaching the buyer (consumer OR customer) and then later on towards making sales for the company. The new approach is to quantify things that are in current use by companies and things in practice. Separating the marketing function was like providing a working heart to the company. In the past era there were companies and products about which the customers had to go and extract information out from paid sources themselves. Marketing has revolutionized the entire effort and with it came many other things such as personal selling, sales promotion, advertising, media etc. In todays world a revolutionized marketing looks something like this: Marketing Public Relations Advertising Above the line Sales Promotion Below the line Implementation planning Media Tactics Sales Effort Discounts Teaching Customers Market Budgeting Selling efforts Media Marketing now has its extension further towards complementing other departments of a company. Finance department particularly seeks advertising expenditure and then return revenues. All budgets allocated to the marketing department are now quantified. Human resource department seeks towards good people and assets addition to a company. People involved in operations look to gain money return on production by good sales and promotion, even if they wish to achieve high operational targets they need to keep the marketing department inline so to achieve things such as economies of scale and economies of scope. Now writing towards the amount of learning I have had from this module is phenomenal. I havent heard of many terms and approaches that were used in this course before. The best part was the experience which I had. The course has transformed the way I look at TV ads, hoardings etc. Now I tend to pickup products in the market and carefully analyze the packaging and the mentioned contents in it to find relevance with the theory I had studied. I did missed out on practical part in the course where I should have made more efforts towards learning how the media planning and budgeting actually is done in an original market plan. This was due to lack of resources that I could make myself available. Yet I have filled my desire to see an actual marketing plan by analyzing the ongoing campaigns quite deeply to look for problems and things where they went wrong. I also came to know of potential problems such as promise and delivery gap. My prior knowledge was way too less as compared to what I l earned in this module. What I further intend to do is to get my theory more strong and approach companies to understand the practical part of a marketing plan. Also try and practically see how a marketing effort can be improved and made better.

No Child Left Behind is Beneficial Essay -- Education, Politics

Political Influences that Helped to Determine the NCLB Act The publication in 1983 of A Nation at Risk Report, flung education into the political ring as the Reagan Administration reasoned the state of education to be a national security risk (Reutzel, 2009). This report caused the public and politicians to start to examine education and the state of reading readiness of the kids of the United States (Reutzel, 2009). By 1994, President Bill Clinton started the course of rallying the National Governor’s Convention with legislation entitled Goals 2000: Educate America Act. This act was the start of countrywide testing in reading and math to demonstrate responsibility for public education. At the same time, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) was put out by a congressionally funded testing service, showing that reading scores amid the nation’s fourth graders was going down (Reutzel, 2009). And consequently began the downfall of literacy education without political influence The next ten years would see prosperity of data funded both publicly and privately, showing the collapse of a nation and the social difficulties that would result if education was left to educators and the educational system. Federal funding would be given to schools of poverty or underachieving schools. Research standards comparable to those utilized by other professional fields like engineering and medicine would be used to decide on the reformation of literacy education (Reutzel, 2009). Literacy reform now became the rallying call of the U.S. Congress. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1964 was revised in the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2002. This legislation relied heavily on the scientific reading research th... ...ely disadvantaged and racial minorities. There is experimental evidence that shows that these philosophies are indeed effective (Ravitch and Chubb, 2009). There appears to be good and bad things in regards to No Child Left Behind. There is a quantity of evidence that the basic concept is working but there are many that question the implementation of the policy in achieving maximum effectiveness. The Obama administration has put out a plan that will hopefully close some of the gaps that currently exist in the implementation of this policy. What the program is trying to achieve is a good thing, there just needs to be some tweaking done in order to ensure successes in the end. Children are not necessarily learning what they need to but measuring their learning accomplishments solely by testing are not the most effective measure of accomplishment that there is. No Child Left Behind is Beneficial Essay -- Education, Politics Political Influences that Helped to Determine the NCLB Act The publication in 1983 of A Nation at Risk Report, flung education into the political ring as the Reagan Administration reasoned the state of education to be a national security risk (Reutzel, 2009). This report caused the public and politicians to start to examine education and the state of reading readiness of the kids of the United States (Reutzel, 2009). By 1994, President Bill Clinton started the course of rallying the National Governor’s Convention with legislation entitled Goals 2000: Educate America Act. This act was the start of countrywide testing in reading and math to demonstrate responsibility for public education. At the same time, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) was put out by a congressionally funded testing service, showing that reading scores amid the nation’s fourth graders was going down (Reutzel, 2009). And consequently began the downfall of literacy education without political influence The next ten years would see prosperity of data funded both publicly and privately, showing the collapse of a nation and the social difficulties that would result if education was left to educators and the educational system. Federal funding would be given to schools of poverty or underachieving schools. Research standards comparable to those utilized by other professional fields like engineering and medicine would be used to decide on the reformation of literacy education (Reutzel, 2009). Literacy reform now became the rallying call of the U.S. Congress. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1964 was revised in the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2002. This legislation relied heavily on the scientific reading research th... ...ely disadvantaged and racial minorities. There is experimental evidence that shows that these philosophies are indeed effective (Ravitch and Chubb, 2009). There appears to be good and bad things in regards to No Child Left Behind. There is a quantity of evidence that the basic concept is working but there are many that question the implementation of the policy in achieving maximum effectiveness. The Obama administration has put out a plan that will hopefully close some of the gaps that currently exist in the implementation of this policy. What the program is trying to achieve is a good thing, there just needs to be some tweaking done in order to ensure successes in the end. Children are not necessarily learning what they need to but measuring their learning accomplishments solely by testing are not the most effective measure of accomplishment that there is.

Epic Characteristics of Miltons Paradise Lost :: Epics Milton Paradise Lost Essays

Paradise Lost is one of the finest examples of the epic tradition in all of literature. In composing this extraordinary work, John Milton was, for the most part, following in the manner of epic poets of past centuries: Barbara Lewalski notes that Paradise Lost is an "epic whose closest structural affinities are to Virgil's Aeneid . . . "; she continues, however, to state that we now recognize as well the influence of epic traditions and the presence of epic features other than Virgilian. Among the poem's Homeric elements are its Iliadic subject, the death and woe resulting from an act of disobedience; the portrayal of Satan as an Archillean hero motivated by a sense of injured merit and also as an Odyssean hero of wiles and craft; the description of Satan's perilous Odyssey to find a new homeland; and the battle scenes in heaven. . . . The poem also incorporates a Hesiodic gigantomachy; numerous Ovidian metamorphoses; an Ariostan Paradise of Fools; [and] Spenserian allegorical f igures (Sin and Death) . . . . (3) There were changes, however, as John M. Steadman makes clear: The regularity with which Milton frequently conforms to principles of epic structure make his occasional (but nevertheless fundamental) variations on the epic tradition all the more striking by contrast. The most important departures from epic decorum--the rejection of a martial theme, and the choice of an argument that emphasizes the hero's transgression and defeat instead of celebrating his virtues and triumphs--are paradoxically conditioned by concern for the ethical and religious decorum of the epic genre. On the whole, Milton has retained the formal motifs and devices of the heroic poem but has invested them with Christian matter and meaning. In this sense his epic is . . . something of a "pseudomorph"--retaining the form of classical epic but replacing its values and contents with Judeo-Christian correlatives. (Epic and Tragic Structure . . . 20) Steadman goes on to defend Milton's changes in the form of the epic, saying that "such revaluations are not unusual in the epic tradition; they were in fact inevitable" (20). It is important, before continuing with an examination of Paradise Lost and its epic characteristics and conventions (specifically, those in Book I), to review for a moment exactly what an "epic" is. Again, according to Lewalski, "Renaissance critics generally thought of epics as long poems treating heroic actions or other weighty matters in a high style, thereby evoking awe or wonder" (12).

Merchant of Venice Essay examples -- Merchant of Venice Essays

Mercy v. Justice – Old Testament v. New Testament While the conflict between justice and mercy plays a key role in determining the outcome of The Merchant of Venice, this conflict is even more important because it provides a setting for the contrast between the rigid law and rules of the Old Testament and the concepts of mercy and forgiveness as taught by Christ in the New Testament. It is in the climactic trial scene that The Duke, hoping Shylock will excuse Antonio's penalty, asks him, â€Å"How shall thou hope for mercy rend'ring none?† He is referring to expectations of judgment in the afterlife. However, so is Shylock, when he counters, â€Å"What judgment shall I dread doing no wrong?† This exchange perfectly presents this conflict between of the Old Testament and the New, in which the former is seen to emphasize strict obedience as mankind’s obligation to God while the latter stresses God's grace and mercy. The laws and rules of the Old Testament insisted on strict justice, â€Å"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth† (Exodus 21:23, 24; also see: Leviticus 24:19, 20; and Deuteronomy 19:21) while the New Testament calls for mercy, â€Å"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy† (Matthew 5:7) said Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. He later added â€Å"Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’; but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.† (Matthew 5:39). Shakespeare’s version of â€Å"An eye for and eye† is found at the end of Shylock’s great speech in the trial scene of Act IV, â€Å"If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.† His demand for vengeance is made more understandable in this famous speech as he lays open the years of pain and anger caused by the anti-Semitic treatment and abuse from the likes of Antonio and the rest of Venetian society. But, while he is more a victim than a villain, he's not blameless. What turns Shylock into a ruthless avenger is his daughter’s elopement with a Christian and her rejection of the religion of her family. It is this betrayal by his own flesh and blood that renders Shylock seemingly merciless towards ... ...s and forgiving herself. One of the great ironies of this play happens when Shylock calls Portia, "A Daniel come to judgment, yea, a Daniel!" Daniel was the Old Testament judge of Susanna, a woman accused of being unchaste by the elders. The story is pointed because Daniel rules in Susanna's favor, thus rescuing her from her fate. After freeing her, he then in turn convicts the elders. Shylock's mistake is that while he is right in calling Portia a Daniel, he fails to recognize that he is the one who represents the elders and Antonio is the rescued Susanna. In the end, Shylock is prevented from cutting a pound of Antonio’s flesh from very near the merchant’s heart, but in a sense it is the Christians who cut Shylock’s heart out of his body without shedding a drop of his blood. While the Christians preach mercy when Antonio is at risk, the Christian court is happy to opt for Old Testament vengeance itself in exacting a punishment which leaves Shylock feeling that he might as well be dead-- â€Å"Nay, take my life and all, pardon not that, You take my house, when you do take the prop / That doth sustain my house: you take my life / When you do take the means whereby I live.† Merchant of Venice Essay examples -- Merchant of Venice Essays Mercy v. Justice – Old Testament v. New Testament While the conflict between justice and mercy plays a key role in determining the outcome of The Merchant of Venice, this conflict is even more important because it provides a setting for the contrast between the rigid law and rules of the Old Testament and the concepts of mercy and forgiveness as taught by Christ in the New Testament. It is in the climactic trial scene that The Duke, hoping Shylock will excuse Antonio's penalty, asks him, â€Å"How shall thou hope for mercy rend'ring none?† He is referring to expectations of judgment in the afterlife. However, so is Shylock, when he counters, â€Å"What judgment shall I dread doing no wrong?† This exchange perfectly presents this conflict between of the Old Testament and the New, in which the former is seen to emphasize strict obedience as mankind’s obligation to God while the latter stresses God's grace and mercy. The laws and rules of the Old Testament insisted on strict justice, â€Å"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth† (Exodus 21:23, 24; also see: Leviticus 24:19, 20; and Deuteronomy 19:21) while the New Testament calls for mercy, â€Å"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy† (Matthew 5:7) said Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. He later added â€Å"Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’; but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.† (Matthew 5:39). Shakespeare’s version of â€Å"An eye for and eye† is found at the end of Shylock’s great speech in the trial scene of Act IV, â€Å"If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge. The villainy you teach me I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better the instruction.† His demand for vengeance is made more understandable in this famous speech as he lays open the years of pain and anger caused by the anti-Semitic treatment and abuse from the likes of Antonio and the rest of Venetian society. But, while he is more a victim than a villain, he's not blameless. What turns Shylock into a ruthless avenger is his daughter’s elopement with a Christian and her rejection of the religion of her family. It is this betrayal by his own flesh and blood that renders Shylock seemingly merciless towards ... ...s and forgiving herself. One of the great ironies of this play happens when Shylock calls Portia, "A Daniel come to judgment, yea, a Daniel!" Daniel was the Old Testament judge of Susanna, a woman accused of being unchaste by the elders. The story is pointed because Daniel rules in Susanna's favor, thus rescuing her from her fate. After freeing her, he then in turn convicts the elders. Shylock's mistake is that while he is right in calling Portia a Daniel, he fails to recognize that he is the one who represents the elders and Antonio is the rescued Susanna. In the end, Shylock is prevented from cutting a pound of Antonio’s flesh from very near the merchant’s heart, but in a sense it is the Christians who cut Shylock’s heart out of his body without shedding a drop of his blood. While the Christians preach mercy when Antonio is at risk, the Christian court is happy to opt for Old Testament vengeance itself in exacting a punishment which leaves Shylock feeling that he might as well be dead-- â€Å"Nay, take my life and all, pardon not that, You take my house, when you do take the prop / That doth sustain my house: you take my life / When you do take the means whereby I live.†

Padini Holding Berhad Essay

1.1 Background of the company Padini is a Malaysian-domiciled investment-holding company headquartered in HicomGlenmarie Industrial Park, Shah Alam. Incorporated in 1971 as proprietorship under the trade name Hwayo Garments Manufacturers Company, Padini was initially engaged in the manufacture and wholesale of ladies wear. The company subsequently added men’s and children’s lines to its offerings when it established its first three brands from 1975 – 1987. In 1988, Padini discarded its role as wholesaler to take up the role of consignor. Thereafter, the first single-brand store distributing Seed was opened in 1992 in Sungei Wang Plaza, Kuala Lumpur. The company has nine labels in its family of brands and retail in 330 freestanding stores, franchised outlets and consignment counters in Malaysia and around the world. The company’s subsidiaries include Vincci Ladies’ Specialties Centre Sdn. Bhd., which is engaged in dealing of ladies’ shoes and accessories; Padini C orporation Sdn Bhd., Seed Corporation Sdn. Bhd., Yee Fong Hung (Malaysia) SendirianBerhad (Yee Fong Hung) and Padini International Limited, which is engaged in dealing of garments and ancillary products; Padini Dot Com Sdn. Bhd. (Padini Dot Com), which is engaged in provision of management services, and Mikihouse Children’s Wear Sdn. Bhd. (Mikihouse), which is engaged in dealing of children’s garments, maternity wear and accessories. Tizio was introduced to the public with the opening of its first outlet in Mid Valley Megamall in Nov 2012 and subsequently in Paradigm Mall on 23 May 2013. Like almost all of the Group’s Brands, Tizio was developed in  -house by, and is registered to the group. Anticipate more presence from Tizio in the coming years as the brand has been slated to become an addition to the group’s portfolio of core brands.  On 5 March 1998, the group was listed on the Second Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad (Bursa) and thereafter, transferred to the Main Board on 4 August 2004. The Main and Second Boards merged on 3 August 2009. Major shareholders of the group as at 8 July 2013 are Pang Chaun Yong with 44% and Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera with 5.0%.

What must be done to protect New Zealand’s wildlife

There is much said about protecting native species all around the world and New Zealand is no exception. In New Zealand we are facing challenges of our own when it comes to protecting and conserving our native species. This challenges range from oil spills to climate change to over-harvesting (in particular whale hunting). It is common reality that more needs to be done to protect our native New Zealand species. And this needs collective effort from each and every one of us to protect our native species-the government, NGOs and citizens. in my essay I will be emphasising on what we can do as individuals to contribute to protecting and conserving the native species and these includes reducing our carbon footprint, considering our lifestyle and lastly speaking out. I will then conclude by emphasising these points. Brief Background Due to its long geological isolation since breaking away from the supercontinent Gondwana about 80 million years ago, New Zealand’s plant and animal life has developed down a unique evolutionary path. Many of our native plants and animals are endemic – that is, found nowhere else in the world. The level of endemism among New Zealand plants and animals is one of the highest in the world. The tuatara, moa, kiwi, kokako, saddleback, huia, kakapo, native frogs and giant carnivorous land snails are just some of the species that are uniquely New Zealand. This isolation in the absence of mammalian predators for millions of years also meant that many of our native species were virtually defenceless against attack – for example, many of our native birds like the kiwi are flightless and nest on the ground. When humans – first Maori and then European settlers – arrived in New Zealand, introduced mammals came with them: rats, possums, stoats, ferrets, weasels, deer, pigs, mice, cats, dogs and others. These introduced species quickly took a heavy toll as they preyed and browsed on New Zealand’s largely defenceless native species, or competed with them. Human activities such as felling and burning vegetation and draining wetlands also destroyed much of the native species’ habitats. Native species such as the moa, huia, and the world’s largest-ever eagle, the Haast’s eagle, the South Island kokako and many others became extinct. Many more, such as the Takahe, the Kakapo and the long-tailed bat were radically reduced in number and remain perilously close to extinction today. Against this backdrop, the protection of our native species becomes ever more urgent. Thus this brings me to my emphasis on what we can do as individuals to protect our native species. Protection of our native species doesn’t only mean big campaigns by organization such as green peace o world wildlife fund. It also concerns us as individuals to contribute in our own small ways in protecting our native species. Unfortunately, we as individuals don’t realise these. Therefore, there are three things that I believe we can do to help in protecting our native species. They are reducing our carbon footprint, considering our lifestyles and last of all speaking out. Reduce our carbon footprint Each and every one of us can help save the planet from runaway climate change. Carbon emissions have been scientifically proven to be one of the main contributors to global warming. And as individuals, we think that releasing of carbon to the atmosphere is mainly done by factories of all sorts without realising that we also contribute to that. Therefore I believe that we have a responsibility to ensure that we minimise this. So this is how it can be done. Ever wondered how much difference your small actions really make? If every New Zealand household took these three simple actions, it could have a big impact. First of all, go car-free one day a week. Transport is a major contributor to New Zealand's emissions (20%). If everyone in New Zealand who currently drives to work were to walk, cycle or take public transport on just one day per week, it would save up to 114,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year (Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme Dec 2008). Secondly, we must switch our bulbs. If every household swapped their remaining old-style light bulbs for new energy efficient ones, this could save up to 0.6 billion kWh of electricity or 106,800 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year (Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in December 2008) Thirdly, we must turn un-needed appliances off at the wall. When not in use things like heated towels rails and appliances on standby account for almost 1 billion kWh of electricity per year or 165,700 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in December 2008). If every household simply turned these off, we could make a big saving. So if all of the above actions are taken, it all adds up to us as individually contributing to reducing carbon emissions. According to Landcare research, the combined impact of these actions would be an emissions reduction of 386,500 tonnes CO2 equivalent per year. This is equivalent to over 839,000 car journeys from Kaitaia to Invercargill (Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in December 2008). Figures are based on work by Landcare Research’s carboNZero Programme in December 2008 commissioned by WWF-New Zealand. Consider our lifestyle Have we ever wondered how our lifestyles can contribute to carbon emissions which impact on the environment? In our pursuit of pleasure, enjoyment and expensive lifestyle we have become careless-careless in the sense that we are consuming things that we don’t really need. Carbon emissions are created by stuff – the more stuff you buy, use, consume and throw away the more you’re contributing to climate change. Did we ever known that? I guess no. Take a look at what we really need. Can we cut down on anything? By eating meat and animal products our carbon footprint will be higher than on a vege diet. Can we eat less meat? Garbage emits methane – a greenhouse gas – as it breaks down. Can we reduce our waste? Clothes, furniture, electrical goods – everything really – takes resources to produce and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as it is moved around the planet. Can you buy less stuff and local stuff instead? Or above all consume only stuff that we really need. You can help – Speak out The last thing we can do is speak out. There are petitions made by organizations such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to the government. The best we can do to help is to sign up. One such petition is the Forest & Bird’s petition. You can help by signing Forest & Bird's petition to save sea lions. In this petition, WWF is calling on the New Zealand Government to immediately take the following action: 1. Determine the relative importance of the threats facing the sea lions. 2. Revise the Department of Conservations Sea Lion Species Management Plan. – (The revised plan should provide clear, time-bound actions to address the main threats identified in the comparative assessment.) 3. Develop an improved population model to guide sea lion mortality limits. – (The model should address the flaws in the current model and also consider the effect of food competition and epidemics.) 4. Set a precautionary mortality limit for sea lions in the squid fishery. – (This limit should be based on the improved population model and on a conservative assessment of the effectiveness of sea lion exclusion devices.) 5. Set an explicit sea lion mortality limit in the Campbell southern blue whiting fishing. 6. Set precautionary allocations of squid and other southern ocean fish stocks. – (These allocations should be ecologically based and explicitly considers direct and indirect effects of fishing on sea lions.) The numbers of sea lion pups are in freefall – estimates from the Department of Conservation show pup production has halved since 1998. So we can play our part by signing the petition. Conclusion To conclude, we must know that protecting native New Zealand species does not concern only the government or organizations such as WWF. It also concerns us as individuals to contribute in our own small ways. We need a collective effort to protect New Zealand’s native species.