Entrepreunership of Indra Nooyi Essay

INTRODUCTION Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi(born 28 october 1956) is an Indian-American businesswoman who is currently the Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo which is the world’s second largest food and beverage business in terms of net revenue. She is one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women as ranked by Forbes magazine. In 2014, she was ranked 13 in the list of Forbes World’s 100 most powerful women. Early life and career Nooyi was born to a Tamil Family in Madras (presently Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India. She was educated at Holy Angels Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Madras. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics from Madras Christian College in 1974 and a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (MBA) from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta in 1976. Beginning her career in India, Nooyi held product manager positions at Johnson & Johnson and textile firm MetturBeardsell. She was admitted to Yale School of Management in 1978 and earned a Master’s degree in Public and Private Management. While at Yale, she completed her summer internship with Booz Allen Hamilton. Graduating in 1980, Nooyi joined the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and then held strategy positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri. PepsiCo executive Nooyi joined PepsiCo in 1994 and was named president and CFO in 2001. Nooyi has directed the company’s global strategy for more than a decade and led PepsiCo’s restructuring, including the 1997 divestiture of its restaurants into Tricon, now known as Yum! Brands.Nooyi also took the lead in the acquisition of Tropicana in 1998, and merger with Quaker Oats Company, which also brought Gatorade to PepsiCo. In 2006 she became the fifth CEO in PepsiCo’s 44-year history. According to BusinessWeek, since she started as CFO in 2000, the company’s annual revenues have risen 72%, while net profit more than doubled, to $5.6 billion in 2006. Nooyi was named on Wall Street Journal’s list of 50 women to watch in 2007 and 2008, and was listed among  Time’s 100 Most Influential People in The World in 2007 and 2008. Forbes named her the #3 most powerful woman in 2008. In 2014, she was ranked #13 by Forbes.Fortune ranked her the #1 most powerful woman in busi ness in 2009 and 2010. On the 7th of October 2010 Fortune magazine ranked her the 6th most powerful woman in the world. INDRA NOOYI’S CHARACTERISTICS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR â ¦ HARDWORKING- Nooyi recommends not sitting on your laurels just because you have attained a high rank in the professional sphere. A tireless worker herself, she gets only 5 hours of sleep a night, and continuously educates herself, re-evaluating her decisions and ensuring that she is keeping the best interest of the company and its employees in mind. To her, her employees are like an extended family, and she ensures that their needs and concerns are addressed so as to ensure the overall running efficiency of the company. The formal and impersonal atmosphere at PepsiCo, therefore, is a friendly one where her receptionist is known to have fielded calls from her daughter regarding home work and television privileges. â ¦ PRUDENCE (WISE)- Nooyi said she tries to ascribe positive intent to everything people do or say. â€Å"When you do that it’s so much better to deal with people,† Nooyi said. â€Å"Does that mean I give people more rope than I need to? Yeah, but I’m very comfortable with it.† In this way, she aims to cultivate trusting relationships with both colleagues and direct reports, and to focus on developing executive talent. It’s a style that encourages entrepreneurial thinking across the company, says Reinemund, her predecessor and another influential mentor. â ¦ PLANNING AND ORGANIZING- Nooyi’s strategic measures to tackle the slow-down in the beverages and snack food industry included a productivity improvement program, the benefits of which were expected to the tune of US$ 1.2 billion over the next three years  beginning 2009. Other measures under her leadership included aggressive expansion into the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, China, When Nooyi was SVP, the strategic measures that she planned and implemented resulted in a growth in PepsiCo’s sales and profits. â ¦ INNOVATION She implemented a number of measures to improve the sustainability of the company’s operations and image by focusing on improvements in the health implications of PepsiCo products. Measures such as removing trans-fats from PepsiCo snacks, product innovations in the Quaker Oats brand to come out with a range of consumer perceived healthy snacks, categorization of its snacks into three categories named fun for you, good for you, and better for you were undertaken under her leadership. â ¦ ACHIEVEMENT AND MOTIVATION Forbes magazine ranked Nooyi fourth on the 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 lists of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Fortune magazine has named Nooyi number one on its annual ranking of Most Powerful Women in business for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2008, Nooyi was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report. In 2008, she was elected to the Fellowship of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences â ¦ RISK TAKING Pepsi faces rising production costs, lackluster U.S. sales, and attacks on its core snack and soda products from both competitors and health-conscious critics. As the company’s head and, since May, its chairman, Nooyi is taking on Pepsi’s challenges. And Nooyi, who formally took the CEO reins in October 2006, is giving Pepsi’s employees and shareholders good reason to ride her train — a powerful locomotive that has driven the company’s stock up 22% in the 12 months through Dec. 4, near a 52-week high. In May, the company hiked its dividend 25% and boosted its share buyback goal to $4.3 billion from  $3.3 billion. Revenue is expected to rise more than 10% this year. BARRIERS TO INDRA NOOYI:- â ¦ PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS Nooyi used to announce a specific profit target that the company will gain. But the company was unable to gain that much profit. So this annoyed the investors. During her tenure pepsi has often failed to hit her statuted profit target, which investor consider an unforgivable scene. â ¦ ECONOMIC FACTORS- Capital requirements are low for taking over a franchise, and profit margins are stratospheric. Nooyi’s plan looked plausible, and investors seemed willing to give it a chance; they pushed the stock down only incrementally despite the surprisingly downbeat profit forecast. Now she absolutely must execute the plan against strong and merciless competitors in a volatile economic environment. â ¦ COMPETITIVE FACTOR- The company is getting beaten up in its flagship product category, drinks, in the world’s largest market, North America. The soda pop planets shifted in their orbits last year when Pepsi-Cola was displaced as America’s eternal No. 2 carbonated soft drink, Coca-Cola was at No. 1; the new No. 2 is Diet Coke. That reordering is especially distressing to investors because there is scarcely a more beautiful business in the world than producing branded soft drink concentrate. â ¦ PERSONALITY FACTORS- Irate investors have been calling for Pepsi to sell off its snack food business or for Nooyi to step down, or at least announce a likely successor. She did none of that at the presentation. Instead, by outlining a plan that will take two years to pay off, she showed that she has the board’s support. But if that plan doesn’t show clear signs of working before year-end, the board’s support could evaporate. That’s why the next several months are make-or-break for her.

Jacksons Building Centres Essay

Introduction: A large to medium sized business such as Jacksons need quite a big Human Resources department. They perform a key role in the company’s day to day operations. This department cover many areas such as, recruitment and training, organisation at department levels and looking at competition, these are just a few aspects of the department but are all needed so make the business run efficiently. This Human Resource based project I am going to base on Jacksons Building Centres. The main aim of this study is to investigate the five main areas of Human Resources which are: * Human resource planning * Recruitment and selection * Training and development * Performance management * Motivational theory Human resource planning: In an ideal world businesses should plan ahead when it comes to human resources. A well-organized business will have forecasts and projections of its future staffing needs. These will then be matched to forecasts and projections about the local labour market, which means that the business can develop appropriate strategies for the recruitment, training and development of its staff. Projected Levels of Employment in Lincolnshire: Work Force Lincolnshire Total Number in Employment 219,085 % of all working age in employment 75.2 % of Male Full-Time 42.7 % of Female Full-Time 6.6 % of Male Part-Time 23.4 % of Female Part-Time 27.2 The types of jobs that are in decline in Lincolnshire: The two main types of jobs that are in decline in Lincolnshire are: * Farming – this is due to more to increased mechanisation so the ratio of work complete by machines to human is decreasing, thus less man power is needed. * Heavy Engineering – the majority of heavy engineering companies have left the area only leaving the largest which is Alstom. Due to Jacksons not being involved in these sectors the decline in certain areas of employment does not have an effect on the business. Technological advances, changes in social behavior, demographic shifts and economic conditions are driving fundamental changes in the structure of the labour market and the playing field on which competition is laid for labour. The competitiveness with other employers is affected by general labour market forces. Recruitment and Selection: Recruitment and Selection is a well-worn topic, whish is traded fully in all major texts. There is always a tension between getting the right person for a job and how much resource in terms of time and money is devoted to recruitment. The main ways in which Jacksons recruit is via Job Centres and Local News papers. This encourages people who live in the local area to apply for the job. The Selection Process for the management scheme: Requirements: – Between the ages of 18 and 24. – 4 GCSEs – 2 A Levels Application: * Approximately one hundred people apply for four positional available, * They then look for suitability for the position in Jacksons case Energetic and hard working, * They then select the definite no’s: * not complete application forms, * poor handwriting * poor literacy * They then look for the applicants that they like: * Sociability quality * Good Motivational qualities * A Spark! They then invite the selected applicants to an assessment centre where they undergo a series of tasks. They are first split up into groups of around twelve for around half a day where the do exercises based on: – Motivation – Sociability – Team Work During this time they look for the Contribution of the applicant or domineering and no contribution, within this they look for a balance between them. They then have a half an hour paper base study where they have to figure an appropriate solution to a given problem. From the assessment centre they narrow the candidates down to 2 or 3 which will be interviewed. The interview will be based and assessed on: – A Balanced approach – Halo Effect – Avoiding bias – Describe personalities – Numeracy Questions – Case study during interview (customer service problem) – Move away from Psychometric tests – Looking at objectives An interview report is then compiled. If the applicant is successful then they will be asked back to another interview with Branch managers and other high status employees. They will then offer 4 to 6 placements within a month to 6 weeks. Included in the next few pages are examples of the Application Form and the Employment Interview Report. Training and Development: Jacksons run a management trainee program which has been running for around twenty years. Jacksons say it has been a strong contributory factor in their continued success, providing their branches with a steady stream of capable Merchant Managers. The programme consists of two stages. The first lasts for two years, in which time trainees will gain a valuable insight into the running of a busy Builders Merchant. The programme will be agreed at the beginning of the course and is designed to acquaint the trainee with a merchant’s environment, as well as learning and developing valuable personal competencies, such as time-management, assertiveness and communication skills. Knowledge will be developed from grass roots level where the trainee will work in a number of departments, building up an understanding of both the products we sell and customers we deal with. Progress is assessed regularly, both verbally and by written appraisal. Upon successful completion of the first phase the trainee will move onto the second stage of the programme, where there will be more specific management development lasting up to one year. Transport/Warehouse Building Materials Plumbing and Heating Sales Plumbing Office Heating Office Ironmongery Bathroom Showroom Kitchen Showroom Jackson Hire Timber one month three months three months two months two months three months three months one month three months three months In addition to the above, you will also spend time in the following areas: a. Accompanying a Company Representative b. Accompanying a Lorry Driver c. A period in the Accounts Office As a trainee manager you will also take part in special projects such as trade shows, corporate promotions and careers conventions. You will also spend time working at one other branch. This gives you the opportunity to work with people from around the group. Motivational Theory: Training in motivation is important in helping learners develop self-regulatory skills to set their own goals and manage their own learning and performance. Evaluating motivational levels in a learning situation also allows the instructor to determine the clarity of their units’ directions, and measure the effectiveness of varying consequences to either success or failure of individual students (Driscoll, 2000). Keller adds curiosity and its measure and promotion are a key to promoting knowledge seeking behaviour (Keller, 1987). A prevalent model in motivational theory is credited to John M. Keller. The ARCS theory of motivation corresponds to each of the four letters of the acronym (Keller, 1984): A- Attention R- Relevance C- Confidence S- Satisfaction Attention Keller’s Attitude of Inquiry (1987) is a phrase used to describe the attention level desired to promote learning. He recommends varying presentation styles in order to maintain student attention (Keller,1983). Driscoll suggests presenting some materials through varying media, alternating lecture with demonstration, small group discussions, or class debates (2000). Relevance Instructors should relate lessons to their learners’ experiences by providing concrete examples and analogies. The more familiar something is, the more likely a student is to see it as relevant to their learning and use (Driscoll, 2000). Keller states that people enjoy learning more about things they already believe in or are more interested in (1987). Elementary teachers who used all four categories of ARCS found that relevance bore the strongest positive relationship to on-task behavior (Newby, 1991). Confidence Students gain confidence in their own abilities when experiencing success at challenging tasks (Driscoll, 2000). Students can be shown that seemingly unreachable goals can be attained through a series of organized, manageable sub goals and attainable small steps. Even failure can build confidence if the learner attributes failure to the poor use of strategies inherent to learning (Clifford, 1984). Satisfaction Students base satisfaction on the comparison of their achievements on balance with the achievements of those involved with them in the same learning environment (Keller, 1987). Elements increasing satisfaction can be verbal praise, incentives, and awards (Driscoll, 2000). The above four are the main sections that are obtained under the title ‘Motivational Theory’. Different Theories: Many theories have been established within the last one hundred years and it is not possible to consider each one of these. What is important in the study of motivation are the key names that have influenced today’s approach. Four major theories have remained at the forefront of motivational techniques and each one is linked to a different style of management they are: * Frederick Winslow Taylor * Douglas McGregor * Abraham Maslow * Frederick Herzberg. Performance management Performance Management refers to different strategies designed to get the best of a businesses work force. Different techniques are employed which attempt to relate performance with pay, or promotion or training. Such schemes are not always popular with workers. A method of creating fair individual and team will be used by the Human Resources department and this could be done by the SMART model: Specific use a clear language to describe exactly what is required Measurable identify numerical targets and outputs which can be counted and assessed Agreed agree these with the employee so that they take responsibility for their own output Realistic set targets that are attainable for each individual, according to their skills and competencies Time-related state specific dates when targets must be achieved and will be measured External Labour Market The external Labour market is important to the running of the Human Resources department of Jacksons. To attract people to the company they need to compete with other companies. This means that Jacksons have to be able to offer the best package for them to attract new workforces. One of the main things that Jacksons offer is the Management training course. This is a very sort after employment opportunity due to incorporating management and other valuable skills fitting for later employment opportunities. Another aspect of importance to the external labour market to the Human Resources department is the way jobs and such are advertised. This in many cases is what a potential employee is looking at. So the Human Resources department look at other companies methods and take the good points from them to increase efficiency of attracting potential employees.

Health and Social Care Essay

There are many indicators of health to find out about my volunteer’s present health. Firstly, there is the peak flow meter. My volunteer’s peak flow reading is 410 therefore this shows that she shows no signs of asthma and her breathing rate is average and shows that her health is in a positive state. My volunteers BMI shows that she is slightly overweight keeping this in mind I have set her targets which will help her to have a average weight. Last of all, my volunteer’s blood pressure is approximately a reading of 120/80 mmHg which is in general an average reading of blood pressure. Therefore this shows that she does not show signs of high blood pressure and this also indicates that she is not under a lot of stress or pressure from work and studies. This also reveals that my volunteer’s present blood pressure is proportional to average and that her present health is essentially positive. Page 1Zoom in Page 1 2 3 4 5 Next Level: GCSE Subject: Health and Social Care Word count: 1506 Save View my saved documents Submit similar document Share this Health and Social Care Download this essay Print Save GCSE HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE An extract from this document†¦ Task 1: There are many indicators of health. Indicators of health can help you find out about an individual’s health. The main indicators are: * Height weight charts * Body Mass Index (BMI) * Blood pressure * Peak flow meter * Resting pulse and recovery after exercise Height weight charts: When babies are born, they are weighed and measured regularly to display whether they are fed properly. They are also assessed to show their growth rates and see if they are growing properly. Also to see if the baby is underweight, overweight, average etc†¦ Additionally, they are weighed every week for the first two months of their lives. Body Mass Index (BMI): Body mass index is an indicator of good health as it measures the amount of fat in an individual’s body in association to his or hers height. It is a formula used to show your body weight in relation to your height to see whether you are underweight, average or overweight. BMI equals weight in kilograms divided by height in meters. Blood pressure: Blood is carried from the heart to all parts of your body in vessels called arteries. Blood pressure is the pressure in which the blood is applied in the arteries and the force in which the heart pumps blood. According to Google, they define blood pressure as, â€Å"the level of pressure that the blood exerts against the walls of the arteries as it passes through them. † This is also a successful indicator of an individual’s health as it measures how fast your heart is pumping blood therefore it advises you if you need to do certain things to help slow down the rate at which your heart pumps. As you can see, it’s a very positive thing and can help stop you from developing diseases such as heart disease and can make your kidney work harder which is very damaging. Blood pressure is very vital to the body and if it is average then your lifestyle will be much more satisfied. Peak Flow Meter: Another way of checking on your health is by using a peak flow meter. A peal flow meter is a special kind of instrument that measures the breathing rate and the volume of air taken in by an individual in the time of each breath. In addition, they are also used to distinguish how efficient a person’s lungs are. To use a peak flow meter, a person has to blow as hard as he/she can into the mouthpiece and then examine the pointer and check the reading however you must do this three times to assure that you get an accurate reading. The measurement is used to estimate the width of the air flow in the bronchi. This is a positive indicator and you can use it to find out whether an individual is breathing properly or if they are managing their asthma correctly etc†¦ Resting pulse and recovery after exercise: A person’s resting pulse rate is the pulse rate when a person is sitting still without moving. You can measure your pulse rate by placing pressure on your wrist or your neck. Your recovery heart rate is the number of beats per minute your heart drops when you stop moving. The higher the fitness levels the faster the drop in heart rate. The most common recovery heart rate can be measurement of up to 1 to 2 minutes however a complete recovery heart may consist of up to an hour. This is a positive indicator of health considering it shows how healthy and athletic your body is after exercise. If your heart does not pump that fast then you are in a healthy and fit state so your body can be affected by much less diseases or illnesses therefore it is very beneficial and helpful. Task 2: There are many indicators of health to find out about my volunteer’s present health. Firstly, there is the peak flow meter. My volunteer’s peak flow reading is 410 therefore this shows that she shows no signs of asthma and her breathing rate is average and shows that her health is in a positive state. My volunteers BMI shows that she is slightly overweight keeping this in mind I have set her targets which will help her to have a average weight. Last of all, my volunteer’s blood pressure is approximately a reading of 120/80 mmHg which is in general an average reading of blood pressure. Therefore this shows that she does not show signs of high blood pressure and this also indicates that she is not under a lot of stress or pressure from work and studies. This also reveals that my volunteer’s present blood pressure is proportional to average and that her present health is essentially positive. Task 4: I have set 3 targets for my volunteer to meet and stick to in order for her to improve her health. Those three targets that I have set are: 1) To have a balanced diet 2) To do regular exercise 3) To improve personal hygiene I think that to improve my volunteer’s health needs, she must stick to these particular targets so that her lifestyle can be developed and progressed so that she can achieve her overall needs. Task 5: Previously, I had chosen 3 targets for my volunteer to stick to in order to improve her health. Here is a health plan for each of those targets for my volunteer to know thoroughly how to improve and stick to her targets. Wash clothing and linens on a regular basis. However, the dilemma is germs and bacteria can develop and increase in your dirty clothes basket so try to be persistent on a weekly cleaning schedule.

Capacitance (Timing Circuits) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Capacitance (Timing Circuits) - Essay Example For capacitance derived unit is useful for expressing the charge (unit of charge is Coulombs)that can be transferred to an object per unit of voltage ( unit of voltage is in Volts) and thus a unit which we got from this ratio is known as Farad. Each capacitor having two parallel plates and will have capacitance equal to  8.85 Ï F/m, times the area of one of the plates, divided by the distance between them. When sharing the charge applied to one capacitor with a second capacitor, charge is conserved, therefore Vf * (C1 + C2) = Vi * C1. When discharging a capacitor through a resistor, V(t) = V0 * e-t/RC. When charging a capacitor through a resistor, V(t) = Vf – Vf * e-t/RC (â€Å"Courseworkbank†). In timing circuits there are two possibilities either we are controlling the rate of response of the capacitor or controlling the rate of voltage across the capacitor. If a series combination of a resistor and capacitor are present such type of circuit is simplest timing circuit. The amount of time to charge the capacitor to 63% of the input voltage as well as it is equal to the resistance times the capacitance is known as time constant T=RC.Varying the values of resistance and capacitance ultimately results in time ranging from microseconds to weeks. The important characteristics of capacitor are: This timer circuit is similar to the 5 to 30 minute timer except that when switch S1 is closed, the on/off action of the circuit will continue indefinitely until S1 is opened again. A 7555 time and low leakage type capacitor for C1 must be used. The 6 way rotary switch S3 adds extra resistance in series to the timing chain with each rotation, minimum resistance point "a" maximum point "f". The 7555 is wired as an equal mark/space ratio oscillator, the timing resistor chain R1 to R6, being connected back to the output of the timer at pin 3.The output pulse duration is defined

Working Capital Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Working Capital - Coursework Example Inventory forms a major component of the working capital accounting process and hence is considered to be an asset for the company that will generate additional cash flow when cash flow is realized (Mulford & Comiskey, 2005). Working capital and inventory have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship where inventory is accounted within the current assets side of the working capital measurement formula (Schroeder, Clark & Cathay, 2011). Working capital is measured as current assets minus current liabilities. Organizations that have large amounts of sales are often left with huge inventory positions. This brings in a huge change in the working capital position of the company. Hence we understand how inventory can be used to manipulate liquidity position while calculating working capital (Narayanan & Nanda, 2004). It is argued that inventory should not be included while calculating for working capital to determine the liquidity positions of the company. A far better representation of company’s liquidity is the quick ratio where inventories are removed. The rationale behind such argument is as below. Inventory is generally considered on the asset side of the balance sheet under the current asset subhead. The logic behind being that inventories are finished goods or work in progress that shall get sold and liquidated soon and shall there by generate revenue causing a positive cash flow to the business. However, certain corporations also consider inventory as current liability. Their argument is that inventories can be used in exchange of bills payable and such other short term loans which becomes a liability for the business unless it is paid off. Also as per the ASB opinion 9, current liabilities are classified as obligations theta are expected to be liquidated within a period of one year or the normal operating cycle (US GAAP, n.d.). Hence inventory inclusion might also create

Should the UK join the Euro currency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9750 words

Should the UK join the Euro currency - Essay Example The appearance of euro in 1999 and its acceptance by 11 countries of European Union (at a primary stage) has been the most significant effort of the Community towards this direction. Since its introduction euro has verified the provisions referring to its success. However, there are countries of the European Union that have not been convinced on the stability of the new (common) currency and for this reason are still reluctant in entering the European Monetary Union (EMU). Sweden and UK are the most representative examples of the above phenomenon. Particularly regarding Britain, the country’s position towards euro has been considered as crucial mostly because of the role of this country to the development of the global financial markets. The participation of UK in the European monetary union has been chosen because of the importance of this issue for the social, financial and political context in Britain. Moreover, the specific issue has been extensively examined as it presents a series of difficulties that create severe problems to the realization of the relevant project. More specifically, the participation of Britain in the monetary union as it has been formulated and applied in the members of EU has been doubted as of its feasibility. The existing differences between UK and the European Union have been found to be a lot. In fact, the difference in currency is not the only one existed between Britain and the other members of European Union.

Critically assess the extent of the benefits of adopting international Dissertation

Critically assess the extent of the benefits of adopting international financial reporting standards in lieu of a country's dome - Dissertation Example However, intense training is needed by the employees while implementing IFRS which in turn increases the cost in the financial recording process. Therefore, the adoption of IFRS over the already applied financial standards in the national context is quite likely to give rise to a few noteworthy challenges besides its advantages. Table of Contents Abstract 2 1.Introduction 4 2.Creation of International Financial Reporting Standards 5 2.1 IFRS in Political Environment in UK 8 2.2 Controversies Related to the Adoption of IFRS in UK 9 2.3 Advantages of Converting Into IFRS 10 2.4 Requirements to Attain Maximum Benefits from IFRS 13 2.5 Tax Impacts of Transitioning Into IFRS 15 2.6 Challenges Related to Incorporation of IFRS 15 2.7 Other Related Challenges 18 2.8 Concerns Arising from Implementation of IFRS 20 2.9 Reasons behind Altering UK GAAP 21 2.10 Differences between IFRS and UK GAAP 21 2.11 Critical Review of Adoption of IFRS 22 3.Conclusion 24 4.Recommendations 24 25 References 26 1. Introduction Comparing the financial statements of different reporting enterprises becomes a cumbersome task owing to the deviation in procedures along with the principles taken into account by these organisations in designing financial statements. With the intention of making these methods and principles uniform as well as comparable to a certain extent, financial recording standards are created. Theoretically, accounting standards are termed to be the statements of policy of practice which belongs to regulatory accounting bodies (Pearson Education, 2012). This policy of practice needs to be observed in the preparation as well as the presentation of the financial statements. In simple terms, accounting standards can be identified as written documents offered by the regulatory bodies within the nation or even in the international ground. It tends to comprise of numerous components such as measurement, treatment, revelation and presentation of the accounting transactions (ICAEW, 2012). The chief objective of enforcing accounting standards is to eliminate differences in the treatment related to numerous accounting aspects and hence to initiate uniformity in the financial presentation which further facilitates an accurate and transparent disclosure of monetary facts concerning a particular business. Accounting standards also aim to harmonise the varied accounting policies which is generally followed while creating and demonstrating the financial statements by distinct financial enterprises in order to assist in proper comparison between the inter-firm and intra-firm (ICAEW, 2012). However, in various occasions it has been observed that companies which function in accordance to the nationally implemented strategies often have to face certain challenges when adopting the internationally grounded financial standards. As noted by Brown (2011), â€Å"there will always be winners and losers from changes in accounting standards, if only because of their distributiv e effects, undoubtedly some consequences are regarded by companies and investors as, on balance, bene?cial† (pp. 269). Emphasising on these various aspects, the objective of the

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 18

Project Management - Essay Example Based on the assessment, project improvement plans are designed (P3M3, 2014). In such context, the study will use a case organization to understand the functionality of Project Management Maturity Model in real world business project scenario. The case organization is Construction Company that specializes in handling real estate and facility management projects. For sake of confidentiality, name and operational detail of the Construction Company will not be revealed throughout this paper. AXELOS Limited (2013) reported that P3M3 involves three types of managements such as, 1- Portfolio Management (management control, financial management and benefits management), 2- Programme Management (financial management, risk management and stakeholder engagement) and 3- Project Management (risk management, organizational governance and resource management). These three models are self sufficient and there are no interdependencies between them. Therefore, independently assessing particular management model does not decrease importance of other management models. Interesting fact is that organizational maturity and project management maturity are conceptualized as divergent ideas. Organizational maturity is defined as comparative level of advancement for organizations such as using actively used policies, having established practices and standards. More mature organizations are expected to have well established standards, policies, organizational hierarchy and practices (Demir an d KocabaÅŸ, 2010; Kerzner, 2013 and Cooke-Davies and Arzymanow, 2003). On contrary, Project Management Institute (2007) defined project management maturity as the phase where organizations successfully initiate projects, plan activities, execute planned activities, monitor outcome of activities and control outcome of individual projects. Therefore, it can be assumed that organizations get assurance of continuous improvement during project management maturity

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 6

Research Methods - Essay Example Consequently, I researched the course of the corset and found that every period made improvements and adjustments to it. Corsets from the 11th century are different from those found during the Victorian fashion but serve the same purpose. I also realized the significant part of rope art in corsets, which reminded me of the rope artist Hajime Kinoko. His work triggered thoughts about tie and dye and Japanese Shibori and Chinese short foot. The pain involved Chinese short foot reminded me of face surgery, which is a modern form of cruel beauty. The V-line face surgery provoked thoughts of its similarity to the human pelvis bone, which I like. However, my connection to cruel beauty was strong because I draw Japanese style tattoos. Although not all women get tattoos, many undergo cruel beauty by wearing high-heeled shoes all the time. All these thoughts made me decide on the following elements as the focus of my project Qualitative and quantitative forms of research are the main methods of research (Seivewright, 3). Quantitative data collection often concerns facts and statistics used in regression analysis, correlation analysis, SWOT analysis, and other forms of analyses that large corporations require to advance their business. Data collection is large scale and often occurs after a qualitative analysis. On the other hand, qualitative seeks to understand the non-quantifiable elements of an issue by uncovering widespread trends in opinion and thought. Qualitative research seemed more suitable for the project in comparison to Quantitative research. Qualitative research is cheaper and convenient under the current circumstances. I did not have the resources to fund a full-fledged research. Data collection in qualitative research includes b) In-depth Interviews: data on the interviewee’s personal history, opinion, or experience is collected. It is best for one on one interview because the interviewer has an opportunity to explore sensitive topics. The

Different illicit drugs Essay Example for Free

Different illicit drugs Essay Janis Joplin’s experimentation with several different illicit drugs led to her overdose of heroin at the age of 27. Joplin began her fascination with the drug culture as part of the beatnik generation in coffee houses and bars across her home state of Texas and in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Joplin developed a love of speed and alcohol that rivaled man of hermale counterparts of the day (Rock n’ Roll Heaven, 2007). She had a heroin habit that she indulged in for years, but kicked until she began working on her final album â€Å"Pearl†. During the making of the album, Joplin began using heroin again. Friends and family members report that Joplin was always careful with her heroin usage. â€Å"She made every attempt to be cautious when using and made sure to buy from only one dealer who always had his stuff checked by a chemist. It turns out that the bag Janis bought that Saturday, October 3rd afternoon was not checked by the dealers chemist who was out of town at the time. The heroin was 50 percent pure and would prove to be a fatal mistake. (Rock n’ Roll Heaven, 2007). Official investigations into her death tried to blame on everything from a CIA conspiracy to silence the voice of her generation to an intentional suicide, but the coroner ruled that her death came as a result of heroin overdose complicated with alcohol use. Her death was a seriously tragic error. The dealer gave her heroin that was simply too good. Joplin’s alcohol use was legendary. She was rarely seen without a bottle of Southern Comfort and she appeared on national television drunk in 1970 not long before her death. Appearing on the Dick Cavett show, Joplin was so drunk she was slurring her words when she said she would be going to her 10 year high school reunion to face her demons and those who tormented her in high school. â€Å", They laughed me out of class, out of town and out of state; so Im going back. This was in response to her return home to attend her 10 year high school reunion, her first visit back to Texas since rock and roll stardom had struck. This would be the last time Janis would see her family. † (Rock n’ Roll Heaven 2007). Even before she achieved fame, Joplin was well-known as an alcoholic. Once she achieved fame, her drug use was just as well known. Joplin’s choices of drugs were influenced by her upbringing and her generation. Psycotropic drugs and mind-expanding substances were everywhere in the rock scene in the 1960s and Janis Joplin made a meteoric rise to the top of that scene. After being an outcast in high school, Joplin wanted desparately to fit in and would do whatever it took to get there. Unfortunately, according to the biography written by Laura Joplin, Janis found too quickly that it was lonely at the top and turned to heroin and alcohol as a cure. Joplin discovered the hard way what too many other celebrities have also found out: drug use is no substitute for good mental health. Joplin’s choice of drugs is especially damning considering what she was trying to escape. Alcohol, though a disinhibitor, is also a depressant and the long-term effects of heroin include depression as well. In short, she was trying to fight off the loneliness and depression of her situation by adding more depressants. Heroin, at least short term, may have made the loneliness appear less stressful. The short-term effects of heroin is an immediate rush of energy caused by the release of endorphins and then depressed respiration and the desire to sleep for several hours. In her already depressed state, and with the alcohol effects in place, Joplin regularly used the drugs as a way to â€Å"rest† between recording sessions. The problem was that on the night of her death, both the alcohol and heroin lowered her body’s metabolism and it fell so low that the body could not recover. Joplin’s pattern of substance abuse began when she left high school and began performing in coffeehouses, bars and anywhere else that would let her sing. She had been an outcast in her high school and looked for a way to fit in with the cool crowd of musicians and those who loved them. She found her answer in drugs. In the 1960s, the drug culture was so prevalent that almost everyone literally was doing it and Joplin found her niche right away. She began with alcohol, a reasonably well accepted drug of choice and then moved on to stronger drugs as she gained more fame. Joplin’s primary drug of choice, besides Southern Comfort, was speed. Like heroin, speed provides an immediate â€Å"rush† for the user and can act as a mood enhancer, making people who are lonely or depressed feel better about their situation. It is likely that Janis Joplin used it for this reason and because users report feeling more creative while using speed. This effect is a result of the hyperactivity of the nervous system and people who are taking speed often appear twitch or jumpy. There are no known indications that it does make a person more creative, but that was the message of the drug culture at that time. The curious question about Janis Joplin is whether her substance abuse began before her music career or after it. Though the legend of Janis Joplin as a hard-living rock star would indicate that she began indulging in drugs after becoming famous, her life would tend to indicate either that she had substance abuse problems dating back to high school or that she had other emotional and psychological factors present in her pre-fame life which mimicked the social repercussions of substance abuse. Prior to leaving high school, Joplin was an outcast, unable to fit in socially with her peers. She reportedly had behaviorial issues and was eventually kicked out of school for those problems. These issues may have been related to her role as a political activist in the turbulent times of the early 1960s, including her activism on behalf of African American rights in Texas. However, these issues are also consistent with alcohol abuse and other substance abuse. It is completely within reason to believe that Joplin may have developed her dependence on alcohol at a much earlier age than previously acknowledged and began supplementing that addiction with harder, illegal drugs as she gained fame. Unfortunately, most biographies of the rock superstar are written by friends, family or adoring fans and no one appears to have any desire to make the rock star culpable for any of her own behaviors. Instead, her drug use and sexual excess is put down to the era and the need for self-expression. The saddest realization is that in reality the use of drugs and alcohol probably stunted Joplin’s creativity and most definitely shortened her lifespan.

Clytemnestra Antigone: Inescapable Femininity

Clytemnestra Antigone: Inescapable Femininity In Aeschylus and Sophocles portrayals, women who are masculine are feminized when they confront death; the reassumption of orthodoxy reflects how women cannot truly break away from their femininity regardless if they resist it in Greek society. Aeschylus tragic heroine Clytemnestra is undoubtedly one of the most masculine women in the play, yet she is compelled to surrender her masculine features in the aftermath of her murder. When Orestes prepares to strike his mother, Clytemnestra elicits an evocation of femininity by exposing her breast to him and pleading, Wait, my son no respect for this, my child? The breast you held, drowsing away the hours / soft gums tugging the milk that made you grow? (The Libation Bearers, 883-885) The image of Orestes tenderly suckling the nourishing milk from his mothers breast temporarily makes Orestes question his own righteousness and signifies the queens return to motherhood. Aeschylus accentuates the feminine effect by contrasting this scene to Clytemnestras callous demand for a man-axe. Furthermore, Clytemnestras breast alludes to the maternity and sensuality associated with the female body. Despite exercising total control in prior events, Clytemnestra, in her most vulnerable moment, is forced to reoccupy her feminine role when threatened to pay with her life for Agamemnons death. Clytemnestras masculine power is ultimately illusory, and for her transgression she is reminded that she is, in essence, a woman. Sophocles reflects a similar sentiment to Aeschylus portrayal of women. Throughout the play, Antigone was firmly recalcitrant on dying, but her resolve wavers when she confronts death. Walking towards the the tomb where she will perish, she mourns, No marriage bed, no marriage  song for me / and since no wedding, so no child to rear / I go, without a friend, struck down by faith (Antigone, 918-922). Antigones headstrong demeanor relents to self-pity, and she rues that she will never experience the joyous celebrations and hallmarks of female growth. She will die husbandless and childless, unfulfilled in her female role, with no family nor friends to bewail her death. The source of her masculinity, her willful act to die in defiance of the law, significantly weakens and is replaced with regretful yearning for her natural life. Antigones indifference to death is supplanted by feminine vulnerability and sensitivity. Sophocles portrays through her brief remorse that though she behaved m asculinely, she is still emotionally overtaken by her foundation as a woman in the end. The examples discussed prior exhibit how Clytemnestra and Antigone react to the impending death. Hereafter, I will discuss the ways Aeschylus and Sophocles portray women when they take personal responsibility for their actions by means of death. Femininity is permanently imposed on Antigone and Clytemnestra in their demise regardless of their deliberate resistance against the social norm. Orestes reinstates Clytemnestras femininity by forcing upon her the proper role of a wife. He drags her to Aegisthus corpse and coldly says,You love your man? Then lie in the same grave. You can never be unfaithful to the dead (The Libation Bearers, 881-882). Criticizing Clytemnestras infidelity in her first relationship, Orestes sought to rectify her wrongdoing by coercing her into devotion for her second lover. Orestes demands that Clytemnestra fulfills her role as a wife with Aegisthus, the role that she had neglected with Agamemnon. By slaying Clytemnestra along with her lover, her loyalty will be imperishable and her duty as a wife  eternally etched in death a sour exit for someone who has been too keen in escaping their femininity. In this scene, Aeschylus portrays death as the mediator that conclusively resolves Clytemnestras ambiguity of gender in favor of her womanly roles. No matter how much Clytemnestra tries to escape her femininity in life, death is definite; the quee ns downfall perpetually reestablishes her role as a woman. Similarly, Antigone is forced against her will to be wedded in death. At first glance, Antigones death could be interpreted as masculine; she commits suicide as a final act of defiance against Creon, to take away his power by dying through her own hands. Additionally, Antigone dies a virgin, a symbolic rebellion against the traditional female role. Sophocles, however, refutes her masculine decisions by illustrating her as a bride in death, an expressive depiction of femininity. Antigone refers to her cave, O tomb, o marriage chamber, hollowed out / house that will watch forever, where I go (Antigone, 891-892). The marriage chamber and house, commonly symbolic of the sphere of private life, will never depart from Antigone in death. Antigones death mirrors Clytemnestras demise in her actual home. Neither Antigone nor Clytemnestra can stray away from their obligations to the domestic sphere the houses they die in restore their identities as women. Moreover, Antigones marriage chamber is fully realized when Haemon commits suicide beside her. The messenger describes the debacle, Corpse on corpse, [Haemon] lies. He found his marriage, its celebration in the halls of Hades. (Antigone. 1240-1241) Powerless to change her image, Antigone assumes the role of a bride in death, and Haemon her groom. The image of Haemon caressing and resting against Antigones corpse resembles intimate consummation after marriage. Their paired deaths echoes those of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus Antigones rebellious act against the norm is involuntarily transformed into an image of exceptional femininity. In supplement to these portrayals of wifehood, Aeschylus and Sophocles emphasize the same body part to recall their essential femininity. When Antigone is caught in a noose / of her own linen veiling, (Antigone, 1221-1222), Sophocles directs the focus particularly on Antigones neck. Aeschylus also establishes an identical focus; Orestes confesses in his trial, I drew my sword more, I cut [Clytemnestras] throat (Eumenides, 598) Attention is centered to the neck for the same reason as Clytemnestras breast; it magnifies the feminine aspects of vulnerability and sensuality. Moreover, the linen noose mirrors the delicate tapestries, the life of the house (Agamemnon, 946) that Clytemnestra laid out for her husband to tread on; these fabrics symbolize the daintiness of a woman that Agamemnon himself has violated by sacrificing Iphigenia. It is only cruel irony that the same material that created these tapestries is responsible for Antigones death; she has literally succumbed to femininity when forced to take personal responsibility for her actions, her masculine acts of disobedience overshadowed by her feminine presentation in death. Clytemnestra and Antigones fierce independence and persistent defiance of the social norm makes them appear strikingly heroic. But in their rebellious aftermath, death arbitrates this dispute in favor of the orthodox; women who transgress the territory of gender are forced to reconcile with their womanliness. In Aeschylus and Sophocles vision, masculine women cannot truly escape from their femininity. Ismenes ominous warning, wrong from the start, to chase  what cannot be, (Antigone, 92) epitomizes the position of women like Clytemnestra and Antigone in patriarchal Greek society they are merely pursuing an impossibility. Traditional Malay House: Overview Traditional Malay House: Overview The traditional Malay house is one of the richest components of Malaysias cultural heritage. The purpose of this study is to understand and analyze traditional vernacular Malay house being modernized and the effects of modern material applied. Though the modernization process transforms and changes the materials, it still maintains the original building design, function, decorative element, and cultural importance to its local context. Literature reviews based on various sources regarding the traditional vernacular Malay house are referred, as well as interviews of the house owner will be conducted. To further enhance the research, the Malay houses in Kampong Bharu, Kuala Lumpur were chosen as the prime example of the modern vernacular Malay house. Malaysia is a tropical climatic country due to its place in the central part of the Southeast Asia. The design of the roof was steep and it was elevated is to cater the monsoon rain season in Malaysia. Due to the warm climate, most of the Malay houses have large openings on the sides and grilles are provided at the high level gable ends and the building its raised up are for ventilation purposes. There are three major elements of the traditional Malay house, which is transformed into modern context, namely the roof, window and pillars. The vernacular houses attempts to adhere to traditional life style even though it used modern construction materials while maintaining, the cultural and traditional design of Malay house. Nowadays the use of traditional materials has diminished. Unfortunately, these sustainable qualities of Malay house have transformed. Hence, through the study there are advantages and disadvantages using modern construction materials in traditional Malay house. While one exemplifies a deep cultural significance, the other is an immediate response to the evolving environment. It is intriguing that many aspects of architectural styles and its applications were discovered through this case study research . Case study (Kampung Bharu, Kuala Lumpur) This study is to analyze the modern traditional vernacular Malay house. How is the origin Malay house being transform into modern vernacular houses and what is the effect of contemporary materials. The kampong Baru is located in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala lumpur. This is a reserved area for the Malay ethnic groups. From the case study will found out the climatic effect of using contemporary materials in the traditional Malay house by the following questions: How is the climate of Malaysia? How did the climatic factors of Malaysia influence the design of the traditional vernacular Malay house? How did the traditional vernacular Malay house being modernization? What are the climatic effects on the modern vernacular Malay house? Introduction In this paper, is to study and analyze the influences of Malaysia climatic factors on the design of the traditional vernacular Malay houses. Basically it is part of the research on the climatic effects on the contemporary construction materials in the traditional vernacular Malay houses in Malaysia. The study is more focused on the adaption of the local climate on the traditional vernacular Malay houses and how the building was transformed into modern vernacular Malay houses through the modernization process also the effects of using modern construction materials in the modern vernacular Malay houses. During the early 20th century, modernization and colonization periods the British had brought multiracial immigrants into Malaya. Then, Malaysia defines as a multiracial country that included Malays, Chinese, Indian and others. During the colonization period, multiracial group is staying separately. The majority staying in countryside mostly is Malays group and the Chinese and Indian were staying in the city. The Malay racial group depends heavily on the environment. Villages can be established even a single traditional Malay house and the additional houses came later. Normally, the buildings that built closely together were usually family members. The most significant characteristics of traditional vernacular Malay house are the adaption natural climatic factors in Malaysia. The traditional vernacular Malay house The traditional vernacular Malay house defines as a richest component of Malaysia cultural heritage. The buildings built with local materials and local techniques. Mostly, the occupant will participated in the process of design and construct, it is to manifest the aesthetic skills of the Malays. The site planning of the building based largely on Islamic beliefs and its environment. The layout was split into two parts, front and back yards. Obviously, front part will be the welcoming guest area and it is decorated with different types of ornamental plants and flowers. Back yard is the area linked to kitchen and washroom and it is placed near water, as the kitchen needs intense water usage. The marital status also reflected the architectural style of the building because of the Islamic beliefs. The house form had developed and modified over a long period to satisfy most of the cultural, occupants needs and circumstances changes. The traditional Malay houses are bamboo or timber houses raised on stilts (timber). The building mostly is a post and lintel structure with timber or bamboo walls and a thatched gabled shape roof. There are always large openings on the sides of the building to providing good ventilation. From a distance the traditional Malay house seems to integrate naturally with the environment. The large gabled shape roofs, dominates the low walls and with different orientations and sizes created an interesting visual form. Overall the Malay house is designed to cater the local climatic factors by various ventilation and local materials that are low thermal capacity materials. Besides the well adaption to the environment, the design of the traditional Malay houses are flexible is to cater the needs of user and it evolved a building system called prefabricated. Th e building has developed a sophisticated addition system that allows the building can be easily extended with the needs of the occupants. There were various traditional Malay house forms can be found in Peninsular Malaysia. Normally, they classified based on the shapes of roof. The basic forms of Malay house are called the bumbung panjang, bumbung lima, bumbung limas and bumbung perak. The most common design of the Malay house form was bumbung panjang that with a simple long gable roof, supported by the main posts. The bumbung panjang is the simplest one of the four roof shapes and it is an oldest identified in Malaysia. The bumbung panjang form became most popularity used on the Malay house among the poorer users and those built the buildings by themselves. Due to the bumbung panjang house form, it is simplicity and become a very efficient roof shape for the building. Mostly the material used for the bumbung panjang is attap. Attap is a thatch covered and tied together with nipah and others palm trees that can easily found in the local area. The simple funnel shape of bumbung panjang roof is a very efficient in ventil ation properties. The roof can cools the house effectively is because of using the ventilation grilles at the ends of the gable called tebarlayar and the ventilation joints to provide better ventilation. Besides the bumbung panjang, the bumbung lima, bumbung limas, and bumbung perak are all not origin tradition roof shapes, it has modified and developed through foreign influence. Furthermore, the bumbung lima Malay house always with a hipped roof, the bumbung perak Malay house form always with a gambrel roof and the bumbung limas house always with a pyramidal roof. Hence, they are two type of houses believed that were influenced by Dutch and British architecture during the colonization. Lastly the bumbung perak house form also known as the bumbung potongan Belanda which is a type of Dutch roof and it is a famous roof in East Coast. Originally, spaces in traditional Malay houses can be separated into front part and back portion. Therefore, the core house (rumah ibu) or main area must be at the front and the kitchen (Dapur Rumah Tengah) area will be on the back portions of the house. The selang is a closed walkway covered by leaves and used to be a linking device for the front and back portions. The selang is providing good ventilation and natural sunlight entering the house. Besides the location of the side entrance to the kitchen, it is also a space for womenfolk to socialize and chat. Most of the traditional Malay houses entrance there will be a covered porch called the anjung that acts as a transition place between the private and public spaces. The anjung will only used to entertain the unfamiliar visitors and it is a favorite space for the users to chat and rest. This floor was approximately 0.5 to 1 meter lower than the rumah ibu floor level. Beside the anjung was a hanging verandah (serambi gantung) wher e most of the guests will be entertained here and it is a one step down from the main house around 15 centimeters. The openings in the serambi gantung provide good views to outside and allowing natural ventilation entering the place where usually occurred daily activities. At the serambi gantung area can easily observed the embellishments like carving and grill of openings, balustrades and wall panels. Next to serambi gantung was the rumah ibu, which is the core area and it is the largest area and can defined as multi purpose area for most activities were conducted here. The rumah ibu floor level was the highest and cleanliness area white the kitchen (dapur) was the lowest level and untidy area of the house. How is the climate of Malaysia? The main characteristics of traditional Malay vernacular houses are it is well designed to cater the Malaysia climate. From the Malay houses we can notice it is designed with a very good understanding for nature. In the traditional Malay societies, the villagers were directly obtain most of the resources from the natural environment for theirs building materials, food and medicines. To understand better on the influences of local climatic factors on the Malay houses, must first understand the local climate, thermal requirements comfort and the conditions of the environment that the building will build. Malaysia is located in central South-East Asia and has a tropical weather. Due to the latitude and longitude, it gives Malaysia a warm humid equatorial that influenced by monsoonal climate. The monsoon climate here comes twice a year, the first monsoon season comes during the summer season and the other comes during winter season. The differences between the two monsoon season are summ er season bring lots of rainfalls and winter monsoon does not brings rain and is generally dry. The annual rainfall was averaging 80 inches to 100 inches. Furthermore, the climate here gives hot summer and high humidity throughout the year. The temperature here holds around 24 Celsius to 34 Celsius, which gives warm days and fairy cool nights. The annual humidity level was averaging about 75% or above. The high humidity climate causes the very high water vapour in the air. It can filter the solar radiation but it also speeded up the rotting, and the growth of algae. The local wind only comes in from northeast and southwest these two directions. Normally winds are in low variable speed, high variable speed wind will only occur when rain. Hence, the local climatic factors here were high temperatures, humidity and solar radiation. Based on the local climatic factors the building built here should able to achieve the thermal comfort. Therefore, rain, floods and strong winds must be control to achieve thermal comfort in Malaysia Malay houses. For thermal comfort, heat will produce from the human activities and metabolic process. The metabolic process will balance and maintain the body temperature (37celcius). The heat will release during the metabolism process of conversion of good into energy. The heat loss through convection, conduction and radiation can be negligible is due to the local temperature are almost same as the body temperature. Similarly, the perspiration is reduced and the body temperature is decreasing because of the high humidity. The saturated air envelope blocks the evaporation from the human body and it is easily form especially in humid climate. In the building ventilation is important because air fl owing can removed the saturated air envelope in order to accelerate evaporation. Similarity, a building without any ventilation, it will increase the temperature and humidity to an uncomfortable conditions. The main sources of body heat gaining are the local climatic factors conduction from the building fabric. Direct solar radiation is the main sources of body heat gaining, thus the proper design of controlling the direct solar radiation entering the building is the most important to achieve thermal comfort. Besides that, the type of materials used is one of the major sources because the high thermal capacity materials will absorbed heat and emitted to the interiors buildings. Therefore, heat gain from solar radiation must be minimized and maximized the ventilation in order to achieve the human thermal comfort in the house. How did the climatic factors of Malaysia influence the design of the traditional vernacular Malay house? Obviously, the traditional Malay vernacular house is well local climatic control building and it also influences by the local climatic factors. A local design of Malay house must have the following factors must raised up on stilts (timber), large opening on side, use low thermal capacity building materials (wood,timber,rattan,bamboo), controlling the direct sun radiation, a long thatched steep gable roof by attap , site planning and site layout. From the design of traditional Malay vernacular house, it is a very appropriate design to cater the tropical climate of Malaysia and it is more suitable to the Malaysia climate compared to the modern brick house. The raised up floor in traditional Malay house is maximizing the ventilation in the house as well as preventing the monsoonal rain floods. The raised floor is hardly seen in most modern house and the quality of openness in the building is shown by the voids in its window, ventilation grills, the open raised up bottom and the open int eriors. There are various features providing effective ventilation in Malay house. The purpose of elevated the floor on stilts is to catch high velocity of winds and the interiors with minimum partitions is to maximize the cross ventilation occur in the building. Normally, full-length opening and fully adjustable windows or louvers will surround the traditional Malay house. The carved panels on the top of the windows and wooden grilles also an important ventilation device. Behind the ventilation, the craving on wooden panels controlled the glare entering the house and it also representing the Islamic scripts. There are two effective ventilation devices on a simple gable roof. They are the sail-like gable-end (tebar layar) of the roof and the ventilation joints called patah both are very effective ventilation to direct air to ventilate the roof space. The houses in village are randomly arranged and planting the tree wisely around the house to allow natural flow through the building a nd integrated harmoniously with nature. The Malay house mostly built far apart for future extension to fulfill the needs of occupant. In the traditional Malay house, there are more voids than mass and it is a lightweight construction using natural materials to cater the local climate. The natural materials define as low thermal capacity materials and it is a very good in insulating. The long thatched roof with large overhands in traditional Malay house has reduced the solar radiation and it also designed to reduce direct sunlight. The low walls and large overhangs in Malay house, it make the shading easier and reduced the solar radiation also the glare from he open skies. Besides providing good shading, the large overhangs also gives protection against driving rain. The walls and overhangs have allowed the windows to be open in different situation weather. In addition, the external environment of Malay house mostly covered and shaded with trees or vegetation. This provides a cooler environment and lessened the reflective of glare for the house to set in. Traditionally, most of the Malay houses are oriented to face East-West for religious reasons and reduces direct exposure to heat from direct solar radiation. How did the traditional vernacular Malay house being modernization? Nowadays, most of the traditional vernacular Malay houses are being transforming into modern Malay house throughout the modernization period. The Malay houses were modernized due to the stress from urban redevelopment and sociality changes. The new Malay houses has different spatial layout also the used of construction materials and technique. Based on the case studies, the Malay houses in the kampong bharu were transformed the roof, wall, pillar and window. The external environment has also changes is hardly to see high and tall trees only short trees are planted there due to the limited space of the compound. The short and small trees also blocked most of the natural airflow passes through the house. Besides the changes of external environment, the interior of Malay houses was transformed into more walls to divide the rooms and spaces. The cross ventilation and natural air movement were reduced due to the mass partitioning walls inside the house. As I mentioned above, the roof is the most significant feature because the Malay house were categorized based on their roof types. The Malay house in the kampong mostly used bumbung panjang compared than the other 3 types of roof. This is because the type of roof is easier to construct and cheaper. From the site I have found some houses actually using different roof for theirs main and secondary roofs. The most famous combination types of roof in kampong are bumbung perak with bumbung panjang and bumbung panjang with bumbung panjang. The long gable steep roof has become gentler for the sloping degrees and regarding the tebar layar on the gable ends of the roof were modified the design or closed with wall panels. Traditionally, attap or wooden shingles were the main materials of the roof but generally now modern construction materials were often used than the traditional materials. Besides the transformation of roof, the walls and the openings also modified due to introduce of new arc hitecture during the colonization period. The traditional wall is made by bamboo and the traditional arrangements of wallboard were totally modified. The shuttered windows on the wall are one of the significant features to show the characteristic of Malay house. The faade of the Malay house can be separated into 3 parts, the carved wooden panels providing better ventilation mostly at the top part above the window, while the window or adjustable louvers always built at the middle and bottom parts. There are some Malay house walls still using the timber board but in the modern construction brick walls are replaced the traditional bamboo or timber board wall is due to the maintenance and long lasting problems. There are 3 main types of windows such as the short window (tingkap), the tall window (jendela) and the punched window. The aesthetic wooden balustrades behind the windows are being used for safety purposes. In origin of window pattern, the jendela and tiangkap window have a key feature to classify the windows pattern called Jenang pintu. Although, the windows in Malay house has the traditional elements but the proportion of the window has modified to slimmer and became closer of the gap between the windows. The western punched glass window was adopted modern glass louvers to maximizing the ventilation while maintaining the safety of the house. The traditional stilts are no longer in use since pillars are a very important structural to support load from the house. In general, the brick and reinforced concrete pillar were often used, with the increasing of concrete pillar heights spaces of underneath became more efficient. In the modern vernacular Malay house only used concrete pillars and the underneath is usually walled to fulfill the needs of user. The transformation of wooden pillars to concrete pillars is due to the concrete pillars is more suitable for supporting the loads. What are the climatic effects on the modern vernacular Malay house? After brought in the modern construction materials like zinc, cement, brick, glazing and aluminum louvers window into traditional Malay house has modified the traditional house forms and side effects of the high thermal capacity materials. The high thermal capacity materials are not suitable in local climate example like the zinc and asbestos roofs in Malay houses are generated more noise during the rains fall and gives a very hot interiors during the day. Besides the climatic effects the used of modern materials also causes the diminishing of traditional aesthetic skills and techniques of creating the complicated thatched attap roof. Other than used of zinc and asbestos materials, the bricks, cement and concrete are better materials use for creating walls especially the wet area parts and stronger structures for the house. Some of the Malay house has a closed underneath to create the house to double-storey house. Such change has transformed the light and airy Malay house into solid looking building. The full-length wooden window has been replace by the adjustable glass louvers window with aluminum frames. The louvers window has modified the traditional windows into smaller and closed the bottom part of the window. It causes the less efficiency of ventilation. The iron bar in louver window is for safety purpose but it totally destroyed the quality of openness in traditional Malay house. Conclusion Throughout the studies, the traditional vernacular Malay house was design to cater the local climate and it is one of the richest components of Malaysia cultural heritage. Besides the adaption of local climatic factors the houses also reflected the Islamic belief. The houses were developed and modified until it satisfies the user. Based on the research they are various house form in Malaysia, they only can be classified based on the roof types. Overall the traditional Malay house was adapted to the local climate and it is design such as random spatial layout, raised up floor, full-length windows and high-insulated roof. The shading tress and vegetation around the house also helps to cool down the temperature in the house. The orientation of house facing to east and west was influences by the religions reason and it helps reduced the direct sun light radiation. In the modern vernacular Malay house was transformed and modified to fulfill the needs of occupant but it still maintained the traditional roof shapes. The used of modern materials was directly changed the house form and brought climatic effects into the house. Secondly, introduce of modern materials the lightweight construction Malay house has transformed into more solid looking building and it also causes the diminishing of traditional skills. Overall, the sustainably in modern vernacular Malay house was transformed and also the traditional house forms were changed.

How can the company FX-Solutions Financial Services Ltd improve interna

Internal communication is essential for creating a culture of transparency between management and employees, as well as among all employees. Quirke (2008) noted that the role of internal communication is to â€Å"illuminate the connections between different pieces of information† (p. xv), and its job is â€Å"to provide employees with the information they need to do their job† (p. xv). It includes both official communications, such as guidelines, policies, memos, etc. - and unofficial communication. There are three interdependent areas in the company FX-Solutions Financial Services Ltd where problems occur and must be addressed in order to improve the internal communication: †¢ Company’s culture and environment. †¢ Clear definition of what needs to be communicated and by whom. †¢ Systems, which company creates to allow and support the internal communication. Let me state some examples of the communication issues within the company. Insufficiency in interdepartmental communication, people do not communicate when required or do not communicate issues to the all co-workers whose job is related to this issue/change, which causes misunderstandings and mistakes that leads to decreased quality of provided services. Evident lack of appropriate â€Å"downward† communication, where employees are most of the time provided with either incomplete, modified or no information, what affects their day-to-day job. Therefore, the aim of this report is to present directions and solutions that should be implemented in order to strengthen and maintain an efficient flow of information inside the company. To begin with, in order to establish good internal communication the first step should be towards creating an â€Å"open† working environment which encourages smooth flow o... ...y using appropriate ways, it is essential for the company to regularly monitor the internal communication- by asking for feedback from employees, testing the information flow, or making regular comparison of previous evaluation with current ones. Works Cited Gillis, T. L. (2011). The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication: A guide to internal communication, public relations, marketing, and leadership (2nd ed.). Retrieved from Books24x7 version database. Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, F.P. (1997). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Quirke, B. (2008). Making the Connections: Using Internal Communication to Turn Strategy Into Action (2nd revised ed.). England: Gower Publishing Ltd, p. xv. Peters, T. J., & Waterman, R. H. (1982). In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-run Companies. New York, US: Harper & Row.

Shakespeares Macbeth as Tragic Hero Essay -- Macbeth essays

Macbeth as Tragic Hero      Ã‚  Ã‚   Aristotle defined a tragic character is a man who â€Å"falls into misfortune through some flaw." (Grube, 5) Shakespeare's tragic hero is a man who falls from his position of honor and respect due to a flaw in character and ultimately arrives at a fatal end. (Nostbakken, 2) Macbeth is an epitome of a tragic hero. He had a good nature, but was driven by greed and a quest for power. Macbeth had been a military hero,   loved and praised by the people, but his blind ambition resulted in his destruction, and all his past greatness and happiness were lost. This essay will explore Macbeth’s path toward destruction and show how he became the epitome of a tragic hero.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Macbeth was obviously a patriot and the protector of the king at the beginning of the play. (Slethaug, 13) We imagine him to be a good warrior with extraordinary prowess and loyalty. He defeated the insurgent troops and was highly trusted. As Duncan said, "He is a gentleman on whom I built An absolute trust". (I.iv.14-15) Even the King had great love in this real hero.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But his was controlled under the supernatural force when he met the witches of prophecy, contributing to the degeneration of this character. When the witches foretold Macbeth that he was to be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glasmis and King hereafter, Macbeth's ambition to the kingship had been aroused. He said, " My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical ¡K"(I.iii.140) shows that he started imagining to get the throne by evil means for the fulfillment of the promised kingship.   The imperfect speakers of misleading prophecies brainwashed him, striving up his deep ambition and leading him to step closer to the edge of dismal abyss. And later they also g... ...ed himself, to put all his possessed greatness and happiness in ruin, and ended himself in ultimate hate and demise.      Works Cited Brooke, Nicholas, ed.   Macbeth. Oxford: The Oxford University Press. 1990. Brown, John Russell. Shakespeare Macbeth. Southampton: The Camelot Press. 1965.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Coursen, H.R.   Macbeth-A Guide to the Play. London: Greenwood Press.1997. Elloway, David. Macbeth By William Shakespeare (Macmillan master guides).     Macmillan Education Limited. 1985. Grube, G.M.A, ed. Aristotle "The Poetics", Poetry and Style. Indianapolis: Bobbs Merril. 1958. Nostbakken, Faith. Understanding Macbeth. USA: Greenwood Press. 1997. Slethaug, Gordon. "Lecture Notes" for ENGL1007. Hong Kong: The University of Chicago. November 2000. Wain, John. Shakespeare Macbeth. Hong Kong: The Macmillan Press Ltd. 1968.   

The Negative Portrayal of Native Americans in Children’s Literature Ess

The Negative Portrayal of Native Americans in Children’s Literature The American institution has raised countless generations with misconceptions and lies regarding various foreign cultures. During the 1950’s the educational system in America was given the responsibility of teaching children the horrors and injustices they would suffer if the "evil" communist took over the world. Schools taught students that communist wanted to take away music, apple pie, baseball, and anything else that Americans cherished. Students learned that it was best to believe in the righteous of America. The preceding discussion has much in common with the treatment that Native Americans have received from picture books in America. The American society came to the conclusion hundred of years ago that it was in the best interest of America to misrepresent Native Americans, both in the past and present. The American continents were said to be inhabited with animal-like savages that had no cultural value. Schools have taught that it was the European's duty to civilize the new lands. One of the primary tools that have been used in the education of children is the picture book. Picture books have provided the American institution with a means of teaching our children that the Native Americans were bestial and animalistic, thus enabling us to ignore or justify the atrocities that Europeans and Americans have inflicted on the native societies. Picture books are one of the first mediums of learning that children encounter. The picture book was first created in 1657 by John Amos Comenius. Comenius’s book was entitled Orbis Pictus (The world of Pictures) and was an alphabet book (Martinez 57). Picture books are used to lay the foundations of the histori... ...York. 1969. D'Aulaire, Ingri & Edgar Parin. George Washington. Doubleday, & Co., New York. 1936. Edmonds, Walter D. The Matchlock Gun. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York. 1941. Fritz, Jean. The Good Giants and the Bad Pukwudgies. Putnam, New York. 1982. Goble, Paul. Buffalo Woman. Bradbury Press, New York. 1984. Hoyt-Goldsmith, Diane. Arctic Hunter. Holiday House, New York. 1992. Lewis, Richard. All of You was Singing. MacMillan Publishing Co., New York. 1991. Lindgren, Merri V. The Multicolored Mirror: Cultural Substance in Literature for Children and Young Adults. Highsmith Press, Wisconsin. 1991. Maxim, George W. The Very Young: Guiding Children from Infancy through the Early Years. Prentice Hall, Ohio. 1993. Monjo, F. N. Indian Summer. Harper & Row Publishing, New York. 1968. Parish, Peggy. Little Indian. Simon & Schuster, New York. 1968.

Death Investigations and the Role of the Forensic Nurse

The International Association of Forensic Nurses website states, â€Å"Every state/ county has different needs and resources, and every state/county may run death investigations with a different approach. What matters is that every effort be made to ensure a thorough, accurate, and timely investigation. A faulty cause of death determination can significantly impact surviving family members, agencies responsible for planning public health policy, civil or criminal action, and even public safety. (Schindell, 2006) The possibility of forensic investigations may begin in first aid situations, or in the emergency department. The nurse's first duty is to provide immediate care to the patient, but the nurse must also be prepared to preserve evidence for possible criminal investigations. (Dean ; Mulligan, 2009) This becomes andatory in the situation where the patient dies. It is very important that evidence and intormation surrounding the death is preserved The body should not be cleaned pr ior to transport to the morgue, and any tubes, IVs or other medical equipment should be left in place.The nurse on duty can be instrumental in making sure that everything remains as it was in order to make it easier for the medical examiner. The nurse must also be sure to document all procedures performed, including attempts to establish an ‘V, as well as noting all injury sites. (Erricksen, 2008, p. 40) Other investigations begin when a suspicious death is reported to the ppropriate agency. The death investigator will go to the scene in order to collect evidence, photograph the area, and gather information regarding the environment and positioning of the body.The investigator will also question witnesses, family members, and law enforcement officials to gather more information regarding the victim, including past medical history, condition prior to death, circumstances leading up to the death, if known, and if the body has been moved. This would be followed by detailed invest igation of the body, any clothing, and clues to medical conditions such s medic alert bracelets or presence of insulin pumps, etc. (McDonough, 2013) The forensic nurse can perform or assist with all of these duties, and must be careful and meticulous in writing reports of their findings. The completion of good contemporaneous records may be vital to any statements of evidence that a nurse may be required to produce at a later date, to either the police or coroner. † (Dean & Mulligan, 2009, p. 39) In many cases, if the primary investigator does not have medical training, the forensic nurse's experience and knowledge can be invaluable. Schindell, 2006) Forensic nurses can also apply information and practices from other areas to death investigations.Researchers in Alaska have determined that sex- related homicides can be difficult to properly identify, and may be under-reported for that reason. Calling upon the expertise of a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE), the researchers were able to apply standard techniques from sexual assault cases with living victims to investigations of homicides. These techniques, especially examination with a colposcope to identify anogenital injuries, were able to identify exual assault related injuries, and to properly classify some homicides as being sex- related (Henry, 2009).Inclusion of forensic nurses in further sex-related homicides would be beneficial to law enforcement officials. â€Å"Forensic nurses have taken a leadership role in improving healthcare's response to living victims of sexual assault and forensic pathologists and law enforcement would benefit from including a forensic nurse, specialized in sexual assault examinations, in the multidisciplinary response to deceased victims. † (Henry, 2009, p. 64) A qualified and trained forensic urse can even act as the coroner if there is no medical examiner available. In counties where non-medical Deputy Medical Examiners are being asked to conduct the majorit y of a death investigation, medical expertise should be readily accessible to them. A forensically trained nurse can be an ideal medical representative in these situations. † (Schindell, 2006) The primary goal of a death investigation is to determine the cause and manner of death. This can sometimes require detailed and painstaking investigation, not only of the immediate cause of death, but of possible comorbidities that may have contributed to the death.

College Athletes Essay

There are thousands of athletes playing for different colleges. They put their time and effort in it, yet they don’t get paid. When athletes play a sport, they have even more stuff to worry about than a regular student. They have to worry about their grades, staying fit to play, stay healthy, attend to practice every day there’s practice, and then after practice go home and do all their work even though they are tired. How much do they get paid for going through all that? Zero dollars. College athletes should get paid to play too. The average salary of a third division college coach is forty five thousand dollars a year. An average third division athlete makes nothing. Why are coaches being paid and not the athletes? Yes the coaches are giving up their time to coach the players, but the athletes are too, and they are also risking themselves of getting injured every time they step in to play or practice. If an average NBA player makes about ten million dollars a year then why doesn’t a college basketball player get paid? There is this new rule that when a college gives away a scholarship, it can be renewed. That means that if a player quits the team or gets injured to the point that they can’t play anymore, the college can renew the scholarship and take it away from the player and give it to another athlete or someone else. That is not fair because if a player gets a serious injury for playing, the college can just take away their scholarship, and their career gets ruined. One of examples involved Texas Christian University. Running back Kent Waldrep was paralyzed in a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide on October 26, 1974. TCU paid his medical bills for nine months, then cut him loose. They also took away Adam’s scholarship, too. College athletes are human just like every other student. By not giving them the ability to make money and not paying them, colleges and its members are expecting the athletes to live a sub-human existence, and putting them at a disadvantage to finish their college education. Athletes are big money makers for the colleges. College athletics are a big role in making money, and they attract students to their college. Colleges depend on their athletes to produce and maintain the popularity of their school’s name. Many people argue that student athletes should not be paid because they are getting a free education through a scholarship. These people feel that they have already done a lot for them by giving them a scholarship to their colleges. On the other side, people think that the college athletes make enough profit for their colleges , and they argue that the colleges should owe the athletes more than just a scholarship . Student athletes should be given at least small profit from their income. College athletes aren’t allowed to work. How are they going to pay for all the necessary expenses if they come from poor families? This also leads to players accepting illegal money, cars, and clothes. When athletes that have the opportunity to leave school and turn professional they go for it, because college athletes live in near poverty. College athletes live in near poverty because the money they receive isn’t enough to pay for all of their expenses and necessities. The few athletes that graduate from college, that could turn professional before their senior year, stay because their parents support them by sending money. If college athletes are eligible to be paid, there would be more athletes graduating. Paying athletes would be good for everyone and players would go for an education instead of only concentrating on sports.

Netflix Business Plan Essay

Founded in 1997, Netflix is the world’s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows. Globally, the company has over 23 million streaming members. Netflix is in the Video Entertainment Industry. Some of the many streaming devices include: the Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, iPad, and iPod, to name a few. In all, there are more than 700 devices that are available for streaming from Netflix. Corporate Headquarters is located on 100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, CA 95032. The company has over 900 employees at the corporate headquarters. Netflix, Inc. trades under the NFLX symbol on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Netflix’s vision for the future is to become the best global entertainment distribution service, license entertainment content around the world, create markets that are accessible to film makers, and help content creators around the world to find a global audience. Management Team Netflix senior management team includes eight key players. Reed Hastings the Co-Founder and CEO, Neil Hunt the Chief Product Officer, David Hyman the General Counsel, Jessie Becker the Interim Chief Marketing Officer, Patty McCord the Chief Talent Officer, Ted Sarandos the Chief Content Officer, David Wells the Chief Financial Officer, and Jonathan Friedland the Chief Communications Officer. Most of Netflix’s management team share many roles. Reed Hastings, along with being the CEO of the company, he is also a member of the board of directors of Microsoft and of Facebook. Reed is also an active educational philanthropist and served as President of the California State Board of Education from 2000 to 2004. He received a BA from Bowdoin College in 1983 and an MSCS in Artificial Intelligence from Stanford University in 1988. Neil Hunt leads the product team, which designs, builds, and optimizes the Netflix experience. Neil holds a Doctorate in Computer Science from the University of Aberdeen, U. K. and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Durham, U. K.  Patty McCord and her team maintains the unique culture at Netflix, hire new talent, and keep the organization lean and flexible despite its growth. David Wells currently took over the position of Chief Financial Officer after he spent seven years at Netflix in a variety of strategic planning and analysis roles. He earned his Master’s degree from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and Harris School of Public Policy and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Virginia. Each member has a specific role that helps the company to continue to grow and the help the overall organization to succeed. The Business Netflix has revolutionized the way people watch TV shows and movies. Online streaming in the Video entertainment industry is rapidly growing and in order for Netflix to sustain competitive advantage Netflix continuously tries to improve what they have to offer. The core strategy at Netflix is to grow their streaming business domestically and globally as Mail-in DVD dies down. How the company achieves the strategic plan is setting a goal that is correlated with their strategy. The goal of Netflix is to maintain customer’s satisfaction while staying in the scope of the business parameters. Netflix tries to achieve its goal by continuously improving the customer experience, focusing on expanding their content, enhancing their user interface and extending out streaming service to even more Internet-connected devices. Being in the scope of business parameters to Netflix is to consolidate net income and operating segment contribution profit target. There are two main critical success factors that Netflix has achieved. The first is pioneering online streaming since 2007. Netflix was really the first company to successfully introduce online streaming to the video industry, which has transitioned the whole entire video entertainment industry. The second critical success factor is Netflix team of experts being able to enhance customer experience by offering customized recommendations based on what the consumer has watched. With critical success factors comes past achievements. Some of the major past achievements that Netflix has noted is the successful launch of the company going IPO in 2002. The initial public offering of 5,500,000 shares at $15. 00 per share on the Nasdaq. Secondly, not only was it a critical success but a major achievement to the company. In 2007 Netflix introduces streaming, which allowed members to instantly watch TV shows movies on their personal computers and since that time Netflix has been the leading company in doing so. However, with achievement comes a challenge the company has faced. The major challenge that Netflix has faced is the company rebranding attempt. Back in July 2011 Netflix announced that Netflix was dividing their services to two separate brands. The online streaming was going to remain Netflix and the Mail-in DVD was called Quixter. This would in turn increase member’s subscription. After the initial launch many customer where dissatisfied of Netflix choice and ultimately subscribers cancelled their subscription. As a result. Netflix is having a hard time gaining those customers back as well as gaining new subscribers. Another challenge that Netflix has is establishing an international presents. Back in 2010 Netflix initiated its international segment by starting to the north of United States, in Canada. Then in 2011 Netflix launched in Latin American and the Caribbean. At this point Netflix had a huge contribution margin loss of 103. million dollars. Then in the beginning of 2012 Netflix launched in the UK and Ireland, with even more of a contribution loss. Netflix is focusing on two major aspects of the business the first is to try to gain the subscriber’s hey have lost and to bring in new one by heavily marketing what the business has to offer. The second focus is that Netflix has also realized that they have not established a strong international presence and as a result the company has frozen future international launches until the given goal that was set out is achieved. Upon analyzing Netflix in the Online streaming industry there are many strengths that Netflix has. One is that Netflix revolutionized the industry by Differentiation. It is key to this industry being able to distinguish the company from its competitors. Secondly, Netflix is known for their recommendation system. This is more of their Niche strategy. They saw that now companies were doing this and from their research and development team they found that there was a market for this. However there are prevalent weaknesses that Netflix has such as: Customer loyalty, Market Vulnerability and relying heavily on one person set of skills. There are many competitions and many of Netflix customers are also customers at other online streaming websites. Secondly Netflix has not been around as long as Blockbuster and does not have the brand recognition that Blockbuster has. The online streaming industry has market vulnerability. The online streaming industry is rapidly changing, and Netflix solely depends on the partnerships and licensing they form. If contracts are not renewed that could adversely affect the business. Secondly, there are tons of competitors in the industry and Netflix may not be able to hold their subscribers. Netflix to maintain a competitive advantage Netflix must continue to build and maintain brand identity, increase customer loyalty by sustaining customer satisfaction. Product and Services The product that Netflix offers is a one month trial membership. The perks of having a Netflix subscription is there is no annual fee a year and you do not have to subscribe to it for one a whole year. It is a month-to-month subscription there is no cancellation fees. Initially Netflix had list of different subscription offers, currently when you sign up Netflix offers one main subscription offer that is 7. 9 a month for unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows then for an additional $7. 99 per month you can add the DVD by mail feature. Netflix is distributed two different ways online streaming and Mail-in DVD. The online streaming is via internet, smart devices, tablets or gaming consoles such as: internet TV’s, iPad, Android, PS3, Wii, and the Xbox 360. Currently, Netflix can be streamed from more than 700 devices. Industry Analysis The market value of the Video entertainment industry is at about 53 billion dollars and the competition is intense. The industry is rapidly changing due to the exponential growth of online streaming. The technical advances is a corporate to the exponential growth The technological advancements provides internet access virtually anywhere, the video process gets faster it seems like every couple month. With all the technical advances the online streaming business is more accessible and convenient to consumers. The size of the industry is rather large. it is about $56 billion dollars. This has a promising forecast for more profit. As you can see there is a lot of potential growth in the Video Entertainment industry. The Video Entertainment industry as a whole is in the early stages of the Mature Stage; however the online streaming sub-component is in the growth stage of the lifecycle and according to the Netflix financial statement the Barriers to entry is rather low. Competitors can launch a new business in the industry at a relatively low cost. The government regulations on the video entertainment industry are rather relaxed so that there are major risk involved such as Piracy and cyber security. Piracy is a major issue in this industry and although it is still a big problem. The United States has shut down one of the biggest piracy website: Megavideo. Which arguably has cost copyright owners 500 million dollars in lost revenue Cyber security is an issue because the internet can be a vulnerable place and as the technology gets more advanced the hackers get smarter. Cyber security remains an issue that U. S government is trying to minimize. Lastly, If the government were to heavily regulate the industry then copyright laws can change adversely affecting the industry. For example, Netflix like many business in the industry rely on the copyright, licensing and partnerships that they obtain if the U. S copyright laws changed then this can adversely affect the industry. The first sale doctrine provides individuals who knowingly purchase a copyrighted work from the copyright holder receives the right to sell, displays, or otherwise disposed of that particular copy, notwithstanding the interest of the copyright owner. The first sale doctrine plays a vital role in the United States copyright law. So the morale of the story is the government needs to find a happy medium where the industry is being a little more regulated than it is now to reduce piracy and cyber insecurity however, still allows business to obtain copyrights. Other factors that affect the industry or globalization and the political and social factors. Globalization has affected this industry. Many of the pirated movies that are available come from China and India. Secondly, for international segment the Political and Economic factors differs from United States. Failure to manage any of the risk associated with those factors could harm the overall business. Market Analysis We have determined that the industry is divided into two types of customers; the picky customers and the convenience customers. The picky customers are the ones who are looking for a specific movie or genre and are willing to wait a few days to get what they want. They also enjoy a rich movie watching experience and are unwilling to substitute for a different movie. The picky customer tends to be the older generation due to the time spent on choosing a movie. On the other hand, the convenience customers are those who want immediate access to a wide range of movies. They also want to be able to watch movies on multiple platforms such as on their phone, PS3, or their iPad. Since they use a lot online streaming to most of their movie watching, they are willing to substitute if the video they want is not available. The convenience customer is more tech-savvy which tends to be the younger generation. The trends that have been happening in the industry focus mainly on three aspects, convenience, cost and selection. Consumers want to be able to have a wide range of videos to choose from which are easy to obtain, at a low cost.