To The Hills of Kodaikanal

By Pranav R Kalathungal Last March, I, along with my whole family went for a trip to Kodaikanal. Though we travelled in a comfortable airbus, the journey felt very boring. After two hours, we started playing some games and suddenly things started to get interesting. The games and jokes along with some snacks elevated all our travel sick spirits. We had stared our journey the previous night at nine. After some hours of playful pranks and laughter, slowly everyone started getting drowsy and one by one people started nodding off to sleep. As the noise quietened down and the lights dimmed on the request of elderly people, and I too gradually settled down to sleep. What I saw the next morning when I opened my eyes, took my breath away. We were travelling on a road built into the side of a hill and were flanked by scenic mountains overflowing with luscious beauty on the other side. The scene was heavenly. I can still see the scene in my mind when I close my eyes. Through this heavenly path we reached a homely, beautiful, comfy cottage from where we had our breakfast. After a lovely and stomach filling breakfast, we started a tour of the place. We visited a garden so enriched with natural beauty, that it was paradise itself. The notoriously famous suicide point seemed to me, as if it was inviting people with its deadly beauty, into its treacherous depths. Hours seemed to pass away in minutes in this glorious land and suddenly it was time to go back. And so, thus ended a wonderful journey which will forever remain engraved in the canvass of my mind. I urge you, each and every one of my friends, to undertake a similar journey if you get a chance.

Influential and Sociological Aspects of Gangs Essay

Abstract The purpose of this research is to identify the sociological aspects and means in which individuals may use in order to affiliate themselves within a gang and their practices. The following research uses statistics and information given by police departments and the Department of Justice. I have searched for reasoning behind an individual’s decision to join a gang from a sociological perspective. It begins by defining a gang and what leads young individuals to a lifestyle and choice of joining these gangs. Sociological approaches are made in order to accompany these people’s decisions and to make sense of their judgment. Taking this information and research into consideration may direct future research on the aspects and decisions of social citizens in which influence them to join and be a part of a street gang. What is a Gang? In both, everyday life and the sociological world, the term â€Å"gang† is defined in many different ways; however, every altered definition is fairly similar or related to one another. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2011), a gang is defined as â€Å"a group of persons working to unlawful or antisocial ends; especially: a band of antisocial adolescents.† The U.S. Department of Justice’s survey analysts Egley and Major (2004), though, define a gang as a group of three or more individuals who involve themselves in criminal activity and identify one another with a shared and mutual name, sign, or symbol. On a governmental point of view, several states have passed their own gang-related legislation; this is including each state’s different definition of a street gang. The presence of these street gangs brings several anti-gang activities into play for every community, for example, curfews and home raids. According to Robert Walker (2011), writer for Gangs Or Us, gang members are those who conform to one or more of the visible gang traits. These traits include a shared group name, common symbols, tattoos, or graffiti, style of dress, geographic location or association in a group form on a consistent basis. It is easy to see that gangs and their members highly appreciate their symbols and strongly practice symbolic interactionism. Members of the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations (NAIGIA) believe that there is no untouched region by gangs in the United States. They also consider gangs to have a high effect on society at many levels; this increases citizens fear for safety, violence, and eventually increased cost to the economy ( NAIGIA 2005). Sociological Approaches There are up-to-date, contemporary explanations for the behaviors humans choose to act upon in which could be clarified as either a result of the individual’s choice or their overall response to environmental, or any other, forces. According to Michael K. Carlie (2002), there are those who believe in free will and those who could be categorized as determinists. Individuals who believe in free will are certain that people choose to behave the way they do; they are hedonistic, meaning they choose how to behave in order to establish pleasure over pain, and these individuals believe people are rational and may choose from a variety of choices in which how to behave. On the other hand, determinists believe the complete opposite. They feel as if human behavior is determined by forces outside of the individual’s control. Determinists believe that biological make-up, psychological states, and socio-cultural situations determine how the person will behave (Carlie 2002). Along with these two approaches comes differential association. This assumes that criminal behavior and its techniques are a part of the learning process. The individual’s perception of law and crime determines how that person will behave in society (Walsh & Hemmens, 2008). This theory unmistakably explains the outcome of gang violence due to an individual’s exposure of existing gangs and their actions within their society. Components of Cultural Deviance Another theory that many like to refer to would be social disorganization. This philosophy concentrates more on the circumstances in the inner city that affect crimes. They include, but are not limited to, the destruction of homes and neighborhoods, lack of social control, and the presence of gangs or groups who violate the law (Siegel 2010). Other than this theory, there is such thing as the strain theory. This suggests that crime is brought upon communities and individuals by the overwhelming strain that people are feeling when they aspire to reach their personal ambitions but have no way to grasp them. According to Featherstone and Deflem (2003), strain theorists believe that money and power are spread throughout economic classes unequally. They feel as if this frustration and strain built by individuals who are not able to achieve their goals is what influences a person’s choice to commit a crime. Believing this, strain theorists feel that the youth are certain that the only way to obtain what they desire is to join gangs, because they see other gang members in the community prosper with money. However, it is due to a life of crime and unfortunately, the youth feel as if joining the gang will benefit them in the same way. A combination of the social disorganization and strain theories brings a new concept, which is considered as the cultural deviance theory. These theorists believe that criminal behavior is the result of social isolation in urban environments as well as the strain they gain from their neighborhoods or environments, too (Siegel 2010). A follower of this cultural deviance theory would consider the combination of being raised in a deteriorated neighborhood and the strain of knowing no other option out for reasoning towards an individual’s choice in joining gangs as true (Siegel 2010). The theorists believe that it would take both negative factors to push a person far enough to a point where they feel the need to take part in a gang’s violent behavior. American Youth Wanting to Join Gangs First and foremost, each individual case varies; however, many similar reasons are tied into a young adult’s decision and need to join a street gang. The so-called common denominator of why youth memberships of gangs increase is the alienation and profound identity loss in which they are looking to regain through the presence of an accommodating peer group (Barnhart 2008). A Pittsburgh Youth Study indicated that 20 percent of the African American youth enter a gang by the time they have reached the age of 15. It also illustrates that gang entry begins as early as the age of 9 (Lahey, Gordon, Loeber, Stouthamer-Loeber & Farrington 1999). The reasons for such rapid rates of entry may include the individual’s feeling of gaining security, protection, and a sense of belonging. Many may agree, when stated, that these could be seen as the main apparatuses of a young person’s decision to join. It is known that the lack of family, community, or youth support systems is respectable reasoning behind their decisions as well. According to the OJJDP Bulletin (2003), the fact that the youth who are living in a lower class are raised in decrepit, run-down neighborhoods is a key aspect in which why these people choose to participate in the violence and danger associated with gang involvement. Other factors that play a role in a young individual’s decision to join a gang include the need for a surrogate, or substitute, family. These young people join gangs to receive love, attention, and approval in which they feel are lacking at their actual homes. Also, according to the Edmonton Police Service (2011), American youth turns to gang affiliation because of low self-worth and low self-esteem that they gain due to unemployment or academic failure. It is also noted that many street gang members wish to carry on a family tradition of gang involvement established by family members, such as parents, siblings and cousins, in which they portray as role models (Edmonton Police Service 2011). Unfortunately, misconstrued members of society believe that many positive opportunities come out of being coincided with street gangs. These thrill seeking individuals, which share a similar characteristic of defiant behavior, wish to financially gain profits from illegal, life-threatening activities (Gang Awareness Guide, no year, pg. 3). Tracy E. Barnhart (2008) mentions that these misunderstood participants of social order join because they are tired of being picked on and are seeking power and respect among peers. Symbolic Interactionism Within Gangs According to Dictionary.com (2011), symbolic interactionism is the â€Å"theory that human interaction and communication is facilitated by words, gestures, and other symbols that have acquired conventionalized meanings† (1). This is something that gang members all over the nation practice on a daily basis. One component of a gang’s symbolic interactionism would be hand signs. According to the San Antonio Police Department’s Youth Crime Service Unit (2011), the use of hand signs is one of the most popular forms of communication for street gangs across the United States. They also continue to state that each gang uses an identifying sign which shows what major gang they are in affiliation to. This method of language is not only an identifying factor but also a process in which a gang member may show disrespect to rival gangs (6). Along with speech, similar phrases, and hand signs being indicators of gang association, it is also noted that graffiti, colors worn, and tattoos are indicators of gang affiliation, too (Gang Awareness Guide, page 3). Such symbolism is an individual’s self-definition more complete due to visually communicating within his or her gang members and rival gangs. Symbolic interactionism among gangs is somewhat easy to identify and has become a part of the average gang member’s life. Methods of Research The above research was based from secondary data analysis and reviews from government published documents. By stating that secondary data analysis was done, this illustrates that primary sources were used, gathered, and translated by myself. In order to sustain as much credibility as possible, I have used official government and police department issues, such as bulletins and informational guides published by them. Along with these documents, the works of gang-related articles were used as well. The criteria for using these two methods of secondary data analysis and documents should be plain to see. They were the two methods of gathering information that I saw would be most necessary, or essential. Along with choosing the topic of gang affiliation and aspects of gangs, I have instantly decided that these two methods must be used due to the fact that case studies and other methods would include me, the author, putting myself in dangerous circumstances among passionate, violent individuals and geographical areas in which they reside. However, every credible article and document has been cited accordingly throughout my works, research, and literature review. Results This research has somewhat opened my eyes to the world of sociology among other things. The information established from several different sources all have the same idea and impression on gang affiliation. Their main focuses were similar due to the fact that almost all of them took sociological approaches to answering the question of why individuals join street gangs. For example, both the Edmonton Police Service and Tracy Barnhart agree that these individuals are struggling with their identities, have grown up in gang-related environments, and wish to join a street gang in order to establish a monetary gain. Also, a couple of the sources were police bulletins, and they all showed common signs of a gangster and what signs to look for to identify them. This information was used in order for me to understand the symbolic interactionism that most members share. For instance, the 2005 Threat Assessment and the Gang Awareness Guide both explain that gangs utilize symbolic interactionism to an extreme; they both commonly state that graffiti and tattoos are a major factor in gang symbolism. Unfortunately, I had some sources that contradicted one another when it came to the social theories for explaining a child’s mentality towards gang membership. For example, NCJRS believed in the social disorganization theory. This explained that the community played the major role in an individual’s action of joining a gang. On the other hand, author Mike Carlie believed that there were two different theories that answered this phenomenon. His theories were free will versus determinism. Unlike NCJRS, he believed that people may either choose to behave the way they do or biological and psychological make-up of an individual decides for them. Although there were slight differences, none of the sources disagreed with the idea of individuals joining gangs for acceptance, power, raised social rank, ect. By discovering similarities within most of these sources, I have decided that each source has a likeness and resemblance with the others. Several of them share the idea that cultural deviance has been highly effective in the growing matter of gang memberships. They also agree that these misunderstood and misguided individuals are influenced by the idea of having to gain social power throughout society. My findings have given me much insight and knowledge of influential and sociological aspects of street gangs. Conclusion To conclude this research that was constructed, I would like to state that every resource shared the common idea that our young adults join gangs for acceptance among other things. I agree with what I have taken in from these sources. My understanding from all of them was that if these struggling, gang infested communities worked together to make their children feel accepted within positive groups and programs then the percentage of gang memberships would decline. There is a large scale of those individuals looking for acceptance and a way to raise their social status. I believe this should be accomplished by other means, such as afterschool programs and community sports, rather than partaking in a life of crime and violence. Nonetheless, every source was valuable to my research and they showed that, although there is a problem with gang activities, the communities do not have to struggle with the rapid increase. Most of the sources stated that if these young adults received more attention and love, not only from their primary group but the entire community as well, then their mentality and reasoning for joining street gangs would deteriorate; these individuals would have an equal opportunity to strive towards their personal goals of money and raised statuses. Limitations There were both strong and weak points, or findings, that came along with the research of sociological aspects of gangs. A very durable and strong factor that I feel aided my examination and exploration of the subject was the fact that authorized police bulletins and statements were used. However, along with these great sources I found myself feeling somewhat limited due to the fact that I could not personally speak with a gang member to see how their thought process worked on the subject of joining a gang from a sociological view. I also found myself having a slight issue with finding credible, primary articles to go along with the bulletins and guides in which I have discovered and put to use. Recommendations for Future Research In order to further research, or make the above research better, I believe that other sources and methods of obtaining these sources should be used. I would have liked to construct a case study or have been able to find a completed case study that was already accomplished from a reliable source. I seem to find an interest in this subject matter and may consider researching this topic more in depth for the future. Along with finding a credible case study, I have also thought about using visual sources, such as the History Channel’s Gangland, in order to find a better understanding on the subject. Although it was not done in this particular research, I believe I may use my own advice in the recommendations for my future research. References Barnhart, T. E. (2008, April 7). â€Å"Why do youth join prison gangs?†. PoliceOne. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://www.policeone.com/corrections/articles/1681985-Why-do-youth-join-prison-gangs/ Bureau of Justice Assistance. (2005). 2005 National Gang Threat Assessment. National Alliance of Gang Investigators Associations. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://www.bja.gov/what/2005_threat_assesment.pdf Carlie, M. Chapter 21: End Note. Into The Abyss: A Personal Journey into the World of Street Gangs. Missouri State University, 2002. Updated: 5 July 2011. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://people.missouristate.edu/michaelcarlie/SOLUTIONS/THEORIES/theories.htm Dictionary.com. (2011). Definition of: Symbolic Interactionism. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/symbolic+interactionism Edmonton Police Service. (2011). Traits of Gang Members. Gangs. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://www.edmontonpolice.ca/CommunityPolicing/ OrganizedCrime/Gangs/TraitsofGangMembers.aspx Egley, Jr, A., & Major, A. K. OJJP Fact Sheet. Highlights of the 2002 National Youth Gang Survey. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: J. Robert Flores, Administrator, 2004. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/fs200401.pdf Featherstone, Richard, and Mathieu Deflem. 2003. â€Å"Anomie and Strain: Context and Consequences of Merton’s Two Theories.† Sociological Inquiry 73(4):471-489, 2003. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from

Nowadays, Food Has Become Easier to Prepare Essay

Nowadays, Food Has Become Easier to Prepare. Has This Change Improved the Way People Live? Use Specific Reasons and Examples to Support Your Answer. By annicat Man, through the ages, has undergone many changes, from a period when he hunted for his food to the present era when man is dependent on preprocessed foods. During this period not only has man changed his mode of eating but his whole lifestyle as well. In pursuit of more in this competitive world, man no longer has time as he once had. He is caught in a race against the clock. A person who finishes more n lesser time is considered more efficient. This pressure to do more in less time has affected his eating habits as well and, as a result, man no longer has time to cook food. Early man’s only objective was to seek food to sustain him and his family. Nowadays finding food has taken a back seat to other priorities, such as career and education. Food is no longer of that importance. This is not an encouraging trend. People are too dependent on preprocessed or precooked food, which no longer has the freshness it once had. Such foods loose their mineral and vitamin content and re not as healthy as fresh food. That is why the number of diseases is also rising. People have also shifted to high calorie content food like French fries, pizzas, and ice cream, etc. , which is causing obesity, fatigue, etc. As man is becoming busy and too involved in his busy schedule, he has no time even to take care of his own personal needs. Furthermore, cooking is an art which is dying out. People once enjoyed cooking . It was a means of eliminating stress and tension. People were once able to relax during this time and reflect on their lives. People may tend to argue that by sing precooked and preprocessed food they are efficiently using time and can use this precious time saved for other purposes. But is it really worth it? This is a question whose answer can invite much speculation about whether by saving this little time we are inviting lots of other problems, which could easily be avoided. It is actually making our lives not simpler but more complicated. We have lost many of the simpler things in our lives, like the simple acts of selecting our evening meal, preparing it, and enjoying it with our loved ones, and we are worse off for it.

Recycling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Recycling - Research Paper Example From plastic products to glass, and chemicals such as medicine or paints, a complex of compounds, ceramics and mixtures are today an integrated part of our lives. This paper is not only about describing these commodities and products but also addresses their extraction, usage, re-usage and potential effects on our environment. Quintessentially, this paper on environmental studies discusses modern debate on waste reduction with special emphasis on recycling. In environmental sciences, containing waste hierarchy is defined as the cyclic process of reduction, reuse and recycling of waste material into new products. The potential threats and problems with waste material around us are humongous and cannot be left unaccounted for. Why Recycling? Recycling is a method through which man has enabled himself to live longer in its ambiance. It has empowered him to be cognizant of what potential harm his environment can bear without recycling. It is, therefore, desired to keep the lavishing with some audit and redressing mechanisms. For the sake of environment and human life on earth, the human intellect has been able to define the reduction, reuse and recycling process in its journey towards better living. The first basic â€Å"why† is discussed as we move on with this research. A mix of concerns and benefits can be categorized with the following remarks. Loss of useful contents such as advanced chemical compounds, expensive-to-manufacture contents of a material and other such important elements is one of the main outcomes of recycling. In addition to this primary outcome, a highly concerned matter of reduction in the use of important and depleting fresh raw material is also addressed with the help of recycling. Energy related woos are also somewhat satiated. But the real concern for the environmentalists is the issue of pollution and green house emissions. Scientists have extrapolated the situation to cost humanity 25% of the world population by AD 2100 if the rel entless waste and indifferent attitude towards emissions remains unabated. Those nations that have paid heed to this problem, such as UK, have been able to dedicate their energies in this regard. In 2006–2007 UK was able to recycle 26% of its domestic wastes (FOE, 2008). Pollution and environmental degradation have embarked towards a hodgepodge of potential threats through different routes. One such route is air pollution. It has caused a great deal of trouble to the global climate. Greenhouse emissions have emerged as detrimental as any natural calamity but on a fairly larger scale. The continuous rise in temperature extremities has rendered many areas no more habitable. Further health concerns due to polluted air, such as breathing problems, are endemic in many industrial areas. Another route that pollution has opted for staking man’s life is water pollution. Neonates and others die within days due to a complex nature of pollutants in their drinking water. Terminally ill patients in underdeveloped nations are mainly victims of unclean water. The high morbidity spreads through water usage in these areas. These nations are concerned, but wastes have gained a huge momentum that needs a proper solution to address these detrimental situations. Therefore, a collective effort to understand and implement the solution to wastes is underway. Recycling has now gained huge importance in the wake of continuously deteriorating environmental conditions. Recycling: What and How?

The practices of Human Resource Management in the organization Research Paper

The practices of Human Resource Management in the organization - Research Paper Example Methods of study For this study, the HR department was explored in detail in terms of understanding its core activities, practices and its position in overall organizational setup. This was done through personal interviews conducted with HR personnel as well as managers in other departments like finance, technology, operations and facilities. These questions were aimed at understanding the goals and objectives of HR team and their relationship with organizational objectives. In a top-down approach the general information related to HR function was gathered in a manner that paved way to put forth questions to assess the effectiveness of these practices as well as the HR function. Interviews: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with managers from core departments within the organization, which included the HR, technology, operations, facilities and finance teams. These interviews were semi-structured to allow further inquiry based on the responses from managers, which was extremely helpful to obtain individual insight and experiences related to contribution and involvement of HR personnel Questionnaire: Based on the responses from the interviews, a small questionnaire was prepared to assess the effectiveness of HR practices and their impact on overall employee wellbeing and progress. The questionnaires were graded on Likert scale, in which respondents graded their experience on a scale from 1 to 5. The responses to these questions will help in eliciting objective as well as subjective information that will highlight overall performance and effectiveness of HR function. 3. Findings: Findings from both interviews and questionnaires were interpreted in terms of basic HR functions. i). Acquisition: Interview with the HR manager highlighted the role of HR in... From this research it is clear that the human resource management plays a significant role in sustaining organizational performance through acquisition, motivation, maintenance and development of human resources of the organization. These goals are accomplished through specific policies, procedures and practices framed by the HR function. In order to successfully accomplish these goals, the HR function has to be actively involved in strategic planning processes with all other departments, as well as oversee implementation of these policies and procedures. For this, it is important that HR personnel work closely with other departments/functions at the ground level in order to assess the effectiveness of HR-related strategies and identify the issues and gaps. Based on the study conducted in the IT firm explained in present context, HR department plays similar role at strategic level; however, its involvement has to be intensified at implementation level by partnering with each departme nt. The HR department’s role has to be extended from strategic planning level to implementation process in order to accomplish organizational goals with respect to human resources, such as improved employee motivation, commitment, morale and continuous learning and developmental opportunities. Though the HR is already involved in accomplishing these goals, its practices have to be modified to achieve better and long-lasting outcomes related to these goals.

David Coles Interview with Dr. Franciszek Piper Essay

David Coles Interview with Dr. Franciszek Piper - Essay Example However, I feel that when you carry out research like how Cole did you need to be authentic yourself before other people can acknowledge the seriousness of your study. Cole had disguised himself as a Jew, even though he didn’t believe in the Jews. I understand why he did it. Instead he could have approached the research by identifying himself as someone who is truly interested in the holocaust history. He pretended to be a righteous Jew because he has assumed the official will not give accurate information. This they did anyways. Furthermore, his discovery of the gas chambers and their actual function as disinfestation chambers came about through detailed evaluation of the sites instead of from people he interviewed. There is no reason to disguise. As far as the evidence he got from his research that the gas chambers during the World War 2 had been actually disinfestation chambers. Cremation and gassing infrequency show that the myth of millions of Jews died during the War had been false. I agree that most of the evidence do not collaborate with the so called history presented by Jews to the world. Coles evidence indicates that there is a need to re-evaluate the holocaust

What do subcultural theories have to offer our understanding of youth Essay

What do subcultural theories have to offer our understanding of youth crime - Essay Example You wonder why kids, especially the male gender before 18 years of age already have a bad reputation from school, which the criminal courts can also support. These young people already understand their cultural values and what their society upholds to be morally right and wrong, yet they go against it to prove it wrong. They form independent social structures, in which they set their own rules and conduct activities to satisfy their ambitions. Sub-cultural theories have put forward motives that drive most of the young people into crime and deviance. Lynch (2000) mentioned that crime does not necessarily happen because people have been imperfectly socialized, but instead occur, for they get to be socialized in a deviant group and learn its values. Their formulated values and beliefs are what they use to justify their illegal conduct in the midst of the dominant culture. It is the desire for most people to achieve and live the American dream in their lifetime. Acquiring wealth and living a satisfactory life seems challenging and only few in the society have managed that. Although people can get a good salary, the life standard has gone up increasing the expenses incurred. This puts a barrier between the rich and the poor in the society, which determines their power to access their needs and their position in the society. According to Vito, Maahs and Holmes, the American sub cultural theories stem out of anomie and social disorganisation perspective; focusing on the lower class in the society, and the formation and activities that explain the delinquent subcultures (2007, p. 160). The concept of psychological strain on the lower social group in their state of idleness and poverty, make the people to look for alternative means to sustain their lives. Often, it is possible to see states and countries that have low economic and safety nets than others, which have high crime rates. The chances of economic and socially powerful families

PESTLE analysis for the LUKoil company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

PESTLE analysis for the LUKoil company - Essay Example Theoretical view of LUKOIL In monitoring of the company’s macro-environmental or external marketing factors, the analysis would help in shedding light on some of the factors that have an impact on Lukoil Company. As a major market player, Lukoil Company operates through four operating segments. These are the exploration and production part, the process of refining, Marketing and Distribution, chemicals segment, and power generation segment (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2003, p. 23). This comes through exploration of natural resources in order to produce crude oil and natural gas. The expansion of this company extends its interests in operational zones by holding properties in Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, South America, South East Asia, the Middle East, and North and western Africa (Kotok & Sciarretta 2010, p. 78). The success of Lukoil depends on its versatility to navigate the political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors surrounding its operations, since it is an international corporation cutting across the business world. PESTEL ANALYSIS Political and Economical factors The political factors stem from the extend of the government’s policies in intervening the economy by either through political stability or instability, foreign trade, tax policy, labour laws, in addition, trade restriction. Since Lukoil is an international corporation, its operation, and success cut through many political realms and may certainly influence how the company does business (International Business Publications, USA 2011, p. 23). It is therefore the mandate of the Lukoil Company to respond to the current and potential legislations in order to adjust their market policy accordingly. The profitability of Lukoil Company largely relies on its economic factors (Plunkett 2008, p. 120). There are macro-economical factors like economic growth, interest rates, inflation, and disposal income of consumers, exch ange rates, and businesses. The oil product profits and losses that this company derives from diverse contexts of its markets come with the way the management of demand goes on in the respective economies of operation. This varies, as different countries especially in the East, cannot compare their economy with countries of the West like USA. How well Lukoil adjusts itself to the governments’ mechanism such as interest rate control, taxation policy and government expenditure determines their gain or loss in the economies of investments. Social and Technological factors There are also social cultural factors in the regions with the highest Lukoil investment, which influence a lot on its operations. Many regions have different beliefs, and shared attitudes within their population. Compare the social factors of Eastern Europe and those of East and South Asia and this would culminate in the way the consumption of products do range of different contexts (Marinova & Marinov 2003, p . 104). The large influence of this will depend on the region’s population growth, health consciousness, age distribution, and career aptitude. The marketers of Lukoil have no choice other than understand their global customers and their preferences. The way Lukoil markets its products have to

Show Dont Tell and Leads and Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Show Dont Tell and Leads and Conclusion - Essay Example Showing: Slowly, I browsed through the editorial page of the newspaper. The freshness of the ink and paper began to permeate my nostrils as I let my eyes wander over the lines that initially caught my attention. I felt a bit of agitation from inside me as I quietly read the sharp contrast of the quotes between the Republican and Democratic parties. The Republican reaction appealed more to my logic. They seemed to be created from an impartial reasoning fused with tact and conciseness. In contrast, the Democratic reaction felt as if they were aimed at me personally. That is how offensive they sounded. Original: It was time for the announcement of results. The administrator began announcing the results. Results were being announced in the order of seniority. So my turn was after the announcement of results for the fifth and the fourth grade. It did not take the administration long to announce the result of the senior batches, and it was the turn of third grade. Suddenly, I heard my name. The administrator had requested me to come up to the stage. The speaker had a trophy with a green ribbon on it in his hand. I was stunned, and tottered up to the stage in huge amazement. Oh! It was really for me. I had the time of my life. The silver shine gleamed in the sunlight and was a reflection of my joy. I had stood third. I had a green trophy in my hand. It was the first trophy of my academic career and opened the doors for many more to follow. First conclusion: It was time for the announcement of results. The results were announced in order of seniority. The third grade’s turn came after the announcement of results for the fifth and fourth grade. I know I did not stand a chance for my coveted award. I had been sick for the better part of the school year and my grades suffered a lot. I looked at my parents and saw in my mom’s eyes a look of understanding. She

The Disaster Management in India Has Become an Issue of Ridicule Essay Example for Free

The Disaster Management in India Has Become an Issue of Ridicule Essay With being the world’s second most populous country, India faces a lot of challenges in tackling the disasters that might strike her. India was expected to have learnt from the mistakes in her past. But the case isn’t so. Till date the Disaster Management of India is not as effective as it should have been for a huge country like India. All these ineffectiveness in technology has made Disaster Management in India an issue of ridicule. Earlier in the late 20th century due to lack of technology various disasters couldn’t be predicted in time, thus the people who were affected didn’t get any information about the disaster till they were struck by it. We can see the examples of floods across various states in India the cyclones in Odisha. Had been there any modern weather forecasting and prediction systems, the people would have got knowledge about the cyclones and effective plans could have been placed for minimising the effect of disaster. But even till the date the country hasn’t progressed. The lack of technology has led the country being unable to predict the heavy rains that caused the floods and landslides in Uttarakhand. Even because of lack of trust on the weathermen because of the past failures in forecasting by weathermen the state administration didn’t issue any warnings to people about the rains. Technology also consists of latest machinery and cutting edge tools which India doesn’t pose. The govt. said in it’s budget about assigning 100 thousand crores for disaster management and mitigation purpose. This amount might seem to be very large but it is very small if we consider the whole country which has about 1.6 billion citizens living in it. Even the amount used for disaster management would be quite less because of the politics and corruption. So one can easily imagine what would be the impact when a disaster strikes India. Now even NDMA has no strategies for disaster management. After the rains and the series of cloud bursts in Uttarakha nd, the Uttarakhand govt. declared that its state disaster management team didn’t have plan how to execute the rescue operation .If this is the case then there is no use of NDMA which said that it was not prepared to handle such huge disaster. Now back to technology. At the same time when India was busy in recovery of Uttarakhand, a similar disaster struck some European countries. But there the impact of disaster was quite less because of better planning efficient disaster management. The damage due to the floods cloud bursts in those countries was very less. This show  the ineffectiveness of India in tackling disasters. Now let’s shift our focus to the relief rehabilitation in India. As compared to disaster management the relief rehabilitation is better but not at par with other countries. Let us take an example. In 2011 Japan was struck with severe earthquakes, tsunamis finally a nuclear crisis, but in Japan the relief and rehabilitation work was quite instant and the country came back to normal life within a month or so. Meanwhile, In India the series of floods cloud bursts have disturbed Uttarakhand and even till today after 2 months relief work is going on. Who should be blamed for this? Only and only our govt. should be blamed. Had the govt. had been prepared for tackling this issue , today Uttarakhand wouldn’t have such devastation. Even the hand of politics cannot be neglected in Disaster Relief rehabilitation. Parties often adopt str ategies which would benefit them in next elections. They only think of their future thus this leads to failure in disaster management. Had it been japan, life would have sprung back in a single week. With cities expanding and developing in an unplanned manner, there would be a great loss in case of a disaster striking such cities. For example unsafe building practices in rapidly growing urban settlements constitute one of India’s greatest challenges for disaster management. A major earthquake in any of India’s densely and heavily populated cities in seismic zones would be catastrophic in terms of fatalities. Government of India has also launched various policies the implementation of NDMA under the Disaster Management Act of 2005. The objective of the authority has been to lay down policies and guidelines for effective management, risk mitigation and prevention of disasters in the country. However, in Uttarakhand, people were caught unawares by the series of flash floods and landslides in the absence of any mitigation measure or early warning despite the state having a history of such disasters and the weathermen predicting about it. The post disaster relief response has been equally poor—more than 70,000 people are reported missing. NDMA was constituted under the Disaster Management Act of 2005 to draft policies and guidelines on disaster management, approve and coordinate the implementation of plans for disaster preparedness and manageme nt at the Central, state and ministerial levels. The authority is headed by the prime minister. However, in the past seven years, the authority has been ineffective in carrying out most of its functions. NDMA had initiated  projects for flood mitigation and landslide mitigation at the national level in 2008. However, those projects have either been abandoned midway or are being redesigned because of poor planning. The projects to prepare national vulnerability atlases of landslides, floods and earthquake are also incomplete. Experts feel if such projects would have been implemented properly the damage in Uttarakhand could have been much less. The CAG report also highlighted several other loopholes in the functioning of NDMA. It said none of the major projects taken up by NDMA was complete even after seven years of its functioning. The projects were either abandoned midway or were being redesigned because of initial poor planning. The major projects include producing vulnerability atlases for floods, earthquakes and landslides, national landslide risk mitigation project, national flood risk mitigation project and national disaster management information system. As per the CAG report, NDMA has also not been performing several functions as prescribed in the Disaster Management Act. These include recommending provision of funds for the purpose of mitigation and recommending relief in repayment of loans or for grant of fresh loans. Besides, several critical posts in NDMA are vacant and consultants were used for day to day working. One can then easily say what would happen if India is struck by a major disaster. In layman’s language one can say that all these things have one message in common – THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT OF INDIA HAS BECOME AN ISSUE OF RIDICULE. The time has come for the citizens to take action in their hands and perform their duties . If not now it’s never and in future India’s disaster management will always remain an issue of ridicule among the people of he world because of it’s inability to tackle issues perform necessary actions.

Business Plan For The Chocolate Shop Marketing Essay

Business Plan For The Chocolate Shop Marketing Essay The confectionery industry in Pakistan is one that is growing and is promising for our business. This is due to the cultural changes and in the liking of our target market. Our marketing strategies include differentiation, creating customer awareness, increasing customer confidence and finally market development. These strategies aim to satisfy our marketing objectives and goals. Apart from these we have set objectives and strategies on a functional level for marketing research, customer services and the advertisement and promotion of our business. Our total investment is of Rs. 4590,000 out of which Rs. 1500,000 is a loan taken from the bank. The interest rate on this loan is 10%, and we plan to pay it off in a time period of ten years. The major problem involved in our business is that of an increase in interest rates and problems that we will have to face in regards with the location of the shop. Our main risk is associated with the competitors. Business Description Brand Name The chocolate shop Tagline of the company One Taste Is All It Takes General Description of the business Our business is that of confectionery chocolate which is customized. We will be opening one outlet by the name of the chocolate shop in either Y-Block in defence or Xinhua Mall. The chocolate will be processed after an order is placed according to the preference of the consumer. Different sizes, shapes, packaging and flavors will be available. The consumer will be able to choose their own blend of all of these. Product and services Semi sweet chocolate chips Milk chocolate chips Classic white chips Semi sweet chocolate baking bars Unsweetened chocolate baking bar Bittersweet chocolate baking bar Milk chocolate baking bar White chocolate baking bar Milk chocolate almond bars Crispy chocolate bars Blueberry and almond chocolate bars We also provide chocolates for special occasions in special packaging Boxed chocolates Holiday specials Corporate gifts Custom molding Fund raising Uniqueness of the product We are one of the very few chocolate manufacturers that make chocolate starting from the cocoa bean through to finished products. Throughout the process, we take special steps to ensure that our premium chocolate delivers our signature intense, smooth-melting chocolate taste. The uniqueness of our product lies in the fact that we make custom made chocolate with variations to the size, packaging and flavor according to the preference of the consumers Intensive quality assurance in the selection of cocoa beans means that we accept only the highest-quality beans. We reject as many as 40% of the beans that are offered to us. Beans that are not selected are sold to other manufacturers. In all of our chocolate product, we use a proprietary blend of cocoa beans that is refined to provide the companys distinct and intense chocolate taste. We roast the cocoa beans in-house to ensure the companys signature flavor profile is consistently maintained in all chocolate products.Because the nibs are fairly uniform in size, we have more control over the temperature and time, so we can get a more specific flavor. Other companies roast their beans before removing the shell, which requires over-roasting the outside portion of the bean in order to roast the inside. This could impart a burned flavor to their chocolate. Finally, we use an intensive refining process to ensure that its chocolate truly melts in your mouth! We have no grainy feel because we refine most of our chocolate flakes until they are 19 microns (human hair is 100 microns in diameter). Other mass market chocolates are refined to only 40 microns. Overview of the confectionery industry Chocolate and Confectionery industry has shown a satisfactory progress in recent years. The industry flourished under tariff protection and it has not only saved foreign exchange which would otherwise have been spent on the imports of such products but has also started earning the much needed exchange to the country. The vast Middle East market is open for the sale of chocolate and confectionery and Pakistan has all the potentials to capture this market. Export of chocolate products included sugar preparations, which increased from Rs.23.173 million in 1985-86 to 295.136 million in 1992-93. The sugar preparations included Pakistani jelly and jams exported in packed form. However, presently more than ten years later the trends have changed to quite an extent. Due to changes in culture and the people being exposed to media, there have been an inclination towards western confectionery which has increased by demand for chocolate confectionery. The Pakistan confectionery product category reached a value of $32.6 million in 2001. It is by far the smallest confectionery market in the Asia-Pacific region. Pakistan contributes less than one percent of the Asia-Pacific confectionery revenue. No single product category dominates the market. Standard grocers are the leading distribution channel, holding one third of the confectionery market revenue. Traditional grocers are the only other channel to capture a double-digit share. The remainder of the market displays a high degree of fragmentation Use this report to understand the key trends and issues in confectionery and assess the competitive landscape of the Pakistani confectionery industry. Goals and potential of the business Goals of the company include the following: To give our customers the best quality customized chocolate To gain the highest market share in the industry To gain consumer confidence and loyalty The company has high growth potential as the industry it is operating in is one which is growing and the willingness and buying power of the consumers is growing as well which will create high demand for our company. Moreover, corporations such as Multinational companies, banks e.t.c are now commonly using confectionery chocolates as gifts to their business clients as well consumers, this will also be of advantage to our organization and help it to grow. Marketing Research analysis Industry Analysis The industry that The Chocolate shop operates in is that of the confectionery industry which is a growing and an immensely popular industry having organizations such as Nirala, Gourmet and Patchi operating under it. The industry relies mainly on the changing lifestyle patterns and the population growth of the target group. Opportunity The opportunity of setting up a confectionery can be linked with the eating habits and demand of the people. People in Pakistan enjoy the traditional confectioneries very well and their demand is still extremely high on occasions such as weddings, birthdays, Eid and also in corporate clients, however recently there has been a cultural change in Pakistan. Now people are turning towards new lines and varieties of confectionery items. This major change can be seen in corporations mostly and now for weddings as well. Increase number of Outlets A rapid increase can be seen in confectionery outlets recently, this is a reflection of the increase in demand. The increase in the number of outlets have made such products more accessible to the consumers. Many organizations have opened small outlets near offices or other locations chosen specifically to maximize convenience for consumers. Consumer demand In Pakistan confectioneries have always been used as gifts on weddings and other occasions however now there is a higher demand for chocolate confectioneries on not only weddings but also on Eid and birthdays. There is a high and an increasing corporate demand for such confectionery items as now people want to deviate from the traditional sweets. Competitor Analysis Our chocolate shop will be competing with all confectionery shops in Lahore, however their main competitor will be Patchi as this organizations main product is chocolate as well. Other competitors are Nirala and Gourmet because they also serve confectionery items on weddings, birthdays, Eid e.t.c. Nirala has been in the industry the longest and many people of Lahore have a loyalty towards this brand. It has been used on weddings and other occasions. One of their strengths lie in their variety of packaging according to the occasion they cater to. Their packaging is quite diverse and comes in all sorts of sizes. They now also offer a sitting place for their consumer which has increased their demand a great deal because this is one of the feature which is not offered by any of their competitors. Gourmet on the other hand has also had an increase in consumer demand recently because of an increase in their product quality. There is a high demand for gourmet products on weddings, however it is not favorable amongst corporate clients. Patchi is the direct competitor of our business. They serve chocolate confectionery in different sizes and packaging. Their major clients are corporate clients and they serve to the upper class of the country due to their pricing. Our business will have a competitive advantage as it will be serving custom made chocolate, sized according to the consumers preference and it is also offering a sitting place in the shop. Moreover, we will also be serving for weddings, birthdays e.t.c. Target Market The population of Lahore is approximately 7,000,000 people. Our major target market will be the corporate clients of Lahore mainly and other adjacent cities as well. The trends in the corporations of Pakistan are now changing, corporations often present gifts in the form of chocolates to their consumer as well as their business clients. This trend is on an increase in the country. We will also cater for weddings in large packaging and other occasions such as birthdays and Eid. However this will be targeted towards the upper and the upper middle class of the country. Our target market will also largely include walk in clients who will purchase chocolate in small quantities as compared to the corporate clients or those catered for weddings. There is no age limit to the target market as Chocolate is a certain product that is liked by everyone. Market Size and trends The market size of our target market includes all of the upper class of Lahore and adjacent cities, all of the upper middle class and any person who could be a walk in customer. Apart from this we are serving to corporate clients which includes fourteen banks and other multinational organizations as well as the local ones. Marketing Plan An in depth analysis of marketing research will be conducted prior to making the marketing plan. Marketing of The chocolate shop will play a key role in the mobilization of targeted number of customers. Major marketing options include, site advertisement, cable ads and handbills among other traditional marketing channels. Before launch of the project, it is recommended that a research for understanding the dynamics of the targeted market should also be carried out, to design the products as well as the promotional strategy. The basic principle of marketing is to sell the right product, at the right price and promote it in the right place to the right people. However, there are other socioeconomic factors, which also affect the production, selling and consumption of foods. The success of marketing is often determined by the extent to which various socio-economic factors are considered. Business Situation As it has already been discussed above, the market for confectionery items are in a growing trend because of the increase in the demand and cultural changes in the country. The scope of the market is great as at the moment the only direct competition our business will be facing is Patchi and there is a high demand for confectionery chocolates within the corporate world. The distribution of our chocolate will be done through our own retail outlet, we will be implementing the strategy of forward integration. Our product will not be distributed to other retail outlets. All orders will also be places at our own shop. Our consumers would want value for their product and they will be given high quality products. The customers will be ranging from all age groups however we will be catering mainly for the upper class and the upper middle class, however a major target market of the business will be of walk in clients. Identification of problems and opportunities The major opportunity of our business is that it is operating in an industry which is growing and has high demand. Another opportunity is of the growing inclination of corporations towards the use of confectionery chocolates for purposes of gifts e.t.c. Our business will also be using state of the art technology for the chocolate making which will be made fresh after the order is places by the customer. The future of the confectionery industry also proposes many opportunities for our business, as the industry is offering a promising growth. This has occurred as a result of cultural changes and the increase in consumer income and spending power. Our business will be serving the needs of the consumers by making available to them customized chocolate which was initially not being catered to them by any source. However our organization will also be facing certain problems. The first issue to face is that of the entry of timing into the market. As the main decisive factors in this case are events and season, we will have to match the timings with these two limitations. For example weddings generally occur around winters in Lahore, therefore entering the market well before that would be a good idea. Another issue that would be faced is of the sustainability of the organization, it is not only important to be successful over a certain time period but the most difficult part is to be able to sustain this success and to be able to meet the changing requirements of the consumers. Another problem would be to see whether the location we will opening our shop at is accessible to a majority of our clients and can attract a large number of walk in customers. Marketing objectives This stage in marketing planning is indeed the key to the whole marketing process. The marketing objectives state just where the company intends to be; at some specific time in the future. To be most effective, objectives should be capable of measurement and therefore quantifiable. This measurement may be in terms of sales volume, money value, market share, percentage penetration of distribution outlets and so on. Some of the objectives of our business are as stated below: To increase sales by at least 10% each month To achieve a market share of 10% within the first 18months of operation to achieve atleast 75% customer awareness of our product in our target market within the first 6 months of operation To gain customer confidence within the first 12 months Marketing Strategies The marketing strategies are formulated in such a manner that they will assist in attaining the above marketing objectives Differentiation: this is the primary marketing strategy of our business. We will be offering a unique product that is not available in the market before. This strategy will be useful in increasing our sales objective and the market share objective Increasing awareness about our product is another strategy which will be used to achieve all three marketing objectives of our company. This will be done through effective marketing and promotional activities Customer confidence will be gained by taking in complaints from customers and handling them as the customers desire and also by providing customers with high quality Market development is another strategy which our business plans to follow after a certain time period of our establishment. We will be exploring new untapped markets in terms of geographical area to increase sales and market share. Departmental / Functional objectives Our functional objectives will be divided into the advertising and promotional objectives, customer service and market research objectives. Advertising and promotional objectives: build awareness to reach the customers and tell the market as to what we are what we offer Create interest in our consumers in order to make them visit the shop at least or to make a purchase to stimulate demand and increase the purchasing activity. Reminder advertising which will be used to maintain the interest and awareness of the consumers. Customer service objectives The main objective for customer services is to make sure that the complaints of the customers are heard and are taken care off. Market research To keep the business up to date with the changing demands of the consumers To keep the business up to date with the entry of new competitors To keep the business up to date with the strategies of the existing competitors To keep the business up to date with the technological innovations of the industry. Departmental / Functional strategies These strategies will be implemented in order to meet the above objectives. the advertisement and promotional objectives would be achieved through strategies involving effective advertisements through print and television mediums as well as bill boards. the reminder advertisement objective will be achieved by continuous effective advertisement, however it will not be on such a large scale as it will be at the time of launch. customer service objectives would be reached by having a 24 hour help line available to the customer for complaints and other queries. Market surveys will be conducted time to time in order to achieve the marketing research objectives Control of the Marketing plan In order to keep an effective control on the marketing plan periodic reviews will be held. On quarterly basis a review of the marketing plan will be held to see whether the objectives are being met and if the strategies are efficient or not. Feedback will be taken from not only consumers but also from the employees of the organization on the operations of the company and on the implementation of the marketing plan. The marketing plan will then be reviewed accordingly and changed if needed. Operations Organizational Plan Building a strong, lasting organization requires careful planning and strategy, in which organizational plan plays a vital role. Organization plan discuses the form of ownership and advantages and disadvantages of the new venture. Its further includes authority of principles and rules and responsibilities of all the major position of the business. In the organizational plan, developing the management team and form of organization are the foremost steps. In this the importance of employees, their loyalty and commitment to the organization and type of ownership is of greater concern to the potential investors as well as for the entrepreneur. Form of ownership There are three types of major legal forms of businesses or ownership. The three basic types are: Proprietorship Partnership Corporation These three basic types of businesses are compared with regard to ownership, liability, start-up costs, continuity, and transferability of interest, capital requirement, and management control, distribution of profits losses and attractiveness for raising capital. The new venture The Chocolate Shop is proprietor owned business. The owner is the individual who starts the venture and has full responsibility for all the operations. The owner may hire some personnel such as managers, advisors, and accountant etc, to assist in day to day working of the business. Liability of owners The proprietor is liable for all aspects of the business, which means no distinction is made between the business entity and the owner. This is known as unlimited liability in which owner has to satisfy any outstanding debts of the business, creditors may seize any assets the owner has outside the business. Cost of starting a business The financial cost of the business is mentioned in the financial plan. But here, the cost of starting the business refers to the legal fees and expenses incurred for the formation of the venture. In our new form of business which is based on the sole proprietorship, there are not many legal expenses involved compared to the other forms of ownership. The only legal fees required is the fees for trade name, which makes the cost of starting the business very low. Continuity of business Continuity of the business is one of the most important issues for the investors as well as for the suppliers and customers because investors are concerned about the investment, and suppliers and customers prefer to have long relationship with the business they are interacting with. The chocolate shop is a proprietorship business, in which continuity of the business depends upon the owner will to continue, and or otherwise lasts till the death of the owner. Where as, typically in Pakistan, business is continued by the successor of the owner. Transferability of interest In a sole proprietorship, the owner is completely free in the transferability of interest. The owner can sell any part or the business as pleased or when a good value is given. The chocolate shop`s owner has the same advantage of transferability of the interest being a sole proprietor. Capital requirement The need for capital during the early stages of the new venture can become one of the most critical factors in keeping a new venture alive. For a proprietor, any new capital can come only from loans by any number of sources or by additional personal contribution by the entrepreneur. In borrowing money from the bank the entrepreneur may need collateral to support the loan. Any borrowings from outside investors may require giving up some of the equity in the proprietorship. Which ever the source for fund is the owner or the entrepenure is liable to make the payments and a failure to do so can result in foreclosure or liquidation. However, even with these risks the proprietorship is not likely to need large funds of money to do business. The chocolate shop, has acquired Rs.1.5 million from the bank and the rest of Rs.3 million is invested by the proprietor himself/herself. To acquire the loan from the bank, the owner has to keep his/her house as collateral. Management Control In any new venture, the entrepreneur will want to retain as much control as possible over the business. In proprietorship, the entrepreneur has the most control and flexibility in making business decisions. Since the entrepreneur is the single owner of the venture, he or she will be responsible for and have sole authority over all business solutions. Mean there is a centralized chain of command in the shop. Distribution of profits and losses The chocolate factory is single owner or sole proprietor based business, therefore all the profits and losses are received by the owner. Attractiveness of raising capital The ability of proprietor to raise capital depends on the success of the business and the personal capability of the entrepreneur. Primarily because of the problem of personal liability raising capital is a difficult task. Tax attributes for proprietorship In proprietorship taxable year is usually a calendar year and taxes are deductible on the income generated by the proprietor business. Organization cost is non-amortizable and capital gains are taxed at individual level. A deduction is allowed for long-term capital gains and capital losses are carried forward indefinitely. For the initial organization or commencement of new business, results in no additional taxes for individual. Tax issues for proprietorship The proprietor has some tax advantages that there is no double tax when profits are distributed to the owner and that there is any capital stock tax or penalty for retained earnings in the business. Authority of principle The main authority of principle in the chocolate shop is with the C.E.O that is chief executive officer, who is responsible for the entire major decision making. Main functions of the C.E.O are: Reviewing operating and capital budgets Developing longer-term strategic plan for growth and expansion Supporting day to day activity Resolving conflicts Organogram C.E.O Manager Production Department Sales Department Cashier/Accountant Salesman Salesman Store Keeper Chocolate Maker Chocolate Maker Roles And Responsibilities Of Management C.E.O:This diagram shows that at the top of the hierarchy there is a C.E.O who is the sole proprietor of the business .He the is the only owner of the business his job basically would be to have an overall look at functions of the business .It is a centralize chain of command. As the sole owner of the business will be taking all the major decisions at the top. All the employees of the business would come under his command. Manager: As the name suggests the manager is responsible for managing the resources in the best possible way and give the business its best possible outcomes. Manager takes into account the performance of the sales and production department. The manager is answerable to the CEO regarding the feat of the two departments. The manager also assesses the performance of the workers in the lower levels of hierarchy. Sales Department: Cashier/accountant: The cashier looks after the cash flows (both inflows and outflows) of the business. The person also maintains the accounts of the company, recording its sales, revenue, expenses etc of particular periods. A specialist is required for the job because of the importance and complexity of the task. Salesperson: The primary function of this salesperson is to generate and close leads, educate prospects, fill needs and satisfy wants of consumers appropriately, and therefore turn prospective customers into actual ones. The successful questioning to understand a customers goal, the further creation of a valuable solution by communicating the necessary information that encourages a buyer to achieve his goal at an economic cost is the responsibility of the sales person. Production Department Store keeper: This is a job in which the concerned person has to keep all the records of the inventory and the raw material. He has keep track of every thing which comes and goes from the store. He will report directly to the manager of the daily flows. He will recommend how much and when the raw material is need. Chocolate Maker: This person will handle all the chocolate making process. He will handle all the machinery and the chocolate making process. He is basically a trained professional an artist in his field . He will design and make the chocolate according to the taste of the customer. Financial Plan Total Investment Break down of Initial Investment (Rs. per month) Rent 60,000 x 6 = 360,000 Salaries 80,000 Raw material 300,000 Packaging 150,000 Furniture 600,000 Transportation 600,000 Interior 1500,000 Machinery 1000,000 Rent will be paid six months in advance, totaling Rs. 1200,000. Salaries are a total of Rs. 80,000. Rs. 20, 000 of these would be paid to a manager, Rs. 15000 each to the employees hired for the making of the chocolate and Rs. 5000 each to three other employees who would be taking orders and serving. Products would be sold on a price of Rs. 200 per 100gm of Chocolate. Paid in cash 3090000 Loan from bank 1500,000 Total 4590,000 Income statement Advertisements Advertisements in the income statement are the highest in the first month because that is the starting month so investment in advertisement needs to be higher. It reduces in the summer and increase again October onwards. Depreciation Depreciation is calculated on furniture as 5000, it has zero salvage value and the useful life is 10 years. Machinery has a salvage value of 350,000 and a useful life of 10 years hence the depreciation is Rs. 7083.3. Interest expense The interest rate on the loan is 10% and the loan is to be given back in a period of 10 years and is paid monthly. Jan Feb March Apr May June Sales revenue 1400000 1800000 1600000 1600000 1600000 1600000 CGS 630000 810000 720000 720000 720000 720000 gross profit 770000 990000 880000 880000 880000 880000 Operating expenses salaries 80,000 80,000 80,000 80,000 80,000 80,000 Utility bills 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 Maintenance 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 Misc expenses 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 Advertisement 150,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 Depreciation on furniture 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 depreciation on machinery 7,083 7,083 7,083 7,083 7,083 7,083 interest payments 20,343 20,343 20,343 20,343 20,343 20,343 rent 360,000 transportation 615,000 15,000 15,000 15,000 15,000 15,000 raw material 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 packaging 150,000 150,000 150,000 150,000 150,000 150,000 total operating expenses 1,802,426 742,426 742,426 742,426 742,426 742,426 Profit before tax -1,032,426 247,574 137,574 137,574 137,574 137,574 Tax( 30%) -309727.9 74272.11 41272.11 41272.11 41272.11 41272.11 Net Income -722,698 173,302 96,302

5 Major Perspectives in Psychology :: Psychology Perspective essays research papers

The five major theoretical perspectives in psychology are biological, learning, cognitive, psychodynamic, and sociocultural perspectives. Each one of these perspectives searches for answers about behavior through different techniques and through looking for answers to different kinds of questions. Due to the different approaches, each perspective form their own assumptions and explanations. Some perspectives are widely accepted while others struggle for acceptance. Biological perspective "The premise behind the biological perspective in psychology is that all actions, feelings, and thoughts are associated with bodily events." Biological psychologists examine how all of the electrical impulses, hormones, and chemicals flowing through the body can effect behavior and how changes to these bodily functions can change behavior. They are concerned with how the aspects of biology effect peoples' emotions, learning abilities, and their perception of events. One of the major theories of biological psychology is that "We cannot know ourselves if we do not know our bodies." Through application of this theory, biological psychologists strive to understand the relationship between the mind and body and they influence sickness or health. It is believed that poor health can lead to negative attitudes while poor attitudes can lead to poor health. Biological psychologists research and study the correlation of this theory in an attempt to help solve some mental and emotional problems. Learning Perspective The writings and findings of Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, and B.F. Skinner have done much for the advancement of modern psychology. Many of the important findings in psychology from their theory of behaviorism, later evolving into the social-learning theory or cognitive social-learning theory. Proponents of the learning perspective think that mentalism should be abandoned for behaviorism. Psychologists should concentrate on observation and direct measurement rather focusing on introspection. Behaviorists believed that actions were responses to stimuli that were learned. The basic concept was that positive responses would be triggered by good stimuli while negative responses would could from bad stimuli. Actions that would produce positive results tended to repeated, while those that led to negative results tended to be avoided. This concept led to a broadening of psychology. Many groups that were often overlooked by psychologists were being discovered and observed. Behavior became the dominant school of psychology in the U.S. until the 1960's. Adversaries to this approach were repulsed by the concept that humans did not think or feel, but only thought that they did. Nonbehaviorists and behaviorists parted company. Behaviorists believed that feelings could not explain behavior.

Business Culture: China vs. the United States Essay -- International T

Business Culture: China vs. the United States   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cultures are varying among different parts of the globe. People with different cultures have different characteristics and viewpoints on the subjects due to diverse understanding and method of learning. During the past few decades, the international trade grows in a very rapid rate due to the advantages that it provides; â€Å"increased sales, operational efficiencies, exposure to new technologies and broader consumer choices† (Heslin). Therefore, when considering the culture aspect to current business world, it is crucial for business to understand the culture aspect because of the tremendous growth of international business as well as utilize the international market to its maximum utility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Today’s world’s leading markets are the United States of America and People Republic of China. The United States market growth is not a â€Å"jump† growth, instead it grows in steady manner. On the other hand, China’s market is not a very significance market until several decades ago where all suddenly, the market leaps from an insignificance market to highly imperative market and it seems unstoppable. Although both of the markets and its potential for growth is considerably dominant but the ways of managing its business are very distinct; both societal and institutional differences and values differences.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American workers are more individualize. American workers focus on their individuals and lives in the world of dist...

New Economic Imperialism Essays -- Essays Papers

New Economic Imperialism Those in power define national interests as the preservation of the existing set of economic, social, and political relationships. Therefore, the national interest of the supranational capitalist society is the interests of the upper class, allied throughout the globe. The United States capitalist class has proposed to preserve and extend U.S. capitalism by a policy of empire building to satisfy the need for large export markets that could supply cheap inputs and guarantee consumption. The road to the current economic imperial structure prevalent in international affairs is a long and complicated one. During the twentieth century the capitalist elite began forming organizations in which to formulate and implement their policies on the supranational level, most of which were founded by John D. Rockefeller based on principles developed by Cecil Rhodes. These included the Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission and countless others scattered throughout the developed world. During the 1940s they began to create institutions with real power, sanctioned by nation-states, which would have the ability to implement policies on the international level, something they needed. These included the United Nations, the political arm, NATO, the military arm, and the two monetary funds created during the conference held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It was decided international monetary instit utions were needed to â€Å"stabilize currencies and to facilitate programs of capital investments for constructive undertakings in backward and underdeveloped regions.† (Sklar 148) Corporations would float bonds guaranteed by the ... ... Subsequently, a global imperialistic strategy has developed designed to keep developing countries in a position where the West wants them. Works Cited â€Å"IMF funding system unfair – Mugabe†. Mon, 04 Jun 2001. Mohan, Giles, et al. Structural Adjustment: Theory, Practice, and Impacts. New York: Routledge, 2000. Munoru, John. â€Å"Zimbabwe: IMF Applies More Pressure†. 1999. Onimode, Bade. The IMF, The World Bank and The African Debt: The Economic Impact. London ; Atlantic Highlands, N.J., USA : Zed Books, 1989. Shaoul, Jean. â€Å"IMF Tightens The Screws on Zimbabwe†. 18 August 1999. Sklar, Holly. Trilateralism and Elite Planning For World Management. Boston : South End Press, 1980.

What Influences Free Clinic Usage by the Uninsured

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