Saving Habits Changed Due to Harsh Economic Times

Have Spending/Saving Habits Changed Due to Harsh Economic Times Abstract Food insecurity is a serious issue in most countries in the world. It has been assumed that only people from third world countries experience food insecurity. However, people in first world countries are also at risk due to rising cost of living. Although costs of basic goods have risen with time, wages have remained the same.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Have Spending/Saving Habits Changed Due to Harsh Economic Times? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More People faced with food insecurity in third world countries seek food aid. For example, Kenyan government declared food insecurity a national disaster in 2011 due to influx of refugees from Somalia and drought (United Nations, 2011). As a result, international organizations donated food stuff. Many people in first world countries do not seek food aid when they are faced with food insecurity. In San Diego, over 3.7 million adults were faced with food insecuri ty in 2009 (California Food Policy Advocates, 2011). However, most of them did not ask for food aid. Causes of food insecurity include low income, high cost of living and increased unemployment rates. Although most victims of food insecurities do not ask for aid, a few of them have been very vocal. Some humanitarian organizations have continued highlighting the issue. (Jewish Community Foundation San Diego, 2011) In this paper, various causes and side effects of food insecurities are identified. The extent of the problem is analyzed to provide a clear situation in San Diego County. Coded words are used to provide an analysis of food insecurity. This paper use coded words from transcripts of interviews conducted in San Diego to identify the causes and financial implications of food insecurity. Hypothesis The hypothesis is that several residents of San Diego County in California who are faced with food insecurity have changed their spending and saving habits due to poor income and ris ing cost of living. Several people earn salaries which are not enough to cater for basic commodities including food. Other people are not employed at all. This is a serious matter which contributes to food insecurity in several families (United Nations, 2003). The cost of living has risen in recent years. Costs of basic commodities have almost doubled in the last decade.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Business owners have capitalized on the rising demand for food to enrich themselves. Increased food prices impact negatively on low income earners. Most people have stopped saving and adjusted their spending habits. Method of research The research method used in this paper is coding. This method is used to organize and analyze key words and phrases which are considered to be important for the research. Results of the coding have been provided. They were obtained fro m transcripts of interviews conducted in San Diego County. Results of the research are presented on a page after the interview transcript. At the end of the research, a conclusion shall be drawn to explain if the hypothesis was supported or not. The interview used in the research was conducted within thirty minutes (Berg, 2009). Interview Transcript I am a 36 year old man living and working in Bostonia town in San Diego County. I have grown in this town from childhood when my family bought a house here. My father was employed as a ranch attendant Yes, I have a family, a wife and two three children, two boys and a girl. I work in a cigarettes factory. I have been working there for the last 15 years and still standing. My job is not good because I earn a poor salary. I would say 2008 was the worst year which I experienced food insecurity. In 2001, there was a serious food shortage in some store but they were not expensive as it was in 2008. I would always think and ask myself if a day would pass without worrying about food for my family. The economic depression contributed much of the rising prices. Here in Bostonia, food and other basic commodities were very expensive compared to any other year. Most of my friends and colleagues were complaining about expensive foods and basic commodities but they still went to stores and bought them.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Have Spending/Saving Habits Changed Due to Harsh Economic Times? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Generally here in Bostonia, foods stuff and other commodities were just expensive but they were available in stores and food outlets. Even currently, there are plenty basic commodities but many people cannot afford them because of low income. People who work in a store, factory and ranches upcountry have poor salary. In the last ten years, there has been no significant salary increment from most employers. Immigrants have provided chea p labor making it hard for residence of Bostonia to ask for salary increment. No, business owners are not entirely responsible. I believe they sell their commodities based of market rates because this problem is not in Bostonia alone but also in several parts of San Diego County. Sometimes last year I went to Lake View to visit a friend and I found out that they were also complaining about expensive food. He actually told me that they have started to spend less money on luxury to enable them cater for essential commodities. He also told me that many people with poor salary are faced with food insecurity. This is not a case of Bostonia alone. My son once companied about my recent modified expenditure. My daughter has been also nagging to her mother to be taken her out over the weekends. My wife too has had a share of her complains. I have not been taking her out frequently as I used to in the last ten years. I have reduced my savings due to expensive commodities and risk of food inse curity being faced every single day. In fact some months I don’t save at all. In my family, we have always had three meals a day but in recent times I have opted to skip lunch occasionally to ensure that I spend less money because I have a poor salary. This has enabled me to afford all the requirements of my family. My children go to school where they are provided with lunch. Though I sometimes skip lunch, my children have their three meals a day. My wife has no formal employment. Her job is to provide baby sitting services. This job is not entirely reliable.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More She does not like the idea of spending less in basic commodities but I always talk her out. She understands because she knows everything is expensive and we need to spend less money on everything. No I am better than most people in Bostonia because I have a stable job although with a poor salary. Those people with no formal employment are faced with food insecurity day in day out. They are forced to spend less money on everything because of their low income. Most of them don’t save any money for future use. I heard that some people in other towns were given donations to save them from food insecurity. Everybody believed that in United States people are not supposed to rely on food aid but due to expensive commodities, people have been forced to do anything which might help them to survive. People here work overtime or do two different jobs to increase their income. However, not everybody get these extra jobs. I have not worked two jobs all my life but I have worked overtime t o increase my income. My wife on the other hand can accomplish more than one task in a single day but she does not always get the jobs When she is not working she does her chores at home including cooking and laundry. We cook in the house all week round. Sometimes as a family, we eat in food outlets. But this only happens when we have something special to celebrate about. To cook ensures that we spend less rather than eat in restaurant which is expensive. No we don’t save much when we cook in the house but we ensure that we avoid the expensive restaurants. Food insecurity is an issue which should be keenly addressed by the government. No, not through food aid but by empowering people to come up with way of increasing their low income or supplementing their poor salary. This will ensure that they can still buy the expensive basic commodities and avoid food insecurity. Employers too should improve the poor salaries they give their employees based on their performance. Data.   Code sheet Analysis The results of word coding show that hypothesis of the research is supported. Total frequency of keywords and phrases which were identified is high. These words and phrases have shown that the person who was interviewed is faced with hard economic time which has forced him to reduce expenditure. High frequency of words likes ‘expensive’ and phrases like ‘spend less’ support hypothesis of this research. Out of 16 words and phrases which were analyzed, the highest five in descending order are; Expensive 11, Job 8, Food Insecurity 7, Poor Salary 6 and Spend less 5,. The numbers show that food insecurity is a big concern to people in San Diego County. Foods have become expensive forcing people to spend less money on other needs. This is because foods consume most of their income. Poor salary was also mentioned frequently. This means that poor salaries contribute to food insecurity. The results concur with a report from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, (2003) which mention poor income and unemployment as the main causes of food insecurity. Most participants mentioned the word expensive more than any other word or phrase studied. According to Jewish Community Foundation San Diego (2011), poor salaries and unemployment are the main causes of food insecurity. Low income earners in the area have stopped saving. More people relied on food donations 2008 while schools have started feeding programs to combat food insecurity (Jewish Community Foundation San Diego, 2011). A press release by California Food Policy Advocates (2011) showed that families earning less than $ 36,000 a year struggle to afford nutritious food. This is an indication that salaries and income play a vital role in food security. Net income determines the quality of food people eat. Furthermore, the press release indicated that people relying on CalFresh increased in 2009. This is contrary to the results obtained from this study whic h shows that few participants mentioned ‘donations.’ Most people in San Diego are proud and do not want to be associated with donations. Although a good number of people are faced with food insecurity, few of them seek donations. These people spend less money on nutritious food. ‘Skip lunch’ was mentioned as a way of reducing cost of food. Restaurants 1, Donations 1, and Eat out 1 had the lowest frequency. This shows that many people avoid eating in restaurants to reduce their spending on food. They cook at home to cut costs. Summary and Conclusion From the results, ‘insecurity,’ ’expensive,’ ‘food, ‘spend less’ and ‘poor salary’ recorded the highest frequencies. On the other hand, ‘Restaurants,’ ‘Donations,’ and ‘Eat out’ had the lowest frequencies. I conclude that the high frequency of the word ‘expensive’ and the phrase ‘spend less’ show that people have been forced to spend less money on food because they are expensive. This has forced them to stop saving and concentrate on buying food. Fewer hits were recorded for restaurants, and eat out showing support of my conclusion that people in San Diego have stopped eating luxuriously due to escalating food prices. The hypothesis I drew at the beginning of this research is supported by the findings. References Berg, B. L. (2009). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn Bacon. California Food Policy Advocates, (2011). More Low-Income Californians Struggle to Put Food on the Table 210,000 Low-Income Adults in San Diego County are Food Insecure. Web. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, (2003). The state of food insecurity in the world. Rome, Italy: Viale delle Terme di Caracalla. Jewish Community Foundation San Diego, (2011). Feeding the Hungry in San Diego. Web. United Nations, (2011). Eastern Africa Drought Humanitarian Report. Web.

Free Essays on Meat Is No Good

Meat Is Useless Meat is Useless Eating meat is part of the daily life of billions of people all over the world. Every day thousands of animals are killed for the production of meat food for people. However, studies have shown that meat is not essential for our existence and gives us nothing more than the other foods on the market. Meat consumption may not harm you or the surrounding environment immediately but there are consequences and sooner or later they will appear. A meatless diet is healthier than a diet containing meat. According to surveys and examinations of the contents of the food products, meat contains more fat than non-meat foods. Since it is very difficult for our bodies to process high quantities of fat and it is being accumulated in our bodies, fat consuming causes many health problems. According to the American Heart Association, the fat in the food we eat should be no more than 30 percent of the total calories we consume daily. However, this is very difficult to achieve when meat is part of our daily meal plan. The only way to stay healthy and continue eating meat is to put a limit on the amount of meat we consume. Unfortunately, nowadays most people are often tempted by the taste and appearance of the meat products on the market and it is very difficult for them to resist. That is why the solution of a balanced diet can not be practically used. Moreover, it has been recently proven that many diseases are commonly prevented, consistently improved, and often cured by a low-fat vegetarian diet. Among them are diseases such as kidney stones, prostate cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, strokes, diabetes, peptic ulcers, obesity, hemmorhoids, salmonellosis, and many others (American Heart Association). Cholesterol can be found in every meat product. This is another particular reason proving that meat is bad. Cholesterol blocks the arteries and ma... Free Essays on Meat Is No Good Free Essays on Meat Is No Good Meat Is Useless Meat is Useless Eating meat is part of the daily life of billions of people all over the world. Every day thousands of animals are killed for the production of meat food for people. However, studies have shown that meat is not essential for our existence and gives us nothing more than the other foods on the market. Meat consumption may not harm you or the surrounding environment immediately but there are consequences and sooner or later they will appear. A meatless diet is healthier than a diet containing meat. According to surveys and examinations of the contents of the food products, meat contains more fat than non-meat foods. Since it is very difficult for our bodies to process high quantities of fat and it is being accumulated in our bodies, fat consuming causes many health problems. According to the American Heart Association, the fat in the food we eat should be no more than 30 percent of the total calories we consume daily. However, this is very difficult to achieve when meat is part of our daily meal plan. The only way to stay healthy and continue eating meat is to put a limit on the amount of meat we consume. Unfortunately, nowadays most people are often tempted by the taste and appearance of the meat products on the market and it is very difficult for them to resist. That is why the solution of a balanced diet can not be practically used. Moreover, it has been recently proven that many diseases are commonly prevented, consistently improved, and often cured by a low-fat vegetarian diet. Among them are diseases such as kidney stones, prostate cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, strokes, diabetes, peptic ulcers, obesity, hemmorhoids, salmonellosis, and many others (American Heart Association). Cholesterol can be found in every meat product. This is another particular reason proving that meat is bad. Cholesterol blocks the arteries and ma...

Music in The Heart is a lonely hunter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Music in The Heart is a lonely hunter - Essay Example Virginia (2005) rightly enlists the character of Mick Kelly when she remarks â€Å"Mick Kelly, a tomboyish adolescent who shuts out the real world with music and dreams of fame and distant lands† (Virginia Spencer Carr, 2005). Reading through the novel, one can realize that McCuller has portrayed her characters as appealing sympathy of the readers and they are really the prototype figures representing the author herself. Especially, the character of Mick has a clear connotation with the author’ personal life where she herself was much interested and wished to be proficient in playing piano. To an extent, one can infer that Mick is the true representative of McCuller who had to leave the greatest desire of her life half way. As McCuller started her musical lessons at the age of six, she makes her character Mick also to begin her musical lessons at an early stage of life. While analyzing the personal life of the author, it is understandable that some fatal diseases drove her away from fulfilling her driving passion to become a concert pianist. But regarding Mick, it is the poor state of her family that stands on her way from leading her to the vast and impassioned realms of music. Being haunted with diseases, McCuller was forced to seek other fields, such as writing dramas, casting, directing and producing them. Actually, it was a submission to her fate and the same submissive nature is expressive in Mick’s character and she could not really bear up the prospect of losing her musical lessons.

Many people become Obsessed with Appearance Essay

Many people become Obsessed with Appearance - Essay Example Obsession with appearance is often referred to as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) or imagined ugliness in which an individual begins to notice flaws in their body design, such as facial features or body structure, until these thoughts become a long-term obsession (Phillips, Didie, Feusner and Wilhelm, 1112). Obsession generally involves a relatively harmless belief, based often on the aforementioned media influences including celebrity worship and plastic surgery-related media, which turns into a lasting fixation on the perceived problems and can lead to disastrous social consequences such as the inability to function in society. This obsession with appearance can also stem from the natural course of aging in which the skin begins to lose its elasticity, tooth begin to lose their bright white faà §ade, and lines begin to appear on the face around the eyes and mouth. Because society tends to create a portrait of perfection by which most members of society are expected to conform, in which youthful complexions are regarded as being satisfactory and aged appearance unsatisfactory, even older adults can become obsessed with appearance and find difficulty adjusting to social environments. Even though the aging process is a natural outcome of life experiences and decades of exposure to different elements, and many of their older peers share these same facial features, many people find it difficult to cope with the aging process and long for the days when their faces were youthful. These people who become obsessed with appearance are often drawn toward cosmetic surgery as a means to remove these fixations or, fail ing to act on the obsession, they face depressive disorders or have thoughts of suicide. Further, every human being maintains measurable levels of serotonin in their brains, which is a chemical neurotransmitter, which is, from a clinical perspective, highly important in regulating

Importance of Wearing a Condom Essay Example for Free

Importance of Wearing a Condom Essay The aim of using a condom is to ensure that there is no contact between the sexual fluids that come from a man’s penis and the sexual fluids, blood or ‘lining’ inside his partner’s body (vagina or anus). Using a condom prevents transmission of sexually transmitted diseases/illnesses (STIs) – from man to woman and from woman to man or from man to man. Using a condom prevents unwanted pregnancy and allows couples to plan when they have children. If used correctly, a condom stops HIV passing from an infected person (who may not know he or she is infected) to an uninfected person. Condoms can also stop someone with HIV being re-infected with the virus. Without a condom, STIs and HIV can pass from one body to another – man or woman. During penetrative intercourse without a condom (in other words, where sexual fluids mix as a result of contact between genitals), a man’s body can pick up HIV from an infected partner – or a woman’s body can pick up HIV from an infected partner. Condom use is always crucial because HIV and some other STIs have no symptoms – they are invisible. Another advantage is that condoms delay ejaculation, increasing the length of penetrative sexual intimacy and pleasure. Many people have already contracted HIV. Using condoms correctly can protect them from re-infection and from increasing their viral load. Condoms also keep their partners or spouses safe from infection during intercourse. Condoms, used properly and with confidence (every time): * Can prevent (re-)infection from many STIs, including HIV. * Can protect fertility (some STIs, with few evident symptoms, can cause infertility in women and men). * Can enable you to plan pregnancy – or prevent it. * Can help you avoid anxiety and risk and let you choose health, safe pleasure and to care for your body (whatever sex you are) and for your partner’s body (whatever sex they are).

Lord Of The Flies :: essays research papers

Lord of the Flies Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jack Merridew is a symbol for savagery. From the very beginning, he seems to harbor emotions of anger and savagery. At first, he is the leader of his choir group, who become hunters as the book progresses. Finally, his savage personality and ability to tell people what they want to hear, allows him to overtake Ralph as chief. The three points I will be talking about in this essay are Jack’s character, Jack’s symbolism, and the moral or lesson Golding is trying to teach us throughout the story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jack Merridew is a young boy, probably the same age as Ralph, possibly older. On pg. 20 Golding describes Jack as “…tall, thin and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness. Out of this face stared two light blue eyes, frustrated now, and turning, or ready to turn, to anger.'; Jack’s eyes are always used in the novel to depict his emotions, as they are in the quote above. When the boys land on the island they are all wearing their school uniforms, but Jack and his choir are wearing cloaks and caps. Oddly enough, Jack is one of the only boys whose last name is learned. I think the author does this to make Jack stand out. He is a very important character because throughout this whole novel, Golding depicts this island and savagery to everyday life. Jack is the perfect character to play this role due to his temperament and power hungry acts. Jack is solely concerned with hunting, and cannot see the necessity of other things that can keep them alive. Fire, an important necessity, is carelessly abused and treated by Jack. His whole existence and survival depend on fire yet his mail goal is to hunt and kill. His controlling and persuasive behavior, allow him to take over the chief position towards the end of the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel, Lord of the Flies is a novel involving a great deal of symbolism. Different characters provide different symbols. Jack is a symbol of savagery and anarchy. Golding relates this to the evil and cruel people in the world. When Jack first arrives on the island he is excited to have rules for their new settlement. Jack exclaims on pg. 33 “ We’ll have rules!'; he cried excitedly. “Lots of rules!…'; Jack changes his view on rules towards the end of the story because he rebels from Ralph’s leadership and starts his own clan.

Lg Hr Policies

LG ELECTRONICS LTD {draw:frame} A great working environment will allow you to exercise and develop all of your skills, and you'll be duly rewarded too! LG Electronics creates working environments that enable all its employees to demonstrate their capabilities, focus on their own work, and create value. HR Principles {draw:frame} Creativity and autonomy An individual's creativity is the basis for value creation. LG Electronics respects diversity and autonomy, allowing each of its employees to exercise their creativity to the full. Emphasis on competence Competence is the basis for performance. LG Electronics sees competence as the most important factor in its personnel decisions. Performance-based rewards Rewards based on performance are essential for human motivation. LG Electronics evaluates performance results fairly and rewards them accordingly. Equal opportunities Equal opportunities build trust among people. LG Electronics ensures equal opportunities regardless of gender, race, age, religion, or nationality. Long-term perspective Maintaining a long-term perspective is the foundation for LG's human resources policies. LG's human resources programs are designed with a long-term perspective and implemented with dedication and persistence. {draw:frame} Training Through its education centers worldwide, LG Electronics offers diverse educational programs to its employees according to rank and job to encourage growth and development and mold them into â€Å"the right people† for the company. They do this by equipping them with the professional capabilities that the company needs and enabling them to apply the latest technologies to their work. Rewards LG Electronics offers its employees a competitive, unique rewards system that takes account of their working situations by nation, region, and job. This rewards system motivates employees to perform better by helping them to enhance their quality of life. LG's rewards system consists of fixed salaries and flexible salaries. Fixed salaries are determined every year through a fair evaluation process. Flexible salaries are immediate rewards given to individual employees for their performance and competence.

Managerial Economics and Globalization Essay

Abstract This paper will describe the details of a fictitious business and will assess the current environmental scan factors while determining the factors that will have the greatest impact on plant operations and management’s decision to continue or discontinue operations. Thirdly, this paper will evaluate the financial performance of the company using the information provided in the scenario; consider all key drivers of performance, such as company profit or loss for both the short term and long term. Also, a recommendation as to how the company can improve its profitability and develop a brief plan to implement the recommendations. Lastly, this paper will assess the circumstances in which the company should discontinue operations while providing a set of reasonable rationales. 1. Briefly describe the details of the fictitious business that you created for this assignment. The fictitious business in this assignment is named TopShop, which is an American multinational retailer with its main headquarters in New York. It is a high end fashion brand that specializes in fashion clothing, shoes, make-up and accessories. Currently, TopShop has 150 workers for its factory in New Jersey, and has hired a consultant to offer some advice that could help it make a decision as to whether it should shut down completely or continue operations. In addition, TopShop has 100 workers that produce 6,000 units of output per month (working 20 days / month). The daily wage (per worker) is $70, and the price of the firm’s output is $32. The cost of other variable inputs is $2,000 per day. The firm’s fixed cost is â€Å"high enough† so that the firm’s total costs exceed its total revenue. The marginal cost of the last unit is $30. 2. Assess the current environmental scan factors. Determine the factors that will have the greatest impact on plant operations and management’s decision to continue or discontinue operations. The environmental scan factor refers to the macro environment and is the activity of acquiring information about events and relationships in a company’s outside environment, the knowledge of which would assist top management in its task charting the company’s future course of action. (Aguilar,1967). Comparably, finance, marketing, and operations will have the greater impact on plant operations and management’s decisions in determining if the operation continues its business. First, finance is responsible for acquiring financial resources at favorable prices and allocating those resources throughout the business, as well as budgeting, analyzing, investment proposals, and providing funds for operations. Secondly, marketing aims to analyze and determine consumer demands in the future, then selling and promoting its products and services. Thirdly, operations are responsible for production of goods and customer services in business. In addition, the production of goods or services supply could transform inputs into outputs (Michaels, 2011). Inputs such as capital, labor, and information are used to create goods or a service. That is why companies take measurements at various points in the transformation process and then compares them with previously established standards to determine whether corrective action is needed. In other words, the three factors; finance, marketing and operation can work in the study and interpretation of the political, economic, social and technological (PEST analysis) events and trends which influence a business, an industry or even a total market. In summary, they have the greatest impact on plant operation and management’s decision. 3. Evaluate the financial performance of the company using the information provided in the scenario. Consider all the key drivers of performance, such as company profit or loss for both the short term and long term. Be sure to show the calculations that helped you reach your conclusions. Topshop’s financial performance is in trouble. A decision was made to hire Mr. Blake Lively as a managing consultant to offer suggestions to improve Topshop’s financial performance. Based on the data given, Blake considered the following key drivers of performance and the financial analysis. The details are following: 100 employees produce 6,000 units in a month. The price is $32 The total revenue per day = 6,000*$32 = $192,000 Daily wage per employee = $70 Total wage in one month = 20days * 100 employees * $70 = $140,000 Total variable cost = variable inputs + total wage in one month = $2,000*20days+ $140,000 = $180,000 per month. AVC=TVC/Q=$180,000/6,000=$30 per unit Net income=Total Revenue-TVC=192,000-180,000=$12,000 Based on the analysis of data, Topshop could continue its operations in short term because the $32 price is more than AVC $30, and the revenue received per month is $12,000. However, in the long term, Topshop should seriously consider the option of shutting down completely. The main reason being that the firm’s fixed cost is high enough so that its total costs exceed its total revenue, and the price must be less than AVC. Under this situation, the firm has no other recourse but to close its operation. 4. Recommend how the company can improve its profitability. Then, develop a brief plan to implement the recommendations. Every business can improve its profitability by aiming to increase profitability, reduce costs, consider the price, and expand the market. Buy more effectively One of the most obvious routes to increasing the profitability is to buy more effectively. It makes sense to review a supplier base regularly and to determine if a firm can buy the same raw materials more cheaply or efficiently. However, it must be ensured that the cheaper raw materials will not reduce quality of product and service (He, et al., 2007). Manage your costs Close management of the costs can drive firm’s profitability. Most businesses are capable of fining some forms of waste to reduce, however it is important to be mindful and not cut costs at the expense of the quality of products and services. Pricing considerations It is a good idea to regularly examine the pricing. Changes in the marketplace may help increase the price without risking sales. However, it is essential to test any price increases before they are made permanent. Expand your market Moving into new market areas can transform a business and if handled correctly, can significantly increase the profitability. However, bear in mind that developing new products and services and selling in new markets can be risky – and mistakes can prove very costly. 5. Assess the circumstances in which the company should discontinue operations. Provide a rationale with your response. To qualify for presentation as a discontinued operation, all of the following conditions must be met: 1. The operations and cash flows of the component have been or will be eliminated from the ongoing operations of the entity as a result of the disposal transaction and 2. The entity will not have any significant continuing involvement in the operations of the component after the disposal transaction 3. A description of the facts and circumstances leading to the expected disposal, the expected manner and timing of the disposal and the carrying amounts of the major classes of assets and liabilities included as part of the disposal group (if not reflected separately on the face of the statement). 4. The gain or loss recognized and, if not separately presented on the income statement, the caption in that statement in which the gain is included. 5. If applicable, the amount of revenue and pretax profit or loss reported in discontinued operations. 6. If applicable, the segment in which the long-lived asset or disposal group is reported. References Aguilar, F. J. (1967). Scanning the Business Environment. New York, NY: McMillan. Michaels, R. J. (2011). Transactions and Strategies. 1st Edition. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. He, Y. Q., Chan, L. K. & Wu, M. L. (2007). Balancing productivity and consumer satisfaction for profitability: Statistical and fuzzy regression analysis Original Research Article. European Journal of Operational Research, 176(1), 252-263 Drake, M., Gerde, V., & Wasieleski, D. (2011). Socially responsible modeling: a stakeholder approach to the implementation of ethical modeling in operations research. OR Spectrum, 33(1), 1-26. doi:10.1007/s00291-009-0172-9

Testing for Honesty

Testing for Honesty According to the Salvation Army, "charity begins at home." The Salvation Army realized that it had a problem with theft among its kettle workers, the people who collect money for the Army during Christmas season. Apparently, some of the kettlers were helping themselves to the Army's money before the organization had a chance to give it out. To put a stop to this problem the Salvation Army along with other business organizations implemented the use of honesty tests for prospective employers, which would aim at flushing out potential troublemakers.Honesty tests also measure an applicant's tendency toward drug use and violence. All three categories: honesty, drugs, and violence play are key role in companies' losses according to the makers of these tests. A company's loss can be huge when taking into consideration compound problems, such as the cost of employee drug use in terms of absenteeism, lost initiative, inattentiveness, accidents, diminished productivity, and employee violence c osts companies millions of dollars in damage, lost productivity and law suites.Newman, CA Army Reserve Training Center 2 October ...Honesty-test makers say that the only way to deal with these problems is before workers are hired, not after. Therefore, prospective employees should be subject to a pre-employment psychological test that will identify those prospective employees who will be likely to steal, who have a history of violence or emotional instability, or who have used illegal drugs in the past on a regular basis. It is believe that dishonest job applicants are clever enough to fool potential employees at a job interview. They have a way of conducting themselves that is probably superior to the low-risk person because they have learned what it takes to be accepted and how to overcome the normal interview strategy. Therefore, the high-risk dishonest person will get the job unless there is someway to screen them,

Definition and Examples of Amphiboly in English

Definition and Examples of Amphiboly in English Amphiboly is a  fallacy  of relevance that relies on an ambiguous word or grammatical structure to confuse or mislead an audience. Adjective: amphibolous. Also known as  amphibology. More broadly, amphiboly may refer to a fallacy that results from a faulty sentence structure of any kind. Etymology From the Greek, irregular speech Pronunciation:  am-FIB-o-lee Examples and Observations [T]he 2003 election reform law demanded that politicians acknowledge in their own voices their responsibility for advertisements they run on public airwaves. But five years later, the I approved has become a pivotal device in commercials for Congress and the White House, a place for candidates to make a declaration of intent, summarize the message or take a parting shot. . . .A University of New Hampshire rhetoric professor, James Farrell, was irked as far back as the 2004 Democratic primary campaign, the first time the disclaimers were required. Then, as now, he said, advertisement writers were coming up with awkward non-sequiturs just to slip in something extra.Mr. Farrell noted a current commercial for Representative Don Cazayoux, Democrat of Louisiana, in which the candidate said, I’m Don Cazayoux and I approved this message because that’s who I’m fighting for. That, Mr. Farrell said, is an amphiboly, a logical confusion created by a grammatical ambiguity.Of course, if asked, the candidate will say he means he’s fighting for the middle class, said Mr. Farrell, of the spot’s theme. However, one could easily conclude that the disclaimer addition refers to the candidate himself, as in, I’m Don and that’s who I’m fighting for.(Steve Friess, Candidates ‘Approve’ Ads and Get a Bit Creative. The New York Times, Sep. 30, 2008) Humorous Amphibolies Amphiboly is usually so recognizable that it is rarely used in real-life situations to make a claim seem stronger than it is. Instead, it more often leads to humorous misunderstandings and confusions. Newspaper headlines are one common source of amphiboly. Here are a few examples: Prostitutes Appeal to Pope Farmer Bill Dies in House Dr. Ruth to Talk About Sex With Newspaper Editors Burglar  Gets Nine Months in Violin Case Juvenile  Court to Try Shooting Defendant Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge Marijuana Issues Sent to a Joint Committee Two Convicts Evade Noose: Jury Hung. . . . Most of these cases of amphiboly are the result of a poorly constructed sentence: I like chocolate cake better than you. Although we normally try to avoid them, intentional amphiboly may prove useful when we feel obligated to say something we would rather not have to say, yet want to avoid saying something that is patently not true. Here are lines from letters of recommendation: In my opinion, you will be very fortunate to get this person to work for you. I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine. From a professor on receiving a late paper from a student: I shall waste no time in reading this. (John Capps and Donald Capps, Youve Got To Be Kidding!: How Jokes Can Help You Think. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) Amphiboly in a Classified Ad Sometimes the amphiboly is more subtle. Take this newspaper classified ad that appears under Furnished Apartments for Rent: 3 rooms, river view, private phone, bath, kitchen, utilities included Your interest is aroused. But when you visit the apartment, there is neither a bathroom nor a kitchen. You challenge the landlord. He remarks that there are common bathroom and kitchen facilities at the end of the hall. But what about the private bath and kitchen that the ad mentioned? you query. What are you talking about? the landlord replies. The ad didnt say anything about a private bath or a private kitchen. All the ad said was private phone. The advertisement was amphibolous. One cannot tell from the printed words whether private modifies only phone or whether it also modifies bath and kitchen. (Robert J. Gula, Nonsense: Red Herrings, Straw Men and Sacred Cows: How We Abuse Logic in Our Everyday Language. Axios, 2007) Characteristics of Amphibolies To become a skilled perpetrator of amphibolies you must acquire a certain nonchalance toward punctuation, especially commas. You must learn to toss off lines such as I heard cathedral bells tripping through the alleyways, as if it mattered not a whit whether you or the bells were doing the tripping. You should acquire a vocabulary of nouns which can be verbs and a grammatical style which easily accommodates misplaced pronouns and confusions over subject and predicate. The astrology columns in popular newspapers provide excellent source material. (Madsen Pirie, How to Win Every Argument: The Use and Abuse of Logic. Continuum, 2006) The Lighter Side of Amphiboly Some amphibolous sentences are not without their humorous aspects, as in posters urging us to Save Soap and Waste Paper, or when anthropology is defined as The science of man embracing woman. We should be mistaken if we inferred immodest dress on the woman described in a story: . . . loosely wrapped in a newspaper, she carried three dresses. Amphiboly is often exhibited by newspaper headings and brief items, as in The farmer blew out his brains after taking affectionate farewell of his family with a shotgun. (Richard E. Young, Alton L. Becker, and Kenneth L. Pike, Rhetoric: Discovery and Change. Harcourt, 1970)

Engineering Design Flow Contributing To the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Essay

Engineering Design Flow Contributing To the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster - Essay Example The researcher suggests that perhaps April 1986 was the worst tragedy in the global nuclear history, considering that Russia was among the leading nations as far as nuclear energy production was concerned. However, the Chernobyl plant encountered the worst engineering disasters that led to its decommissioning barely a decade and a half into operation. One of the nuclear reactors under test exploded under intense pressure, spewing tons of nuclear waste into the atmosphere. Several people, including plant technicians and engineers, absorbed significant levels of radiation from the accident. The team from Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and some government operatives initially briefed the locals about the impending disaster. Although the local people were told not to worry because the explosion was a slight problem that the plan engineers dealing with it, nuclear waste was already spreading across the entire area. The government had to evacuate all the residents of Prypiat city within 24 hours because of the radiation effect that resulted from the leakage of nuclear waste into the atmosphere. By magnitude, the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster was the worst accident in global nuclear history. Nuclear experts believe that Chernobyl and the area around it are still contaminated with nuclear waste presently. To understand the events and circumstances that led to the unfortunate accident, it is worth examining the real causes of the accident, whether it was human cause or the causes were beyond human control.

Managing the Digital Enterprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Managing the Digital Enterprise - Essay Example It demonstrates the degree of innovation of an organization and their responsiveness to the consumer needs and changes in taste preferences. With the introduction of technology, e-business models have been developed that allow businesses to demonstrate their abilities and responsiveness using web based centres. Thus, a business model whether tradition or e-business model demonstrates the approaches adopted by an organization to make profits. In this paper, the business models of Dell and Amazon companies will be analysed to demonstrate how each of the approaches have affected the performance of the businesses. In implementing the business models, these organizations have their specific community and target audience in sight, which affects the nature of their models. The target audience served by the organizations websites will also be analysed to demonstrate how the companies use their sites to attract their customers. Dell and Amazon business models The development of web dependent business models as have been done by both Dell and Amazon requires the understanding of the characteristics of web-users. Consumer behaviours constantly change and is influenced largely by the current occurrence in the market, competition and the entry of new players in the industry. Companies conduct studies on consumer behaviours to determine the nature of their web contents as exhibited by both dell and Amazon. Websites therefore incorporate business news, entertainment articles and educational activities aimed at attracting and arousing the interests of the consumers. In organizations that conduct online shopping, procurements, sales and advertising like Amazon and most recently Dell, a proper e-business model is of great significance (Kuballa, 2007). Dell Corporation launched their e-business approach in 1990s and this has enabled it to make inroads into new markets while designing products that suit the specific needs of the consumers. According to this model, the company main tains a virtual operations and sales system in which it operates without any physical outlets and intermediaries to link it with the consumers. With its sound supply chain management approach, Dell can sufficiently serve the orders of its consumers within 24 hours of receiving the order (Fife & Pereira, 2006). One of the business models used by Dell involves the employment of e-business in enhancing its supply chain management thus enabling the company to meet the consumer’s needs in time. In 1996, Dell Corporation opened its website www.dell.com for online selling purposes and designed it specifically to allow for interactive approaches with the consumers (Kha, 2000). The business model as practiced by Dell Corporation is also punctuated with consistencies in the development of new innovative products, which are availed on the company’s website for consumers to review. The innovative approach focuses on the key competencies of the company and the ability of the consum ers to make their personal inputs on the products online before making their orders (Fox, 2000). Amazon has cut a niche for itself as one of the leading online book and music seller controlling a large percentage of the total books sold online worldwide. The success of the online