The Ice Storm Book vs Movie Critique essays

The Ice Storm Book vs Movie Critique essays There are many ways to tell a story. Back before there were books there as the actual storyteller who could speak out a story. There is also acting where people physically perform a story. Books are another storytelling device that is more permanent, the words are kept and they can be reviewed again and again. Now there are movies, which provide story telling with more an emphasis on visual effects. The question is which way is the best to present a certain type of story. The Ice Storm by Rick Moody was in such a position that one could actually look at both the modern movie and the book version. The story is a realistic story about the Hoods and the Willams. Both of these families were affluent families that lived in New Canaan. The book centers around Wendy and the events that take place during the their thanksgiving in the 70s. The story is pretty simple and is about family strife. Wendy is a typical adolescent exploring her sexuality. At the same time her parents, Ben and Elena are having marital differences. Ben is cheating on his wife with Janey, the wife of his close friend Jim. The irony comes up with Wendy who is has sexual relations with Janey and Jims son Mikey and his younger brother Sandy. Wendys older brother Paul who goes to boarding school returns home and is sexual inexperienced he desires to be with a girl named Libbets. The story centers around a key party that both the Hoods and Willams attend. The highlight of the key party is where people place their keys into a jar and people pick up the keys of different people to have sex with the owner of the keys. At this party Ben expects to have sex with Janey, but instead Janey blows him off and has sex with someone else. This night Elena also finds out about the affair and has an affair with Jim, Janeys wife. Now while both of the parents are away Mikey wants to see Wendy, but instead Wendy fools around with Sandy. Mikey ends up wandering...

Social Science Data Essays - Education Reform, Homework, Free Essays

Social Science Data Essays - Education Reform, Homework, Free Essays This graph displays the numerous amounts of hours of homework that a student has to go through on weekly basis. It can range anywhere from 6-12 hours after a full day of school. This displays the amount of time and how unethical to give substantial amounts of homework to student in which they are unable to go about and enjoy their extracurricular activities. This graph shows the percentage of high school seniors, in their last year of high school, doing 6 or more hours of homework a week. The percentage is high in 2012 for majority of students already accepted into college. Some students stop stressing over school because they already took their SAT and are already accepted into the desired college, and they still have several hours of homework a week. This pie chart displays the 8.6 hours in a day are consumed by school, and club associated with it and of course home work. 1.8 hours in the other category can be spent doing homework and studying for upcoming exams. And only 1.2 hours in a day are spent with family or friends due to the excessive amount of work. Students are receiving 7.6 hours of sleep, in some cases even less, which is under the 8 hour requirement to maintain healthy lifestyle. Overall, this graph shows on average how much time goes where, and how homework can take a toll. This graph supports the argument that homework some sort has a negative impact on students personal life, no matter small or large impact. Personal life is pertaining to family time, leisure activities, sleep, and so on. A student can feel deprived of enjoyment in their day to day life, which is showcased in the graph above. If a student feels that he or she cannot have time to oneself, they are unable to focus in school, and leads to a failing cycle.

Individual assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individual assignment - Essay Example Bhide concurs with this position by stating that financial services firms must prove themselves every day – in terms of profits and competitive advantage – because a strategy might be successful today and ineffective tomorrow. Bhide rubbishes the traditional, subjective concept for this sector by demonstrating that as a result of the volatile nature of financial products and services, they can be copied quickly. He suggests that there is no consistent flow of new opportunities available, so firms should concentrate on doing all they can to reduce their chances of failure. The author suggests that strategy should resemble poker rather than chess, where firms concentrate on strategy and execution instead of putting up massive barriers to rivals. The author cites Warren Buffet, who said that core sustainable competitive advantages are virtually non-existent in the financial services sector (Chermack, 2011:35). Financial services firms have no monopoly on excellent product ideas, so they must secure clients by implanting ideas better than their rivals (Gong, 2013:15). In spite of this, other scholars disagree by arguing that possessing operational efficiency or effectiveness is insufficient for companies and that these strategies lead to some firms outlasting others but offering no real competitive advantage in the industry (Gong, 2013:15). Bhide acknowledges that financial services firms must develop and enforce appraisal systems to avoid irresponsibility. He argues that financial services firms should evaluate their performance and constantly analyse current and potential risks. This idea has been proposed by other scholars, who have argued that firms with novel strategies should have sufficient structures to support the emergence of patterns, but not so much that it increases cost and triggers inflexibility (Hitt and Ireland, 2013:45). It can be argued that novel strategies are not about the lack of authority;

Media Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Media Analysis - Essay Example There are radio studios from where the radio signals originate. When a show is being held at a radio studio, the sound waves go into the microphone and are passed to a transmitter, which uses an antenna to send the waves through the air as radio signals. The frequency of the radio signals matches the one in the radio being used, and thus we are able to listen to whatever is being aired from the radio studio. Radio was developed from the idea of telephone and telegraph, all of which are pretty much related. Radio was first used as wireless telegraphy. Radio was not invented right away, but it was the discovery of radio waves which was a major breakthrough. It is because of these waves that the scientists were able to invent the radio, which is has been one of the major forms of communication. It all started back in the 1860s, when a Scottish physicist realized that there existed a kind of waves called radio waves. After a few years, an American dentist was able to perform wireless tel egraphy and established the first form of wireless aerial communication. After him, an Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi, was able to establish radio communication and send a wireless telegram across the English Channel. At first, these wireless telegrams were basically dots and dashes, a form of Morse code, but gradually future events demanded that some kind of wireless communication must be present, to communicate with each other in time of need. Therefore, in 1899, the United States army developed wireless communication, and the Navy adopted it too. Before this, the Navy was using pigeons and visual signals to spread the message across. During the first few years of radio, the signals were very distorted and the message could not be spread across clearly. Therefore, AM broadcasting was introduced which amplified the signal received by the radio receiver, and thus increased the clarity if the message being sent. Through this, the first speech was declared from New York City to S an Francisco and across the Atlantic Ocean. Then in 1933, a much improved version came into being, the FM- Frequency Modulation. It increased the clarity of the audio messages being received by the radio receiver by removing the noise static, caused by the electrical device. This was great improvement over the AM broadcast and led to the development of FM broadcasting, which is the main type of radio broadcasting today. Radio communication is possible by the existence of radio waves. These waves have opened a gateway to different forms of communication, and not just the transistor radio or a household radio receiver. Other than AM and FM broadcasting, radio waves are also used to provide picture and sound in televisions, which have antennas connected to them. These antennas catch the radio signals and receive picture and voice through AM and FM radio waves. Satellites, also make use of radio signals to indicate their position to the computers on Earth, and radio waves are also used to communicate with the devices that have been put in the Solar system, such as the Mars Rover. Cell phones and satellite phones which have become increasingly popular in the past decade, also make use of radio waves to connect to telephone networks, which link the call to the desired destination. Other than this, radio waves are also used in remote controls that are used for televisions, and remote controlled cars and also even to detonate explosives. Nowadays,

Globalization and North East India Essay Example for Free

Globalization and North East India Essay I.Introduction Ever since the term ‘globalization’ appeared for the first time in the second half of twentieth century no other word has meant so many different things to different people and has evoked as much emotions. The forces of globalization affect virtually every country in the world. It has opened the door of many new opportunities as well as formidable challenges. All spheres of life–social, political, cultural and economic–have been subjected to both the positive and negative elements of globalization. With all its promises on the overall qualitative improvement of life and social harmony, some see it as the saviour of universal peace and prosperity. On the other hand, rising mercury of its negative elements some condemn it as a new kind of chaos. While everyone welcomes the new opportunities that has emerged one cannot simply leave those negative elements unattended. Therefore, the main task now is to analyze, understand and manage globalization doing our best to harness its benefits and keep those negative consequences at bay. 1 India joined the club of globalized economy in 1991when its economy is under the spell of fiscal and balance of payment crisis which compel her to initiate several structural adjustment programme and economic liberalization. Since then, India’s share to the global economy is getting larger. Today, looking at overall health of the economy and growth performance2, India seems to have struck the right note of the globalization string. With its vast natural and human resources and ability to synchronize the speed of change taking place in the international market, many have considered the India’s economy as one of the most resilient economy in the world. Now, the most pertinent question arises in the recent years is; has the benefits of globalization disbursed to all the regions of the Indian union? Certainly the answer is NO. India’s attempt to tackle the problems of income inequalities has been going on since independence under the centralized planning system. It, however, failed to provide the necessary growth impetus to the poorer states to reduce regional disparities in any meaningful manner in spite of four decades of economic planning. In the post globalization era, considering the size and diversity of the country, shrinking role of government would ultimately be a failure to achieve the set objective. With the opening of economy, states with better infrastructure facilities, better skill labour and work culture, investor friendly environment and more importantly states which can reform themselves in accordance to the need of the market oriented economy have attracted much of the private investment–both national as well as foreign. These states have grown much faster than states which are not, leading to widening disparities.3 This has posed a great challenge to academicians and polic y makers, even though globalization is an uneven process with unequal distribution of benefits and losses, who must ensure the benefits of globalization be distributed to all the regions/states of Indian union. Secondly, to what extent the high growth rate achieved so far has been translated into development for the well-being of its people? It is all the more necessary to ascertain the magnitude of development because development shouldn’t be seen as mere enhancement of national or personal income as it alone cannot serve the objective of securing the socio-economic equality. High growth rate achieved so far is a big accomplishment as the resources so generated could be utilized for developmental purposes to meet the desired social ends.4 It would, however, be highly injustice and misleading to interpret economic growth and economic development synonymously, yet a popular cynicism among the political circle in particular, as development covers much wider range and value. In short, achievement of higher growth rate should be reflected in terms of quality of life of the people. The failure to realize the value of high growth is the main reason for the rejection of ‘shining India/feel good factor’ slogan of the ruling party in 2004 general election. This implies that the higher growth rate achieved so f ar in the post globalization period could not be translated in terms of improvement in the quality of life of the common people. According to Sen any reform programme should consists of three R’s–reach, range and a reason–which every responsible individual should analyze, understand and act accordingly. The values of high growth often depend on what the size, composition and nature of that growth do to the lives and freedoms of the people involved.5 With the increasing concern of widening of inter-state disparities and lack of development, it is highly imperative to assess the effects of globalization on North East India-a relatively uncharted region of the country-as fifteen years is long enough to give some clear pictures. With this objective, the present study attempts to locate the clues of the following quarries; has the region been able to gain from the benefits of globalization? What are the major issues and challenges confronting or likely to confront in the coming years? What are the unexplored opportunities that can be harnessed? This would require examining the prevalent scenario of the region in the pre and post globalization period. The present study shall cover 1980 to 2005 considering 1991 as the dividing year of the two periods. The study has been organized into five sections including introduction. In section II, a brief profile of NE states has been sketched. In section III, some of the issues and formidable challenges needed to be addressed sooner than the later has been discussed. In section IV, discussed the unexplored opportunities in the region. Finally, we conclude the study in section V . II.North East Profile The North East India comprises of eight contiguous states6 of highly undulating hilly terrains, covering 263,179 sq km which is about 8% of the total geographical area of the country. The region is one of the landlocked regions of South Asia. About 4500 km i.e. 98% of its border is with five different countries of South Asia–Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. No other region of the Indian union share common border with so many different countries connecting with the heartland through the tenuous 22 km Siliguri corridor. The region is the home of extraordinarily diverse mosaic of ethnic groups having distinctive social, cultural and economic identity, more akin to their South Asia neighbours than main land India. The total population of the region is about 38 million, 3.8 per cent of the country’s total population, of which Assam contributes 68 per cent of the total population. Assam recorded the highest density of population with 340 per sq. km., which is also higher than the national average of 313 per sq. km., followed by Tripura with 305 per sq. km. Otherwise, the region is sparsely populated with an overall density of population of 149 per sq. km. Table 1 The decennial growth rate recorded in most of the states during the previous decade is higher than the national level of 21.54 per cent. Nagaland recorded the highest growth rate (64.46 per cent), also highest among the states of the Indian union, followed by Sikkim (33.25 per cent) and Meghalaya (30.65 per cent). Only Tripura (16.03% per cent) and Assam (18.92 per cent), two of the most populated states, have recorded lower growth rate than all India level. The region is richly endowed with bio-diversity, hydro-potential, minerals like oil and natural gas, coal, limestone, dolomite, graphite, quartzite, sillimonite etc. and forest wealth. Over 10 per cent of forest products requirement in the country are met from this region only. The region has a very high potential to generate hydropower i.e. about 80 per cent of the total hydropower potential in the country. Arunachal Pradesh alone is expected to generate 2,67,474 MW i.e. 30 per cent of the total available in the country. With varied geo-climatic condition, the region is ideally suited for horticulture, floriculture and other plantation crops. A variety of fruits like pineapples, banana, orange, lemon, mango, papaya etc. grow abundantly in the region. The region is famous for most number of orchid varieties in the country. Tea is the major plantation crop grown in the region and is the largest producer in the country contributing over 95 per cent of the total production. The region is also richly endowed with varieties of medicinal plants having high value in the international market. But, due to the lack of proper infrastructure, transport and communication system and geo-political condition of the region these resources largely remained untapped. Source: Report of the Twelfth Finance Commission, p 61. The region is grossly deficient of infrastructure to tap the available resources and push the economy forward. An examination of the infrastructure index–a composite profile of the availability of physical, social and institutional infrastructure available in the states revealed that all the states of the region are at the lowest rung of the infrastructure index ladder. It shows that the level of infrastructural development in the region is almost negligible. In terms of human development index–a composite index capturing the three dimensions of human development viz. economic, education and health-the region have done reasonably well than most of the states of Indian union. Among the eight states, Assam ranked the lowest, which has been placed in lower middle category and Mizoram in high category while rest of the states are either in high middle or middle category. The success of these states in this regard is mainly induced by the education sector. Apart from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya the literacy rate in the remaining states, as shown in Table 1, are higher than the national average. The economy of the region primarily depends on agriculture sector contributing over 40 per cent of the income and employ about 70 per cent of the total working population. Although NSDP share of agriculture sector has declined to about 30 per cent, the number of population dependent upon this sector continued to remain high even in the post globalization period. The decline in the NSDP’s share of agriculture sector has been more or less compensated by the increase in the share of service sector. That is, the service sector growth rate during the corresponding period is commendable. Nevertheless, the industrial sector in the region continued to be in pathetic condition. Industrially the region is one of the most backward regions in India. Only Assam, and to some extent Meghalaya, have moved ahead of the rest of the states in terms of industrial development whose industrialization centered on tea, oil and timber. An examination on the overall annual compound growth rate of NSDP in the region revealed that there is a slight improvement in post globalization period though varies from stat to state. Source: http://mospi.nic.in/rept%20_%20pubn/ftest.asp?rept_id=nad03_1993_1994type=NSSO Note: * At 1980-81 prices, ** From 1993 to 2002 only, †  at Current Price, a denotes Acceleration, d denotes Deceleration During the decade of 80s only Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland experienced higher annual compound growth of NSDP than the national level. However, in the post globalization period i.e. 1991-2002, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura have performed better than the national level. The growth rate experienced in these states is not only higher but also accelerating. Though the NSDP growth rate of Manipur is lower than the national level but higher than the previous decade and is accelerating. While Assam’s growth rate is lower in the post globalization but grows at an accelerating rate which is a positive sign. In the post globalization period the growth performances in the region have improved marginally. The higher growth rate of NSDP in the region is mainly induced by higher and accelerating growth rate of service sector. The higher growth rate of NSDP experienced in some of the states is not commensurate with the growth rate of per capita income. The per capita income growth rates of all the states, baring Tripura, falls below the national level in the corresponding period. While Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland have worsened, the performance of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura seem to be relatively better than the previous decade. The lower growth rate of per capita income experienced may be attributed to high growth rate of population, particularly poorer section of the society. The percentage of population living below the poverty line in the region continued to remain high. Only Mizoram seems to have done exceptionally well in poverty eradication where the percentage has declined from 36 per cent in 1983 to 19.47 per cent in 1999-2000. In the remaining states there is only a marginal decline in poverty ratio. In 1983, the percentage of population living below the poverty line at national level is much higher than that of all the states of the region. It is just the reversal in 1999-2000-all the states other than Mizoram have higher percentage than national level of 26.1 per cent. Over one-third of the population is still consists of the most vulnerable section of the society. Further, an examination on the per capita per month consumption expenditure revealed that the inequality in the per capita monthly consumption expenditure has also increased in spite of the improvement in the growth performance in the post globalization period. In 1993-94, Assam has the lowest per capita per month consumption expenditure followed by Manipur and Sikkim. These three states are even lower than the national level of Rs. 328.18 per month. However, in 1999-2000, only Assam and Sikkim experienced lower per capita per month consumption expenditure than that of national level of Rs. 590.98 per month. The increase in consumption expenditure in the globalization era is quite impressive. At the same time, inequality in consumption expenditure, as revealed by the Gini coefficient8, has also increased in most of the states which is an indication of widening disparities among different sections of the society. This implies that the benefits of higher growth rate experienced, though marginally, in the post reform period have not been tickled down to the poorer sections of the society in the desired pace and the problem of income inequality within the state has worsened. An overall scenario of the region in the post globalization period is not very impressive as in the case of other region of the Indian union. This may be attributed to the prevailing geo-political condition in the region and attitude of the central government in tackling the issues of the region. In the following section we shall examine some of the issues and challenges which required an immediate attention. III.The Challenges Being one of the most neglected regions of the Indian union, overall state of affairs in the region is quite alarming. The unattended issues and problems of the past are being accumulated, multi-layered and have become multifarious. Over and above, the mounting pressures of emerging challenges of rapid transformation need to be countered. The clock is ticking fast and situation in the region is very delicate which may explode anytime from now if not tackled carefully. At this juncture the old habit of alibis and hinting would only aggravate the maladies of the past and swell negative elements of the globalization. Instead, it is the time to think and act collectively. The region has more issues to be addressed and challenges to face than any other parts of the country. Of which, the three most important areas which require immediate attention are insurgency, infrastructure and governance. All the other issues are derivatives which would dry up once these three are addressed. a.Insurgency The problem of insurgency in the region has a long history. The insular politics and Delhi centric approach of the Indian government is at the core of much of the discontents, widespread criticism, feelings of subjugation and notion of being colonized. There is a constant fear in the minds of the people that their identity is being eroded due to the submergence into the vast ocean of Indian humanity.9 The people of the region started alienating themselves and the feeling of self-determination started to germinate. With the aim of preserving their own identity various ethnic groups inhabiting in the region, undisturbed for centuries, began to differentiate among each other severing the local ties and affinities and started to struggle with arms.10 Thus, insurgency has mushroomed in the region and the secessionist movements, either for sovereignty or for separate homeland, began to lock horns leading to a vertical division among various ethnic groups. Therefore, prior to any policy pro gramme to resolve the problem of insurgency in the region, the political processes that has been framed and pursued to convert a breeding ground of insurgencies must be reversed first. Simultaneously, the attitude and security obsess mindsets of the central government should also change and embrace the region with open arms so as to restore the lost confidence of the common people. Insurgency is the major problem inflicting the region. With the passage of time it has increasingly become more complex and difficult to understand as their objectives, role and activities varied widely.11 In the name of nationalist movement they were involved and interfered in every state’s affairs including household chores, like a moral police, of their people. Each insurgent group runs parallel government. In a way, apart from Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, all the remaining states have multiple governments. The problem of insurgency has become the stumbling block in the course of development. It foundered every development strategy and hampered all the developmental works. Kidnapping, extortion, killing, bandh, strikes and curfews have become the order of the day. At the same time, the numbers and activities of the plain criminals masquerading as insurgents have also increased alarmingly. Today, the region has become the killing field and specialized in the export to death bodies, if not the manufacturing products. In short, the region has reached the pinnacle of the industrialization of insurgency and criminalization process. It would not be easy to find the solution. However, keeping in mind the rising global terrorism, it would be wise to work on a holistic approach for amicable solution sooner than the later. At the same time, what every insurgent group, operating in the region, should realize is that the formation of separate homeland or attainment of more autonomy or sovereignty is not the solution because within itself formation of new group with new demand can not be ruled out. b.Infrastructure The rich natural and human resources available in the region could not be utilized to the full extent mainly due to the geo-political condition, including ever-deteriorating law and order, which has a lot of implication on the development of must needed infrastructure. The negligence of the central government in the past and due to the problems of insurgency at present resulted into the gross deficiency of infrastructure in the region. This has crippled the free flow of factors as well as products. In such a situation, it would be hard for the region to accrue the benefits of globalization. It is also not surprising to find the lack of FDI inflow in the region. During January 2000 to Mach 2006 the region received only 9 million US dollar i.e. 0.04 per cent of the total FDI inflow in the country. The lack of infrastructure, as revealed by the infrastructure index given in Table 2, has not only spoiled the prospect of economic development but has also created a horizontal division amon g various ethnic groups affecting the fabrics of social harmony in the region. All the â€Å"constituent states of the region are internally locked–themselves locked and locking out others, unable to connect with each other physically in terms of poor transport links, and more seriously, unable to make connections intellectually and emotionally with their closest neighbours, or even with and among their own people.†12 It has displaced the common understanding and linkages for peaceful coexistence and regional cooperation. In order to reconnect the lost connectivity, trade and commerce and more importantly to foster emotional attachment among various ethnic groups inhabiting in the region infrastructures like roads, transports, communications electricity, banking etc. must be developed adequately. Such exercise would not only enlarge the base for the growth of the economy in the region but also enhance the regional cooperation-an engine of growth in this era of globalization. Underdevelopment breeds insurgency and insurgency retards development. Th is two are mutually reinforcing. This is a classic case of vicious cycle of underdevelopment-insurgency-underdevelopment. Therefore, any policy programmes either to resolve the problems of insurgency or development of much needed infrastructure should go concurrently and not sequentially as it hampered the progress of one another. Further, as it has been asserted in the Planning Commission report on Transforming the North East, the approach of the central government should change from â€Å"planning for the North East to planning with the North East†.13 This implies that, under the prevailing circumstances mere allocation of funds or implementation of new policy would not suffice to tackle the problems in the region. Considering the emotional sentiments of the inhabitants and sensitivity of the issues, the region must be handled with care. Every developmental programme for the region should have the consent of the inhabitants and needs to be executed with sincerity without delay. c.Governance â€Å"The state is responsible for the creation of conducive political, legal and economic environment for building individual capabilities and encouraging private initiatives.†14 It would, however, depend on the quality of the governance–mechanism, processes, systems, structures and institutions that guide the social, economic and political relationship. Good governance exercises its legitimate political power in a manner that is perceived as equitable, non-discriminatory, socially sensitive, participatory, transparent and accountable to the people at large. This includes not only the process of transformation of human and natural endowments to a socially desired ends but also reveals the long term vision and commitment of the state to secure human well being and sustained development of the people.15 The state of governance in the region is in pathetic condition. Government machinery is on the brink of collapse. Corruption, squandering of public funds, deteriorating law and order, lack of transparency and accountability, bureaucratic rigmarole, insensitivity and so forth are quite rampant in the region. There is widespread allegation of insurgency-government officials-bureaucrats-politician nexus, including law enforcing agencies, and siphon off public funds. All this has eroded the individual capabilities and institutional capacities to meet the social objectives. Until and unless the quality of governance has been improved, no matter how much is the fund earmarked for whatever the policy programme initiated would not be successful and only the common people have to bear the brunt. Taking into consideration of the paradigm shift in the development strategy and the amount of funds allocated16 in recent time, we may no longer be able to blame the central government in the near future. The present state of affairs in the region is past deed of the central government and what the future generation will face would be decided by what our government has done today. IV.Opportunities The economy of the region has been disrupteded by the forces discussed in the preceding section in spite of her rich natural resources. Besides the natural resources, many new opportunities have also emerged with the changing contour of world economy that can boost the economy of the region. But, the need of the hour is to focus on those areas which would lead to growth of the economy, develop the sense of participation and can extinguish the social and political chasm. The two main areas that can boost the economy are as follows: a.Tourism Tourism is one sector where the region has comparative advantage. This industry is highly competitive where the tourists have a wide range of choices and look for good value of their money. With bountiful nature’s breathtaking scenic beauty, salubrious climatic conditions, extraordinarily diverse rich art and cultural heritage of the people, this region can become a hotspot for eco and adventure tourism. Tourism industry involves a vast network of business activities relating to attracting, receiving, accommodating, managing and servicing of tourists. These include hotels, restaurants, transport agency and several other related activities. The development of this industry would promote national integration and international understanding, generate employment and revenue and provide prospective buyers for local manufactured products especially handloom and handicraft products–a dyeing industry due to lack of access to market. Tourism can generate more employment per million of rupees spent than any other activities. It can generate jobs in the remotest corners for unskilled to highly specialized skilled workers which would help in the realization of plan objectives. It would also enlarge the base of locally manufactured products. All this, however, would be possible only when there is well-developed infrastructure like transport and communication and sense of participation of the people of the region. b.Border trade The lack of connectivity and access to market, the main causes for under utilization of resources and weak resource-industry linkages, have set the economy of the region by half a century behind. The region has lost the markets in her neighbourhood, particularly in Bangladesh, due to partition, insurgency and diplomatic strains and tensions. Due to the peripheral location and stiff competition from mainland industries having better access to critical inputs like finance, technology and management, the base of traditional manufacturing in the region has been eroded leading to deindustrialization. While resource base can support a variety of industries at all scales, the existing industrial structure, dominated by small-scale demand based industries has not been developed proportionately. This has widened the gap between resource base and industrial structure in the region. Further, due to the restriction of free movement of men and material across the border, the notion of isolation h as developed in the minds of the people. It is in this context, there is a strong argument to develop border trade. In this increasingly borderless world, establishment of border trade would not only provide an opportunity to revive the local manufactured units but also serve as a transit corridor for the mainland big industrial units to explore the vast Asian market. This would also bring the centrality and visibility of the otherwise peripheral north eastern region.17 It is with this vision that ‘look east policy’ was initiated in 1991. Unfortunately, as old habits die hard; the central government still continues to live in the shadow of security obsessed mindset and prefers inward looking approach. As a result, even after fifteen years of implementation of border trade agreement, it has failed to invigorate the region’s trade with their neibhouring countries. As a result, India’s look east policy has, by and large, bypassed the region. The percentage of trade with neighbouring countries have zoom up to 8 per cent of the country’s total volume of trade in 2003-04 from a mere 1.7 per cent in 1987-88. However, over two-third of the total volume of trade with these countries flow via Bay of Bengal while the land borders of the region have been left for transit corridors for illegal trade . The tepidity of the central government in implementation of the policy has only led to rise in the porosity of these borderlands. An impressionistic assessment reveals that there is a rise in negative activities like cross-border insurgency, gunrunning, smuggling drugs, narcotics and AIDS, money laundering, trafficking women, illegal immigration etc. which further add to the existing multifarious problems in the region. Conclusion Globalization has become the most potent force emerged in recent time. It virtually affects every walk of lifepositive or negative. Unlike other regions of the Indian union, North East India is more likely to swamp by its negative effects. The region is at the throes of discernible crisis. Since 1991, there has been increase in inequality and unemployment, decline in the quality of the governance, rise in smuggling, trafficking, illegal immigration, corruption, squandering of public funds, escalation in insurgency related activities, etc. These have led to underdevelopment and erosion of the capacity of the individual and quality of life. A sense of deprivation has developed particularly among the educated youths of the region. The clock is ticking fast and fuse is not long. It is time to work on a holistic approach to resolve problems in the region. Notes 1. Chanda, Nayan, 2003, â€Å"What is Globalization? Coming Together: Globalization Means Reconnecting the Human Community†, YaleGlobal Online, http://www.globalenvision.org/library/8/567. 2. Recently it has been argued that the turning point of higher growth rate in India was 1980 but not 1991 as perceived by many. For more details see Nayyar, Deepak. 2006. â€Å"Economic Growth in Independence India: Lumbering Elephant or Running Tiger?†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 41, no. 15, pp. 1451-1458. 3. Some authors even argued that coastal states with open port facility have outperformed non-coastal states in the post globalization era. For more detail see Kishore, Adharsh. 2002. Towards an Indian Approach to Globalization, http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Conferences/2002/kishore.pdf. 4. Sen, Amartya, 2005, â€Å"The Three R’s of Reforms†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 40, no. 19, p. 1. 5. ibid., p. 1. 6. Sikkim becomes the member of North East Council on December 2002 after an amendment of the NEC Act 1971. Since then all development purposes of the state has been treated at per with the other seven states of the region. However, the addition of Sikkim in the North Eastern Region is yet to be reflected in the literature of NER. 7. The Report of the Special Group on Targeting Ten Million Employment Opportunities per Year over the Tenth Plan Period has viewed that Current Daily Status (CDS) is the better measure to capture unemployment than Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status (UPSS). 8. The National Human Development Report 2001 provides the estimate of Gini Coefficient for rural and urban area only. It does not provide the combine estimate of the two. 11. For more detail analysis see Roy, Sanjay K. 2005. â€Å"Conflicting Nations in North-East India†, Economic and Political weekly, vol. 40, no. 21, pp. 2176-2182. 12. Prabhakra, M. S. 2004. â€Å"Is North-East India Landlocked?†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 39, no. 42, p. 4608. 13. GOI. 1997. Transforming the North East: Tackling Backlogs in Basic Minimum Services and Infrastructure Needs, High Level Commission Report to the Prime Minister, Planning Commission, http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/ne_exe.pdf, p. 2. 14. GOI. 2001. National Human Development Report, Planning Commission, http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/nhdrep/nhdreportf.htm, p. 114. 15. ibid, p. 114. 16. Apart from all the constituent states being classified as Special Category States, establishment of NEC and induction of DoNER speaks the volume of fund allocated to this region. 17. Verghese, B. G., op. cit. Reference Ahluwalia, Montek S. (2000): â€Å"Economic Performance of States in Post-Reforms Period†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 35, no. 19, pp. 1637-1648. Bajpai, M. (2002): â€Å"A Decade of Economic Reforms in India: The Unfinished Agenda†, Working Paper no. 89, Center for International Development, Harvard University, http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/CID/cidwp/089.pdf. Barbora, Sanjay (2006): â€Å"Rethinking India’s Counter-insurgency Campaign in North-East†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 41, no. 35, pp. 3805-3812. Baruah, Sanjib: â€Å"The Problem†, http://www.manipuronline.com/North-East/November2005/theproblem23_2.htm. Bhattacharya, B. B. S. Sakthivel (2004): â€Å"Regional Growth and Disparity in India: A Comparison of Pre and Post-Reform Decades†, http://iegindia.org/worksakthi244.pdf. Chanda, Nayan (2003): â€Å"What is Globalization? Coming Together: Globalization means reconnecting the human community†, http://www.globalenvision.org/library/8/567. Ghosh, Madhusudan (2006): â€Å"Economic Growth and Human Development in Indian States†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 41, no. 30, pp. 3321-3329. GOI (1997): â€Å"Transforming the North East: Tackling Backlogs in Basic Minimum Services and Infrastructure Needs†, High Level Commission Report to the Prime Minister, Planning Commission, http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/ne_exe.pdf. GOI (2001): â€Å"National Human Development Report†, Planning Commission, New Delhi, http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/nhdrep/nhdreportf.htm GOI (2002): â€Å"Report of the Committee on India Vision 2020†, Planning Commission, New Delhi, http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/pl_vsn2020.pdf. GOI (2004): â€Å"Report of the Twelfth Finance Commission (2005-10)†, Ministry of Finance, http://finance.rajasthan.gov.in/doc/12fcreng.pdf. Grare, Frederic Amitabh Mattoo (2003): Beyond the Rhetoric: The Economics of India’s Look East Policy, Manohar Publishers Distributors, New Delhi. Gupta, K. R. (2005): â€Å"Liberalization and Globalization of Indian Economy†, Gupta, K. R. (ed.) Liberalization and Globalization of Indian Economy, vol. VI, pp. 304-315, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi. Humanshu (2007): â€Å"Recent Trends in Poverty and Inequality: Some Preliminary Results†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 497-508. Khanna, Sushil (2005): â€Å"Economic Opportunities or Continuing Stagnation†, http://www.manipuronline.com/Economy/November2005/stagnationoropportuny18_1.htm. Kishore, Adharsh (2002): Towards an Indian Approach to Globalization, http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Conferences/2002/kishore.pdf. Kurian, N. J. (2000): â€Å"Widening Regional Disparities in India: Some Indicators†, Economic and Political weekly, vol. 35. No. 7, pp. 538-550. Nayyar, Deepak (2006): â€Å"Economic Growth in Independent India. Lumbering Elephant or Running Tiger?†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 41, no. 15, pp.1451-1458. NSSO (1997): Employment and Unemployment in India, 1993-94, 50th Round, Report No. 409. NSSO (2006): Employment and Unemployment Situation in India, 2004-05, 61st Round, Report No. 515. Prabhakra, M. S. (2004): â€Å"Is North-East India Landlocked†, Economic and Political Weekly, vo. 39, no. 42, pp.4606-4608. Ramachandran, H.: â€Å"Governance and People’s Participation†, 15 Background Paper: Vision 2020, http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/genrep/reportsf.htm. Roy, Sanjay K. (2005): â€Å"Conflicting Nations in North-East India†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 40, no. 21, pp. 2176-2182. Sen, Amartya (2005): â€Å"The Three R’s of Reforms†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 40, no. 19, pp. 1971-1974. Sinha, A. K. (2005): â€Å"India: Steps Towards Liberalization and Globalization†, Gupta, K. R. (ed.) Liberalization and Globalization of Indian Economy, vol. VI, pp. 315-330, Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi. Sinha, Aseema: â€Å"Globalization, Rising Inequality, and New Insecurities in India†, http://209.235.207.197/imgtest/TaskForceDiffIneqDevSinha.pdf Upadhyay, Archana (2006): â€Å"Terrorism in the North-East: Linkages and Implications†, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 41, no. 48, pp. 4993-4999. Verghese, B. G.: â€Å"Unfinished Business in the North East: Pointers Towards Restructuring, Reform, Reconciliation and Resurgence†, Seventh Kamal Kumari Memorial Lecture, http://www.freeindiamidia.com/economy/19_june_economy.htm.

martin luther king :: essays research papers

History is indeed made up of significant events which shape our future and outstanding leaders who influence our destiny. Martin Luther King's contributions to our history place him in this inimitable position. In his short life, Martin Luther King was instrumental in helping us realize and rectify those unspeakable flaws which were tarnishing the name of America. The events which took place in and around his life were earth shattering, for they represented an America which was hostile and quite different from America as we see it today. Martin Luther King, Jr. catapulted to fame when he came to the assistance of Rosa Parks, the Montgomery, Alabama Black seamstress who refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus to a White passenger. In those days American Blacks were confined to positions of second class citizenship by restrictive laws and customs. To break these laws would mean subjugation and humiliation by the police and the legal system. Beatings, imprisonment and sometimes death were waiting for those who defied the System. Black Americans needed a Martin Luther King, but above all America needed him. The significant qualities of this special man cannot be underestimated nor taken for granted. Within a span of 13 years from 1955 to his death in 1968 he was able to expound, expose, and extricate America from many wrongs. His tactics of protest involved non-violent passive resistance to racial injustice. It was the right prescription for our country, and it was right on time. Hope in America was waning on the part of many Black Americans, but Martin Luther King, Jr. provided a candle along with a light. He also provided this nation with a road map so that all people could locate and share together in the abundance of this great democracy. We honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. because he showed us the way to mend those broken fences and to move on in building this land rather than destroying it. He led campaign after campaign in the streets of America and on to the governor's mansion - even to the White House - in an effort to secure change.

Describe the Potential Effects of Discrimination

Applied Business Unit 8: Business Planning Task 6 Worksheet Task Six: Financial Planning YOU CANNOT START AND/OR COMPLETE THIS WITHOUT A FINAL SALES FORECAST AND A LIST OF ALL YOUR OPERATIONAL COSTS ————————————————- Lesson breakdown ————————————————- Lesson 1: †¢Introduction to Financial Planning and how do we create an integrated plan: Focus on cash flow forecast using operations plan ————————————————-Lesson 2+3: Cash flow analysis and develop aims and objectives; ————————————————- Introduce ‘ILP-time-off’ work to do  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Lesson 4: Cash flow revisions, Problem spotting based on cash flow and develop aims and objectives ————————————————- Lesson 5: Profit and loss account and Financial Ratio Analysis and developing aims and objectives ————————————————- Lesson 6: Break Even analysis and then develop aims and objectives ————————————————-Lesson 7: Final Amendments to Financial Planning; Problem spotting based on P&L, ratio analysis, break-even and develop plan Task 6 Brief Overview * In this section, you are going to produce financial documents for yo ur business proposal. You will need to use the sales forecasts and operations plan that you produced earlier. This section is important as you are attracting investment and assessing the viability of your plan * Calculate, analyse and evaluate the following; Use these subheadings in your report * Size and duration of budget * Start-up costs Running costs * Cash flow forecast * Break even analysis * Financial ratios * Profit and loss * Analyse all your financial documents showing detailed consideration for the Aims and Objectives: * Are they achieved? * If not what are the possible problems this can cause your business? * Can you think of any solutions to help you to overcome these problems so that you could achieve your aims? SUBMISSION OF TASK 6 The following is to be submitted as a Word document Use the following headings for your submission of your Financial Plan 1st submission.Copy and paste these into your final document: Submit all work on moodle for deadline 3rd December 2010 (4:15PM) 1. Financial Planning (main heading) 2. Cash Flow Forecasting Table (MB4 students need to submit 2 (+? )CFF Tables) a. Cash Flow Forecasting analysis (of each CFF produced) 3. Profit and Loss statement and Financial Ratios Table (MB4 students need to submit 2 (+? )P&L and F/R Tables) b. Profit and Loss statement and Financial Ratios analysis (of each P&L and F/R produced) 4. Breakeven Table (MB4 students need to submit 2 (+? )Breakeven Tables) . Breakeven analysis (of each Breakeven produced) TASK 6 FINANCIAL PLANNING CONTENT/ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST CRITERIA CASH FLOW FORECASTING| 1. Start-up budget: | a) 12 monthly graph (Cut and paste information from your cash flow forecast for your first graph)| b) Analysis needs to consider:| I. You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could achieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | II. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| III. Research used to underpin an d develop business idea| IV.Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| V. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | 2. Running costs: | a) 12 monthly graph (Cut and paste information from your cash flow forecast for your first graph)| b) Analysis needs to consider:| I. You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could achieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | II. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| III.Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IV. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| V. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | 3. 12 monthly Cash Forecast: 1 : Your initial forecast used to help identify problems| a) Analysis needs to consider:| I. You must have an in-depth explanati on of how these could achieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | II. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| III.Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IV. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| V. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | 4. MB4 12 Monthly Cash Forecast: 2: A working example of your solutions to your identified problems in CFF1| a) Analysis needs to consider:| I. You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could achieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | II.Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| III. Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IV. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| V. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to co nsider in light of this new data? | PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT| 5. Profit and Loss Account 1 : Your initial forecast used to help identify problems| a) Analysis needs to consider:| I. You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could achieve the ims and objectives of your business proposal. | II. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| III. Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IV. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| V. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | 6. MB4 Profit and Loss Account 2: A worked example of your solutions to your identified problems in P&L1| b) Analysis needs to consider:| VI.You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could achieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | VII. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| VII I. Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IX. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| X. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | FINANCIAL RATIOS| 7. Financial Ratios: Gross and Net Profit for P&L account 1| a) Analysis needs to consider:|I. You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could achieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | II. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| III. Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IV. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| V. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | 8. MB4 Financial Ratios: Gross and Net Profit for P&L account 2| a) Analysis needs to consider:| I.You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could a chieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | II. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| III. Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IV. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| V. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | BREAKEVEN| 9. Breakeven table and calculation:1 : Your initial forecast used to help identify problems| a) Analysis needs to consider:| I.You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could achieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | II. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| III. Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IV. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| V. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | 10. MB4 Breakeven table and calculation:2: A working example of your solutions to your identified problems| b) Analysis needs to consider:|VI. You must have an in-depth explanation of how these could achieve the aims and objectives of your business proposal. | VII. Research used to underpin and develop aims and objectives/ownership/key personnel| VIII. Research used to underpin and develop business idea| IX. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also your aims and objectives:| X. What changes to your original idea/USP/aims do you have to consider in light of this new data? | TASK 6 ASSESSMENT GUIDE: HOW TO ACHIEVE THE BEST RESULTS? * You are assessed in Task 6 for BOTH AO2 and AO3 marks AO2 is marked out of 22 marks and all learners should be aiming for a minimum of MB4 which is 17/22 marks * AO3 is marked out of 14 and at this stage all learners should be aiming for a minimum of MB4 which is 11-14 marks. * We will award high marks for those learne rs who can: * Purposefully select data from a wide range of sources, * Analyse the problem and possible solutions * Develop their plan based upon research. * Give an in-depth explanation of how the marketing plan could achieve the aims and objectives of the business proposal. AO2 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES MB1| MB2| MB3| MB4| 2 3 4 5| 6 7 8 9 10| 11 12 13 14 15 16| 17 18 19 20 21 22| A business plan which includes aspects of the marketing plan. A description of how this supports the aims and objectives of the business proposal. | A business plan which contains the marketingPlan. A basic explanation of how this contributes to achieving the aims and objectives of the business proposal. | A business plan which contains a developed marketing plan. An explanation of how this could achieve the aims and objectives of the business proposal. | A business plan which contains comprehensive marketing plan.An in-depth explanation of how this could achieve the aims and objectives of the business propo sal. | * Aspects of the components are produced * Superficial coverage of aims and objective| * The components are complete * Aims and objectives are broadly considered| * The components are complete and developed * Beginning to target particular aims and objectives, but lacks precision| * The components are complete, developed and address the key parts of the problem * Targeting particular aims and objectives with precision| AO3 ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES MB1| MB2| MB3| MB4| 2 3| 4 5 6| 7 8 9 10| 11 12 13 14| Collects some up-to-date data from a limited range of sources. Uses numerical and/or non-numerical techniqueson the collected data to provide a partial analysisof the requirements of:†¢ the marketing plan†¢ the operations plan†¢ the financial plan. Uses the results of the analysis to identify some relevant elements of the business plan. | Selects some up-to-date data from a limited range of sources. Uses numerical and/or non-numerical techniques on selected data to p rovide a partial analysis of therequirements of:†¢ the marketing plan†¢ the operations plan†¢ the financial plan.Uses the results of the analysis to outline a relevant business plan. | Selects relevant and up-to-date data from a range of sources. Uses appropriate numerical and/or non-numericaltechniques on selected data to provide a partial analysisof the requirements of:†¢ the marketing plan†¢ the operations plan†¢ the financial plan. Uses the results of the analysis to develop a relevant business plan, which considers the aims and objectives, form of ownership and key personnel required. Selects relevant and up-to-date data from a wide range of sources. Uses appropriate numerical and/or non-numericaltechniques on selected data to analyse the requirementsof:†¢ the marketing plan†¢ the operations plan†¢ the financial plan. Uses the results of the analysis to develop a consistentand integrated business plan, showing detailedconsideration o f the aims and objectives, form of ownership and key personnel required. | MB1| MB2| MB3| MB4| 1 2 3| 4 5 6| 7 8 9 10| 11 12 13 14|Collects data from a limited range of sourcesProcesses dataIdentifies some elements of the plans components| Selects data from a limited range of sourcesProcesses selected dataOutlines components of the plan| Purposefully selects dataAnalyses key parts of the problem or practical solutionsDevelops components of the plan| Purposeful selects data from a wide range of sourcesAnalyses key parts of the problem AND practical solutionsDevelops integrated components of the plan| Follow the below detailed overview of each task for advice and help on how to achieve MB4 for Task 6Task 6 MB4 Detailed Overview CASH FLOW FORECAST, ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT Lesson 1: Task 1 1. Download cash flow forecast from moodle 2. Complete pre start up budget (SEE CASE STUDY!! ) 3. Complete pre start-up costs calculated from T5 4. Insert monthly sales figures from final sales forec ast 5. Insert monthly fixed costs calculated from T5 6. Insert monthly variable costs from T5 Lesson 2+3: Task 2 Analysis * All marks gained with this task is from your analysis of your financial data; not from your reports themselves. ————————————————-Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also how your aims and objectives can/can’t be achieved Learners can achieve MB4 in A02/A03 by following the Financial Planning Assessment Objectives which requires them to identify problem areas and developing practical solutions to consider alternative perspectives. What you will need to include will depend on your individual business proposal. You need to identify areas of weakness such as high fixed costs, start up costs? * Perhaps you need a cash injection by selling equity to help you pay for start up costs? It could be you source alternative suppli ers for your variable costs or project that you will pay 30 days later which is to improve your working capital. * What is happening to the figures in the net cash flow cells, are you losing money each week? * This is a cash flow negative situation. * Or are you cash flow positive? * How long before you are cash flow positive? * Why is this so long? Lesson 3+4: Task 3 MB4- Revised cash flow forecast * MB4- You need to produce a refined Cash Flow forecast based upon the analysis of the key issues identified in T6 task 2. This is to include the developments you have made. Label this Cash Flow Forecast 2. * You need to analyse CFF2: * Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also if your aims and objectives can be met- How/Why? PROFIT AND LOSS and FINANCIAL RATIOS Lesson 4: Task 1 1. Download Profit and loss template from moodle 2. Insert sales for year 1 from your final sales forecast 3. What is the total cost of these sales? How much were the total variable cos ts related to the output. These are costs such as ingredients, packaging or price of the club. Put this figure in Direct costs/cost of materials sold 4.Calculate A-B to = C which is the identification of Gross Profit 5. Insert all other costs for the year in the respective headings, adding headings where needed. 6. Add up all your total overheads and insert this figure in D 7. Calculate C-D to identify Net Profit or Loss Figure 8. Calculate your Gross Profit MB4- Task 1 b Revised PROFIT AND LOSS and FINANCIAL RATIOS You must now repeat this action again for the second cash flow forecast figures * You need to analyse P&L2 AND F/R2: * Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also if your aims and objectives can be met- How/Why?Task 2= Financial Ratios Overview Profitability ratios are a key source of information for both investors and business planners. They provide a clear image of the business both in terms of your costs and profit. A strong ratio can be t he difference between investment and failure. Task A 1. Use the figures in your first profit and loss account to calculate Gross Profit Ratio. ————————————————- Gross Profit margin: ————————————————- A measurement of how much profit the business has made on its buying and selling activities. ———————————————— How good a business is at trading. ————————————————- Gross Profit margin= Gross Profit/turnover (Sales Revenue) X 100 (%) ——————————————†”—- The higher the % the better, e. g. ————————————————- A GPM of 45% means that for every ? 1 of sales, the firm makes 45p in gross profit 2. Use the figures in your first profit and loss account to calculate Net Profit Ratio. ————————————————- Net Profit margin: ———————————————— It is a measure of how much overall profit the business has made after taking into account all relevant costs that have been incurred. ————————————————- Net profit margin= net profit/turnover (sales revenue) X 100 —————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- The higher the % the better, e. g. ————————————————- A NPM of 45% means that for every ? 1 of sales, the firm makes 45p in pure profit Task B MB4 Complete for 2nd profit and loss account if constructed CFF2 Task 3= Analysis You must now undertake a critical analysis of each profit and loss account with clear reference and commentary related to the key issues such as profit or loss, gross profit, overhead costs, GPM, NPM etc * Clearly relate back to the businesses achievement of its aims and objectives (explain HOW AND WHY THEY ARE ACHIEVED), developing or revising your aims where necessary in your business plan. * Make clear reference to the FIGURES from your profit or loss, gross profit, overhead costs etc * You must undertake a critical analysis of each financial ratio * Identify and pr oblems and/or solutions: Are you profitable? If so†¦ by how much? * Can you grow? * Which costs are too high? * How can you improve your profitability? * What are the possible knock-on effects of these solutions for your business> * Which costs could be reduced? If so what would the possible impact of this be on your business idea? * Which costs cannot be reduced further? Why? What problems does this bring up? * How does a cash injection help or hinder the financial ratios/P&L? BREAK EVEN Task 1 1. Download the Breakeven table from Moodle 2.Input into the table your Annual Revenue (TR), annual FC and VC (with total FC and VC), and total costs. 3. You must then divide the total variable costs by the number of units you are selling in a year ( units can be the bottles/ no of clubbers you expect/ etc in a year) 4. This will give you the variable cost /unit 5. You must now calculate the break even OUTPUT point using the formula: 6. MB4 Calculate Break Even 2 from your revise d financial documents 7. All marks gained with this task is from your analysis of your financial data; not from your reports themselves. Identify problems and solutions with your plan (develop it) and also if your aims and objectives can/cant be achieved * Do you break even? * If so at what output? * Work out from your sales forecast when you will reach this breakeven output level * What aims can be achieved? How? Why? * If you don’t breakeven; why not? * You need to identify areas of weakness such as high fixed costs, start up costs, raw materials, low selling price? * What aims cant be achieved? How? Why? * What could you do to solve this breakeven problem? (hint: see changing B/E variables section) 8.MB4 analyse the effect of changing variables (FC, VC and/or Price) on the break even figure. * Calculate the effect of changing variables (FC, VC and/or Price) on the break even figure: * Analyse these break even scenarios and link to your aims and objectives. * What is the ef fect on breakeven level? * What are the potential problems you have identified with your break even? * Are there any solutions you can recommend to the business? * Such as reducing selling price? * Increasing selling price? * Increase advertising to increase sales? Reducing fixed or variable costs further? etc

Evaluate how school policies and procedures may be developed and communicated

In my setting policies and procedures are developed and communicated on an ongoing basis. Various teachers are responsible for individual policies based on their experience, training and knowledge. Each individual policy is available in the school office for reference via hard paper copy or electronically.If an issue arises that needs discussion which is not addressed by the school’s policies, a meeting will be scheduled were all interested parties will attend. At this meeting each attendee contributes ideas and initially a draft policy will hopefully be agreed. This draft policy will then be presented by the head teacher to the board of governors for their approval. If it is approved and falls within the domain of the national curriculum the new policy will have to be trained out to all the relevant staff and perhaps even parents and children.At my setting policies are monitored on an ongoing basis and are updated where necessary. Sometimes the local education authority may r equire a new policy to be introduced to the school. Again all existing staff may require training to ensure the new policy is communicated and implemented satisfactorily which may involve communication with others such as children, parents or other professional bodies. In my setting policies are communicated in a number ways.It can be written, for example classroom rules may be displayed on a poster and hung in a high profile area of the room. It can be verbal, for example the principal may present at the school assembly a topic of concern and what the school policy is for this concern. Letters and e mail, for example these can be posted to parents informing them of any new or change to current policy. This is often used when a written signed confirmation note is required back from the parents.To conclude the best way to inform all of school policy would be a one to one meeting between the head teacher and the relevant people. Unfortunately this would be highly impractical due to th e additional workload required and the time factor involved. Where the head teacher feels it would be of benefit to do a mass presentation to parents this is highly appropriate on a couple of occasions throughout the school year to gain parents attention but is important not to overdo it.

Overview of Sociobiology Theory

Overview of Sociobiology Theory While the term sociobiology can be traced to the 1940s, the concept of sociobiology first gained major recognition with Edward O. Wilson’s 1975 publication Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. In it, he introduced the concept of sociobiology as the application of evolutionary theory to social behavior. Overview Sociobiology is based on the premise that some behaviors are at least partly inherited and can be affected by natural selection. It begins with the idea that behaviors have evolved over time, similar to the way that physical traits are thought to have evolved. Animals will, therefore, act in ways that have proven to be evolutionarily successful over time, which can result in the formation of complex social processes, among other things.​ According to sociobiologists, many social behaviors have been shaped by natural selection. Sociobiology investigates social behaviors such as mating patterns, territorial fights, and pack hunting. It argues that just as selection pressure led to animals evolving useful ways of interacting with the natural environment, it also led to the genetic evolution of advantageous social behavior. Behavior is therefore seen as an effort to preserve one’s genes in the population and certain genes or gene combinations are thought to influence particular behavioral traits from generation to generation. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection explains that traits less adapted to particular conditions of life will not endure in a population because organisms with those traits tend to have lower rates of survival and reproduction. Sociobiologists model the evolution of human behaviors in much the same way, using various behaviors as the relevant traits. In addition, they add several other theoretical components to their theory. Sociobiologists believe that evolution includes not just genes, but also psychological, social, and cultural features. When humans reproduce, offspring inherit the genes of their parents, and when parents and children share genetic, developmental, physical, and social environments, the children inherit the gene-effects of their parents. Sociobiologists also believe that the different rates of reproductive success are related to different levels of wealth, social status, and power within that culture. Example of Sociobiology in Practice One example of how sociobiologists use their theory in practice is through the study of sex-role stereotypes. Traditional social science assumes that humans are born with no innate predispositions or mental contents and that sex differences in children’s behavior is explained by the differential treatment of parents who hold sex-role stereotypes. For example, giving girls baby dolls to play with while giving boys toy trucks, or dressing little girls in only pink and purple while dressing boys in blue and red. Sociobiologists, however, argue that babies do have innate behavioral differences, which trigger the reaction by parents to treat boys one way and girls another way. Further, females with low status and less access to resources tend to have more female offspring while females with high status and more access to resources tend to have more male offspring. This is because a woman’s physiology adjusts to her social status in a way that affects both the sex of her child and her parenting style. That is, socially dominant women tend to have higher testosterone levels than others and their chemistry makes them more active, assertive, and independent than other women. This makes them more likely to have male children and also to have a more assertive, dominant parenting style. Critiques of Sociobiology Like any theory, sociobiology has its critics. One critique of the theory is that it is inadequate to account for human behavior because it ignores the contributions of the mind and culture. The second critique of sociobiology is that it relies on genetic determinism, which implies approval of the status quo. For example, if male aggression is genetically fixed and reproductively advantageous, critics argue, then male aggression seems to be a biologic reality in which we have little control.

University of Akron Admissions and Acceptance Rate

University of Akron Admissions and Acceptance Rate The University of Akrons acceptance rate is high- 93 percent of applicants were accepted in 2017. The school requires test scores as part of the application; both the SAT and ACT are accepted, although the majority of applicants submit ACT scores. The writing portions of these tests are recommended but not required. The application form from the university does not require a formal essay. You can calculate your chances of getting in with this free tool from Cappex. Admissions Data (2017) University of Akron Acceptance Rate: 93 percentGPA, SAT and ACT Graph for UA AdmissionsTest Scores: 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 510 / 640SAT Math: 480 / 640What these SAT numbers meanState of Ohio SAT comparison chartMid-American SAT comparisonACT Composite: 19 / 26ACT English: 17 / 25ACT Math: 18 / 26What these ACT numbers meanState of Ohio ACT comparison chartMid-American ACT comparison University of Akron Description The University of Akrons main campus occupies 222 acres in metropolitan Akron, Ohio. Originally affiliated with the Universalist church, the school is now non-denominational. The school also has two regional campuses- Wayne College and Medina County University Center. Academics at the main campus are supported by a respectable 18 to 1 student / faculty ratio. Popular majors for undergraduates include Accounting, Education, Marketing, and Nursing. The colleges strengths in engineering and business have been recognized in several national rankings. The university completed $300 million of construction in 2004 to expand and upgrade campus facilities. High achieving students should check out the universitys Honors College. In athletics, the Akron Zips (Whats a Zip?) compete in the NCAA Division I  Mid-American Conference. Popular sports include Football, Soccer, and Track and Field.   Enrollment (2017) Total Enrollment: 20,169  (16,872  undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 53  percent male / 47 percent female80 percent full-time Costs (2017-18) Tuition and Fees: $10,270  (in-state); $18,801  (out-of-state)Books: $1,000 (why so much?)Room and Board: $12,296Other Expenses: $2,520Total Cost: $26,086 (in-state); $34,617 (out-of-state) University of Akron Financial Aid (2016 -17) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 93  percentPercentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 85  percentLoans: 62 percentAverage Amount of AidGrants: $7,816Loans: $7,205 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors:  Accounting, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Marketing, Mechanical Engineering, Nursing, Organizational Communication, Psychology, Social WorkWhat major is right for you?  Sign up to take the free My Careers and Majors Quiz at Cappex. Graduation, Retention and Transfer Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 73 percentTransfer Out Rate: 36 percent4-Year Graduation Rate: 17  percent6-Year Graduation Rate: 43  percent Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports:  Track and Field, Football, Soccer, Cross Country, Baseball, Basketball, GolfWomens Sports:  Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball, Cross Country, Basketball, Track and Field, Golf, Softball, Soccer Data Sources: National Center for Education Statistics and the University of Akron website

The Use and Impact of Total Quality Management in the UK Business Literature review

The Use and Impact of Total Quality Management in the UK Business Sector - Literature review Example Introduction Over the last few decades in the U.K, quality management models have been used to improve on the performance of the firms. It is thus applied by these firms in realization of excellent results. The literature review here has discussed whether the quality management fosters change and flexibility of firms in trying to realize their set goals or whether on contrary it hinders the firm’s interest in their new developments. Consequently, quality management has evolved considerably hence it is very much vital to try to determine whether these practices have provided effective means in order to respond to the flexibility necessary in the new competitive conditions (Hariharan 2004). Research design A list of techniques was generated from various sources, which included textbook, scholarly works. The initial list included 13 techniques. These are the techniques applied. Balanced score card, cooperate social responsibility, customer surveys, improvement teams, mission and vision statements, employee suggestion scheme, lean, knowledge management, QMS, Six sigma, supplier evaluation, SWOT analysis, and 5S (Hariharan 2004). Questionnaire and Questionnaire administration The questionnaire included the following questions on how quality management has been used in the following principles in the company. 1) Employee involvement 2) Company culture 3) Executive management 4) Company decision-making and continuous improvement. (Fahey 1997). First of all, a covering e-mail and survey was sent to the sample of 10 managers of the registered telecom companies in U.K. 5 days after the mail had been sent, a reminder postal card was also sent to non-responders. A total of 10 requests where made whereby seven of the interview requests were accepted. As a result, the whole interview yielded a total of 17 usable responses, which included seven from the structured interviews hence it yielded response rate of 17.8% and 9 from e-mail responses yielding a response rate of 30%. So, the overall response rate was 24.3%. (Fahey 1997). Non-response bias In trying to assess the non-response bias in the mail survey, the statistical significance different tests now between the earlier responses and the later response is used. So, using this method, first five responders and the last five responders were then compared. The test of the 20 randomly selected survey items then found there was no any statistical significant difference. This brought us to our conclusion that non-response may not be a major problem in our study. (Fahey 1997). Literature review According to Jackson (2002), total quality management is one of the management approaches applied by firms in seeking to establish zero defects when running your business. It comprises of team leadership, worker empowerment, and creative problem solving in order to achieve its set goals. These programs are now available in marketing, production, customer support, and finance. A TQM program includes all aspect s of organizations operations, which include, the structure of the company, the culture the company has developed, and its hiring and promotional practices. TQM evolved from the quality assurance methods that were first developed during the First World War. It was as a result of these was which led to large-scale manufacturing efforts that produced poor quality of goods and services in the world. Principles of total quality man

Reflection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Reflection - Assignment Example I remember when I started learning English it was not that easy for me to get hold of it since I came from an Arabic background. However, had my mom not made sure that all the siblings spoke to each other in English, my speech wouldn’t have been the way it is. Hence, the maintenance factor came in which helped me continually polish my language skills. I also agree to Baker when he says one of the reasons for acquiring a second language is to make you culturally aware. I remember when I moved into college it wasn’t really that difficult for me to get along with other students since I had a pretty good understanding of the English culture and the language itself. However, I noticed how people who weren’t really familiar with the English language and culture found it very difficult to get along with the local students. It’s inspiring to see how Baker has put down in words a lot of thing that I have experienced in real life. Being a bilingual and aware of the local language of a country also helps you a lot in getting selected for a job. Baker has correctly mentioned this point in his book by saying that acquiring language helps a lot in career in employment. Not only the employment factor but it also helps a great deal in communicating effectively with foreigners while closing trade deals etc. I can totally connect the dots here to my own experience. I remember how one of my cousins raised in Arabia found it very challenging in finding a proper job in out country. Not that he wasn’t good at academics or anything but most of the potential employers told him the only reason they are hesitant about hiring him is that he isn’t familiar much with the English language and they believe it might some how hinder his performance at work. I believe going through Baker’s â€Å"Second Language Acquisition And Learning† has not only conformed my beliefs as to what I think of being a bilingual but it has further