Final Marketing Plan Presentation Essay

The Allstate Corporation is the largest publicly held personal lines property and casualty insurer in America. Allstate provides insurance products to approximately 16 million households. Allstate was founded in 1931 and became a publicly traded company in 1993. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol ALL and widely known through the â€Å"You’re In Good Hands With Allstate ®Ã¢â‚¬  slogan. (Suite 101, 2013). Being such a large provider of consumer protection takes hard work and dedication from every individual in the company to provide consumers with the highest level of customer service. While Allstate was trying unsuccessfully to diversify, rivals were revolutionizing the auto insurance business, which Allstate still counts on for most of its sales. Auto premiums generated 55% of its $31.4 billion in revenue last year.Geico and Progressive Corp. found a new formula for growth in the relatively mature business. They crafted a lower-cost model combining direct sales over the Internet and telephone with heavy television advertising. Offering lower prices and more convenience, they grew rapidly at the expense of Allstate and other insurers that sell mostly through agents.Allstate’s second-place share of the auto insurance market fell to 10.4% from 11.3% over the past five years, while Chevy Chase, Md.-based Geico jumped two points to 8.7% and Progressive climbed to 7.9 %( Suite 101, 2013). State Farm Insurance the largest car and home insurer in the U.S. and a mutual company owned by its policyholders consistently rated better for claims handling and service than Allstate. The claims department of Allstate has some of the most critical interaction with the consumers because it is during a time of need. Consumers contact the claims department when they have suffered a loss to establish a claim. The claims adjuster has the responsibility of obtaining claim pertinent information from the consumer to effectively evaluate the loss. At Allstate Insurance claims departments are separated according to customer needs. Large claims offices known as Market Claim Offices, MCO, are strategically located to provide adequate coverage across the nation. A Market Claim Office presides over a few states or an individual state depending on claim volume and consumer coverage. Allstate has specialized offices that handle claims for the entire nation but only if they meet certain criteria. The Hudson Express Office out of Hudson, Ohio is an office with a focus on handling claims with a reduced cycle time or the  time from claim submission to claim settlement. A starting to examine the external factors impacting customer expectations, which may or may not be off-kilter with necessary protocols and the terms of coverage insurance in general, is the media’s unflattering portrayal of the i ndustry; especially in light of post Katrina claim controversies and litigation. Aside from merely being a nuisance, the media also contribute to customer apprehension, which invariably affects the entire claim experience, starting with the initial exchange. Customer leeriness combated, comfort level enhanced easily by treating the customer and the claim with care and speed. To meet this reduced cycle time the Hudson Express Office only handles smaller claims with a total loss under $10,000. Everything within the Hudson Express Office is completely in house with no need for outside adjusters. A challenge area that arises because there are no outside adjusters is to efficiently write an estimate for structure damages and example of this comes from a customer’s review: (Five Weeks and Still Waiting, Jan 18 2013)†. I was broadsided by a driver who didn’t stop at a stop sign at a 4 way intersection. My car was left un-drivable. She didn’t have her insurance card with her. After a lot of investigating I found out who her insurance company was and called them myself. They told me an adjuster would be out to look at my car. No one showed up. I have called every day since. I have been told that as soon as they receive the police report and accept liability, they will put me in a rental car. It has been almost 5 weeks!† Description of the new product of service Allstate aims to compete more effectively with Geico and Progressive on their turf. After a successful four state pilot of the new Claim Satisfaction Guarantee for auto insurance across the country. Will Shorten claim cycle time ultimately results in higher customer satisfaction because the consumer can resume life as usual sooner rather than later. Allstate Insurance has implemented a new web-based customer service center to in able consumers to provide claim pertinent information via their computer through the use of the customer website. Consumers are able to enter file notes into the claim as well as submit a list of stolen or damaged items through the customer website that can be instantly attached to the claim. An opportunity area for decreased cycle time is with regard to property estimates. An in house  estimating system is utilized by inside adjusters to create a preliminary damage estimate. For smaller less complicated damage areas a web based estimating system would allow consumers to generate their own estimates. A simple web page can include multiple selections for damage areas including fences, doors, and windows. Once a damage area has been selected, multiple choice questions would allow consumers to describe the damaged area as well as the style and material the damaged area. If a consumer does not know the material or style, a default or average style and material would allow an initial estimate to be completed. Once the consumer receives an estimate or invoice from a contractor to complete the work, the claims department can review it for validity and issue any supplemental damages incurred. On simple claims, a consumer could file and settle a claim online without waiting for a call from a claims department representative significantly decreasing claim cycle time. SWOT Analysis The idea of developing a page on an insurance claim and being able to submit your complaint and receiving an instant response sounds great; Allstate needs to ensure that claims are being handled in a way in which will not create the webpage to become overloaded, it has to be user friendly and appropriate for any age group .Other considerations include the cost effectives of this type of service and how it will benefit the consumer and profitably for the brand.New automation also lists the opportunity in cost saving measures such as employee down sizing. Other key item to consider when marketing this type of service can be Advertisement on social media, newspapers,word of mouth, Blogs etc†¦ which are all great ways of promoting the new product and it also provides an opportunity to identify other forms of the same productoffered by the competitor. Target market including geographic Target market is middle market emerging affluent and mass affluent consumers with retirement and family financial protection needs. Priority status at the network repair shops and with our Service Centers. saving time and effort by having Allstate manage the entire repair process. Using the online system with real time updates to electronically monitor your vehicle at the repair shop. Progression updates are given on repairs so you can  spend time doing other things. working to minimize the repair time, which means a quicker reunion with your car. Quality factors including the quality of repairs, Guaranteeing repairs for as long as you own or lease the vehicle is one market point. If a policyholder has a burning question about a claim at 2 a.m., they are able log in to the online service site at any time to check the status of the claim. Porter’s five competitive forces model Allstate’s Consumer Segmentation Strategy When purchasing insurance or any other product or service, consumers have more choices than ever before and they know it. But decision making power is not in the customer’s hands alone. A company can build tremendous customer loyalty over time by making it a top priority to understand and meet its customers’ needs. As a result, Allstate will continue to refine its product offerings, marketing outreach and customer service based on careful research. Allstate serves four different consumer segments with distinct interaction preferences (advice and assistance versus self-directed) and brand preferences (brand-neutral versus brand-sensitive). Marketing research is an approach conducted to evaluate particular strategies.As well as the tactics used toward the web-based estimating system. The marketing research will help to connect with the consumers to analyze what is needed to research opportunities and evaluate marketing actions. This will also help to prevent uncertainties for the new service provided. The market research will allow the chance to determine how well the system is working. The competitive intelligence will help to identify what competitors are doing and how Allstate can differentiate service to gain customer loyalty. Marketing research will aid in developing a strategy that will increase the satisfaction of our new product of service. Allstate is working to provide quality service and conveniences. Therefore, the quantitative research will touch base on many incentives needed to process the claims. Other approaches will involve the act of identifying any other areas of concern. In which could relate to technical issues and a collection of data needed to estimate totals. The marketing research approach described will enhance the quality and promotion for Allstate’s new web-based system. The overall marketing plan should ensure the quality of each area of the  product and should provide the opportunity for clients to get on the site with hassle free problems and get the service that each individual needs. The mission should be to provide the best customer services and to ensure that the client gets what is needed in the end. Positioning statement Our Shared Vision provides the â€Å"why, how and what† behind everything we do at Allstate. It provides the road map for our continued success. Through this vision, we will truly put the customer at the center of everything we do (Allstate, 2013). We will become an even more valuable company to our customers, associates, investors, our communities and society a company with strong earnings potential and financial performance that sets the benchmark for our industry. We are the Good Hands: We help customers realize their hopes and dreams by providing the best products and services to protect them from life’s uncertainties and prepare them for the future. Deliver substantially more value than the competition by reinventing protection and retirement to improve customers’ lives. Put the customer at the center of all our actions. Utilize consumer insights, data and technology to serve customers and generate growth and attractive economic returns. Take an enterprise view of our people and processes and work as a single team to advance Allstate rather than our individual interests. Strategy and Position Description An automated online estimating system needs to be easy to understand and easy to use. The first element to the estimating tool is it needs to be easy to understand as well as aesthetically pleasing. When a customer logs on to his or her internet profile the option to choose an action needs to include selecting an existing claim on the insurance policy. Once the claim has been chosen, there will be a selection for estimating system. When the estimating system is chosen, the customer will be prompted regarding the damages he or she has sustained. For example, a customer was a victim of a recent theft loss where the front door was kicked in. The customer will select the damage option for entry door which will lead to a chain of questions regarding the  door. Options for the door will include material in which the door is made such as wood, metal, or fiberglass and whether or not the door is painted. Next, the customer will indicate the size of the door, if the customer does not know how to measure a door there will be a help icon that will advise the proper ways to measure a door. Style is another important factor in the cost of entry doors, options such as flush, panel, French, or security are the most common doors available. The next area of focus will include the damage sustained, whether the door, frame, or both are damaged will determine the proper repairs. The last area of concern for an initial estimate is whether the hardware is damaged and what type of hardware the customer currently has. When all of the information has been entered the estimating system will automatically construct an estimate for the removal and replacement of damaged property as well as the disposal of any debris. When the estimate is finished a disclaimer will be needed to inform the customer that the estimate is only a preliminary estimate and if any discrepancies arise when a contractor has seen the damage to inform the claims department for a review of the estimate. Since claims are being filed online, the movement on this is a little quicker. First of all, it reaches the company faster. The need to have the customer come in and get the information then in-putting it into the computer and have it looked at by the investigating agent, then processed, prepared for payment (if need be). Instead, you are cutting out the getting information process, and the inputting it into the computer by the agent. Instead you call or go online and put the information yourself and then let it get processed and then get paid. The affect it has on the movement is that it gets through quicker, you get faster response time from the company, and you get as accurate information as possible. The life cycle in a sense lasts shorter. Instead of taking a few weeks (possibly), it could take up to a week or less. So the life cycle in this case is a shorter one, which is good much better for the company overall. The only downside to this is that even though you get pretty accurate information, you then need to process it into insurance terminology so to speak, in which case you have an agent process the information. It’s also a good thing, because the agent is proof reading it so to speak to make sure that the information posted or given is  correct, and is process correctly, and is given to the proper division within the company. It’s sort of a backup plan and a much needed help for the customer who really has little to no knowledge on how insurance claims work. So overall, it is a faster and easier process which is set up to help the customer, and speed up the process to get claims paid quicker. Over time, while it does become easier, eventually other companies will begin to do this as well, and people will switch to whoever is cheaper. Service Packaging Packaging is not needed for our products or services. Instead we are offering our customers an easier way to file insurance claims. Normally a client would have to call in to the hot line number in order to file a claim. Once the operator answers then the client is expected to listen to numerous options and select which one applies to their personal needs at that moment. This process can be time consuming and aggravating depending on how many clients the customer service representatives the operators are assisting. The next step would be to explain the situation to the operator and wait for them to file the claim for the person. The on line website will be a fast working, easy to navigate website. There is nothing more aggravating then trying to complete information on a website that is slow and takes a long time to accept information. With technological advances, being able to file on line may be more convenient for those who do not have time to call the hot line and file claims. Clients will be able to access the website from laptops, cell phones, iPad, or any other media devices that allow access to the internet. Add value because it will be less time consuming for customers, if a follow-up is needed then the information may be easier to retrieve due to the pre-online registration. With every question there will be a detailed explanation of what information is required for that particular question. The question and additional information will be explained thoroughly to customers without them having to wait on hold in the phone for long periods of time just to speak with a live operator. This will add value to the customers in three ways. The online website will save time. Allow customers to have a more hands-on experience with the editing of claim information. Product Life Cycle Over the lifecycle of a product, a company’s differentiation and positioning strategy would need to change as the market, competitors, and product change. â€Å"When we say that a product has a life cycle we assert four things; Products have a limited life, Product sales pass through district stages, each posing different challenges, opportunities and problems to the seller, Profits rise and fall at different stages of the product lifecycle, and Products require different marketing, financial, manufacturing, purchasing, and human resource strategies in each life cycle stages† (Product Life Cycle | Stages and Limitations of Product Life Cycle (PLC), 2014, p. 1). â€Å"Product life cycle (PLC) deals with the life of the product in the market with respect to business or commercial cost and sales measures† (Product Life Cycle | Stages and Limitations of Product Life Cycle (PLC), 2014, p. 1). There are â€Å"five stages of each product lifecycle: product development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline† (Product Life Cycle | Stages and Limitations of Product Life Cycle (PLC), 2014, p. 1). During the introduction stage, Allstate will be launched into the market. Sales grow slowly in this time, and informative advertising is done (Dinesh Bakshi, n.d.). Many firms do not earn profits in this stage. There wouldn’t be much price skimming because our product is not a new invention and does have competitors. Due to the amount of competitors in the insurance market, competitive pricing is used. Sales rapidly grow during the growth stage, so we use persuasive advertising to gain customers. Competition is stiff at times prices may be reduced to stay a top competitor. Even though competition may be stiff, firms start to earn more profits in this stage. Our sales increase slowly and the highest figures are reached during the maturity stage of the product cycle. Since competition is at its max level, it would be in Allstate’s best interest to implement promotional pricing. Our profits are also at their highest level. We use competitive advertising to attract and retain our customers (Market Force, 2005-2014). Next we enter the decline stage where sales and profits decrease. During this stage, we must determine if the decline is temporary or permanent by conducting marketing research. Production may be stopped if the decline is considered to be permanent. If the decline is temporary, extension strategies are  implemented. The extension stage comes into play to come back from the decline. Original products may be reintroduced in other variations by changing the design, starting a new advertising campaign, and more (Dinesh Bakshi, n.d.). Pricing The price strategy of the web based system. The primary goal is to assure that this meets the needs of our loyal customers and anticipated customers. Moreover the pricing of our new web based system is an essential part of the marketing piece. Indeed this product of service can be very successful through proper indications of the pros and cons. Other price strategies could relate to what new services are provided by our competitor’s. However, researching the value, quality and conveniences of the product of service is essential. Pricing strategies with our new service can work to help gain satisfaction from the customers. Consequently, if the market research is not implemented correctly; this can work against the organizations overall plan. Contingency plans will also help the guide the new product in the process of service. Most of all pricing factors outline important steps of the web based system. In which will differentiate us from other insurance organizations such as Sta te farm. Furthermore one of all states insurance pricing strategies would involve a small fee. This fee will be deducted from the insurance holders policy every month or every six monthly. The web based system will be done as a package deal. Therefore customers will have the option to participate or not. The new product of service will also be explained to every customer .As well as step by step instructions to give a better understanding of how to use the system. Ultimately the use of the system operates to have claims estimates completed in a timely manner. Customers immediately have an opportunity of seeing the breakdown of damages and cost online. Overall the web based systems pricing is a concern that customer will have a choice to speed the process of with their claim .Although there are some people who may prefer to wait to speak with a claims adjuster. Most of all the new product of service will eliminate many problems with the process of claims. Customers will have an opportunity to view their own claims, and get a compete estimate without waiting for a call back from a claims adjuster. Although  this is a preliminary estimate of the claim, this is a positioning factor that gives Allstate’s customers satisfaction. Pricing figures are major factors towards marketing as well as the competitors. Promotional Strategy Allstate has several online competitors (Progressive, eSurance and Geico) that equate themselves as easy and fast. One of Progressives main thing is â€Å"price match†, which allows consumers to compare rates without providing too much personal information. Many people are reluctant to participate in many online services such as this because they think they will bombarded with spam and other marketing tactics. Generally, customer just a roundabout amount of what they would have to pay for car insurance based on their specific coverage needs. Allstate has identified this problem and created an innovative solution. First and foremost, Allstate designed a new way for customers to shop for quotes and have them delivered. According to â€Å"Marketing Edge† (2014), quotes would be delivered â€Å"anonymously (no personal information required), fast and easy, helpful (accurate), contemporary, and intuitive† (para. 4). Allstate needed to spread the word on this innovation, and the best way was to implement a campaign. This campaign included banner ads online and other tools designed to focus on online shoppers. Allstate needed to market themselves differently than their competition in order to stand out, excite consumers, and provoke attention. According to â€Å"Marketing Edge† (2014), â€Å"The new anonymous quote tool was the centerpiece of the program. Once it went live on the www.allstate.com site, DRTV, paid search, and online advertising campaigns were implemented in order to drive traffic to it. The DRTV campaign used a unique URL, â€Å"getallstate.com† for tracking purposes. Online banner ads linked directly to the site so visitors could be tracked through initiation and completion of a quote. The Program Objective: Develop and market a category-unique online shopping/quoting tool and introduce it to consumers in a way that cost-effectively invites greater shopping/quoting in the direct channel† (para. 7). This creative strategy had continued to allow online shoppers the freedom  and convenience to stay anonymous. Customers do not even have to provide their name to receive a quote (estimate). There is no application to feel out and no surveys to take. All of the other necessary information is gather by simply inputting your zip code. There are helpful tools strategically placed to assist customers, and the web site design is contemporary but not too flashy. According to â€Å"Marketing Edge† (2014), Based on their information, shoppers are presented with an array of estimates in a matrix that allows them to compare different features and levels of coverage that meet their unique needs. And it provides a price for each option. The tool demonstrates throughout the ease with which consumers can obtain the customized price and coverage information they want† (para. 10). Professional Selling Effort In order to market the new automated system for making claims, Allstate needs to express to the customers exactly how beneficial it will be to them. The best approach would be to build the value to the customer. They would have to show the customer exactly how it would benefit them to manage their claims online rather than deal with a claims adjuster right from the get go. Several people will find it convenient to be able to fill out the accident forms right from their mobile device, like their smart phone or tablet, while others will not be so prone to using technology as they are not technologically advanced. We will show the customers not to be afraid of the new systems, and that they are a benefit, not a burden. Initial Budget The budget is a financial plan for Allstate that quantifies the resource allocation plan for the years to come. To start, Allstate would have to create a specific amount, generated from how many people are going to be monitoring the online claims, and how many hours those individuals are going to be putting in. A sum of $208,000 will needed for ten individuals needed for the new system, all set at 40 hours per week and being paid $10 per hour. Allstate will have to create a budget for the person or company putting together the mainframe for putting together the portal for online claims, and setting up the website. Allstate will have to keep in mind that it is going to be a process to put this together and a lot of storage is going to be needed for their clientele. Generally, websites and web design  are going to cost Allstate anywhere from $1,000 t $2,500. Allstate will create jobs for this new system, and they will have to advertise or promote within in order to fill those jobs, b ut this will be very minimal cost to Allstate. The company expects to have a gross profit in the first year of $250,000-$500,000 due to the amount of claims that are not going to need claims adjuster to visit sites to assess the damage personally. The targeted output rate is 1,000,000, and with the average of 86% of all applicants that start the claim online actually finish it, that leaves 860,000 people that use the online claims and pricing. Allstate does not expect any losses with the new market plan. Success Plan Measurement There are several ways to measure the success of Allstate’s marketing plan. For Allstate to accurately measure their success plan they must â€Å"start with the end in mind† (Dyke, 2014). One of the first things to do is ask why the project began and what the goals are. Companies cannot lose sight of why they started something. Once that drive is lost the campaign goes under and the company is next. Numbers do not lie, so if the marketing plan is working it will show in revenue. Dyke (2014), â€Å"Measure success on your marketing program’s ability to meet the needs or desired outcomes of an objective. Remember your business planning here – start with setting your goals, list objectives that meet these goals and then identify tactics that will achieve your objectives. The best objectives are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and tangible)† (para. 13). To start tracking progress and success, Allstate must determine who their audience is. having a newsletter can be the turning point for a business. You can see which articles have the most readers and track statistics. Dyke 2014, † Begin to gather intelligence around the reader’s interest in the topic, taking the newsletter from a passive strategy to an interactive strategy, and one that can be measured. At the bottom of each online article, give readers several options. They can comment or ask questions, request that a lawyer call them, request a white paper or a helpful form or  checklist you’ve developed, or they can register for topical events. Remember, your responsiveness to requests is critical in developing relationships† (para. 20). Next, reducing that amount spent on proposals and pitches will help to increase rates in other areas. get to know clients rather than just what they think they want. Allstate must stay one step ahead of the competition to succeed. Many say the â€Å"perception is reality†, so it is imperative to know exactly what Allstate’s clients think about them. This can be done by implementing satisfaction surveys for the clients to ensure all their needs are met. All threats or problems acknowledged or revealed by the client must be handled swiftly. Allstate must â€Å"market for the sake of revenue, not for the sake of marketing – and take the momentum of your success and apply throughout all your marketing initiatives† (Media coverage: grabbing the bull horn). Ethical Issues Reference Dinesh Bakshi. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dineshbakshi.com/igcse-business-studies/marketing/revision-notes/814-product-life-cycle Dyke, S.V. (2014). CBA Practice Link. Retrieved from http://www.cba.org/cba/practicelink/mt/measureefforts.aspx http://www allstate.com/claims/report- Insure Me. (1993-2014). Retrieved from http://www.insureme.com/insurance-agent/marketing-tips Market Force. (2005-2014). Retrieved from http://uk.marketforce.com/price-checking/ Marketing Edge. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.marketingedge.org/marketing-programs/collegiate-echo/challenge-history/dma-international-echo-showcase/winner-allstate Perreault, W. D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J. (2009). Basic Marketing. A marketing Product Life Cycle | Stages and Limitations of Product Life Cycle (PLC) . (2014, Summer). Textile Learner, (1), 1. Retrieved from http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2013/12/product-life-cycle-stages-and.html Strategy Planning Approach. (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Company

Assesing the Goal of Sports Products, Inc

Q d. Does the firm appear to have an effective corporate governance structure? Explain any shortcomings. Ans: They do not have an effective corporate governance structure. The most important shortcoming is the management team who don’t make good decisions for maximizing shareholders’ wealth. They only care for the profit and their bonus related with that. They don’t take any steps to maximize stakeholder’s equity. If this information gets public they might got fired from their job for violating the main goal of a public company â€Å"maximize shareholders wealth† Q e. On the basis of the information provided, what specific recommendations would you offer the firm? Ans: From the information available in the case study, we get a picture that this company has some major problem regarding their top management. We are giving these recommendations to address those issues. 1. Comply with all laws as well as accepted standards of conduct or moral judgment. This will prevent any more environmental hazard caused by dumping waste and its legal and environmental consequence. 2. Establish a corporate ethics policy, to be read and signed by all employees. This will make everyone aware about their specific duties and this will prevent further delinquency by the management. 3. Designing a payment system that ties management team and employees’ salary to share price or a performance based scale. And top management must have a stock based compensation plan which will get rid of the agency problem existing in the company. And buying stocks from the market will create demand for shares thus the stock price may go up for a short session.

AQR vi.d.9 assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

AQR vi.d.9 - Assignment Example In this analysis, the number of times a company pays a dividend was considered. Also, price to earnings ratio was considered. Consequently, the two approaches resulted to the selection criterion whereby the firms with a high price to earnings ratio and paid dividends four times a year were preferred. Finally, technical analysis was conducted. Under this analysis, the main consideration was the price activity on the stock chart. As such, the firms with a relatively stable trend were preferred. The combination of the three forms on analysis was used to arrive at the selected stocks and the amount of stocks that were invested in each. The beta value of the portfolio is -25.15180862 against a benchmark of -32.701. The figure is computed by summing the change in value of the portfolio and dividing the figure by the summation of changes in value of the benchmark. Therefore, the portfolio Beta beat the market value Beta since -25.1518062% is greater than -32.701%. However, in the two cases, Beta is negative implying that the general trend is opposite to that of the market. The game serves as an eye opener on the importance of computing individual beta value. The reason is that having an individually computed Beta value eliminates the limitation that may be found with the S & P 500 benchmark due to its generalization. As a result, one can have precise Beta value for a portfolio which specifically focuses on the stocks themselves. The approach improves the accuracy in one’s ability to predict the

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) - Case Study Example Third, BYOD is beneficial to the company since it lowers the cost of purchasing and maintaining the IT devices used for work. Fourth, when an organization adopts this strategy, it likely to attract and retain talented employees, especially the young. Finally, BYOD helps to transform the workplace by allowing employees use new and innovative ways to work. For instance, employees can take advantage of cloud computing and virtualization in doing their work. There are a number of limitations associated with BYOD. First, BYOD implementation poses a major risk to the data held by an organization (Ernst & Young, 2013). Specifically, the use of personal devices to access company data may lead to leakage of confidential information. In order to address this challenge, many companies use virtualization where cooperate data and applications are accessed from a central position (Cisco, 2014). This gives the company control over its resources. In addition, containerization is also used where corporate data is put into separate structures which give the organization enhanced control (Reddy, 2012). The second challenge is that the devices may provide an avenue for an enterprise network to be attacked. This may give unauthorized persons access to company network. In order to solve this problem, many companies are making use of encryption which makes it difficult for authorized persons to access company data. Encryption is also used to prevent users from accessing information from lost devices. Thirdly, BYOD may lead to many devices connecting to the company network since one employee may have multiple devices. This may reduce the efficiency of the network. To address this, companies manage the number of devices used on its network. This is mainly achieved through the use of passwords. Finally, when a company adopts BYOD strategy, it

Pros and Cons of the current Alcon IT management system Essay

Pros and Cons of the current Alcon IT management system - Essay Example Another major disadvantage of the management at Alcon is the autonomous operation of each of the business groups in the execution of their activities. They have adopted a culture of independent operation for each of the group and minimum cooperation among the groups. This leads to the independent execution of tasks from each group. Cooperation among different business groups in any organization helps in providing support and improves work handling. The position of Corporate Director of IT plays a vital role in the management hierarchy of the organization (Stair & Reynolds). Its long vacancy has affected the operation of the other groups below it in the hierarchy because they were operating without corporate governance. This put the organization at such a disadvantage that they had to create a new position to help with the situation. The decentralization of the management process can also play as a strength for the organization. This is in the sense that, with their own management of operations some groups will execute their operation better that others, hence singling out the poor performing branches. This can serve as a wakeup call for the improvement of the poor performing branches. The decentralization of operations also improves accountability in the dispensation and use of funds. With every branch allocated its own budget, accountability for the use of these funds in achieved more comprehensively The Alcan management also outsourced a lot of the work. This made then unaware of some of the workings and utilization of resources. The new enterprise architecture management system The vice president of Corporate Information Technology, Robert Ouellette had a vision of how he wanted to run the management at Alcan. After being brought on board, he performed an analysis and decided to come up with a new way of operation. His main target was to achieve cohesion and cooperation among the business groups. This was to be achieved at different levels. The new system, a lthough with advantages, did not come without a few setbacks. The main advantage of his system was development of better working relations among the departments. This helped improve work execution, although as a disadvantage, the lesser performing groups could easily go unnoticed, because their work seems complete. To tackle this, he made it a requirement, that in every team, the head of department and their officers were to report on the progress on their activities to higher management. This immensely improves accountability. The other major problem was the definition of roles in the management hierarchy. Due to unclear definition of roles, some activities were not properly executed. The advantage of Robert’s system is that, it clearly defines the roles of each position. Robert looked to reorganize the operations of the major braches in the organization. This was to be achieved by the implementation of the enterprise architecture. The architecture ideally centralizes operat ions and integrates the business activities of the organization with the IT infrastructure (Anderson). This greatly improves coordination among all the functions. This will lead to the creation of a centrally shared business center for the Information Systems within the organization. The disadvantage of this change is that implementation is mostly achieved at the management level; hence, the human resource at the

The Syndrome Of Colorectal Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

The Syndrome Of Colorectal Cancer - Essay Example After getting the report of the medical test, John and his wife Carol learned that he was suffering from colorectal cancer. John was appalled at the diagnosis as he was completely unprepared for such a result. A doctor suggested him a surgeon who particularly dealt with such kind of diseases and offered hope towards fighting and surviving this grave disease. The surgeon explained the procedure of treatment and therapy that John needed to undergo before and after the surgery. After performing a surgery, the physician discussed the means in relation to the disease from which John was suffering. The physician broke the news to John that he was gravely affected with the high level of cancer in his abdominal. John undertook several tests to determine the accuracy of the statement made by the physician and found it to be true (Australian Government Cancer Australia, 2012). The joint report published by the ‘Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)’ and the ‘Australasian Association of Cancer Registries (AACR)’ focuses on delivering a thorough update regarding the changes in cancer endurance in Australia since 2001, when the first national cancer report was published. It delivers a trend statistics regarding the survival of persons affected by invasive cancer from 1982-1986 to 1998-2004, as well as analyzes the survival outcome in terms of age, geographic provinces, sex, and socioeconomic status. During the period of 1982-2004, the statistical reports concerning the frequency of invasive cancer in Australia provided an account of 1.6 million cases. This was the period when cancer-related survivals were examined in terms of their gender, age and period of treatment, as well as survival period, geographic provinces and socioeconomic status. Moreover, this report also provided the prevalence calculation regarding all the se aspects (Alteri et. al., 2011). In Australia, during 2007, the risk of colorectal cancer was identified at the age of 85 which was 10 for men and 14 for women. This risk was noticeable and increased from the age of 45.

Legalize it or not Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legalize it or not - Essay Example This is because the illegal marijuana industry is very lucrative. It estimated that the marijuana illegal income in the United States of America is valued at between 20 billion dollars and 40 billion dollars (Abadinsky 75). This is a lot of money, but since using and selling of marijuana in the state is illegal, the drug dealers fail to disclose their income thus they do not file tax returns due to fear of being arrested. If the state would legalize marijuana, then it would be able to collect revenue from drug dealers hence improving the economy of the state. The war on drugs is very expensive. For example, it is estimated the over the years the war on drugs has cost both federal and state governments close to one trillion dollars, (Benavie, 54). That is close to twenty billion per state. This is a lot of money which can be used for other things such as investing in infrastructure. If the state of Arizona government would legalize marijuana then it would save a significant amount of the taxpayer’s money putting it into other uses such development of the state. A lot of people end up in jail as a result of using, selling or being in possession of marijuana. Most of these people are typically below the age of 40 years (Benavie 39). When in jail, these people are economically useless to the state and their society. If the drug would be legalizes in the state, these people who get arrested and jailed for either using or distributing would free thus providing a good work force to the state since they are young and energetic people. This will improve the infrastructure of the state as the young men will be employed by the state and development companies. Legalizing marijuana will also increase the states revenue since the government will tax the income of these people. Legalizing marijuana will turn its market into a perfect competition market, where there will be no barriers to enter or leave the market. This will replace the monopolies set

The Film Invictus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Film Invictus - Essay Example Right from the beginning of the film, it is clear that the subject of the process of human socialization as demonstrated in organizations, peers, and institutions apparently takes the central role in the film. It is quite evident that the film’s key focus is on apartheid. Apartheid has cut across many every organ of the government right from the institution of the president, institution of justice, institutions responsible for security, as well as other government organization that is key to delivering basic services to the country. The term apartheid was an Africaans that was commonly used to refer to a system of racial segregation that was enforced through the process of legislation by the then South African ruling party (National Party). During this period of time, the rights of the majority black South African Inhabitants were said to have been curtailed while the white supremacy was maintained. In essence, the word served as a policy of segregation, as well as political-e conomic discrimination against those who belonged to groups of non-European in the Republic of South Africa. According to this film, after Morgan Freeman gets leased from Prison and he is elected as the first black president of the South African Republic, he has many challenges following the post-Apartheid era. One thing that is quite striking to him is that to do with human socialization. Human socialization, in this case, refers to the racial divisions between the white and black South Africans who are affiliated with movements supporting racial segregation and are the cause of the day to day violence. The ill motive that the whites and the blacks hold towards each other is clearly demonstrated in the president’s security details, where the relations between the prior established white officers.

Suburban Sprawl (Environmental Issue) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Suburban Sprawl (Environmental Issue) - Essay Example These hazards being talked about refer not to only to body health issues but a rapid jump in mental health issues, prompting the former vice president of the U.S Al Gore to comment that the urban spread is like â€Å"cookie-cutter monster.†(Brooking Inst, 1998). While supporters of urban lifestyles contend â€Å"consumers prefer lower density neighborhoods and that sprawl does not necessarily increase traffic.† (Moore, Henderson, 1998). Nevertheless there is evidence that urban sprawl is one of the primary contributing factors to the specter of inner city degeneration. By pulling economic resources out of communities that are already existing and diffusing it into new and unconnected developments away from the current core, older communities get neglected and are led to ruin. These new developments are subsidized heavily to create newer roads, water and sewer infrastructure, new schools and enhanced spending on police and fire protection. While urban spread directly inf luences new lawns using ever more water and the use of chemical fertilizers as well as pesticides, it displaces native plants, which have not needed constant watering. It could be concluded that Sprawl wastes tax payers’ money With the population of the world exceeding 6 billion already and progressing toward doubling by the 22nd century, it is estimated that 95% of the new inhabitants of the planet earth will be living in urban areas. When compared to the fact that only 15% of the world lived in urban areas as recently as 1990, the task to manage urban sprawl is both vital and urgent. If not the exponential growth in urban dwellers combined with Socio-economical, geopolitical factors, with the certainty of limited land availability and in -efficient planning is certain to create cities that devour land used for other purposes historically directly influencing equally important aspects such as food security. Combating urban sprawl has two major forms of endeavor both, which i nclude detailed planning. â€Å"The first, the French/British/European tradition, considers urban planning a matter of public health and focuses on strong land- use regulation, public-sector investment, and civic design. The second tradition, born in North America, focuses on zoning and subdivision regulations within a context of strong private property rights† (Calthorpe, 2001)). Peter Calthorpe a New Urbanism thinker and architect illustrates the differences in these two styles by flavoring the European model a more ecological model and the North American planning model a more mechanically motivated model. The European model appears to be the antecedent to the concept called smart growth, and the other of developing efficiencies through zoning. The search for solutions to urban sprawl has given birth to various special-interest groups that promote a concept termed SMART growth at all levels federal, state, and local government. This might look nostalgic with a promotion of return to the city lifestyles of the last two centuries. Living in smaller apartments or smaller land plots with the emphasis on limiting transportation to bicycles or simply walking. Smart growth can be defined as the prevention of urban sprawl through meticulous planning with associated restriction to

Learning disability Essay Example for Free

Learning disability Essay Special education refers to the arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to address the needs of students with learning differences, mental health issues, physical and developmental disabilities, and giftedness. Provision of special education is inferred from two provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Article II, Section 17 provides that the state must give priority to education, while Article XIV, Section 1 guarantees that this education be accessible to all: appropriate steps must be taken. School can be particularly challenging for children with special needs, including those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, who often experience poor academic performance, behavior problems, and difficulties with social interaction. The situation can be further complicated by the fact that there is no typical, predictable classroom style common to all children with special needs, for that matter. It can also be hard for parents to tell how much of any problem identified by a teacher falls into the normal range of a child development, for example how much is due to ADHD, and how much is due to coexisting problem such as learning disability, anxiety disorder, or disruptive behavior and others. Add to this fact that the public school system here in the Philippines may not have Individualized Education Program (IEP) that will meet the needs of these special children. In this study, the researchers will use different basic methods of assessing special education curriculum how it may be integrated into the mainstream or general education particularly in the Philippine public school system, without compromising quality of education.

Healthcare Illness Spain

Healthcare Illness Spain Healthcare and Health Policy in Spain Introduction Health care is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions. According to the World Health Organization, health care embraces all the goods and services designed to promote health, including â€Å"preventive, curative and palliative interventions, whether directed to individuals or to populations†.(WHO, 2000). Health care policy shapes health care systems and helps determine accessibility, accountability and affordability. Knowledge of health care systems includes and understands the organization and environment in which nursing and health care is provided.  Healthcare in Spain in general has three main characteristics: ( Ferrandiz, 2003)First the Spanish health sector is mainly public both in terms of financing and delivery, about 80% is funded and provided by public institutions. Second, public insurance coverage of the general population is over 99.5% where only few groups of independent professionals and immigrants under special conditions are not covered by law. Third, is how the healthcare system financed? In Spain it is financed through general taxation. The National Health Service started in the 1940s wherein it is originally funded by social security, over the years they needed additional funding and this came from the general taxation. And now it is clear that 98% of the funding in Spanish healthcare comes from general taxation. The healthcare and health policy in UK is somewhat different from Spain. The comparison between the two countries is enumerated below. In the conclusion the writer will analyze the significance of having a good healthcare system and policy. Healthcare in Spain In healthcare Spain is said to be much better as compared with UK. Spain has a public health system which provides free or low cost health care for those contributing to the Spanish social security system and their families. The system also caters for retirees and includes those from other EU countries. The country has an excellent system of private medicine and this exists comfortably alongside the State system with both operated so as to complement each other. The Spanish health care system is rated ninth in the World by the World Health Organisation far above that of the UKs. In Spain there are two types of hospitals operating, one private and one operated by the state. The private hospital offers immediate treatment with patients being accommodated in single rooms. The state hospital offers the same convenience. Both hospitals pool resources to the benefit of private and state patient alike. Because of the comprehensive policies in Spain the health services for patient such as CT scan or laboratories are 40-70% cheaper than in UK. To equality among its citizens Spain has passed a law called law of quality and health cohesion. It means that by law the citizens have the right to enjoy the same health services including pharmaceuticals with the same conditions regarding social participation, accessibility, time, information, security and quality independently of where they live. And according to the ministry of health, this is their first great law of healthcare since the 21st century. In Spain there is a pharmaceutical policy that is now being introduced in UK. This has been existed in Spain for many years; it is one of approaching the local pharmacist for minor ills. Pharmacists have an excellent reputation for accurate diagnosis and effective treatment and are able to issue all but controlled drugs. In no time at all theyll have you feeling better. In Spain there are several ways to contact a doctor or have an appointment if you are sick. You can just text the word â€Å"Urgencias† to the telephone number 5013 and you will be informed of the waiting time before your appointment. This is very convenient especially for the elders. Another way to consult the doctor is thru the web. Healthcare system and policies in Spain is very much effective as compared to UKs healthcare system. In many ways it puts the UK health service to shame and refreshingly, there are never lengthy debates on television about it or do you hear of people complaining. Regarding their pharmaceutical policy, there are no prescription charges for drugs in Spain patients pay the full price and then claim back a significant percentage. However, those from the UK are somewhat surprised when they learn that most prescriptions cost far less than the UK prescription charge and surprised again when they learn at just how much can be reclaimed. One advantage of UK healthcare system is when a foreigner got sick. Although there is no right to state medicine in Spain for a foreigner, (unless on holiday and carrying the EU health card) it is often the case that those from the UK have enough contributions on their cards to permit state medicine up until the age of their retirement, when everything, including the cost of medications becomes absolutely free. The standard of medicine is very high in Spain, but it depends very much on location. Rural areas in Spain are being served only by a clinic- transferring patients out to hospitals as required. Good medicine will still be available but not as instantly. However, most inland locations favoured by foreigners are not too far from a good hospital and healthcare in Spain is something about which you need have no concern. Conditions such as rheumatism, arthritis and those affecting people in the middle to late age, are not the problem in Spain as compared to UK and colder Northern European countries. Climate definitely does seem to have a positive effect on health and well being in many cases. Of interest is the fact that depression is nowhere near as common in Spain as is the case in the UK. No doubt this is also concerned with the climate and bright sunshine. Conclusion A good and effective healthcare system and policy is important in every nation. Proper studies and approaches should be done to be able to lessen the burden of the sick people. The convenience of the patient and equality of treatment is important no matter you are in a private or state hospital. As shown above Spain healthcare system and policy are very much effective as compared to UK. The only advantage that UK has is on the policy about treating foreigners. In Spain people get sick people get well is their focus.    Reference: Spanish Health Care Service- Healthcare in Spain http://www.spanishpropertyco.com/Healthcare%20in%20Spain.html World Heath Organization Report. (2000). Chapter 1: Why do health systems matter?. WHO. Retrieved on 2008-03-08. Ferrandiz, J.M. (2003) The Spanish Health System : Reforms, Problems and Solutions, http://www.cnehealth.org/pubs/2003_05_15_ferrandiz.pdf

Environmental Justice and Toxic Racism Essay --

Environmental Justice and Toxic Racism Encouraged by diverse foundations from across the globe, The Environmental Justice movement has become one of the most important topics in the media. Europeans have used Marxist philosophy on class laddering, while non-Western countries required its encouragement in the criticism of colonialism. In the United States, The Civil Rights Movement was its forerunner. The notion of â€Å"Environmental Justice†, nevertheless, has its genesis in the resistance of black culture and lower income-communities in opposition to uneven ecological trouble in the United States during the last few years of the 1970s and the early 1980s. In the framework of racial improvement and public activism, the phrase was implemented to designate the racial and ethnic disparity in contact to environmental dangers like pollutions, toxic waste, and inundation, at the same time barring marginal people, like black Americans, Hispanics, and Indians, from the choosing and applying of nationwide environmental r ules. The word â€Å"environment† was given then a contrasting connotation. Unlike the traditional environmental movement, which was condemned for ignoring the experience of black people and the lower class, the environment was restructured as a setting where people live. Supporters started to focus comprehensively on making the topic evenhanded. Advocates classified this equality into three expansive types: technical, geographic, and societal equities. Technical impartiality is apprehensive on unbiased manner or justice on the employment of central regulations, assessment criterion, and enforcement of environmental rules. Geographic fair play is concentrated on finding groups of people and their propinquity to green peril, ... ...nerators, the Anti-Toxics movement is another important movement that has added to the struggle with Environmental Justice. The Anti-Toxins movement began in the late 1970s as soon as President Jimmy Carter acknowledged Love Canal, New York, a catastrophe spot. Carter in due course evacuated the area for safety reasons. Ever since the evacuation the former citizens of Love Canal got together to form the Citizens Clearinghouse of Hazardous Waste. Its goal is to aid thousands of neighboring clusters to fight against deadly waste exposures. Several anti-toxics movement have formed during the past several years to advocate for stricter government policy with regard to pollution prevention. These groups argue for the abolishment of toxic waste, arguing that some areas would be affected by pollutants given the structure of the economy of the United States of America.

celilo falls :: essays research papers

Celilo Falls Celilo Falls named after the "Si-le-lah" tribe, was located about one hundred and two miles from Portland Oregon. Today Celilo falls no longer exists because the Dalles Dam was built March 10 1957; it was covered up by what is now Lake Celilo. Celilo Falls was a very important place for Native Americans nearby. Many tribes used the falls for fishing. Fishing platforms were built next to the water and men would spend much of their days catching salmon. Since the early 1800's, Native Americans fished the spring and fall salmon runs, the water's edge, and the shore of the Columbia River. Later, small cable cars built by fish buyers linked the shore to the islands. They used two types of dip nets: one was stationary, the other movable through the water. The dip nets attached to poles ranged from 15 to 25 feet in length. There were about 480 fishing stations around Celilo Falls. Fishers built wooden platforms out over the water catching salmon that weighed up to sixty pounds. The wood platforms were very wet and slippery so the men had to be really strong. The men tied themselves with ropes that they tied around their waists in the event that they fell in the river. During the Great Depression, whites began fishing at Celilo Falls. Indians protected their treaty-reserved stations and the white people had to leave. Soon Congress approved funding for The Dalles Dam, the dam would flood Celilo Falls and part of Celilo Village. The Celilo Fish Committee, The local fisherman protested the dam in formal resolutions and in testimony before Congress. But the dam was built anyway and they lost their place to fish. When the United States government drowned Celilo Falls, it compensated the tribes for flooding their fishing sites. But it didn’t, purchase their fishing rights. Those rights, as set forth in the 1855 treaties, were not affected when the government paid for tribal fishing sites, but the tribes' economy was destroyed. The Native Americans that lived in the area that was covered by Lake Celilo were relocated to reservations. When Celilo Falls was covered up, much more was lost than a historic spot.

Essay --

Thirty Years’ War The Thirty Years' War was a series of wars fought in the Holy Roman empire, involving most of the countries within, the war lasted 30 years. This war massively affected europe and created a cultural divide between catholics and protestants. Philip III of Spain attempted to continue the foreign policy views of his father, Philip II, which basically meant that Spain had to be kept ready for war. Thus in 1618, when Ferdinand II, heir apparent to the throne of Bohemia, began to slash certain religious privileges enjoyed by his subjects there, they immediately appealed for aid to the Protestants in the rest of the empire and to the leading foreign Protestant states: Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Denmark (Trueman). Even though the war between the German Catholics and German Protestants were all in the Holy Roman Empire were both Christian it slowly spread was more of a fight over the balance of power. There were two sides in the Thirty Years’ War the Protestant League and the Catholic League. The Protestant League consisted of Frederick of Bohemia who was the leader of the Protestant princes, Denmark led by king Christian IV, Sweden led by king Gustavus Adolphus, and the Netherlands led by the house of orange all financially supported by king of France Louis XIII. The Catholic League consisted of the leader Duke Maximillian of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire Led by Emperor Ferdinand II, and king of Spain Philip IV (Billiet). There were five major phases of the Thirty Years’ War the Bohemian Revolt, Palatinate phase, Danish intervention, Swedish intervention, and the French intervention (Thomas). In the Bohemian phase a group of Bohemian Protestants captured the governors of prague and threw them out of the palace w... ...ing both flanks the remaining infantry moved to attack the Tercio of Naples (the best unit in the Spanish army). The German infantry failed horrendously, and the Spanish veterans held their ground due to some help from the musketeers in the woods. The spanish managed to wound Brunswick and drove his army off the field. The Protestants lost 3,000, 500 were wounded, and 1,500 captured. The spanish couldn’t have asked for a better fight. The Spanish suffered 300 dead and 900 wounded. The following day the Spanish cavalry obliterated the remaining Protestant infantry as they marched. Of the 24,000 men that left the Palatine that day only 3,000 Protestant cavalry managed to reach the next town (Thomas). As shown many times in historical past battles like the persians vs. the greeks numbers don’t matter its the strategy and will of the people to protect their way of life.

Xacc 280 Financial Statement Analysis

Feedback is at the end of the paper. The three of financial statement analysis are horizontal analysis, vertical analysis, and ratio analysis. The function of all three analyses is to evaluate the significance of financial statements data. Horizontal analysis function is to evaluate and compare data given by the financial statement for at least two years with in its own company. Vertical analysis expresses the amounts of the financial statements as a percentage from the amounts given on the financial statements. Vertical analysis also makes it so that companies can compare how they are doing with competing companies. Ratio analysis is used to evaluate liquidity, profitability, and solvency. PepsiCo. Calculations: Ratio: 2005 Current Ratio: 1. 11:1 10,454/9,406=1. 1114 2004 Current Ratio: 1. 28:1 8,639/6,752=1. 2794 Vertical Analysis: 2005 current assets 10,454 / total assets 31,727=0. 3294 or 32. 9% 2004 current assets 8,639 / total assets 27,987=. 3086 or 30. 7% Horizontal Analysis: Assets increased in 2005 by 13% Total assets 2005 31,727-total assets 2004 27,987=3740/ 27,987=. 33 or 13% Liabilities increased by 21% Total liability 2005 17,476-total liability 2004 14,464=3012/14,464=. 208 or 21% Coca-Cola Calculations: Ratios: Current Ratio for 2005 1. 04:1 10,250/9,836=1. 042 Current Ratio for 2004 1. 10:1 12,281/11,133=1. 103 Vertical Analysis: 2005 Current Assets 10,250/total assets 29,427=. 348 or 35% 2004 current assets 12,281/total assets 31,441=. 390 or 39% Horizontal Analysis: Curre nt assets decreased by 17% Current assets in 2005 10,250-current assets 2004 12,281=-2031/current assets 2004 12,281=-. 65 or -17% Current liability decreased by 12% in 2005 Current liability in 2005 9,836- current liability in 2004 11,133=-1297/current liability in 2004 11,133=-. 116 or 12% Good Effort on the CheckPoint See more feedback below. | Â  | CheckPoint 25/points| Points Earned 21. 5/25| Â  | Write in 100 to 200 words an explanation of the three tools of financial statement analysis and the function of each. | 5/5 points| Â  | three tools of financial statement analysis| Â  | 3| The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment. Sentences are complete, clear, and concise. Sentences are well constructed, with consistently strong, varied sentences. Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought. Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed. Spelling is correct. | Â  | 1| The paper is 100 to 200 words in length. | Â  | 1| Feedback Concept seems to be learned. | Additional Comments:| Â  | Calculate the following for PepsiCo, Inc. and show your work and Calculate the following for Coca-Cola and show your work: | 19/20 points| Â  | Ratio analysis| Â  | Â  | Tool: Current ratio for 2005| Â  | Â  | Pepsico| Â  | 1| Coca-Cola| Â  | 1| Tool: Current ratio for 2004| Â  | Â  | Pepsico| Â  | 1| Coca-Cola| Â  | 1| | Â  | Â  | Vertical analysis| Â  | Â  | Tool: Current assets ? total assets in 2005| Â  | Â  | Pepsico| Â  | 2| Coca-Cola| Â  | 2| Tool: Current assets ? total assets in 2004| Â  | Â  | Pepsico| $8,639 ? $27,987 = 30. 9%| 2| Coca-Cola| $12,281 ? $31,441 = 39. 1%| 2| | Â  | Â  | Horizontal analysis| Â  | Â  | Tool :Percent change in total assets (2005 ? 2004)| Â  | Â  | Pepsico| Â  | 2| Tool :Percent change in current assets (2005 ? 2004)| ($10250-12281) ? $12281 = -16. 5 %| Â  | Coca-Cola| ($29,427 – $31,441) ? $31,441 = -6. %| 1. 5| Tool: Percent change in total liabilities (2005 ? 2004)| Â  | Â  | Pepsico| Â  | 2| Tool: Percent change in current liabilities (2005 ? 2004)| ($9836 – $11133) ? $11133 = -11. 65%| Â  | Coca-Cola| ($13,072 – $15,506) ? $15,506 = -16%| 1. 5| Â  | Â  | Â  | | Â  | Â  | Feedback: All figures looked good but you did the horizontal analysis on the Pepsico for the Total assest and did the current assets for Coca-Cola. You need to compare the same numbers in the companies to be able to complete a correct analysis. | Additional Comments:Â  | Â  | Late One Day 25 *. 0 | Â  | -2. 5| Total 25/Points | Points Earned 21. 5/25| Â  | | Â  | 21. 5| Overall Comments: Late assignments receive a 10% deduction for each day they are late. Assignments are late if they are not posted by midnight Arizona time (MST) of the day they are due. Assignments that are more than 4 days late will not be accepted unless we have negotiated and mutually agreed upon an alternative submission date in advance. Unless an Incomplete grade has been granted, student assignments submitted after the last day of class will not be accepted. | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | | | |

Greek and latin christianity Essay

Christianity is the state of being a Christian it plays a very big part in the everyday lives of people, and their faith in what they believe. For most Christians they believe that God’s spirits was uncreated and the creator of all things who works on the redemption of the world through his son Jesus Christ. With their beliefs in the divinity of Christ and as for the Holy Spirit to be spoken as the doctrine of the holy trinity, that describes one divine substance exist such as the Father, the Son â€Å"Jesus Christ† and the holy spirit. Christians regards the Holy bible a book containing the word of God, it is divided into two parts the Old Testament and New Testament. In the Old Testament it has all the Jewish tanakh. As for the New Testament it has all the gospels from Matthew, Luke, Mark, John, etc. for most Christians they believe that when a human body dies it under goes specific judgment either a reward to eternal heaven or to be condemn eternally to hell. II. Greek Christianity Separated from the western church in the 15th century on doctrinal and liturgical grounds, and was officially called the holy oriental Orthodox Church. Over 97% of the people born in Greece are being baptized as Christians and the church regards ancient religious practice as pagan. In the early days people from the church haven’t attended flame ceremonies at Olympia due to reference is made to the ancient god of music and light Apollo. After the conversion of the roman emperor Constantine Christianity took hold in Greece in 4th century. Emperor Theodosius wiped out the last vestige of Olympian gods after he abolish the Olympic Games in 394AD. In the early days polytheistic groups perform secretly ancient temple, but now a days they were granted permission to perform a ceremony at the temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens Greece. These native people are really serious about their belief that the twelve Olympian gods really exist. In 1992 an agreement was made amongst the American theologians stating the differences between eastern and oriental orthodox Christians even though up to this day it hasn’t formally recognized yet together with the so called â€Å"church of the east†. III. Latin Christianity As for many people they intend to see the Catholic Church as an old-fashioned, obstructive, and reactionary. But if you look somewhere else you might find that the Roman Catholicism has never been that conservative. Throughout the times it keeps on disturbing feudal society by means of expanding papal and clerical powers. You might find a hard time understanding what Europe is, unless you try to understand what Christianity is really like if the papal’s power never exist in the very first place. The most remarkable issue for this topic is about the monophyletic churches and the orthodox churches. Monophysite has a numerous number of members that are Christian minority in Muslim lands Like Egyptian Copts. As well as the Ethiopian Christianity which is also, monophysites. The Orthodox Church is a group of several self-governing churches that are mostly Greeks or Slavonic. These people are well renounced during the 15th century schism. Deriving from the Roman Catholic in terms of a more compound and gradual union that was developed in 858AD to 1204AD. Monophysite theories were taken as a form of resistance to the dominant Greek culture from eastern Roman Empire. IV. A. The difference between the Greek and Latin Christianity Latin Christianity differs from the Greek Christianity through its definition and beliefs of the nature of Jesus Christ. Most early Christian’s theory disputes around several ideas that are found in the gospels. In short the orthodox believes that Jesus Christ was one person with two natures, as what do Roman and protestant. There are such differences occur academic interest wise, there are nothing left at stake. This had a big effect on the average Christians because they don’t even know what to believe. B. The split between Greek and Latin Christianity It was year 450 when there are only few Western European people who could read and understand the Greek language. And after a couple of years. Byzantium still called it self the Roman Empire but there were only few of the Byzantium who were able to speak Latin, knowing that it is the language of the Romans, even Photius a well renounced scholar during the 19th century could not even read Latin,until in 864 Michael III a Roman Emperor at Byzantium called the language were Virgil wrote â€Å"a barbarian and scythic tongue†. If Latin’s were able to read Greek or vice versa, so they could do it as well with their translations. It is so remarkable to note how this religious division happened. While Christianity were on its mission it tended to be associated with the three cultures namely; the Semitic, the Greek, and the Latin. As an out come to this separation the Semitic Christians of Syria were cut off from the rest of Christendom then followed by the second split religious split that initiated a wedge between the Greek and Latin traditions of Christianity V. Martyrdom Taken from the Greek language used to describes the apostles who witnessed Christ life and resurrection, meaning â€Å"witness’. As for Judaism it is referred to a Hebrew phrase meaning sanctification of God’s name. Martyrs are those people who undergo a lot of suffering for the sake of faith, and then only to die for that faith. Martyrdom occurs as the endurance and heroism of an individual who submits to death rather than forswear his religion, especially those who suffered to death for their religious principles. Work cited: Oxford university press The new international Webster comprehensive dictionary (encyclopedic edition) The bloody theater or martyrs by: Thieleman Van Bright Books of Martyrs by: John fox http://www. catholoic –forums. com/saint/martyrs. htm http://www. pravmir. com/article_153. htm

Is History True? Essay

Historical theories are just like any theory – are subject to controversy among different populations and groups. Two of the most imminent historians, Oscar Handlin and William McNeil gave interesting viewpoints backed up by strong points. In Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History, Volume II, gave an interesting overview of how these two elite historians are able to state their points so clearly. As highly influenced as their works are which allowed me to see from within their internal â€Å"window;† I find myself agreeing more with Handlin’s perspective. According to Oscar Handlin from Truth in History (1979), gave a startling concept of how historical truth is based on the obvious evidences – those that we can understand and interpret. Handlin gave implicit indications that history does ring truth due to the fact that our current evidence of the past should be based on thoughtful analysis and not just necessary based on numerical or statistical evidence as those obtained by scientific measures. Oscar Handling says that evidence is chronological, evidence is vocabulary, and evidence is context. Fact is something of common ground for all historians despite the difference in their interpretation and that scientific methods must be used to distinguish between fact and opinions. McNeil on the other hand, have a different opinion on this matter. McNeil speculates that historical truth is not influence by the desires or vision of the viewer, but is actually solid scientific evidence itself. McNeil’s essay, â€Å"Truth, Myth, and History†, gave an emphasis on the falsehood of historical truth, and also highlights the idea that it have no â€Å"scientific methodology† behind it, making it nothing but judgments, choices, and interpretive opinions. McNeil believe that all the â€Å"evidence† becomes nothing but a type of collection, almost like in literature for the reader to understand and interpret but does not give a credible â€Å"meaning or intelligibility to the record of the past. † McNeil argues that truth is more likely a myth and distinguished by different groups in different situation at different time. In other words, historical truth is more like the way with which one interprets the material depending on their circumstance and environment. Almost like a self-fulfilled prophecy of the human mind and not actual facts. He further speculates that every culture has its own version of truth; truth about its own culture as well as the â€Å"truth† about other cultures. Truth to one person may not be truth to another. He later concludes that all these outside forces of culture, background, relationships, and society affect the level of truth whether the individual realizes it or not. History tends to be biased based because they heavily relied on what the truth means to each person in a personal manner. McNeil believes that history is a myth and becomes self validating. In my analysis of the work of these two striking viewpoints, I must admit that I agree more with Handling for a variety of factors. McNeil gives implications of his viewpoints on the truth and validity of history and how he feels that scientific evidence must be present for history to be consider a truth. I find this to be a flawed approach because to base every piece of knowledge upon â€Å"scientific evidence† has a bit of hypocritical ring to it. It is also important to point out that current historical findings are not found according to historical viewpoints alone, but is a mixture of scientific technology and many experts from all categorical discipline that weave up our current knowledge of history as well. Just because we can’t prove something doesn’t mean it does not exist unless we can prove that it is indeed nonexistent. I believe that as humans, we all have an original curiosity for what we know now and just because something cannot be measured scientifically does not necessary label it as untrue. For instance, psychology was once considered â€Å"untrue† by scientific standards but have now find its way into the scientific arena. On the other hand, scientific evidence are not always â€Å"true† when new evidence proves that the previous â€Å"truth† is indeed false. This gave me reasons to believe that it is better to take on a flexible approach when it comes to historical evidence. In defense of Handling’s viewpoint, historians also use scientific tools such as DNA replications and half-life techniques to determine the age and location of its artifacts. The truth in History is off course, as important as the truth in any discipline. History is based on facts derived from the past and thus provides a solid foundation on the truth of the information obtained. Historians are able to obtain the historical information from different locations and find sources of evidence or those leading to evidence. The truth in history is thus, built on the foundation of facts and grounded in common knowledge and understanding. History is depended upon to develop a society and used as a tool to correct political mistakes of the past. Historians have the necessary skills and tools to analyze and validate historical events, evidence, and facts – as much as scientists have the skills and advanced technology to analyze scientific evidence. Therefore, Harding’s theory is more accepting and that history is indeed based on the truth and knowledge of historical evidence and the foundation of our diverse understanding and development as a civilized community. Work Cited: Handlin, Oscar. Truth in history. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap P, 1979. Madaras, Larry, and James M. SoRelle. Taking Sides Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in American History, Vol. II. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. Schwandner, Stephanie. Albanian Identities Myth and History. New York: Indiana UP, 2002.

Dreams are the significant theme in Steinbeck’s Essay

The term â€Å"American Dream† became popular in the 17th century when the first settlers arrived in America. Their dreams were to make their fortune in the gold fields in the land of opportunity. However for many of them the dream became a nightmare. â€Å"Of Mice and Men†, written by John Steinbeck is set in 1930 in California, when the American people were suffering from a great recession. During those times which are known as â€Å"Great Depression†, the price of farm crops fall calamitously because of the economic effects of the First World War. Many people felt as if they were being strangled by the disaster of being jobless. The crash in the stock market made things even worse. Many independent farmers lost their farms because they were not able to pay their debts to the banks. Therefore numerous workers swarmed towards the prosperous states of California to escape from the horror of starving, the pinch of indigence and in the hope of better life and work. Many American workers, especially farmers, believed that the only way to success was to buy land in California. In period of such affliction period, Steinbeck wrote his masterpiece â€Å"Of Mice and Men† and presented to world the American dream and the struggle to attain it. Many of the characters in this novel yearn for their own dreams to become reality. George and Lennie, the main characters conjure up images of their own land where they can be their own bosses. They are two of the itinerant workers who travel together from ranch to ranch, desperate for money to attain their dream. This dream belongs mostly to George because Lennie with his child-like mentality can only keep in his mind one aspect of the dream. He just plays the role of â€Å"tendin’ the rabbits† in their dream land. Lennie is absolutely obsessed by petting rabbits and he always begs George to restate the frequently repeated dream: â€Å"come on, George. Tell me. Please, George. Like you done before.† (Page 15) and every time George repeats their dream; â€Å"†¦ we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and live fatta the lan†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 16). For George owning land means not having to answer to anyone and being his own boss. He continuously thinks about a time when he will be able to do whatever he desires to, where he can be prosperous for ever and where he may share his life with a wife and make his life colourful. At first their dream seems to be like a glimmer of hope, the glimmer becomes more intense when they meet Candy, another afflicted worker, who lost one of his arms on the ranch. He has got almost enough money to buy a small farm. When George and Lennie share their dream with Candy, the dream seems likely to come true. They tolerate any difficulties to achieve their dream, but unfortunately just when it seems as if it really will come true, disaster strikes Lennie. Curley’s wife invites him to pet her â€Å"soft hair†. Lennie pets her harder and harder. She tries to stop him and accidentally gets killed by Lennie. When Curley’s wife is discovered by Candy and George, their whole dream is shattered. When George meets up with Lennie after the accident, George knows he is not going to achieve his dream. George also knows Curley is desperately looking for Lennie to take revenge with his shotgun. So George decides do his friend a last favour, a painless death. As George gets ready to kill Lennie, he tells Lennie one last time about their dream and lets Lennie to dies with the hope of their dream. When he dies the dream shatters for George too. Candy doesn’t seem to have any dreams at the beginning. He is an old worker on the ranch and he has lost one of his arms in an accident. One night Lennie asks George to express their dream in the bunk house. As George describes the dream they both get excited about their future and they get so wrapped up in the dream that they forget someone else is there. When he learns what George and Lennie’s dream is, he wants to go along and be involved to. He is not satisfied with his life on the ranch and he will be scared to get sacked because he is getting too old, or because he is useless with one hand. His dream is to have security. He is aware that sooner or later they going to get rid of him like they did with his old and useless dog. Also he knows if he loses his job, his chance of getting another job is minute; â€Å"you seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs† (Page 60) Candy thinks he can obtain his dream in George and Lennie’s dream. So he put in his compensation money to get involved in their dream. But his dream is also shattered by Lennie’s death. Isolation and loneliness in the ranch make Crooks await unsatisfied all the time for his dream. He is a black cripple, who tends the horses on the ranch. He has an ardent desire to be equal with others and be treated like a human. The white workers on the ranch treat him like an outcast. They keep aloof from him and claim he stinks. He has been excluded by the residents of the bunkhouse because of his colour. Colour prejudice makes Crooks’ position on the ranch lonely and isolated. He always has to confine himself to his room in the barn and have no one to talk to. During his long hours of solitude, he searches for his rights in his books such as the California Civil code 1905. He remembers his childhood, when he used to play and have a companionship with other children even with whites on his father’s chicken farm; â€Å"My old man had a chicken ranch, ’bout ten acres. the white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 70) But now he emulates of those times. When Lennie tells Crooks about his and George’s dream land, Crooks places himself in their dream, where no one would humiliate him because of his colour and he would have someone to talk to. So he demands to be part of the dream; â€Å"†¦if you †¦ guys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, why I’d come an’ land a hand. I ain’t so crippled I can work like son-of-a-bitch if I want to.† (Page 76) However his flicker of hope is killed by Lennie’s death. Another dream which masteries someone’s life is the aspiration of being a Hollywood movie star. Dissimilar to the other dreams in this novel, Curley’s wife regrets of having a better life by being a movie star; â€Å"Coulda been in the movie, an’ had nice clothes -all them nice clothes like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, an’ had pitchers took of me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 87) The dream of being an actress comes from when she met an actor. â€Å"†¦a show come through, an’ I met one of the actors. He says I could go with that show† (Page 87), she says. Because she was fifteen years old her mother didn’t allow her to go with them. The flame of desire to be a movie star became even more fervent when she met another guy; â€Å"Nother time I met a guy, an’ he was in pitchers †¦ He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was natural. Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me in about it. † (Page 87) However when the letter doesn’t turn up, Curley’s wife finds excuses so she wouldn’t get disappointed; â€Å"I always thought my ol’ lady stole it.† (Page 87) Based upon her excuses she didn’t want to live where she cannot have freedom so to take revenge from her mother, she married with Curley. She thought the marriage will approach her to the dream but it made it even worse. Now Curley doesn’t let her to talk to anyone but himself and all of the ranch workers avoid talking to her because of Curley; â€Å"What’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? †¦ what kinda harm an I doin’ to you? Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how I gotta live†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 86) Her thoughtless action of marrying with Curley makes loneliness to dominate over her life and makes her to stay at home al l the time. Pain of isolation even makes her to use her sexuality to attract others and have contact with someone else rather than her husband. The part when Lennie and Candy talk about their dreams with Crooks in the barn and Curley’s wife suddenly appears in the door way can be mentioned as an example; â€Å"They swang their heads toward the door. Looking in was Curley’s wife. Her face was heavily made up †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Page 76) Still no one undergoes the risk to communicate with her. Curley’s wife did die and her death released her from the ache of loneliness but she passed the pain to George. Her death makes George to kill his intimate friend, Lennie. Dreams are the significant theme in Steinbeck’s â€Å"Of Mice and Men†. The novel portrays the American dream as a symbol of aspiration, ambition and hope at the time when was set. Many Americans planted the seed of dream. They accepted the hard toil and labour to fructify it. They lived in yearn for attain it but the seed corrupted for most of them and they failed. In this novel it is the bright future that keeps the characters alive, it is their aspiration that make them to tolerate and it is the hope that gives their life a meaning. However the dreams are never fulfilled in this novel.

Accounts in the Balance Sheet and Income Statement of the Bank of Abu Assignment

Accounts in the Balance Sheet and Income Statement of the Bank of Abu Dhabi - Assignment Example Overall the bank’s statements reflect the quality of the bank's operations. Although there can be a few improvements in the operations of the bank and its customer base, however, the bank has performed remarkably well showing high revenues and net profits. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi was founded in 1968 in the United Arab Emirates. It is the market leader amongst lending banks in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the second largest player in the United Arab Emirate lending market. The bank has a presence in various regions including Hong Kong, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur. The National Bank of Abu Dhabi is a premier bank offering the complete range of financial services in 18 countries. It is ranked in the Worlds 50 Safest Banks and the Safest Bank in emerging banks. This is a testament to the quality of the services and the operations of the bank. This assignment aims to analyze the balance sheet and income statements of the bank for the year 2012 and 2011. All accounts under assets, liabilities, equity, expenses and revenue will be defined and analyzed in this report. An asset on a balance sheet represents what a firm owns. They can be categorized as current assets and fixed assets. Current assets are ones that are consumed in a years’ time and the fixed assets are those that provide benefit over a certain period of time. I will now be defining the assets that are in the financial statements of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi. This account includes all the cash that is currently with the bank, the balances with the central bank and the dues from other banks (maturing within 3 months). Cash is the most liquid of all the current assets. The balance at the central bank is a percentage of the total customer deposits given to the central bank as a measure of avoiding bank runs. These are identified as financial assets which are held for the purpose of trading them in the market. are assets measured at fair value and the gains and losses are recorded in the income statements under the subheading of â€Å"Gains or Losses on Derivative Financial Instrument Transactions†.

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Statement - Essay Example This becomes one of the major reasons why I want to gain business experience and apply in this university. My passion to gain knowledge about this field and about German language specially has nurtured this eagerness within me to take admission in BA (Hons.) International Business and German language course. This supporting statement describes my eagerness for this course. I have always been a very good student getting positions and certificates. My teachers and professors at all times considered me a student worthy of reward. I have attended numerous training courses and seminars which shows my passion for pursuing further knowledge regarding my field. I feel that I have enough knowledge and passion to show that I have a craze about going ahead in the business industry and contribute to the financial market. I keep myself updated with market requirement. I keep on reading related journals, books and magazines and attend related seminars being held in my vicinity. I feel that I posse ss those special skills needed to fulfill the requirements for this course. I have always come up fresh, innovative and unique ideas. I have learnt basic computer knowledge and softwares so as to equip myself with the latest technology that may help me in excelling in this course.

Business Ethics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Ethics - Research Paper Example One such area that a business organization should adequately address involves the issue of ethics in business. In line with this, the definition of business ethics vary based on the conception of the topic under discussion. One topic of discussion in business ethics involves the issue of child labor, which is crucial as business organizations seek to achieve a global perspective in conducting business. In effect, it is important to understand the issue of child labor, as an important topic in business ethics, and highlight approaches that business organizations take in order to deal with this issue. To begin with, it is crucial to understand the concept of child labor. There are varying international principles provided by labor organizations, such as ILO, which provide different definitions of intolerable and tolerable forms and definitions of child labor. For tolerable work, the ILO Convention No. 138 (1973) identifies work that does not make children fail to attend school with the work being light and harmless to the growth and development of the child as tolerable work (ILO, n.d.). Consequently, the convention stipulates the right age for this work being 13 years although the age can go down to 12 years depending on various circumstances such as the economic situation of the child and their family, which is crucial since such work can be crucial for the growth and the development of the child in question (UNICEF, 1997). On the other hand, intolerable work is abusive and dangerous with the work being exploitive on children. In this case, the ILO Convention No. 182 (1999) identifies child labor as any form of slavery or practices that are similar to slavery with actions related to the sale of children, debt bondage using children, serfdom, and the involvement of children in armed conflicts (ILO, n.d.). Importantly, this definition covers the use of children in issues related to child prostitution, using children in illegal activities, and in other areas that might harm the growth and development of children in regard to their moral values, health, and their safety. At this juncture, it is crucial to point out this convention, and other international codes and standards such as the UN convention on the rights of children, define a child as any individual below the age of 18 years (UNICEF, 1997). Nonetheless, it is important to point out that perceptions about child labor may vary depending on the culture although business organizations should use the definitions provided by ILO and other international organizations such as the UN. According to data from the International Labor Organization, one in every seven children is in some form of child labor. This puts the figure at 218 million children involved in child labor, which is a decrease from the 240 million children involved in labor in 2002 (ILO, 2006). Nonetheless, it is crucial to point out that this is not ethical practice in business since children are supposed to enjoy their child hood and not working under harmful conditions. In line with this, these children work in various sectors of the global economy with these sectors located in various parts of the world. However, a majority of these children work in the agricultural sector, which is a result of the non-regulation of this sector in terms of regulating the human resource capital working in the sector (Kolk & Tulder, 2002). In

Paul's Case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paul's Case - Essay Example Indeed, many a times, the cheerful exterior hides the treacherous thoughts and conflicts that could lead to dangerous outcome. Cather’s characterization of Paul as a deviant personality is highly intriguing. It raises pertinent questions of adjustment of the same within the parameters of social controls like family institution and educational institutes. Paul’s disdain towards these social institutions is serious in its content. The main reason being the authorities fail to understand the reasons behind his continued misdemeanors. Despite the threats of expulsion from the school, Paul exhibits a careful indifference for the rules. When he is called to the Principal’s office for explanation, all the teachers come together against him. Indeed, Cather’s observation that the stoic demeanor of Paul forces the teachers to be ‘humiliated to have felt so vindictive toward a mere boy’. The author’s portrayal of Paul encompasses diverse human emotions that are difficult to understand by the people, especially by his teachers. Indeed, the inability to reform a ‘mere boy’ is not only frustrating for the teachers but it also shows a decisive lack of will to understand the complex nature of Paul. Paul’s relationship with his father and sister is also not very cordial. The confined environment of his home and conservative attitude of his father are shown as major issues. Through Paul’s story, the author is probably trying to show how the society tries to manipulate the characters of the young people and suppress their natural inclinations. Paul is hugely attracted to the imagery lives of artists. he portrays the surrealist of the character through his role of ‘usher of the theatre’ where he imagines himself in the company of the artists and celebrities. Interestingly his make believe world becomes his only medium of being happy. When Paul’s lies and deceit are revealed, he is taken out of the school. But Paul, as the