Health Law and Regulations Paper

Organizational Responsibility and Current Health Care Issues HCS/545 August 27, 2012 Charles Barron Organizational Responsibility and Current Health Care Issues Health care fraud and abuse is a current issue affecting everyone in the United States costing billions of dollars annually. This fraudulent crime is committed when dishonest consumers and providers submit false or misleading information to turn profit. It affects the United States by hampering the ability to provide affordable access health care and good quality of care to Americans.The Affordable Care Act prevention resources and tools are working to stop fraud before it occurs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a health news situation affecting the health care system and evaluate the effect of organizational structure and governance, culture, and social responsibility. Recommended resources to preventing this situation in the future and recommended changes in future prevention will be discussed. Health News Situation A 38 year old Miami Florida resident, Sandra Jimenez, admitted to participating in a Medicare fraud scheme affecting assisted living facilities, half way houses, and home health agencies. The fraud schemes were orchestrated by the owners and operators of American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC); its management company, Medlink Professional Management Group Inc. ; and the American Sleep Institute (ASI)† (Department of Justice, 2012, para. 2). In January 2012, Jimenez pleads guilty to counts of committing conspiracy of health care fraud and frauding the United States in receiving illegal health care kickbacks. The various owners, doctors, managers, and therapists of ATC and Medlink were charged with health care kickbacks, money laundering, and fraud of millions of Medicare dollars. The Medicare fraud scheme resulted in the submission of more than $200 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare† (Department of Justice, 2012, para. 1). An example of the fraud committed by Jimen ez and co-conspirators is submitting medically unnecessary services that were billed through Medicare and then laundered. Jimenez as a marketer solicited the beneficiaries and then paid the illegal kickbacks to assisted living facility owners in exchange for the beneficiaries. If convicted Jimenez and co-conspirators are facing maximum penalty prison time and fines.Corporate Structure and Governance, Culture, and Focus on Social Responsibility Social responsibility in the United States is to ensure organizations adhere to state, federal, and local laws, it ensures consumers and providers are held accountable. A sound corporate structure and governance ensures there is a standard of excellence, integrity, and accountability in all aspects of the organization. References Department of Justice. (2012). Miami-area resident pleads guilty to participating in $200 million medicare fraud scheme. Office of Public Affairs. Retrieved from http://www. justice. gov/opa/pr/2012/January/12-crm-063 . html

Customer Service and Data Warehouse

Liu, An Chi (Allison) #20, Truong, Dominic #31 Tseng, Chun Yao (Gary) #33, Wang, Wei (Chloe) #35 Wang, Zhuoqun (Mask) #36, Zhang, Tao (Kevin) #48 Professor Kim MGT 205 Assignment #5: IT’s About Business 3. 2 1. Why was it necessary for the Isle of Capri Casinos to develop a data warehouse? The Isle of Capri Casinos experienced challenges in the geographical location of their properties as well as their diverse clientele. This made it very difficult for the publicly traded gaming company to segment customers and to establishing an inclusive brand image.With that, the company caters to a variety of customers in Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, and Florida. They found the past Customer Relationship Management (CRM) model to have generalized their customer view, thus initiating a need for a ‘single view of the business and the customer’. This new database warehouse method would enhance their competitive strategy by encouraging continuous guest relatio nships and surpassing guests’ needs and expectations in terms of atmosphere. 2. Describe the variety of benefits that the Isle realized from its data warehouse.There are many benefits for Isle in the development of their new data warehouse. Firstly, the system quickly and conveniently allowed the company to establish segmentation within the market. The system identified segments centered on the number of visits, which ultimately determined the level of offers and values. Eg. Company researchers determined that players who visit four times a month required an alternative incentive package that those who visited once a month. The company was also able to interpret the data generated by the warehouse to develop information for market experiments.The series of segmentations allowed for cross tabulation within customers— Who stayed at least two or three times? Who gamed and who didn’t? How much did staying in a hotel affect customer’s gaming activity? The dete rmination of these experiments created business opportunities within demographics of consumers. One study showed that local customers ‘game more’ when they stay in the casino hotel. Through this experiment, a local promotion was established to encourage customers to stay one free night.In turn, this proved to be profitable in the precision of their targeted offers, consequently motivating customers to visit the company’s casino locations. Lastly, another benefit from the database warehouse was in the strategic determination of slots and game locations. The company could enhance revenue and profit by strategically placing new games and machines based on past behaviors from high-value players. All in all, the data warehouse serves as a valuable resource for market analysis and customer segmentation.

About in katherine mansfield’s miss brill

About in katherine mansfields miss brill In Katherine Mansfield’s â€Å"Miss Brill† the reader is given a glimpse into the life of an old English teacher living in France. Miss Brill is an old woman living in exile who enjoys going out every Sunday to listen to the band play in the park and eavesdrop into people’s conversations. Through the use of literary components such as limited 3rd person point of view and characterization, Mansfield explores how one’s self-perspective can be skewed and results in alienation. These literary components make the epiphany at the end of the story more effective. The limited 3rd person point of view is defined as a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally. This point of view is important to the story so that as the reader will not engage in sympathy with Miss Brill but instead observe her actions as she feigns the happiness in her life. If this story were told in 1st person, the reader would be experiencing the mind of Miss Brill as she leads herself through her fantasy life. For example, the reader would not be able to fully understand that she is viewing the world as an illusion instead of reality. At the beginning of the story, the author introduces a symbol to the readers, Miss Brill’s fur. â€Å"She had taken it out of this box that afternoon, shaken out the moth-powder, given it a good brush, and rubbed the life back into the dim little eyes† â€Å"What has been happening to me?† said the sad little eyes.†(p.84). This fur symbolizes a companionship that is obvious Miss Brill hasn’t had in a very long time. Miss Brill can be described as a dynamic round character. A Dynamic character also know as a round character is a specific type of character or fictional or imagined person in a literary text. A dynamic character is usually one of the main characters, is presented in a complex a nd detailed manner and usually undergoes a significant change in response to the events or circumstances described in the plot. In this story the main character is Miss Brill and the author presents the reader with an indirect description of the main character. Again this is supported by the limited third person point of view. Throughout the story we are given insight into how Miss Brill lives out her lonely life by going to the park every Sunday to eavesdrop into other people’s lives as though she is trying to live vicariously through them. Through this type of description the reader can see that she lives in this world through her own fantasies. Miss Brill does not live in this reality; she lives in the world that she has seemed to have made up on her own. In the paragraph that talks about her reading to the old man â€Å"But suddenly he knew he was having the paper read to him by an actress! â€Å"An actress!† Miss Brill responds by saying â€Å"Yes, I have been a n actress for a long time.†(p.86) so the reader sees she is not actually an actress, but she is trying to create her own reality. In order to be a dynamic character it is important that the character undergoes a dramatic change in response to events. This leads to the next important literary element†¦epiphany.

Approach for Cancer Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Approach for Cancer Care - Essay Example Staging of Cancer Cancer staging refers to the extent or severity of cancer-based on the original tumor. Staging indicates the extent in which cancer has spread. There are four stages of cancer. Stage one to four. Factors such as the size of tumor, the extent of penetration, invasion into adjacent tissues and distant organs and the extent of metastasis, usually determine the stage of cancer. As tumors develop in a tissue or organ, they spread to other tissues and organs. They can also enter the blood stream or the lymphatic system and spread to other organs. Tumors spread from a primary site to a secondary site through a process called metastasis. Cancer staging is very important since it helps the doctors to predict death or survival and to provide treatment. The health care providers also use cancer staging to establish prognosis. Treatment can help restage cancer but rarely can it change the stage detected at diagnosis (Aronson, 2010). Staging also helps in identifying clinical trials that can suit particular patients. There are several systems used to cluster stages of cancer. They include the Tumor Node System, Ann Arbor system, scale I-IV, the FIGO system, Jewett Whitmore system and the Dukes staging system. These systems consider various elements used to cluster the stage. These include the primary site of the tumor, size, and the number of tumors, the tumor cell type, the involvement of tumor and metastasis (Wen, Schiff, & Quant, 2012). The most used cancer staging system is the Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) system. The TNM system usually clusters cancer in two stages, which include a clinical stage and a pathological stage. The clinical stage is the stage before surgery where cancer is described through physical examination and other forms o f diagnosis except biopsy. The pathological stage is the

Kentuckys Educational System; Argument by Definition, Evaluation, and Essay

Kentuckys Educational System; Argument by Definition, Evaluation, and Proposal - Essay Example This essay declares that education in Kentucky encompasses elementary school such as kindergarten to fifth grade, middle school also called junior high that starts from sixth grade to eighth grade, and high school starting from ninth to twelfth grade. The system also includes post secondary institutions. Many Kentucky colleges and schools have an accreditation of various Associations of Colleges and Schools in the region. However, Kentucky education suffers from a common negative stigma like other Southern states. This paper makes a conclusion that the system emphasizes on various levels where capacity building takes place. The initial focus is that of having individual officers, precisely from government management and planning teams are participating in remodeling the system. Also, organizational goals revolve around improving the overall effectiveness of the methods and incentivizing better teamwork in education. The other level includes that of developing public service reforms to have a fundamental national leadership while adapting to the respective administration circumstances. Lastly, the levels of external assistance from international and bilateral agencies need to have a long-term consideration leading into a critical transfer for skills, precisely within the fragile state of Kentucky. The development strategy can be prepared together with international education organizations focusing on the development of capacity across areas of quality and equity, leadership, organization, insti tutions, and knowledge generation.

Michael Kors Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Michael Kors - Assignment Example A strong management team in an organization is substantially important in achieving the goals of the organization. Therefore an organization that has such a management gains a competitive advantage in the market. An organization whose specialized teams help in the achievement of the vision afore set vision, is considered to be successful. For instance, a marketing team that successfully keeps an organizations brand selling and even improving over time is a good example of the importance of group work. Mahmohan reports that in order to motivate employees it is necessary to develop and maintain a certain style of management which is appropriate to a good work environment (17). This is majorly the responsibility of a management group obliged with the duty of ensuring a motivating working environment for workers. One way of doing this is by setting specialties to be performed within the organization by teams who specialize in the corresponding fields. According to Drummond & Helga, creating effective teams and groups that are workable is a key contributor to an organizations well-being (32). For instance, a successful entrepreneur, Michael Kors has a senior management team which has an average of 25 years of experience in the retail industry and an average of eight years with

Ch 2 DBA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 15000 words

Ch 2 DBA - Essay Example Previously, traditional economies and organisations relied upon assets such as capital and land having physical values. In the modern economy, this trend has changed and knowledge is now the key factor to gaining competitive advantage (Beijerse, 1999). In the contemporary business world, knowledge sharing fundamentally means that employees contribute to knowledge application, innovation, and ultimately the competitive advantage of the organisation (Wang & Noe, 2010). Knowledge sharing has distinct advantages. It is positively related to reduction in production costs, faster completion of new product development projects, team performance, firm innovation capabilities and firm performance. Firm performance includes sales growth and revenue from new products and services (Wang & Noe, 2010). Scholars have divided knowledge into two forms – explicit and tacit – when it comes to the nature of the knowledge (Nonaka et al., 2000; Smith, 2001; Lindvall & Rus, 2002). Explicit knowledge is saved in codified form in databases and can be easily conveyed to the receiver without any misunderstanding (Smith, 2001). Tacit knowledge is ‘know-why and ‘know-how’ and can be referred to as experimental knowledge. Smith (2001) describes tacit knowledge as the unarticulated part of knowledge residing in an individual ´s mind. This type of knowledge, unlike explicit knowledge, is hard to present in a written format thereby making it difficult to transfer to others or store (Smith, 2001). The knowledge sharing in organisations is dependent on the nature of the knowledge being shared (tacit and explicit knowledge). Sharing, transferring, and storing tacit and explicit knowledge differs from each other. Tacit knowledge is the unarticulated part of knowledge r esiding in the individual ´s mind (Smith, 2001). Although knowledge sharing is considered to be of a vital importance to organisations, it will not be achieved if there is lack of a knowledge sharing culture, trust, and

Loss of women's rights in Egypt in the current time Research Paper

Loss of women's rights in Egypt in the current time - Research Paper Example Earlier women in the country had certain major rights within their society. Some of these were certainly equal to that of the men particularly with respect to education, marriage and economic status like earnings. In fact, this was quite unlike the situation in other countries where women did not receive so many rights equal to the men in the society (Tyldesley, n.d.). In countries like Egypt, as has been considered for the particular study, the status of women is considered as a measure and level of modernity. This leads to the development of policy measures and other practices within the society. Thus gender has always played a significant role in the Muslim societies of such countries (Sali, 2010). In the present times, the women in Egypt have to deal with the changes in the social institutions prevailing in the country that have initiated in the country post modernity (Lewis and Micklewright, 2006). However, in spite of women gaining rights in the country in the earlier times, ye t reports in the present times reflect that women are losing their rights as against the men in the country and are being tried to be dominated by the males in the society. Part I: Women’s Rights in Egypt: Place of women in Egypt in the last 100 years: Beginning of 20th Century: Considering the last 100 years, the Egyptian women could never be seen or heard. However through the recent revolutions, women proved this wrong by presenting themselves and their struggles in front of the public thus altering the conditions of the women in the society. With the revolution during the Mubarak regime, the women participated more in different activities within the society along with performing their roles in their families (Jones, 2012). Before modernism, although the women were not equal with the men, still they had certain rights for themselves. Such rights were associated with the marriages, finances, courts, and divorces that were much higher in comparison with several other civiliza tions across the world (Deif, 2004). With the mass uprising on the streets of Egypt during the Mubarak regime, the women in the country struggled and tried to gain rights in different fields thus trying to obtain equality with the men in the country. As far as the position of women in Egypt is concerned, it was found to be unique since such rights, as mentioned above, were not prevalent in the other civilizations in the ancient times. The legal and economic rights that they enjoyed were similar to that of the men in their country, although such rights were mostly associated with their status in the society, the link of which could not be determined though (Otto, 2010). Their position in the society depended on their social rank irrespective of the gender of the individual. However on one hand, while moving from one social rank to the other, women could move along with their husbands; on the other hand, it was possible that a man could divorce his wife and marry someone else who coul d then get that rank that her husband held in the society. In spite of these differences and status of the women, still in the ancient time in Egypt, self-made women could be found (Picone, 2012). Egypt has certainly been one of the countries that provided the women with certain rights. This is evident from the following rights that the women experienced in the country of Egypt. The women in Egypt had certain rights for their academic achievements. Education was seen by the public as extremely important for women that can lead to

Ethics in Public Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics in Public Administration - Essay Example Consequently, if it happened that the firefighters took any wood from the alder tree that they had cut down in Oregon, then the case would have dealt on employees liaising with their supervisor to illegally possess public property for personal gain. According to the information given, it is clear that a retired officer from the firefight department decided to blow the whistle. As such, the Fire Chief should have asked the rest of the firefighters to collect the wood from his place and those that they might have illegally taken to their own places for personal use and present it to the relevant authorities because they have a duty to adhere to ethics laws. Of importance to note that, it is much easier for the firefighters to adhere to ethics laws when their supervisor Fire Chief demonstrates the principle. Additionally, there should be continuous adherence to ethic laws at the work place, having learnt from this unfortunate situation of breach of ethic laws (Geuras & Garofalo, 2010). It is for undoubted reasons that the City Manager or Mayor should have the mandate of ensuring that the ethic laws are adhered to by every individual in the public administration. Basically, the City Manager should create public awareness through media both print and electronic. Moreover, there should be forums on how best the public officers should serve the public, as well as, the rights of the public in service delivery. It is crucial to comprehend that, there must be stringent measures for those who attempt to breach laws. In relation to this case, the City Manager should lay down the laws that have been breached by the fire fighters to facilitate their fines and/or punishment. In cases where the firefighters report directly to the City Managers, implementation of the punishment should proceed. It is obvious that even after the wood was discovered in Fire Chief home, he continued to insist that it was a

Ethics Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics Paper - Essay Example The ethical responsibilities I have to the families of children would call for me to contact all parents involved but chiefly the lesbian mothers in order to let them know what is going on in the classroom and what kind of treatment their child is being exposed to. The family of this child deserves respect due to its individual beliefs and child-rearing values, and should be highly engaged in the solution to their child’s classroom problems. I would ask these parents what their reaction to this behavior of the child’s peers is, and if they have any specific course of action that they would like to take or ask of me. I would be sure to make clear that I am in a position to do everything possible to help them and their child find a solution to this that fits their expectations, and am not coming to them without my own determination to resolve the issue. If they had no special expectations I would furthermore make clear to them that I can be trusted to adhere to the ethica l code of keeping mutual trust while completely respecting their families values as well as their child’s individual character. My next course of action would be to speak with the parents of the other children involved, and explain to them that as a teacher I operate by an ethical code of conduct that requires me to have a special, open, and considerate position towards all children in my class.

Organizational Project Management Maturity Model Essay Example for Free

Organizational Project Management Maturity Model Essay 1. Introduction Successful implementation of a new organizational strategy can turn a good organization into a great one. Conversely, strategies that fail or generate poor results can quickly damage the organization’s reputation and brand, internally and externally. Effective strategy execution is the responsibility of all levels of management, who must be involved actively and consistently to orchestrate required organizational changes and to manage the portfolio of investments that underpin these change initiatives. The Organizational Project Management Maturity Model is a framework that provides an organization wide view of portfolio management, program management, and project management to support achieving best Practices within each of these domains. This holistic perspective is a powerful tool enabling successful execution of organizational strategies, portfolios, programs, and projects, especially when these transcend functional and hierarchical boundaries. Moreover, OPM3 global best Practices, applied to the execution of strategy, can drive superior and sustainable results. Effective strategy execution is the responsibility of the organization’s strategic planning and governance structures, which must be involved accurately and consistently to orchestrate required organizational changes. They manage the portfolio of investments that underpin these change initiatives. 2. Organizational project management Organizational project management is the systematic management of projects, programs and portfolios in allignment with the achievements of strategic goals. The concept of organizational project management is based on the idea that there is correlation between organization’s capabilities in project management, program management and portfolio management and its effectiveness implementing strategy. Organizational Project Management Project Portfolio Program Strategic Goals * Project – A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. * Program – A group of realated projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them individually. * Portfolio – Acolloection of projects or programs and other work that are grouped together to facilitate effective management to meet strategic business objectives. 3. OPM3 Model OPM3 is an acronym for the Organizational Project Management Maturity Model, a standard wich is developed under the stewardship of the project management institute. The purpose of this standard is to provide a way for organizations to understand organizational project management and to measure their maturity against a comprehensive and broad based set of organizational project management best practices. OPM3 also helps organizations to increase their organizational project management maturity to plan for improvement. 4.1. Primary physical parts of the standard There are three parts; i. Narrative text – presents the OPM3 foundational concepts, with various appendices and glossary ii. Self assessment – provide a tool in support of the assessment step out lined in OPM3 iii. Directories – contain data on nearly 600 organizational project management best practices and their constituent capabilities 4.2. OPM3 Stages There are four sequential stages of process improvement; STANDARDIZE| MEASURE| CONTROL| CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVEMENT| 4. How does the OPM3 work? OPM3 offers the key to organizational project management maturity with three interlocking elements; i. The KNOWLEDGE element lets organizations uncover hundreds of Best Practices and shows them how to use the information available in OPM3. ii. The self ASSESSMENT element is an interactive database tool that lets organizations evaluate their current situation and identify their areas in need of improvement should an organization decided to embark on the path to higher maturity. iii. The IMPROVEMENT element will help map out the steps needed to achieve their goals. * KNOWLEDGE element which drives Assessment * ASSESSMENT element which in turn drives Improvement * IMPROVEMENT element. 5. Benefits of OPM3 to the organization I. It bridges the gap between strategy and individual project. II. It provides a comprehensive body of knowledge regarding what constitutes best practices in organizational project management. III. By using OPM3, an organization can determine exactly which organizational project management best practices and capabilities it does and does not have. IV. If the organization decides to pursue improvements, OPM3 provides guidance on prioritizing and planning. 6. What kind of commitment is required to launch OPM3 in an organization? The process of applying OPM3 in an organization is difficult to quantify. It depends on factors such as the size, complexity and initial maturity of the organization, the thoroughness of the assessment, the nature of the organization’s strategic objectives, and the level of resources available also impact any estimate. However, the assessment portion of such an initiative is most likely to take from several weeks to several months. Should an organization decide to embark upon improvements, the planning and implementation steps are likely to take longer, depending on how many best practices and related capabilities an organization decides to work on at one time. 7. Importance of OPM3 to the project management profession The Project Manager Competency Development Framework is the standard to guide the professional development of project of project managers and those aspiring to be project managers. OPM3 is the first iteration of a standard for organizations. It has the potential to create a new environment for those who are working in the project management profession, by illuminating the important link between projects and organizational strategy and the importance of organizational support to project management practices. The information in OPM3 is based on very broad based input from project management practitioners and consultants. 8. Summary The current global economic climate has ushered in an era of uncertainty that throws the importance of Organizational Project Management (OPM) maturity into sharp relief. It is critical for organizations to renew their ability to create cost efficiencies, economies of scale and agility to adapt to the changing business environment through projects. Companies need the organizational capability to choose the right projects, manage costs, and innovate. They need the organizational capability to delivery projects successfully, consistently, and predictably. The Project Management Institutes OPM3 Standard was developed with input from thousands of project practitioners and represents best practices in Project, Program, and Portfolio Management. OPM3 incorporates the PMIs PMBOK Guide, the most widely adopted standard for managing individual projects, and expands this into the domains of Program Management and Portfolio Management. OPM3 emphasizes choosing the right projects to advance organizational strategies and implementing the processes, structures, and behaviors necessary to deliver projects successfully, consistently, and predictabl y. Standardization of project work methods lays the foundation for achieving higher levels of maturity and excellence to create the organizational agility and resilience you need in todays marketplace. Leading organizations of all types and sizes across multiple industries are adopting OPM3 to transform their ability to close the gap between strategic intent and tactical outcomes through successful project selection and delivery. The preferred method for implementing OPM3 begins with an OPM3 Assessment by a PMI certified OPM3 Professional. 9. References * Project Management Institute, Inc. (2003). Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3). Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3). 1 (1), 1-195. * Project Management Institute, Inc. (2004). An executives guide to OPM3. An executives guide to OPM3. 1 (1), 1-5.

Being Black Essay Example for Free

Being Black Essay For my second formal writing piece I am considering writing about Shelby Steeles essay ? On Being Black and Middle Class. I find this piece interesting because Steele starts his piece with a contradiction his friend makes, and then he continues to unfold his view on the matter and how he started to change his mind over periods of time during his life. ?If you were black, you were just black and that was that (p. 687). Although I am not black, I have discovered that all of us change our views as we grow older. I love the examples Steele uses to describe his change of mind. He comments that ? race never fully explained our situation in American society (p 687). Class also plays an important role on who you become in life. Steele explains that the middle-class blacks in the sixties were caught in a double-bind in life; the race which they belong to and also the class in which they were brought up in. I agree with him on this point. Class has a lot to do with who you become and where you go in life. Even now, race plays a major part as well. People still look at others differently because of the color of their skin. Steele describes that society wants blacks to see themselves as a ? minority and I agree with that. I have heard many people comment on how someone performs a job using the color skin as an excuse. As a society, I believe that we are still trying to separate races and classes. Just like certain whites are looked down upon because of their living standards, the same happens to many blacks. ?The black middle class has always defined its class identity by means of positive images gleaned from middle- and upper-class white society, and by means of negative images of lower-class blacks (p 690). I agree with this because many people today dont seem to think there is such a thing as the black middle-class. Blacks are mainly thought of as lower-class citizens and whites as upper- and middle-class citizens. The people caught up in this class must make themselves known. They are their own people, not a mixture from others. Steele describes one of his professors telling him that he wasnt really black because he wasnt disadvantaged (p 692). This professor was classifying all blacks as disadvantaged, and if a black person happened to make it into the world as an individual, they were supposed to drop all connections with their race and their background. Obviously this is unacceptable. You are never able to forget and ignore your past and the people you came from. They are a part of you for your entire life. Another professor describes a situation where he was unable to allow blacks to stay in his boarding house because the color of their skin might offend the other boarders. As Steele puts it, ? he could not recognize that he was asking me to betray my race in the name of my class (p 694). Everyone must be able to identify with themselves as a whole person. Your race, your class and the role you play in society. If Steels had known better, he would have realized that he was actually being insulted non-directly. He is unable to change the color of his skin, but both professors were degrading the race he was a part of. This race is embedded in him and he should never forget it. Time has past and he now has come to this realization, but people need to be aware of what is being said around them. Those comments were unacceptable. Today is a bit different because in the sixties people could get away saying those type of things. Its harder to say things like that now. Almost anything can be taken as an insult somehow nowadays. Those are the main parts of Steeles essay and I will be using more details in describing these matters more clearly. Race and class both play a major part in all of our lives, and we need to be aware of where we are in society.

Corporate Analysis Of Bhp Billiton Management Essay

Corporate Analysis Of Bhp Billiton Management Essay BHP Billiton is a global leader in the resources industry. Formed from a merger between BHP and Billiton, it brings together an exceptional mix of quality, low-cost resource assets, complemented by a strong management team determined to operate the assets in an efficient manner. BHP Billiton commenced a feasibility study in 2002 into opening a nickel and cobalt mine and processing plant at the cost of A$1.4 billion 35 km East of the Ravensthorpe. The project was approved in 2004 and construction commenced shortly afterward. The plant known as the Ravensthorpe Nickel Project was commissioned in late 2007 with first production occurring in October and the first 5,000 tonnes being produced by December 2007. The plant was officially opened in 2008, after massive cost blow outs and delays. Production was expected to total 50,000 tonnes of nickel per year. In January 2009, BHP Billiton announced that it was suspending production at the Ravensthorpe nickel mine indefinitely, due the reduction in world nickel prices caused by the global economic crisis. Nickel prices, having reached a high of US$50,000 per tonne in May 2007, had fallen to under $11,000 per tonne by the time of the mines closure. Our report focuses on the strategic decisions which led BHP Billiton to invest in the Ravensthorpe nickel project. An analysis has been conducted on the mines operation starting from the business strategy adopted by BHP Billiton down to the operational decisions at the site level. We intend to predict scenarios which might have resulted in mines closure despite a strikingly detailed front loaded design. Scope of the report Our analysis is based entirely upon the information available on internet. The primary sources include BHP Billitons annual communications, industry analysis reports from leading researchers, news paper and magazine articles. The investigation focuses mainly on strategic decisions at different levels. No attempt has been made to analyze the companys performance in other sectors of its business. This report is taken up only as an academic project and no attempt has been made to judge the performance of any of the stakeholders involved in the project. Chapter 1: Corporate analysis of BHP Billiton Introduction BHP Billiton Group (BHP Billiton) is a diversified natural resources group engaged in mineral exploration and production. The groups primary focus areas include oil and gas, aluminum, copper, nickel, iron ore, manganese, metallurgical coal, and energy coal, with additional exposures to uranium, gold, zinc, lead, silver, and diamonds. BHP Billiton comprises BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc. The group has a global presence with more than 100 operations in 25 countries. It is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and employs about 41,000 people. BHP Billiton-History BHP Billiton Group was formed in 2001 with the merger of Australian firm BHP and British firm Billiton. BHP BHP was founded in 1885. The company grew to become a global natural resources company, with a diversified commodity suite that included minerals, oil, gas, and steel. In 1899, BHP leased an iron ore mine at Iron Knob in South Australia. The company forayed into steel making in 1915, commissioning its first steelworks at Newcastle, New South Wales. After World War I, BHP continued to diversify, forming a shipping fleet, as well as acquiring coal mines and additional reserves of iron ore and limestone. Furthermore, BHP acquired companies that manufactured finished steel products. BHP expanded its steel production in 1935 by acquiring Australian Iron and Steel and its Port Kembla steelworks. A few years later, BHP established blast furnace and shipbuilding facilities at Whyalla, South Australia. In 1967, BHP entered the petroleum industry with a major oil discovery in Bass Strait, off the southeastern coast of Australia.Through the 1970s and 1980s, BHP enhanced its offshore operations by acquiring Utah International, comprising coal mines in New Mexico and Queensland, as well as discovering copper in Chile. In the 1990s, BHP acquired several companies, opened new mines, commenced new petroleum production, and strengthened its steel operations. Billiton Billiton was formed in 1860. It became a global mining company with a portfolio of mining and metals assets. In 1860, the company acquired the concession to a tin-rich island in the Indonesian archipelago near Sumatra. The island was called Billiton (now Belitung). Billiton initially ventured into tin and lead smelting in The Netherlands, followed by bauxite mining in Indonesia and Suriname, in the 1940s. In 1970, the Royal Dutch/Shell group of companies acquired Billiton. Throughout the 1990s and beyond, Billiton experienced considerable growth. In 1997, Billiton became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. BHP and Billiton merged to form BHP Billiton Group (BHP Billiton) in 2001. In the same year, the group announced its intentions to establish an energy business to complement its mining activities. In 2002, BHP Steel commenced trading on the Australian Stock Exchange as a separate listed company after the de-merger was approved by shareholders and the courts. Business Description BHP Billiton operates nine customer sector groups (CSGs) aligned with the commodities which it extracts and markets. They are base metals, petroleum, iron ore, energy coal, aluminum, stainless steel materials, metallurgical coal, manganese, and diamonds and specialty products. Figure 1: Customer Sector Groups(CSG) at BHP Billiton Ltd The base metals CSG produces copper, silver, lead, uranium, and zinc. It provides copper, lead, and zinc concentrates to smelters worldwide. The petroleum CSG comprises oil and natural gas exploration, production, and development in Australia, the US, Algeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Pakistan, and the Gulf of Mexico. It also conducts an international exploration and development program as well as markets crude oil, condensate, liquefied petroleum gases, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas to customers globally. The iron ore CSG is one of the leading suppliers of seaborne iron ore globally. Its operations comprise Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) business and a 50% interest in the Samarco joint venture with Vale in Brazil. BHP Billitons energy coal CSG produces, markets, and exports thermal coal (steaming coal). The group operates three sets of assets: a group of mines and associated infrastructure collectively known as BHP Billiton Energy Coal South Africa (BECSA), New Mexico Coal operations in the US, and Hunter Valley Energy Coal operations in New South Wales, Australia. The aluminum CSG is engaged in the production of aluminum, bauxite, and alumina. It has four aluminum smelters in South Africa, Mozambique, and Brazil; and three alumina refineries and three bauxite mining operations in Australia, Suriname, and Brazil. BHP Billiton is one of the largest producers of primary aluminum. The stainless steel materials CSG supplies a variety of nickel products to the global steel industry. In addition, it also supplies nickel and cobalt to other markets including the specialty alloy, foundry, chemicals, and refractory material industries. The segment produces nickel and cobalt at Yabulu and Nickle West in Australia and Cerro Matoso in Columbia. BHP Billitons manganese operations produce a combination of ores, alloys, and metal from sites in South Africa and Australia. The group owns and manages all of its manganese mining assets and alloy plants through 60-40 joint ventures with an Anglo-American joint venture known as Samancor Manganese. The diamonds and specialty products CSG comprises the businesses of diamonds and titanium minerals, and the exploration and development of a potash business. The groups Ekati Diamond Mine, of which it owns 80%, is located in the Canadian Northwest Territories and produces over 3million carats of rough diamonds annually. SWOT Analysis Strengths Weaknesses Strong market position Diversified revenue stream Centralized marketing activities Safety concerns at Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operations Opportunities Threats Expansion of potash operations in Canada Consolidation of Western Australian iron ore assets of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Proposed joint venture with PT Adaro Energy for Indonesian coal project Reduction in demand from China Environmental issues Intense competition Strengths Strong market position BHP Billiton enjoys a dominant position in the metal and mining industry. The group has a global presence with more than 100 operations in 25 countries. The groups CSG organization structure has enabled the group to own and operate significantly profitable mineral resources across the globe. BHP Billitons strong presence and leadership position in a number of significant markets gives the group a substantial competitive advantage and also increases its cross selling opportunities. Diversified revenue stream BHP Billitons revenue stream is diversified in terms of business lines and geographies. The group generates revenues through nine business segments. In FY2009, the iron ore segment accounted for 20.5% of the total revenues, metallurgical coal accounted for 16.6%, petroleum 14.6%, base metals 14.6%, and energy coal 13.4%. Aluminium accounted for 8.5% of the total revenues in FY2009, manganese accounted for 5.2%, and stainless steel materials 4.8% The diamonds and specialty products segment accounted for the remaining 1.8% of the revenues in FY2009. The groups diversified business lines give it competitive advantage over its competitors by insulating the group against adverse market conditions in any one of the metal markets. Further, its worldwide presence reduces exposure to economic conditions or political stability in any single country or region. Centralized marketing activities The customer-centric marketing operations of BHP Billiton are centralized in Singapore, The Hague and Antwerp. The Singapore office focuses on the Asian energy market, base metals, stainless steel materials and carbon steelmaking raw materials. The Hague office focuses on aluminium, petroleum, energy marketing and freight, while the Antwerp office serves diamonds customers globally. These three marketing offices incorporate all the functions encompassing product marketing and distribution from the point of production to final customer delivery. In addition, specialized marketers are located in 20 regional offices worldwide. The groups centralized marketing operations increase the efficiency of the marketing activities with each office managing end to end marketing activities of certain CSGs. Therefore, efficient logistics capability and expertise in trading and transaction structuring through centralized marketing activities enhance the groups product offerings. Weaknesses Safety concerns at Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operations The group has been facing safety issues at its Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO) operations. There were five fatalities at the groups operations in the Pilbara from July 2008 to April 2009. Addressing the concerns BHP Billiton Iron Ore announced some actions that include reducing site access, improving contractor management, enhancing existing strategies to prevent excess working hours, moving rail operations from the Mine Safety and Inspection Act to the Rail Safety Act, enhancing traffic management standards and suspending all non-essential work outside daylight hours. It had also ordered an extensive independent expert investigation of safety systems at all WAIOs operations. Such incidents could negatively impact the groups reputation or license to operate. Opportunities Expansion of potash operations in Canada Building a strong potash resource position is one of the key strategies of BHP Billiton. The group has been pursuing opportunities to acquire operations that are a strategic fit with its potash operations in Canada and are aligned with its strategy of developing Tier 1, long life, low-cost, expandable assets. The rising demand for fertilizers coupled with the capital-intensive nature of greenfield potash developments makes potash a viable addition to the groups portfolio. Consolidation of Western Australian iron ore (WAIO) assets of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto signed a non-binding agreement to establish a production joint venture covering the entirety of both companies Western Australian iron ore (WAIO) assets, in June 2009. The joint venture would combine adjacent mines into single operations and reduce costs through shorter rail hauls and more efficient allocations of port capacity. In addition, it will blend opportunities which will maximize product recovery and provide further operating efficiencies. It will also optimize future growth opportunities through the development of consolidated, larger and more capital efficient expansion projects. These will result in substantial synergies for both the groups. The net present value of these unique production and development synergies is expected to be in excess of $10 billion. Proposed joint venture with PT Adaro Energy for Indonesian coal project BHP Billiton entered into binding agreements to create a new joint venture for its Indonesian Coal Project (ICP) with a subsidiary of PT Adaro Energy TBK (Adaro), in March 2010. Adaro will acquire a 25% interest in the ICP joint venture. BHP Billiton holds the remaining 75%. The ICP covers seven Coal Contracts of Work located in East and Central Kalimantan in Indonesia. Adaro is Indonesias second largest thermal coal producer and has operations near the ICP.Through this joint venture, the group can leverage the expertise of a strong local player for the successful development of the metallurgical coal interests in Indonesia. Threats Reduction in demand from China The global commodity market is driven by Chinese demand and a slowdown in the Chinese economy could adversely affect the prices of commodities. China is a significant consumer of commodities like iron ore and copper. Chinas demand for these commodities has been driving global materials demand over the past decade. Though the increase in commodity demand is a significant business opportunity to the group, BHP Billitons exposure to Chinas economic fortunes and economic policies has increased. China contributed 19.7% ($9.9 billion) to the groups total revenues in FY2009. Environmental issues BHP Billiton is one of the major producers of energy-related products such as energy coal, oil, gas, liquefied natural gas, and uranium. Energy is also a significant input in the groups mining and processing operations. The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel-based energy consumption contribute to global warming, greenhouse effects, and climate change. Many governments have introduced regulatory changes to address the impacts of climate change. BHP Billitons petroleum assets in the UK are currently subject to the EU ETS. To address climate change, the Australian Government has announced the introduction of a national emissions trading scheme by 2010 and a mandatory renewable energy target of 20% by the year 2020. In other regions, the current and emerging climate change regulation could affect energy prices, and demand and margins for carbon intensive products. The compliance costs and in some cases remedial costs could increase the groups operational costs which in turn could affect its operating margins. Consequently, these regulatory mechanisms could adversely impact the cost, production and financial performance of the groups operations. Intense competition BHP Billiton faces intense competition in the metals and mining industry. The metals and mining industry tends towards concentration. Within each segment, large multinational companies dominate. Moreover, this is a cyclical industry, which suggests that the current high growth rate is unlikely to be sustained. Industry margins are susceptible to changes in raw material prices, with iron ore prices expected to rise in the next few years, and the industry is also vulnerable to rises in the price of energy, one of its main costs. The group faces competition from Newmont Mining, a US based gold producer and Xstrata, a UK-based natural resources company with presence in coal, copper, zinc, alloys, and other businesses. The group also faces competition from UK-based ThyssenKrupp. Intense competition in the industry could lead to loss of market share and put pressure on the groups margins. Chapter 2: Prospective Analysis of Ravensthorpe Nickel mine Ravensthorpe Ravensthorpe Nickel mine is located 35 Km from the town of Ravensthorpe. The mine is a combination of three ore bodies located close to the surface in the form of limonite and saprolite deposits of Nickel and Cobalt. The three ore bodies have a proven reserve of 125.3Mt at 0.73% nickel and 0.032% cobalt, and a probable reserve 137.9Mt at 0.57% nickel and 0.026% cobalt, giving a total of 263.3Mt at 0.65% Ni and 0.029% Co. The reserves ensured a project life of 21 years[1]. BHP Billiton commenced a feasibility study in 2002 into opening a nickel and cobalt mine and processing plant. The project was approved in 2004 and construction commenced shortly afterward. The project involved open-pit mining from three nickel deposits, and a hydrometallurgical process plant to produce up to 50,000t of contained nickel and 1,400t of contained cobalt per annum in a mixed hydroxide intermediate product (MHP) for further processing at BHP Billitons Yabulu Nickel Refinery in Queensland[1]. The plant known as the Ravensthorpe Nickel Project was commissioned in late 2007 with first production occurring in October and the first 5000 tonnes being produced by December 2007. What made Ravensthorpe Nickel Project particularly attractive? Market Price of Nickel Figure 1 shows the Nickel price distribution over a 4 year period from 2000 to 2004. As seen, the price of Nickel showed a steady upward trend over the 4 year period. With then metals market still in boom coupled with the heavy demand from China, the Nickel price would have been a major driver for BHP Billiton to move ahead with the project at Ravensthorpe.Nickel Price_2000to2004.jpg 1. http://www.mining-technology.com/projects/bhp-ravensthorpe/ accessed on 20-5-2010 Yabulu Refinery at Townville, Queensland QNI Yabulu Refinery is located 25 kilometres northwest of Townsville. The ore is shipped to the Port of Townsville where QNI has its own materials handling facility, and then transported by rail to Yabulu Refinery.Yabulu has an annual processing capacity of around 3.6 million wet tonnes of lateritic ore. Its annual production in 2003 was 31,200 tonnes of nickel and 1900 tonnes of cobalt. The refinery is one of the largest nickel/cobalt processing plants in the world and a leader in nickel hydrometallurgy.Yabulu Refinery carries-out two major functions ore processing and ore refining to produce products for sale in the global market [1]. Chinese growth story Needless to say that Chinese growth has been driving most of the Worlds demand markets. Steel being a primary component of construction, Chinas thrust for Steel has been essentially insatiable over the past decade. Chart 1 below shows the Steel suppliers distribution of China. As seen, 90% of the imports come from Asia. Nickel forms an important component of stainless steel manufacturing and the location of Ravensthorpe and Yabulu refineries provided a strategic advantage to BHP Billiton. Distribution of chinese stainless steel suppliers.jpg Chart : Chinas Steel supplier distribution 1. The Ravensthorpe Nickel Project and Yabulu refinery expansion Overview 2004, BHP Billiton. PESTEL Framework Analysis of Ravensthorpe BHP Billiton Ltd Political Support from Government of Western Australia Economic Market price of Nickel Cost price of production of Nickel from Ravensthorpe Available cost of capital for BHP Billiton Profitability from the mine over a long term Social Establishment of infrastructure for the town of Ravensthorpe to attract skilled staff Maintaining good relations with the local communities Technological Combination of Pressure acid leach and atmospheric leach extraction techniques to optimize Nickel extraction Environmental NA Legal NA A PESTEL analysis is used to analyze the macro environment of a firm. Factors contributing for Ravensthorpes success have been tabulated in the table 1. As seen, the economic and social factors form the key drivers for BHP Billiton. The firm is focused to gain a significant market share in Nickel business and the strategic advantage of Ravensthorpe acts as a silver lining for this market. Though the Pressure leach and atmospheric leach have been tried and tested in Zinc industry, the application of that process in Ravensthorpe will provide BHP Billiton with a strategic advantage to cut down on Yabulus processing costs. PESTEL analysis has revealed that economy of production and strategic location of Ravensthorpe form key drivers for BHP Billiton in Nickel industry and will help the firm focus on attaining its market share in Nickel industry. 5 force analysis Michaels 5 force analysis is a very powerful tool which helps in analysing the environment of an industry. It depicts the levels of competition, attractiveness of the industry and also details pertaining to suppliers, buyer and substitutes. Analysing a competitive environment is a systematic examination of all the levels of the environment: Figure : 5 Forces of a Competitive Environment Threat of competition Competition is very high in the Nickel industry as there is very low product differentiation among the various rivals. The focus of major companies has been to be competitive on the basis of their unit price and the profits they make, because of the fact that only the company that can be cheapest in the market place can survive. BHP Billiton over the years has developed a successful reputation which gives it a clear edge over the others. The chart below gives an idea about the competitors in the market. The chart or graph is scaled based on the amount of nickel extracted. It is also clear that the top 5 organisations produce 70% of world nickel production. By considering a broader scenario it is possible to analyse the companies in terms of the strategic space occupies in the global market. The more crowded a spot become the competition becomes cut throat. NORILSK VALE INCO XSTRATA BHP BILLITON JINCHUAN COST LOW LOW HIGH HIGH Performance CUSTOMER BARGAINING POWER Information is widely available to the customers and thus has made the customers quite powerful and in the end, the customer is the only person who puts money into the supply chain. In todays world it is very hard to find an entity called loyal customer as the customers frequently shift loyalty based on circumstances making life harder for companies. Customers normally refers to the global demand for nickel. If the demand is high then the profitability would be high orelse vice versa. As a result it leads to : Lack of differentiation in the market Cut throat competition Low switching costs Supplier Bargaining Power In the nickel industry, the companies have their own nickel mines. The outputs are processed to produce the respective nickel products as a result of which the supply chain reduces the unit cost and culminates the suppliers bargaining power. Supplier here refers to the supply of raw materials for the production of nickel products. Threat of substitution: In most cases, substitutes for nickel would result in increased cost or a tradeoff in performance of the product. Aluminium, coated steels, plain chromium steels, and plastics are some of the substitutes which can replace nickel in some places but not effectively. Nickel-free specialty steels are used instead of stainless steel in some cases but have proven to be expensive.As long as there is high demand for stainless steel there would be demand for nickel as it is a major constituent. As a result of this, the threat of substitution is low. THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS For maintaining the profitability, a company needs to develop economies of scale. Increased competition makes it difficult for new entrants to achieve the levels of economies of scale for sustainable and viable operation in a market. High capital required for the setting up of the industry also prevents investment. Thereby resulting in destructive rivalry among the competitors. Infrastructure setup cost- High Rapid change in technology High entry barriers. The following chart depicts the results of the 5 force analysis: Chapter 3: What went wrong at Ravensthorpe? Methodology of analysis An analysis of the company reports over the last 3 years of the mines establishment will be reviewed and excerpts from the same will be used to come up with the reason for closure of the mine.

Habit of mind :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A habit of mind is a way of thinking that one acquires over time. It is a type of thought that involves thinking beyond what society considers right or wrong, but acknowledging through complex thought, what is morally right. It is not easily achieved and is somewhat like a muscle, in that you have to build it up over time through intellectual work and hardship. Not everyone can achieve a strong habit of mind, in fact most don’t. The habit is a way of thinking that allows one to communicate with knowledge when the answer is not initially apparent. In order to think in this complex manner a person has to be well educated in all subjects of intelligence. Having a good education goes hand in hand with having good habits of mind, because in order to have positive functioning habits, a person has to be well rounded enough to considered every possible solution to the problems or questions posed. Being able to use a habit of mind also requires a type of thinking w here others nor any outside force constrains any ideas or solutions . This by definition is a habit of mind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The characteristics of a good philosopher are someone who possesses the qualities to use their habits of mind and be able to think on a higher level than most do. Though everyone has their own unique habits of mind, philosophers are trained to think at a level where their habits of mind are stronger, and thus are always looking for, and usually come up with the best solution to questions, or problems posed. Plato is an example of a philosopher; he wrote a book, The Republic, which is a novel outlining the steps in order to become a good philosopher. Plato speaks through Socrates in the book, and Socrates gets involved in many challenging debates and philosophical conversations with people along his journeys, allowing him to strengthen his habits of mind. Philosophers are posed with the challenge of attempting to solve many of life's unanswerable questions. One example would be the question as to whether abortion is right or wrong. Both sides can be argued, pro lif e or pro choice, and both have sufficient evidence supporting its side. Although it would make sense that the person who’s fully informed on the subject and has the best ability to argue their contention will prevail in the conclusion of the argument, a solution is not usually possible.

Human Nature in Penn Warrens All the Kings Men :: essays research papers

Princes rescue princesses, they fall in love, conquer all evil and live happily ever after. While perhaps this is the sort of story the literary public likes to read, according to Robert Penn Warren it is not reality. Penn Warren wrote his 1946 novel, All the King’s Men as a realistic and satiric play on the life of the real historical politician, Huey Long. Among his other achievements of being an author, poet, and scholar, Penn Warren can also be considered something of a political philosopher. In forming one of his theories, he directly contradicts the ideas of philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau who believed that human nature was good and it was a corrupt society that made an evil person. In contrast, Penn Warren uses his writing to suggest that the only reason society is corrupt is that it was developed by an inherently evil mankind. The idea of a carnal man is illustrated in All the King’s Men through theories presented by Penn Warren’s colorful cast o f principle characters. Many characters throughout the book, the most prevalent being the cynical narrator, Jack Burden, allude to the massive struggle for power that ensues, as well as the inevitable decay thereof among the political giants in All the King’s Men. While Jack gives the pretense of imperviousness, he is sensitive to the signals even as he excuses them. â€Å"Doesn’t it all boil down to this? If the government of this state for quite a long time had been doing anything for the folks in it, would Stark†¦be making so many short cuts to get something done to make up for the time lost all these years in not getting something done?† (125). Jack recognizes that men are corruptible by power, but he justifies this because of the results corruption seems to produce. By the end, however, he comes to better realize that the results are not really auspicious. Power can be used to strive toward worthy goals, and often those goals are achieved to much acclaim, but the end re sult seldom comes to a positive effect. Similar to Jack’s conclusion, the main political figure in the story, Willie Stark, suggests that his corruption is irrelevant because it is justified by his accomplishments. â€Å"†¦It’s dirt that makes the grass grow. A diamond ain’t a thing in the world but a piece of dirt that got awful hot†¦It all depends on what you do with the dirt† (45).

Brown v. Board of Education and Multiculturalism Essay -- Education

On May 17, 1954, in the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, the High Court, for the first time in American legal history, challenged the â€Å"separate but equal† doctrine previously established in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and outlawed racial segregation in public schools. The decision, igniting fierce debates throughout the country, was met with violence and strong defiance in the South. The years after Brown, however, saw the passing of several important Acts: the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Today, Americans remember Brown v. Board of Education as a success in African Americans’ struggle for equal rights, a change of sea tide for the civil rights movement. While Brown deserves its place in American History Books, its direct product – desegregation – is not the ultimate solution to the education for African Americans. Desegregation only amends the system of education. America h as to reassess the word â€Å"education,† for black Americans and other minority groups to achieve a real equal education. In Supreme Court’s opinion on Brown v. Board, Chief Justice Earl Warren says, â€Å"We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of "separate but equal" has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal† (â€Å"Brown v. Board of Education† 307). While scholars may argue that Supreme Court’s reversal on its previous ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson was abrupt and unexplained (Balkin 11), Supreme Court’s position that segregation in education is â€Å"separate and unequal† was irrefutable. Segregation in education had a long history against the interests of African Americans. For numerical examples, in 1898, the state of Florida spent $5.92 on every ... ...for Education Statistics. Long-Term Trends in Student Reading Performance. Jan. 1998. Web. 2 May 2009. . United States. National Center for Education Statistics. Long-Term Trends in Student Mathematics Performance. Sep. 1998. Web. 2 May 2009. . United States. National Center for Education Statistics. Long-Term Trends in Student Science Performance. Sep. 1998. Web. 2 May 2009. . United States. National Center for Education Statistics. NAEP Data Tool v3.0. Web. 4 May 2009. . â€Å"Vital Statistics.† The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education Winter 2003/2003. Web. 3 May 2009. . â€Å"What Negroes Want Now.† U.S. News & World Report 28 May 1954: 54-59.

Security and Mission Statement

Chapter: 2 Due date: 20 March 2012 1. What is Mission statement? Why is it important? What does it contain? †¢Mission statement is a sentence that describes your organization’s functions, markets, products/services and advantages. Mission statement elucidates your business, your goals and your objectives. It is used as a constant reminder of why the company exists. †¢Organizations tend to forget about the purpose of their business after some time. Mission statement is important because it is used as a reminder of why the business exists. Read this  Chapter 2 – Why Security is NeededIt directs organizations to the initial course of their business as for many companies when the business is growing they tend to get lost and pursue something totally different from their business. †¢Mission statement reflects every feature of your business. The type of product or service you offer, market position, quality of product or service, customers and more. Eg) Mission for McDonald’s is to be their customers’ favourite place to be and way to eat. McD exist because of their customers that’s why they demonstrate appreciation by providing them with quality and a good service in a clean, welcoming environment at a great value. . What is the primary objective of the secSDLC? What are its major steps, and what are the major objectives of each? †¢secSDLC is a formal approach to solving problem using a structured sequence of procedures to create inclusive security posture. †¢Investigation: Mana gement give directions by specifying the goals, processes and the expected outcomes of the project and the costs of the project. At the end of that phase you must have a feasibility study document. †¢Analysis: The analysis in the secSDLC is when project manager or the team analys the existing security policies, identifying current threats nd attacks and also Identifying, assessing and evaluating level of risk within the organizations security. †¢Logical Design: This stage is when security blue print is developed and created and the feasibility study is also developed. †¢Physical Design: This phase is when the existing physical technology is evaluated and the new physical technology is evaluated also. Alternative solutions are generated and a final design is agreed upon. †¢Implementation: This stage is when the security solutions are tested and implemented and tested. Personnel issues are evaluated and training is provided.Security solution are then packaged and s ent to management for approval. †¢Maintenance: After the Information security solutions are implemented they need to be continually tested, monitored and properly managed by means of established procedures. 3. What question may be asked to help identify and classify information assets? Which is the most useful question in the list? †¢Which information asset is most critical to the success of the organization? †¢Which information asset generates the most revenue? †¢Which information asset generates the most profitability? Which information asset would be the most expensive to replace? †¢Which information asset would be the most expensive to protect? †¢Which information asset would be most embarrassing or cause the greatest liability if revealed? The most useful question in the list is which information asset is most critical to the success of the organization? This question reflects to the mission statement of the organization. By saying the most â€Å" critical asset† to the success of the organization meaning if that asset breaks or it becomes absent the business stops.Eg) For a retail company say for argument’s sake we have the till points, HR department, Accounts, Stalk etc. The till points are the most critical part of the organization because if the system is down and the tills are not working it means that there is not business for that company for that day until they fix the problem. 4. What term is used to describe the control measure that reduces security incidents amongst member of organization by familiarizing them with relevant policies and practises in an ongoing manner? †¢SETA Program .

Explore the ways E.A. Poe uses his narrators to create a sense of terror and suspense Essay

Throughout all the stories I have read during the course of studying Edgar Allen Poe, the narrating has been fairly similar and a great sense of tension, fear and believability have been created inn all of them. The stories are all written in the first person, so it is more like a story is being told to you by some one, which makes them all more believable. In ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Tell Tale Heart’, it is something that drives the narrator mad that forces him to commit the murders, and in ‘The Premature Burial’ his fear, being buried alive, is driving him mad. In fact he is being driven over the edge of insanity in all the stories we have studied except two – ‘The Fall of the house of Usher’ and ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’, both in which he is nearly killed. In all of them we learn a lot about the narrator, for example, in ‘The Premature Burial’, we learn about his background, and a lot about catalepsy and his fear of being buried alive. The narrators are very descriptive of the other characters in the stories and this really adds atmosphere, and makes the reader feel as if they are part of the tale. For example, in ‘The Tell Tale Heart’, Poe describes the old man- â€Å"One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture- a pale blue eye, with a film over it.† He often uses similes and metaphors, which also helps and makes symbols using characters or objects he mentions, for example, in ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’, he describes the candles on a table, as angels, next to the jury that was about to sentence him to death by torture, as images of the devil. In all of the stories we studied, I can’t remember the narrators describing any of the other characters as ‘good’; they were all evil or bad. I don’t know whether this portrays that Edgar Allen Poe stereotyped people as bad or evil, but all of the narrators he wrote about did. The emotions that were felt by the narrators were very varied, at times they were scared, at other times, they were afraid, but whatever emotions they were feeling, they were very well portrayed and very detailed vocabulary was used. For example- ‘I was sick- sick unto death with that long agony; and when that at length unbound me, and I was permitted to sit, I felt that my senses were leaving me’. The emotions that the narrators felt affected the stories and the more descriptive they were, the more you could picture them and the more the story came to life in your imagination. This could be why Poe was such a successful writer. The narrators always describe their surroundings and the position they are in very well and this also makes it a lot easier to picture the story in your head. For example, in ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ the opening page is only the narrator describing, in detail, the house and it’s surroundings: – â€Å"During the whole of a dull, dark and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens.† This amount of description continues for over a page and sets the scene very effectively. You feel like you are there, almost as if you are telling the story from personal experience. All of the stories we have studied have had very good description in them and all scenes were set very believably. For another example, in ‘The Pit and The Pendulum’, the introduction is in Latin, which gives you the impression that the story was set or written a long time ago. After that, there is a long, descriptive page, setting the scene of the story- â€Å"It conveyed to my soul the idea of revolution – perhaps from its association in fancy with the burr of a mill-wheel† The narrators’ reactions to either the murders they had committed or events that were about to happen to them were different every time, unlike the narrator’s feelings about other characters, which were often similar. In ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ the narrator did not seem particularly concerned when he saw the sight of his own certain death swinging above him – â€Å"While I gazed upwards at it (for it as position was directly above my own) I fancied that I saw it in motion†. But as the pendulum dropped, his language became much more descriptive and intense – â€Å"Down – still unceasingly – still inevitably down!† It gripped you more and makes you want to read on. Maybe this is why he had so many occasions in his stories when he was irate or mad, so the reader became gripped and more interested. The endings of Poe’s stories are often the most memorable part as it is often in the last part of the story where the main murder or event occurs. For example, in ‘The Black Cat’, ‘The Tell Tale Heart’ and ‘The House of Usher’, the main event/murder is at the end of the story, with little said after it. In ‘The Black Cat’ for example, after the murdered cats and wife are found, there are only about twenty lines left of the story, which is not much, considering the huge amount of description Poe uses- † I walled up the monster within the tomb† In a sense it is really only the narrators in his stories that create all the tension, terror and suspense. If it was written in anything other than first person, the same effect would not be given and I don’t think his stories would be as good, or as effective.

Primark and Blockbuster Describe the main aims and objectives of the business

– Describe the main aims and objectives of the business and the external factors which have affected the ability of the business to achieve its aims and objectives. -Analyse how marketing activities, enterprise skills and teams have contributed to the success of the business Task 1 – Aims and Objectives All Businesses have a variety of goals that they aim to achieve and most businesses do achieve their goals. When they do they set their business with a much bigger goal that they will then try and reach. The common aims of business are to aim to make profit so that the owner can expand the business even bigger and which will influence the way that they behave. Some of the common aims are stated above and also explained in details below. The business I have chosen is Primark. First Primark store was opened in June 1969 in Mary Street which is where the Headquarter is also located. The business sells a variety of clothing, shoes and home ware such as curtains, pillows/cushions, rugs and simple bathroom equipment e.g. toilet seats. Primark has 238 and 156 store just in United Kingdom, 38 Stores in Ireland and etc. Also read The Story of an Eyewitness Essay Analysis Primark’s goals are mainly to provide what the public needs in a good quality and a low priced way. Seeing as Primark does not charge much money for any of the products that they sell, people should be realising that the product would not last very long as more expensive products that we would get from other store. The prices for Primark’s Products are all based on the quality of the product and its use which will all be taken into account when they price their products. Primark’s business aims and objectives Primark aims for increased sales by placing sales on a daily basis such as at the end of every season. For example, at the end of winter they place the winter products on half price sales which is a good strategy for a business to use because people will try to save money on products that they will be needing for the next winter and they want to be a step ahead and prepared for the arrival of the next winter. They objective here would be to make sure that they do not price their products at a higher cost rather than a reasonable and affordable price. Primark sell goods at a reasonable price and they want their customers to have a variety of options to them, so Primark are offering their customers good quality products at reasonable prices. This will be achieved by looking at their competitors and other stores, selling similar products, and making their prices lower than their competitors. Primark mainly aims to provide good quality products for their customers because they want their customers to realise that Primark is a good company. Just because they sell products at a very cheaper price, this does not mean that the products they sell are not good or at a bad quality. The main objectives in order to reach this aim will be to satisfy their customers and gain more potential customers. This will be done by making sure that they provide the customers with good quality products in order to grab potential customers. This will also help them to grab more potential customers as well as letting their customers know that they sell good quality products. Primark makes sure that their aims and objectives are linked to SMART which includes their aims and objectives being specific meaning that the goal can be accomplished than a general goal and measurable meaning that they can measure the progression that they are making to achieve the goal. Achievable, realistic and timely meaning that the aims and objectives can be achieved, realistic and can be achieved in the time they want to spend on achieving the aim. Primark aims to provide their customers with an excellent customer service which involves them being friendly and helpful towards customers and staff. Primark wants the public to think that they are a friendly company, so that this makes their customers want to come back to their store if they feel welcomed. Primark’s objectives for this are to make sure that the staff treat and greet their customers properly. They are trying to achieve this by greeting customers as soon as possible and making them feel welcomed at Primark and they also ask if they want any help in case they are shy to ask for help, just to make it easier for their customers. This will also help them grab potential customers and which will mean that Primark will be benefiting from a range of areas such as increased sales, potential customers and etc. Primark has a policy to treat everybody the same and everybody have their own rights. Primark wants to make their regular customers to feel like everyone is treated the same. Each and every customer are the same to Primark whether they have less money or lots of money with them, Primark intends to treat all their customers as equals. Primark will achieve this by having an objective to making everyone in the store feel individual and also by making everyone feel like they are ‘special' and no different from one another. Primark aims to target young, fashion-conscious under the age of 35’s, offering them high quality and fashion basics at a reasonable pricing, so that it could be afforded by everyone and are value for the amount of money they pay. Making a profit is one of Primark’s main aims and the objective to achieve this aim would be to make sure that they get increased sales instead of decreased sales. Increased sales will help Primark to make a lot of profit and will also show them if they have gained any new potential customers for Primark. This will also help Primark know the performance of their staff such as if they are providing an excellent customer service because this will increase sales. Primark comes up with their own designs for clothes that would attract their targeted customers which would be the under 35 year olds and the young who like to be up-to date with the latest fashion. Gaining more potential customers would also ensure Primark making more profit than usual. Making a profit will also help Primark to expand their business Total revenue is the total amount of money that comes into the business, Primark from selling products or service that were originally designed by the business. The total revenue can be calculated by: PEST Political Factors: There are several political factors that could affect the entire firm of Primark. One would be that if they were sued by their competitors for copying their similar products this will bring the market to a downfall for Primark. Primark was brought to court and sued by many of their competitors for copying designs of their products. This has a major effect on Primark as a whole firm because if they keep getting sued that will bring their market to a downfall and that is not great. In May 2004, Monsoon also took legal actions against Primark. Monsoon claimed that Primark had copied their  £44 butterfly skirt, selling it at  £11, as well as copying the Brittany top for girls. Primark charged around  £23,000 by Monsoon which was also an out-of-court settlement and this was after Primark admitting to the copies. In April 2005, Monsoon accused Primark of copying the designs of six more items that they claimed to have created. Primark was once again forced to remove all of these products that monsoon sued them form, from all the Primark shops when Primark was threatened by Monsoon to take legal action. Primark was not sued just by Monsoon because in 2009, Primark was sued by Superdry for making a cheap imitation of their ‘Brad' jacket. Primark got an out-of-court settlement with high street fashion brand Superdry, after Primark was accused of copying one of the Superdry’s leather jackets which was originally priced  £174.99 at the Superdry store and the imitation was sold for  £30 at Primark stores. This lead to Primark being sued which exposed that they were copying their competitors’ products which would have brought suspicion to all their other competitors on Primark. Primark was made to suffer the financial consequences of their illegal action that lead to a downfall of Primark. Political Analysis relates to the ability of the organisation to adopt or follow on the different governmental initiatives that might affect the performance of the entire firm, so basically this will affect Primark as a whole not just one Primark company the entire Primark companies and this will also include the headquarters. The government might establish certain policies for Primark and these policies that are established by the government might divert the local priorities of all the Primark companies. The government has a role to contribute in estimating and also forecasting the success of downfall of the Primark. The government might regularly take action in the changes of financial and economic policies in at a certain point on how the economy reacts. As the government also holds the regulations that should be part of the business’s cycle. Examples of the several acts that the organisation needed for compliance included the health and safety act, sex discrimination act, disability discrimination act, data protection act, sales protection acts, consumers’ protection act and so on. It is highly recommended that the organisation should be reacting to the impact of any increase or decrease in taxation or even to the impact of the acts in their business. Economical Factors: There are many Economical factors that may affect Primark and which may cause Primark to fall behind of their competitors. Primark targets the young Customer’s specifically the under 35 year olds. In 2008, Primark opened over 12 new stores and has now moved its business around Europe. This is a successful event that took place for Primark in 2008 and this could be affected in the future if they don’t make sure that they keep up with the forever changing economy. This will have an effect on few of the aims and objectives that Primark aims achieve because Primark’s potential customers would not have faith in them due to them copying products of other retailers. The business environment is ever-changing, and it is crucial that Primark analyses the environmental factors correctly in order to allow them to adapt to changes that may arise in the future. If Primark fails to analyse the environment changes correctly, or if they do not pay enough attention to observing the environmental changes then there are chances of Primark missing out of vital opportunities and will certainly fall under massive threat. This will also help their competitors to get ahead of Primark and it would not be an easy matter to handle. It will take Primark a very long time to get back on track and make sure that they handle things properly and to compete with their competitors on the same level. Economic analysis will help the Primark answer the increases and decreases in interest rates and its impact on their business or how a recession in the business cycle can affect their business as a whole. Primark has been recognised as one of the strongest businesses that can contribute a lot in the country’s Gross Domestic Product or GDP. In order to make Primark able to stand indifferent economic changes, there should be a strong financial fund that holds in the effects of recession as much in low exchange rates made by the import and export operations. Unemployment began to level off towards the end of 2011, and the beginning of 2012 saw the first fall in almost a year. This would have affected Primark due to the fall of Unemployment it would have made it harder for Primark to recruit appropriate and suitable staff for their companies which means less staff and it would have put more pressure on the staff that are employed at Primark because they will have to complete two people’s tasks in a day. Inflation could possibly be one of the factors to affect business. Inflation is actually a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a specific period of time. I don’t think Inflation would affect my selected business, Primark because their products are a mainly fast-fashion and a decent cost and that’s one of the main reasons that Primark makes a lot of profit and has many potential customers. Interest rates could also be a cause that affects the business. An interest rate is like the fee that you would have to pay as an interest which is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrowed from a lender such as the Bank. So basically the charge for borrowing money which is called Interest and Primark has also paid interests for the amount of money that they have borrowed of the bank. Primark has made sure that they pay back all the money that they have borrowed with the interest. Social Factors: Primark has received several awards for being value retailer of the year and UK retailer of the year. This will mean that Primark has an advantage of going abroad to other countries that they have not opened a Primark street store in those certain countries. Primark can now also easily expand and diversify, giving its competitors such as Next, H;M, New Look and so on, a competitive environment with the large amount of financial power that they hold. Primark now operates from 5.4 million sq. ft. of selling space which gives them the advantage of providing more goods and services for their potential and usual customers. Primark has many competitors and the competitive rivalry is â€Å"VERY HIGH† as there are a number of similar sized companies in the market who are offering similar kinds of products and due to high cost on exit (Exit barrier). The threat of substitutes are also â€Å"HIGH† for Primark because other company are offering similar products that are offered by Primark with a lower price and now it is very easy for customer to switch from one product to other as they have a variety of products to choose from for cheaper prices. The threat of new competitors for Primark is ‘LOW’ due to the high cost setup because new business cannot afford the amount of setup costs. Now-a-days banks tend to give loans for only larger businesses due to the smaller businesses not succeeding and failing to pay them back. Primark have number of smaller ones rather than relying on one big supplier. So here the negotiating power of suppliers is ‘LOW’ with Primark and amount of Buyers power is ‘HIGH’, as the market has many multi companies in them and now customer have become more sensitive than before towards the price that they pay for the products they purchase so they tend to visit every similar shores and then they come to an conclusion on where to buy the product and this would include the switching cost which is also not too high. The economies of scale may also have an effect on certain businesses. An economy of scale is the increase in the effectiveness of production as the number of goods that are being produced by Primark increases. In general, a company such as Primark that achieves economies of scale lowers their average cost per unit through increased production seeing as fixed costs are shared over an increased number of goods. There are two types of economies of scale; one which is an external economy, which means that the cost per unit depends on the size of the industry, not the firm. The second type of economies of scale is internal economies which meaning the cost per unit depends on size of the individual firm. The taste and preferences of the buying population is on the priority of the business. If there are newly-marketed products, the organisation will surely find many other ways that they could develop their own design which would make them be on the leading market. This would show the ability of Primark in different social changes and challenges mainly when they have many competitors. There are lifestyle factors that may affect Primark because they will also have to think about what the customers want. Most customers expect to have the latest fashion with the cheapest demands, meaning they would like to keep up with the latest fashions and be able to get them for cheaper. This could also affect the aims and objectives of Primark because if the customers decide not to shop at Primark t would decrease their sales. This would have a major effect on one of their aims, which is to get increased sales and they business would be on a downfall. Technological Factors: There are few technological factors that may affect the success of Primark and there are a number of technological factors that may help Primark succeed against their competitors. In Primark's bid for world class, cutting edge management of its ethical auditing programme, it has signed a deal with BSI Management Systems for the provision of Entropy Software. The investment in Entropy Software is a key part of Primark's ethical trade strategy, which will help calculate all supplier audits, non-conformances and remedial actions and also allow it to be managed through the Entropy Software platform, with much greater global visibility and management control. This means that Primark would either be on the same level or ahead of most of their competitors with this software installed at their stores. However, Primark lacks on online shopping whereas M;S have an online shopping which gives M;S a head start and gives the leading position to them. This affects Primark because they do not own an online shopping system which most people shop on. Online shopping is one of the most essential things for Primark as most people are lazy now-a-days and shop online. Moreover, most people tend to check out the new products that Primark has and customers will also want to find out if any products are on sale at Primark through online as well as shop. Environmental factors: Environmental factors can affect the business because if there was certain changes in the climate and environment. For example, if there was a sudden change in the sea levels, which would certainly have an effect on the transportation of supplies for Primark. If the goods are delayed for some time, this would decrease the sales for Primark and making them lose their potential customers that they have worked so hard to gain. Marketing activities: Marketing mix Blockbuster has been applying huge amount of effort in achieving their aims and objectives and in being successful. Factors such as marketing mix, they are providing the best product they possibly can. The products are high in quality, and original. The pricing they are keeping it fair. They are not ripping of customers, the customers feel safe with them because the customers know keeping a link with blockbuster mean they are happy with their pricing and the quality of their products. Furthermore, the placing is extraordinarily well; they have situated their store in a place where the customers are able to find it easily. Blockbuster is situated in a place where they are closer to wherever the customers are. The blockbuster organization knows what the best is for their customers, because of the carried out primary and secondary research. E.g. some primary research which blockbuster looked into was test marketing and focus group. Test marketing involved a certain product being tested in certain market to an individual age groups and seeing where it fits the best. Secondary research was looking at their competitors work, how they are getting all their customers and trying to expand in that idea and link it to the ones which blockbuster already has. So these types of secondary and primary research which blockbuster carried out and managed to gain the success in reaching their aims and objectives. To prove or disagree with that statement on the next page are graphs and charts of a questionnaire on the customers who shop at blockbuster asking how well blockbuster are doing in their 4ps and the overall business itself. Team working collaboration How the blockbuster team has effectively managed themselves in receiving their organisational aims and objectives. The meaning and importance of groups and team work in a business is essential. Work is a group based activity and if the organisation is to function effectively it requires collaboration and co-operation among members. In other words meaning any number of people who interact with one another are psychological aware of one another and perceive themselves to be a group. Group are characteristics of all social situations and almost everyone in an organization with will be a member of one are more groups. The working of groups and influence they exert over their membership is an essential feature of human behaviour and of organisational performance. So one event which blockbuster team has collaborated is the bankruptcy moment. Despite having the worst time and getting sued by Netflix, they were looking into their research more effectively. They looked at the 4ps carefully. They looked at the competitors’ way of gaining customers. The pricing, the productivity the quality of it and so on. The team work or the groups have co-operated with the business so well from going bankrupt they made the position of the business become number 1 in the rental retailing world. Questionnaire questions asked in the two different questionnaires are shown below for both questionnaires. Question on questionnaire audience What are your thoughts on the pricing on the products which blockbuster are holding them on? Public The qualities of the products are they up to the standards and are they up to your satisfaction! Public The promotional activities which blockbuster holds on occasions are they the best! So meaning should they reduce the price further or add additional accessories on to that deal and have it for longer periods of time. Public The placing of blockbuster is it situated in a place where you can easily get to it and find it easy to find! Is it the best place to reach the audience so customers? public Overall, blockbuster how good are they doing in their business, so are they achieving the best, most customers, and good quality products and so on? public The top questionnaire is a public based questionnaire which I handed out to those who shop at blockbuster and are working in place. The bottom questionnaire is a student based questionnaire. Why I chose to do two different questionnaire is because they will help me get the view of two different classes. Public side will tell me what they think of blockbuster rental industry, through what they can afford because they work. The student questionnaire is a based questionnaire on what they think of blockbuster rental industry because they buy mostly from blockbuster, e.g. games. The students will be saying what is good about blockbuster by not thinking of what the price of the products are, and how they are given out. Because they don’t work Questions Audience What are your thoughts on the pricing of blockbuster products? Students What are your thoughts on the products of blockbuster? Students What are your views on the promotional activities on the blockbuster deals? Students What are your views on the place where blockbuster store is nearest to you? Students What is the overall view on the blockbuster rental industry? Students The two questionnaires are compared at the bottom, which shows what they have in common and what they don’t and there you can see why I chose to do two different questionnaires. The different in minds and the classes they are in. Question 1) pricing of blockbuster? School public What the questionnaire found out for me from the students is that positive feedbacks may include something along the line that it is the value the pricing should be for their products because the value of the product is in high quality, the gaming renting and the buying of the movies or games are up to the customer s expectation. Furthermore you can buy membership for rent, so the students thought that that was a good deal. The public replied by the same sort of answer. The pricing for games as an example, is that high because firstly they are high quality, online severed, amazing graphics and the game modes. The movies are high definition. So the public graph shows the nearly the same sort of positivity and the amount of numbers which they thoughts was the right pricing. Negative feedback may be along the line of that it is expensive. So opposing what the positive feedback all concluded to. They don’t think the quality is up to what they think is right and so on. Negative feedback which I got back was that they are expensive. Again opposing the positive feedback. Some say that due to their pay they can’t buy it but overall, it’s good. The two pie charts above show the difference in views in acknowledgment of blockbuster from the students in Drayton manor high school and the people in workplaces or outside in public. The pricing of blockbuster utilizes where the faults and the goods are for this company or blockbuster. In general terms pricing is simply what the company gives their products in order to sell the most goods from their stores. In the bottom table you can see how the two graphs show the differences in themselves and the similarities in them self selves. Or moreover the disadvantages and the advantages blockbuster got in their pricing strategies. Overall, blockbuster has a good quantity of numbers supporting the goods of pricing. E.g. blockbusters are becoming global leaders through this. More and more people are renting their movies and games and buying them also. So blockbusters have been doing fairly good with their pricing but however. More people are downloading the movies and games of online for free. This put blockbuster into gaining loses of customers. So their profit level went done by miles. This also gives a bad impact on them reaching their aims and objectives. Question 2) quality of productivity? School public Firstly, products are simply what the market provides to its target audience. The charts above show the different thoughts on what they think of the productivity of the blockbuster products. The positive feedback which I concluded to get from the students was that they are up to what they expect to get. But some thinks that the products that blockbuster provides are of other companies like Disney or other game software companies. So it doesn’t actually count to what the products of blockbuster are up to high standards. What the positive feedback which I gained were that they were not scratched up, they worked properly. So you can see in the chart everyone ticked yes so full 10 people agreed that the blockbuster provide the best productivity they can offer. Negative feedback which I received about the products were that they are angry with the quantity of how many of the same product blockbuster has got. Some students went to buy fifa they get the response of `we are out of stock for that product’. So the quantity of the product matters when dealing with the productivity of any company. As you can see that the negative feedback which got was nothing. Because everyone I asked ticked yes. They did not objective with the productivity of the product of blockbuster. Overall, the productivity of the product from blockbuster is too what the customers expect. Blockbuster never had any complains about their products and they got positive feedback about their products. Blockbuster however, been unable to get the most amounts of people to buy their product. Because their competitor has been stealing their customers with their online movies watching site. With amazing quality and the best they can provide. So with the productivity blockbuster has been doing great but Netflix beats them by an inch of better nests. So competition is a main obstacle in reaching their required aims and objectives, so blockbuster must know what to do in order to restore its profit levels Question 3? Promotional activities? School public Promotion is type of communication that uses various methods to reach its target audience in order to sell the best and still gain the scene profit. Positive responses which I had been given by some of the students were the promotion types which blockbuster gives out are pretty effective. Why? Some say that it attracts the customers in varies different ways. Firstly, the deal itself. What it is? Secondly, the pricing, so what the deal is ended up adding to and how much of amount disc for movies and games can be bought. Positive feedback which was given to me by the public was as follow. The deals which blockbuster gives out are always amazing to look up to. They don’t give a slight dissatisfaction of what the deal disapprove them by. So any bad faults. Negative feedback such as they don’t have the best for their deals. They are simple. In order to gain more customers they need to promote their promotions through TV and billboards maybe. Negative feedback which I received back where they were still high in pricing. They may have some deals which give out 5-10 DVDs but people just download it from the internet for free and for high quality. The promotional activities for blockbuster have been effective in gaining various customers. However people just download the movies or get pirate copies for  £2. They can get cheapest games from gaming sites such as steam. Steam is an online gaming site where you can buy games including the latest ones like fifa 13 and mw3 and play them on your pc for the same type quality on the gaming consoles. So blockbuster may have great deals but, people don’t buy from them they download it free of the internet and or buy it for cheaper room online gaming sites like steam. Again blockbuster must research the competitions. There is not only Netflix or game, but online gaming sites like steam so this is a let-down for blockbuster they got ruined by an online gaming site. Question 4) the placing. School public Blockbuster which I looked at is in west Ealing the nearest blockbuster to my house and to those who I have asked to fill out my questionnaire. Positive feedbacks were basically as simple as the blockbuster store is near my house. Or it is around the corner. Blockbuster is on high street of west Ealing so they are seen without having the people for them or their store. They are easy to find. But most importantly they are close to their houses. Positive feedbacks were the same as the section for the students. Some whys which were the response were they are closer to their housings and in the main shopping centre to where they live. So in this case it is west Ealing. People say they can just walk to their nearest blockbuster so it’s great for them. Negative feedback not given because nobody though blockbuster had a bad placing. Negative feedback was they are not more than one blockbuster around their housing area. So in west Ealing there is only one blockbuster, none in Ealing Broadway and other towns. So they need to extend their store to further reaches. Blockbuster placing of their stores in fact done great for them, because whenever you enter west Ealing that is the first store you see. Most importantly it is the only blockbuster store you will find. Why this is a good thing, blockbuster will get all of its customers to that coming store so they will receive the great deal of profit and customers. However not having a blockbuster everywhere or every town, such as Ealing Broadway customers or consumer will go to their nearest gaming store. So Ealing Broadway has Argos or game or other stores like him. So blockbuster has lost in profit and customers due to this point. Question 5) overall view of the business. School public Overall view of blockbuster, means it include the 4ps and the whole business layout itself. Meaning the staff, the stores and what the business should, does provide. Some positive feedback which I got back from the students was that the students thought that the deals which blockbuster gave were amazing. E.g. game like call of duty, if you pre order it and get at midnight on the day comes out you get it for  £2. So the students enjoy these kinds of deals and that’s why the students think that blockbuster is the best store. Positive feedbacks are simple being just a great shop and the place for to rent and buy DVDs. The staffs are helpful; they tell you about any unsure products, they will give you feedback and their personal views on the product. So you if are buying it you won’t regret buying it. Negative feedbacks were that they weren’t enough stores in London. They need to build more stores in order to gain that max profit and take on their competitors like Netflix or game. Or as I previously said online gaming site named steam. Negative feedbacks were as follow, they said that it was slow on customer service and the stock levels. What that means whenever someone goes to buy something, blockbuster don’t have it or it’s for viewing only. Overall, the business has done great but for them to reach their aims and objectives they need to build more stores to reach their max profit and not go bankrupt. Blockbusters have gone bankrupt by Netflix. Blockbuster has been sued for coping Netflix ideas which concluded the future of blockbuster into bankruptcy. No customers went with them. No nothing bought and rent. So overall blockbuster has been having difficulties in life of its stores but blockbuster still managed to achieve the aims and objectives it has dreamt of. So global leadership is still highly stated with blockbuster, they still are in front of Netflix, they are still the best rental type. All this because they knew what they were doing. The 4ps were defined well. So the right pricing, good quality products, and so on. Blockbuster may of have been deflected in many ways but they stood their ground and did achieve their biggest aim of global leadership in the rental retailing world. Manager response to the success of business in achieving their aims and objectives In order to reach the aims and objectives, the manager gives me an answer of management and control. In the discussion the role of the manager attention was drawn to the motivation of staff and importance of control over the performance of other people’s work. Organisation implies control. A social organization is an ordered arrangement of individual human interaction. Control process help keep them conformant to the rational plan of organizational. Organization requires a certain amount of conformity as well as the integration of diverse activities. It is the functional of control to bring about conformance to organisational requirement and achievement of the ultimate purpose of the organizational. This shows that team work is an important factor in running blockbuster rental retailers. Control and management is essential in order to get the best out of the staff as a manger. In order to reach the max potential to gain the organizational aims and objectives you will need control on the staff. Furthermore you need control over the 4ps in order for the business to succeed in their aims and objectives. Control over the 4ps is essential. Control over the 4ps meaning full success on the business profit lines and aims and objectives. 4ps meaning control on place, product, promotion and price. The business needs to know what has the best meaning of customer needs is. They need to find out their expectation and what they can afford. This can help the business achieve their aims and objectives.